What is uptempo?

[jwebbinspired]

Is there an established BPM breakdown that defines "up-tempo" and "mid-tempo" etc. Does 100 BPM constitute as uptempo?Andy

[elser]

It depends on the style. In Be Bop 140 BPM would be a slower tempo with tempos above 300 being fairly common. In the various electronica styles I would say tempos of 135 and above would be considered uptempo. A lot of it is perception, country train beats might not have that fast a BPM but because of the way they feel they seem fast. I guess to me, if it feels fast it is fast aside from the actual BPM. Do the research on whatever particular style you intend to write to get a better idea.Hope that helps. Elser

[jwebbinspired]

Thanks Elser. I mostly write Commerical Country, Contemporary Christian and Rock. I always considered slow tempo to be below 90 bpm, mid to be 90-110, and uptempo over 110. I am curious specifically about the line between mid and up tempos because everything I read says that uptempos are statistically the quickest way to a cut. I've done a lot of research but I haven't had anyone define bpm relative to "uptempo." Here are some songs I am not sure what tempo they are considered. What tempo do you think these songs are: "Some Beach" Blake Shelton "Live Like You Were Dying" Tim McGrawTo me I think these songs are mid to uptempo. Andy

[matthoggard]

From what ive been seeing Andy. The uptempo term means.DO NOT BRING US ANYMORE BALLADS!!!! If its a ballad make it a "power ballad".Tempo 100 or better. Apparently all of us "newbie" show up for writers nights with nothing but ballads all about the same topics.HeartbreakGoing to Nashville to get disvcoveredLeaving Nashville cuz noone wanted my balladsAngelsCOwboys etc.I think anything 100 bpm or better is going to be uptempo. I guess the 41,000 songwriters in nashville have 40,000 slow ballads for publishers to choose from.Thats why i havent posted anything new lately. I am totally changing my writing approach. For Nashville anyway. If you notice the Taxi listings for country they are always wanting uptempo fun songs.Its getting even harder for us. Like it wasnt hard enough already. Oh well, onward and upward. Or sideways maybe.M~

[Casey H]

My understanding is you don't get towards "up-tempo" until you get to the 120-140 PBM range. In does depend a little on genre- in rock I wouldnt consider under 140 as up...If you google on the subject there is lots of info. Casey

[jwebbinspired]

Thank you Casey. I appreciate your input. I'll Google the situation.Andy

[devin]

Jan 29, 2009, 2:37pm, matthoggard wrote:From what ive been seeing Andy. The uptempo term means.DO NOT BRING US ANYMORE BALLADS!!!! LOL Matt I guess my wife is in the industry, because she gave me the same message 5 years ago FWIW, I bought the EZ Drummer "Nashville" Expansion pack. I noticed they label their grooves with the bpm.The maker (Toontrack) credits Harry Stinson and Chuck Ainlay as the core contributors for this package. The naming convention for their grooves may give a few clues to what they would label the tempo as.With labels like "Levon half time" and "Grease shuffle", I would think the names were chosen in consultation with Harry and Chuck.I've asked a few folks that play drums how realistic the drum patterns are in EZ Drummer, and so far everyone agrees the packaged stuff is dead on for both the heavy metal and country expansion packs.Here's the grooves that specifically mention mid or uptempo:Midtempo 118 Midtempo 125Regular midtempo 130Regular uptempo 139Uptempo 150Uptempo 152HTH? It's the only guidance I can share (but I did pay for it )

[jwebbinspired]

Thanks Matt, Casey and Devin. You both better explained what I was thinking. I also talked to a friend last night who has been performing country stuff for 20 years and he looked up the tempos on all the stuff. "Ain't Going Down Till the Sun Comes Up" he plays at 166 bpm and "Hicktown" is like 121.At NSAI they have been saying to "squash" the mid tempo and make it an uptempo and your chances increase drastically.So taking in all your guys' in put, I guess I need to change my approach too. Do do you think my song "Addicted To Speed" would be considered uptempo? www.andrewscottwills.com/ats.mp3 Or is it really a mid tempo? I think it's at 120 or so.Andy

[erandall]

Hi AndyI am not sure, but I think if you want it to be uptempo maybe you should speed it up a bit...especially since it refers to speed! THanks for this thread. I am often confronted with the same question!EllenPS I heard Jimmy Webb's kids' band play a couple of years ago. I loved them!

[hummingbird]

100 is slow. broadjam has a tempo chartvery slow -under 70slow 71-90medium slow 91-110medium 111-130medium fast 131-150fast 151-170very fast 171+upHTH