How the timing calculation works #
A quarter note lasts 60,000 ÷ BPM milliseconds. Other straight note values are divisions or multiples of that beat: an eighth note is half a beat, while a whole note is four beats.
A dotted note lasts one and a half times its straight value. A triplet note lasts two thirds of the matching straight value. The frequency result is the rate at which that duration repeats: 1,000 ÷ milliseconds hertz.
The calculator keeps full numeric precision for its calculations, then rounds the visible results to at most three decimal places. Copied values use the same readable rounding.
Reading delay values #
A note-related delay repeats in a stable rhythmic relationship with the tempo. Longer values leave more space between the dry sound and each repeat. Shorter values can make a part feel denser; at very short settings, the ear may hear colour, resonance or comb filtering instead of separate echoes.
Straight, dotted and triplet timings create different placements. A dotted eighth lasts longer than a straight eighth and pushes repeats across the beat. An eighth-note triplet is shorter and places three equal durations in the space normally occupied by two straight eighth notes.
Reading reverb values #
Pre-delay is the gap between the dry sound and the audible start of the reverb. A short pre-delay tends to join the source and room together. A longer pre-delay can preserve the source attack before the tail blooms.
Decay time describes the reverb tail rather than the initial gap. A decay of one beat or one bar is an exact tempo relationship, but it is only a reference. The useful setting also depends on the source envelope, arrangement density, reverb model and how prominent the tail should feel.
Assumptions and common mistakes #
- Bar references assume four quarter-note beats per bar.
- Hertz describes the repetition rate of a timing value; it is not the pitch of the delayed sound.
- Millisecond displays are rounded after calculation. Small display differences between devices can come from different rounding policies.
- A tempo-related value is not automatically the best-sounding value. Move away from the reference when the sound needs a looser, tighter or less obviously rhythmic tail.
- Delay and reverb devices may offer synced note divisions directly. Use milliseconds when a device is in free-time mode or when you want to compare the exact duration.