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
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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.
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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 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
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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 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).
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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 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.
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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. 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 pepup song “Over There”), but then in 1919, as WWI ended, BPM levels come crashing down.
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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 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.
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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 Rapid Evolution software as well, and is noted here purely for referential purposes and to allow for further research. Artist John Phillips Sousa Albert Campbell George Gaskin John Phillips Sousa Byron G Harlan S. H. Dudley Arthur Collins Bert Williams Florodra Girls Haydn Quartet Mina Hickman Marie Lloyd Haydn Quartet Billy Murray Richard Jose Billy Murray Billy Murray Billy Murray Bert Williams Harry Lauder Bert Williams Harry McDonough Bert Williams Byron G Harlan Victor Orchestra Lucy Isabelle Marsh Elise Stevenson Blanche Ring Ada Jones Henry Burr Haydn Quartet Song Title Stars and Stripes Forever Ma Blushin' Rosie When You Were Sweet Sixteen American Patrol Tell Me Pretty Maiden When Reuben Comes To Town Bill Bailey Good Morning, Carrie Tell Me Pretty Maiden Good Old Summertime Come Down, Ma Ev'ning Star That's How The Little Girl Got On Bedelia Bedelia Silver Threads Among The Gold Give My Regards to Broadway In My Merry Oldsmobile Yankee Doodle Nobody Stop Your Tickling Jock Let It Alone Because You're You He's A Cousin of Mine My Gal Sal The Glow-Worm The Glow-Worm Are You Sincere? I've Got Rings On My Fingers The Yama Yama Man I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now By the Light of the Silvery Moon Year 1900 1900 1900 1901 1901 1901 1902 1902 1902 1903 1903 1903 1904 1904 1904 1905 1905 1905 1906 1906 1906 1907 1907 1907 1908 1908 1908 1909 1909 1909 1910 BPM 124 87 60 132 60 116 83 95 60 65 103 102 145 156 89 67 113 139 70 60 66 71 109 66 69 69 66 62 62 74 61 Key D# E Fm D#m Gm B G#m G Gm C A# Am A# Bm G Dm Dm C D#m Bm A#m D A# A D D D# A A#m E C
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Bert Williams Nora Bayes Arthur Collins Sophie Tucker Peerless Quartet Al Jolson American Quartet Al Jolson Chauncy Olcott Charles Harrison Al Jolson American Quartet Heidelberg Quartet Arthur Collins and Byron G Harlan Alma Gluck John McCormack Olive Klein and Ronald Werrenrath John McCormack Al Jolson Billy Murray Nora Bayes American Quartet Original Dixieland Jazz Band Al Jolson Original Dixieland Jazz Band Joseph Smith and His Orchestra Ben Selvin Marion Harris Henry Burr and Aaron Campbell Al Jolson Paul Whiteman Mamie Smith Marion Harris Van & Schenck Eddie Cantor Al Jolson Fanny Brice Al Jolson Bessie Smith Paul Whiteman Billy Jones Al Jolson Isham Jones Arthur Gibbs and His Gang
