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Trends in the Beats Per Minute

of
Popular Music from 1900 to 2009

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Hypothesis
3. Previous Research
4. Research Method
5. Results and Discussion
6. Appendix
7. Sources
8. Ideas for Future Research

Samuel Adiv Cohen


December 16, 2009
Cohen 2

Introduction
Few will argue with the concept that popular music has changed over

time. The citizens of the 1940s would be shocked and startled at rap's heavy

vulgarity, and the avid electronica fans of today would be bored and

uninterested in jazz's swinging syncopation. Just as fashion tastes change

through the decades, music preferences change as well. The chart-topping

music of today is much more hormonal than "harmonal."

What is going on beneath the obvious changes in timbre and content?

What makes today's music more popular than yesterday's? Could there be

something subliminal, some aspect of the music that is driving this change?

This is the question that this research project attempts to answer.

Hypothesis

One of the major aspects of a song's structure is its beats per minute

(BPM), or tempo. This researcher hypothesized that the average BPM of

popular songs would increase through the years, as listeners demanded

faster music for a faster-paced lifestyle.

Some competing hypotheses include the notion that there may be a

certain rhythmical pattern which is pleasing to the ear in general, and is not

reliant on cultural modes. This tempo would not change over time. Also,

tempo preferences may fluctuate too quickly to be deemed a trend--the BPM

might be so random that there is no statistical correlation over time.


Cohen 3

Previous Research

Despite what appears to be a highly interesting and relevant topic,

almost no studies about BPM trends in popular music have been completed.

There have been several studies about how tempo affects mood, beginning

with Kate Hevner's groundbreaking 1937 research. In general, these studies

have found that faster music is considered happier, while slower music is

considered sadder. Gordon Bruner (1990) noted that 70-110 BPM is

considered a preferred tempo, but that research is based on participant

preferences, not on popular music analysis. It appears that no published

research has analyzed the BPM of popular music over time.

Research Method

For this study, a process was devised to allow for quick but accurate

analysis of popular songs. This process was designed to be as standardized

as possible to allow for further experimentation in the same vein.

Many sources claim to provide lists of the most popular songs by year,

but each of these lists differ slightly, perhaps reflecting editorial opinion or

bias. In an effort to average all of the available popular music lists, a source

was found which provided universally popular songs (in other words, all of

the songs on the list used could also be found on multiple popular music

listings). This list of popular songs by year was obtained from TsorT, a

privately owned data archival project with extensive information on popular


Cohen 4

music in the last 109 years (Hawtin 2009). TsorT combines 133 sources

charts with 342,768 data entries and scores each song based on how many

charts it appears on, for how long it appears on that chart, and the

importance of that particular chart. It is important to note that charts from

around the world are used in TsorT--not just North American or even Western

charts in general. However, non-Western charts did not develop until the

second half of the century, resulting in American music dominating the first

few decades of charted popular music. By the early 1980s, this imbalance

has mostly disappeared, and the songs listed reflect much more

international preferences. This, in turn, may make some of these songs

seem like improper placements to an American audience who has not heard

songs that were far more popular in Europe than in the States. Since music

listening and appreciation is a global trend and not limited to Western

countries, the world charts were used for this research.

Napster, a music download service, was used to play the songs for

recording. Almost all of the songs were on Napster in their original form,

however some of the older music required deeper research. Most of the

songs that were not on Napster were on the Internet Archive, a website

devoted to archiving all electronic media, especially websites and rare

music. The few songs that were not on Napster or the Internet Archive were

found on either rare music websites or within Youtube videos featuring the

original recordings. In every situation, a determined attempt was made to

attain the original recording from the year it was a hit, to ensure that the
Cohen 5

tempo was as accurate as possible and not subject to covers by other

musicians.

This issue of attaining the proper recording was especially prevalent in

years when the same song was covered by two different musicians (e.g., the

song "Bedelia" by the Haydn Quartet was #1 in 1904, and the same song

played by Billy Murray was #2 in the same year. The original recordings for

both were used, and indeed the tempos were slightly different). This

variation in tempo validated the decision to include covers of the same song

within the same year, which also occurred in 1917 when both Nora Bayes

and the American Quartet recorded "Over There." Some covers within the

same year were at exactly the same tempo, such as when the Victor

Orchestra and Lucy Isabelle Marsh both recorded "The Glow-Worm" in 1908.

