Peter Gabriel · Us
Digging in the Dirt
Digging in the Dirt is in A flat major at 161.9 beats per minute.
Tempo
162 BPM · Vivacemedian of 149 analyses · 161.8–162.1 across the middle eight tenths- Key
- A♭ major4 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
- Agreement
- 87%share of analyses that agreed
- Analyses
- 149people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 370.6milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 434.2Hz · -23 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 4.8dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.801Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 1.219Essentia'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
149 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 87% — put it in A flat major, a key signature of 4 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 149 readings; 97% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.
At 161.9 BPM one beat lasts 370.6 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 92.6 ms and a dotted eighth 277.9 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 81 BPM, counted twice as fast 323.8. 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 4.8 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 0.801 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 A 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 A♭ major
Each of these differs from A♭ 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 162 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 1482.4 | 0.67 |
| Half note | 2 | 741.2 | 1.35 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 555.9 | 1.8 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 370.6 | 2.7 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 247.1 | 4.05 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 277.9 | 3.6 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 185.3 | 5.4 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 123.5 | 8.1 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 139 | 7.2 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 92.6 | 10.79 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 61.8 | 16.19 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 46.3 | 21.59 |
Half time 81 BPM · double time 323.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (370.6 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- If I Could Turn Back the Hands of TimeR. KellyA♭ major162BPM
- SurvivorDestiny’s ChildA♭ major162BPM
- Never Say NeverThe FrayA♭ major162BPM
- Gangsta’s ParadiseCoolio featuring L.V.A♭ major162BPM
- Nip It in the BudThe B‐52’sA♭ major163BPM
- Wasting My HateMetallicaA♭ major163BPM
- The Boys Are Back in TownThin LizzyA♭ major163BPM
- A Change Is Gonna ComeOtis ReddingA♭ major164BPM
- You’ve Got a FriendCarole KingA♭ major166BPM
- Last ChildAerosmithA♭ major166BPM
Recordings in A flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 162 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in A flat majorAll songs at 162 BPMA♭ major at 160–169 BPMPeter Gabriel
MusicBrainz collapses 86 recording ids into this one. Recording id 17f470ae-538c-4494-a5d1-1873c3a0c7e2.