Punk drum beat at 170 BPM
Press Play for a punk drum beat at 170 BPM. It starts with Fast Eighths. One beat lasts 353 ms.
Playing over a punk drum beat at 170 BPM
170 BPM is a comfortable middle tempo for punk and metal. 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 170 BPM
Fast Eighths is written at 190 BPM, the closest of this style's grooves to 170 BPM, so it opens first and plays a little slower than written. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 353 ms, an eighth note 176 ms and a sixteenth 88 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear.
How long is a phrase at 170 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 | 1.4 seconds |
| Four-bar phrase | 5.6 seconds |
| Eight-bar section | 11 seconds |
| Three-minute song | about 127 bars |
How a punk drum beat works
Straight eighths at high speed. The kick and snare alternate or double with the hi-hat, and every note is on the grid. At these tempos any tension in your hands shows up as rushing or dropped notes.
How to play along
Guitarists: this is the tempo range for down-picking and fast alternate picking. Start at the lowest tempo you can play perfectly, then move up in small steps. Bassists: match the picking hand of the guitarist, not just the notes.