How To Determine BPM's

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The following is a precise mathematical method for determining BPM's in Sound Forge using your calculator.

1. First, open an 8 beat loop in SF and set the time line to seconds.

2. Next, click at the end of the loop to determine the time in seconds, which is displayed underneath the loop.

3. Finally, open your calculator and divide 60 (seconds) into the amount displayed, and then multiply the sum total by 8 (beats).

Example: A loop that is 3.8400 seconds equals 125 BPM's, by dividing 60 into 3.8400 and then multiplying the sum total by 8 (beats).

Here's a personal reference chart that I have been adding to gradually. You may want to copy/paste and save it as a notepad reference for yourself. It saves time having to open your calculator everytime you need to determine BPM's:

BPM REFERENCE CHART

080 BPM x1 = 0.7500 x2 = 1.5000 x4 = 3.0000 x8 = 6.0000
081 PBM x1 = 0.7407 x2 = 1.4814 x4 = 2.9628 x8 = 5.9259
090 BPM x1 = 0.6666 x2 = 1.3332 x4 = 2.6664 x8 = 5.3328
092 BPM x1 = 0.6521 x2 = 1.3043 x4 = 2.6086 x8 = 5.2173
094 BPM x1 = 0.6382 x2 = 1.2765 x4 = 2.5530 x8 = 5.1063
105 BPM x1 = 0.5714 x2 = 1.1428 x4 = 2.2857 x8 = 4.5714
108 BPM x1 = 0.5555 x2 = 1.1111 x4 = 2.2222 x8 = 4.4444
109 BPM x1 = 0.5504 x2 = 1.1009 x4 = 2.2018 x8 = 4.4036
110 BPM x1 = 0.5454 x2 = 1.0909 x4 = 2.1818 x8 = 4.3636
114 BPM x1 = 0.5263 x2 = 1.0526 x4 = 2.1052 x8 = 4.2105
120 BPM x1 = 0.5000 x2 = 1.0000 x4 = 2.0000 x8 = 4.0000
125 BPM x1 = 0.4800 x2 = 0.9600 x4 = 1.9200 x8 = 3.8400
128 BPM x1 = 0.4687 x2 = 0.9375 x4 = 1.8750 x8 = 3.7500
130 BPM x1 = 0.4615 x2 = 0.9230 x4 = 1.8461 x8 = 3.6923
135 BPM x1 = 0.4444 x2 = 0.8888 x4 = 1.7777 x8 = 3.5555
140 BPM x1 = 0.4285 x2 = 0.8571 x4 = 1.7142 x8 = 3.4285
162 BPM x1 = 0.3703 x2 = 0.7407 x4 = 1.4814 x8 = 2.9629
188 BPM x1 = 0.3191 x2 = 0.6382 x4 = 1.2765 x8 = 2.5531

Alternatively, if you already know the BPM's of an 8 beat loop, but want to determine the seconds, then you simply divide 60 into xxx BPM's and then multiply the sum total by 8 (beats).

I hope this is helpful. Peace, out. :)
Last edited by Ambisphere on Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Post

You are confusing beats and bars. You are talking about 2 bar loops which consist of 8 beats (in 4/4 time). There are also errors on the 120 BPM line of your chart. I suggest googling "BPM calculator" instead of using this.

Post

Or you could just open it in Ableton Live
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"

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Shameless self-promotion: Anyone ever clicked on the link in my sig? ;-P

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FrantzM wrote:You are confusing beats and bars. You are talking about 2 bar loops which consist of 8 beats (in 4/4 time). There are also errors on the 120 BPM line of your chart. I suggest googling "BPM calculator" instead of using this.
Thanks for the corrections. Sorry about that.

I do alot of loop editing and would rather use a BPM reference chart where I can determine BPM's at a glance, rather than having to open a calculator. But thanks again for the advice.

