BPM finder
Two ways to find a tempo. Tap the beat with the mouse, your finger or the space bar and the bpm appears. Or drop a song and the page measures it, showing the half-time and double-time readings too.
This page needs JavaScript for the tool itself. Open it in a browser to use it.
Tapping
Tap on each beat for eight or more beats; the reading settles as you go. If you tap on every other beat you get half the tempo, which is often the feel you want for a slow ghazal. Pause for a few seconds and start again to reset.
Measuring a file
The page decodes the file in your browser, tracks where the energy rises and finds the spacing that repeats. Songs with clear drums measure well; a solo voice or a free-time alap may not. Every tempo has a half-time and double-time twin, so the page shows those as well and you choose the one that matches how you count.
What to do with the number
Set the metronome to it to practise, set your DAW's tempo to it before you record a cover over the original, or note it for a DJ set. The metronome here can count it in Teentaal, Keherwa or plain 4/4.
From the label's own toolbox
BeatRootRaga is an independent label. Before a cover session the tempo of the original is checked exactly this way, so the arrangement can be built at the same speed. That workflow is on this page for anyone.
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Latest guides
All guidesTeentaal: the 16-beat cycle of Hindustani music
Teentaal is a 16-beat Hindustani rhythmic cycle counted in four groups of four, with claps on 1, 5 and 13, and a wave on 9. Its theka, or basic tabla stroke pattern, is dha dhin dhin dha | dha dhin dhin dha | dha tin tin ta | ta dhin dhin dha.
Taal for beginners: teentaal, keherwa and dadra with clap patterns
A taal is a repeating rhythmic cycle: count 16 beats for teentaal, eight for keherwa, and six for dadra. For teentaal, clap on 1, 5 and 13, wave on 9; for keherwa, clap on 1, wave on 5; for dadra, clap on 1, wave on 4.
Rupak: the 7-beat taal that starts on khali
Rupak is a taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, with seven beats grouped 3 + 2 + 2. Its opening closed strokes make sam, the first beat, sound light; this beat is khali, marked by a wave, rather than tali, marked by a clap.
Keherwa: the 8-beat taal of film songs, bhajans and folk
Keherwa is an eight-beat taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, arranged as 4 + 4. To recognise it, listen for two groups of four, a lighter second half, and the recurring drum pattern: dha ge na ti | na ka dhin na.
Jhaptaal: the 10-beat taal
Jhaptaal is a taal, a repeating rhythmic cycle, with ten beats. Its four vibhags, or divisions, follow 2 + 3 + 2 + 3, alternating two-beat and three-beat groups.
Ektaal: the 12-beat taal of khayal
Ektaal is a twelve-beat taal, or repeating rhythmic cycle, divided into six two-beat sections called vibhags. Its stretched beats let the tabla player elaborate the stroke pattern in vilambit (slow-tempo) bada khayal, the slow opening composition of a khayal performance.
Questions people ask
Is the BeatRootRaga bpm finder free, and is the song uploaded?
Free, no account. A file is decoded and measured inside your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Why does the bpm finder show a different tempo from what I expected?
Tempo is ambiguous by a factor of two. A song you feel at 80 bpm can be measured at 160. Use the alternatives shown, or tap the beat the way you count it.
How accurate is the tap tempo in the bpm finder?
Within about one bpm after eight steady taps. The page averages the last nine intervals and drops old taps when you pause.
Which audio files can the bpm finder measure?
MP3, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG, M4A and the audio of MP4 or MOV video, three seconds or longer.