BPM to Hz converter

The formula

Hertz means cycles per second, and BPM means beats per minute, so one beat per second is 60 BPM and the conversion is simply BPM divided by 60. At 120 BPM the quarter-note pulse is 2 Hz. A whole bar of 4/4 at 120 BPM repeats every 2 seconds, which is 0.5 Hz, and sixteenth notes run at 8 Hz.

To go the other way, multiply hertz by 60. An LFO running at 1.5 Hz is pulsing at 90 cycles per minute, which lines up with quarter notes at 90 BPM, eighth notes at 45 BPM or half notes at 180 BPM.

Where BPM-to-Hz comes up

• LFO rate on a synth filter or a sidechain-style tremolo when the LFO cannot be synced to the host tempo.
• Tremolo, auto-pan and chorus pedals with a rate knob in hertz.
• Strobe and lighting effects that should pulse on the beat.
• Rhythmic gating or sample-and-hold patterns that need to land on eighths or sixteenths.
• Checking whether a tempo-synced value in a plugin matches the rate shown in another plugin that only displays hertz.

Reading the table

The table lists each note value with its frequency in hertz and its period in milliseconds. The period is just 1000 divided by the frequency, so it doubles as a delay time: a quarter-note delay at 120 BPM is 500 ms and the matching LFO rate is 2 Hz.

Dotted values are 1.5 times longer than the plain note, so their frequency is lower by a factor of two thirds. Triplet values divide the beat into three, so a quarter triplet is two thirds of a quarter note and its rate is 1.5 times higher.

Quick reference at common tempos