What BPM is the Amen break?
The Amen break is 136-137 BPM, and 136 is a fair single number. The machine above is playing the Amen break at 136 BPM - press Space to hear it, then move the tempo and listen for where it stops sounding like the Amen break.
Why the Amen break lives at 136-137 BPM
The Amen break is about 136 BPM as recorded - the four-bar drum solo in The Winstons' "Amen, Brother" from 1969, played by Gregory Coleman, runs close to 136-137, and it drifts slightly across its six seconds because it is a drummer, not a machine. That number matters because almost nobody uses the break at its own tempo. Hip hop pitched it down to 90-100, which made the snare fat and the kick heavy; jungle and drum and bass pitched it up to 160-175, which made the snare crack and the hats hiss; breakbeat and big beat left it near 130-140, close to home.
So the answer to "what BPM is the Amen break" depends on what you are trying to match. If you have the original recording and want it on the grid, 136 is the tempo to set before slicing, and the machine's chopper will find it within a beat or so. If you are asking what tempo jungle plays it at, that is a different question with a different answer: 160-175. The arrangement above is a chopped Amen-style pattern playing at 136, the break's own speed; push it to 170 and it is jungle.
136 BPM in milliseconds
For setting delay times, checking a sample's length, or programming by ear: at 136 BPM one bar of 4/4 is 1,765 ms and a 16th note is 110 ms.
| At 136 BPM | Length | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| One bar (4/4) | 1,765 ms | 0.57 Hz |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 441 ms | 2.27 Hz |
| Dotted 8th | 331 ms | 3.02 Hz |
| 8th note | 221 ms | 4.53 Hz |
| 8th-note triplet | 147 ms | 6.80 Hz |
| 16th note | 110 ms | 9.07 Hz |
| 32nd note | 55 ms | 18.13 Hz |
The genres either side
Tempo windows overlap, and what separates neighbours is usually swing and where the snare falls rather than the number itself. The Amen break with its nearest neighbours by tempo:
| Genre | BPM | Typical | Felt pulse | Swing | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Garage | 130-135 | 133 | as written | 30-40 | Dance |
| Techno | 128-140 | 134 | as written | 0 | Dance |
| The Amen Break | 136-137 | 136 | as written | 0-8 | Breaks |
| Trap | 130-150 | 140 | 65-75 (half-time) | 0 | Hip hop |
| Phonk | 130-160 | 140 | 65-80 (half-time) | 0 | Hip hop |
Frequently asked
Is the Amen break 136 or 137 BPM?
Both are quoted and both are right. The solo speeds up very slightly over its four bars, so a tempo detector reports anywhere between 135.5 and 137.5 depending on where it measures. 136 is the safest single number to slice against.
What tempo should I chop the Amen break at?
Set your project to 136, chop it into 16ths or on the transients, then change the tempo. Chopping at the source tempo keeps every slice on a real hit; chopping after time-stretching smears them.
Can I make the Amen break at a different tempo?
Yes, and the edges of the window are where the interesting records live. The point of the range is that inside it a listener hears the Amen break before they hear anything else; outside it, the same drum pattern reads as a neighbouring style. Drag the tempo on this page to hear the crossover happen.
Go deeper
Every genre's tempo
- What BPM is lo-fi hip hop?70-85 BPM
- What BPM is hip hop?80-100 BPM
- What BPM is boom bap?88-94 BPM
- What BPM is reggaeton?88-100 BPM
- What BPM is funk?95-115 BPM
- What BPM is afrobeats?100-115 BPM
- What BPM is amapiano?110-115 BPM
- What BPM is disco?110-125 BPM
- What BPM is afro house?118-126 BPM
- What BPM is house?120-128 BPM
- What BPM is UK garage?130-135 BPM
- What BPM is techno?128-140 BPM
- What BPM is trap?130-150 BPM · half-time
- What BPM is drill?138-145 BPM · half-time
- What BPM is phonk?130-160 BPM · half-time
- What BPM is dubstep?138-142 BPM · half-time
- What BPM is jungle?160-175 BPM
- What BPM is drum and bass?170-176 BPM
- What BPM is neurofunk?172-176 BPM
BAP Studio is inspired by classic 16-pad sampler and drum-machine workflows. It is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Akai Professional, Roland, or any other manufacturer.
Made by Max Berggren.