TempoPeek

The Cars · The Cars

My Best Friend’s Girl

My Best Friend’s Girl is in B flat major at 120.7 beats per minute.

4080120160200

Tempo

121 BPM · Allegromedian of 171 analyses · 120.4–122.6 across the middle eight tenths
Key
B♭ major2 flats · the key most of the analyses agreed on
Agreement
69%share of analyses that agreed
Analyses
171people who ran the extractor
One beat
497.1milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
Tuning
433.9Hz · -24 cents from A 440
Dynamics
3.86dB the level wanders from its average
Loudness
0.9Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
Danceability
1.314Essentia'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

171 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. A bare majority of them — 69% — put it in B flat major, a key signature of 2 flats. The tempo printed above is the median of the 171 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and the middle eight tenths of them run from 120.4 to 122.6 BPM.

At 120.7 BPM one beat lasts 497.1 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 124.3 ms and a dotted eighth 372.8 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 60.4 BPM, counted twice as fast 241.4. A score would mark that Allegro, by the ranges this site uses.

The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 433.9 Hz, which is 24 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 3.86 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 0.9 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 B 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 B♭ major

Each of these differs from B♭ 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 121 BPM

Note valueBeatsMillisecondsHertz
Whole note41988.40.5
Half note2994.21.01
Dotted quarter1.5745.71.34
Quarter note (one beat)1497.12.01
Quarter triplet0.667331.43.02
Dotted eighth0.75372.82.68
Eighth note0.5248.64.02
Eighth triplet0.333165.76.04
Dotted sixteenth0.375186.45.36
Sixteenth note0.25124.38.05
Sixteenth triplet0.16782.912.07
Thirty-second note0.12562.116.09

Half time 60.4 BPM · double time 241.4 BPM. Every row is one beat (497.1 ms) times the fraction in the second column.

Closest in key and tempo

  1. Hurtin’ You Don’t Come EasyNeil DiamondB♭ major121BPM
  2. RevolutionThe BeatlesB♭ major121BPM
  3. I Miss YouBjörkB♭ major121BPM
  4. Just Lose ItEminemB♭ major121BPM
  5. My LovePaul McCartney & WingsB♭ major120BPM
  6. The Great Gig in the SkyPink FloydB♭ major120BPM
  7. DAREGorillaz featuring Shaun RyderB♭ major120BPM
  8. This Is AmericaChildish GambinoB♭ major120BPM
  9. 7 YearsLukas GrahamB♭ major120BPM
  10. Blurred LinesRobin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell WilliamsB♭ major120BPM

Recordings in B flat major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 121 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.

All songs in B flat majorAll songs at 121 BPMB♭ major at 120–129 BPMThe Cars

MusicBrainz collapses 17 recording ids into this one. Recording id 4de26582-44a9-4a18-bd30-dfa15a1bc381.