Genre Guides

Trance BPM

Q: What is the typical BPM for Trance?

138 BPM is the practical DJ target for Trance. Treat it as a crate-filtering reference, then check the exact beatgrid and phrasing for each track.

Q: What is the BPM range for Trance?

Trance ranges from 128 to 150 BPM. The spread reflects production variations and sub-genre splintering within the style.

Q: What are the main sub-genres of Trance?

The main sub-genres of Trance include Uplifting Trance (138 BPM), Progressive Trance (132 BPM), Vocal Trance (138 BPM). Each has its own tempo signature within the broader 128-150 BPM range.

Q: What styles are closest to Trance?

Trance is best compared with Uplifting Trance (136-142 BPM), Progressive Trance (128-136 BPM), Vocal Trance (132-140 BPM), Tech Trance (135-145 BPM). These are more useful DJ references than same-tempo genres from unrelated scenes because the production style and phrasing are closer.

Q: What are the production characteristics of Trance?

Trance is characterized by: Euphoric melodies, Extended builds, Arpeggiated synths, Emotional peaks.

Trance is usually mixed around 128-150 BPM, with 138 BPM as a practical DJ target. The reference tracks on this page span 80-140 BPM, so the guide separates core examples from adjacent and outlier records.

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Trance BPM Reference

Trance: 128-150 BPM, typical 138 BPM.

Genre	BPM Range	Typical BPM	Notes
Trance	128-150	138	Hypnotic melodies, euphoric builds, and extended breakdowns. Designed to induce a trance-like state through repetition and emotional progression.
Balearic Trance	118-128	124	Sun-drenched, slower trance born from Ibiza's Café del Mar/Pacha sunset sets. Eclectic, melodic, and uplifting without the BPM. Chicane, Way Out West.
Progressive Trance	128-136	132	Slower, deeper trance with gradual builds and subtle evolution. Less euphoric peaks, more groove and texture. Sasha & Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo.
Zenonesque	126-140	132	Australian-pioneered, left-field strain of progressive psytrance championed by Zenon Records. Sensient, Krumelur, Globular. Cerebral, jazzy, head-nod psychedelia over peak-time bombast.
Dream Trance	130-140	135	Mid-90s Italian trance built on dreamy piano leads and emotional progressions. Robert Miles' 'Children' archetype, BBE, Zhi-Vago.
Progressive Psytrance	130-140	135	Slower, hypnotic psytrance focused on groove and gradual development. Liquid Soul, Ace Ventura, Vibrasphere, Atmos. The Swedish-born stripped-down side of psy.
Uplifting Trance	136-142	138	The classic trance sound: soaring melodies, big breakdowns, and euphoric drops that define the genre's emotional peak. Aly & Fila, Above & Beyond, Ferry Corsten.
Vocal Trance	132-140	138	Trance with foregrounded vocal performances. Dash Berlin, Tiësto's early-2000s output, ATB. Pop crossover potential.
Tech Trance	135-145	140	Merges trance's melodic elements with techno's driving, percussive energy. Harder edge than classic trance. Simon Patterson, Sean Tyas, Will Atkinson.
Acid Trance	135-145	140	TB-303-driven trance: squelchy acid lines weaving through trance arrangements. Hardfloor, Union Jack, Trance Wax.
Orchestral Uplifting	138-142	140	Cinematic, symphonic uplifting trance: orchestral string sections, choir layers, and film-score builds. Andy Blueman, Soundlift, Activa.
Psybreaks	130-150	140	Psytrance hybridised with breakbeat drum patterns. Hyper-Frequencies, Tickle, Shanka, BSE. Mostly 130-140 BPM with broken kicks instead of 4/4.
Hard Trance	140-150	145	Faster, harder trance: distorted hoover synths, pumping kicks, and hard-rave energy. Kai Tracid, Dumonde, Cosmic Gate's early sound.
Psytrance	140-150	145	Psychedelic trance with driving basslines, layered textures, and mind-bending sound design. Born from Goa trance.
Goa Trance	140-150	145	The original psychedelic trance from Goa, India. Layered acid lines, organic textures, and spiritual energy. Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom's early work.
Full-On Psytrance	140-148	145	Melodic, energetic Israeli/Brazilian psytrance variant. Vini Vici, Astrix, Infected Mushroom mainstream era. The festival-friendly face of psy.
Forest / Dark Psytrance	145-160	148	Dark, organic, woodland-mood psytrance with rolling acid basslines. Kindzadza, Para Halu, Terrafractyl. The opposite end from Full-On.
Twilight Psytrance	144-156	150	Mid-tempo, melodic-but-edgy psytrance for the hours between night and dawn. Loud, Spectro Senses, Earthling. Sits between progressive psy and full-on with darker grooves.
Nitzhonot	145-155	150	Israeli melody-forward Goa offshoot from the late 1990s. Eyal Barkan, Holy Men, Astral Projection's brighter side. 'Victories' in Hebrew: celebratory, anthem-driven psytrance.
Suomisaundi	140-160	150	Finnish freeform psy: chaotic, irreverent, sample-collage psytrance. Squaremeat, Texas Faggott, Haltya. The DIY weirdo cousin of Goa.
Darkpsy	148-160	152	Heavier end of psytrance with relentless 4/4 kicks, rolling sub-bass, and dense FM/acid textures. Kindzadza, Bog, Penta. Robotic and chromatic where forest is organic and natural.
Hi-Tech Psytrance	170-220	200	Ultra-fast, experimental psytrance pushing tempo and sound design to extremes. Bizzare Contact, Outsiders, Furious, Para Halu. Glitchy, technical, often blurring with speedcore at the upper end.

