How do I convert a note division to an LFO rate in Hz?

Work out the note length in milliseconds, then take 1000 divided by that value. One cycle per quarter note at 120 BPM is 500 ms, which is 2 Hz.

Is one cycle per note the same as tempo sync?

It matches it when the LFO completes exactly one cycle per division. Some plugins define their sync differently — for instance half a cycle per division for a triangle sweep — so check the shape against the beat if the movement feels off.

What rates work for tremolo and filter movement?

Eighth and sixteenth notes give obvious rhythmic tremolo. One or two bars per cycle gives slow filter sweeps that breathe under a track. Anything above roughly 20 Hz stops being modulation and starts being audible tone.

Why does my synced LFO drift?

Free-running LFOs restart wherever they happen to be, so they only line up if the plugin retriggers on note-on or on the transport. Enable retrigger or tempo sync in the plugin rather than trying to fix it with the rate.

Free tool

LFO Rate Calculator

Modulation rates in hertz and milliseconds for any tempo, from sixteenth-note tremolo to sixteen-bar filter sweeps.

Local arithmetic only. Nothing leaves your browser.

Project tempo

BPM

Beats per bar

Used only for the bars-per-cycle table.

One cycle per note division

LFO rates in hertz by note division
Note	Straight rate	Dotted rate	Triplet rate
Whole (1/1)	0.525Hz	0.35Hz	0.788Hz
Half (1/2)	1.05Hz	0.7Hz	1.575Hz
Quarter (1/4)	2.1Hz	1.4Hz	3.15Hz
Eighth (1/8)	4.2Hz	2.8Hz	6.3Hz
Sixteenth (1/16)	8.4Hz	5.6Hz	12.6Hz
Thirty-second (1/32)	16.8Hz	11.2Hz	25.2Hz

Slow sweeps

One cycle spread across whole bars.

1 bar

0.525 Hz

1904.8 ms per cycle

2 bars

0.263 Hz

3809.5 ms per cycle

4 bars

0.131 Hz

7619 ms per cycle

8 bars

0.066 Hz

15238.1 ms per cycle

16 bars

0.033 Hz

30476.2 ms per cycle

Very slow rates are below the minimum of some LFOs. If a plugin will not go that low, use an envelope, an automation lane or a step sequencer instead.

Detail

How this works

An LFO rate in hertz is cycles per second, so it is the inverse of a note length: Hz = 1000 / milliseconds. That is the whole conversion. A quarter note at 120 BPM is 500 ms, so one cycle per quarter note is 2 Hz.

Fast rates read as rhythm — tremolo, gating, stutter. Slow rates read as shape: multi-bar sweeps that open a filter across a section. The slow table below is in bars per cycle because that is how those moves are actually written.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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