Post

Ambisphere wrote: I do alot of loop editing and would rather use a BPM reference chart where I can determine BPM's at a glance, rather than having to open a calculator. But thanks again for the advice.
The thought of you punching all of these numbers into a calculator is painful for me. I created this chart which goes from 80-200 BPM using a spreadsheet in 5 minutes. Enjoy. :)

Code: Select all

BPM REFERENCE CHART 

                  SECONDS
BPM	1 Beat  2 Beats   4 Beats  8 Beats
----------------------------------------
080	0.7500	1.5000	3.0000	6.0000
081	0.7407	1.4815	2.9630	5.9259
082	0.7317	1.4634	2.9268	5.8537
083	0.7229	1.4458	2.8916	5.7831
084	0.7143	1.4286	2.8571	5.7143
085	0.7059	1.4118	2.8235	5.6471
086	0.6977	1.3953	2.7907	5.5814
087	0.6897	1.3793	2.7586	5.5172
088	0.6818	1.3636	2.7273	5.4545
089	0.6742	1.3483	2.6966	5.3933
090	0.6667	1.3333	2.6667	5.3333
091	0.6593	1.3187	2.6374	5.2747
092	0.6522	1.3043	2.6087	5.2174
093	0.6452	1.2903	2.5806	5.1613
094	0.6383	1.2766	2.5532	5.1064
095	0.6316	1.2632	2.5263	5.0526
096	0.6250	1.2500	2.5000	5.0000
097	0.6186	1.2371	2.4742	4.9485
098	0.6122	1.2245	2.4490	4.8980
099	0.6061	1.2121	2.4242	4.8485
100	0.6000	1.2000	2.4000	4.8000
101	0.5941	1.1881	2.3762	4.7525
102	0.5882	1.1765	2.3529	4.7059
103	0.5825	1.1650	2.3301	4.6602
104	0.5769	1.1538	2.3077	4.6154
105	0.5714	1.1429	2.2857	4.5714
106	0.5660	1.1321	2.2642	4.5283
107	0.5607	1.1215	2.2430	4.4860
108	0.5556	1.1111	2.2222	4.4444
109	0.5505	1.1009	2.2018	4.4037
110	0.5455	1.0909	2.1818	4.3636
111	0.5405	1.0811	2.1622	4.3243
112	0.5357	1.0714	2.1429	4.2857
113	0.5310	1.0619	2.1239	4.2478
114	0.5263	1.0526	2.1053	4.2105
115	0.5217	1.0435	2.0870	4.1739
116	0.5172	1.0345	2.0690	4.1379
117	0.5128	1.0256	2.0513	4.1026
118	0.5085	1.0169	2.0339	4.0678
119	0.5042	1.0084	2.0168	4.0336
120	0.5000	1.0000	2.0000	4.0000
121	0.4959	0.9917	1.9835	3.9669
122	0.4918	0.9836	1.9672	3.9344
123	0.4878	0.9756	1.9512	3.9024
124	0.4839	0.9677	1.9355	3.8710
125	0.4800	0.9600	1.9200	3.8400
126	0.4762	0.9524	1.9048	3.8095
127	0.4724	0.9449	1.8898	3.7795
128	0.4688	0.9375	1.8750	3.7500
129	0.4651	0.9302	1.8605	3.7209
130	0.4615	0.9231	1.8462	3.6923
131	0.4580	0.9160	1.8321	3.6641
132	0.4545	0.9091	1.8182	3.6364
133	0.4511	0.9023	1.8045	3.6090
134	0.4478	0.8955	1.7910	3.5821
135	0.4444	0.8889	1.7778	3.5556
136	0.4412	0.8824	1.7647	3.5294
137	0.4380	0.8759	1.7518	3.5036
138	0.4348	0.8696	1.7391	3.4783
139	0.4317	0.8633	1.7266	3.4532
140	0.4286	0.8571	1.7143	3.4286
141	0.4255	0.8511	1.7021	3.4043
142	0.4225	0.8451	1.6901	3.3803
143	0.4196	0.8392	1.6783	3.3566
144	0.4167	0.8333	1.6667	3.3333
145	0.4138	0.8276	1.6552	3.3103
146	0.4110	0.8219	1.6438	3.2877
147	0.4082	0.8163	1.6327	3.2653
148	0.4054	0.8108	1.6216	3.2432
149	0.4027	0.8054	1.6107	3.2215
150	0.4000	0.8000	1.6000	3.2000
151	0.3974	0.7947	1.5894	3.1788
152	0.3947	0.7895	1.5789	3.1579
153	0.3922	0.7843	1.5686	3.1373
154	0.3896	0.7792	1.5584	3.1169
155	0.3871	0.7742	1.5484	3.0968
156	0.3846	0.7692	1.5385	3.0769
157	0.3822	0.7643	1.5287	3.0573
158	0.3797	0.7595	1.5190	3.0380
159	0.3774	0.7547	1.5094	3.0189
160	0.3750	0.7500	1.5000	3.0000
161	0.3727	0.7453	1.4907	2.9814
162	0.3704	0.7407	1.4815	2.9630
163	0.3681	0.7362	1.4724	2.9448
164	0.3659	0.7317	1.4634	2.9268
165	0.3636	0.7273	1.4545	2.9091
166	0.3614	0.7229	1.4458	2.8916
167	0.3593	0.7186	1.4371	2.8743
168	0.3571	0.7143	1.4286	2.8571
169	0.3550	0.7101	1.4201	2.8402
170	0.3529	0.7059	1.4118	2.8235
171	0.3509	0.7018	1.4035	2.8070
172	0.3488	0.6977	1.3953	2.7907
173	0.3468	0.6936	1.3873	2.7746
174	0.3448	0.6897	1.3793	2.7586
175	0.3429	0.6857	1.3714	2.7429
176	0.3409	0.6818	1.3636	2.7273
177	0.3390	0.6780	1.3559	2.7119
178	0.3371	0.6742	1.3483	2.6966
179	0.3352	0.6704	1.3408	2.6816
180	0.3333	0.6667	1.3333	2.6667
181	0.3315	0.6630	1.3260	2.6519
182	0.3297	0.6593	1.3187	2.6374
183	0.3279	0.6557	1.3115	2.6230
184	0.3261	0.6522	1.3043	2.6087
185	0.3243	0.6486	1.2973	2.5946
186	0.3226	0.6452	1.2903	2.5806
187	0.3209	0.6417	1.2834	2.5668
188	0.3191	0.6383	1.2766	2.5532
189	0.3175	0.6349	1.2698	2.5397
190	0.3158	0.6316	1.2632	2.5263
191	0.3141	0.6283	1.2565	2.5131
192	0.3125	0.6250	1.2500	2.5000
193	0.3109	0.6218	1.2435	2.4870
194	0.3093	0.6186	1.2371	2.4742
195	0.3077	0.6154	1.2308	2.4615
196	0.3061	0.6122	1.2245	2.4490
197	0.3046	0.6091	1.2183	2.4365
198	0.3030	0.6061	1.2121	2.4242
199	0.3015	0.6030	1.2060	2.4121
200	0.3000	0.6000	1.2000	2.4000


