Genre Tempo Map
36 genres with BPM range, swing, key feel, kick and bass type, drum signature and the Live devices that define them, plus the halftime/doubletime tempo families.
Tempo is the first sound-design decision because it fixes everything downstream: how long a kick tail can be before the next kick (60000 / BPM × 4 ms per bar; see BPM-to-ms), how much sub sustain fits between hits, how much swing the ear tolerates, and whether the snare on beat 3 reads as "slow" or "fast". This table gives the working ranges for 36 electronic genres — BPM, typical swing percentage (Live groove or MPC-style, where 50% is straight), key feel, kick and bass archetype, the drum signature you would recognise in two bars, and the Live 12 devices most of the recipes on this site reach for. Below it, the tempo families: the halftime/doubletime pairs that let one track live in two genres at once.
Swing values are MPC-style percentages (50% straight, 54–58% light, 60–66% heavy) applied to 16ths unless noted. Live's Groove Pool expresses the same thing as Timing amount applied to a swing groove; "Swing 16-58" in the Core Library ≈ 58%. Ranges are typical, not limits; tempos drift by a few BPM each decade.
Genre table
| Genre | BPM | Swing | Key feel | Kick | Bass | Drum signature | Dominant Live devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep techno | 124–132 | 50–53% | Minor, often one note / drone | Long-tail, 48–55 Hz, rumble under it | Rumble (kick tail) + occasional sub pulse | Four-on-floor, offbeat hat, sparse clap, 16th ride shuffle | Operator, Drum Rack, Roar, Echo, Hybrid Reverb, Glue |
| Dub techno | 118–126 | 50–54% | Minor 7/9 chords, one or two chords per track | Soft, round, 50–60 Hz, short | Sine/triangle sub, long, sidechained | Four-on-floor, hats buried, chord stab on offbeats | Analog, Auto Filter, Echo, Delay, Chorus-Ensemble, Vinyl Distortion |
| Industrial techno | 135–150 | 50% | Atonal / noise, pitched kick is the key | Distorted, 50–70 Hz, clipped, long | Kick is the bass; occasional distorted drone | Four-on-floor with 16th kick ghosts, noise hats, metallic perc | Roar, Saturator, Drum Buss, Erosion, Corpus, Redux |
| Hard techno / hardcore | 150–200 | 50% | Minor / none; hoover riffs | Clipped square-ish, 55–80 Hz, no tail (no room) | Kick tail only; hoover stabs | Four-on-floor, kick rolls, gated noise, reverse crashes | Operator, Saturator (Hard Curve), Roar, Beat Repeat, Analog (hoover) |
| Minimal / micro-house | 122–128 | 54–58% | Minor, sparse, lots of silence | Short, dry, 50–60 Hz, sampled 909/ clicky | Short sub pluck, often one note | Four-on-floor, micro-perc, clicks, shuffled hats | Drum Rack, Simpler, Granulator III, Erosion, Glue, Utility |
| Deep house | 118–125 | 55–60% | Minor 7/9, jazzy extensions | Round 909-style, 50–60 Hz, medium tail | Sustained sub or walking analog bass | Four-on-floor, open hat on the "and", shaker, rimshot | Analog, Electric, Drift, Chorus-Ensemble, Glue, Echo |
| Tech house | 124–130 | 52–56% | Minor, one-note basslines | Tight 909/analog, 50–60 Hz, short | Sidechained sub + mid pluck or vocal-bass | Four-on-floor, 16th hats, clap on 2/4, rolling toms | Drum Rack, Drum Buss, Compressor (sidechain), Wavetable, Saturator |
| UK garage / 2-step | 128–138 | 58–66% | Major/minor with vocal chops, jazzy chords | Short, punchy, 55–70 Hz, skips beat 3 (2-step) | Sub with organ or reese layers, syncopated | 2-step: kick 1 and the "and" of 2, snare 2/4, skippy swung hats, shuffled rims | Drum Rack, Simpler (vocal chops), Operator, Groove Pool, Auto Filter |
| Dubstep | 138–145 | 50–56% | Minor, phrygian; often one root | Short, punchy, 50–60 Hz, leaves room for sub | Sine sub + wobble/growl mid bass, LFO synced 1/4–1/16 | Halftime: kick 1, snare 3, sparse hats, triplet feel (riddim) | Operator, Wavetable, Roar, Auto Filter, LFO, Saturator, Resampling |