Covers of the same song many years apart were an obvious (and intriguing)

inclusion (e.g., The Fugees' 1996 cover of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" is

29 BPM slower than Rosemary Clooney's 1973 original).

Audacity, a shareware music editing program, was used to record the

songs while they played on the computer. A thirty-second snippet of each

song was recorded and saved in a catalogue by year, artist, and title. These

songs were then uploaded into Rapid Evolution 2, a music analysis software

program. The songs were then analyzed by Rapid Evolution to determine

the BPM and key.

It was found that the Rapid Evolution software was not consistently

reliable, and had to be checked by the researcher. Since the software uses a
Cohen 6

computer algorithm to determine the BPM, the result was sometimes double

or half of the actual BPM (e.g., if the algorithm mistakenly assumed that the

syncopated bass drum beat on the second and fourth beats of a measure

was the normal quarter beat, the resulting BPM would be half of what it

should be). This checking process was time-consuming and potentially

erroneous. Although some mistakes have no doubt crept into the data,

diligent data verification did correct most software errors. Other seemingly

bizarre BPMs were also analyzed by human ear.

Once analyzed, the data was plotted in Microsoft Excel, and analyzed

using a variety of mathematical features of that program.

Results and Discussion

The 330 songs collected represent a significant body of data. This

lends some reliability to the ensuing mathematical calculations. Although an

increase in the data set to the top songs per year would certainly increase

the reliability of the results, the top three songs are a suitable source from

which to draw conclusions.

Although it is not as bluntly obvious as this researcher had hoped, the

BPM shows a definite upwards trend from 1900 to 2009 (see the linear line in

Figure 4). This is most clearly observed when one considers that from 1900-

1954 the average BPM was 82.19, while from 1955-2009 the average BPM

was 96.36--a jump of just over 14 beats per minute.


Cohen 7

The average of the top one song for all 110 years (87.84) was very

close to that of the second most popular song (90.94 BPM) and the third

most popular song (89.05 BPM). The average BPM of all the top songs from

1900-2009 is 89.276. This does not necessarily mean that 89 BPM itself is a

popular tempo, but the tempo range defined by one standard deviation

(25.08659) away from 89 (64-114) is a preferred range of tempos.

Marvelously, this range is very close to the 70-110 preferred BPM range

found by previous researchers, and the average of that range (90 BPM) is

astonishingly close to the average tempo of the past 110 years (89 BPM).

That 70-110 range was found by only looking at isolated participant

preferences, but with this research, it appears that global preferences

support that claim.

Close examination of the year-by-year data uncovers what appears to

be war-related musical fatigue. BPM levels are normal through 1917 (which

featured the speedy national pep-up song “Over There”), but then in 1919,

as WWI ended, BPM levels come crashing down. From 1919-1925, BPM

levels generally remain at a constant 75-79 BPM, a remarkable consistency.

In 1942, BPM levels also take a hit, and WWII plays out in Figure 4 through to

1948.

The data also reveal two fascinating cultural trends. From the 1950s to

the 1960s, the average BPM increased by more than 15 from 84.2 to 99.8 as

Elvis Presley and The Beatles pushed post-war lethargy off the charts. This

increase is housed within a greater trend--from the period 1940-1959 to the


Cohen 8

period 1960-1979, the average BPM increased also by more than 15, from

82.02 to 97.18.

Another major jump can be seen when comparing the 1990s (average

BPM 88.23) with the 2000s (average BPM 106.1), showing a leap of almost

18 BPM. This leap can be distinguished from the 1950s-1960s leap when one

notes that the 1990s were a remarkably slow decade musically. Tempo

steadily increases from the 1920s to the 1960s, plateaus for the next 30

years, and then drops ten BPM from the 1980s to the 1990s. However, after

this slow decade, listeners seemed to demand recovery music, and indeed

after the year 2000 the average BPM per year has not dropped below 100--a

fascinating statistic which is one of the more unmistakable and relevant

findings of this research. Through analysis of BPM data, cultural shifts can

now be reliably linked with variation in the tempo of popular music.