Post

I have a little studio calculator on my desktop that does that. Calculates delays, does BPM > LFO calcs (which I've learned to do in my head for the simple ones - multiples of 6, anyway).

Post

FrantzM wrote:
Ambisphere wrote: I do alot of loop editing and would rather use a BPM reference chart where I can determine BPM's at a glance, rather than having to open a calculator. But thanks again for the advice.
The thought of you punching all of these numbers into a calculator is painful for me. I created this chart which goes from 80-200 BPM using a spreadsheet in 5 minutes. Enjoy. :)

Code: Select all

BPM REFERENCE CHART 

                  SECONDS
BPM	1 Beat  2 Beats   4 Beats  8 Beats
----------------------------------------
080	0.7500	1.5000	3.0000	6.0000
081	0.7407	1.4815	2.9630	5.9259
082	0.7317	1.4634	2.9268	5.8537
083	0.7229	1.4458	2.8916	5.7831
084	0.7143	1.4286	2.8571	5.7143
085	0.7059	1.4118	2.8235	5.6471
086	0.6977	1.3953	2.7907	5.5814
087	0.6897	1.3793	2.7586	5.5172
088	0.6818	1.3636	2.7273	5.4545
089	0.6742	1.3483	2.6966	5.3933
090	0.6667	1.3333	2.6667	5.3333
091	0.6593	1.3187	2.6374	5.2747
092	0.6522	1.3043	2.6087	5.2174
093	0.6452	1.2903	2.5806	5.1613
094	0.6383	1.2766	2.5532	5.1064
095	0.6316	1.2632	2.5263	5.0526
096	0.6250	1.2500	2.5000	5.0000
097	0.6186	1.2371	2.4742	4.9485
098	0.6122	1.2245	2.4490	4.8980
099	0.6061	1.2121	2.4242	4.8485
100	0.6000	1.2000	2.4000	4.8000
101	0.5941	1.1881	2.3762	4.7525
102	0.5882	1.1765	2.3529	4.7059
103	0.5825	1.1650	2.3301	4.6602
104	0.5769	1.1538	2.3077	4.6154
105	0.5714	1.1429	2.2857	4.5714
106	0.5660	1.1321	2.2642	4.5283
107	0.5607	1.1215	2.2430	4.4860
108	0.5556	1.1111	2.2222	4.4444
109	0.5505	1.1009	2.2018	4.4037
110	0.5455	1.0909	2.1818	4.3636
111	0.5405	1.0811	2.1622	4.3243
112	0.5357	1.0714	2.1429	4.2857
113	0.5310	1.0619	2.1239	4.2478
114	0.5263	1.0526	2.1053	4.2105
115	0.5217	1.0435	2.0870	4.1739
116	0.5172	1.0345	2.0690	4.1379
117	0.5128	1.0256	2.0513	4.1026
118	0.5085	1.0169	2.0339	4.0678
119	0.5042	1.0084	2.0168	4.0336
120	0.5000	1.0000	2.0000	4.0000
121	0.4959	0.9917	1.9835	3.9669
122	0.4918	0.9836	1.9672	3.9344
123	0.4878	0.9756	1.9512	3.9024
124	0.4839	0.9677	1.9355	3.8710
125	0.4800	0.9600	1.9200	3.8400
126	0.4762	0.9524	1.9048	3.8095
127	0.4724	0.9449	1.8898	3.7795
128	0.4688	0.9375	1.8750	3.7500
