Decibel Shield
Hz to ms converter and BPM to ms calculator
One cycle of a frequency lasts 1,000 ÷ Hz milliseconds: 50 Hz is 20 ms, 60 Hz is 16.7 ms and 1 kHz is 1 ms. For delay times, one beat lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds, so a quarter note at 120 BPM is 500 ms and an eighth note 250 ms. Type Hz or ms, or a tempo to see every note length, straight, dotted and triplet.
Last updated:
50 Hz repeats every 20 ms
Tempo to milliseconds
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole (1 bar of 4/4) | 2,0000.5 Hz | 3,0000.333 Hz | 1,3330.75 Hz |
| Half | 1,0001 Hz | 1,5000.667 Hz | 666.71.5 Hz |
| Quarter (1 beat) | 5002 Hz | 7501.33 Hz | 333.33 Hz |
| Eighth | 2504 Hz | 3752.67 Hz | 166.76 Hz |
| Sixteenth | 1258 Hz | 187.55.33 Hz | 83.3312 Hz |
| 32nd | 62.516 Hz | 93.7510.7 Hz | 41.6724 Hz |
| 64th | 31.2532 Hz | 46.8821.3 Hz | 20.8348 Hz |
A beat is a quarter note. Dotted notes last 1.5 times as long, triplets two thirds as long.
Hz to ms table
| Frequency | Period |
|---|---|
| 1 Hz | 1,000 ms |
| 2 Hz | 500 ms |
| 5 Hz | 200 ms |
| 10 Hz | 100 ms |
| 20 Hz | 50 ms |
| 50 Hz | 20 ms |
| 60 Hz | 16.67 ms |
| 100 Hz | 10 ms |
| 200 Hz | 5 ms |
| 440 Hz | 2.273 ms |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms |
| 1 kHz | 1 ms |
| 2 kHz | 0.5 ms |
| 5 kHz | 0.2 ms |
| 10 kHz | 0.1 ms |
| 20 kHz | 0.05 ms |
BPM to ms table
| Tempo | Quarter | Eighth | Dotted eighth | Sixteenth | Eighth triplet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 BPM | 1,000 | 500 | 750 | 250 | 333.3 |
| 70 BPM | 857.1 | 428.6 | 642.9 | 214.3 | 285.7 |
| 80 BPM | 750 | 375 | 562.5 | 187.5 | 250 |
| 90 BPM | 666.7 | 333.3 | 500 | 166.7 | 222.2 |
| 100 BPM | 600 | 300 | 450 | 150 | 200 |
| 110 BPM | 545.5 | 272.7 | 409.1 | 136.4 | 181.8 |
| 120 BPM | 500 | 250 | 375 | 125 | 166.7 |
| 128 BPM | 468.8 | 234.4 | 351.6 | 117.2 | 156.3 |
| 130 BPM | 461.5 | 230.8 | 346.2 | 115.4 | 153.8 |
| 140 BPM | 428.6 | 214.3 | 321.4 | 107.1 | 142.9 |
| 150 BPM | 400 | 200 | 300 | 100 | 133.3 |
| 160 BPM | 375 | 187.5 | 281.3 | 93.75 | 125 |
| 170 BPM | 352.9 | 176.5 | 264.7 | 88.24 | 117.6 |
| 174 BPM | 344.8 | 172.4 | 258.6 | 86.21 | 114.9 |
| 180 BPM | 333.3 | 166.7 | 250 | 83.33 | 111.1 |
The formulas
Period in ms = 1,000 ÷ frequency in Hz, and frequency = 1,000 ÷ period. A beat (quarter note) lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM ms; each smaller note value halves it; a dotted note is 1.5 times its plain value and a triplet two thirds of it. Mains electricity hums at 50 or 60 Hz, a cycle of 20 or 16.7 ms. For a room's reverberation time rather than an effect's, use the reverb time calculator; for the length of a wave in metres, use frequency to wavelength.
Sources: NIST, Time and Frequency from A to Z: Period; OpenStax University Physics, 15.2 Simple Harmonic Motion; Open Music Theory, Notating Rhythm; Schmidt-Jones, Understanding Basic Music Theory, 2.6 Dots, Ties and Borrowed Divisions; Neidhöfer, 50-Hz frequency, IEEE Power & Energy Magazine 2011.
How many ms is 60 Hz?
One cycle of 60 Hz lasts 1,000 / 60 = 16.67 ms. 50 Hz lasts 20 ms, 100 Hz 10 ms and 1 kHz exactly 1 ms.
How do I convert BPM to milliseconds?
Divide 60,000 by the tempo for the length of one beat, a quarter note: at 120 BPM that is 500 ms. Halve it for an eighth note (250 ms), quarter it for a sixteenth (125 ms). Multiply by 1.5 for a dotted note and by two thirds for a triplet.
What is a dotted eighth delay at 120 BPM?
375 ms. An eighth note at 120 BPM is 250 ms and a dotted note lasts one and a half times as long. At 100 BPM it is 450 ms and at 140 BPM about 321 ms.
How do I convert ms to Hz?
Divide 1,000 by the milliseconds: a 20 ms period is 50 Hz and 2.5 ms is 400 Hz. Applied to a note length, it gives the rate to sync an LFO or tremolo to the tempo: a 500 ms quarter note is 2 Hz.