Appendix

Figure 1: Collected Data, catalogued by Artist, Song Title, Year, BPM, and
Key. The songs are listed by year in declining status on the charts (the first
song listed per was the most popular song, the second song was the second
most popular song, and the third song was the third most popular song), with
one exception: the #2, #4, and #5 songs were unavailable from any
electronic source, a problem which was resolved by placing the #3 song in
the #2 slot and the #6 song in the #3 slot. The key was analyzed by the
Cohen 9

Rapid Evolution software as well, and is noted here purely for referential
purposes and to allow for further research.

Artist Song Title Yea BPM Key


r
John Phillips Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever 190 124 D#
0
Albert Campbell Ma Blushin' Rosie 190 87 E
0
George Gaskin When You Were Sweet Sixteen 190 60 Fm
0
John Phillips Sousa American Patrol 190 132 D#m
1
Byron G Harlan Tell Me Pretty Maiden 190 60 Gm
1
S. H. Dudley When Reuben Comes To Town 190 116 B
1
Arthur Collins Bill Bailey 190 83 G#m
2
Bert Williams Good Morning, Carrie 190 95 G
2
Florodra Girls Tell Me Pretty Maiden 190 60 Gm
2
Haydn Quartet Good Old Summertime 190 65 C
3
Mina Hickman Come Down, Ma Ev'ning Star 190 103 A#
3
Marie Lloyd That's How The Little Girl Got On 190 102 Am
3
Haydn Quartet Bedelia 190 145 A#
4
Billy Murray Bedelia 190 156 Bm
4
Richard Jose Silver Threads Among The Gold 190 89 G
4
Billy Murray Give My Regards to Broadway 190 67 Dm
5
Billy Murray In My Merry Oldsmobile 190 113 Dm
5
Billy Murray Yankee Doodle 190 139 C
5
Bert Williams Nobody 190 70 D#m
6
Harry Lauder Stop Your Tickling Jock 190 60 Bm
6
Cohen 10

Bert Williams Let It Alone 190 66 A#m


6
Harry McDonough Because You're You 190 71 D
7
Bert Williams He's A Cousin of Mine 190 109 A#
7
Byron G Harlan My Gal Sal 190 66 A
7
Victor Orchestra The Glow-Worm 190 69 D
8
Lucy Isabelle Marsh The Glow-Worm 190 69 D
8
Elise Stevenson Are You Sincere? 190 66 D#
8
Blanche Ring I've Got Rings On My Fingers 190 62 A
9
Ada Jones The Yama Yama Man 190 62 A#m
9
Henry Burr I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now 190 74 E
9
Haydn Quartet By the Light of the Silvery Moon 191 61 C
0
Bert Williams Play That Barbershop Chord 191 62 Em
0
Nora Bayes Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? 191 69 A#m
0
Arthur Collins Alexander's Ragtime Band 191 100 G
1
Sophie Tucker Some of These Days 191 84 Cm
1
Peerless Quartet Let Me Call You Sweetheart 191 69 Dm
1
Al Jolson That Haunting Melody 191 88 E
2
American Quartet Moonlight Bay 191 111 Dm
2
Al Jolson Ragging the Baby to Sleep 191 61 D#
2
Chauncy Olcott When Irish Eyes Are Smiling 191 73 F
3
Charles Harrison Peg O' My Heart 191 65 F
3
Al Jolson The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life 191 75 C#
3
American Quartet It's A Long, Long Way to Tipperary 191 120 A#
4
Cohen 11

Heidelberg Quartet By the Beautiful Sea 191 114 A#


4
Arthur Collins and Byron G The Aba Daba Honeymoon 191 81 Em
Harlan 4
Alma Gluck Carry Me Back to Old Virginney 191 66 E
5
John McCormack It's A Long, Long Way to Tipperary 191 120 Em
5
Olive Klein and Ronald Hello, Frisco! 191 95 Am
Werrenrath 5
John McCormack Somewhere A Voice Is Calling 191 76 G
6
Al Jolson I Sent My Wife to the Thousand 191 65 Em
Isles 6
Billy Murray I Love a Piano 191 61 E
6
Nora Bayes Over There 191 140 A#
7
American Quartet Over There 191 130 Cm
7
Original Dixieland Jazz Band At the Darktown Strutter's Ball 191 62 C
7
Al Jolson Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie 191 121 Am
Melody 8
Original Dixieland Jazz Band Tiger Rag 191 120 F
8
Joseph Smith and His Smiles 191 60 C
Orchestra 8
Ben Selvin I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles 191 62 Dm
9
Marion Harris After You've Gone 191 83 C
9
Henry Burr and Aaron I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles 191 94 C
Campbell 9
Al Jolson Swanee 192 85 F
0
Paul Whiteman Whispering 192 66 D
0
Mamie Smith Crazy Blues 192 77 F
0
Marion Harris I Ain't Got Nobody 192 85 D
1
Van & Schenck Ain't We Got Fun? 192 79 F
1
Eddie Cantor Margie 192 62 G#
1
Cohen 12

