Tap tempo: find the BPM of a song by tapping along
Tap along with the beat for eight to sixteen taps and the average of the gaps between them gives the tempo in beats per minute. Tap on the kick or snare, not the hi-hats, or you will read double the tempo.
BPM
Tap the button, or press any key, on each beat.
How to tap a tempo accurately
- Listen for a bar or two before you start, so your first tap lands on the beat instead of chasing it.
- Tap on the kick drum or the snare. Tapping every hi-hat gives you twice the real tempo.
- Keep going for at least eight taps. The number steadies as the average takes in more beats; one early or late tap matters less the longer you go.
- Stop for two seconds to start a fresh count.
Tapping gets you within a beat or two per minute. For the exact figure, and a beat grid to check it against, drop the file into the key and BPM finder, which measures the tempo from the audio itself. There is more on the technique in how to tap tempo, and on why a result can come out at half or double in why is my BPM half or double.
Once you have the tempo, the BPM to milliseconds calculator turns it into delay and reverb times.
Questions people ask
How many times should I tap to get the BPM?
At least eight. Each tap only tells you the gap to the one before, so the average needs several gaps before a single early or late tap stops moving the number.
Why does tapping give me double the BPM?
You are probably tapping the hi-hats or a fast shaker rather than the kick and snare. Halve the number, or tap half as often.
Is tap tempo accurate?
To within about one or two BPM if you tap steadily for a few bars. Software that measures the audio can give the tempo to a hundredth of a BPM and shows whether the beats line up.