How To Find The BPM Of A Song

Whether you're a DJ, producer, or simply curious about a song's tempo, knowing its BPM (beats per minute) is an essential skill. Ever wondered how DJs achieve those perfect transitions? It all starts with understanding BPM.

When I first started DJing, determining a track's tempo was a laborious process, often involving stopwatches and manual counting. Thankfully, modern DJ technology has revolutionized this task, making it quick, easy, and accurate. Let me show you how.

TL;DR - Find the BPM of a Song#

In this blog you will learn:

• What BPM is and why it’s important for DJing.
• How to calculate BPM manually and with automated tools.
• How DJ.Studio can instantly analyze BPM and help you create seamless mixes.
• The basics of beatmatching and why it’s a core skill for every DJ. 

What Is BPM?#

BPM, or beats per minute, measures the tempo of a song by counting the number of beats in 60 seconds. It's a simple concept that underpins many DJing techniques.

Most music genres have characteristic BPM ranges:

• Pop: 110–130 BPM
• House: 115–130 BPM
• Trance/Techno: 120–140 BPM
• Drum and Bass: 165–180 BPM

Understanding BPM helps DJs mix tracks with similar tempos, ensuring smooth transitions and a cohesive set.

Instant BPM Detection with DJ.Studio#

DJ.Studio takes the guesswork out of finding BPMs. With nearly 100% accuracy, it can analyze a song's BPM in under 30 seconds. Here's how:

For YouTube Songs:

1. Open DJ.Studio and create a new YouTube Project.
2. Search for your song and wait for the analysis to complete.
3. The BPM will be displayed instantly!

For Local Files:

1. Start a Local File Project in DJ.Studio.
2. Drag and drop your file into the project.
3. DJ.Studio will analyze and display the BPM in seconds.

This method is fast, accurate, and seamlessly integrates into your DJ workflow.

Try DJ.Studio Now!

How to Find BPMs: Manual vs. Automatic Methods#

There are two main methods of finding BPMs of music tracks - either manual techniques or automatic (software) techniques. 

Manual techniques require you to manually count and time a song's beat to work out the BPM. This is pretty inaccurate, but can work when you have no other options. 

Using automatic or software techniques are much easier and more accurate, and can help to find the precise BPM of audio files within a few seconds. 

Manual Technique: How to Count BPM by Ear#

Back in the vinyl days, BPM was sometimes printed on the sleeve, but often DJs had to determine it by ear.

We’d sit with a stopwatch, count the beats, and jot down the BPM on the record sleeve. Occasionally, we’d even organize our record boxes by BPM to simplify playlist sequencing!

Some DJs still enjoy manually counting beats per minute. Want to learn how?

Here's the process:

1. Grab a stopwatch (or timer app) and cue your track at its original tempo (ensure your pitch fader is set to 0 if you have one!).

2. Start your track and the stopwatch simultaneously.

3. Begin counting the beats from the first beat for 30 seconds.

4. Write down the number of beats counted.

5. Multiply this number by 2 to get the BPM. If you're using vinyl, jot it on a sticky note and attach it to the record sleeve.

This method can provide a roughly accurate measurement of the BPM, although it won't be 100% perfect. Although it works well enough in a pinch!

Automatic Techniques#

Thanks to modern technology, DJs no longer have to rely on their primitive counting methods to find out a song's tempo. There are plenty of free, highly accurate, and fast tools for analyzing BPM. 

To save DJs the hassle of counting beats manually, there are various types of automatic BPM-finding tools available. 

• Online BPM Database  - There are countless key and BPM finder tools and websites that can be used for free. Some of these have a database where you can search for tracks and their BPM. Simply search on Google, or use some of my favorites: 

  • songbpm.com

  • DJ.Studio's YouTube Projects

• Upload Your Audio File: These tools allow you to simply upload an audio file to their website, which will then be analyzed. 

  • tunebat.com is a free one

  • you can also use DJ.Studio's upload function. 

• Calculate the BPM/Tap Tempo: The apps will calculate the BPM for you based on a tap input. You need to simply tap your keyboard to the rhythm of the song - it's super easy. I like this one: beatsperminuteonline.com

Beyond BPM: Beatmatching and Seamless Mixing with DJ.Studio#

As I explained earlier, you can use DJ.Studio to easily find the BPM of a song. However, this software has many more exciting and advanced features, that let you easily create full beat-matched, seamless DJ mixes with minimal effort and technical knowledge. 

The following steps show you how you can use DJ.Studio to create beatmatched DJ mixes with smooth transitions. 

1. Create a project - Use Local File mode to mix your downloaded music collection, or make a YouTube project to mix music from YouTube or Spotify. 

2. Arrange Playlist or Automix - Use the playlist view to arrange the order of your setlist. DJ.Studio's AUTOMIX tool can also sequence your songs according to their musical key, prioritizing harmonic mixing or balancing both harmonic and BPM matching. These automated functions can save a significant amount of time compared to manually writing down BPMs and arranging playlists.

3. Review and Refine - Use DJ.Studio's powerful timeline editor to customize your mix in precise detail. Use the transition tools to make the perfect blends, add samples, use stem separation, effects, and more! The intuitive interface and smart tools make it easy for anybody to create pro-sounding DJ mixes. 

4. Export and Share - You can send your finished mix to a range of places, including uploading to YouTube, sharing on Mixcloud, or use the recorded WAV file wherever you need to!

This only scratches the surface of what DJ.Studio can do, so make sure you check out the rest of this site, and watch some videos on our YouTube Channel

DJ.Studio can also help you to find song key signatures, so you can mix harmonically. It's usually pretty hard to find key signatures of a song, so this is a super useful tool. 

Why Do You Need to Know the BPM of a Song for DJing?#

When DJing, it's crucial to synchronize the beats of two tracks to ensure smooth transitions. This technique, known as 'beat matching,' used to be one of the most challenging skills to master. When I first started learning to DJ on vinyl years ago, beat matching was done entirely by ear—a difficult skill to acquire!

Nowadays, modern DJ software like DJ.Studio has simplified beat matching by automatically aligning the beats, enabling even beginners to create seamless mixes.

To match the beats of two tracks with different tempos, you need to adjust the speed of the incoming track to match the current one. Traditionally, this was achieved using a slider on the turntable called a 'pitch fader.'

However, drastically speeding up or slowing down a track can alter its sound. Therefore, it's standard practice to mix tracks with a tempo difference of no more than 3-5 BPM.

This is why knowing the BPM of each track in your set is essential. By organizing your playlist so that songs with similar tempos play consecutively, you can ensure smooth and harmonious transitions.

Why DJs Love DJ.Studio#

DJ.Studio transforms the way DJs plan and execute their mixes. With its automatic BPM detection, harmonic mixing capabilities, and intuitive interface, it’s a game-changer for DJs at every level.

Key Features:

• Automatic BPM Analysis: Instantly detect tempos with precision.
• Harmonic Mixing Tools: Arrange tracks by key and tempo for smooth transitions.
• Pro-Grade Customization: Add effects, edit transitions, and fine-tune every detail.

Finally...#

Determining the BPM of the tracks you want to include in your DJ set is crucial for creating smooth and seamless transitions. However, manually calculating and recording the BPM of each audio file can be a tedious process that detracts from the enjoyment of mixing.

Fortunately, with the latest advancements in algorithm technology, programs like DJ.Studio can measure BPM for you and organize your playlists automatically. This allows you to focus more on the creative aspects of your mix.

I'm a huge fan of the way DJ.Studio's BPM system and automixer works - so check it out yourself with the free trial!