What BPM is neurofunk?
Neurofunk is 172-176 BPM, and 174 is a fair single number. The machine above is playing neurofunk at 174 BPM - press Space to hear it, then move the tempo and listen for where it stops sounding like neurofunk.
Why neurofunk lives at 172-176 BPM
Neurofunk is 172-176 BPM, and 174 is close to universal - a narrower window than the rest of drum and bass, because the style is defined by precision. The drums are programmed rather than chopped from a break, the kick and snare are tight, dry and dead on the grid, and the bass is a resampled, modulated line that has to lock to the drums to the millisecond. Swing is almost nothing, 0-4; the movement is in the bass modulation, not in the drum timing.
The tempo has not moved since the style appeared at the end of the 1990s, and the reason is mixing. Neurofunk DJs run long blends, and a genre where everything is at 174 is a genre where everything mixes. The few records at 172 or 176 are pitched to 174 on the deck. Compare it with jungle, which spans fifteen beats, and the difference is the difference between a sampled genre and a designed one. The groove above is at 174 with 3 swing.
174 BPM in milliseconds
For setting delay times, checking a sample's length, or programming by ear: at 174 BPM one bar of 4/4 is 1,379 ms and a 16th note is 86 ms.
| At 174 BPM | Length | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| One bar (4/4) | 1,379 ms | 0.72 Hz |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 345 ms | 2.90 Hz |
| Dotted 8th | 259 ms | 3.87 Hz |
| 8th note | 172 ms | 5.80 Hz |
| 8th-note triplet | 115 ms | 8.70 Hz |
| 16th note | 86 ms | 11.60 Hz |
| 32nd note | 43 ms | 23.20 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. Neurofunk with its nearest neighbours by tempo:
| Genre | BPM | Typical | Felt pulse | Swing | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jungle | 160-175 | 170 | as written | 8-14 | Breaks |
| Drum and Bass | 170-176 | 174 | as written | 0-10 | Breaks |
| Neurofunk | 172-176 | 174 | as written | 0-4 | Breaks |
Frequently asked
Is neurofunk faster than liquid drum and bass?
By a beat or two at most: liquid 170-175, neurofunk 172-176. The genres sound different because of sound design and swing, not tempo.
What is the difference between neurofunk and techstep tempo?
None worth measuring. Techstep of 1997-98 was at 170-174; neurofunk grew out of it and settled at 174. The change was in the bass, which went from a sub with distortion to a fully resampled, modulated instrument.
Can I make neurofunk 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 neurofunk 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 the Amen break?136-137 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
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.