Whitney Houston · Whitney Houston
How Will I Know
How Will I Know is in F sharp major at 119.5 beats per minute.
Tempo
120 BPM · Moderatomedian of 129 analyses · 118.6–119.5 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
- 129people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 502.1milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 440.3Hz · +1 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 5.23dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.741Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 1.257Essentia'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
129 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 95% — put it in F sharp major, a key signature of 6 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 129 readings; 98% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.
At 119.5 BPM one beat lasts 502.1 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 125.5 ms and a dotted eighth 376.6 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 59.8 BPM, counted twice as fast 239. A score would mark that Moderato, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 440.3 Hz, which is 1 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 5.23 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 0.741 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 120 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 2008.4 | 0.5 |
| Half note | 2 | 1004.2 | 1 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 753.1 | 1.33 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 502.1 | 1.99 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 334.7 | 2.99 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 376.6 | 2.66 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 251 | 3.98 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 167.4 | 5.98 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 188.3 | 5.31 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 125.5 | 7.97 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 83.7 | 11.95 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 62.8 | 15.93 |
Half time 59.8 BPM · double time 239 BPM. Every row is one beat (502.1 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- AnimalDef LeppardF♯ major120BPM
- Like a VirginMadonnaF♯ major120BPM
- Moss GardenDavid BowieF♯ major120BPM
- MiracleCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- Off the WallMichael JacksonF♯ major119BPM
- TiptoeImagine DragonsF♯ major120BPM
- A New Day Has ComeCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- LightsEllie GouldingF♯ major120BPM
- SailAWOLNATIONF♯ major119BPM
- These Are the Special TimesCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
Recordings in F sharp major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 120 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in F sharp majorAll songs at 120 BPMF♯ major at 110–119 BPMWhitney Houston
MusicBrainz collapses 32 recording ids into this one. Recording id c4bbb87c-f8d7-4f16-9919-6781de7e8ab8.