Drum and bass beat at 180 BPM
Press Play for a drum and bass beat at 180 BPM. It starts with Drum & Bass Break, and you can switch to Amen Break. One beat lasts 333 ms.
Playing over a drum and bass beat at 180 BPM
180 BPM is at the fast end for drum and bass. Stay relaxed: if your hands tense up or you start rushing, drop back ten BPM, play the part cleanly for a few minutes, then come back up.
What plays at 180 BPM
Drum & Bass Break is written at 174 BPM, the closest of this style's grooves to 180 BPM, so it opens first and plays a little faster than written. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 333 ms, an eighth note 167 ms and a sixteenth 83 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Amen Break on the page and the tempo stays at 180 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 180 BPM?
Knowing how long a phrase lasts helps you plan a song, a solo or a recording take. The drums play a fill at the end of every four or eight bars, so these are the lengths you will hear.
| Length | Time |
|---|---|
| One bar of 4/4 | 1.3 seconds |
| Four-bar phrase | 5.3 seconds |
| Eight-bar section | 11 seconds |
| Three-minute song | about 135 bars |
How a drum and bass beat works
Drum and bass runs around 170 to 180 BPM but is usually felt in half time: the snare on beat three of a slow bar. You can play over it as a fast groove or as a slow, heavy one; both are correct.
How to play along
Bassists and synth players: play long notes at half-time speed. Guitarists and keys: try parts at the slow half-time pulse first, then at full speed. Rappers and singers usually phrase over the half-time feel.