Play That Barbershop Chord Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? Alexander's Ragtime Band Some of These Days Let Me Call You Sweetheart That Haunting Melody Moonlight Bay Ragging the Baby to Sleep When Irish Eyes Are Smiling Peg O' My Heart The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life It's A Long, Long Way to Tipperary By the Beautiful Sea The Aba Daba Honeymoon Carry Me Back to Old Virginney It's A Long, Long Way to Tipperary Hello, Frisco! Somewhere A Voice Is Calling I Sent My Wife to the Thousand Isles I Love a Piano Over There Over There At the Darktown Strutter's Ball Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody Tiger Rag Smiles I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles After You've Gone I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles Swanee Whispering Crazy Blues I Ain't Got Nobody Ain't We Got Fun? Margie April Showers My Man Toot Toot Tootsie (Goodbye) Down Hearted Blues Parade of the Wooden Soldiers Yes! We Have No Bananas California, Here I Come It Had to Be You Charleston
1910 1910 1911 1911 1911 1912 1912 1912 1913 1913 1913 1914 1914 1914 1915 1915 1915 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917 1917 1918 1918 1918 1919 1919 1919 1920 1920 1920 1921 1921 1921 1922 1922 1922 1923 1923 1923 1924 1924 1924
62 69 100 84 69 88 111 61 73 65 75 120 114 81 66 120 95 76 65 61 140 130 62 121 120 60 62 83 94 85 66 77 85 79 62 77 63 63 88 65 77 81 82 73
Em A#m G Cm Dm E Dm D# F F C# A# A# Em E Em Am G Em E A# Cm C Am F C Dm C C F D F D F G# A C G# Em F D F#m A C
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Vernon Dalhart Ben Bernie Bessie Smith Gene Austin Al Jolson George Olsen Gene Austin Frankie Trumbauer Bix Beiderbecke Jimmie Rodgers Duke Ellington Al Jolson Eddie Cantor Ethel Waters Fats Waller Ben Selvin Harry Richman Ruth Etting Cab Calloway & His Cotton Club Orchestra Ted Lewis & His Orchestra Duke Ellington Louis Armstrong Fred Astaire Duke Ellington Ethel Waters Duke Ellington Bing Crosby Paul Whiteman Duke Ellington Guy Lombardo Fred Astaire The Dorsey Brothers Shirley Temple Fred Astaire Bing Crosby Robert Johnson Count Basie Fred Astaire Duke Ellington Artie Shaw Benny Goodman Ella Fitzgerald
The Prisoner's Song Sweet Georgia Brown St. Louis Blues Bye Bye Blackbird When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along Always My Blue Heaven Singin' the Blues In a Mist T for Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1) Black & Tan Fantasy Sonny Boy Makin' Whoopee Am I Blue? Ain't Misbehavin' Happy Days Are Here Again Puttin' On the Ritz Ten Cents a Dance Minnie the Moocher Just a Gigolo Mood Indigo All of Me Night & Day It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) Stormy Weather Sophisticated Lady Shadow Waltz Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Cocktails For Two Winter Wonderland Cheek to Cheek Lullaby of Broadway On The Good Ship Lollipop The Way You Look Tonight Pennies From Heaven Crossroad Blues One O'Clock Jump They Can't Take That Away From Me Caravan Begin the Beguine Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) A-Tisket A-Tasket
1925 1925 1925 1926 1926 1926 1927 1927 1927 1928 1928 1928 1929 1929 1929 1930 1930 1930 1931 1931 1931 1932 1932 1932 1933 1933 1933 1934 1934 1934 1935 1935 1935 1936 1936 1936 1937 1937 1937 1938 1938 1938
61 82 96 71 147 64 80 70 85 91 62 63 60 72 82 119 66 110 95 63 62 88 64 75 76 66 106 72 83 70 70 62 73 71 95 63 106 69 82 70 88 80
A Fm Fm Fm Gm C#m C F Em A F Am G C# C Em G# Em Em A A# A# Gm G# Cm Bm C# Cm C F G Dm F A F B F Bm C A Em Cm
Cohen 11
Judy Garland Glenn Miller Kate Smith Glenn Miller Artie Shaw Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra Glenn Miller The Andrews Sisters Jimmy Dorsey Bing Crosby Glenn Miller Glenn Miller The Mills Brothers Al Dexter & His Troopers Dick Haymes Bing Crosby Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters Bing Crosby Les Brown & Doris Day The Andrews Sisters Les Brown Frank Sinatra Perry Como Johnny Mercer Jerry Murad's Harmonicats Perry Como Francis Craig Art Mooney Nat King Cole Dinah Shore Vaughn Monroe Gene Autry Frankie Laine Nat King Cole Patti Page Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers Johnnie Ray Les Paul and Mary Ford Nat King Cole Jo Stafford Al Martino Kay Starr Les Paul and Mary Ford
