House · 1980s Chicago — present
What BPM is Deep house?
Deep house sits at 123 BPM at the median, with most tracks between 120 and 126 BPM. The genre's editorial range is 118–125 BPM; our catalog measures slightly tighter.
Median BPM
123
Common range
120–126
Mean
124
Tracks measured
954
BPM distribution
954 tracks · median 123 BPM · most of the catalog sits between 120 and 126 BPM · 46 outliers removed by IQR filter.
How deep house tempo has shifted
Across 689 deep house tracks spanning 2012–2026, the median has crept up by 5.0 BPM (from 121 to 126) with the highest median in 2025 (128 BPM) and the lowest in 2015 (120 BPM).
Why this tempo?
Deep house settled at 118–125 BPM because it prioritizes groove over urgency. The tempo sits low enough to accommodate the genre's signature slow-attack bass lines and extended chord progressions—typically 8 or 16 bars—without feeling static. Chicago's original house pioneers used drum machines like the TR-808 and TR-909, which naturally favored this range for soulful, four-on-the-floor pocket. Unlike faster house variants, deep house's patient mixing philosophy demands space: DJs blend tracks across 6–10 minute sections, allowing atmospheric layers and vocal samples to breathe. The dancefloor function is meditative rather than peak-time; the tempo sustains energy without demanding constant BPM escalation.
Where your track fits
Three reference points along the BPM axis for deep house, with what the position implies about the track.
Groovy side
Lower quartile — patient builds, deeper grooves, long blends.
Genre centre
Median — what most tracks in the catalog actually sound like.
Peak-time edge
Upper quartile — pushes the floor, bridges into faster neighbours.
Where deep house sits on the tempo axis
Median BPM of deep house compared to neighbouring genres in the same family. Closer medians mean easier cross-genre transitions.
Popular deep house tracks at the median BPM
Catalog tracks within ±2 BPM of 123, sorted by popularity.
Top deep house artists in the catalog
Names you’ll meet often when building deep house sets.
Producing deep house — tempo notes
- ›Anchor your kick pattern at 120–122 BPM to allow sidechain compression on bass to feel deliberate rather than rushed; deep house thrives on perceived weight, not velocity.
- ›Compose melodic hooks and pad progressions in 16-bar phrases at 121 BPM; this length matches the standard deep house blend window and gives DJs natural cue points.
- ›Set your swing or shuffle on hi-hats to 55–65% at 124 BPM to create pocket without destabilizing the four-on-the-floor foundation that anchors the genre.
Mixing deep house sets — tempo notes
- ›Use 8–10 minute blend lengths between tracks; at 120 BPM, this allows two full breakdowns and a clean phrase boundary re-entry without jarring the room.
- ›EQ incoming bass at 60–80 Hz with a high-pass filter set to roll off gradually; deep house relies on sub clarity, and overlapping lows at 123 BPM will muddy the pocket.
- ›Beatmatch within a ±2 BPM window (e.g., 120–122 BPM); deep house's slow attack elements are sensitive to tempo drift, and listeners perceive even small variations as mixing error.