Al Jolson April Showers 192 77 A


2
Fanny Brice My Man 192 63 C
2
Al Jolson Toot Toot Tootsie (Goodbye) 192 63 G#
2
Bessie Smith Down Hearted Blues 192 88 Em
3
Paul Whiteman Parade of the Wooden Soldiers 192 65 F
3
Billy Jones Yes! We Have No Bananas 192 77 D
3
Al Jolson California, Here I Come 192 81 F#m
4
Isham Jones It Had to Be You 192 82 A
4
Arthur Gibbs and His Gang Charleston 192 73 C
4
Vernon Dalhart The Prisoner's Song 192 61 A
5
Ben Bernie Sweet Georgia Brown 192 82 Fm
5
Bessie Smith St. Louis Blues 192 96 Fm
5
Gene Austin Bye Bye Blackbird 192 71 Fm
6
Al Jolson When the Red, Red Robin Comes 192 147 Gm
Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along 6
George Olsen Always 192 64 C#m
6
Gene Austin My Blue Heaven 192 80 C
7
Frankie Trumbauer Singin' the Blues 192 70 F
7
Bix Beiderbecke In a Mist 192 85 Em
7
Jimmie Rodgers T for Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1) 192 91 A
8
Duke Ellington Black & Tan Fantasy 192 62 F
8
Al Jolson Sonny Boy 192 63 Am
8
Eddie Cantor Makin' Whoopee 192 60 G
9
Ethel Waters Am I Blue? 192 72 C#
9
Cohen 13

Fats Waller Ain't Misbehavin' 192 82 C


9
Ben Selvin Happy Days Are Here Again 193 119 Em
0
Harry Richman Puttin' On the Ritz 193 66 G#
0
Ruth Etting Ten Cents a Dance 193 110 Em
0
Cab Calloway Minnie the Moocher 193 95 Em
& His Cotton Club Orchestra 1
Ted Lewis & His Orchestra Just a Gigolo 193 63 A
1
Duke Ellington Mood Indigo 193 62 A#
1
Louis Armstrong All of Me 193 88 A#
2
Fred Astaire Night & Day 193 64 Gm
2
Duke Ellington It Don't Mean a Thing 193 75 G#
(If It Ain't Got That Swing) 2
Ethel Waters Stormy Weather 193 76 Cm
3
Duke Ellington Sophisticated Lady 193 66 Bm
3
Bing Crosby Shadow Waltz 193 106 C#
3
Paul Whiteman Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 193 72 Cm
4
Duke Ellington Cocktails For Two 193 83 C
4
Guy Lombardo Winter Wonderland 193 70 F
4
Fred Astaire Cheek to Cheek 193 70 G
5
The Dorsey Brothers Lullaby of Broadway 193 62 Dm
5
Shirley Temple On The Good Ship Lollipop 193 73 F
5
Fred Astaire The Way You Look Tonight 193 71 A
6
Bing Crosby Pennies From Heaven 193 95 F
6
Robert Johnson Crossroad Blues 193 63 B
6
Count Basie One O'Clock Jump 193 106 F
7
Cohen 14

