Rush · Permanent Waves

Freewill

Freewill is in G major at 155 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

155 BPM · Allegromedian of 138 analyses · 153.5–155.1 across the middle eight tenths
Key
G major1 sharp · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
88%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
138people who ran the extractor
One beat
387.1milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
441.3Hz · +5 cents from A 440
Dynamics
2.23dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.945Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.299Essentia'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

138 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 88% — put it in G major, a key signature of 1 sharp. The tempo printed above is the median of the 138 readings; 95% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 153.5 to 155.1 BPM.

At 155 BPM one beat lasts 387.1 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 96.8 ms and a dotted eighth 290.3 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 77.5 BPM, counted twice as fast 310. A score would mark that Allegro, 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 2.23 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 0.945 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 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 G major

Each of these differs from G 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 155 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note41548.40.65
Half note2774.21.29
Dotted quarter1.5580.61.72
Quarter note (one beat)1387.12.58
Quarter triplet0.667258.13.88
Dotted eighth0.75290.33.44
Eighth note0.5193.55.17
Eighth triplet0.3331297.75
Dotted sixteenth0.375145.26.89
Sixteenth note0.2596.810.33
Sixteenth triplet0.16764.515.5
Thirty-second note0.12548.420.67

Half time 77.5 BPM · double time 310 BPM. Every row is one beat (387.1 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Running Gun BluesDavid BowieG major155BPM
  2. Wild ThingsAlessia CaraG major155BPM
  3. SomebodyDepeche ModeG major155BPM
  4. Try and Love AgainEaglesG major155BPM
  5. Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)Billy JoelG major155BPM
  6. PromisesEric ClaptonG major155BPM
  7. Thank YouLed ZeppelinG major155BPM
  8. Take It on the RunREO SpeedwagonG major155BPM
  9. You and MeAretha FranklinG major155BPM
  10. On My MindEllie GouldingG major155BPM

Recordings in G major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 155 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in G majorAll songs at 155 BPMG major at 150–159 BPMRush

MusicBrainz collapses 89 recording ids into this one. Recording id ddc85cf7-193b-48ea-af19-7314dff374e7.