U2 · War
Drowning Man
Drowning Man is in G sharp minor at 118.3 beats per minute.
Tempo
118 BPM · Moderatomedian of 146 analyses · 118.3–118.4 across the middle eight tenths- Key
- G♯ minor5 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
- Agreement
- 94%share of analyses that agreed
- Analyses
- 146people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 507.2milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 449.5Hz · +37 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 4.75dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.901Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 1.015Essentia'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 — 94% — put it in G sharp minor, a key signature of 5 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 146 readings; 100% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.
At 118.3 BPM one beat lasts 507.2 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 126.8 ms and a dotted eighth 380.4 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 59.2 BPM, counted twice as fast 236.6. A score would mark that Moderato, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 449.5 Hz, which is 37 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 4.75 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 0.901 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 sharp minor; 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♯ minor
Each of these differs from G♯ minor 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 118 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 2028.7 | 0.49 |
| Half note | 2 | 1014.4 | 0.99 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 760.8 | 1.31 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 507.2 | 1.97 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 338.1 | 2.96 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 380.4 | 2.63 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 253.6 | 3.94 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 169.1 | 5.92 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 190.2 | 5.26 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 126.8 | 7.89 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 84.5 | 11.83 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 63.4 | 15.77 |
Half time 59.2 BPM · double time 236.6 BPM. Every row is one beat (507.2 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- Poker FaceLady GagaG♯ minor119BPM
- Graveyard TrainCreedence Clearwater RevivalG♯ minor117BPM
- I.G.Y.Donald FagenG♯ minor119BPM
- Alors on danseStromaeG♯ minor120BPM
- JynweythekAphex TwinG♯ minor120BPM
- WonderbreadDanny BrownG♯ minor117BPM
- That Was YesterdayForeignerG♯ minor115BPM
- This Is Not AmericaDavid Bowie / Pat Metheny GroupG♯ minor115BPM
- Rock With YouMichael JacksonG♯ minor114BPM
- PhotographDef LeppardG♯ minor123BPM
Recordings in G sharp minor, ordered by how near their tempo is to 118 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in G sharp minorAll songs at 118 BPMG♯ minor at 110–119 BPMU2
MusicBrainz collapses 3 recording ids into this one. Recording id f7563f63-92ab-4a5d-b601-4240a8993527.