Donald Fagen · The Nightfly

I.G.Y.

I.G.Y. is in G sharp minor at 119.4 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

119 BPM · Moderatomedian of 141 analyses · 119.4–119.4 across the middle eight tenths
Key
G♯ minor5 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
100%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
141people who ran the extractor
One beat
502.5milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
441Hz · +4 cents from A 440
Dynamics
3.94dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.853Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.292Essentia'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

141 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. All but a handful of them — 100% — put it in G sharp minor, a key signature of 5 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 141 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 119.4 BPM one beat lasts 502.5 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 125.6 ms and a dotted eighth 376.9 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 59.7 BPM, counted twice as fast 238.8. A score would mark that Moderato, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 441 Hz, which is 4 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 3.94 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 0.853 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 G sharp minor; 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 G♯ minor

Each of these differs from G♯ minor 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 valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note42010.10.5
Half note210051
Dotted quarter1.5753.81.33
Quarter note (one beat)1502.51.99
Quarter triplet0.6673352.99
Dotted eighth0.75376.92.65
Eighth note0.5251.33.98
Eighth triplet0.333167.55.97
Dotted sixteenth0.375188.45.31
Sixteenth note0.25125.67.96
Sixteenth triplet0.16783.811.94
Thirty-second note0.12562.815.92

Half time 59.7 BPM · double time 238.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (502.5 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Poker FaceLady GagaG♯ minor119BPM
  2. Alors on danseStromaeG♯ minor120BPM
  3. JynweythekAphex TwinG♯ minor120BPM
  4. Drowning ManU2G♯ minor118BPM
  5. Graveyard TrainCreedence Clearwater RevivalG♯ minor117BPM
  6. WonderbreadDanny BrownG♯ minor117BPM
  7. PhotographDef LeppardG♯ minor123BPM
  8. That Was YesterdayForeignerG♯ minor115BPM
  9. This Is Not AmericaDavid Bowie / Pat Metheny GroupG♯ minor115BPM
  10. Rock With YouMichael JacksonG♯ minor114BPM

Recordings in G sharp minor, ordered by how near their tempo is to 119 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in G sharp minorAll songs at 119 BPMG♯ minor at 110–119 BPM

MusicBrainz collapses 12 recording ids into this one. Recording id 644575d3-df2c-4ca8-b7cf-a4f83387e81c.