How is note duration calculated from BPM?

One quarter note lasts 60000 divided by BPM milliseconds, because there are 60000 ms in a minute and BPM quarter-note beats per minute. A whole note is four times that, an eighth note is half, a sixteenth note a quarter, and so on by powers of two.

What is a dotted note duration?

A dot adds half the note's value, so a dotted note is 1.5 times the straight duration. Dotted eighth-note delays are a staple of guitar and synth music because they create a rhythmic offset against the straight beat.

What is a triplet note duration?

A triplet fits three notes into the space of two, so a triplet duration is two thirds (0.6667) of the straight value. Triplet delays give a rolling, swung feel that locks to the beat differently from straight or dotted timing.

Should I use note duration for delay feedback or just the delay time?

Set the delay time to the millisecond value for the subdivision you want; feedback only controls how many repeats you hear, not their spacing. For tempo-synced delays many DAWs let you enter note values directly, but the ms figure is essential for hardware units and plugins without sync.

How do I convert a note duration to an LFO frequency in Hz?

Frequency in Hz equals 1000 divided by the duration in milliseconds. A one-bar LFO at 120 BPM lasts 2000 ms, which is 0.5 Hz. The table shows the Hz value alongside each millisecond figure so you can set free-running LFOs to the beat.

What is the Tempo-to-Note-Grid Reference Table?

Generate a complete reference table of note durations in milliseconds for any BPM, from whole notes down to 64th notes, including dotted and triplet variants. Perfect for setting delay, reverb, and LFO times in your DAW. Includes Hz frequency for each subdivision. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Tempo-to-Note-Grid Reference Table

Name: Tempo-to-Note-Grid Reference Table
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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This reference table converts any tempo into the exact note durations you need for tempo-synced delays, reverbs, gates, and LFOs. Enter a BPM and read off the milliseconds for whole notes down to 64th notes, in straight, dotted, and triplet flavours.

How it works

The whole calculation hangs off one fact: at a given tempo, a quarter note lasts

quarter note (ms) = 60000 / BPM

because a minute is 60000 milliseconds and BPM counts quarter-note beats per minute. Every other straight note value is a power-of-two multiple or fraction of the quarter note:

whole   = quarter x 4
half    = quarter x 2
eighth  = quarter / 2
16th    = quarter / 4
32nd    = quarter / 8
64th    = quarter / 16

Dotted and triplet variants

A dot lengthens a note by half its value, so the dotted duration is the straight value multiplied by 1.5. A triplet packs three notes into the time of two, so each triplet note is the straight value multiplied by 2/3 (about 0.6667).

Hz column

For LFOs and tremolo that you want locked to tempo, frequency in hertz is 1000 / duration_ms. A one-bar cycle at 120 BPM is 2000 ms, which is exactly 0.5 Hz.

Worked example

At 120 BPM, a quarter note is 60000 / 120 = 500 ms. That makes an eighth note 250 ms, a dotted eighth 375 ms (the classic ambient-guitar delay), and an eighth-note triplet 166.7 ms. Set your delay to those figures and the echoes lock perfectly to the groove.

Everything is computed in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Using the grid in your DAW

Most modern DAWs let you type millisecond values directly into delay and reverb parameters. Here is how to use the grid in the most common contexts:

Delay plugins — Look for the “time” or “delay time” parameter, switch it from note-value mode to milliseconds, and type the value from the table. For a tempo-synced slapback on lead guitar at 100 BPM, use the eighth-note value (300 ms). For the classic ambient dotted-eighth-note sound, use the dotted eighth (450 ms at 100 BPM).

Reverb pre-delay — Pre-delay pushes the reverb tail away from the dry signal, giving the source clarity before the room kicks in. Typical pre-delay values are short — 20 to 80 ms — but matching them to a note subdivision (for example, a 32nd note) locks the reverb decay to the groove rather than making it feel random.

LFO rate — Tremolo, vibrato, auto-pan, and filter-wobble LFOs are most musical when they lock to the beat. Use the Hz column: at 120 BPM a quarter-note LFO is 2 Hz, a half-note LFO is 1 Hz, and a whole-note LFO is 0.5 Hz. These values work directly in LFO rate controls that accept Hz.

Gate and chop effects — Rhythmic gating on synth pads sounds tightest when the gate open time matches a note subdivision from the grid. A 16th-note gate at 120 BPM opens every 125 ms.

A note on swing and humanisation

All values in the grid are for straight-time playback. If your DAW has swing or groove quantisation engaged, your audio events will not sit exactly on the subdivisions, and tempo-synced delays may drift relative to the felt beat. In that case, measure the actual timing of a snare or hi-hat hit with a spectrogram or the DAW’s grid snap, and fine-tune the delay time to match that human feel rather than the strict mathematical subdivision.