Tempo by genre
A genre is a tempo as much as a pattern. Here are twelve, in beats per minute, drawn on one scale from 60 to 190, each with its sources.
What BPM means
BPM is beats per minute: how many beats of the bar pass in a minute. At 120 BPM a beat lasts half a second, and a bar of four lasts two seconds. On Beep Boop the window shows it in orange figures, and the TEMPO knob sets it from 40 to 300.
Some genres are counted in half time. Trap at 140 and dubstep at 140 put their snare or clap once a bar, so they are felt at 70. What BPM means, with a beat, a bar and a step in seconds.
Lo-fi hip hop BPM
Usually between 70 and 90 BPM.
Yamaha: "usually between 70 and 90".
Hip hop BPM
Most hip hop sits between 85 and 95 BPM, and some runs as slow as 60. The pattern, step by step.
iZotope 85 to 95; Ableton 60 to 100.
Boom bap BPM
85 to 95 BPM, swung. The pattern, step by step.
Sample Focus 85 to 95; Native Instruments' example 93.
Reggaeton BPM
About 90 BPM. The pattern, step by step.
Native Instruments sets its example at 90; no wider range was found in a source worth citing.
Disco BPM
110 to 118 BPM. The pattern, step by step.
Attack Magazine, Loose Disco: 110 to 118.
House BPM
120 to 130 BPM. Most house sits at 122 to 128. The pattern, step by step.
Wikipedia 120 to 130; Ableton 115 to 130.
Techno BPM
120 to 150 BPM. The range is wide: older and deeper techno sits at the bottom of it, harder techno at the top. The pattern, step by step.
Wikipedia 120 to 150; Ableton 120 to 140.
UK garage BPM
About 130 BPM, and 130 to 138 for 2-step.
Wikipedia, UK garage and 2-step garage. Attack Magazine sets one rolling 2-step at 122 to 128.
Trap BPM
Typically 140 BPM, counted in half time as 70. The pattern, step by step.
Wikipedia: typically 140, counted 70; Sample Focus 130 to 145.
Dubstep BPM
135 to 145 BPM, felt in half time.
Ableton 135 to 145; Wikipedia 132 to 142.
UK drill BPM
About 138 to 151 BPM.
Wikipedia 138 to 151; Soundtrap 138 to 142.
Drum and bass BPM
160 to 180 BPM, and mostly 170 to 180 since the mid 1990s. The pattern, step by step.
Ableton 160 to 180; Wikipedia 165 to 185.
Sources
- Tempo and genre, Ableton Learning Music.
- Nick Messitte, Using different tempos to make beats, iZotope.
- Sam Jeans, guide to tempo and BPM, Sample Focus.
- Mike Levine, How to create lo-fi, Yamaha.
- Wikipedia: House music, Techno, Trap music, Dubstep, Drum and bass, UK garage, 2-step garage, UK drill.
- Attack Magazine, Beat Dissected: Loose Disco. Tim Cant, reggaeton and boom bap, Native Instruments. UK drill, Soundtrap.