Dance 8-Count Calculator

Choreographers, cheer coaches and dancers count music in eights. Enter the song's BPM, or tap along to the beat, and the number of 8-counts. You get the length in seconds, how many 8-counts a song or cut of a given length holds, and the tempo and length if you practice with the music slowed down.

Result

One 8-count–

Your 8-counts–

8-counts in your music–

At practice speed–

Playback speed calculator: how long a whole song or video takes at 0.75x, 1.25x or 2x

How the math works

One count is one beat, and BPM is beats per minute. So one 8-count lasts 8 × 60 ÷ BPM seconds. At 120 BPM that's 4 seconds, a 4 × 8 is 16 seconds and an 8 × 8 is 32 seconds.

To go the other way, divide the music's length in seconds by the length of one 8-count. A 2:30 cut at 144 BPM holds 150 ÷ 3.33 = 45 eight-counts. A leftover part of an 8-count usually means the cut starts or ends off the phrase.

In 4/4 time, which covers almost all pop, hip-hop and cheer music, one 8-count is two bars.

Half-time and double-time counting

With slow songs dancers often count every other beat, so one count lasts two beats and each 8-count takes twice as long. With very fast music some count the off-beats too (1-and-2-and), so a count is half a beat. Pick the counting style that matches how your team counts the song.

Tap tempo: tap the button on each beat for at least four taps. The calculator averages the gaps between your last taps, so a few steady taps are better than many rushed ones. Stop for two seconds and the next tap starts a new measurement.

Practicing at a slower speed

Slowing the music to 0.75x also slows the tempo to 0.75 of the BPM, so every 8-count lasts a third longer. A 4-second 8-count at 120 BPM becomes 5.33 seconds at 90 BPM. Use the practice speed field to see this for your song, or the playback speed calculator for whole tracks.

How long 8-counts last at each BPM

BPM	1 × 8	2 × 8	4 × 8	8 × 8	16 × 8
80	6 s	12 s	24 s	48 s	1:36
90	5.3 s	10.7 s	21.3 s	42.7 s	1:25
100	4.8 s	9.6 s	19.2 s	38.4 s	1:17
110	4.4 s	8.7 s	17.5 s	34.9 s	1:10
120	4 s	8 s	16 s	32 s	1:04
128	3.8 s	7.5 s	15 s	30 s	1:00
130	3.7 s	7.4 s	14.8 s	29.5 s	59.1 s
140	3.4 s	6.9 s	13.7 s	27.4 s	54.9 s
150	3.2 s	6.4 s	12.8 s	25.6 s	51.2 s
160	3 s	6 s	12 s	24 s	48 s
170	2.8 s	5.6 s	11.3 s	22.6 s	45.2 s

Questions

How many seconds is an 8-count?

It depends on the tempo. One 8-count is 8 × 60 ÷ BPM seconds: 4 seconds at 120 BPM, about 3.3 seconds at 144 BPM and 6 seconds at 80 BPM.

How long is a 4 × 8 count?

32 beats. At 120 BPM that's 16 seconds; at 100 BPM it's 19.2 seconds.

How many 8-counts are in a minute?

BPM ÷ 8. At 120 BPM there are 15 eight-counts in a minute, at 144 BPM there are 18.

Is an 8-count two bars of music?

Yes, in 4/4 time. Each bar has 4 beats, so 8 counts cover 2 bars.

How do I find the BPM of a song?

Tap the beat with the tap tempo button above, or look the track up on a BPM database or in your music app. Many DJ and editing apps show BPM too.