A lot of times we reach for sampled loops, REX files or preset grooves from soft and hard drum machines as a starting point for songwriting. One forgotten but critical point is tempo and a certain "Pavlovian" response from the public as to how they "hear" certain categories and respond to them. I found this article and a table which I hope will be very helpful and handy for all of us.

The world of electronic music contains many subset genres, ranging from Hip Hop to Electro to Dubstep to Drum and Bass, and many more. Tempo is one of the stylistic differences between these electronic music genres, and it can be worth considering how tempo conventions can influence music production and the beat making process.

Not every track produced within a genre is exactly the same tempo, but certain genres do have typical tempo ranges that producers will often align with when they make beats.

The following table shows some common electronic music genres and the tempos that are typical associated with those genres:

GENRE BPM
Hip Hop 85–95 BPM
Glitch Hop 105–115 BPM
Techno 120–125 BPM
House 115–130 BPM
Electro 128 BPM
Dubstep 140 BPM (with a half time, 70 BPM feel)
Drum and Bass 174 BPM
In music production, a single drum pattern can be a versatile building block, and can find use in a number of different tracks in various genres. For instance, changing only the tempo of a pattern can alter the feel from Hip Hop to Drum and Bass.

Here's the article from Izotope and some soundfile examples of the ideas above.

https://www.izotope.com/en/community/blog/tips-tutorials/2014/07/using-different-tempos-to-make-beats-for-different-genres/?&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Mailchimp&utm_campaign=2014-07+BreakTweaker&utm_content=BreakTweaker+New+Customers

OK, next time I see a post I want to see MC or DJ in front of your moniker!
DC Radkon and DJ AndyJPro has a nice ring to it and maybe some $$$$$$ bling!
take care and have fun,
Dave Brosky

I tend to like music that changes tempo. And I try to make music that goes on through long and slow ritardandi or accelerandi, but that's a rather personal inclination (actually RUBATO was one of the reasons I picked up the Stick a few years ago). Referring to the article I guess I'd be a "Dubstep guy" since I often work in double tempo that keeps juggling stuff at 70 PBM in parallel to other stuff at 140 BPM. I'm especially fond of ultra fast music of sparse and minimal character (oldschool Jungle techno, kora music from Mali etc etc)

Back in the nineties I was into producing "electronic dance music with chart hit potential" and in that scene it was crucial to initially produce a track at the right tempo because that was the way to address DJs and decide where in their set they would play your track. Choice of BPM was a way to tag your song on the scale "Radio vs Dancefloor". A good commercial strategy would be to make a radio friendly song at a lower tempo to make room for the record label to send out remix offers to producers that are specialised in the dancefloor and remix culture that require a higher tempo. That way the record label (thanks to owning some rights to the music) could cash in on both ends.

Funk - 92-96
Swing - 132-144
Ballad - 72 - 80
Fast jazz - 160 and more

Etc...

I was at one time known as DJ Dishka Dish...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKgXrSZSs20[/youtube]

Will there be a Stick cover version?