There is no single right or wrong way to calculate the beats-per-minute of a track. The method you choose is likely to depend on how accurate you want the data to be and how much time you’re willing to spend collecting it.

Manual Counting

The most straightforward, albeit time consuming, method of calculating BPM is to simply listen to the track in real time, counting the beats for a period of 60secs. This number is therefore the number of beats that happened in one minute, i.e. the track’s BPM.

Beat Tapping

Another simple method for calculating the BPM of any track is that of beat tapping. Beat tapping is done with the help of a BPM calculator which requires the user to press a button (tap) in time with the music. The BPM calculator will then display the BPM count depending on the frequency at which the button was pressed. Fairly obviously this method depends heavily upon your ability to tap along in time with the track. Furthermore, whilst a BPM figure will be displayed after just a few taps, the longer you ‘tap’ in time the more accurate the output is likely to be.

These types of BPM calculators can be self contained software programmes, such as the BeatsBase online counter found in the ‘add/edit tracks’ section of the Console, or built into other devices such as those seen on many of today’s decks and mixers.

Counting Software

The most recently developed method for calculating BPM data is music analysing software. Programmes such as MixMeister work by analysing music files downloaded/ripped onto a computer to, amongst other things, electronically calculate their respective BPM counts. Whilst this method is by far the quickest, it should be remembered that, not only does it require the tracks to be ripped onto a computer first (not so easy when you use vinyl) it also has debateable levels of accuracy.

If you want more information on the features of various BPM detection programs please visit the following site:
BPM Detection software

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