Sharpen your sense of time! liveBPM is the tempo monitoring tool for drummers, bands and DJs. It detects music and beats via the microphone and continuously displays the current tempo in beats per minute (BPM). It is easy to use and delivers high-quality results while being energy efficient.
=== What users said about liveBPM ===
John Walden, freelance musician and music technology journalist at musicappblog.com:
"There are three obvious applications for the app. First, it would make a brilliant practice tool for a drummer, allowing them to monitor just how good they are at keeping a steady tempo without the aid of a click track to guide them. Second, sat beside your kit during a performance, it would allow you to judge just how well you are hitting the ideal tempo for each song in your set. It’s not just drummers that can benefit for liveBPM as the third use is in mapping the tempo – and any tempo changes – in commercial recordings. While this is useful for drummers, it is instructional for almost any musician."
JonLong:
"I used this at my last band practice and wasn't expecting it to work. I couldn't believe how quickly and accurately it started tracking the bpm, even despite the very loud volume of our music."
PocketDrummer82:
"I am a professional drummer and I have been looking for something like this for years! Unless your playing with backing tracks or recording, Playing with a Click is too Mechanical. This app allows the tempo to breathe, and its like a little angel on your shoulder telling you the band is speeding up or slowing down. It is totally worth the money."
Chris Walther:
"I have used this about five gigs now and have quit using my previous tempo meter. I used both for a few gigs to test the accuracy. Dead on. Thanks! Every drummer should use this."
magrec:
"This has been very helpful for recording. thanks!"
=== Detailed Description ===
This is a tool designed for professional use:
- Well-tested beat detection engine guarantees trustworthiness
- Can handle most genres
- Produces results accurate to within 0.1 BPM under the following conditions:
-- The tempo is constant or almost constant
-- Strong impulses are defining the beat (drums, accentuated rhythm instruments like bass/guitar, etc.)
Further features:
- Tempo curve shows the development of tempo over time
- Multiple zoom modes to show last 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes
- Advanced audio spectrum analysis via FFT
- More accessible and usually more accurate than BPM counters that function through tapping
- Low battery drain thanks to high performance code and efficient algorithms
Using it as a musician:
- Use it as an objective tempo reference like a metronome
- It actually has several advantages over a metronome:
-- You are not tied to a click, giving you more flexibility
-- Helps you use tempo changes to enhance your musical expression
-- With blind tests, it can massively improve your timing confidence, which is especially important if you are in a tempo leading role (e.g. drummer)
- Discover how/whether your favorite artists use tempo changes
- Measure and improve your time-keeping skills
- Identify slowdowns and speedups while practicing your instrument
- Always be in control of the tempo during your live gigs and rehearsals
Controls:
- Power Button: For freezing the tempo curve and minimizing battery drain
- Clear Button: Clears the tempo curve
- Slider: Adjusts the target tempo range (i.e. 80-160 BPM)
- Zoom Buttons: Switch between zoom modes for the tempo curve. (2-30 minutes)
Note:
- You can check and improve the detection by clapping loud to the beat. Also, results can be improved by plugging in a suitable external microphone.
- You can support my work by rating it on the App Store. If you have questions and/or suggestions, feel free to contact me via e-mail or facebook.