vibesdj.io/dj-tools - BPM ranges are practical DJ references, not strict genre boundaries.

Trance

128–150BPM

138

105230

Hypnotic melodies, euphoric builds, and extended breakdowns. Designed to induce a trance-like state through repetition and emotional progression.

Euphoric melodiesExtended buildsArpeggiated synthsEmotional peaks

Sub-genre BPM landscape

scale: 105–230 BPM

Balearic Trance118–128

Progressive Trance128–136

Zenonesque126–140

Dream Trance130–140

Progressive Psytrance130–140

Uplifting Trance136–142

Vocal Trance132–140

Tech Trance135–145

Acid Trance135–145

Orchestral Uplifting138–142

Psybreaks130–150

Hard Trance140–150

Psytrance140–150

Goa Trance140–150

Full-On Psytrance140–148

Forest / Dark Psytrance145–160

Twilight Psytrance144–156

Nitzhonot145–155

Suomisaundi140–160

Darkpsy148–160

Hi-Tech Psytrance170–220

Trance sub-genres

Uplifting Trance

136–142

The classic trance sound: soaring melodies, big breakdowns, and euphoric drops that define the genre's emotional peak. Aly & Fila, Above & Beyond, Ferry Corsten.

Soaring melodiesBig breakdownsEuphoric dropsClassic trance pads

Progressive Trance

128–136

Slower, deeper trance with gradual builds and subtle evolution. Less euphoric peaks, more groove and texture. Sasha & Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo.

Gradual buildsSubtle evolutionGroove-focusedDeep textures

Vocal Trance

132–140

Trance with foregrounded vocal performances. Dash Berlin, Tiësto's early-2000s output, ATB. Pop crossover potential.

Featured vocalsPop structureBig chorus dropsEmotional lyrics

Tech Trance

135–145

Merges trance's melodic elements with techno's driving, percussive energy. Harder edge than classic trance. Simon Patterson, Sean Tyas, Will Atkinson.

Driving percussionHarder edgeTrance melodiesTechno influence

Hard Trance

140–150

Faster, harder trance: distorted hoover synths, pumping kicks, and hard-rave energy. Kai Tracid, Dumonde, Cosmic Gate's early sound.

Hoover synthsPumping kicksHard-rave energyDriving build-ups

Acid Trance

135–145

TB-303-driven trance: squelchy acid lines weaving through trance arrangements. Hardfloor, Union Jack, Trance Wax.

TB-303 acidTrance breakdownsSquelchy leadsRave nostalgia

Dream Trance

130–140

Mid-90s Italian trance built on dreamy piano leads and emotional progressions. Robert Miles' 'Children' archetype, BBE, Zhi-Vago.

