Press Play for a drum and bass beat at 160 BPM. It starts with Drum & Bass Break, and you can switch to Liquid Drum and Bass and Amen Break. One beat lasts 375 ms.
Playing over a drum and bass beat at 160 BPM
160 BPM is at the slow end for drum and bass. 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 160 BPM
Drum & Bass Break is written at 174 BPM, the closest of this style's grooves to 160 BPM, so it opens first and plays a little slower than written. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 375 ms, an eighth note 188 ms and a sixteenth 94 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Liquid Drum and Bass and Amen Break on the page and the tempo stays at 160 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 160 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.
Phrase lengths at 160 BPM
Length
Time
One bar of 4/4
1.5 seconds
Four-bar phrase
6 seconds
Eight-bar section
12 seconds
Three-minute song
about 120 bars
How a drum and bass beat works
Drum and bass runs around 170 to 180 BPM but is usually felt in half time: the snare on beat three of a slow bar. You can play over it as a fast groove or as a slow, heavy one; both are correct.
How to play along
Bassists and synth players: play long notes at half-time speed. Guitarists and keys: try parts at the slow half-time pulse first, then at full speed. Rappers and singers usually phrase over the half-time feel.