Fred Astaire They Can't Take That Away From 193 69 Bm


Me 7
Duke Ellington Caravan 193 82 C
7
Artie Shaw Begin the Beguine 193 70 A
8
Benny Goodman Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) 193 88 Em
8
Ella Fitzgerald A-Tisket A-Tasket 193 80 Cm
8
Judy Garland Over the Rainbow 193 99 G#
9
Glenn Miller Moonlight Serenade 193 62 D#
9
Kate Smith God Bless America 193 91 G#
9
Glenn Miller In the Mood 194 83 G#
0
Artie Shaw Frenesi 194 73 B
0
Tommy Dorsey and Frank I'll Never Smile Again 194 75 Em
Sinatra 0
Glenn Miller Chattanooga Choo Choo 194 73 Am
1
The Andrews Sisters Beat Me Daddy 194 124 Am
1
Jimmy Dorsey Green Eyes 194 117 G#m
1
Bing Crosby White Christmas 194 86 A
2
Glenn Miller Moonlight Cocktail 194 80 G
2
Glenn Miller Kalamazoo 194 67 F
2
The Mills Brothers Paper Doll 194 74 C
3
Al Dexter & His Troopers Pistol Packin' Mama 194 86 C
3
Dick Haymes You'll Never Know 194 73 Am
3
Bing Crosby Swinging On A Star 194 72 G
4
Bing Crosby & The Andrews Don't Fence Me In 194 62 D#
Sisters 4
Bing Crosby I'll Be Seeing You 194 78 G
4
Cohen 15

Les Brown & Doris Day Sentimental Journey 194 64 F


5
The Andrews Sisters Rum and Coca-Cola 194 62 Dm
5
Les Brown My Dreams Are Getting Better All 194 62 C#
the Time 5
Frank Sinatra Five Minutes More 194 61 F
6
Perry Como Prisoner of Love 194 72 D
6
Johnny Mercer Personality 194 67 C
6
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats Peg O' My Heart 194 64 E
7
Perry Como Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba 194 86 A#
(My Bambino Go to Sleep) 7
Francis Craig Near You 194 62 Fm
7
Art Mooney I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover 194 109 C#
8
Nat King Cole Nature Boy 194 92 F
8
Dinah Shore Buttons and Bows 194 91 G
8
Vaughn Monroe Riders in the Sky 194 67 A
9
Gene Autry Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer 194 70 Gm
9
Frankie Laine Mule Train 194 143 D#
9
Nat King Cole Mona Lisa 195 88 Fm
0
Patti Page Tennessee Waltz 195 71 C
0
Gordon Jenkins and The Goodnight, Irene 195 92 F
Weavers 0
Johnnie Ray Cry 195 81 G
1
Les Paul and Mary Ford How High the Moon 195 114 G
1
Nat King Cole Too Young 195 61 D#
1
Jo Stafford You Belong To Me 195 90 Dm
2
Al Martino Here In My Heart 195 78 C
2
Cohen 16

Kay Starr Wheel of Fortune 195 62 G#


2
Les Paul and Mary Ford Vaya Con Dio 195 81 E
3
Dean Martin That's Amore 195 106 Bm
3
Eddie Fisher I'm Walking Behind You 195 79 D
3
The Chordettes Mister Sandman 195 67 Bm
4
Doris Day Secret Love 195 67 G#m
4
Rosemary Clooney Hey There 195 97 A#m
4
Bill Haley & His Comets Rock Around the Clock 195 91 E
5
Tennessee Ernie Ford Sixteen Tons 195 67 Bm
5
The Platters Only You (And You Alone) 195 69 A#
5
Elvis Presley Hound Dog 195 136 Fm
6
Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel 195 93 Em
6
Elvis Presley Don't Be Cruel 195 85 D
6
Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock 195 65 D#
7
Jerry Lee Lewis Great Balls of Fire 195 62 Cm
7
Elvis Presley All Shook Up 195 110 A#
7
The Kingston Trio Tom Dooley 195 62 B
8
Domenico Modungo Volare 195 135 A#
8
The Champs Tequila 195 90 Em
8
Bobby Darin Mack the Knife 195 76 C#
9
The Platters Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 195 62 D#
9
Johnny Horton Battle of New Orleans 195 89 A
9
Elvis Presley Are You Lonesome Tonight? 196 78 C
0
Cohen 17

