BPM by Genre: Typical Tempos for 20 Music Styles
Tempo is one of the biggest clues to a song’s genre. House music almost always sits around 120 to 130 BPM, while drum & bass races along at about 170. This chart lists the typical BPM range for 20 popular styles, then explains half time and double time, the reason two BPM tools can disagree about the same song.
BPM by genre chart
| Genre | Typical BPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ambient / downtempo | 60–90 | Often no strong beat at all |
| R&B / soul | 60–90 | Neo-soul often sits around 70–80 |
| Lo-fi hip-hop | 70–90 | Relaxed, swung drums |
| Hip-hop / boom bap | 85–100 | Classic 90s hip-hop is often 90–95 |
| Trap | 130–150 | Usually felt in half time, 65–75 |
| Reggae | 60–90 | Accents on the off-beat |
| Reggaeton / dembow | 88–100 | The dembow rhythm is usually about 90–95 |
| Afrobeats | 95–115 | Often around 100–110 |
| Pop | 100–130 | Many hits sit between 110 and 125 |
| Country | 70–130 | Ballads are slow, line-dance songs are faster |
| Rock | 110–140 | Hard rock and punk push faster |
| Punk | 150–200 | Fast and driving |
| Disco / funk | 110–125 | Four-on-the-floor kick |
| House | 118–130 | Deep house sits slower, around 118–122 |
| Techno | 125–150 | Hard techno can exceed 150 |
| Trance | 130–145 | Classic trance is often 136–140 |
| Dubstep | 140 | Felt in half time at 70 |
| Drum & bass / jungle | 160–180 | Usually around 170–175 |
| Hardstyle | 150–160 | Distorted kicks |
| Metal | 100–200+ | Varies widely, with blast beats far faster |
These are typical ranges, not rules. Plenty of great songs sit outside them. To check a specific song, use the free BPM finder.
What counts as slow, medium and fast?
Classical musicians describe tempo with Italian terms, and the rough BPM ranges are still useful today:
- Largo (very slow): about 40–60 BPM
- Adagio (slow): about 66–76 BPM
- Andante (walking pace): about 76–108 BPM
- Moderato (moderate): about 108–120 BPM
- Allegro (fast): about 120–156 BPM
- Presto (very fast): about 168–200 BPM
Around 120 BPM is a sweet spot for dance music, and it’s close to a brisk walking pace, which is part of why so much pop and house music sits there.
Half time and double time explained
Most music has layers of pulse: the bar, the beat and faster subdivisions like hi-hats. You can count the beat at more than one level, so the same song can honestly be described as 70 or 140 BPM. Producers usually set the session to the faster number, but listeners often feel the slower one.
- Trap is typically produced at 130–150 BPM, but the snare lands on beat 3 of each bar, so it feels like 65–75.
- Dubstep sits at 140 BPM with a half-time feel at 70.
- Drum & bass is written at about 174 BPM, and many people nod along at 87.
When a BPM tool gives you a number that feels wrong, try halving or doubling it before assuming it’s an error. The BPM finder has ×2 and ÷2 buttons for exactly this reason.
Using tempo in practice
- DJs mix songs within about 5% of each other’s tempo, or use half and double time to jump between genres, for example mixing 87 BPM hip-hop into 174 BPM drum & bass.
- Runners often pick songs at 160–180 BPM to match their step cadence, or 80–90 BPM where every beat is two steps.
- Fitness classes use roughly 120–135 BPM for cardio and slower tempos for strength work.
- Producers start a beat at a genre’s home tempo, then adjust by ear.
Need the tempo of a song you can only hear? Tap along with the tap tempo tool, or read how to find the BPM of any song.