Michael Jackson · Off the Wall
Off the Wall
Off the Wall is in F sharp major at 119.1 beats per minute.
Tempo
119 BPM · Moderatomedian of 240 analyses · 118.7–119.2 across the middle eight tenths- Key
- F♯ major6 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
- Agreement
- 95%share of analyses that agreed
- Analyses
- 240people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 503.8milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 434.2Hz · -23 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 4.09dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.875Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 1.461Essentia'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
240 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. All but a handful of them — 95% — put it in F sharp major, a key signature of 6 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 240 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.
At 119.1 BPM one beat lasts 503.8 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 125.9 ms and a dotted eighth 377.8 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 59.6 BPM, counted twice as fast 238.2. A score would mark that Moderato, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 434.2 Hz, which is 23 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 4.09 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 0.875 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 119 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 2015.1 | 0.5 |
| Half note | 2 | 1007.6 | 0.99 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 755.7 | 1.32 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 503.8 | 1.99 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 335.9 | 2.98 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 377.8 | 2.65 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 251.9 | 3.97 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 167.9 | 5.96 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 188.9 | 5.29 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 125.9 | 7.94 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 84 | 11.91 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 63 | 15.88 |
Half time 59.6 BPM · double time 238.2 BPM. Every row is one beat (503.8 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- SailAWOLNATIONF♯ major119BPM
- Same Old SceneRoxy MusicF♯ major119BPM
- How Will I KnowWhitney HoustonF♯ major120BPM
- AnimalDef LeppardF♯ major120BPM
- Like a VirginMadonnaF♯ major120BPM
- Moss GardenDavid BowieF♯ major120BPM
- MiracleCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- TiptoeImagine DragonsF♯ major120BPM
- A New Day Has ComeCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- All These Things That I’ve DoneThe KillersF♯ major118BPM
Recordings in F sharp major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 119 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in F sharp majorAll songs at 119 BPMF♯ major at 110–119 BPMMichael Jackson
MusicBrainz collapses 25 recording ids into this one. Recording id aa3b3741-daed-411e-9753-d73fd8d69cce.