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Tempo/Rhythm

Tempo is the pace of a song. This is determined by the speed (or frequency) of the beat to which it's played. This is described by a figure followed by the abbreviation BPM, which means 'beats per minute' eg, 120 BPM is 120 beats per minute or two per second. The 'beat' is the pulse in the rhythm of the song. When you count '1-2-3-4' in time to a song, you count naturally on each beat.

Beats are the basic units of counting in music. They are what you tap your foot to if the music has an infectious rhythm. If you want to find out the tempo of a song, all you need to do is count the number of beats that occur within a minute, it's that simple!

Try rehearsing your songs to a metronome or a drum machine.
Steve Hillier

Songs are divided into repeating groups of beats called bars; three counts per bar in a waltz and two or four counts per bar in most other styles of music. Usually, you can easily recognise the bars: Waltz has a distinct "Oom pah pah" feeling; one heavy beat and two lighter ones in every bar. In most other songs the feel is "left right" or "up down", two beats in every bar. Most popular songs have four beats in a bar, often with a clear "left right left right" feel. This is what gives us the phrase "four to the floor", the way the rhythm in house and disco music is often described. Even though you can count 'one two one two' the rhythm of most music repeats every four beats. This is why we talk of four beats to a bar.

The tempo at which you play your song is very important. Here are some guidelines to help you know if your chosen tempo is right:

Does your song feel that it is dragging or rushed? If you're nervous and playing in a packed venue you may be tempted to speed up all your songs to compensate for your anxiety. Make sure you are well rehearsed, stay relaxed and you will naturally play your songs at a comfortable tempo. Nine out of 10 times that will be the correct tempo for the song.
Some styles of music require songs to be within a specific tempo range. For example, modern dance songs tend to be recorded between the tempos 120-150 BPM. This enables DJs to mix different songs together to create a seamless stream of music to dance to. Make sure you understand the style you're writing in, and if there are specific tempo requirements that need to be observed.
Nearly every record made in the last 30 years was recorded to a 'click track', a regular mechanical pulse that keeps everyone playing in time and at the agreed tempo. Try rehearsing your songs to a metronome or a drum machine to keep your playing in strict time, and keep a record of the tempo settings that suited your songs best.

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Jim, Cambridge
I think it's important to mention the other common time signature used in pop songs: 6 beats to the bar (6 / 8 time). Widely used in doo-wop in the '50s, it has a distinctive, catchy feel to it. A couple of great examples of the use of 6/8 time are 'Blueberry Hill' (sung by Louis Armstrong) and the Beatles' 'Oh Darling' from Abbey Road.

Berni Messenger, Hounslow
Actually, I think "Four to the floor" is a derivation of "Four on the floor", a phrase that used to describe the configuration of a gearbox in a car, i.e. four forward gears operated from a floor mounted lever. The alternative configuration (in older vehicles) was "Three on the tree", meaning three forward gears operated from a lever mounted on the steering column. Check it out with Clarkson & co.

p c bushbaby dunfermline
i have played and recorded with my band for years and tempo has always been an issue. i feel we should play live and record in strict time but we have discovered songs seem to lose a lot of feel and changes from verse chorus etc become very square and unnatural when following a click would like to hear other songwriters views on this. or do we just need to learn to play in time?

Anon
I recently attended a bat mitzvah at which the girl's voice sounded marvelous as she chanted the torah. If I understand tempo right, then the chant should be sang at approximately 200bpm. She seemed to have difficulty keeping that tempo. The point I suppose I'm making is that tempo is important to making good music sound good.

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