ParrotNotes

Tap Tempo

Tap the pad below, or press any key, in time with the beat. The BPM appears from the fourth tap and settles as you keep going.

Half time
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Double time
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Have the song as a file? The BPM Detector finds the tempo from the audio.

How the tap tempo works

It only reads the time of each tap. No microphone, no audio, nothing to install.

  1. 1

    Tap with the beat

    Use a finger, the mouse, the space bar or any letter key. The first reading shows after 4 taps, because that gives three gaps to average.

  2. 2

    Watch it settle

    The BPM is 60,000 divided by the average gap in milliseconds, over your last 16 taps. Taps 500 ms apart read 120 BPM. Half and double time sit under the pad.

  3. 3

    Stop, or start over

    Stop for 2 seconds and the reading stays on screen while the count is ready to start again with your next tap. Reset clears it at once.

How many taps give a steady reading

The average of the gaps comes down to the time from your first tap to your last, divided by the number of gaps, so a longer run of taps shrinks the error. This table is that calculation, for a song at 120 BPM.

TapsTime at 120 BPMTaps off by 20 msTaps off by 40 ms
41.5 s± 2.3 BPM± 4.5 BPM
83.5 s± 1.0 BPM± 1.9 BPM
125.5 s± 0.6 BPM± 1.2 BPM
167.5 s± 0.5 BPM± 0.9 BPM
Typical error (one standard deviation) if each tap lands that far from the true beat, at random. The 20 and 40 ms figures are examples, not measurements of anyone's timing. Past 16 taps the page uses only the latest ones, so the error stops shrinking and a tempo change still comes through.

What the table means when you tap

Eight taps are a good stopping point for most uses: about 3.5 seconds at 120 BPM, and within about 2 BPM even with loose timing. The first reading after four taps can easily be 4 or 5 BPM out, so do not copy it down.

The error is about the same share of the tempo for the same tapping time, so a faster song needs more taps to cover those seconds, and its error in BPM is larger for the same number of taps. If you need a figure to the nearest BPM, tap the full 16.

Common tempo ranges

Once you have a number, this gives a rough sense of where it sits. Composers and styles vary widely, and the ranges overlap.

NameRough range
Largo40 to 66 BPM
Adagio44 to 66 BPM
Andante56 to 108 BPM
Soularound 75 to 90 BPM
Moderato108 to 120 BPM
Allegro120 to 156 BPM
Drum and bass150 to 185 BPM
Show tempo (stage musicals)usually 160 to 170 BPM
Presto168 to 200 BPM
From Wikipedia's Tempo article, which calls the Italian ranges very rough approximations. A word on a score does not fix a number.

Tap tempo or the BPM Detector?

  • Tap when there is no file

    A band in the room, a song on someone else's speaker, a streaming track, or a beat in your head. Your ear picks the beat, so it also works where a detector would pick the wrong pulse.

  • Use the detector when you have the file

    It analyses the audio itself, shows the result to a tenth of a BPM, and plays a click over the song so you can check it. It takes no timing skill, and it is more exact on a steady track.

  • Half or double?

    You can feel the same song at 87 or at 174. Tapping tells you the pulse you felt; a playlist or a DJ app may list the other one. That is why both are shown under the pad.

Have the audio? Try the BPM Detector. To practise at a slower speed, use the Audio Speed Changer.

Talking through the arrangement?

This page only counts taps and needs nothing else. If your rehearsals or planning calls run long, the ParrotNotes app records them and gives you a transcript and a summary.

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Related tools

Tap Tempo FAQ

Sources