BPM by Genre: A Producer's Cheat Sheet (House, Trap, Hip Hop, DnB)
Every genre sits in a tempo range, and knowing it saves time when you start a project, build a DJ set or pick a sample. These are typical ranges, not rules. Producers bend them all the time, and sources disagree by a few BPM on almost every genre, so treat each number as a starting point.
BPM ranges by genre
| Genre | Typical BPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hip hop | 80 to 110 | Boom bap sits around 85 to 95. See what BPM hip hop is |
| Lo-fi hip hop | 70 to 90 | Slow, loose, often swung |
| Trap | 130 to 150 | Often written at 140 and felt as 70. See what BPM trap is |
| R&B | 60 to 100 | Slower ballads, mid-tempo grooves |
| Pop | 100 to 130 | The widest spread of any genre |
| Reggaeton | 90 to 100 | Built on the dembow rhythm |
| Disco and funk | 100 to 130 | Steady four-on-the-floor in disco |
| Deep house | 118 to 125 | Relaxed, warm |
| House | 120 to 130 | 124 and 126 are very common |
| Tech house | 124 to 128 | Tighter, more percussive |
| Techno | 125 to 150 | Many tracks sit around 130 to 140 |
| Trance | 128 to 140 | 138 is a common target |
| UK garage | 130 to 135 | Shuffled, 2-step feel |
| Dubstep | 138 to 142 | Written at 140, felt as half time (70) |
| Drum and bass | 160 to 180 | 170 to 175 is the sweet spot |
| Jungle | 160 to 170 | Chopped breaks |
| Hardstyle | 150 to 160 | Heavy, distorted kick |
If a number here is off by a few BPM from another chart, that is normal. Genres drift over the years and producers choose a tempo for the track, not for the label.
Half time and double time
Many genres share a tempo and differ only in how you count it. Dubstep and trap are written near 140 BPM, but the snare lands on beat 3 of each bar, so they feel like 70. That is why a 70 BPM hip hop beat and a 140 BPM dubstep track can be mixed together: their kicks and snares line up. Drum and bass at 170 to 175 pairs with 85 to 88 BPM tracks the same way.
When a tool reports 70 and you hear 140, or the other way around, both can be right. Pick the one that matches the grid you want to work on.
How to pick a tempo for a new track
- Start with the genre range, then choose a number inside it, not at the edge. A house track at 124 is ordinary. One at 131 starts to feel like something else.
- Think about the vocal or lead. A fast tempo leaves less room for words. A slow one gives a melody space.
- Think about the crowd. DJs mix within a few BPM of each other. Staying close to a genre's usual tempo makes your track easier to play.
- Think about the drop. Half-time sections work because the tempo stays the same while the feel changes.
Matching a sample to your project
When a loop or a song is at a different tempo, the usual fix is to warp it. In Ableton Live, set the project tempo first, drop the audio in, and use the warp markers or the Beats mode to line it up. Stretching sounds best within a modest range, so if a loop is far off, check whether it is exactly half or double your tempo. A 70 BPM loop fits a 140 BPM project with no stretching if you let each bar of the loop run for two bars of the project. If you want to understand the difference between the number and the feel, read BPM vs tempo.
How to find the exact BPM of a song
Charts give you a range. For one particular song you need the real number, and there are a few ways to get it:
- Tap along. Tap a key in time with the beat for 10 to 20 seconds and read the average. Simple and free.
- A lookup site. For a released song, a database can give you the BPM and key in seconds.
- Analyze the file. For your own bounce or an unreleased track, a tool that listens to the audio will give a more reliable answer than a database.
Our guides cover each method in detail: how to find the BPM of any song, finding the tempo without a metronome and finding the BPM of a YouTube video.
If you want the BPM, the key and the audio in your project in one step, Premix searches a song, reads its key and BPM, and puts it on your grid. It is $39 one-time. If you work in Ableton and already have the files, the Key & BPM Finder device is $14.99.