you can count the beats for 15seconds, then multiply by 4.

15x4=60

but don't count the beats like you would if you were keeping track of the measures or phrases... just count from 1 to XXXX until 15seconds pass.

of course this a rough method where you will end up w/a round number.
i think you will definately need something to help you w/the decimals.

there are a ton of sites with java applets (like this one - http://www.angelfire.com/il2/figskating/musicbpm.html ). Basically click or hit spacebar on the beat and after maybe 10 or 15 beats or so you'll have a pretty accurate number

___________________
-Jon
www.DJjoncaserta.com - - mixes and whatnot (melodic progressive house and trance)

well after a lot of browsing i stumbled upon a good little website.

it said that the method of counting to 15 and then mult. by 4 is an inaccurate way of calculating the BPM.

instead, it suggested that you use a stopwatch, count 40 beats, and on the 40th beat stop the stopwatch, take the time that you got, and then divide 2400 by the time you got.

i'm at work now, so i cant post the link to the site or give you any examples, but this seems like a more accurate approach than the 15x4 method. also, i tried a couple java applets, but they were really bad, and always screwed up no matter how long, or how many times i reset the thing. anyway, thanks for the help.

quote:

Originally posted by ASFSE well after a lot of browsing i stumbled upon a good little website. it said that the method of counting to 15 and then mult. by 4 is an inaccurate way of calculating the BPM. instead, it suggested that you use a stopwatch, count 40 beats, and on the 40th beat stop the stopwatch, take the time that you got, and then divide 2400 by the time you got. i'm at work now, so i cant post the link to the site or give you any examples, but this seems like a more accurate approach than the 15x4 method. also, i tried a couple java applets, but they were really bad, and always screwed up no matter how long, or how many times i reset the thing. anyway, thanks for the help.

That is a more accurate way to do it, and it will work, but it also takes longer and requires a stopwatch and calculator, whereas the 15x4 method you can do with nothing. And the big thing is that who cares if you're off by 1 bpm...you're just trying to get general numbers to categorize your tracks I'm assuming.

Also, I've been using that java applet for years, and it works great (other than sometimes it doesn't like to reset, so you just hit the refresh button on your browser instead of the java refresh button).

___________________
-Jon
www.DJjoncaserta.com - - mixes and whatnot (melodic progressive house and trance)

quote:

Originally posted by IntegraR0064 That is a more accurate way to do it, and it will work, but it also takes longer and requires a stopwatch and calculator, whereas the 15x4 method you can do with nothing. And the big thing is that who cares if you're off by 1 bpm...you're just trying to get general numbers to categorize your tracks I'm assuming. Also, I've been using that java applet for years, and it works great (other than sometimes it doesn't like to reset, so you just hit the refresh button on your browser instead of the java refresh button).

umm the best method is to count the beats in 1 minute. BPM stands for beats per minute

doing it using the 15 second method is less accurate, you will only get bpms of 128, 132, 136 etc (multiples of 4)

hmmm what if you cant count

You should never be trying to be figuring out the bpm of a track live.
So i guess you would be doing this in your bedroom/studio and in that case it is definitly best to use those simple little programs where you tap the beat.

if you have a drum machine handy... you can hit the tap button, 3 maybe 4 times, and get a reading. after tapping in the tempo, you can use the metronome to beat match if really want to be accurate.