BPM

Qatsi
Qatsi Posts: 2,191 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Lately I've been listening to SiriusXM's Electric Area during my daily walks. The music's decent, but what I really enjoy about the station is that about 90% of what they play clocks in at a very consistent 128bpm, which is a comfortable walking speed for me when I step in time with the music.

I'd like to gradually increase my pace, and also be able to listen to other stuff besides club music.

Does anyone know of a good database out there which lists songs by tempo? Then I could, say, look up all the songs that clock in at 132bpm and create a custom playlist from it.

Replies

  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    I'm sorry to say, I've never seen one. Though that doesn't mean there isn't one. Hope someone helps!
  • MeeshKB
    MeeshKB Posts: 120 Member
    Do you have an iphone? If so, check out lolo Beatburn. It's an app that creates custom interval walking/walk-jog/running workouts for you at various skill levels, and also syncs up your ipod music to your workout. It's awesome!
  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,352 Member
    I've used this site before: http://jogtunes.com/.

    Also found this one: http://runningmusicmix.com/
  • Qatsi
    Qatsi Posts: 2,191 Member
    Thanks for the suggestions! I've also stumbled upon :

    http://www.bpmdatabase.com

    And it looks like this software might work to analyze my music collection and add BPM values to the songs. I'll try it and post back to let people know how well it works.

    Any other suggestions?
  • MeeshKB
    MeeshKB Posts: 120 Member
    I know this is kind of the opposite of what you're looking for, but check out this app:

    http://www.lolofit.com/apps/tempo_magic

    It takes the music you already have in your playlist and allows you to tweak the tempo. You can even tell it the tempo you want to stay at and it will play all your songs at that tempo.

    The app I posted before does something similar during workouts and I thought it might be irritating to hear my music sped up or slowed down, but I barely notice it most of the time.

    Anyway, it's worth a look!
  • juicemoogan
    juicemoogan Posts: 994 Member
    How do you know what your running pace relates to in BMP?
  • kseacrist
    kseacrist Posts: 11 Member
    you could also check out podrunner - it lets you sort and download audio podcasts by bpm, and there's a description of the songs for each. i use it EVERY time i go out for a run. (ps - you don't need to have an iphone to use it!)
  • Qatsi
    Qatsi Posts: 2,191 Member
    How do you know what your running pace relates to in BMP?

    In this case I was listening to the music and was able to keep up with it, stepping in time with the beat. While I was doing that, I simply counted the number of beats in one minute of music, using the stopwatch feature on my watch.

    I was a little bit surprised to find out the current club music (at least of the type they play on this station) clocks in at "only" 128bpm. I remember back in the day (around 1997 or so) that a lot of techno went at a 140bpm clip. I'd like to be able to walk at that pace eventually, but need to work my way up to it. Hence the reason for my original post. I'd like to put together a 130bpm playlist, another one for 132bpm, and so on.

    If I ever decide to take up jogging or running, I'll no doubt have to look at even faster tempos.
  • Qatsi
    Qatsi Posts: 2,191 Member
    you could also check out podrunner - it lets you sort and download audio podcasts by bpm, and there's a description of the songs for each. i use it EVERY time i go out for a run. (ps - you don't need to have an iphone to use it!)

    This looks interesting as well - thanks for the suggestion!
  • shmiracles
    shmiracles Posts: 105 Member
    hi Quatsi!
    i love running to music, it's just like dancing!!!

    here is my secret weapon.
    http://www.mixmeister.com/bpmanalyzer/bpmanalyzer.asp
    you don't need an iphone or an app. it's a tiny free program you install on your desktop.

    i use this program to get the Beats Per Minute of all my music on my computer
    then i run only to songs that are 160 - 180 BPM (80 - 90 bpm).
    it's VERY motivating.
    i choose 160-180 bpm because 180 is the ideal turnover rate for feet while running, so i've read. it promotes good form and thus less injury. but it's still a little fast for me so i err on the slower side of the goal.

    i hope you like it as much as i do!

    (also i just copied this response from one of my other posts, but now i can track this thread too!)

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