Over the Rainbow Moonlight Serenade God Bless America In the Mood Frenesi I'll Never Smile Again Chattanooga Choo Choo Beat Me Daddy Green Eyes White Christmas Moonlight Cocktail Kalamazoo Paper Doll Pistol Packin' Mama You'll Never Know Swinging On A Star Don't Fence Me In I'll Be Seeing You Sentimental Journey Rum and Coca-Cola My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time Five Minutes More Prisoner of Love Personality Peg O' My Heart Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (My Bambino Go to Sleep) Near You I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover Nature Boy Buttons and Bows Riders in the Sky Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mule Train Mona Lisa Tennessee Waltz Goodnight, Irene Cry How High the Moon Too Young You Belong To Me Here In My Heart Wheel of Fortune Vaya Con Dio
1939 1939 1939 1940 1940 1940 1941 1941 1941 1942 1942 1942 1943 1943 1943 1944 1944 1944 1945 1945 1945 1946 1946 1946 1947 1947 1947 1948 1948 1948 1949 1949 1949 1950 1950 1950 1951 1951 1951 1952 1952 1952 1953
99 62 91 83 73 75 73 124 117 86 80 67 74 86 73 72 62 78 64 62 62 61 72 67 64 86 62 109 92 91 67 70 143 88 71 92 81 114 61 90 78 62 81
G# D# G# G# B Em Am Am G#m A G F C C Am G D# G F Dm C# F D C E A# Fm C# F G A Gm D# Fm C F G G D# Dm C G# E
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Dean Martin Eddie Fisher The Chordettes Doris Day Rosemary Clooney Bill Haley & His Comets Tennessee Ernie Ford The Platters Elvis Presley Elvis Presley Elvis Presley Elvis Presley Jerry Lee Lewis Elvis Presley The Kingston Trio Domenico Modungo The Champs Bobby Darin The Platters Johnny Horton Elvis Presley Elvis Presley Chubby Checker Ben E King Del Shannon Chubby Checker Ray Charles Elvis Presley The Tornados The Beatles The Kingsmen Paul & Paula The Beatles Roy Orbison The Animals Rolling Stones The Righteous Brothers The Beatles Frank Sinatra The Beatles The Beach Boys Procol Harum The Monkees The Beatles
That's Amore I'm Walking Behind You Mister Sandman Secret Love Hey There Rock Around the Clock Sixteen Tons Only You (And You Alone) Hound Dog Heartbreak Hotel Don't Be Cruel Jailhouse Rock Great Balls of Fire All Shook Up Tom Dooley Volare Tequila Mack the Knife Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Battle of New Orleans Are You Lonesome Tonight? It's Now or Never The Twist Stand By Me Runaway Let's Twist Again I Can't Stop Loving You Return to Sender Telstar She Loves You Louie Louie Hey Paula I Wanna Hold Your Hand Oh, Pretty Woman House of the Rising Sun Satisfaction Unchained Melody Help! Strangers in the Night Paperback Writer Good Vibrations A Whiter Shade of Pale I'm A Believer All You Need Is Love
1953 1953 1954 1954 1954 1955 1955 1955 1956 1956 1956 1957 1957 1957 1958 1958 1958 1959 1959 1959 1960 1960 1960 1961 1961 1961 1962 1962 1962 1963 1963 1963 1964 1964 1964 1965 1965 1965 1966 1966 1966 1967 1967 1967
106 79 67 67 97 91 67 69 136 93 85 65 62 110 62 135 90 76 62 89 78 126 156 87 78 124 80 66 143 68 73 73 133 127 122 136 61 97 69 79 75 146 68 101
Bm D Bm G#m A#m E Bm A# Fm Em D D# Cm A# B A# Em C# D# A C B E A A# D# F Cm C#m Bm A G Bm A Am A C F#m C G D# C G G
Cohen 13
