Getting started
Start listening, let Auto lock, pick the right range, and read the number, the layers and the delay table.
On this page
TempoSense needs one thing from you: a microphone or an audio input with music on it. Everything else is automatic.
Quick start
- Open TempoSense from the dashboard and press ▶ Start listening. Allow the microphone when the browser asks.
- Let the music play. Auto locks in about 3–6 seconds and the tag next to the number changes from
searchingtolive. - Read the big number. The ÷ 2 / ÷ 4 / ÷ 8 row and the Delay times table follow it automatically.
- If the number is double or half what you hear, tap ½× or 2×, or pick a different Range pill.
- Press Hold to freeze the number. The live reading stays visible underneath; press Hold again to release.
Press ■ Stop when you are done. TempoSense releases the microphone when you switch to another tab and keeps the screen awake while it runs.
The screen
- The number with its tag:
searching,live,heldordrifting. A dot pulses on every beat; four small dots under it show the position in the bar, the bigger one is beat 1. - ÷ 2 / ÷ 4 / ÷ 8 — the tempo halved, quartered and divided by eight. At 140 BPM: 70, 35 and 17.5.
- Mode, Range and Release pills.
- ½× · Hold · 2×, Set 1 and Send to BPM Forge.
- Delay times — one row per note value from whole note to triplet quarter, a Base column in milliseconds, and ÷ 4 / ÷ 8 columns for pre-delays and slap-backs.
- Input ⚙, Output ⚙, Display ⛶, Set log and the ? guide (English and German).
Modes
Auto runs all four detectors at once and follows the one with the clearest beat; the tag next to BPM shows which. Pick a mode by hand when you know the material:
| Mode | Use it for | Lock |
|---|---|---|
| Transient | Drums, percussion, a click or a count-in | Fastest, about two bars |
| Groove | The full mix — PA feed, line-in from the desk, streamed music | A few seconds |
| Low-end | Kick and bass only (40–150 Hz): loud rooms, FOH positions where reverb smears the rest | A few seconds |
| Harmonic | No drums — piano, strings, choir, theatre; reads chord changes | Slow, 8–10 s |
Range and octave errors
A click every 345 ms is 174 or 87 BPM — no detector can tell them apart. The Range pill decides: 60–120 for hip-hop and ballads, 80–160 (default) for most pop, rock and house, 100–200 for drum & bass, 40–240 when you do not know. If the number still comes out doubled or halved, tap ½× or 2×.
Release
How long a different tempo must persist before the number follows: Fast · 1 s, Medium · 2 s (default) or Slow · 5 s. Slow keeps a DJ set from jumping on a breakdown.
Bar and beat 1
TempoSense assumes 4/4 and guesses beat 1 from where the kick and the chord changes land. A heavy backbeat can lock it half a bar off — press Set 1 on the beat before the real one and the next beat becomes 1. The guess then stays quiet for eight bars.
Send to BPM Forge
Send to BPM Forge opens BPM Forge with the tempo already in its BPM field — metronome, delay calculator and setlist in one click.
Next
- Send the tempo to Ableton or LiveProfessor — controllers for Ableton or LiveProfessor.
- Send beat pulses to a lighting desk — beat pulses as notes into a lighting desk.
- Record a set log and use the display — the CSV set log and the fullscreen display.
Thanks for the feedback.