Tempo is the first thing a listener feels and the last thing most producers think about in the mix. It decides whether a song makes people nod, sway or jump, and it quietly sets the timing of every delay, reverb and compressor in your session.
Tempo is the speed of a piece of music, measured in beats per minute (BPM). At 60 BPM there is one beat every second. At 120 BPM there are two. Most pop songs sit somewhere around 100 to 130 BPM, hip hop around 80 to 100, house around 120 to 130 and drum and bass around 160 to 180.
For producers, tempo matters beyond the feel. It sets how much space there is between beats, which decides your delay times, how long your reverbs can ring and how quickly your compressors and sidechain need to recover.
1What tempo means
Every song has a steady pulse underneath it, the beat you tap your foot to. Tempo is how fast that pulse goes. Count the beats for a minute and you have the BPM.
Tempo is easy to mix up with a few related ideas, so here's how they differ.
| Term | What it describes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Tempo | How fast the beat is | 128 BPM |
| Time signature | How the beats are grouped into bars | 4/4: four beats to a bar |
| Rhythm | The pattern of notes played over the beat | A syncopated hi-hat or a dotted bass line |
| Groove | How the rhythm feels, including swing and small timing pushes and pulls | A shuffled house beat versus a straight one |
Two songs can share the same tempo and feel completely different, because the rhythm and groove on top of the beat change how busy it sounds.
2Tempo markings: the Italian terms
Before metronomes and BPM, composers described tempo with words, and classical scores still use them. They're approximate, and different sources give slightly different ranges, but these are typical.
| Marking | Meaning | Approximate BPM |
|---|---|---|
| Largo | Broadly, very slow | 40 to 60 |
| Adagio | Slow and at ease | 66 to 76 |
| Andante | At a walking pace | 76 to 108 |
| Moderato | Moderate | 108 to 120 |
| Allegro | Fast and bright | 120 to 156 |
| Presto | Very fast | 168 to 200 |
You'll also see words that change the tempo as the music plays: accelerando (gradually faster), ritardando (gradually slower) and rubato (stretching the timing for expression).
3Typical tempos by genre
Genres tend to settle around a tempo because of how people move to them. The chart at the top of this page shows typical ranges: ballads around 60 to 80 BPM, hip hop 80 to 100, reggaeton 90 to 100, pop 100 to 130, house 120 to 130, techno 125 to 145, dubstep around 140 and drum and bass 160 to 180. Plenty of great songs sit outside them.
Half-time and double-time
The tempo you feel isn't always the tempo in the project. Dubstep is usually written at around 140 BPM, but with the snare on beat three it feels like 70. Trap often works the same way. A drum and bass track at 174 BPM can feel fast or relaxed depending on whether the drums play at full speed or half-time.
That's why tap-tempo tools sometimes report half or double the real tempo. Both numbers describe the same song. Pick the one that matches how the genre is normally written.
4How to find the tempo of a song
- Tap it. Most DAWs have a tap-tempo button. Tap along with the kick or snare for a few bars and read the BPM.
- Count it. Count the beats for 15 seconds and multiply by four. It's rough, but close enough to set up a project.
- Let your DAW detect it. Ableton Live's warping and Logic Pro's Smart Tempo can both analyze an audio file and set the tempo for you.
- Check for half and double. If the number feels wrong for the genre, halve it or double it.
- Watch for tempo changes. Live recordings drift, and many songs slow down at the end. If the grid stops lining up, the tempo has moved.
5How tempo shapes your mix
The faster the tempo, the less time there is between beats. That changes how long every effect and every note has to finish before the next one starts.
Delay times
To time a delay to the beat, divide 60,000 by the BPM. That gives you a quarter note in milliseconds. Halve it for an eighth note, and multiply the quarter note by 0.75 for a dotted eighth.
| Tempo | Quarter note | Eighth note | Dotted eighth | Sixteenth note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 BPM | 667 ms | 333 ms | 500 ms | 167 ms |
| 120 BPM | 500 ms | 250 ms | 375 ms | 125 ms |
| 128 BPM | 469 ms | 234 ms | 352 ms | 117 ms |
| 140 BPM | 429 ms | 214 ms | 321 ms | 107 ms |
| 174 BPM | 345 ms | 172 ms | 259 ms | 86 ms |
Most delay plugins can sync to your DAW's tempo, so you rarely need to type these in. The numbers are handy for plugins that only take milliseconds, and for pre-delay. There's more in our guide on how to use delay.
Reverb
At a slow tempo a long reverb fills the gaps beautifully. At a fast tempo the same reverb is still ringing when the next beat lands, and the mix turns to mush. As a starting point, let the tail die away before the next important hit, and time the pre-delay to a short note value so the dry sound lands first. See how to keep reverb from overwhelming your mix.
Compression and sidechain
A compressor whose release is too slow for the tempo never lets go between hits, so the track loses its punch. Too fast and it can pump. Set the release so the gain reduction meter recovers just before the next beat, and the compressor will breathe with the groove.
Kick and bass
At faster tempos the kick and bass have less time to get out of each other's way. FUSER helps here: put it on the bass, send the kick to its sidechain, and its dynamic EQ moves the bass out of the way only when the kick hits. Our FUSER Delta trick shows how to tune the attack and release so the duck follows the tempo without pumping.
6Choosing the right tempo for your song
- Start with the genre. If you're making a track for DJs, staying near the usual tempo for the style makes it easier to mix into a set.
- Sing or play it first. The right tempo is the one where the vocal phrasing feels natural. Too fast and the lyrics get crammed, too slow and the energy drops.
- Try a few BPM either way. Small changes can transform the feel. A couple of BPM faster often adds urgency without anyone noticing why.
- Pick references at a similar tempo. A 174 BPM track and an 85 BPM track leave very different amounts of room for the low end and the effects, so compare your mix with songs at a similar speed in your genre. REFERENCE 3 level matches the comparison, so you hear the difference in balance, not just volume.
Try it on your own mix
Tempo is more than a number at the top of your DAW. It sets the feel of the song, and it sets the timing of everything in your mix, from delays and reverb tails to how the kick and bass share the low end.
Don't take my word for it. Download the free trials, load a reference track at the same tempo as your song, and hear how your mix compares. Every plugin also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.
?Tempo FAQ
What is tempo in music?
Tempo is the speed of a piece of music: how fast the underlying beat goes. It's measured in beats per minute (BPM), so 120 BPM means two beats every second.
Is tempo the same as BPM?
BPM is the unit used to measure tempo. Saying a song's tempo is 128 BPM means its beat goes past 128 times a minute. Classical music also describes tempo with Italian words such as Andante or Allegro.
What is the difference between tempo and rhythm?
Tempo is how fast the beat is. Rhythm is the pattern of notes played over that beat. Two songs at the same tempo can have completely different rhythms.
What is a good tempo for a song?
There's no single right tempo. It depends on the genre and the feel you want. As a rough guide, pop often sits around 100 to 130 BPM, hip hop 80 to 100, house 120 to 130 and drum and bass 160 to 180.
What does half-time mean?
Half-time is when the drums play as if the tempo were half as fast, usually with the snare on beat three instead of beats two and four. Dubstep at 140 BPM feels like 70 because of it.
How do I work out delay time from BPM?
Divide 60,000 by the BPM to get a quarter note in milliseconds. At 120 BPM that's 500 ms. Halve it for an eighth note, or multiply it by 0.75 for a dotted eighth.
