Press Play for a house drum beat at 118 BPM. It starts with Deep House, and you can switch to Four-on-the-Floor, Chicago Jack House, Driving Techno and Chic-Era Disco Funk. One beat lasts 508 ms.
Playing over a house drum beat at 118 BPM
118 BPM is at the slow end for house and dance. 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 118 BPM
Deep House is written at 120 BPM, so 118 BPM is its home tempo. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 508 ms, an eighth note 254 ms and a sixteenth 127 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Four-on-the-Floor, Chicago Jack House, Driving Techno and Chic-Era Disco Funk on the page and the tempo stays at 118 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 118 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 118 BPM
Length
Time
One bar of 4/4
2 seconds
Four-bar phrase
8.1 seconds
Eight-bar section
16 seconds
Three-minute song
about 89 bars
How a house drum beat works
Four-on-the-floor puts the kick on all four beats, with an open hi-hat between them and a snare or clap on two and four. It is completely regular, which makes it a good pulse for practising syncopated parts on top.
How to play along
Keys players: play off-beat chord stabs and let the kick carry the downbeat. Bassists: try an off-beat octave line between the kicks. DJs and producers: use it to check a phrase lasts exactly eight or sixteen bars.