40 BPM metronome
A free online metronome set to 40 beats per minute — one click every 1500 ms. Press Start or the space bar; change the time signature, accents and subdivisions below.
Largo
Space start/stop · ↑ ↓ ±1 BPM · Shift ±10 · T tap
Speed trainer
Practice timer
40 BPM at a glance
- 1500 msper beat
- 0.67beats per second
- 6.0 sper bar of 4/4
- Largotempo marking
What does 40 BPM feel like?
At 40 BPM each beat lasts more than a second, which is slower than a resting heart rate. Very slow clicks are hard to play with because there is so much empty time between them: most people rush. That is exactly why teachers use tempos like 40 BPM — they expose unsteady timing that faster tempos hide.
Many mechanical metronomes start at 40 BPM, the bottom of the traditional Maelzel scale. Very slow practice at 40 makes every timing wobble obvious.
Music at 40 BPM
Tempos this slow appear in funeral marches, chorales, slow movements marked Grave or Largo, ambient music and meditation tracks. In popular music a song "at" this tempo is usually felt in double time, so a ballad listed at 50 BPM is often counted at 100.
In classical music, 40 BPM falls in the range usually given for Grave or Largo. Tempo markings are approximate — see the tempo markings chart.
Note lengths and delay times at 40 BPM
Producers use these values to set delay, reverb pre-delay and LFO times so effects lock to the beat.
| Note | Straight | Dotted | Triplet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half note | 3000 ms | 4500 ms | 2000 ms |
| Quarter note (1 beat) | 1500 ms | 2250 ms | 1000 ms |
| Eighth note | 750 ms | 1125 ms | 500 ms |
| Sixteenth note | 375 ms | 563 ms | 250 ms |
| Thirty-second note | 188 ms | 281 ms | 125 ms |
How long is a bar at 40 BPM?
| Time signature | 1 bar | 8 bars | 32 bars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/4 | 3.0 s | 24.0 s | 96.0 s |
| 3/4 | 4.5 s | 36.0 s | 144.0 s |
| 4/4 | 6.0 s | 48.0 s | 192.0 s |
| 5/4 | 7.5 s | 60.0 s | 240.0 s |
How to practise at 40 BPM
Turn on eighth-note subdivisions (80 clicks per minute) so you can feel the space between beats, or count "1-and-2-and" out loud. For scales, play two or four notes per click. Slow practice at 40 BPM is ideal for learning new fingerings, checking intonation on wind and string instruments and building control before speeding up.
Half time of 40 BPM is 20 BPM; double time is 80 BPM. If 40 BPM is too fast for a passage, the speed trainer can start lower and climb to 40 automatically.
Faster: 50 BPM · All tempos
FAQ
How fast is 40 BPM?
40 BPM is 0.67 beats per second, or one beat every 1500 milliseconds. It is a very slow tempo, in the range usually marked Grave or Largo.
How many milliseconds is one beat at 40 BPM?
One beat (a quarter note) at 40 BPM lasts 1500 ms. An eighth note lasts 750 ms and a sixteenth note 375 ms.
How long is a bar of 4/4 at 40 BPM?
A bar of 4/4 at 40 BPM lasts 6.0 s, so there are 10 bars per minute. Eight bars last 48.0 s.
What is half time and double time of 40 BPM?
Half time is 20 BPM and double time is 80 BPM. Music at 40 BPM is often felt at one of these levels too.