How to find the BPM of a song
If you're going to play along with a track, produce over it or mix it into a set, you need its tempo first. There are three ways to get it, and all three take seconds: automatic measurement through the microphone, tapping the beat, and the old counting trick.
Method 1: automatic measurement via microphone
A tempo analyser detects note onsets in the incoming audio and derives BPM from the statistics of the intervals between them. You get the cleanest reading from a section where the drums are clearly audible and the room is quiet. Play it a part where the groove has settled rather than an ambient intro; 10-15 seconds is usually enough.
Method 2: tap tempo
You tap the screen in time with the music and the app averages your recent taps into a BPM. This is the most reliable method on beatless, ambient or very dense material where an analyser struggles, because you decide which layer counts as the beat. Give it at least eight taps and ignore the first two or three.
Method 3: count for 15 seconds and multiply by 4
With no tools at all: start a stopwatch, count the beats for 15 seconds and multiply by four. Counted 32? The tempo is 128. It's fast but coarse — a drift of ±2 BPM is normal, so confirm the result with tap tempo.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the app show double the BPM?
Automatic detection often mistakes the eighth-note layer for the beat. If it reads 174 but the track feels slow, the real tempo is probably 87. Halve the number and compare it to the music — whichever feels natural is correct.
Can it read music playing through my headphones?
No — the microphone can't hear it. Switch to speakers or use tap tempo instead.
Do I have to grant microphone permission?
Only if you want the tempo analyser. Decline it and the rest of the metronome works normally; you can still find tempos with tap tempo.
Can I look up a song's BPM on Spotify or similar platforms?
Some platforms and third-party sites used to expose per-track BPM data, but it isn't always available or up to date. Measuring it yourself with the microphone or tap tempo is still the most reliable method, since you can compare the result against the track instantly.
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