129	0.4651	0.9302	1.8605	3.7209
130	0.4615	0.9231	1.8462	3.6923
131	0.4580	0.9160	1.8321	3.6641
132	0.4545	0.9091	1.8182	3.6364
133	0.4511	0.9023	1.8045	3.6090
134	0.4478	0.8955	1.7910	3.5821
135	0.4444	0.8889	1.7778	3.5556
136	0.4412	0.8824	1.7647	3.5294
137	0.4380	0.8759	1.7518	3.5036
138	0.4348	0.8696	1.7391	3.4783
139	0.4317	0.8633	1.7266	3.4532
140	0.4286	0.8571	1.7143	3.4286
141	0.4255	0.8511	1.7021	3.4043
142	0.4225	0.8451	1.6901	3.3803
143	0.4196	0.8392	1.6783	3.3566
144	0.4167	0.8333	1.6667	3.3333
145	0.4138	0.8276	1.6552	3.3103
146	0.4110	0.8219	1.6438	3.2877
147	0.4082	0.8163	1.6327	3.2653
148	0.4054	0.8108	1.6216	3.2432
149	0.4027	0.8054	1.6107	3.2215
150	0.4000	0.8000	1.6000	3.2000
151	0.3974	0.7947	1.5894	3.1788
152	0.3947	0.7895	1.5789	3.1579
153	0.3922	0.7843	1.5686	3.1373
154	0.3896	0.7792	1.5584	3.1169
155	0.3871	0.7742	1.5484	3.0968
156	0.3846	0.7692	1.5385	3.0769
157	0.3822	0.7643	1.5287	3.0573
158	0.3797	0.7595	1.5190	3.0380
159	0.3774	0.7547	1.5094	3.0189
160	0.3750	0.7500	1.5000	3.0000
161	0.3727	0.7453	1.4907	2.9814
162	0.3704	0.7407	1.4815	2.9630
163	0.3681	0.7362	1.4724	2.9448
164	0.3659	0.7317	1.4634	2.9268
165	0.3636	0.7273	1.4545	2.9091
166	0.3614	0.7229	1.4458	2.8916
167	0.3593	0.7186	1.4371	2.8743
168	0.3571	0.7143	1.4286	2.8571
169	0.3550	0.7101	1.4201	2.8402
170	0.3529	0.7059	1.4118	2.8235
171	0.3509	0.7018	1.4035	2.8070
172	0.3488	0.6977	1.3953	2.7907
173	0.3468	0.6936	1.3873	2.7746
174	0.3448	0.6897	1.3793	2.7586
175	0.3429	0.6857	1.3714	2.7429
176	0.3409	0.6818	1.3636	2.7273
177	0.3390	0.6780	1.3559	2.7119
178	0.3371	0.6742	1.3483	2.6966
179	0.3352	0.6704	1.3408	2.6816
180	0.3333	0.6667	1.3333	2.6667
181	0.3315	0.6630	1.3260	2.6519
182	0.3297	0.6593	1.3187	2.6374
183	0.3279	0.6557	1.3115	2.6230
184	0.3261	0.6522	1.3043	2.6087
185	0.3243	0.6486	1.2973	2.5946
186	0.3226	0.6452	1.2903	2.5806
187	0.3209	0.6417	1.2834	2.5668
188	0.3191	0.6383	1.2766	2.5532
189	0.3175	0.6349	1.2698	2.5397
190	0.3158	0.6316	1.2632	2.5263
191	0.3141	0.6283	1.2565	2.5131
192	0.3125	0.6250	1.2500	2.5000
193	0.3109	0.6218	1.2435	2.4870
194	0.3093	0.6186	1.2371	2.4742
195	0.3077	0.6154	1.2308	2.4615
196	0.3061	0.6122	1.2245	2.4490
197	0.3046	0.6091	1.2183	2.4365
198	0.3030	0.6061	1.2121	2.4242
199	0.3015	0.6030	1.2060	2.4121
200	0.3000	0.6000	1.2000	2.4000