| UK bass / 140 | 136–142 | 52–58% | Minor, dark, sparse | Deep 808-ish, 45–55 Hz | Sine sub, long; square mid layer | Halftime with swung hats, rim and perc syncopation, space | Operator, Drum Sampler, Echo, Hybrid Reverb, Utility |
| Grime | 138–142 | 50–54% | Minor, chromatic; 8-bar phrases | Hard, short, 55–70 Hz | Square-wave bass, 1/8 stabs, "eskibeat" | Halftime with sharp snare/clap stack on 3, sparse hats, gunshot/gliding FX | Operator (square), Analog, Drum Rack, Saturator, Pitch |
| Trap | 130–170 (65–85 feel) | 50–54% | Minor, dark, pitched 808 melodies | 808: the kick is the bass | Long 808 with slides and distortion | Halftime: snare/clap on 3, hat rolls (1/16–1/64 ratchets), open hat accents | Operator / 808 rack, Drum Sampler, Saturator, Ornament, Note Length |
| Drill | 138–146 | 50–54% | Minor, sliding 808 by semitones and fifths | 808 with glide, 40–55 Hz | Sliding 808, triplet patterns, often distorted | Halftime; snare on the "and" of 3 (displaced), 808 on offbeat triplets, hat rolls | Operator (Glide), Drum Sampler, Saturator, Simpler (loops), Velocity |
| Phonk | 120–170 | 50–56% | Minor, sampled Memphis vocals | Distorted 808, 45–60 Hz | 808 + distorted cowbell riff ("drift phonk") | Halftime or straight 4/4 (drift), clipped cowbell on every 8th, lo-fi hats | Drum Rack, Roar, Redux, Vinyl Distortion, Saturator, Simpler |
| Drum & bass | 170–176 | 50–54% | Minor; liquid uses major 7ths | Short, tight, 50–60 Hz, 2-step placement | Reese or sine sub, long notes, sidechained | 2-step at 174: kick 1 and the "and" of 2 (or 3), snare 2/4, ghost snares, fast hats/breaks | Operator, Wavetable, Simpler (breaks), Roar, Drum Buss, Compressor |
| Neurofunk | 172–176 | 50% | Minor / atonal; movement is the melody | Clicky, short, 55–65 Hz | Resampled, modulated mid bass over clean sub | 2-step with complex ghost patterns, processed breaks, stuttered fills | Operator, Wavetable, Roar, Spectral Resonator, Auto Filter, Resampling, Beat Repeat |
| Jungle / breakbeat | 155–170 | 50–56% (from the break) | Minor; ragga samples, dub chords | Break kick + layered 808-style sub kick | Long sine or reese, dub-style melodic sub | Chopped Amen/Think breaks, timestretched snares, reversed hits | Simpler (Slice), Sampler, Drum Rack, Beat Repeat, Echo, Operator |
| Halftime | 160–176 (80–88 feel) | 50–56% | Minor, dark, lots of space | Heavy, 45–55 Hz, long | Sine sub + modulated mid bass, sparse | Kick 1, snare 3, hats in double-time, triplet perc | Operator, Wavetable, Drum Rack, Granulator III, Echo |
| Footwork / juke | 155–165 | 50–58% | Minor; chopped vocal hooks | 808, short, 50–60 Hz, triplet patterns | 808 toms as bass melody | Rapid 808 tom triplets, clap on 2/4 or displaced, vocal repeats | Drum Rack, Drum Sampler, Simpler, Beat Repeat, Recombine |
| Ambient | free, 60–90 if any | n/a | Modal, major 7, drones, microtonal | None or a soft pulse | Drone or slow sub swell | None, or granular pulses | Wavetable, Granulator III, Hybrid Reverb, Spectral Time, Meld, Tension |
| Dub / reggae | 60–90 (one-drop) / 130–150 steppers-as-techno | 52–58% | Minor, pentatonic bass riffs | Soft, round, 55–70 Hz, on beat 3 (one-drop) or every beat (steppers) | Melodic sub/electric bass riffs with space | One-drop or steppers, rimshot on 3, offbeat skank, hat 8ths | Electric, Analog, Echo, Delay, Spring-style Hybrid Reverb, Auto Filter |
| Trip-hop / downtempo | 70–100 | 54–62% | Minor, cinematic, sampled | Sampled break kick, 50–70 Hz, dusty | Electric bass sample or round sub | Slow break, loose swing, vinyl noise, big snare with reverb | Simpler, Sampler, Vinyl Distortion, Redux, Hybrid Reverb, Echo |
| IDM / glitch | any (80–170) | any, often micro-timed | Any; melodic IDM uses modal major | Any; often tiny clicks | Any; often FM | Micro-edited, stuttered, polymetric, non-repeating | Beat Repeat, Granulator III, Operator, Recombine, Time Warp, Seed, Redux |
