Create Playlists Faster: Thousands of Songs Sorted by BPM for Indoor Cycling Profiles

Streamline Your Playlist Creation with Tempo Bucket Playlists

One of the biggest challenges indoor cycling instructors face is finding the right music for their profiles. This isn’t just a struggle for new instructors—it can be time-consuming even for seasoned pros who care about creating high-quality playlists that match the objective, energy, and emotion of their classes.

The secret to cutting down this time? Bucket playlists.

What Are Bucket Playlists?

Bucket playlists is a term I coined several years ago to describe large, curated collections of songs organized by specific criteria. You know, like your “bucket list” of songs! 🤗 Think of them as your music library’s well-organized pantry or closet—everything you need is easily accessible, making it simple to create engaging and varied class profiles. 

Here are some ways to categorize your bucket playlists:

• By Tempo: Songs grouped by beats per minute (bpm) to match the desired cadence (rpm).
• By Use: Tailor your playlists for specific class elements like warm-ups, recoveries, cool-downs, sprints, FTP tests, and more.
• By Mood or Energy: Choose tracks based on the emotional vibe or energy level, such as motivational anthems, sprint-worthy, lighthearted or humorous songs, or those perfect for a climactic finale.
• By Theme: Include seasonal playlists (Valentine’s Day, Back to School, Halloween), lyrical themes (colors, cities, water), and genre-specific collections (electronic, classic rock, decades).
• By Song Length: For interval training profiles, such as 3-2-1 or over/under intervals, having a well-stocked selection of 6-minute songs can be invaluable. (Why yes, ICA does have all the 6-minute songs you’ll ever need categorized by tempo! Also, you can find the 3-2-1 ramp drill here and 3-2-1 ramp profiles here and here.)

Since 2016, I’ve been building a massive collection of bucket playlists on Spotify. This expansive library now includes over 500 themed playlists and continues to grow. For ICA members, I’ve shared hundreds of these playlists to help you quickly find the right song for every moment in your class. We have an extensive range of fun, theme-based bucket playlists for any occasion or concept you want to highlight.  

Now let’s dive into the purpose of this post—introducing the greatest and most useful collection of songs to create exciting and tailored playlists for your profiles: Tempo Bucket Playlists!

Tempo Bucket Playlists: A Must-Have Resource for Cycling Instructors

Bucket playlists based on bpm (or rpm, if you prefer) are among the most indispensable tools in your music pantry. They simplify the process of finding tracks with the right tempo to match your class objectives, whether you’re building an energetic climb, a fast flat, or a dynamic interval set.

Here’s how the ICA tempo bucket playlists are organized:

• By Cadence (rpm): Each playlist corresponds to a specific range of tempos, making it easy to select songs that match your desired cadence.
• By Genre: Within each tempo range, playlists are further divided into two categories.
  • Electronic: EDM, trance, dance, downtempo, ambient, world, dub, etc.
  • Rock/Pop/Indie/Hip-Hop/Alternative: Songs spanning various styles, from timeless classics to modern hits to little-known tracks.
    (Note: Some EDM tracks may appear in both categories if they lean heavily toward pop.)

Even if you don’t teach to the beat, these bpm/rpm categories are still invaluable. A song’s tempo often (though not always) reflects its energy, making it easier to match tracks to different terrains and intensity levels, such as slow climbs, fast climbs, moderate flats, or higher-cadence efforts.

Step-by-Step: How to Use Tempo Bucket Playlists

1. Building an Interval Playlist

Imagine you’re designing an interval profile with progressively longer intervals—3, 4, and 5 minutes long. You want two songs for each interval, alternating between slower climbing cadences and faster flat road cadences.

Here’s how you can use the tempo buckets to build your playlist:

• Sort by duration: Start by sorting the bucket playlist by song length. In Spotify on the desktop app, click the three lines above the song length column and scroll to “Duration” to organize songs by time. (Sorting by duration is not available on the phone app.)
• Choose your songs: For each interval, find songs in the desired duration range and cadence. For example, for a 3-minute interval, select one slow climb and one fast flat track. Repeat for the 4- and 5-minute intervals.
• Drag and drop: Add two to three options for each interval into your new playlist. Listen to them, choose the ones that work for you, and finalize your selections.

2. Adding Recovery Songs

Recovery tracks are just as important as the intervals themselves. ICA’s recovery song buckets contain over 6,000 options, so you’ll never run out of choices. Use the same method—sort by duration, preview songs, and add them between intervals in your playlist.

3. Warm-Up and Cool-Down Songs

Every great class needs the perfect bookends. ICA also provides huge bucket playlists for warm-ups (over 1,800 songs) and cool-downs. Sort by duration or mood to find tracks that set the tone at the start and bring your riders back to earth at the end.

Why Tempo Buckets Work for Everyone

Whether you’re a beat-based instructor or prefer teaching by energy and terrain, tempo buckets provide the structure you need to build dynamic and varied playlists. With these tools, you can quickly create profiles tailored to any class format, ensuring your riders stay engaged and motivated.

