Catch on the beat
Put the catch on a strong beat and let the drive take the next one or two. At six beats a stroke that is two beats of drive and four of recovery; at four beats, roughly one and three.
Rowing to your own music
Find the song tempo that fits your stroke rate, tap along to any track to find its rate, or row to a metronome right here in the browser.
Calculator
SPM ↔ BPM
At lower rates, six beats fit one stroke (two for the drive, four for the recovery). At higher rates and on the SkiErg, four.
Your stroke rate
strokes per minute
Tap tempo
Tap along to any song
Play the song, then tap the pad (or press T or the space bar on it) on every beat. Eight taps or so is plenty.
Tempo
BPM
No taps yet.
Metronome
Row to a click
A strong click on the catch, a soft one at the finish. Drive one third, recovery two thirds, as on the videos. Turn your sound on.
SPM
Nothing plays until you press Start.
Guide
How to row to music
Count, then stop counting
Count the beats for the first few strokes (“drive, two, three, four, five, six”), then let the music carry it. If you drift, wait for the next strong beat and catch on it.
Don’t chase the monitor
The monitor’s stroke rate averages over the last few strokes, so it lags behind changes. Hold the rhythm for 30 seconds before you judge the number.
Half and double time
Fast songs can still work: a 160 BPM track in half time is 80 BPM. If a tempo looks wrong, try halving or doubling it before giving up on the song.
Genres by tempo band
Ideas only: the styles we use to make music at each tempo. Any song with a steady beat works if its tempo fits.
| Tempo | Styles | Rate at 6 beats | Rate at 4 beats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96–112 BPM | Lo-fi hip hop, Downtempo Balearic, Chill house (104–112) | 16–19 SPM | 24–28 SPM |
| 120–132 BPM | Deep house (120–128), Synthwave, Nu-disco | 20–22 SPM | 30–33 SPM |
| 128–136 BPM | Indie electronic with a motorik beat | 21–23 SPM | 32–34 SPM |
| 140–152 BPM | Melodic techno, Uplifting trance, Big beat | 23–25 SPM | 35–38 SPM |
Made to the rate
Our albums, by rate
- 18RowErg SPM
- 20RowErg SPM30SkiErg SPM
120 BPM · 10 tracks
Whole album on Suno - 22RowErg SPM
132 BPM · 10 tracks
Whole album on Suno - 24RowErg SPM
Rates with no album yet: RowErg 16, RowErg 26, RowErg 28, SkiErg 34, SkiErg 38 SPM.