# What BPM Is Drum and Bass? > Drum and bass runs fast — typically 165-175 BPM, centred on 174 BPM. Here are the drum and bass BPM ranges, subgenre nuances and how to confirm any track. [All guides](/blog) # What BPM Is Drum and Bass? Published 27 August 2026, 09:00 UTC · updated 12 August 2026, 21:30 UTC · by Loopin Drum and bass is one of the fastest genres on the dancefloor. Most tracks sit between 165 and 175 BPM, with 174 BPM acting as the unofficial home tempo of the whole scene. ## The typical drum and bass BPM range Drum and bass runs **165 to 175 BPM**, and if you had to name one number it’d be **174 BPM** — the tempo so many DJs and producers default to that it’s become shorthand for the genre. The breakneck pace, paired with a half-time-feeling bassline, is what gives DnB its signature push-and-pull energy. That fast top-end over a slow, heavy low-end is the magic trick of the genre. The drums sprint at 174 BPM while the sub-bass and reese lines move at what feels like half that speed, so the music is simultaneously frantic and rolling. ## Tempo by subgenre The number shifts a little by style. **Liquid** and **jungle** sit comfortably at 170-174 BPM with chopped Amen-break drums and warm pads. **Neurofunk** and **techstep** tend to lock dead on 174 BPM with darker, more mechanical sound design. Faster offshoots like **jump-up** can edge toward 175-176 BPM. Slower cousins blur the lines: halftime DnB keeps the 170-ish tempo but plays the drums at a relaxed, hip-hop-style feel, while footwork and juke hover lower around 160 BPM. If you mix across these, knowing the exact BPM keeps your transitions tight. ## Watch for the half-time trap Because DnB layers fast drums over a half-speed bassline, tempo detection can read it as half — a 174 BPM track flagged as 87 BPM. Both numbers describe the same groove, but for beatmatching you want the drum tempo, not the bass tempo. If a reading comes back near 87, double it. When you’re lining up two tracks at this speed, even a one-BPM mismatch is audible fast. Drop each track into the [free key & BPM finder](/key-bpm-finder) to lock the exact tempo before you mix — guessing at 174 BPM gets unforgiving. ## Confirm BPM and key before you mix At DnB speeds, harmonic mixing pays off as much as tempo matching — clashing basslines at 174 BPM are brutal. The [key & BPM finder](/key-bpm-finder) returns both the tempo and the musical key in seconds, so you can pair tracks that share a compatible key and a matching pulse. If harmonic mixing is new to you, start with the [Camelot wheel](/blog/what-is-the-camelot-wheel). Once your track is finished, give it a loud, controlled [master](/mastering) — DnB lives and dies by its low-end weight and impact, and a clean master makes the sub translate on a big system without flubbing out. ## Frequently asked questions ### What BPM is drum and bass? Drum and bass typically runs 165-175 BPM, with 174 BPM being the most common tempo across the genre. Liquid and jungle sit around 170-174, while jump-up can edge slightly higher. ### Why does my DnB track read as around 87 BPM? Drum and bass pairs fast drums with a half-speed bassline, so tempo detection can latch onto the slower half. If you see a reading near 87 BPM, double it to get the true drum tempo of about 174 BPM. ### Is jungle the same tempo as drum and bass? Roughly, yes. Jungle sits in the same 170-174 BPM band as most DnB but uses more chopped breakbeats. Both share the fast top-end and half-time bass feel. ## Related reads - [What is the Camelot wheel?](/blog/what-is-the-camelot-wheel) - [How to find the BPM of a song](/blog/how-to-find-the-bpm-of-a-song) - [Free key & BPM finder](/key-bpm-finder) --- Source: https://onloopin.com/blog/typical-bpm-for-drum-and-bass