Thanks for this Frantz! It's greatly appreciated. You saved me alot of work.
Also, I think that this is a very practical and helpful post for other peers as well. I would even suggest adding a link for this BPM chart on the home page, that would be really cool. Take care.

Post

Ambisphere wrote: Thanks for this Frantz! It's greatly appreciated. You saved me alot of work.
Also, I think that this is a very practical and helpful post for other peers as well. I would even suggest adding a link for this BPM chart on the home page, that would be really cool. Take care.
You're welcome. Have fun with it.

I'm not sure how useful this chart would be for others since charts are pretty old school.

Post

Mushy Mushy wrote:Or you could just open it in Ableton Live
That's usually what I do - I import the audio to two audio tracks and unwarp one of them, then I adjust the BPM until the warped one becomes the same length as the unwarped one.

Post

robojam wrote:
Mushy Mushy wrote:Or you could just open it in Ableton Live
That's usually what I do - I import the audio to two audio tracks and unwarp one of them, then I adjust the BPM until the warped one becomes the same length as the unwarped one.
Its even easier than that.
I chop out a 4 bar loop using Soundforge (or any audio editor) and just open that in Live.
Tempo is displayed automatically.
"I was wondering if you'd like to try Magic Mushrooms"
"Oooh I dont know. Sounds a bit scary"
"It's not scary. You just lose a sense of who you are and all that sh!t"

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