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My goal with these weekly blog posts is to externalize my thoughts on several subjects in a concise manner.
I genuinely believe that we are in the early innings of the creative economy, a state of the world in which creative jobs will dominate. To stay relevant once robots start to automate most intellectual jobs (RPA), we’ll need to either 1) be great coders or 2) create value through the right hemisphere of our brains. I choose the latter.
To keep it CONCISE, let’s jump straight into the first edition.
Tempo
A little while ago, I argued with a friend that one should not call himself a music-junky if he’s not able to play an instrument. Then, I thought about it further and changed my mind… I’m passionate about music but haven’t picked up my guitar for more than two years. While not ready to start learning guitar again, I am pumped to share what I learned about the science of music this past week.
Tempo determines the speed at which music is played, and can be measured in beats per minute (BPM). 60 BPM equals 1 beat every second, and 120 BPM means 2 beats per second.
Developing a solid appreciation of tempo is essential for any great musician. For a playlist master like myself, it’s a must to know which tempo is best for every context. Let’s dig into that.
The Perfect BPM for Concentration
Digitaloft, a UK-based marketing agency, analyzed more than 100,000 songs across thousands of playlists intended to help people study or complete homework. Their study demonstrated that music can be very beneficial for studying, as it allows students to create the right stressless mood, improve focus, and reduce boredom over long study sessions. Listening to Mozart has even been suggested to help with memorization.
The general wisdom is that the best songs for concentrating are atmospheric/ambient sounds such as lo-fi beats. According to the data, a BPM of 112 was the most popular among the students. In musical terminology, this would fall in between andante (walking pace) and moderato (moderate pace). As long as it remains background music (low volume), and listeners don’t have strong feelings about the songs, it should help concentrate.
Following the 112 BPM logic, here are some great studying tracks:
The Perfect BPM for Working Out
Fitness playlists are extremely important. Several studies show that music can impact mood, emotions, energy levels, and even breathing/heart rates. Archer, the author of 12 fitness & wellness books, suggests that an intense workout should start with uplifting music at a tempo of 130 BPM and build to around 150 BPM. Krikorian, a fitness DJ, says that 125-135 BPM is appropriate for a power walk, 135-145 BPM is great for an elleptical workout or an easy jog, and >150 BPM should be reserved for running.
Following this logic, here are some great fitness tracks:
Work - Rihanna ft. Drake (running-only)
The Perfect BPM for Dancing
As you probably know, I am very curious. Thus, I always wondered why house music was the specific music genre that made me dance the most. Here’s what I found.
In several experiments, scientists & researchers tried to analyze the ideal tempo for dancing. Most studies concluded that the ideal tempo for movement is 120 BPM. Some believe that it’s because we are subjected to our mother's heartbeat while we are in the womb. Others believe that since the average walking speed is 2 steps per second, it simply becomes the tempo we default to when dancing. For me, it’s simply because it aligns with House music.
Following the tempo logic, no wonder why so many classics were made at 120 BPM:
But, according to Zac Efron in We Are Your Friends, 128 BPM is the MAGIC tempo that synergizes the most with the human heartbeat. So I’ll wrap up the blog by inviting you to watch my favorite clip from the movie.
Thanks for reading my first article!
I am entirely new to writing blog posts, so please send me constructive feedback.
Ben