Coldplay · X&Y

Square One

Square One is in E flat major at 123.9 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

124 BPM · Allegromedian of 202 analyses · 123.9–124 across the middle eight tenths
Key
E♭ major3 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
81%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
202people who ran the extractor
One beat
484.3milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
440Hz · 0 cents from A 440
Dynamics
4.09dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.681Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
0.944Essentia'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

202 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 81% — put it in E flat major, a key signature of 3 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 202 readings; 99% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 123.9 BPM one beat lasts 484.3 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 121.1 ms and a dotted eighth 363.2 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 62 BPM, counted twice as fast 247.8. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 440 Hz, which is 0 cents above concert A at 440 Hz — close enough to standard that a tuner would not argue. That is a fact about this transfer of the music, not about how it was played.

The dynamic complexity of the recording measures 4.09 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 0.681 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 124 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note419370.52
Half note2968.51.03
Dotted quarter1.5726.41.38
Quarter note (one beat)1484.32.07
Quarter triplet0.667322.83.1
Dotted eighth0.75363.22.75
Eighth note0.5242.14.13
Eighth triplet0.333161.46.2
Dotted sixteenth0.375181.65.51
Sixteenth note0.25121.18.26
Sixteenth triplet0.16780.712.39
Thirty-second note0.12560.516.52

Half time 62 BPM · double time 247.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (484.3 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. I Can’t Make You Love MeBonnie RaittE♭ major124BPM
  2. What the Water Gave MeFlorence + the MachineE♭ major124BPM
  3. Straight Through My HeartBackstreet BoysE♭ major124BPM
  4. The Hardest PartColdplayE♭ major124BPM
  5. The New YearDeath Cab for CutieE♭ major124BPM
  6. Funny but I Still Love YouRay CharlesE♭ major123BPM
  7. Moment’s NoticeJohn ColtraneE♭ major123BPM
  8. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)Stevie WonderE♭ major123BPM
  9. TemperatureSean PaulE♭ major125BPM
  10. Brown EyesLady GagaE♭ major125BPM

Recordings in E flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 124 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in E flat majorAll songs at 124 BPME♭ major at 120–129 BPMColdplay

MusicBrainz collapses 19 recording ids into this one. Recording id 9a8ea67d-ee7a-442e-a455-24ea2a9de743.