Tempo
Fifteen seconds of listening, a slider, a metronome: find the beats per minute.
Five games drawn at random, one try each →Five games drawn at random.
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How to find the BPM of a song
BPM, or beats per minute, is simply how fast a track moves. It is the pulse your foot finds on its own when a song works on you. Almost every track sits between 60 and 180 BPM, and that is exactly what the slider in the mini-game covers.
You do not need perfect pitch to find it. Count the beats for fifteen seconds, then multiply by four. A few landmarks help you place yourself. At 60 BPM it ticks once a second, like the second hand of a watch. At 90 it is the pace of an easy walk. At 120 you are at the speed of most pop and dance tracks. Past 150 you are into fast rock and electronic music.
The classic trap is being wrong by a factor of two. In a drum kit, the kick, the snare and the hi-hat do not move at the same speed, and it is easy to follow the wrong one. If you land on 70 on a track that makes you want to dance, try 140. And if you get 160 on a ballad, cut it in half.
Do you need to read music to find a BPM?
Not at all. Tapping your foot to a song is something everyone can do, even without ever touching an instrument. The mini-game only asks you to report that speed on the slider, then compare it to the metronome.
How do you count BPM without a metronome?
Count the beats for fifteen seconds and multiply by four. For more precision, count over thirty seconds and multiply by two. It takes longer, but a missed beat then weighs half as much in the result.
What is knowing a song's tempo good for?
Mixing two tracks without breaking the mood. Cutting a video to the music. Setting a metronome to work on a piece. Or simply knowing whether a cover is slower than the original.
Five games drawn at random, one try each →Five games drawn at random.