TempoPeek

David Bowie · The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

John, I’m Only Dancing

John, I’m Only Dancing is in G major at 154.4 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

154 BPM · Allegromedian of 285 analyses · 153.9–155.4 across the middle eight tenths
Key
G major1 sharp · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
92%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
285people who ran the extractor
One beat
388.6milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
433.7Hz · -25 cents from A 440
Dynamics
4.14dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.861Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.1Essentia'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

285 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 92% — put it in G major, a key signature of 1 sharp. The tempo printed above is the median of the 285 readings; 99% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 153.9 to 155.4 BPM.

At 154.4 BPM one beat lasts 388.6 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 97.2 ms and a dotted eighth 291.5 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 77.2 BPM, counted twice as fast 308.8. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 433.7 Hz, which is 25 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 4.14 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 0.861 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 G 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 G major

Each of these differs from G 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 154 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note41554.40.64
Half note2777.21.29
Dotted quarter1.5582.91.72
Quarter note (one beat)1388.62.57
Quarter triplet0.667259.13.86
Dotted eighth0.75291.53.43
Eighth note0.5194.35.15
Eighth triplet0.333129.57.72
Dotted sixteenth0.375145.76.86
Sixteenth note0.2597.210.29
Sixteenth triplet0.16764.815.44
Thirty-second note0.12548.620.59

Half time 77.2 BPM · double time 308.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (388.6 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Live and Let DieWingsG major154BPM
  2. Chelsea DaggerThe FratellisG major154BPM
  3. You Upset Me BabyB.B. KingG major154BPM
  4. Ave MariaCéline DionG major154BPM
  5. You and MeAretha FranklinG major155BPM
  6. On My MindEllie GouldingG major155BPM
  7. E‐Bow the LetterR.E.M.G major155BPM
  8. PromisesEric ClaptonG major155BPM
  9. Thank YouLed ZeppelinG major155BPM
  10. Try and Love AgainEaglesG major155BPM

Recordings in G major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 154 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in G majorAll songs at 154 BPMG major at 150–159 BPMDavid Bowie

MusicBrainz collapses 41 recording ids into this one. Recording id 0cf83641-0fe2-4a20-9527-6b87f261b3f0.