How to find the BPM of a MIDI file

Open the MIDI Tempo Finder and select a .mid or .midi file. It reads timing events locally; it does not analyze an audio waveform.

Start with three reproducible files

These original two-note exercises use 480 PPQ. C4 lasts 480 ticks, followed by E4 for another 480 ticks. Sample description and permission to reuse.

• Constant tempo: one 120 BPM event at tick 0; the two notes total 1 second.
• Changing tempo: 120 BPM at tick 0, then 60 BPM at tick 480 (0.5 seconds); the performance totals 1.5 seconds. The meter changes from 4/4 to 3/4 at the same tick.
• No tempo event: playback uses the MIDI default of 120 BPM, so the notes total 1 second. The result labels this as a default, not a tempo found in the file.

Read the initial tempo and the map separately

The initial BPM only describes the beginning. The tempo table lists every file tempo event with ticks and seconds. If the first event occurs after the beginning, the earlier segment still uses the default. Try the delayed-tempo example: 120 BPM initially, then 60 BPM at tick 480.

How ticks become seconds

For a constant segment, seconds = ticks ÷ PPQ × 60 ÷ BPM. In the changing example the first quarter note lasts 0.5 seconds and the second lasts 1 second. Applying 120 BPM to the whole file would give the wrong duration.

What PPQ and meter tell you

PPQ is the number of ticks per quarter note. It is a timing resolution, not the speed. Meter events describe the musical grouping; changing the meter alone does not change the duration of a quarter note.

For tracks, channels and instruments, open the MIDI Analyzer & Inspector. The Player can slow playback for practice without rewriting the file’s tempo.

Limits

This analysis supports Type 0/1 files with PPQ timing, up to 20 MB. Type 2 and SMPTE timing are not supported here. A missing time-signature event is reported as missing. An audio file or damaged MIDI cannot be repaired by this tool.