Tap tempo and BPM counter

How to find the BPM of a song by tapping

1. Play the song and listen for the beat you'd clap or nod your head to. In most pop, rock and dance music that's the kick and snare pattern.
2. Tap the blue pad, or press any key, once for every beat. Space, Enter and letter keys all work.
3. Keep going for at least 8 taps. The number settles as you tap; after 16 taps it's usually within one BPM.
4. Stop for two seconds and the counter clears itself, ready for the next song. Esc clears it straight away.

Not sure if you're tapping the right beat? Press Play it back. You'll hear a click at the tempo you tapped, so you can check it against the song.

How this counter works

Most tap tempo tools average the last few gaps between taps. That works, but a single sloppy tap throws the number around. This one measures from your first tap to your last tap and divides by the number of beats in between. Small timing errors in the middle cancel out, so the reading gets steadier the longer you tap instead of wobbling.

The bars under the pad show each gap. A green bar was within 5% of your average; an orange one was early or late. The steadiness score turns that into one number: above 90% means your taps were very even and the BPM is trustworthy. If it's low, keep tapping or start again.

The counter also resets itself when you pause. It waits for two seconds, or for a little over two beats at slow tempos, so tapping a 50 BPM ballad doesn't cut you off between beats.

How many taps do you need?

Nobody taps with perfect timing. Even good drummers drift by 10 to 30 milliseconds on each hit. Because the error only matters at the first and last tap, it shrinks fast as you add taps. Assuming your taps are off by about 20 ms each, here's how far the reading can be off on a 120 BPM song:

So if you need an exact whole number for a DAW session or a DJ set, tap through a full verse. For a quick idea of the speed, eight taps is plenty.

Half-time and double-time

Two people can tap the same song and get 70 and 140. Both are right. Trap, dubstep and drum and bass are written at a fast tempo but often feel half as fast, because the snare lands on every other beat. Use ÷2 and ×2 to switch between the two readings without tapping again. As a rule, DJ software and sample packs label trap around 140, dubstep at 140 and drum and bass between 170 and 176.

Typical BPM by genre

These are habits, not rules. Plenty of hits sit outside their genre's range. When you need the exact figure for a track you own, the BPM detector reads it straight from the audio file.

Keyboard shortcuts

Any key taps. Esc or Backspace clears. Tab moves between buttons as usual. On a phone, tap anywhere on the blue pad; it reacts the moment your finger lands, not when you lift it, so there's no delay.

Questions