Piano leadsItalian originEmotional progressionsMid-90s sound

Balearic Trance

118–128

Sun-drenched, slower trance born from Ibiza's Café del Mar/Pacha sunset sets. Eclectic, melodic, and uplifting without the BPM. Chicane, Way Out West.

Sunset feelEclectic samplesSlow buildIbiza heritage

Orchestral Uplifting

138–142

Cinematic, symphonic uplifting trance: orchestral string sections, choir layers, and film-score builds. Andy Blueman, Soundlift, Activa.

Orchestral stringsChoir layersCinematic buildsFilm-score scale

Psytrance

140–150

Psychedelic trance with driving basslines, layered textures, and mind-bending sound design. Born from Goa trance.

Driving basslinesPsychedelic texturesLayered FXTrippy atmosphere

Goa Trance

140–150

The original psychedelic trance from Goa, India. Layered acid lines, organic textures, and spiritual energy. Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom's early work.

Acid linesLayered texturesSpiritual energyGoa heritage

Full-On Psytrance

140–148

Melodic, energetic Israeli/Brazilian psytrance variant. Vini Vici, Astrix, Infected Mushroom mainstream era. The festival-friendly face of psy.

Melodic leadsFestival energyIsraeli schoolMainstream psy

Forest / Dark Psytrance

145–160

Dark, organic, woodland-mood psytrance with rolling acid basslines. Kindzadza, Para Halu, Terrafractyl. The opposite end from Full-On.

Rolling acid bassOrganic texturesDark moodForest aesthetics

Hi-Tech Psytrance

170–220

Ultra-fast, experimental psytrance pushing tempo and sound design to extremes. Bizzare Contact, Outsiders, Furious, Para Halu. Glitchy, technical, often blurring with speedcore at the upper end.

170-220 BPM rangeIntricate glitch sound designRolling triplet bassNon-regular melodic structure

Twilight Psytrance

144–156

Mid-tempo, melodic-but-edgy psytrance for the hours between night and dawn. Loud, Spectro Senses, Earthling. Sits between progressive psy and full-on with darker grooves.

Dark full-on energyGroovy mid-tempoMelodic but edgyNight-to-dawn vibe

Darkpsy

148–160

Heavier end of psytrance with relentless 4/4 kicks, rolling sub-bass, and dense FM/acid textures. Kindzadza, Bog, Penta. Robotic and chromatic where forest is organic and natural.

Relentless 4/4 kickRolling sub-bassDense FM/acid layersEschatological mood

Progressive Psytrance

130–140

Slower, hypnotic psytrance focused on groove and gradual development. Liquid Soul, Ace Ventura, Vibrasphere, Atmos. The Swedish-born stripped-down side of psy.

Hypnotic grooveLong phrasingCleaner productionRolling restrained bass

Zenonesque

126–140

Australian-pioneered, left-field strain of progressive psytrance championed by Zenon Records. Sensient, Krumelur, Globular. Cerebral, jazzy, head-nod psychedelia over peak-time bombast.

Elastic off-beat bassTechy minimal percussionJazzy inflectionsHead-nod groove

Nitzhonot

145–155

Israeli melody-forward Goa offshoot from the late 1990s. Eyal Barkan, Holy Men, Astral Projection's brighter side. 'Victories' in Hebrew: celebratory, anthem-driven psytrance.

Triumphant supersaw leadsMiddle-Eastern modesPitched 'laser' kickAnthem-style hooks

Suomisaundi

140–160

Finnish freeform psy: chaotic, irreverent, sample-collage psytrance. Squaremeat, Texas Faggott, Haltya. The DIY weirdo cousin of Goa.

Sample collageIrreverent humourFinnish DIYFreeform structure

Psybreaks

130–150

Psytrance hybridised with breakbeat drum patterns. Hyper-Frequencies, Tickle, Shanka, BSE. Mostly 130-140 BPM with broken kicks instead of 4/4.

Breakbeat drumsPsy texturesMid-tempoHybrid groove

Core DJ range: 128–150 BPM
Practical target: 138 BPM
Track spread: 80-140 BPM
Track evidence: 13 shown

Use the BPM that makes loops, cue points, and phrase markers behave cleanly in your DJ software.

What BPM Is Trance?