I absolutely love this app and would recommend it to any and all musicians!!! Sometimes I feel it’s more useful than a click track to be able to watch your tempo and adjust on the fly. It’s not a messy or difficult process like a click track can be. For me it was as simple as getting a phone mount and finding a spot for it on my drum kit. I use this app multiple times a week and I can say it’s well worth the money! Now to answer a few of the questions I had about this app....It can detect a beat from any instrument, clapping, or pretty much any noise.It has about a 1-3 second delay on reading your tempo. If you have a simple 1-2-3-4 beat, it can easily read it and display your tempo. If you’re in a funky groove with lots of accents it may be a bit more delayed (based on my experience) Lastly, it only detects in a 4/4 time signature. Now this last one is my main issue with the app. I understand you can’t get an instant read on your tempo no matter what. And it’s very usable and helpful even with the slight delay. The main complaint I have is that there’s not a button or toggle switch to go from 4/4 to something like 3/4 or even 6/8. I would love for the developer to possibly add this feature. That being said, when you’re playing in 6/8 time (or anything but 4/4) you’ll still be given a tempo that is reliable and allows you to stay focused on keeping that same BPM in your music. What is frustrating is that if you’re learning a song that should be played at say 60bpm 6/8 timing. You CANT expect your app to tell you when you’re at 60bpm in 6/8... you’ll get something totally different! Since it is reading your beat based on 4/4 timing.Overall, I love the app and think the benefits far outweigh any and all negatives. It’s very manageable to get around these cons. It’s just not as easy and polished as it could be. Great app, I love it and thank you!!!!
Been using for 4 years
JazzisKing
I’ve been using this app for almost 4 years while Playing in a 24 piece big band. I Had a few people inquiring how I keep such a good time after last nights rehearsal. I pointed directly to this app and claimed, not only does it keep me honest, but I have proof when the band doesn’t listen well! Lol ! Seriously, this app has saved a few arguments with the Director!! I have never tested its accuracy to a click. However, it’s very very close. And when the band decides a tempo feels good, this app is gold to help repeat that bpm for the next performance if we wish. I’ve been meaning to write a review of this app for a long time. The interest from other band mates last night and the nice comments I received about holding the band together (I’m the Drummer) told me it was time to write this review. Thank you to the developer, your work is very much appreciated.
Stop the whining
DrSkillet
I say that in the title for both people in your band if your using the app, and some of the complaints I read about people who have purchased the app. I found this app when I was at a local jam session in DC. The house drummer has it on a phone on his bass drum. After on jam I immediately downloaded the app. It was that impressive to me. I rarely pay to purchase apps, but this was a no brainer. Years ago I had a thing called a beat bug. You put a trigger on your snare drum, and you’d get the space between hits as a number on a screen. It kind of worked, but had a lot of shortcomings especially since it only worked when you hit the snare on a consistently on the same beats. In most cases this app picks up the BPM in a few seconds, and holds on to it very well. I read reviews saying it’s bad at odd time signatures. They are wrong. Using the speaker from my iPad I played “Love is stronger than justice”, by Sting, and it had no problem keeping up with Vinnie Colaiuta’s perfect timing switching between a groove in 7/8 and a double time chorus in 4/4. I, going to say that folks that had those issues were experiencing user error. I’d say I’m a professional level musician who plays a semi pro amount of gigs each year. Last year I did over 70 gigs, and used this app on many of them. It give you invaluable information on the gig and stuff for you to work on when you get home. It is a speedometer for your drums. No more whining about what happened with the tempo. You’ll have actual documentation. I have had a number of drummers do the exact thing that I did when I first saw the app, which is just download it. You should do the same.
Stop the bpm questioning
PeteDrums
Not so many musicians have a perfect feel for tempo. “We” as base players and drummers are the guides. This app is a must have and it closes out the complaints from singers and other not perfect timers. I (the drummer) set the tempo for the band. Without the app I was not able to SHOW the factual tempo and that is where it gets annoying sometimes. Now the tempo played is not a “feeling” anymore but a fact. Made my live easier. And I can see when I screw up before anybody else 😉. And yes sometimes the singer of solo players want some freedoms, that’s fine too! We than can show them how much freedom we gave them.
This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included.
- added 64 bit support to improve performance on current hardware and to ensure compatibility for iOS 11
- fixed a bug where during startup, the audio output would move to the small speaker on the iPhone when not using line-out
- updated connection to iOS audio, using the native sampling rate of 48 kHz
- now using the measurement mode, minimizing the amount of system-supplied signal processing
Version 2.0 is work in progress, featuring a new improved beat detection engine. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in beta-testing (via facebook or dev.daniel.bach googlemail com).
Version 1.2.1
The developer, Daniel Bach, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
