Tap BPM Counter
BPM is 60,000 divided by the gap between two taps in milliseconds, so taps 500 ms apart mean 120 BPM. The tool uses your most recent taps and ignores a stray late or missed beat.
How to use
- Play the song, then tap the big pad or press the space bar on every beat. Two taps give a first estimate; eight or more make it steady.
- Read the BPM. Average uses all kept taps and median ignores any stray tap. If the two differ by more than a point, keep tapping.
- Choose how many recent taps to use. A small number follows tempo changes quickly; a large one smooths out uneven tapping.
- Press Reset to start over, or just pause for four seconds. Open the metronome link to hear the tempo you measured.
How it works
The tool turns your taps into the gaps between them, in milliseconds. BPM is 60,000 divided by a gap. It uses only your most recent taps, up to the number you choose.
To handle a late or missed beat, it takes the median gap and drops any gap below 0.7 or above 1.4 times that median. The average BPM comes from the mean of the gaps that remain, and the median BPM from their median. With fewer than three gaps nothing is dropped.
FAQ
How many taps do I need?
Two taps give a number, but it can be off by several BPM. Eight to sixteen taps on a steady song usually settle to within a point of the true tempo.
Why do the average and median differ?
The average is moved by every gap, so one uneven tap shifts it. The median ignores extremes. When they are close your tapping was steady.
Should I tap on every beat?
Yes. Tap the main pulse you would nod your head to. If you tap twice per beat the result doubles, and if you tap every other beat it halves.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Taps are read the moment you touch the pad, so there is no click delay. A hardware keyboard works too: press the space bar.