TempoPeek

Earth, Wind & Fire · Warmfuzzy

That’s the Way of the World

That’s the Way of the World is in D flat major at 81.8 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

82 BPM · Andantemedian of 329 analyses · 81.7–81.8 across the middle eight tenths
Key
D♭ major5 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
100%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
329people who ran the extractor
One beat
733.5milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
441.3Hz · +5 cents from A 440
Dynamics
3.6dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.817Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.206Essentia'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

329 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. All but a handful of them — 100% — put it in D flat major, a key signature of 5 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 329 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.

At 81.8 BPM one beat lasts 733.5 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 183.4 ms and a dotted eighth 550.1 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 40.9 BPM, counted twice as fast 163.6. A score would mark that Andante, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 441.3 Hz, which is 5 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 3.6 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 0.817 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 82 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note429340.34
Half note214670.68
Dotted quarter1.51100.20.91
Quarter note (one beat)1733.51.36
Quarter triplet0.6674892.05
Dotted eighth0.75550.11.82
Eighth note0.5366.72.73
Eighth triplet0.333244.54.09
Dotted sixteenth0.375275.13.64
Sixteenth note0.25183.45.45
Sixteenth triplet0.167122.28.18
Thirty-second note0.12591.710.91

Half time 40.9 BPM · double time 163.6 BPM. Every row is one beat (733.5 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Treat You BetterShawn MendesD♭ major83BPM
  2. CrucifyTori AmosD♭ major83BPM
  3. Somebody’s MeEnrique IglesiasD♭ major83BPM
  4. Otherside of the GameErykah BaduD♭ major83BPM
  5. Mouth’s CradleBjörkD♭ major80BPM
  6. ChancesDidoD♭ major84BPM
  7. LegendaryDayaD♭ major84BPM
  8. Throwing It All AwayGenesisD♭ major84BPM
  9. The Long Day Is OverNorah JonesD♭ major85BPM
  10. Give Peace a ChanceThe Plastic Ono BandD♭ major85BPM

Recordings in D flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 82 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in D flat majorAll songs at 82 BPMD♭ major at 80–89 BPMEarth, Wind & Fire

MusicBrainz collapses 28 recording ids into this one. Recording id 7862547b-93bc-4696-96b3-db3595a65726.