Hip-hop drum beat at 70 BPM
Press Play for a hip-hop drum beat at 70 BPM. It starts with Boom Bap, and you can switch to Amen Break. One beat lasts 857 ms.
Playing over a hip-hop drum beat at 70 BPM
70 BPM is at the slow end for hip-hop. Slow tempos show every timing slip, so it is the best place to learn a new part: play it until it feels boring, then move up.
What plays at 70 BPM
Boom Bap is written at 92 BPM, the closest of this style's grooves to 70 BPM, so it opens first and plays a little slower than written. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 857 ms, an eighth note 429 ms and a sixteenth 214 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Amen Break on the page and the tempo stays at 70 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 70 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 | 3.4 seconds |
| Four-bar phrase | 14 seconds |
| Eight-bar section | 27 seconds |
| Three-minute song | about 53 bars |
How a hip-hop drum beat works
Boom bap is a heavy kick ("boom") and a hard snare ("bap") with a slightly swung hi-hat. It is slower than it sounds: most of the energy comes from where the kick lands around the snare, not from the tempo.
How to play along
Rappers: count four bars per line and aim your stressed syllables at the snare. Keys and guitar players: loop a two- or four-chord phrase and leave space for the vocal. Try adding a little swing to your own sixteenths to match the hi-hat.