BPM by genre: a tempo chart for dance music

The tempo ranges most tracks in each genre fall into. They are not rules: plenty of great records sit outside them. But if a track feels wrong for its genre, the tempo is the first thing to check. Every genre links to a drum pattern you can play.

The chart

GenreUsual BPMPattern
Lo-fi hip hop70 to 90Lo-fi drum pattern
Boom bap85 to 95Boom bap drum pattern
Reggaeton88 to 100Reggaeton drum pattern
Nu disco110 to 124Nu disco drum pattern
Deep house118 to 124Deep house drum pattern
House120 to 126House drum pattern
Melodic techno120 to 126Melodic techno drum pattern
Progressive house122 to 128Progressive house drum pattern
Tech house124 to 128Tech house drum pattern
Bass house124 to 128Bass house drum pattern
Minimal techno124 to 130Minimal techno drum pattern
Techno125 to 140Techno drum pattern
Breakbeat120 to 140Breakbeat drum pattern
UK garage128 to 136UK garage drum pattern
Trance132 to 140Trance drum pattern
Trap130 to 150, felt in half-timeTrap drum pattern
Dubstep140, felt in half-timeKick on 1, snare on 3
Hard techno140 to 160Hard techno drum pattern
Drum and bass170 to 176Drum and bass pattern
RAW POWER179 royalty-free drums and loops for house and techno, 118 to 126 BPM.

Half-time and double-time

Trap, dubstep and much of drum and bass are written at a fast tempo but felt at half of it, because the snare lands once per bar instead of twice. A dubstep track at 140 BPM moves like 70. That is why the same tempo can feel completely different from one genre to the next: what matters is where the kick and the snare fall.

Picking a tempo for your track

  • Start in the middle of the genre's range. Move up for energy, down for groove and weight.
  • Check a reference track you love: drop it in your DAW and match the grid, or tap along with a tap-tempo tool.
  • Mind the DJ: tracks inside the usual range are easier to mix with others in the same genre.
  • Swing changes the feel as much as the tempo. House and garage often swing the sixteenths; techno and trance mostly do not.
Generate a beat in any of these genres →Pick a style, and the beat generator writes a drum pattern at the right tempo and swing, played with real samples.BPM to ms calculator →Delay and reverb times for any tempo.RAW POWER: drums for house and techno →179 royalty-free drums and loops, 118 to 126 BPM. $29.

16 free tech house drums

Kicks, snares, claps, hi-hats, percussion and two loops from our RAW POWER pack, plus three guitar loops and five Serum 2 presets. Royalty-free.

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Questions

What BPM is house music?

Most house sits between 120 and 126 BPM. Deep house is often a little slower, around 118 to 124, and tech house a little faster, around 124 to 128.

What BPM is techno?

Usually 125 to 140 BPM. Melodic techno often sits around 122 to 126, and hard techno goes from 140 up to 160.

What BPM is drum and bass?

Usually 170 to 176, with 174 the most common.

Why does 140 BPM feel slow in dubstep?

Because dubstep is felt in half-time: the snare lands on beat 3 only, so the groove moves like 70 BPM even though the tempo is 140.

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