Elvis Presley It's Now or Never 196 126 B


0
Chubby Checker The Twist 196 156 E
0
Ben E King Stand By Me 196 87 A
1
Del Shannon Runaway 196 78 A#
1
Chubby Checker Let's Twist Again 196 124 D#
1
Ray Charles I Can't Stop Loving You 196 80 F
2
Elvis Presley Return to Sender 196 66 Cm
2
The Tornados Telstar 196 143 C#m
2
The Beatles She Loves You 196 68 Bm
3
The Kingsmen Louie Louie 196 73 A
3
Paul & Paula Hey Paula 196 73 G
3
The Beatles I Wanna Hold Your Hand 196 133 Bm
4
Roy Orbison Oh, Pretty Woman 196 127 A
4
The Animals House of the Rising Sun 196 122 Am
4
Rolling Stones Satisfaction 196 136 A
5
The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody 196 61 C
5
The Beatles Help! 196 97 F#m
5
Frank Sinatra Strangers in the Night 196 69 C
6
The Beatles Paperback Writer 196 79 G
6
The Beach Boys Good Vibrations 196 75 D#
6
Procol Harum A Whiter Shade of Pale 196 146 C
7
The Monkees I'm A Believer 196 68 G
7
The Beatles All You Need Is Love 196 101 G
7
Cohen 18

The Beatles Hey Jude 196 75 F


8
Mary Hopkin Those Were The Days 196 88 F#m
8
Otis Redding The Dock of the Bay 196 103 G
8
The Beatles Get Back 196 124 Am
9
Archie Sugar Sugar 196 122 D
9
Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds 196 116 G
9
The Beatles Let It Be 197 68 C
0
Mungo Jerry In the Summertime 197 165 E
0
Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water 197 87 Gm
0
George Harrison My Sweet Lord 197 64 E
1
John Lennon Imagine 197 76 C
1
Rod Stewart Maggie May 197 129 D
1
Don McLean American Pie 197 110 G
2
Harry Nilsson Without You 197 66 E
2
Hot Butter Popcorn 197 68 F#m
2
The Rolling Stones Angie 197 69 G
3
Tony Orlando & Dawn Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'round the 197 90 A#
Old Oak Tree 3
Roberta Flack Killing Me Softly With His Song 197 122 Fm
3
Terry Jacks Seasons in the Sun 197 100 A
4
Carl Douglas Kung Fu Fighting 197 102 D
4
George McCrae Rock Your Baby 197 104 Cm
4
The Sweet Fox On the Run 197 126 A
5
Abba SOS 197 128 F
5
Cohen 19

10CC I'm Not In Love 197 86 C#m


5
Abba Dancing Queen 197 77 E
6
Queen Bohemian Rhapsody 197 65 D#
6
Chicago If You Leave Me Now 197 61 B
6
Eagles Hotel California 197 74 D
7
Wings Mull of Kintyre 197 61 Am
7
Donna Summer I Feel Love 197 63 D#
7
John Travolta & Olivia You're the One That I Want 197 107 Em
Newton-John 8
The Village People YMCA 197 125 C#
8
The Bee Gees Stayin' Alive 197 104 A#m
8
Blondie Heart of Glass 197 115 E
9
Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive 197 117 C
9
M Pop Muzik 197 108 C#
9
Pink Floyd Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) 198 104 Am
0
Lipps Inc Funkytown 198 123 C
0
Barbra Streisand A Woman in Love 198 85 A#m
0
Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes 198 68 F
1
Starsound Stars On 45 198 123 Am
1
Soft Cell Tainted Love 198 144 Gm
1
Survivor Eye of the Tiger 198 109 Cm
2
Culture Club Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? 198 100 D
2
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts I Love Rock and Roll 198 93 E
2
Irene Cara Flashdance...What a Feeling 198 61 A#
3
Cohen 20

Michael Jackson Billie Jean 198 117 F#m


3
Culture Club Karma Chameleon 198 92 F
3
Stevie Wonder I Just Called to Say I Love You 198 113 D#m
4
Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? 198 84 C
4
George Michael Careless Whisper 198 77 A#
4
USA For Africa We Are the World 198 73 E
5
A-Ha Take On Me 198 170 E
5
Foreigner I Want to Know What Love Is 198 81 D#m
5
Falco Rock Me Amadeus 198 88 Am
6
Madonna Papa Don't Preach 198 122 Cm
6
Berlin Take My Breath Away 198 96 Gm
6
Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance With Somebody 198 60 C#
(Who Loves Me) 7
Rick Astley Never Gonna Give You Up 198 113 G#
7
Los Lobos La Bamba 198 78 F
7
Phil Collins A Groovy Kind of Love 198 144 D
8
Bobby McFerrin Don't Worry Be Happy 198 66 B
8
The Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind 198 71 G
8
Madonna Like A Prayer 198 111 Am
9
Phil Collins Another Day In Paradise 198 102 Fm
9
The Bangles Eternal Flame 198 78 G
9
Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares 2 U 199 60 A#
0
Madonna Vogue 199 66 F#
0
Londonbeat I've Been Thinking About You 199 86 A
0
Cohen 21

