Simon & Garfunkel · Bookends

Fakin’ It

Fakin’ It is in E major at 101.9 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

102 BPM · Andantemedian of 151 analyses · 101.6–103 across the middle eight tenths
Key
E major4 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
91%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
151people who ran the extractor
One beat
588.8milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
439.5Hz · -2 cents from A 440
Dynamics
4.89dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.588Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.045Essentia'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

151 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 91% — put it in E major, a key signature of 4 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 151 readings; 99% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 101.6 to 103 BPM.

At 101.9 BPM one beat lasts 588.8 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 147.2 ms and a dotted eighth 441.6 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 51 BPM, counted twice as fast 203.8. A score would mark that Andante, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 439.5 Hz, which is 2 cents below 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 4.89 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 0.588 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 E 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 E major

Each of these differs from E 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 102 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note42355.30.42
Half note21177.60.85
Dotted quarter1.5883.21.13
Quarter note (one beat)1588.81.7
Quarter triplet0.667392.52.55
Dotted eighth0.75441.62.26
Eighth note0.5294.43.4
Eighth triplet0.333196.35.1
Dotted sixteenth0.375220.84.53
Sixteenth note0.25147.26.79
Sixteenth triplet0.16798.110.19
Thirty-second note0.12573.613.59

Half time 51 BPM · double time 203.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (588.8 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. In PiecesBackstreet BoysE major102BPM
  2. Living in DangerAce of BaseE major102BPM
  3. Riding With the KingB.B. King & Eric ClaptonE major102BPM
  4. What’s Going OnMarvin GayeE major102BPM
  5. Among the LivingAnthraxE major103BPM
  6. Dumpweedblink‐182E major101BPM
  7. IfPink FloydE major103BPM
  8. Sing a Simple SongSly & the Family StoneE major101BPM
  9. Beast of BurdenThe Rolling StonesE major101BPM
  10. GirlfriendMichael JacksonE major103BPM

Recordings in E major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 102 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in E majorAll songs at 102 BPME major at 100–109 BPMSimon & Garfunkel

MusicBrainz collapses 18 recording ids into this one. Recording id 3336653d-749d-408c-b419-310ed3b880d8.