80 Or 160 Bpm, What's The Correct Tempo - Steinberg GROOVE AGENT 3 Mode D'emploi

80 or 160 BPM, what's the correct tempo?

Normally, we decide a certain style's tempo by defining where the
downbeats and backbeats are. A rhythm that goes boom-chick-
boom-chick probably counts 1-2-3-4 at the same rate. In most popu-
lar western music the kick (bass drum) plays the downbeats (1 and 3)
and the snare drum plays the backbeats (2 and 4).
As with all living things, this rule has its exceptions. Reggae often has
a half tempo feel built into itself by nature. The reggae style we've in-
cluded in Groove Agent actually plays the backbeat on the third beat
of the bar. It simply seemed sensible to specify its favorite tempo
range to 130-150 BPM rather than half those figures. This is also true
for the cajun style.
On the other hand, styles like Tom-Toms, Backbeat and Train Beat
are sort of double speed by nature. Here, the Train Beat style works
best somewhere in the 100 BPM region. More practical than 200,
don't you think?
Finding a suitable style for your song
So, you are working on a song in 104 BPM and now you want to know
what styles have a suitable tempo? Take a look at the tempo map. It
provides a rough guide to suitable tempo ranges for the various styles.
Groove Agent 3
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