David Bowie · Low
What in the World
What in the World is in F major at 123.1 beats per minute.
Tempo
123 BPM · Allegromedian of 220 analyses · 122.8–123.5 across the middle eight tenths- Key
- F major1 flat · the key most of the analyses agreed on
- Agreement
- 94%share of analyses that agreed
- Analyses
- 220people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 487.4milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 438.5Hz · -6 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 3.09dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.952Essentia'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
220 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 94% — put it in F major, a key signature of 1 flat. The tempo printed above is the median of the 220 readings; 92% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.
At 123.1 BPM one beat lasts 487.4 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 121.9 ms and a dotted eighth 365.6 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 61.6 BPM, counted twice as fast 246.2. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 438.5 Hz, which is 6 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 3.09 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 0.952 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 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 123 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 1949.6 | 0.51 |
| Half note | 2 | 974.8 | 1.03 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 731.1 | 1.37 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 487.4 | 2.05 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 324.9 | 3.08 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 365.6 | 2.74 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 243.7 | 4.1 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 162.5 | 6.16 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 182.8 | 5.47 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 121.9 | 8.21 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 81.2 | 12.31 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 60.9 | 16.41 |
Half time 61.6 BPM · double time 246.2 BPM. Every row is one beat (487.4 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- One Tree HillU2F major123BPM
- I See LoveJonas Blue ft. Joe JonasF major123BPM
- Love SongSara BareillesF major123BPM
- TeachersDaft PunkF major123BPM
- SubmissionSex PistolsF major123BPM
- Baby JaneRod StewartF major123BPM
- In the Wee Small Hours of the MorningFrank SinatraF major123BPM
- Beautiful People Beautiful ProblemsLana Del Rey ft. Stevie NicksF major123BPM
- Livin’ ThingElectric Light OrchestraF major123BPM
- AqualungJethro TullF major123BPM
Recordings in F major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 123 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in F majorAll songs at 123 BPMF major at 120–129 BPMDavid Bowie
MusicBrainz collapses 30 recording ids into this one. Recording id 3068b66c-023b-40e0-83b6-89b36f83bc08.