David Bowie · “Heroes”
Moss Garden
Moss Garden is in F sharp major at 119.7 beats per minute.
Tempo
120 BPM · Moderatomedian of 144 analyses · 112.2–129.4 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
- 144people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 501.3milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 449.2Hz · +36 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 2.48dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.745Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 0.817Essentia'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
144 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 144 readings; 39% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 112.2 to 129.4 BPM.
At 119.7 BPM one beat lasts 501.3 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 125.3 ms and a dotted eighth 375.9 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 59.9 BPM, counted twice as fast 239.4. A score would mark that Moderato, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 449.2 Hz, which is 36 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 2.48 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 0.745 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 | 2005 | 0.5 |
| Half note | 2 | 1002.5 | 1 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 751.9 | 1.33 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 501.3 | 2 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 334.2 | 2.99 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 375.9 | 2.66 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 250.6 | 3.99 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 167.1 | 5.99 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 188 | 5.32 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 125.3 | 7.98 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 83.5 | 11.97 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 62.7 | 15.96 |
Half time 59.9 BPM · double time 239.4 BPM. Every row is one beat (501.3 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- Like a VirginMadonnaF♯ major120BPM
- MiracleCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- AnimalDef LeppardF♯ major120BPM
- TiptoeImagine DragonsF♯ major120BPM
- A New Day Has ComeCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- How Will I KnowWhitney HoustonF♯ major120BPM
- LightsEllie GouldingF♯ major120BPM
- These Are the Special TimesCéline DionF♯ major120BPM
- All I Do Is Dream of YouMichael BubléF♯ major120BPM
- PatienceGuns N’ RosesF♯ 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 BPMDavid Bowie
MusicBrainz collapses 4 recording ids into this one. Recording id d8b81e82-abbc-4f99-910b-18de9ecc259e.