117 BPM
117 beats per minute is one beat every 512.82 ms. Below: bar and phrase lengths, delay and reverb times, LFO rates, the genres that use this tempo, and the pitch change needed to mix in from nearby tempos. Start the metronome or tap along to a track to check it is really 117.
Updated 2026-10-17
117 BPM
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Beat, bar and phrase lengths at 117 BPM
At 117 BPM one beat lasts 512.82 ms and a 4/4 bar lasts 2.051 s. The beat is not a whole number of milliseconds, so round to the nearest 0.1 ms when you type times in by hand, or use your plugin's tempo sync. That is 1.95 beats per second, or 29.25 bars of 4/4 per minute.
Dance tracks are usually arranged in 8-, 16- and 32-bar phrases. At 117 BPM a 16-bar phrase takes 32.82 s and a 32-bar intro or outro takes 1:05.6 min. That is 0.82 s longer than the same 16 bars at 120 BPM. A six-minute track at this tempo contains about 176 bars.
| Length | Time | Milliseconds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 beat | 0.513 s | 512.82 ms |
| 1 bar (4 beats) | 2.051 s | 2051.28 ms |
| 4 bars | 8.205 s | 8205.13 ms |
| 8 bars | 16.41 s | 16410.26 ms |
| 16 bars | 32.82 s | 32820.51 ms |
| 32 bars | 1:05.6 min | 65641.03 ms |
| 64 bars | 2:11.3 min | 131282.05 ms |
Delay times at 117 BPM
Straight values follow the beat; dotted values are 1.5 times as long and triplets are two-thirds as long. At 117 BPM the popular dotted-eighth delay is 384.62 ms and a quarter-note slapback is 512.82 ms. The Hz column is the matching rate for an LFO, tremolo or auto-pan synced to the straight note.
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet | Rate (straight) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1 (one 4/4 bar) | 2051.28 ms | 3076.92 ms | 1367.52 ms | 0.488 Hz |
| 1/2 | 1025.64 ms | 1538.46 ms | 683.76 ms | 0.975 Hz |
| 1/4 (one beat) | 512.82 ms | 769.23 ms | 341.88 ms | 1.95 Hz |
| 1/8 | 256.41 ms | 384.62 ms | 170.94 ms | 3.9 Hz |
| 1/16 | 128.21 ms | 192.31 ms | 85.47 ms | 7.8 Hz |
| 1/32 | 64.1 ms | 96.15 ms | 42.74 ms | 15.6 Hz |
Reverb times at 117 BPM
A common way to keep a reverb in time is to tie its pre-delay to a short note value and let the tail fade within a longer one. At 117 BPM a 1/64-note pre-delay is 32.05 ms and a 1/32-note pre-delay is 64.1 ms.
The decay control on most reverbs is RT60, the time it takes the tail to fall by 60 dB, so the audible tail ends earlier than the number shown. Treat these values as starting points and adjust by ear.
| Reverb character | Pre-delay | Decay (RT60) |
|---|---|---|
| Tight room on drums | 32.05 ms | 512.82 ms |
| Medium plate on vocals | 64.1 ms | 1025.64 ms |
| Large hall or pad wash | 64.1 ms | 2051.28 ms |
| Ambient tail over two bars | 128.21 ms | 4102.56 ms |
Genres at 117 BPM
117 BPM is a moderate tempo, a little below the usual club range. It sits in the middle of the pop range (90–130) and in the middle of the disco range (105–130).
These ranges are common practice rather than rules: genre is decided by rhythm, sound and scene as much as by tempo, and plenty of tracks sit outside the usual numbers.
- Pop: typically 90–130 BPM — a wide band; the genre is defined by songwriting, not tempo.
- Disco: typically 105–130 BPM — steady four-on-the-floor sections are easy to count.
Mixing into 117 BPM
To bring a track at another tempo up or down to 117 BPM, move its pitch fader by the percentage below. Without key lock the key moves too, by the number of semitones shown; about 6 % is one semitone, so changes beyond that are where key lock (master tempo) starts to matter.
A ±8 % pitch fader on a track at 117 BPM reaches 107.6–126.4 BPM; a ±16 % range reaches 98.3–135.7 BPM.
| Track tempo | Pitch change to reach 117 | Key shift without key lock |
|---|---|---|
| 111 BPM | +5.41 % | +0.91 st |
| 113 BPM | +3.54 % | +0.6 st |
| 115 BPM | +1.74 % | +0.3 st |
| 116 BPM | +0.86 % | +0.15 st |
| 118 BPM | −0.85 % | −0.15 st |
| 119 BPM | −1.68 % | −0.29 st |
| 121 BPM | −3.31 % | −0.58 st |
| 123 BPM | −4.88 % | −0.87 st |
Half-time, double-time and nearby tempos
Half-time of 117 BPM is 58.5 BPM and double-time is 234 BPM.
58.5 BPM and 234 BPM are outside the 60–200 range of these pages; the half/double-time converter works with any value.
Each 1 BPM step at this tempo changes the beat by about 4.35 ms, so neighbouring tempos are close enough to beatmatch with a small pitch move.
Frequently asked questions
- How many milliseconds is one beat at 117 BPM?
- One beat (a quarter note) at 117 BPM is 60,000 ÷ 117 = 512.82 ms. A 4/4 bar is four beats, 2051.28 ms.
- What is the dotted eighth delay time at 117 BPM?
- A dotted 1/8 delay at 117 BPM is 384.62 ms: an eighth note (256.41 ms) multiplied by 1.5. A straight quarter-note delay is 512.82 ms and a quarter-note triplet is 341.88 ms.
- What genre is 117 BPM?
- Pop and disco commonly use 117 BPM. Genre ranges overlap, so the drum pattern and sound decide the style more than the number does.
- What is 117 BPM in Hz?
- 117 BPM is 1.95 Hz when one cycle equals one beat. An LFO synced to one bar runs at 0.4875 Hz, and one synced to sixteenth notes at 7.8 Hz.