Bryan Adams I Do It For You 199 66 F#


1
Michael Jackson Black or White 199 115 E
1
Roxette Joyride 199 102 A
1
Whitney Houston I Will Always Love You 199 63 A
2
Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit 199 116 C#
2
Mr. Big To Be With You 199 83 E
2
Meatloaf I'd Do Anything For Love 199 76 D
(But I Won't Do That) 3
Snow Informer 199 98 G#m
3
Four Non Blondes What's up? 199 66 A
3
Bruce Springsteen Streets of Philadelphia 199 94 Am
4
Mariah Carey Without You 199 61 F#
4
Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, All For Love 199 75 D
and Sting 4
Coolio Gangsta's Paradise 199 80 G#
5
Take That Back For Good 199 158 F
5
Bryan Adams Have You Ever Really Loved A 199 97 Dm
Woman? 5
Spice Girls Wannabe 199 84 B
6
Los Del Rio Macarena 199 103 G#m
6
The Fugees Killing Me Softly With His Song 199 93 Bm
6
Puff Diddy & Faith Evans I'll Be Missing You 199 110 G
7
Elton John Candle In The Wind 199 63 E
7
Hanson Mmmbop 199 104 A#
7
Celine Dion My Heart Will Go On 199 61 A
8
Cher Believe 199 67 F#
8
Cohen 22

Aerosmith I Don't Want to Miss a Thing 199 61 Bm


8
Britney Spears Baby One More Time 199 74 C
9
Lou Bega Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...) 199 87 A#
9
Ricky Martin Livin' La Vida Loca 199 178 C#
9
Madonna Music 200 76 G
0
Eminem Stan 200 80 E
0
Britney Spears Oops!... I Did it Again 200 95 G#m
0
Kylie Minogue Can't Get You Out of My Head 200 126 Am
1
Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vous 200 110 G
Mya, and Pink Couchez Avec Moi Ce Soir) 1
Outkast Ms. Jackson 200 72 Em
1
Eminem Lose Yourself 200 86 Dm
2
Shakira Whenever, Wherever 200 107 A
2
Eminem Without Me 200 112 G
2
The Black Eyed Peas Where is the Love? 200 108 F
3
t.A.T.u. All the Things She Said 200 80 G#
3
The Black Eyes Peas Shut Up 200 113 Dm
3
Usher Yeah! 200 105 Em
4
Eamon I Don't Want You Back 200 138 D#
4
O-Zone Dragostea Din Tei 200 130 G
4
James Blunt You're Beautiful 200 81 G#
5
Madonna Hung Up 200 125 Dm
5
The Pussycat Dolls Don't Cha 200 120 G#m
5
Shakira & Wyclef Jean Hips Don't Lie 200 100 A#m
6
Cohen 23

Gnarls Barkley Crazy 200 112 G#


6
Justin Timberlake Sexyback 200 117 A
6
Sean Kingston Beautiful Girls 200 130 A
7
Avril Lavigne Girlfriend 200 82 D
7
Nelly Furtado Say it Right 200 117 Fm
7
Leona Lewis Bleeding Love 200 87 F
8
Coldplay Viva La Vida 200 120 G#
8
Katy Perry I Kissed A Girl 200 130 F
8
Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling 200 128 C
9
Lady GaGa Poker Face 200 76 G#m
9
Lady GaGa Just Dance 200 120 E
9

