Beat and tempo
The steady pulse under the music, and how fast it goes.
Lesson 3 of 9
When you tap your foot to a song, you are tapping its beat: an even pulse that keeps going under everything else. In these grids a beat is four steps long, and each bar has four beats (the numbers under the grid).
This grid puts the kick on every beat, the clearest way to hear the pulse. Drag the tempo slider while it plays.
The pulse
Slow it down to 60, then speed it up past 150. The pattern stays the same; only the pace changes.
| Kick | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed hat |
How fast the beat goes is the tempo, counted in beats per minute (BPM). At 60 BPM there is one beat a second, like a ticking clock; at 120 BPM there are two.
Tempo shapes the style
The same pattern can feel like a different kind of music at a different tempo. Switch between these tempos while the beat loops.
One beat, five tempos
Which tempo makes you nod your head, and which one makes you want to run?
| Kick | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snare | ||||||||||||||||
| Closed hat |
Styles tend to live in a tempo range: lo-fi and slow jams around 70 to 90 BPM, hip-hop around 85 to 100, pop around 100 to 130, house around 120 to 128, techno around 125 to 140, and drum and bass around 170 to 175. Fast styles often feel half as fast as their number: at 174 BPM a snare on every other beat feels like 87.