'upper number of compound time signature' = 'pulses' / 'bars'

The lower number is equivalent to the length of a pulse. However, in a compound time signature the upper number is equal to the number of pulses per bar. 'beats' = 'upper number of simple time signature' x 'bars' 'upper number of simple time signature' = 'beats' / 'bars' The lower number is equivalent to the note symbol that is the length of a beat. The upper number in a simple time signature is equal to the number of beats per bar. 'time is seconds' = 60 x 'beats' / 'BPM' Time Signature Putting this into an equation:īut if you'd rather have time measured in seconds, you'll have to multiply by 60 (seconds / minute): 'a note symbol that has the length of a beat, equal-sign, number (BMP)'īy definition the BPM is the number of beats per minute. Usually the tempo is given as BPM - beats per minute. So what is the correct way of determining the length of a bar? Does it need any other data?

This means that 1 bar is 16 x 0.5 secs => 8 secs while my DAW shows 0.25 secs.

This means that 1 beat is 0.5 secs (no change here).This means that 120 beats = 60 secs (no change here).This means 1 bar is 4 x 0.5 secs => 2 secs (haha secs)Īnd my DAW seems to agree with me on this one, worked nicely with 3/4 too.īut once I introduce some weirder (possibly illogical) time signature let's say 4/16 this method falls apart:.Few 'calculations' I've done with common time signatures: I'd like to know the formula that gives me in seconds (or milliseconds, whatever time unit) how long does 1 bar take in this song.īased on the wikipedia articles and q/a I found, I'm unsure what's the role of the Y variable (upper part of the time signature) in calculating this. I have seen a bunch of similar questions on the site, but I'm going to ask more directly.

Song bar beats