Van Halen · For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Poundcake
Poundcake is in E major at 105.4 beats per minute.
Tempo
105 BPM · Andantemedian of 140 analyses · 105.3–105.5 across the middle eight tenths- Key
- E major4 sharps · the key most of the analyses agreed on
- Agreement
- 82%share of analyses that agreed
- Analyses
- 140people who ran the extractor
- One beat
- 569.3milliseconds, 60,000 ÷ BPM
- Tuning
- 443.3Hz · +13 cents from A 440
- Dynamics
- 4.22dB the level wanders from its average
- Loudness
- 0.912Essentia's 0–1 scale, not dB
- Danceability
- 1.062Essentia'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
140 independent analyses of this recording were submitted to AcousticBrainz. Most of them — 82% — put it in E major, a key signature of 4 sharps. The tempo printed above is the median of the 140 readings; 92% of them land within 2% of it, and they barely differ at all.
At 105.4 BPM one beat lasts 569.3 milliseconds, so a sixteenth note is 142.3 ms and a dotted eighth 426.9 ms — the delay times for this recording. Counted half as fast it is 52.7 BPM, counted twice as fast 210.8. A score would mark that Andante, by the ranges this site uses.
The analyses put the reference pitch of the recording at 443.3 Hz, which is 13 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 4.22 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 0.912 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 105 BPM
| Note value | Beats | Milliseconds | Hertz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 2277 | 0.44 |
| Half note | 2 | 1138.5 | 0.88 |
| Dotted quarter | 1.5 | 853.9 | 1.17 |
| Quarter note (one beat) | 1 | 569.3 | 1.76 |
| Quarter triplet | 0.667 | 379.5 | 2.64 |
| Dotted eighth | 0.75 | 426.9 | 2.34 |
| Eighth note | 0.5 | 284.6 | 3.51 |
| Eighth triplet | 0.333 | 189.8 | 5.27 |
| Dotted sixteenth | 0.375 | 213.5 | 4.68 |
| Sixteenth note | 0.25 | 142.3 | 7.03 |
| Sixteenth triplet | 0.167 | 94.9 | 10.54 |
| Thirty-second note | 0.125 | 71.2 | 14.05 |
Half time 52.7 BPM · double time 210.8 BPM. Every row is one beat (569.3 ms) times the fraction in the second column.
Closest in key and tempo
- The Night Time Is the Right TimeCreedence Clearwater RevivalE major106BPM
- CaliforniaJoni MitchellE major106BPM
- Ten DaysCéline DionE major105BPM
- Mi genteJ Balvin & Willy WilliamE major105BPM
- SummerboyLady GagaE major105BPM
- LoveGameLady GagaE major105BPM
- You Found MeKelly ClarksonE major105BPM
- Get a GripAerosmithE major105BPM
- (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural WomanCéline DionE major105BPM
- GraceLewis CapaldiE major105BPM
Recordings in E major, ordered by how near their tempo is to 105 BPM. A calculation, not a recommendation.
All songs in E majorAll songs at 105 BPME major at 100–109 BPMVan Halen
MusicBrainz collapses 27 recording ids into this one. Recording id 1517412c-a5e5-462d-b042-2d98bbab46c9.