TempoPeek

David Bowie · “Heroes”

Joe the Lion

Joe the Lion is in D flat major at 122.2 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

122 BPM · Allegromedian of 231 analyses · 121.9–122.4 across the middle eight tenths
Key
D♭ major5 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
95%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
231people who ran the extractor
One beat
491milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
446.1Hz · +24 cents from A 440
Dynamics
2.56dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.923Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.211Essentia'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

231 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 95% — put it in D flat major, a key signature of 5 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 231 readings; 96% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 122.2 BPM one beat lasts 491 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 122.7 ms and a dotted eighth 368.2 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 61.1 BPM, counted twice as fast 244.4. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 446.1 Hz, which is 24 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 2.56 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 0.923 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 flat 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 122 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note419640.51
Half note29821.02
Dotted quarter1.5736.51.36
Quarter note (one beat)14912.04
Quarter triplet0.667327.33.06
Dotted eighth0.75368.22.72
Eighth note0.5245.54.07
Eighth triplet0.333163.76.11
Dotted sixteenth0.375184.15.43
Sixteenth note0.25122.78.15
Sixteenth triplet0.16781.812.22
Thirty-second note0.12561.416.29

Half time 61.1 BPM · double time 244.4 BPM. Every row is one beat (491 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Sweet DreamsBeyoncéD♭ major122BPM
  2. Please, Mrs. HenryBob Dylan & The BandD♭ major123BPM
  3. The Ballad of Me and My BrainThe 1975D♭ major123BPM
  4. Little Red CorvettePrinceD♭ major123BPM
  5. My HumpsThe Black Eyed PeasD♭ major123BPM
  6. You Are So BeautifulJoe CockerD♭ major123BPM
  7. Eenie MeenieJustin Bieber & Sean KingstonD♭ major121BPM
  8. SacredDepeche ModeD♭ major121BPM
  9. You Won’t Let Me GoRay CharlesD♭ major124BPM
  10. Walk AwayBlack SabbathD♭ major120BPM

Recordings in D flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 122 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in D flat majorAll songs at 122 BPMD♭ major at 120–129 BPMDavid Bowie

MusicBrainz collapses 12 recording ids into this one. Recording id e3adcb5b-e457-4f43-801a-76222f723111.