138 BPM metronome
Press Play to hear a steady click at 138 BPM, or open one of the drum grooves below at exactly this tempo. One beat lasts 435 ms, so 138 beats fill one minute. 138 BPM falls within Allegro (fast and bright, roughly 120–156 BPM).
How long is one beat at 138 BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the tempo: 60,000 ÷ 138 = 435 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) | 1,739 ms |
| Half note | 870 ms |
| Quarter note (1 beat) | 435 ms |
| Dotted eighth | 326 ms |
| Eighth note | 217 ms |
| Eighth-note triplet | 145 ms |
| Sixteenth note | 109 ms |
138 BPM in bars and phrases
A bar of 4/4 at 138 BPM lasts 1.74 seconds. Eight bars take 13.9 seconds, and a 32-bar form takes 55.7 seconds. One minute holds 138 beats, or 34.5 bars of 4/4.
How fast are subdivisions at 138 BPM?
Eighth notes at 138 BPM run at 4.6 notes per second, triplets at 6.9 and sixteenth notes at 9.2. 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 138 BPM?
138 BPM falls within Allegro (fast and bright, roughly 120–156 BPM). 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, 138 BPM feels like 69 BPM; counted in double time it feels like 276 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 138 BPM
At 138 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 138 BPM
These built-in grooves have default tempos close to 138 BPM: Post-Punk Dance Beat (138), Amen Break (136), Moon-Style Tom Roll Drive (136) and Krautrock Motorik (136). Each link below opens the metronome with that groove at exactly 138 BPM, so you practise the tempo with a real drum part rather than a click.