Figure 2: Average BPM by year

Yea Average 190 191


65.33 71.00
r BPM 6 3

190 190 191


90.33 82.00 105.00
0 7 4

190 190 191


102.67 68.00 93.67
1 8 5

190 190 191


79.33 66.00 67.33
2 9 6

190 191 191


90.00 64.00 110.67
3 0 7

190 191 191


130.00 84.33 100.33
4 1 8

190 191 191


106.33 86.67 79.67
5 2 9
Cohen 24

192 193 195


76.00 84.00 95.67
0 9 8
192 194 195
75.33 77.00 75.67
1 0 9
192 194 196
67.67 104.67 120.00
2 1 0
192 194 196
76.67 77.67 96.33
3 2 1
192 194 196
78.67 77.67 96.33
4 3 2
192 194 196
79.67 70.67 71.33
5 4 3
192 194 196
94.00 62.67 127.33
6 5 4
192 194 196
78.33 66.67 98.00
7 6 5
192 194 196
72.00 70.67 74.33
8 7 6
192 194 196
71.33 97.33 105.00
9 8 7
193 194 196
98.33 93.33 88.67
0 9 8
193 195 196
73.33 83.67 120.67
1 0 9
193 195 197
75.67 85.33 106.67
2 1 0
193 195 197
82.67 76.67 89.67
3 2 1
193 195 197
75.00 88.67 81.33
4 3 2
193 195 197
68.33 77.00 93.67
5 4 3
193 195 197
76.33 75.67 102.00
6 5 4
193 195 197
85.67 104.67 113.33
7 6 5
193 195 197
79.33 79.00 67.67
8 7 6
Cohen 25

197 198 199


66.00 93.67 113.00
7 8 9
197 198 200
112.00 97.00 83.67
8 9 0
197 199 200
113.33 70.67 102.67
9 0 1
198 199 200
104.00 94.33 101.67
0 1 2
198 199 200
111.67 87.33 100.33
1 2 3
198 199 200
100.67 80.00 124.33
2 3 4
198 199 200
90.00 76.67 108.67
3 4 5
198 199 200
91.33 111.67 109.67
4 5 6
198 199 200
108.00 93.33 109.67
5 6 7
198 199 200
102.00 92.33 112.33
6 7 8
198 199 200
83.67 63.00 108.00
7 8 9

Figure 3: Average BPM by decade

Decade Average BPM


1900s 88.00
1910s 86.27
1920s 76.97
1930s 79.87
1940s 79.83
1950s 84.20
Cohen 26

1960s 99.80
1970s 94.57
1980s 98.20
1990s 88.23
2000s 106.10

Figure 4: Graph of average BPM per year (where t=1 corresponds to 1900,

t=2 is 1901, etc.)


Cohen 27

Figure 5: Average BPM per decade (t=1 is 1900-1909, t=2 is 1910-1919,

etc.)
Cohen 28

Figure 6: Average BPM per two decades (t=1 is 1900-1919, t=2 is 1920-

1939, etc.).
Cohen 29

Figure 7: Chart of the BPM of the top three songs per year. This data is
mildly overwhelming at first when presented in this format, but it allows for
the observation of an interesting trend: In 1945-1947, the BPMs of the top
three songs were very similar. Those BPMs also represent some of the
lowest BPMs through the past 110 years. These slow tempos are possibly a
result of international fatigue following WWII.
Cohen 30

Sources

Song Sources:

Song chart calculations and listing available at

• Hawtin, S. (2009). Song years chart. Retrieved 26 October 2009,


from http://tsort.info/music/years0.htm (Version 1.8.0055)

The recording for Bert William's song "Nobody" was unavailable on any
Internet source except for the Library of Congress Performing Arts
Encyclopedia:

• Williams, B. Nobody. Retrieved 26 October 2009 from


http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100010741/default.html

Previous Research:

• The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Oct., 1937), pp. 621-
630. Published by: University of Illinois Press
• The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), pp. 94-104. Published
by: American Marketing Association

Ideas for Future Research:

Further research in this topic is clearly necessary, and will prove to be

revealing. There is much room for data expansion (e.g., including the top

five songs of each year in the analysis) and data analysis (e.g., looking at

distribution ranges and examining the peak within each range in contrast

with peaks from other decades). It would also be intriguing to examine how

North American BPM preferences compare with European preferences, and

with World preferences. TsorT allows the user to sort the data using only
Cohen 31

North American or European charts, so this type of research would be

relatively straightforward (although time-consuming) to accomplish.

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