What is a note subdivision?

A subdivision divides each beat into smaller equal parts. A quarter note equals one beat; an eighth note is half a beat; a sixteenth is a quarter beat. Triplet subdivisions split the beat into three equal parts instead of two.

How is the quarter-note duration calculated?

The formula is 60,000 ÷ BPM. At 120 BPM, a quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms. All other values scale from there: half note = 1,000 ms, eighth note = 250 ms, and so on.

What is a dotted note?

A dotted note is 1.5× the duration of the plain note. A dotted quarter at 120 BPM = 500 × 1.5 = 750 ms. Dotted eighth = 250 × 1.5 = 375 ms.

How do I use this for delay pedal settings?

Find the subdivision you want the delay to repeat on (commonly dotted eighth for a U2-style slap delay), read off the millisecond value, and enter it into your delay pedal's time parameter.

What does the reverse converter do?

Enter a duration in milliseconds — for example, the length of an audio loop — and the calculator returns the BPM at which a quarter note matches that duration, plus all subdivisions for that tempo.

What BPM range does this support?

The slider covers 20–300 BPM, which spans slow ballads to fast drum-and-bass. You can type any value in the input field; the tool accepts 1–999 BPM.

Metronome Subdivision Calculator

Name: Metronome Subdivision Calculator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter a BPM and get the millisecond interval for every note subdivision — quarter, eighth, sixteenth, triplets, dotted notes, and more.

Tempo (BPM)

beats per minute

20160300

Quick presets

Reverse: ms → BPM

Subdivision durations at 120 BPM

Note value

Duration (ms)

Duration (s)

Relative duration comparison

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Summary

Enter a BPM and get the millisecond interval for every note subdivision — quarter, eighth, sixteenth, triplets, dotted notes, and more.

How it works

Enter a tempo in BPM (beats per minute) using the slider or number input.
The calculator derives the quarter-note duration: 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds.
All other subdivisions are computed as multiples or fractions of that base value.
Triplet values divide each beat into three equal parts; dotted values multiply by 1.5.
Use the reverse converter to paste a millisecond target and find the matching BPM.

Use cases

Set delay pedal feedback time to sync exactly with the song tempo.
Configure reverb pre-delay to a specific subdivision to avoid muddiness.
Program MIDI sequencer step lengths in a DAW that uses millisecond values.
Check whether a sampled loop matches a target BPM by measuring its duration.
Teach rhythmic subdivision relationships to students visually.
Quickly find the triplet-eighth duration when setting groove-quantize values.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Reviewed by Nham Vu