How long is a beat at 120 bpm?

Half a second, so two beats a second. A bar of 4/4 takes two seconds, which works out at thirty bars a minute, and an eighth note is 250 milliseconds. The full table is below.

Can I use 120 BPM in 3/4 or 2/4?

Yes. Choose 3/4 for three quarter-note pulses per bar, or 2/4 for two. At 120 BPM, the pulse interval remains half a second. Opening this page always starts in 4/4, even if your saved meter is different. 6/8 uses a different dotted-quarter unit; choose that meter only after reading the unit on your score.

Is 120 bpm allegro or moderato?

The tool calls it Allegro. 120 is exactly where Moderato ends and Allegro begins on a printed metronome face, and every boundary here is resolved low-inclusive, so 120 is the first tempo of Allegro and 119 is the last of Moderato. This table uses Allegro from 120 to 167.

What music is at 120 bpm?

A brisk march is the traditional answer, and it is also the default tempo of most music software and a common landing spot for pop, house and disco. It is popular partly because the arithmetic is clean: half-second beats, two-second bars, and delay times that are round numbers of milliseconds.

What delay time should I use at 120 bpm?

A quarter-note delay is 500 ms, an eighth is 250 ms and a sixteenth is 125 ms, all in the table below. Those are the figures to type into a delay or a tremolo so it lines up with the beat rather than fighting it.

Can I download an MP3 or hear spoken counting?

This page generates clicks with Web Audio while it is open. It does not export MP3 audio or speak numbers. Visual dots show the current pulse; the Beep and Wood controls change the synthesized voice.

Can page delays interrupt the click?

Clicks already booked in the 100 ms Web Audio window use the audio clock. Longer page stalls can drop future clicks and show their count; a suspended audio clock stops playback and asks you to press Start again. This is not a measurement of physical clock accuracy.

120 BPM Metronome

This preset opens at 120 quarter-note pulses per minute in 4/4, with one click per pulse and the first beat accented. Press Start to hear two pulses per second and a two-second bar. Use the meter control for 2/4 or 3/4 practice at the same quarter-note tempo. Change to Wood for a short woodblock-like synthesized voice, or add quieter subdivisions. The reference below gives requested note lengths; actual sound timing depends on your device.

Allegro · 4/4120quarter note pulses per minute

Tempo

Time signature

Subdivide

Sound

Accent first

Volume: 70%

Tempo always counts the displayed note unit. Quarter-note meters use one quarter-note pulse as the beat.

Stopped. Press Start, or the space bar, to hear 120 quarter note pulses per minute.

Timing methodbooked clicks and skipped gaps
Web Audio look-ahead scheduler: 100 ms window, 25 ms tick, beat times accumulated
Tap tempotap one displayed note pulse in time
Tap the button at least twice. The last 8 gaps between taps are averaged.
Soundclick, with the accent a higher pitch
A short burst of noise through a narrow filter, the sound of a mechanical metronome's escapement.
Keyboardhands stay on the instrument
Space start and stop ↑ ↓ one bpm ← → five bpm T tap

The shortcuts wake up once you have clicked or tabbed into the tool, and only while the metronome is on screen. Until then the space bar and the arrow keys scroll the page, the way they do everywhere else.

Tempo markings

The Italian markings and the beats per minute usually printed against them. They are a naming convention, not a measurement: composers used these words for two centuries before anyone attached numbers, and editions place the boundaries a few beats apart. The row matching your tempo is highlighted.

Marking	Beats per minute	Feel
Largo	40 to 59	very slow, broad
Larghetto	60 to 65	slow, a shade lighter than largo
Adagio	66 to 75	slow, at ease
Andante	76 to 107	walking pace
Moderato	108 to 119	moderate
Allegro	120 to 167	fast, bright
Vivace	168 to 175	lively
Presto	176 to 199	very fast
Prestissimo	200 and up	as fast as it will go

Note lengths at 120 bpm

Computed from the interval the metronome actually schedules on: sixty seconds divided by the tempo, then by the subdivision. The quarter note is the beat. The millisecond column is the one to use for delay and tremolo times at this tempo.

Note value	Length in seconds	In milliseconds
Whole note, four beats	2 s	2000 ms
Half note, two beats	1 s	1000 ms
Quarter note, one beat	0.5 s	500 ms
Eighth note	0.25 s	250 ms
Eighth-note triplet	0.1667 s	166.67 ms
Sixteenth note	0.125 s	125 ms
One bar of 4/4	2 s	2000 ms

Common questions

How long is a beat at 120 bpm?: Half a second, so two beats a second. A bar of 4/4 takes two seconds, which works out at thirty bars a minute, and an eighth note is 250 milliseconds. The full table is below.
Can I use 120 BPM in 3/4 or 2/4?: Yes. Choose 3/4 for three quarter-note pulses per bar, or 2/4 for two. At 120 BPM, the pulse interval remains half a second. Opening this page always starts in 4/4, even if your saved meter is different. 6/8 uses a different dotted-quarter unit; choose that meter only after reading the unit on your score.
Is 120 bpm allegro or moderato?: The tool calls it Allegro. 120 is exactly where Moderato ends and Allegro begins on a printed metronome face, and every boundary here is resolved low-inclusive, so 120 is the first tempo of Allegro and 119 is the last of Moderato. This table uses Allegro from 120 to 167.
What music is at 120 bpm?: A brisk march is the traditional answer, and it is also the default tempo of most music software and a common landing spot for pop, house and disco. It is popular partly because the arithmetic is clean: half-second beats, two-second bars, and delay times that are round numbers of milliseconds.
What delay time should I use at 120 bpm?: A quarter-note delay is 500 ms, an eighth is 250 ms and a sixteenth is 125 ms, all in the table below. Those are the figures to type into a delay or a tremolo so it lines up with the beat rather than fighting it.
Can I download an MP3 or hear spoken counting?: This page generates clicks with Web Audio while it is open. It does not export MP3 audio or speak numbers. Visual dots show the current pulse; the Beep and Wood controls change the synthesized voice.
Can page delays interrupt the click?: Clicks already booked in the 100 ms Web Audio window use the audio clock. Longer page stalls can drop future clicks and show their count; a suspended audio clock stops playback and asks you to press Start again. This is not a measurement of physical clock accuracy.

Clicks are booked a tenth of a second ahead on the Web Audio clock. Longer stalls can drop clicks; suspension stops playback. Device timing varies. Tap tempo averages the last eight gaps between taps.