Elton John · Elton John

Bad Side of the Moon

Bad Side of the Moon is in C major at 164.1 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

164 BPM · Vivacemedian of 146 analyses · 155.4–164.1 across the middle eight tenths
Key
C majorno sharps and no flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
76%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
146people who ran the extractor
One beat
365.6milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
434.2Hz · -23 cents from A 440
Dynamics
6.53dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.781Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.101Essentia'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

146 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 76% — put it in C major, a key signature of no sharps and no flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 146 readings; 87% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 155.4 to 164.1 BPM.

At 164.1 BPM one beat lasts 365.6 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 91.4 ms and a dotted eighth 274.2 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 82.1 BPM, counted twice as fast 328.2. A score would mark that Vivace, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 434.2 Hz, which is 23 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 6.53 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 0.781 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 C 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 C major

Each of these differs from C 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 164 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note41462.50.68
Half note2731.31.37
Dotted quarter1.5548.41.82
Quarter note (one beat)1365.62.74
Quarter triplet0.667243.84.1
Dotted eighth0.75274.23.65
Eighth note0.5182.85.47
Eighth triplet0.333121.98.21
Dotted sixteenth0.375137.17.29
Sixteenth note0.2591.410.94
Sixteenth triplet0.16760.916.41
Thirty-second note0.12545.721.88

Half time 82.1 BPM · double time 328.2 BPM. Every row is one beat (365.6 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Nine Million BicyclesKatie MeluaC major164BPM
  2. Lucy in the Sky With DiamondsElton JohnC major164BPM
  3. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly DazedDavid BowieC major164BPM
  4. Don’t Look Back in AngerOasisC major164BPM
  5. Up&UpColdplayC major164BPM
  6. Caro gesu bambinoAndrea BocelliC major164BPM
  7. The PusherSteppenwolfC major164BPM
  8. Billy Boy$NOTC major164BPM
  9. Let My Love Open the DoorPete TownshendC major165BPM
  10. Stairway to HeavenLed ZeppelinC major165BPM

Recordings in C major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 164 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in C majorAll songs at 164 BPMC major at 160–169 BPMElton John

MusicBrainz collapses 8 recording ids into this one. Recording id f099851b-1049-4027-af5a-096895cbe526.