From tempo-based intervals to themed rides, bucket playlists make the process of creating your cycling profiles faster and more enjoyable. They’re the secret weapon in every instructor’s toolbox—helping you deliver exceptional classes every time.

Personalize Your Tempo Bucket Playlists

Below is what my Spotify tempo folders and bucket playlists look like in my Spotify app*. I have a folder for FLAT ROAD/HIGHER CADENCE 80–100+ RPM and one for CLIMBING/SLOWER CADENCE 55–85 RPM. I then created the bucket playlists for the various tempos and stored them in the appropriate folder. (*Note: The ICA Spotify account only has a small number of public playlists. The vast majority of my over 2,100 playlists do not appear on my Spotify profile and are only available to ICA members in protected posts—one of the invaluable benefits of being an ICA member!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you want to not only follow my playlists but also create your own mirror bucket playlists and personalize them. Here’s how to do that:

1. Organize Your Spotify Library

• Start by creating a folder in Spotify for ICA playlists. (Here’s how to do this.) You can then create subfolders for categories like profiles, tempo, recovery, warm-ups, themes, etc. Drag the ICA tempo playlists that you’ve followed at the end of this post into the tempo subfolder you’ve created. As long as you don’t delete them, they will always remain in this folder if you need to return to it to check out my latest additions to these playlists.

2. Create Your Custom Playlist

• Make a new playlist and name it similar to how I name mine (but feel free to do what works for you). Depending on how you personally use different genres, you might decide to combine all the genres into one bucket instead of dividing them like I do.
• Add a description to each playlist, such as “My personalized version of the ICA 80–89 rpm tempo playlist.”
• Create separate folders and subfolders to organize your personal playlists; it’s important to keep them apart from the ICA playlists so you don’t confuse them.

3. Copy the Songs to Your Playlist

• Open the ICA tempo playlist you want to copy, for example, “80–89 RPM ELECTRONIC/DOWNTEMPO/DUB.”
• Highlight all the songs by clicking anywhere in the playlist window and pressing Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac).
• Drag and drop the highlighted songs into your new playlist of the same tempo. Voilà! You now have a playlist you can edit.

4. Tailor It to Your Taste

• Remove songs or artists you don’t want to use.
• Add songs of that tempo you already love that might not be in the ICA playlist. (Hey, don’t forget to share your favorites if we are missing them!)

With hundreds to thousands of songs in the original playlists, customizing them may take time—but it’s still far quicker than starting from scratch. Plus, it ensures your playlist fits your unique preferences.

Keeping Your Playlist Updated

The only downside to creating your own playlist versions is that they won’t automatically update when I add new songs to the original ICA playlists. To stay current:

• Check the original playlist every few months.
• Sort it by Date Added to find new tracks.
• Highlight those newer songs that you like and drag them into your custom playlist.

Pro Tip: After each update, add the date to your playlist description (e.g., “Last updated: [date]”). This makes it easier to keep track of which songs you’ve already added.

For Non–Spotify Users

If you don’t currently use Spotify to teach, not to worry—you can still use these buckets and greatly benefit from them. Start by creating a free Spotify account. This allows you to explore the ICA playlists and follow them to add them to your library. Once you’ve identified songs you like, you can:

1. Duplicate Playlists in Your Preferred Streaming Service
   Use ICA suggestions and follow the playlists on Spotify. Then re-create similar playlists in another streaming platform, such as Apple Music or Amazon Music.
2. Purchase and Organize Tracks in iTunes or Other Libraries
   If you prefer to own your music, you can purchase tracks and build your bucket playlists in your personal music library, such as iTunes.

Pro Tip: You can even combine streaming and owned tracks. For example, Spotify allows you to upload local files from your personal music library. If a track isn’t available in their catalog but you own it, you can still include it in your Spotify playlists.

To connect your local files to Spotify, check their support page for instructions on how to link your music library. This is especially useful for rare remixes or tracks that aren’t available on streaming services.

My Best Advice? Take the Plunge and Get Spotify Premium!

While free Spotify is great, Spotify Premium offers additional benefits that make it worth considering for instructors:

• No ads interrupting your class flow.
• Offline listening for when you teach in a studio with spotty Wi-Fi.
• Seamless playback across devices.

Another great benefit is that the ratio of instructors using Spotify to Apple Music is enormous—likely around 20 times more. This means you’ll have access to a much larger community of instructors and influencers in the indoor cycling world. With Spotify, you can follow their playlists, discover new music, and share your own playlists, creating more opportunities for inspiration and collaboration.

Investing in Spotify Premium unlocks the full potential of your playlists and enhances your teaching experience.

Below, ICA members gain exclusive access to thousands of songs organized into 10 curated buckets based on BPM and genre!

As of December 2024, these playlists feature over 7,700 carefully categorized songs, representing countless hours of curation and passion poured into creating a valuable resource for instructors. Whether you’re searching for the perfect track to match a specific drill or building an entire class playlist, these buckets have you covered.

This is just one of the many incredible benefits of being an ICA member—unlimited access to expertly crafted resources designed to elevate your teaching.