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J M (Mike) Nelson
Email:jmnelson@cloudnet.com
Phone: 612-810-0157

Determining Tempos of Dance Music

No dance music library is complete without accurate data on tempos. For ease of use, I have appended the titles of songs in my music library to include the number of Beats Per Minute (BPM) for 4/4 music and the number of Measures Per Minute (MPM) for waltz. In addition, I append the MPM number with "MPM" so that I can easily recognize a waltz. (e.g. Blue Skies 130, Moon River 30mpm)

Though it only takes a few seconds to determine tempos, there are several shortcuts. Counting beats for 6 seconds and multiplying by 10 is quick, but not particularly accurate. Counting for longer periods can increase accuracy. Using a stop watch and the table below will provide accurate tempos in only a few seconds.

Using the Table. Measure the time for 10 beats, find the time in the "Sec/10" column, and read the tempo in the appropriate adjacent column. Note that the MPM column is for 3/4 music, and the BPM column is for 4/4 music. Some of the more popular tempos are in bold.

Counting. Technique is important for accurate measure, and many people inadvertently skip a beat, which leads to an inaccurate tempo determination. Counting for 60 seconds minimizes the significance of the error, but counting for only 10 seconds will magnify it. For best accuracy for a 10-second count, start the stop watch on "zero," not on "one," and hit the stop button on count "ten."

MPM Sec/10 BPM MPM Sec/10 BPM
83 2.40 250 50 4.00 150
83 2.42 248 49 4.05 148
82 2.44 246 49 4.11 146
81 2.46 244 48 4.17 144
81 2.48 242 47 4.23 142
80 2.50 240 47 4.29 140
79 2.52 238 46 4.35 138
79 2.54 236 45 4.41 136
78 2.56 234 45 4.48 134
77 2.59 232 44 4.55 132
77 2.61 230 43 4.62 130
76 2.63 228 43 4.69 128
75 2.65 226 42 4.76 126
75 2.68 224 41 4.84 124
74 2.70 222 41 4.92 122
73 2.73 220 40 5.00 120
73 2.75 218 39 5.08 118
72 2.78 216 39 5.17 116
71 2.80 214 38 5.26 114
71 2.83 212 37 5.36 112
70 2.86 210 37 5.45 110
69 2.88 208 36 5.56 108
69 2.91 206 35 5.66 106
68 2.94 204 35 5.77 104
67 2.97 202 34 5.88 102
67 3.00 200 33 6.00 100
66 3.03 198 33 6.12 98
65 3.06 196 32 6.25 96
65 3.09 194 31 6.38 94
64 3.12 192 31 6.52 92
63 3.16 190 30 6.67 90
63 3.19 188 29 6.82 88
62 3.23 186 29 6.98 86
61 3.26 184 28 7.14 84
61 3.30 182 27 7.32 82
60 3.33 180 27 7.50 80
59 3.37 178 26 7.69 78
59 3.41 176 25 7.89 76
58 3.45 174 25 8.11 74
57 3.49 172 24 8.33 72
57 3.53 170 23 8.57 70
56 3.57 168 23 8.82 68
55 3.61 166 22 9.09 66
55 3.66 164 21 9.38 64
54 3.70 162 21 9.68 62
53 3.75 160 20 10.00 60
53 3.80 158 19 10.34 58
52 3.85 156 19 10.71 56
51 3.90 154 18 11.11 54
51 3.95 152 17 11.54 52

 

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