MusicianCV · TRTempo, BPM and bars
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Pulse and subdivision
BPM counts repetitions of a chosen beat unit per minute; meter organises beats into bars. First establish which note value represents the beat.
With a quarter-note beat at 120 BPM, each quarter note lasts half a second. A 4/4 bar then lasts two seconds. Compound-meter beat conventions can require a different interpretation.
Example
At quarter note = 100 BPM in 4/4, one bar lasts 4 × 60/100 = 2.4 seconds.
Tempo, BPM and bars♩ = 60 → ♩ = 120
Try it
Quarter note = 60 BPM in 4/4: how long is one bar?
Answer
Four seconds.Related topics
Pulse and rhythm are different · Subdividing the beatReferences
Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom
Subject-expert review pending.