How tap tempo works
Every tap is timestamped to a fraction of a millisecond. The tempo is 60,000 divided by the average time between taps, but a plain average is fragile: one hesitation or skipped beat drags it off. This tool takes the median gap first, throws away any gap more than 25% away from it, and averages the rest, so a single stumble does not move the reading. Steadiness shows how much your taps wander, as a standard deviation in milliseconds; under 15 ms is very steady.
Half time or double time?
Many songs can be felt at two tempos: a ballad at 70 BPM is also a straight 140 if you tap every eighth note. Neither reading is wrong. Musicians usually count the level where the snare drum lands on beats 2 and 4, which is why the ½× and 2× buttons are there.
Tempo markings and their BPM
Classical scores name tempos in Italian. The ranges below are approximate; metronome makers and editions draw the lines slightly differently.
| BPM | Marking | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 40–60 | Largo | broad, very slow |
| 60–66 | Larghetto | a little less slow than largo |
| 66–76 | Adagio | slow, at ease |
| 76–108 | Andante | at a walking pace |
| 108–120 | Moderato | moderate |
| 120–156 | Allegro | fast, bright |
| 156–176 | Vivace | lively, quick |
| 168–200 | Presto | very fast |
| 200+ | Prestissimo | as fast as possible |
Typical tempos by genre
Rough centres of gravity, not rules; every genre has outliers.
| BPM | Genre |
|---|---|
| 60–90 | Reggae, slow soul, ballads |
| 80–100 | Hip hop, boom bap |
| 100–130 | Pop, rock, funk |
| 118–130 | House, disco |
| 125–145 | Techno, trance |
| 140 (felt as 70) | Dubstep, trap |
| 160–180 | Drum and bass, jungle |
| 180+ | Punk, speed metal, hardcore |
From tempo to notation
Once you know the tempo, Claptoscore can write down a rhythm for you: set the BPM, tap the rhythm with a click, and it produces clean notation with the timing wobble removed. New to reading rhythms? The rhythm notation guide covers note values, ties, dots and triplets.