Tempo to Delay Time Calculator
Delay times in milliseconds for a tempo, from quarter notes down to sixteenths, with dotted and triplet values.
Results
Delay time
500.000
ms
Delay time
250.000
ms
Delay time
125.000
ms
Delay time
375.000
ms
Delay time
166.667
ms
Frequency
2.00000
Hz
What this tool does
Setting a delay to a musical subdivision is what makes a repeat sit in the groove instead of fighting it. The dotted eighth is the one that built a whole guitar sound in the 1980s: it lands between the beats and turns a simple part into a pattern. The frequency at the end is the same tempo expressed in hertz, which is what an LFO wants.
Formula
ms per beat = 60 000 ÷ BPM
Variables
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
bp | Tempo | BPM |
Q4 | Delay time | ms |
Q8 | Delay time | ms |
Q6 | Delay time | ms |
DT | Delay time | ms |
TR | Delay time | ms |
FQ | Frequency | Hz |
Worked example
- Tempo120 BPM
- Delay time500.000 ms
- Delay time250.000 ms
- Delay time125.000 ms
- Delay time375.000 ms
- Delay time166.667 ms
- Frequency2.00000 Hz
Limitations
- The calculation runs at full precision and only the display is rounded. If you copy an intermediate value and retype it, small differences can appear.
- The default values are typical reference figures, not measurements of your situation. Replace them with your own data whenever you have it.