David Bowie · Aladdin Sane

Aladdin Sane (1913–1938–197?)

Aladdin Sane (1913–1938–197?) is in D major at 120.4 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

120 BPM · Allegromedian of 428 analyses · 120.4–120.8 across the middle eight tenths
Key
D major2 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
93%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
428people who ran the extractor
One beat
498.3milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
441.8Hz · +7 cents from A 440
Dynamics
4.43dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.869Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.217Essentia'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

428 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 93% — put it in D major, a key signature of 2 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 428 readings; 94% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 120.4 BPM one beat lasts 498.3 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 124.6 ms and a dotted eighth 373.8 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 60.2 BPM, counted twice as fast 240.8. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 441.8 Hz, which is 7 cents above 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 4.43 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 0.869 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 D 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 D major

Each of these differs from D 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 120 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note41993.40.5
Half note2996.71
Dotted quarter1.5747.51.34
Quarter note (one beat)1498.32.01
Quarter triplet0.667332.23.01
Dotted eighth0.75373.82.68
Eighth note0.5249.24.01
Eighth triplet0.333166.16.02
Dotted sixteenth0.375186.95.35
Sixteenth note0.25124.68.03
Sixteenth triplet0.16783.112.04
Thirty-second note0.12562.316.05

Half time 60.2 BPM · double time 240.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (498.3 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. On Melancholy HillGorillazD major120BPM
  2. Today I Sing the BluesAretha FranklinD major121BPM
  3. Good to Me as I Am to YouAretha FranklinD major120BPM
  4. Cover MeBruce SpringsteenD major121BPM
  5. Raspberry BeretPrince and The RevolutionD major121BPM
  6. Love Me TenderElvis PresleyD major120BPM
  7. VisionsEaglesD major120BPM
  8. Up With the BirdsColdplayD major120BPM
  9. Last Night on EarthGreen DayD major120BPM
  10. I Can See Clearly NowJimmy CliffD major120BPM

Recordings in D major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 120 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in D majorAll songs at 120 BPMD major at 120–129 BPMDavid Bowie

MusicBrainz collapses 2 recording ids into this one. Recording id 20995676-3969-401b-961c-e309d4cfdfed.