The Beatles Mary Hopkin Otis Redding The Beatles Archie Elvis Presley The Beatles Mungo Jerry Simon & Garfunkel George Harrison John Lennon Rod Stewart Don McLean Harry Nilsson Hot Butter The Rolling Stones Tony Orlando & Dawn Roberta Flack Terry Jacks Carl Douglas George McCrae The Sweet Abba 10CC Abba Queen Chicago Eagles Wings Donna Summer John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John The Village People The Bee Gees Blondie Gloria Gaynor M Pink Floyd Lipps Inc Barbra Streisand Kim Carnes Starsound Soft Cell Survivor
Hey Jude Those Were The Days The Dock of the Bay Get Back Sugar Sugar Suspicious Minds Let It Be In the Summertime Bridge Over Troubled Water My Sweet Lord Imagine Maggie May American Pie Without You Popcorn Angie Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'round the Old Oak Tree Killing Me Softly With His Song Seasons in the Sun Kung Fu Fighting Rock Your Baby Fox On the Run SOS I'm Not In Love Dancing Queen Bohemian Rhapsody If You Leave Me Now Hotel California Mull of Kintyre I Feel Love You're the One That I Want YMCA Stayin' Alive Heart of Glass I Will Survive Pop Muzik Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) Funkytown A Woman in Love Bette Davis Eyes Stars On 45 Tainted Love Eye of the Tiger
1968 1968 1968 1969 1969 1969 1970 1970 1970 1971 1971 1971 1972 1972 1972 1973 1973 1973 1974 1974 1974 1975 1975 1975 1976 1976 1976 1977 1977 1977 1978 1978 1978 1979 1979 1979 1980 1980 1980 1981 1981 1981 1982
75 88 103 124 122 116 68 165 87 64 76 129 110 66 68 69 90 122 100 102 104 126 128 86 77 65 61 74 61 63 107 125 104 115 117 108 104 123 85 68 123 144 109
F F#m G Am D G C E Gm E C D G E F#m G A# Fm A D Cm A F C#m E D# B D Am D# Em C# A#m E C C# Am C A#m F Am Gm Cm
Cohen 14
Culture Club Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Irene Cara Michael Jackson Culture Club Stevie Wonder Band Aid George Michael USA For Africa A-Ha Foreigner Falco Madonna Berlin Whitney Houston Rick Astley Los Lobos Phil Collins Bobby McFerrin The Pet Shop Boys Madonna Phil Collins The Bangles Sinead O'Connor Madonna Londonbeat Bryan Adams Michael Jackson Roxette Whitney Houston Nirvana Mr. Big Meatloaf Snow Four Non Blondes Bruce Springsteen Mariah Carey Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting Coolio Take That Bryan Adams Spice Girls
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? I Love Rock and Roll Flashdance...What a Feeling Billie Jean Karma Chameleon I Just Called to Say I Love You Do They Know It's Christmas? Careless Whisper We Are the World Take On Me I Want to Know What Love Is Rock Me Amadeus Papa Don't Preach Take My Breath Away I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) Never Gonna Give You Up La Bamba A Groovy Kind of Love Don't Worry Be Happy Always On My Mind Like A Prayer Another Day In Paradise Eternal Flame Nothing Compares 2 U Vogue I've Been Thinking About You I Do It For You Black or White Joyride I Will Always Love You Smells Like Teen Spirit To Be With You I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) Informer What's up? Streets of Philadelphia Without You All For Love Gangsta's Paradise Back For Good Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? Wannabe
1982 1982 1983 1983 1983 1984 1984 1984 1985 1985 1985 1986 1986 1986 1987 1987 1987 1988 1988 1988 1989 1989 1989 1990 1990 1990 1991 1991 1991 1992 1992 1992 1993 1993 1993 1994 1994 1994 1995 1995 1995 1996
100 93 61 117 92 113 84 77 73 170 81 88 122 96 60 113 78 144 66 71 111 102 78 60 66 86 66 115 102 63 116 83 76 98 66 94 61 75 80 158 97 84
D E A# F#m F D#m C A# E E D#m Am Cm Gm C# G# F D B G Am Fm G A# F# A F# E A A C# E D G#m A Am F# D G# F Dm B
Cohen 15
Los Del Rio The Fugees Puff Diddy & Faith Evans Elton John Hanson Celine Dion Cher Aerosmith Britney Spears Lou Bega Ricky Martin Madonna Eminem Britney Spears Kylie Minogue Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink Outkast Eminem Shakira Eminem The Black Eyed Peas t.A.T.u. The Black Eyes Peas Usher Eamon O-Zone James Blunt Madonna The Pussycat Dolls Shakira & Wyclef Jean Gnarls Barkley Justin Timberlake Sean Kingston Avril Lavigne Nelly Furtado Leona Lewis Coldplay Katy Perry Black Eyed Peas Lady GaGa Lady GaGa
