# The perfect 'djent' tempo?



## C2Aye (Jan 4, 2012)

So after writing and recording an album and working on a follow up EP, I've found that my 'djenty' riffs that I come up with are almost always in the 145-155 bpm range and it just seems so easy to fall into that tempo region. I don't know if it's a comfort zone that I've found myself falling into or whether the style of riffage just fall very nicely into this tempo (it seems a lot of bands use this tempo range a lot too!).

So I'm just wondering whether any of you guys have had similar experiences when writing 'djent' riffs? Or maybe I should just totally shake things up


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## Fiction (Jan 4, 2012)

I naturally write in either 90, 120 or 140 bmp. 99% of the time when I check what tempo i'm playing, its those 3, with a margin of ~4. Its weird.

But 90 seems to be where most of my djent-ish riffs sit


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## Konfyouzd (Jan 4, 2012)

^ 90 is a nice groovy tempo. I don't really do djent or anything but that tempo seems to be a nice one if you wanna write anything that grooves. I find when things get too fast you don't really always have enough... space (?)... between beats to get it to "swing."

That's just my personal opinion, though.


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## C2Aye (Jan 4, 2012)

90 is a good tempo for groovy stuff, I still play funk occasionally and it's definitely good for a groove!

Oh, I forgot to mention that at 150 bpm, I'm usually half-time it so the feel is 75 bpm, as is often the case with 'djent' riffs. I just set it to 150 bpm in my DAW to save me from writing in 32nd note fills on drums as opposed to 16th note fills! 

Also, 140/70 bpm seems to be the perfect dubstep tempo


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## Fiction (Jan 4, 2012)

Yeah if I get up to 140, a lot of it will be in half time then. I don't like counting slower haha, most of my riffs are quavers and it makes counting a lot easier, IMO.. And as you said, drum programming gets squished if you're going to be playing in 70 with 32nd Note fills.


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## Kurkkuviipale (Jan 4, 2012)

C2Aye said:


> 90 is a good tempo for groovy stuff, I still play funk occasionally and it's definitely good for a groove!
> 
> Oh, I forgot to mention that at 150 bpm, I'm usually half-time it so the feel is 75 bpm, as is often the case with 'djent' riffs. I just set it to 150 bpm in my DAW to save me from writing in 32nd note fills on drums as opposed to 16th note fills!
> 
> Also, 140/70 bpm seems to be the perfect dubstep tempo



Some subgenre of hardstyle techno is always composed in 140 since it's so easy to dance in.


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## Dayn (Jan 4, 2012)

I've used 90, 105, and 130. 130 pops up a lot, and there was a 140 in there too...


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## C2Aye (Jan 4, 2012)

It does seem to have a natural tempo range where it's comfortable. I'll list the tempos for each of the songs (and the main time signature) and while I tried my best, they mostly fall into that range 

1) Pillars of Creation - 147bpm 4/4
2) Orion - 147bpm 4/4
3) Cassini - 201bpm 12/8
4) Messier Object - 183bpm 4/4
5) Double Helix - 154bpm 4/4
6) Dirac Sea -154bpm 4/4
7) Multiverse I: Origin - 190bpm 6/8
8) Multiverse II: Divergence - 155bpm 4/4
9) Multiverse III: Alternate Realities - 145bpm 4/4

It 6 out of the 9 tracks fell into my little comfort zone of 145-155bpm and even the ones in compound time are at a reasonable 'djenting' tempo. I don't know whether to consider it a bad thing or not, but there you go  

Although I did think track 4 (Messier Object) was a direct attempt to write something at a tempo other than the ones I've mentioned.


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