Press Play for a house drum beat at 128 BPM. It starts with Driving Techno, and you can switch to Four-on-the-Floor, Chicago Jack House, Deep House and Chic-Era Disco Funk. One beat lasts 469 ms.
Playing over a house drum beat at 128 BPM
128 BPM is at the fast end for house and dance. Stay relaxed: if your hands tense up or you start rushing, drop back ten BPM, play the part cleanly for a few minutes, then come back up.
What plays at 128 BPM
Driving Techno is written at 130 BPM, so 128 BPM is its home tempo. In 4/4 at this tempo a quarter note lasts 469 ms, an eighth note 234 ms and a sixteenth 117 ms, which is the spacing of the hi-hat you hear. Switch to Four-on-the-Floor, Chicago Jack House, Deep House and Chic-Era Disco Funk on the page and the tempo stays at 128 BPM.
How long is a phrase at 128 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 128 BPM
Length
Time
One bar of 4/4
1.9 seconds
Four-bar phrase
7.5 seconds
Eight-bar section
15 seconds
Three-minute song
about 96 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.