Tap BPM: Tap Tempo Counter
Tap the pad (or any key) on every beat of the song. The tempo appears after 4 taps.
Tap tempo
Tap the pad, or press any keyTapped every other beat? Press ×2. Tapped every eighth note? Press ÷2.
How to tap a tempo
Play the song and tap along where you would tap your foot: on the beat, not on every strum. Tap with a finger on the pad, click it, or press any key (space works well on a laptop). The BPM shows from the 4th tap and gets more accurate the longer you tap; the counter uses the last 16 taps and fits a straight line through them, so one late tap barely moves the number.
Stop for 2 seconds and the next tap starts a new count, so you can measure the verse and then the chorus. Reset clears everything at once.
Reading the steadiness meter
The meter shows how evenly spaced your taps are. Steady means the number is reliable. Fairly steady is close; a few more even taps firm it up. Uneven means some taps were early or late: keep tapping until it turns steady, or reset and listen for the kick drum or the strum on beat 1.
A tempo that will not settle can also be the song itself: live recordings speed up a little, and some songs change tempo between sections.
Practise at the tempo you tapped
Open the metronome with the button under the pad and it starts at the tempo you tapped; the tempo stays in its address bar, so you can bookmark it for the next session. Most songs are too fast to learn at full speed: turn on the speed trainer there, start at 70 % and let it add a few BPM every four bars until you reach the song's tempo. Then play along with the recording.
FAQ
How many taps do I need?
A number appears after 4 taps. The more evenly you tap, the sooner it settles; 8 to 16 steady taps give a dependable reading.
Why is my result double or half the tempo I expected?
You tapped every eighth note or every half note instead of every beat. Press ×2 or ÷2 under the pad to correct the number, or tap where you would clap or tap your foot. For a slow ballad that often means fewer taps than you think.
Is 120 BPM fast?
It is a medium, walking-to-brisk tempo: most pop and rock songs sit between 90 and 130 BPM. Below 70 feels slow, above 160 is fast.
Does the tap counter listen to the song?
No. It only measures your taps, so nothing is recorded and it works with any song you can hear, even one in your head.
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