121 BPM in Milliseconds: Delay Times and Note Lengths
At 121 BPM one beat (a quarter note) lasts 495.868 ms and one bar of 4/4 lasts 1.983 seconds. Below are the delay times for every note value, the same notes in Hz, bar and phrase lengths, samples per beat and the genres that typically sit at this tempo.
121 BPM at a glance
- One beat at 121 BPM lasts about 495.87 ms (60,000 divided by 121), an eighth note about 247.93 ms and a dotted eighth about 371.9 ms.
- A beat here is not a whole number of milliseconds. The nearest tempo where it is: 120 BPM, with 500 ms per beat.
- A beat is 21,867.769 samples at 44.1 kHz and 23,801.653 samples at 48 kHz, neither a whole number, so sample accurate loop points round slightly at both rates.
- A 4 bar phrase in 4/4 takes about 7.934 seconds, and 3 minutes of music at this tempo holds 90.75 bars of 4/4.
- Going from 121 to 122 BPM shortens each beat by 4.064 ms, about 0.82% of the beat.
- An LFO synced to quarter notes runs at about 2.017 Hz; synced to whole bars of 4/4 it runs at about 0.5042 Hz.
Delay times at 121 BPM
Milliseconds for each note value. Dotted notes are 1.5 times as long, triplets 2/3 as long. Rounded to 2 decimals.
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note (1/1) | 1,983.47 ms | 2,975.21 ms | 1,322.31 ms |
| Half note (1/2) | 991.74 ms | 1,487.6 ms | 661.16 ms |
| Quarter note (1/4) | 495.87 ms | 743.8 ms | 330.58 ms |
| Eighth note (1/8) | 247.93 ms | 371.9 ms | 165.29 ms |
| Sixteenth note (1/16) | 123.97 ms | 185.95 ms | 82.64 ms |
| 1/32 note | 61.98 ms | 92.98 ms | 41.32 ms |
| 1/64 note | 30.99 ms | 46.49 ms | 20.66 ms |
121 BPM in Hz for LFOs
The rate that repeats once per note, for an LFO, tremolo or auto pan synced to 121 BPM. Rounded to 3 decimals.
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note (1/1) | 0.504 Hz | 0.336 Hz | 0.756 Hz |
| Half note (1/2) | 1.008 Hz | 0.672 Hz | 1.513 Hz |
| Quarter note (1/4) | 2.017 Hz | 1.344 Hz | 3.025 Hz |
| Eighth note (1/8) | 4.033 Hz | 2.689 Hz | 6.05 Hz |
| Sixteenth note (1/16) | 8.067 Hz | 5.378 Hz | 12.1 Hz |
| 1/32 note | 16.133 Hz | 10.756 Hz | 24.2 Hz |
| 1/64 note | 32.267 Hz | 21.511 Hz | 48.4 Hz |
Bar lengths at 121 BPM
| 1 bar of 4/4 | 1.983 s |
| 2 bars of 4/4 | 3.967 s |
| 4 bars of 4/4 | 7.934 s |
| 8 bars of 4/4 | 15.868 s |
| 16 bars of 4/4 | 31.736 s |
| 32 bars of 4/4 | 63.471 s |
| 1 bar of 3/4 | 1.488 s |
| 1 bar of 6/8 | 1.488 s |
| 1 bar of 7/8 | 1.736 s |
| 1 bar of 5/4 | 2.479 s |
Samples per beat at 121 BPM
| Rate | Per beat | Per 4/4 bar |
|---|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | 21,867.769 | 87,471.074 |
| 48 kHz | 23,801.653 | 95,206.612 |
| 96 kHz | 47,603.306 | 190,413.223 |
Sample rate times 60, divided by 121.
What music is 121 BPM?
Dance tempo (120 to 139 BPM). This is the core dance music range. Steady four to the floor club music clusters here, and DJs often mix within a few BPM of it, so tracks at this tempo are easy to blend with each other.
Typical tempo ranges that include 121 BPM: Pop, Rock, Disco and nu disco, House.
Half time: 60.5 BPM, in the typical range of Ballads, Reggae, R&B. Double time: 242 BPM, faster than the genre ranges listed here.
A track can be written at one tempo and felt at the other, so a song at 121 BPM may be counted as 60.5 or 242 in a DAW or DJ software. Ranges are typical only; plenty of songs sit outside them.
Work at 121 BPM
The BPM and Delay Time Calculator does this math for any tempo, including decimals, with tap tempo and milliseconds back to BPM. All free, in your browser.
Nearby tempos
Questions about 121 BPM
How many milliseconds is a beat at 121 BPM?
A quarter note beat at 121 BPM lasts about 495.87 ms, which is 60,000 divided by 121. An eighth note is about 247.93 ms and a sixteenth note is about 123.97 ms.
What delay time should I use at 121 BPM?
For a quarter note echo set about 495.87 ms, for a dotted eighth set about 371.9 ms and for an eighth note triplet set about 165.29 ms. If your delay has a tempo sync mode, picking the note value there gives the same timing.
How long is one bar at 121 BPM?
One bar of 4/4 at 121 BPM lasts about 1.983 seconds, so 8 bars take about 15.868 seconds and 16 bars take about 31.736 seconds. A bar of 3/4 lasts about 1.488 seconds.
Is 121 BPM fast or slow?
Dance tempo (120 to 139 BPM). Typical ranges that include 121 BPM: Pop, Rock, Disco and nu disco, House. Half time is 60.5 BPM and double time is 242 BPM.