How many BPM is normal? Frequently Asked Questions

The BPM in a piece of music is simply the number of beats per minute. For obvious reasons, BPM can vary considerably between different genres and styles of music, and that's why the question here is not necessarily one that can be simply answered. However, once you look at certain types of styles of music, it becomes clear that there are accepted BPM levels for particular types of music. That is about as far as we can get towards the classification of what normal BPM might be.

For example, if we look at the popular hip-hop genre, there is usually a standard number of BPM for this particular type of music. Hip-hop generally has a BPM of around 80 to 115. within that are some variants, and the spread between the two numbers means that there is an opportunity to vary BPM for different moods in hip hop, and different emotional approaches. However, that limit of 80 to 115 is generally seen as the standard for hip hop as a musical style.

If you are familiar with techno music, you'll know immediately that it is much faster than most music, and definitely faster than hip-hop. Techno music tracks can go from 120 to 160 beats per minute. Generally speaking, most techno music doesn't go much faster than 140 beats per minute, but this gives you an idea of the spread of variance here.

There is no normal in BPM, just an accepted tempo for different styles of music.

Also, note that musicians use tempo markings, which have been present for centuries:

• Largo 40-60 BPM
• Larghetto 60-65 BPM
• Adagio 65-75 BPM
• Andante 75-108 BPM
• Moderato 108-120 BPM
• Allegro 120-170 BPM
• Presto 170-200 BPM
• Prestissimo 200+ BPM

this means that no matter the style of music, the normal speed or pace of a given piece/song is a (almost) always tempo between 40-200 BPM, with an average BPM of 120.