How do you convert BPM to milliseconds?

Divide 60,000 by the BPM to get the length of one quarter note in milliseconds. At 120 BPM that is 500 ms. Eighth notes are half, sixteenths a quarter, dotted values 1.5 times, and triplets two-thirds of the straight value.

What is a quarter note in ms at 120 BPM?

500 ms. 60,000 divided by 120 equals 500, so each quarter-note beat lasts half a second at 120 BPM.

What is a dotted eighth delay time?

A dotted eighth note is 1.5 times an eighth note. At 120 BPM the eighth is 250 ms, so the dotted eighth is 375 ms — the classic rhythmic shimmer delay used on guitars and synths.

Why sync delay and modulation to ms values from the tempo?

Because these effects take millisecond inputs. Using tempo-matched values makes the repeats and modulation land on beat subdivisions, keeping the effect in the pocket instead of drifting against the rhythm.

BPM to ms: Convert Tempo to Delay Times

ArtyphonicJune 13, 20262 min read

To convert BPM to milliseconds, divide 60,000 by the BPM — that gives the length of one quarter note. At 120 BPM a quarter note is 500 ms. Every other note value scales from there: eighths are half, sixteenths a quarter, dotted values 1.5×, triplets two-thirds.

The formula

A minute holds 60,000 milliseconds. Tempo tells you how many quarter-note beats fit in that minute, so one beat lasts 60000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. That single number is the anchor; all the others are simple multiples of it.

Note value	Formula	At 120 BPM
Quarter (1/4)	60000 ÷ BPM	500 ms
Eighth (1/8)	quarter ÷ 2	250 ms
Sixteenth (1/16)	quarter ÷ 4	125 ms
Dotted eighth	eighth × 1.5	375 ms
Eighth triplet	eighth × 2/3	167 ms
Half (1/2)	quarter × 2	1000 ms

Three bars showing a quarter note as the longest, a dotted eighth in between, and an eighth note as the shortest — A dotted eighth sits between the quarter and the straight eighth — it is 1.5 times the eighth, not shorter.

A table for common tempos

Here are the straight note values across a range of working tempos. For dotted values multiply by 1.5; for triplets multiply by two-thirds.

BPM	1/4	1/8	1/16

The formula

A table for common tempos

Why convert BPM to milliseconds?