88 BPM metronome
Press Play to hear a steady click at 88 BPM, or open one of the drum grooves below at exactly this tempo. One beat lasts 682 ms, so 88 beats fill one minute. 88 BPM sits where Andante (at a walking pace, roughly 76–108 BPM) and Andantino (a little faster than walking, roughly 80–108 BPM) meet.
How long is one beat at 88 BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the tempo: 60,000 ÷ 88 = 682 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) | 2,727 ms |
| Half note | 1,364 ms |
| Quarter note (1 beat) | 682 ms |
| Dotted eighth | 511 ms |
| Eighth note | 341 ms |
| Eighth-note triplet | 227 ms |
| Sixteenth note | 170 ms |
88 BPM in bars and phrases
A bar of 4/4 at 88 BPM lasts 2.73 seconds. Eight bars take 21.8 seconds, and a 32-bar form takes 87.3 seconds. One minute holds 88 beats, or 22 bars of 4/4.
How fast are subdivisions at 88 BPM?
Eighth notes at 88 BPM run at 2.93 notes per second, triplets at 4.4 and sixteenth notes at 5.87. 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 88 BPM?
88 BPM sits where Andante (at a walking pace, roughly 76–108 BPM) and Andantino (a little faster than walking, roughly 80–108 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, 88 BPM feels like 44 BPM; counted in double time it feels like 176 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 88 BPM
This is a comfortable range for learning new material. Play the whole passage at 88 BPM without stopping before you raise the tempo, and loop any bar that breaks the pulse rather than slowing everything down. Build speed can then add a few BPM every few bars once the passage is controlled.
Drum grooves near 88 BPM
These built-in grooves have default tempos close to 88 BPM: Dilla-Style Drunk Swing (88), Hardcore Boom Bap (88), Grunge Sludge Pocket (88) and Jazz-Rap Ride Pocket (90). Each link below opens the metronome with that groove at exactly 88 BPM, so you practise the tempo with a real drum part rather than a click.