Press Play for a house drum beat at 122 BPM. It starts with Four-on-the-Floor, and you can switch to Chicago Jack House, Deep House, Driving Techno and Chic-Era Disco Funk. One beat lasts 492 ms.
Playing over a house drum beat at 122 BPM
122 BPM is a comfortable middle tempo for house and dance. 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 122 BPM
Four-on-the-Floor is written at 124 BPM, so 122 BPM is its home tempo. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 492 ms, an eighth note 246 ms and a sixteenth 123 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Chicago Jack House, Deep House, Driving Techno and Chic-Era Disco Funk on the page and the tempo stays at 122 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 122 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 122 BPM
Length
Time
One bar of 4/4
2 seconds
Four-bar phrase
7.9 seconds
Eight-bar section
16 seconds
Three-minute song
about 92 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.