120 BPM metronome
Press Play to hear a steady click at 120 BPM, or open one of the drum grooves below at exactly this tempo. One beat lasts 500 ms, so 120 beats fill one minute. 120 BPM sits where Moderato (moderate, roughly 108–120 BPM) and Allegro (fast and bright, roughly 120–156 BPM) meet.
How long is one beat at 120 BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the tempo: 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms per beat. Every other note value follows from that. Producers often set a delay to the dotted eighth or eighth note to keep echoes in time with the track.
| Note value | Length |
|---|---|
| Whole note (4 beats) | 2,000 ms |
| Half note | 1,000 ms |
| Quarter note (1 beat) | 500 ms |
| Dotted eighth | 375 ms |
| Eighth note | 250 ms |
| Eighth-note triplet | 167 ms |
| Sixteenth note | 125 ms |
120 BPM in bars and phrases
A bar of 4/4 at 120 BPM lasts 2 seconds. Eight bars take 16 seconds, and a 32-bar form takes 64 seconds. One minute holds 120 beats, or 30 bars of 4/4.
How fast are subdivisions at 120 BPM?
Eighth notes at 120 BPM run at 4 notes per second, triplets at 6 and sixteenth notes at 8. Switch on the subdivision you are practising so the click marks every note, then return to quarter notes to check that you keep the spacing on your own.
What tempo marking is 120 BPM?
120 BPM sits where Moderato (moderate, roughly 108–120 BPM) and Allegro (fast and bright, roughly 120–156 BPM) meet. Treat these ranges as conventions rather than rules: editions and metronome makers print slightly different numbers, and an Italian marking describes character as well as speed.
Half time and double time
Counted in half time, 120 BPM feels like 60 BPM; counted in double time it feels like 240 BPM. When you tap along with a recording and get either number, both describe the same music; choose the pulse that gives you sensible bars and accents.
Practising at 120 BPM
At 120 BPM the beat moves briskly, and small hesitations become audible. Check that each change lands on the beat rather than just after it, keep accents even, and compare your playing with a drum groove as well as the plain click: the groove shows whether your time also feels right.
Drum grooves near 120 BPM
These built-in grooves have default tempos close to 120 BPM: Bossa Nova (120), Billie Jean Pocket (117), Smells Like Teen Spirit (117) and Four-on-the-Floor (124). Each link below opens the metronome with that groove at exactly 120 BPM, so you practise the tempo with a real drum part rather than a click.