Finding Beats Per Minute Using Familiar Tunes and Songs

By Jeffrey Agrell

Just about all musicians can tap 120 beats per minute – they just have to sing Stars and Stripes Forever and tap the beat. Sixty BPM is also easy – just half of that. But what about all the other tempos? To that end, I have constructed the Song-0-Nome: a list of familiar tunes and songs arranged in order of BPM slow to fast. The tempi are approximate and personal; I sing them a bit faster or slower on different days or if I’ve had caffeine. So feel free to adjust the list to suit you or substitute your own favorite tunes that seem to fit certain tempos better to you. For BPM numbers that are not on the chart, you can extrapolate by tapping either whole measures, part of measures, or every beat; e.g. a waltz could be tapped on each quarter note or each measure; a march could be tapped on each quarter note or each half note. NB: This list can also serve you at the gym to check to see if your heart rate is in the range it should be. For instance, for me, I know I should be between “Yankee Doodle” and “Beer Barrel Polka.” If it gets up to “Casey Jones,” or “When I’m Sixty-Four,” I know I need to slow down…

BPM Work______________

49  My Bonnie (1 beat per measure)

54  Summertime

58  O Holy Night; We Three Kings

60  ½ of Stars and Stripes; Kum Bah Yah, Abide With Me

63  Go Tell Aunt Rhody; Impossible Dream, Misty

66  Shenandoah; Little Drummer Boy; Silent Night

68 Rain, Rain, Go Away

72  Over the Rainbow

74 Bridal Chorus (Lohengrin)

76  Swing Low Sweet Chariot

78  Amazing Grace

82  Yesterday, Annie Laurie

84  Kookaburra, Shortnin’ Bread

88 Wheels on the Bus; Star Spangled Banner

90  Scotland’s Burning

92  Mary Had a Little Lamb; Clementine; Muffin Man

94  Happy Birthday

96  Rule, Britannia; Hunting Chorus (Freischütz); London Bridge

98  My Country, Tis of Thee

100 Eensy Weensy Spider, Stayin' Alive [use this tempo if you have to give CPR heart compressions]

102 Joy to the World

104 Yankee Doodle; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Shoo Fly

106 I Saw Three Ships

108 Row, Row, Row Your Boat; Yellow Submarine

112 I’ve Been Working on the Railroad; Twinkle Twinkle

116 She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain; Girl from 
Ipanema; Good King Wenceslas

118 Hard Day’s Night

120 Stars and Stripes Forever; Overture to “Carmen”

126 Drunken Sailor

128 76 Trombones, She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain
Give My Regards to Broadway, Simple Gifts

130 I’ve Got Sixpence

134 Alouette

136 Beer Barrel Polka

140 Casey Jones

144 When I’m Sixty-Four

148 My Bonnie (quarter notes); The Yellow Rose of Texas; Hava Nagila

150 Rock-a-Bye Baby 

154 All My Loving

160 My Favorite Things; Sweet Betsy from Pike

164 On Top of Old Smoky

168 We Wish You a Merry Christmas

175 My Hat It Has Three Corners

180 I Feel Pretty

185 Little Brown Jug

190 Can Can

200 When the Saints Go Marchin’ In

208 Turkey in the Straw