Dance music captivates and excites listeners through its lively rhythm and infectious energy, helping people get moving. Additionally, dancing to this type of music can also serve as an incredible workout – with its tempo often changing between bars per minute depending on your chosen genre or style of dance.
Beginners may find counting dance music challenging. One tip that may help is playing stressed “phrased” tunes.
Strict tempo
Strict tempo music refers to songs or pieces of music which maintain the same pace throughout its entirety, typically measured in musical bars per minute (PM). Anything outside this format is known as non-strict tempo music.
Dancers will find strict tempo versions of songs immensely beneficial when searching for their perfect rhythmic spot to add body weight shifts, split count steps or other subtle nuances into their dance. Strict tempo versions often feature minor modifications to instrumentation that allow singers to take up more space without upsetting the overall balance of sound.
Many modern sequence dances such as jive and quickstep require songs with an exact tempo for practice, lessons, or competitions; this also applies to certain country western dances; chart hits can work just as well if their tempo matches your choreography needs.
But the rhythm and tempo of songs can differ significantly depending on their style of music and culture of origin. African music tradition, for instance, features many polyrhythmic components which must work harmoniously to produce an overall rhythmic pattern.
As such, DJs frequently “beatmatch” the underlying tempo of a track instead of following strictly what is suggested by its kick drum bpm. Furthermore, software may also be used to alter this underlying tempo; this process is commonly known as pitch-shifting.
Classical composers were familiar with rough metronome markings. Tom Lehrer made fun of these conventions in Too Many Songs with facetious English tempo markings for “National Brotherhood Week”, which he marked “fraternally”, while for “Masochism Tango”, which was marked “painstakingly”.
Conversely, jazz music’s dynamic tempo can often involve sudden shifts in rhythm and pacing that can make dancing challenging; though this approach may be valuable artistically, dancers usually prefer strict tempo songs for lessons, performances and competitions.
Alternate version
An alternate version of a song is typically composed solely of instrumentals. All vocals, including adlibs and FX are muted; all instruments/beats/rhythms are condensed into one two track file; typically any elements which tend to cut through are muted as well.
DJs frequently utilize this track when performing, blending mixes together for performances. It can also work well for more intimate scenes involving dialogue or dialogue-heavy conversations, creating an intimate feel. Alternate versions may further reduce complexity by muted large synthesizer pads & string sections.
Alternative tempo
As a music producer, it’s crucial that you understand how tempo impacts the overall feel of a song. Doing this will allow you to avoid mismatched genres and genre combinations as well as enable DJs to more easily beat match your tracks – using tools such as Neutron you can find the ideal mix for every style of music you produce.
Note that different dance styles have their own ideal tempos for optimal performances; Viennese waltz has an ideal BPM rate of around 144 while quick step requires 160 BPM for optimal results. To determine the ideal BPM rate for your track, consider using an online metronome such as RX to test out tempo variations.
Change the tempo of a sample in your studio and observe its effect on its character – such as using RX to vary its tempo from 60 BPM to 120 BPM, you will experience how this transforms its feel and mood.
Many dancers rely on mechanical metronomes or beats per minute (bpm) counting for keeping rhythm, while others may prefer counting by beats per minute listed here. Tempos listed on this page reflect common counting traditions for their respective dance forms – though experienced dancers might prefer different tempos in different situations.