BPM to Hz Calculator for LFO Rates

Synced LFO, tremolo and clock rates in hertz for any note value, for synths, modular and pedals whose rate knob reads Hz.

Updated October 13, 2026 · By Niraj Kumar

Tempo

BPM

↑ ↓ nudge by 1, with Shift by 0.1. One beat = 500 ms.

LFO rates · click to copy

Note	Straight	Dotted	Triplet
2 bars
1/1 (bar)
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/16
1/32
1/64

Delay time → BPM

Delay time

Heard as

Feel

120 BPM

Bar & sample length

Time signature

Bars

Sample rate

Milliseconds

Seconds

Samples

Reverb pre-delay & decay

Hall1/64 + tail to 2 bars

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

Large room1/128 + tail to 1 bar

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

Small room1/256 + tail to 1/2

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

Tight ambience1/512 + tail to 1/4

Pre-delay
Decay
Total

A starting point: shorten the decay until the tail stops masking the next phrase.

How do you convert BPM to Hz?

Divide the BPM by 60 for one cycle per beat: 120 BPM is 2 Hz. For other notes, divide 1000 by the note's length in ms. At 120 BPM an eighth note is 4 Hz, a sixteenth 8 Hz, a whole bar 0.5 Hz and a quarter triplet 3 Hz.

quarter note (ms) = 60 000 ÷ BPM;  note = quarter × q;
dotted = note × 1.5;  triplet = note × 2/3;  rate (Hz) = 1000 ÷ ms;
bar = quarter × beats × 4 ÷ unit;  samples = seconds × sample rate

This page uses the same method as the BPM to MS Calculator, which explains each term and assumption in full.

LFO rates in Hz at 120 BPM
Note	Straight (Hz)	Dotted (Hz)	Triplet (Hz)	Straight (ms)
2 bars	0.25	0.167	0.375	4,000
1/1 (bar)	0.5	0.333	0.75	2,000
1/2	1	0.667	1.5	1,000
1/4	2	1.33	3	500
1/8	4	2.67	6	250
1/16	8	5.33	12	125
1/32	16	10.7	24	62.5
1/64	32	21.3	48	31.25

Worked example

Syncing a hardware synth's free-running LFO to a 120 BPM track, with a filter sweep once per bar and a tremolo on sixteenths.

1One beat: 60,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms, so 1000 ÷ 500 = 2 Hz
2Once per bar (4 beats): 1000 ÷ 2,000 = 0.5 Hz
3Sixteenth-note tremolo: 1000 ÷ 125 = 8 Hz
4Shortcut: Hz = BPM ÷ 60 ÷ beats per cycle

Set the LFO to 0.5 Hz for a one-bar sweep and 8 Hz for sixteenth-note tremolo.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert delay time in ms to Hz?

Divide 1000 by the time in milliseconds. 500 ms is 2 Hz, 250 ms is 4 Hz and 375 ms is about 2.67 Hz. Going the other way, ms = 1000 ÷ Hz. The same holds for any repeating event, which is why an LFO period and a delay time are interchangeable.

Why does my free-running LFO drift out of time?

Most rate knobs cannot be set to three decimal places, and analog LFOs wander with temperature, so even a close setting slips a little each cycle. Over a 4-bar phrase the drift is usually inaudible; across a whole song it is not. If the gear has a reset or retrigger input, fire it from a clock or a MIDI note at the start of each phrase.

What clock rate does a modular sequencer need?

It depends on the pulses per quarter note (PPQN) the module expects. At 1 PPQN, the clock rate is BPM ÷ 60: 2 Hz at 120 BPM. At 4 PPQN, sixteenths, multiply by 4 for 8 Hz; at 24 PPQN, the MIDI clock rate, multiply by 24 for 48 Hz.