| Electro | 125–135 | 50% | Minor, robotic, vocoded | 808 kick, 50–60 Hz, tight | 808 sub + square/saw lines | Broken beat: kick 1 and "and" of 2 / 3, snare 2/4, 808 cowbell and claves | Drum Rack (808 kit), Operator, Vocoder, Analog, Delay |
| Breaks / big beat | 125–140 | 50–56% | Major/minor, sample-driven | Sampled funk-break kick, layered 909 | Fuzz bass or 303 | Loud compressed break, big snare, crash-heavy | Simpler, Drum Buss, Compressor, Saturator, Beat Repeat |
| Lo-fi hip-hop | 70–90 | 56–64% | Major 7 / minor 9, jazzy | Dusty sampled, 50–70 Hz, soft | Round sub or upright sample | Lazy swung boom-bap, off-grid, vinyl crackle, soft snare | Simpler, Electric, Vinyl Distortion, Redux, Auto Filter, Groove Pool |
| Boom bap | 85–95 | 54–62% | Minor, sampled loops | Hard sampled, 55–80 Hz, dry | Sub under the sample's bass | Kick 1 and 3-ish, snare 2/4 hard, swung hats, chopped loop | Simpler (Slice), Drum Rack, Drum Buss, Saturator, EQ Three |
| Hyperpop | 120–170 | 50% | Major, bright, pitched-up vocals | Clipped 808 or distorted house kick | Distorted 808 / saw bass | Trap or 4/4 hybrids, clipped claps, glitch edits | Auto Shift, Roar, Saturator, Wavetable, Beat Repeat, Vocoder |
| Synthwave | 80–118 | 50% | Minor, 80s pop chords, major lifts | Linn/808-style, 60–80 Hz, gated | Analog saw/square bass, 8th or 16th pulses | Straight 4/4, gated reverb snare, toms fills, arpeggios | Analog, Drift, Chorus-Ensemble, Gate + Hybrid Reverb, Arpeggiator |
| Psytrance | 138–148 | 50% | Minor / phrygian, often a single root | Short, punchy, 50–60 Hz, very tight | Rolling 16th (off-kick) saw bass, sidechained | Four-on-floor, bass on every 16th except the kick, 16th hats, FX everywhere | Operator, Analog, Compressor (sidechain), Auto Filter, Phaser-Flanger |
| Afro house | 118–125 | 52–58% | Minor, pentatonic, polyrhythmic | Round, 50–60 Hz, tresillo or 4/4 | Sub with percussive mid bass | Tresillo kicks, shakers, congas, log-drum-adjacent perc, 3-against-2 | Drum Rack, Collision, Drift, Echo, Auto Pan-Tremolo |
| Amapiano | 110–118 | 54–60% | Minor, jazzy piano, lots of space | Soft, sparse, 50–60 Hz; often absent for bars | Log drum: pitched percussive bass, 80–600 Hz | Sparse kick, shaker 16ths, log drum carrying both rhythm and bassline, long builds | Collision / Operator (log drum), Electric, Drum Rack, Echo, Compressor |
| Acid (house/techno) | 125–140 | 50–54% | Minor, chromatic slides | 909, 55–65 Hz | 303: saw/square with accent, slide, resonant LP | Four-on-floor, 303 16ths with accents, 909 hats | Operator or Analog + Auto Filter, External Instrument (TD-3), Overdrive |
| Riddim | 140–145 | 56–62% | One root; rhythm is the melody | Short, hard, 55–65 Hz | Repetitive triplet mid-bass stabs over sine sub | Halftime with triplet bass stabs, minimal hats, swung | Wavetable, Operator, Roar, Auto Filter, Note Length |
| Liquid DNB | 170–175 | 50–54% | Major 7 / minor 9, soulful | Clean, 50–60 Hz, tight | Sine sub + warm reese, long notes | Smooth 2-step, light ghost snares, soft breaks, vocal chops | Operator, Electric, Simpler, Chorus-Ensemble, Hybrid Reverb |
| Jump-up | 172–176 | 50–54% | Minor; bass riff is the hook | Hard, 55–65 Hz | Bouncy FM / talking mid bass over sub | Simple 2-step, loud snare, sparse | Operator (FM), Wavetable, Roar, Auto Filter, LFO |
| Downtempo / chill | 85–110 | 52–58% | Major/minor, world samples | Soft, 55–70 Hz | Round sub, electric bass | Half-time feel, brushed perc, organic loops | Simpler, Granulator III, Echo, Collision, Hybrid Reverb |
The "dominant devices" column is what the genre pages on this site actually use. For almost every row, the honest answer to "which synth" is Operator for sub, Wavetable or Operator for mid bass, Drum Rack with Drum Sampler for drums, and Roar/Saturator for the dirt. The genre lives in the pattern and the tempo, not the device.
