TempoPeek

Adele · 25

When We Were Young

When We Were Young is in E flat major at 143.9 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

144 BPM · Allegromedian of 276 analyses · 143.6–143.9 across the middle eight tenths
Key
E♭ major3 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
100%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
276people who ran the extractor
One beat
417milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
438.5Hz · -6 cents from A 440
Dynamics
5.68dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.629Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
0.995Essentia's danceability, 0–3

Source: AcousticBrainz, dump of 2022-06-23 (CC0) · MusicBrainz core data, 2026-09-17 (CC0) · how each number is measured. Measured up to 23.06.2022 — AcousticBrainz stopped collecting in 2022, so nothing released after that date is here.

What the numbers say

276 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. All but a handful of them — 100% — put it in E flat major, a key signature of 3 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 276 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 143.9 BPM one beat lasts 417 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 104.2 ms and a dotted eighth 312.7 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 72 BPM, counted twice as fast 287.8. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 438.5 Hz, which is 6 cents below concert A at 440 Hz — the sort of drift a tape machine or a slightly different mastering leaves behind. That is a fact about this transfer of the music, not about how it was played.

The dynamic complexity of the recording measures 5.68 dB: that is how far the level wanders from its own average, so a small number means a loud, flat master and a large one means a recording that still breathes. Its average loudness is 0.629 on Essentia's 0-to-1 scale, which is not decibels and is not comparable to a streaming service's number.

10 other recordings here are in E flat major; the ones listed below are the closest in tempo.

Beats per bar are not in this dataset. AcousticBrainz's analysis reports a tempo, a key and a loudness, and no time signature at all, so this page does not print one — a 4/4 here would be a guess dressed as a measurement.

Keys that fit with E♭ major

Each of these differs from E♭ major by at most one accidental, or shares its tonic. That is the whole of what a mixing wheel encodes; here the relations are named instead of numbered.

Delay times at 144 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note41667.80.6
Half note2833.91.2
Dotted quarter1.5625.41.6
Quarter note (one beat)14172.4
Quarter triplet0.6672783.6
Dotted eighth0.75312.73.2
Eighth note0.5208.54.8
Eighth triplet0.3331397.2
Dotted sixteenth0.375156.46.4
Sixteenth note0.25104.29.59
Sixteenth triplet0.16769.514.39
Thirty-second note0.12552.119.19

Half time 72 BPM · double time 287.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (417 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. UnfaithfulRihannaE♭ major144BPM
  2. If 6 Was 9The Jimi Hendrix ExperienceE♭ major144BPM
  3. LongviewGreen DayE♭ major144BPM
  4. Save MeAimee MannE♭ major144BPM
  5. Build It Up – Tear It DownFatboy SlimE♭ major144BPM
  6. ThirstyDayaE♭ major145BPM
  7. Like SonnyJohn ColtraneE♭ major145BPM
  8. Born in the 50’sThe PoliceE♭ major141BPM
  9. PanamaVan HalenE♭ major141BPM
  10. ¿Y tú qué has hecho?Buena Vista Social ClubE♭ major147BPM

Recordings in E flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 144 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in E flat majorAll songs at 144 BPME♭ major at 140–149 BPMAdele

MusicBrainz collapses 6 recording ids into this one. Recording id c5ad2611-071b-4003-bb22-eee8b4f48fe9.