TempoPeek

Death Cab for Cutie · Transatlanticism

The Sound of Settling

The Sound of Settling is in F sharp major at 87.6 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

88 BPM · Andantemedian of 133 analyses · 87.6–172.3 across the middle eight tenths
Key
F♯ major6 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
99%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
133people who ran the extractor
One beat
684.9milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
438Hz · -8 cents from A 440
Dynamics
3.3dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.97Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.081Essentia'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

133 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. All but a handful of them — 99% — put it in F sharp major, a key signature of 6 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 133 readings; 80% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 87.6 to 172.3 BPM.

At 87.6 BPM one beat lasts 684.9 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 171.2 ms and a dotted eighth 513.7 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 43.8 BPM, counted twice as fast 175.2. A score would mark that Andante, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 438 Hz, which is 8 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 3.3 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 0.97 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 F sharp 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 F♯ major

Each of these differs from F♯ 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 88 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note42739.70.36
Half note21369.90.73
Dotted quarter1.51027.40.97
Quarter note (one beat)1684.91.46
Quarter triplet0.667456.62.19
Dotted eighth0.75513.71.95
Eighth note0.5342.52.92
Eighth triplet0.333228.34.38
Dotted sixteenth0.375256.83.89
Sixteenth note0.25171.25.84
Sixteenth triplet0.167114.28.76
Thirty-second note0.12585.611.68

Half time 43.8 BPM · double time 175.2 BPM. Every row is one beat (684.9 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. AloneCéline DionF♯ major88BPM
  2. ChandelierSiaF♯ major87BPM
  3. Murder InkDr. Dre featuring Hittman & Ms. RoqF♯ major88BPM
  4. Scared of LonelyBeyoncéF♯ major87BPM
  5. The Boys of SummerDon HenleyF♯ major89BPM
  6. One Fine DayThe ChiffonsF♯ major89BPM
  7. At LastCéline DionF♯ major89BPM
  8. RojoJ BalvinF♯ major86BPM
  9. True ColorsPhil CollinsF♯ major86BPM
  10. Wild Honey PieThe BeatlesF♯ major89BPM

Recordings in F sharp major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 88 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in F sharp majorAll songs at 88 BPMF♯ major at 80–89 BPMDeath Cab for Cutie

MusicBrainz collapses 35 recording ids into this one. Recording id 59403f9d-722a-48c3-aedb-6c1bb6102668.