Golden tempo

[stevo]

To all the cover bands that are successful in getting the crowd up and dancing... What's the tempo range? Too fast, and they don't want to dance, to slow, other than slow dance songs, and they won't get out there and dance. I'm wondering if there is a range for the perfect tempo?
Or shoud the question be: Is it the tempo? Or is it the beat?

[blade123]

As long as there's a beat, you can dance at any tempo.

[larryace]

Ooo interesting. I bet there is a range that is more conducive to the shaking of the ass. This might be going back a ways, but many moons ago in the 80's we used to play the Romantics song "What I like about you" and it would never fail to get the girls up there shaking what their Momma gave em. Not sure of the BPM of that song, but once that is known, I'm guessing it would fall right in the center of that "Golden Tempo" range.

[TheGroceryman]

im saying around the 110-120 range. that just seems to flow sooo well. and strangely enough my playing feels so much more "natural" in that range. I dont know what it is. it just feels good! thats why i've been trying to play slower than that, and playing faster than that, cause once im out of that range, i just seem to not groove at all!

[bobdadruma]

When I'm trying to set a dance tempo for a song I try to move my body to the song while I'm playing as if I were dancing. I know, I'm showing my roots here. I'm a sixties kind of guy. Every song has a groove that is danceable. The trick is to find it. That is why I dance on my throne while I play like I was at a Grateful Dead show. Hey! It works for me! Go ahead, Feel free to make fun of me. I don't care! Just Try it, It works!

[lochday]

Depends on what you play. It's not only the tempo (often dictated by the style of music) but also the quality of the groove and the pulse with the melody that make people danse.

[bobdadruma]

Depends on what you play. It's not only the tempo (often dictated by the style of music) but also the quality of the groove and the pulse with the melody that make people danse.Yes, This is true. If you animate your motions while you are playing as if you were dancing, you will find the quality of the groove that you seek. Don't try and follow the people on the dance floor. Find the natural groove yourself. You are in control.

[stevo]

Well, I'll add this: Around here, western part of lake Erie, we have lots of yacht clubs. Every summer, the yacht clubs throw regattas. As a band, this can be a very lucrative gig. In playing these, it's typically main stream songs. From Domino, to Jimmy Buffet, and then as the night goes on, a lot of the bands throw some interesting songs into the mix. When these bands are "on", so is the crowd. My observation is, a lot of these bands aren't always great musicians, they are definately good musicians, but, it's the songs, and the presentation. But again, I am wondering if it's all within a certain tempo/BPM.

[bobdadruma]

Yes, stevo, The song and its familiarity to the audience plays an important role on the dance issue. If they know and like the song they will be more prone to dance to it. I haven't learned of any specific tempo that is more danceable than others. I guess that is it is both the song as well as its presentation that is the prominate factor.

[junglelord]

I agree, about 120 seems to get the booty rocking.

[7DaysToTheWolves]

I'm a fan of 150-160.

[mrchattr]

It really depends on the audience.

One thing that I have learned is that playing songs at their right tempo, maybe a little faster, usually will get more people up than punking out songs, unless you are playing for a younger audience.

Most people are used to the tempo 120 BPM. It's the most common tempo in rock (it actually stems from being the most common tempo in marches). Anything from 110 - 140 can work really well.

However, you have to read your audience. The other night, we were playing at a campground, and they seemed to love the faster music we played...so when I started Love Shack (usually 110-120 BPM), I took it closer to 150 BPM, and the floor filled up. My bass player (who hates when anything changes) turned around to me and said, "Slow it down," but I just nodded out at the audience. He turned around, saw how much they were moving, turned back to me, and just said, "Damn it. Fine." The rest of the night, I kept us in a higher gear, and the floor stayed packed. However, most of the time I have done this, after a few tunes, the audience seems to get tired, and will sit down.

So, my point is, every audience is different. Learning how to read the audience, and how to communicate set list changes to your band, is essential.