Trance sits at 128–150 BPM as a core DJ range, with 138 BPM as a practical target for crate filtering and set planning. Balearic Trance is the slowest at 118-128 BPM, while Hi-Tech Psytrance reaches 170-220 BPM.

How to Read Trance BPM in DJ Software

Trance is usually mixed around 128-150 BPM, with 138 BPM as a practical DJ target. The reference tracks on this page span 80-140 BPM, so use the grid that makes loops and phrase markers line up cleanly.

128-150 BPM

Core Trance DJ range

Beatmatch normally, then check phrasing around intros, breaks, and drops.

64-75 BPM

Halftime interpretation of the core range

Double the grid if 8-bar loops or cue points feel too slow.

138 BPM

Practical target for crate filtering

Use as a starting point, then sort by energy, key, and arrangement.

< 128 BPM

Slower adjacent or bridge records

Treat as tempo bridges unless the grid doubles cleanly into the core range.

Track Evidence

This table separates the core DJ range from the tracks shown here, so the page can be useful without hiding bridge records or outliers.

Tracks shown: 13
Track spread: 80-140 BPM
Below core range: 2 tracks
Inside core range: 11 tracks
Above core range: 0 tracks
Mean of shown tracks: 127 BPM
Median of shown tracks: 134 BPM
Evidence level: 13 tracks, 11 core examples

Trance Reference Tracks

Resolved Trance tracks with BPM and Camelot key, separated by DJ fit:

Core Trance examples

These examples sit inside the 128-150 BPM core DJ range.

9 PM (Till I Come) - Radio Edit

ATB

130

Concrete Angel - Radio Edit

Gareth Emery, Christina Novelli

130

Till The Sky Falls Down

Dash Berlin

132

Body Of Conflict - Cosmic Gate Radio Edit

Cosmic Gate, Denise Rivera

133

Sun & Moon - Original Mix

Above & Beyond, Richard Bedford

134

11A

Thing Called Love - Original Mix

Above & Beyond, Richard Bedford

134

In And Out Of Love

Armin van Buuren, Sharon Den Adel

135

Riff

Sander van Doorn

135

For an Angel

Paul van Dyk

138

Adagio for Strings

Tiësto

140

Out Of The Blue

System F, Ferry Corsten

140

Adjacent and outlier examples

These tracks still help explain the Trance neighborhood, but they should not be treated as core examples without checking the grid.

Rosaires - Chill Out Mix

Aly & Fila

Mainstage

Markus Schulz

Afterhours

Aggressive

Build & Release

For working DJs

Build better DJ crates in Vibes

Tag tracks by vibe, energy, role, and set context before your next set.

Discover Vibes

Rosaires - Chill Out Mix

Aly & Fila

80 BPM

Below the 128-150 BPM core range; use as a bridge record or test a doubled grid.

Mainstage

Markus Schulz

85 BPM

Below the 128-150 BPM core range; use as a bridge record or test a doubled grid.

DJ Overview for Trance

Use this as a mixing and library-prep description, not an encyclopedia entry.

Sound palette

Euphoric melodies, Extended builds, Arpeggiated synths, Emotional peaks

Drum feel

128-150 BPM core range; check whether slower readings work better doubled or as halftime.

Arrangement and phrasing

Confirm intro, build, drop, breakdown, and outro cue points before trusting the analyzer value.

Energy use in a set

builds, drops, and higher-energy transitions

Often compared with

Uplifting Trance, Vocal Trance, Tech Trance

Compare Nearby Styles

128 BPM150 BPM

Trance

128–150 · typical 138

Primary reference for this page.

Uplifting Trance

136–142 · typical 138

Same typical tempo; compare by arrangement and energy.

Vocal Trance

132–140 · typical 138

Same typical tempo; compare by arrangement and energy.

Tech Trance

135–145 · typical 140

2 BPM faster typical tempo; useful for lifting energy.

Acid Trance

135–145 · typical 140

2 BPM faster typical tempo; useful for lifting energy.

Mix Into Trance

Tempo overlap is only one part of the decision. These suggestions separate BPM fit from style fit so same-tempo but unrelated genres do not look like natural transitions.

Uplifting Trance

136-142 BPM · typical 138

High