Macarena Killing Me Softly With His Song I'll Be Missing You Candle In The Wind Mmmbop My Heart Will Go On Believe I Don't Want to Miss a Thing Baby One More Time Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...) Livin' La Vida Loca Music Stan Oops!... I Did it Again Can't Get You Out of My Head Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vous Couchez Avec Moi Ce Soir) Ms. Jackson Lose Yourself Whenever, Wherever Without Me Where is the Love? All the Things She Said Shut Up Yeah! I Don't Want You Back Dragostea Din Tei You're Beautiful Hung Up Don't Cha Hips Don't Lie Crazy Sexyback Beautiful Girls Girlfriend Say it Right Bleeding Love Viva La Vida I Kissed A Girl I Gotta Feeling Poker Face Just Dance
1996 1996 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1999 1999 1999 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009
103 93 110 63 104 61 67 61 74 87 178 76 80 95 126 110 72 86 107 112 108 80 113 105 138 130 81 125 120 100 112 117 130 82 117 87 120 130 128 76 120
G#m Bm G E A# A F# Bm C A# C# G E G#m Am G Em Dm A G F G# Dm Em D# G G# Dm G#m A#m G# A A D Fm F G# F C G#m E
Cohen 16
Figure 2: Average BPM by year
Year Average BPM
1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 90.33 102.67 79.33 90.00 130.00 106.33 65.33 82.00 68.00 66.00 64.00 84.33 86.67 71.00 105.00 93.67 67.33 110.67 100.33 79.67 76.00 75.33 67.67 76.67 78.67 79.67
1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952
94.00 78.33 72.00 71.33 98.33 73.33 75.67 82.67 75.00 68.33 76.33 85.67 79.33 84.00 77.00 104.67 77.67 77.67 70.67 62.67 66.67 70.67 97.33 93.33 83.67 85.33 76.67
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
88.67 77.00 75.67 104.67 79.00 95.67 75.67 120.00 96.33 96.33 71.33 127.33 98.00 74.33 105.00 88.67 120.67 106.67 89.67 81.33 93.67 102.00 113.33 67.67 66.00 112.00 113.33
Cohen 17
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
104.00 111.67 100.67 90.00 91.33 108.00 102.00 83.67 93.67 97.00
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
70.67 94.33 87.33 80.00 76.67 111.67 93.33 92.33 63.00 113.00
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
83.67 102.67 101.67 100.33 124.33 108.67 109.67 109.67 112.33 108.00
Figure 3: Average BPM by decade
Decade 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Average BPM 88.00 86.27 76.97 79.87 79.83 84.20 99.80 94.57 98.20 88.23 106.10
Cohen 18
Figure 4: Graph of average BPM per year (where t=1 corresponds to 1900, t=2 is 1901, etc.)
Average BPM per year
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 70 73 76 79 82 85 88 91 94 97 100 103 106 109 Average BPM per year Linear (Average BPM per year)
Cohen 19
Figure 5: Average BPM per decade (t=1 is 1900-1909, t=2 is 1910-1919, etc.)
Average BPM per decade
120
100
80
60
40
20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Average BPM per decade
Cohen 20
Figure 6: Average BPM per two decades (t=1 is 1900-1919, t=2 is 1920-1939, etc.).
Average BPM per 2 decades
120 100
80
60
40
20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Average BPM per 2 decades
Cohen 21
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.
200 180 160 140
120 100
80 60 40 20 0 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 70 73 76 79 82 85 88 91 94 97 100 103 106 109 First song Second song Third Song
Cohen 22
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 North American or European charts, so this type of research would be relatively straightforward (although time-consuming) to accomplish.