Latin drum beat at 110 BPM
Press Play for a Latin drum beat at 110 BPM. It starts with Bembe bell (4/4 triplets), and you can switch to Bossa Nova and Son Clave 3-2. One beat lasts 545 ms.
Playing over a Latin drum beat at 110 BPM
110 BPM is a comfortable middle tempo for latin. Use it to play whole songs or long improvisations without stopping; the fills every few bars tell you where each phrase ends.
What plays at 110 BPM
Bembe bell (4/4 triplets) is written at 110 BPM, so 110 BPM is its home tempo. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 545 ms, an eighth note 273 ms and a sixteenth 136 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Bossa Nova and Son Clave 3-2 on the page and the tempo stays at 110 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 110 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 | 2.2 seconds |
| Four-bar phrase | 8.7 seconds |
| Eight-bar section | 17 seconds |
| Three-minute song | about 83 bars |
How a Latin drum beat works
These grooves are organised around a repeating two-bar pattern, the clave, rather than around a backbeat. Once you can hear which bar is the "three" side and which is the "two" side, your part will fit much more naturally.
How to play along
Guitarists: over bossa nova, play the thumb on the bass notes with the kick and pluck chords on the syncopated cross-stick. Pianists: keep a steady left hand and let the right hand follow the clave. Count the phrase in two-bar units, not single bars.