

The tempo determines the speed the music is performed at – so, when you count how many beats are in one minute of a song played at a specific tempo, you can work out the beats per minute.

The greater the bpm, the smaller the amount of time between successive beats.

A particular note – eg a quarter note – is specified as the beat, and the amount of time between beats is a specified fraction of a minute. The top number represents the number of beats in each measure, or bar. Music’s tempo (its speed/pace) is typically written at the start of its score – as a time signature, in the form of a fraction (4/4. Working out a track or piece of music’s BPM isn’t too tricky, but if you know a bit of music theory, then it’s much easier. Need to find music with a specific bpm for a project? Our super-simple search tool will give you a huge range of tracks to choose from.įor a quick dive into beats per minute, and how it can be useful when you’re creating content, we’ll look at: So, a waltz will have a much lower bpm than a track that’s been created to make you want to hit the dancefloor, or push yourself to the max in a spin class. What is BPM?īpm is a way of measuring the tempo of a piece of music – ie, its speed or pace. Not to be confused with the bpm that stands for ‘business process management’ applications, what does bpm stand for when you’re using it as a music term: ‘Beats Per Minute’. If you’re familiar with the term, but always thought, ‘what is bpm?’, we’re here to help.