Tempo families: halftime and doubletime
A tempo is only "slow" or "fast" relative to where the snare sits. Put the snare on 2 and 4 and 140 BPM is fast (garage, techno); put it on 3 only and the same 140 is a slow dubstep groove at a felt 70. Live does not care — the clip is still at 140 — which is exactly why you can layer a 70 BPM trap hat pattern over a 140 bassline and have both read correctly. The families below are the pairs most used; each row is one clock, two feels.
| Clock BPM | Straight feel (snare 2 & 4) | Halftime feel (snare 3) | Shares a set with | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 130 | Tech house, electro, acid | 65: slow trap, screwed phonk, downtempo | Dub at 65–70 one-drop | Dub's one-drop already puts the kick on 3; a 130 4/4 kick is its doubletime. |
| 140 | Garage, grime, techno | 70: dubstep, trap, UK bass | Hip-hop at 70, dub steppers | The 140/70 axis is the whole UK continuum — garage → grime → dubstep share one BPM and swap the snare. |
| 160 | Footwork, juke, fast jungle | 80: halftime, trap, boom bap-ish | Lo-fi at 80 | Footwork's 808 triplets are the doubletime of an 80 BPM trap hat roll. |
| 170 | Drum & bass, jungle | 85: halftime DNB, boom bap, trip-hop | Hip-hop at 85–90 | DNB "halftime" is literally hip-hop drums under DNB bass; DJs switch between them mid-set. |
| 174 | DNB, neurofunk | 87: halftime neuro, drill-ish | Trap at 87 (= 174 half) | Same as 170 with the modern DNB standard; 87 feel suits drill-style 808 slides. |
| 150 | Hard techno, hardcore | 75: slow trap, witch house | Hip-hop at 75 | Less used, but hardcore kick rolls are a doubletime trap hat ratchet. |
| 120 | House, deep house | 60: dub, slow reggae, ambient pulse | Dub one-drop at 60 | Classic house → dub house crossover; the house offbeat hat becomes the dub skank. |
Why the snare placement decides the felt tempo: the auditory system locks onto the strongest periodic accent in the 1–3 Hz range (60–180 BPM felt). At 140 BPM a snare every two beats gives a 1.17 Hz accent (felt 70); a snare every beat-pair at 2 and 4 gives 2.33 Hz (felt 140). The kick on every beat (4/4) adds a 2.33 Hz layer which pulls perception back up — which is why "halftime" genres also thin out the kick.
The same 4 bars at 140, straight vs halftime
Two step grids, both at 140 BPM, 16th-note resolution, 2 bars shown (32 steps). Identical clock; the only differences are snare position, kick density and hat subdivision. The first reads as garage/techno-adjacent; the second reads as dubstep at a felt 70.
To hear both in Live: make the straight clip, duplicate the track, and in the copy move the snare notes from beats 2 and 4 to beat 3 (select them, drag by a quarter note with Opt held to defeat the grid if needed), then delete every second kick. Do not change the tempo. For the hats, the Live 12 Rhythm generator with density ~40% and a triplet grid gets the halftime feel immediately; Ornament adds the ratchets.
Swing in practice
Swing percentages in the table are MPC-style: the second 16th of each pair is delayed by (swing − 50) × 2% of a 16th. At 140 BPM a 16th is 107 ms, so 58% swing delays every other 16th by ~17 ms; 66% by ~34 ms. In Live, apply it with the Groove Pool (Core Library "Swing 16" grooves, or "MPC 16 Swing-58") and the Timing amount, or with the Quantize dialog's swing field for destructive use. Genres over ~150 BPM rarely swing 16ths (the 16th is already under 100 ms); they swing 8ths or not at all. Genres under 100 BPM swing 16ths hard and sometimes 32nds. Two rows worth remembering: UK garage at 60–66% is the swingiest four-on-floor-adjacent genre, and psytrance, electro and industrial at a flat 50% are the straightest — adding groove to them makes them sound like something else.
| Swing % | Delay of every 2nd 16th at 140 BPM | Feel | Genres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 0 ms | Straight, machine | Techno, psytrance, electro, DNB |
| 54 | ~9 ms | Barely there, "humanised" | Tech house, dubstep, grime |
| 58 | ~17 ms | Noticeable bounce | Deep house, afro house, UK bass |
| 62 | ~26 ms | Heavy, skippy | UK garage, lo-fi, boom bap |
| 66 | ~34 ms | Almost triplet | 2-step extremes, J Dilla-style hip-hop (at 90 BPM: 55 ms) |
Related
- BPM-to-ms — note lengths, delay times and LFO rates per tempo.
- Listening checklist — loudness and crest ranges per genre.
- Glossary — 2-step, one-drop, halftime, tresillo defined.
- Halftime & footwork and Dubstep — the 140/70 family in depth.
- MIDI Tools — Rhythm, Ornament and Time Warp for generating the patterns above.