Chris de Burgh · Spanish Train and Other Stories
A Spaceman Came Travelling
A Spaceman Came Travelling is in B flat major at 99.3 beats per minute.
Tempo
99 BPM · Andantemedian of 157 analyses · 98.4–99.8 across the middle eight tenths- Key
- B♭ major2 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
- Agreement
- 93%share of analyses that agreed
- Analyses
- 157people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 604.2milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 436.7Hz · -13 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 7.83dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.334Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 0.95Essentia'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
157 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 93% — put it in B flat major, a key signature of 2 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 157 readings; 94% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 98.4 to 99.8 BPM.
At 99.3 BPM one beat lasts 604.2 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 151.1 ms and a dotted eighth 453.2 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 49.7 BPM, counted twice as fast 198.6. A score would mark that Andante, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 436.7 Hz, which is 13 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 7.83 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 0.334 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 B 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 B♭ major
Each of these differs from B♭ 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 99 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 2416.9 | 0.41 |
| Half note | 2 | 1208.5 | 0.83 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 906.3 | 1.1 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 604.2 | 1.66 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 402.8 | 2.48 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 453.2 | 2.21 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 302.1 | 3.31 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 201.4 | 4.97 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 226.6 | 4.41 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 151.1 | 6.62 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 100.7 | 9.93 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 75.5 | 13.24 |
Half time 49.7 BPM · double time 198.6 BPM. Every row is one beat (604.2 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- Documenta XScannerB♭ major99BPM
- Strawberry Fields ForeverThe BeatlesB♭ major99BPM
- Love by Another NameCéline DionB♭ major100BPM
- LoyalChris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & TygaB♭ major99BPM
- Body Movin’Beastie BoysB♭ major99BPM
- SorryJustin BieberB♭ major100BPM
- Doo Wop (That Thing)Lauryn HillB♭ major100BPM
- Lust for LifeLana Del Rey ft. The WeekndB♭ major100BPM
- LoveLana Del ReyB♭ major99BPM
- What It IsBlack Eyed PeasB♭ major100BPM
Recordings in B flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 99 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in B flat majorAll songs at 99 BPMB♭ major at 90–99 BPM
MusicBrainz collapses 24 recording ids into this one. Recording id 26da7ece-d23c-422f-a33c-6cb350555620.