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| quote: | Originally posted by Rodri Santos
partially true only. Sometimes you can at least feel that "this is not 140 bpm" and it is 138 bpm, or even more complicated, you know just by listening that it is 136 bpm. Most of the stuff my locals play is ~132bpm (128*3% pitch = 132 bpm) and i can feel this and is strange for me because i think "cheesy house at prog.trance speed... interesting"
I've realised that the bpms aren't that important, in my opinion they just classify the music you can make a house track at 145bpm but it's inappropiate, no dj's would play this tune and when listening at home it would feel unnatural.
To make things more complicated you've some beat signature variations like dubstep , when you listen to a dubstep track you instinctively think it is around 120bpm, feels slower than most house tunes at least, but probably it is 140 bpm, kinda strange...
Some tracks play with drive, i like to compare it to perspective in painting, the combination of kick + rolling bassline, syncopated bass and mostly different patterns of hi hats make the tune faster to our ears the same way perspective gives depth to a plain picture, but nothing is real indeed.
Finally there is only a fact, slower music has better dynamics, more opened and all the elements can breathe, 128 bpm seems to be the "perfect" bpm because each phrase is a minute but 125 bpm can be danced easily, most commercial tunes use slow bpms i don't know if it is just a coincidence or there is some science behind it.
On the other hand you've genres that need speed to become attractive, a full on trance track at 120bpm sounds stale, same as DnB, not to mention speedcore, at 1200bpm a kick does not sound like a kick anymore...
I don't know if the thread is a joke or not but there are some interesting things to discuss about bpms, the thing of my first post about pitching the tracks has always intrigued me |
Constant pitching is usually a lot more noticeable because it it tends to change the track's tone/feel significantly and often not in a good way, you can hear when it sounds distorted. The rest of the post i can agree with, as it indirectly complements my original point. I'll explain myself further:
Most tracks have a tempo consistent with the mood or tone of the track, usually depicted by the genre it's in. Different genres operate in different tempo ranges dependent on whatever suits what they're trying to achieve mood-wise. Makes sense, and explains why a house track at 140 BPM will sound stupid and trance at 120 sounds stale.
However, there is a twist. As you mentioned it has a lot to do with the type of beat itself. Assuming every track wants to operate at a natural sounding tempo, more abstract beat patterns may have deceptively high BPM's without really sounding speedy. From what i've noticed there's barely any 4/4 dance music in f.i. the 140-160 range of BPM's, Yet loads of other genre's operate there without sounding wildly fast, a lot of IDM related music even manages to sound relaxing while being in a BPM range that is considered frantic when talking about normal dance music. This is one reason i disagree with setting a small BPM range and making it sound absolute, as you disqualify the use/ ignore the presence of such music. Although granted it isn't commonly used in normal club sets. If you want a display of it, The mix in my signature has wildly varying BPM's, almost no 4/4 beats and for the most part isn't even beat-matched. A flow is achieved by working with the intensity of tracks rather then the tempo.
Now, both you and System J are vouching for there being a sort of consistently attractive BPM range for dance music based on what is comfortable to dance to. And yes, i will agree that 125-135 is a good tempo for house, techno and other dance music with consistent repetitive beat patterns. You can tell when it sort of feels 'right' and gives you a decent opportunity for movement without becoming too 'sway' if you will. You don't have to think about it as much. Although for me, contrary to what the article states, taking drugs doesn't influence that and doesn't necessarily make want to dance any faster. More like the opposite, i feel more content to keep dancing at that range whilst when i'm sober i fear stagnation a lot more and will want the music to go faster at some point to keep me entertained.
Which brings me to my next point: If every club set was in the 125-135 range (And unfortunately it seems most of them are) i'd be really bored of them by now. Some of the best sets in my opinion offer smooth variation with a couple of surprise tempo changes at the right moments. It may start at the 'comfy range' but take a deep break in slower tempo's whilst ending in tekno speeds and insanity. It may not be as easy to dance too but at least it'll be more memorable and not just because it's breaking status quo. I believe all seasonable tempo's have merit as long as the mood and time is right, and a good DJ will play with that fact. Unfortunately a lot of DJ's tend to stick with whatever's comfortable and known to work. Not so much a wrong thing at times though, I'm just glad we have the choice to mix things up a bit in current club land. As even despite the repetitive nature of dance music stagnation is still it's greatest enemy.
Also, on a different but related subject: To me a lot of club nights feel slow throughout and my friends seem to agree with that. DJ's tend to take the whole night into consideration and as such are uncomfortable with raising the set tempo too quickly fearing stagnation at the peak moments. I feel this is the reason why the dancefloor is always empty in the early hours. I've always wondered if there is a good way to fix this as a linear set flow feels so natural and important to club nights.
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Mixes: Alaé (Conceptional ambient dub)
AOTSE (Experimental)
Listens:
http://www.last.fm/user/bierheld
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