60 BPM in Milliseconds: Delay Times and Note Lengths
At 60 BPM one beat (a quarter note) lasts 1,000 ms and one bar of 4/4 lasts 4 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.
60 BPM at a glance
- One beat at 60 BPM lasts 1,000 ms (60,000 divided by 60), an eighth note 500 ms and a dotted eighth 750 ms.
- 60 BPM is one of the few tempos between 60 and 200 where a beat is a whole number of milliseconds, so quarter note delays need no rounding.
- At both 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz a beat is a whole number of samples (44,100 and 48,000), so loops cut on the beat line up exactly at either rate.
- A 4 bar phrase in 4/4 takes 16 seconds, and 3 minutes of music at this tempo holds 45 bars of 4/4.
- Going from 60 to 61 BPM shortens each beat by 16.393 ms, about 1.64% of the beat.
- An LFO synced to quarter notes runs at 1 Hz; synced to whole bars of 4/4 it runs at 0.25 Hz.
Delay times at 60 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) | 4,000 ms | 6,000 ms | 2,666.67 ms |
| Half note (1/2) | 2,000 ms | 3,000 ms | 1,333.33 ms |
| Quarter note (1/4) | 1,000 ms | 1,500 ms | 666.67 ms |
| Eighth note (1/8) | 500 ms | 750 ms | 333.33 ms |
| Sixteenth note (1/16) | 250 ms | 375 ms | 166.67 ms |
| 1/32 note | 125 ms | 187.5 ms | 83.33 ms |
| 1/64 note | 62.5 ms | 93.75 ms | 41.67 ms |
60 BPM in Hz for LFOs
The rate that repeats once per note, for an LFO, tremolo or auto pan synced to 60 BPM. Rounded to 3 decimals.
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note (1/1) | 0.25 Hz | 0.167 Hz | 0.375 Hz |
| Half note (1/2) | 0.5 Hz | 0.333 Hz | 0.75 Hz |
| Quarter note (1/4) | 1 Hz | 0.667 Hz | 1.5 Hz |
| Eighth note (1/8) | 2 Hz | 1.333 Hz | 3 Hz |
| Sixteenth note (1/16) | 4 Hz | 2.667 Hz | 6 Hz |
| 1/32 note | 8 Hz | 5.333 Hz | 12 Hz |
| 1/64 note | 16 Hz | 10.667 Hz | 24 Hz |
Bar lengths at 60 BPM
| 1 bar of 4/4 | 4 s |
| 2 bars of 4/4 | 8 s |
| 4 bars of 4/4 | 16 s |
| 8 bars of 4/4 | 32 s |
| 16 bars of 4/4 | 64 s |
| 32 bars of 4/4 | 128 s |
| 1 bar of 3/4 | 3 s |
| 1 bar of 6/8 | 3 s |
| 1 bar of 7/8 | 3.5 s |
| 1 bar of 5/4 | 5 s |
Samples per beat at 60 BPM
| Rate | Per beat | Per 4/4 bar |
|---|---|---|
| 44.1 kHz | 44,100 | 176,400 |
| 48 kHz | 48,000 | 192,000 |
| 96 kHz | 96,000 | 384,000 |
Sample rate times 60, divided by 60.
What music is 60 BPM?
Slow (60 to 79 BPM). This is a slow tempo. Slow songs, ballads and laid back grooves live here, and a long note or a long delay tail has plenty of room. Because each beat is long, small timing differences are easy to hear, so slow tracks reward a tight, deliberate groove.
Typical tempo ranges that include 60 BPM: Ballads, Reggae, R&B.
Half time: 30 BPM, slower than the genre ranges listed here. Double time: 120 BPM, in the typical range of Afrobeats, Pop, Rock, Disco and nu disco, House.
A track can be written at one tempo and felt at the other, so a song at 60 BPM may be counted as 30 or 120 in a DAW or DJ software. Ranges are typical only; plenty of songs sit outside them.
Work at 60 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 60 BPM
How many milliseconds is a beat at 60 BPM?
A quarter note beat at 60 BPM lasts 1,000 ms, which is 60,000 divided by 60. An eighth note is 500 ms and a sixteenth note is 250 ms.
What delay time should I use at 60 BPM?
For a quarter note echo set 1,000 ms, for a dotted eighth set 750 ms and for an eighth note triplet set about 333.33 ms. If your delay has a tempo sync mode, picking the note value there gives the same timing.
How long is one bar at 60 BPM?
One bar of 4/4 at 60 BPM lasts 4 seconds, so 8 bars take 32 seconds and 16 bars take 64 seconds. A bar of 3/4 lasts 3 seconds.
Is 60 BPM fast or slow?
Slow (60 to 79 BPM). Typical ranges that include 60 BPM: Ballads, Reggae, R&B. Half time is 30 BPM and double time is 120 BPM.