Speed vs Slow: Deceptions of BPM

Behold the power of speed!

When I talk about speed and high BPM, (not rpm) I'm talking about tempo.  Tempo is the term for heartbeat:  what you "bob" your head to or tap your foot to while listening to a song.  There are many tempo web apps and mobile apps that you can calculate the BPM, (beats per minute) or tempo.

The note's duration in a bar or measure determine the note speed, which directly affects how fast the song is actually heard.  This is different from the heartbeat.  There's a lot of misconception on how to determine the tempo.  When I refer to it as the, "heartbeat" I mean how you naturally tap your foot or bob your head.  Note:  the downbeat of a snare and bass drum will bring you an entirely different bpm count.

Eminem - Rap God

If you use only the downbeat method for determining Eminem's song, Rap God, you'll notice that the tempo/bpm is only 74.  If you use the sort of heartbeat method, it's double that @ 174bpm.  Which one is correct?  In my opinion, they're both correct.  If you've ever recorded music to a metronome, (a midi click or sound that plays each beat within relative time signature and tempo) you can use either tempo/bpm setting to suit your needs.  

But wouldn't the tempo directly effect note-duration?  Yes.  Scoring the music or tabbing would have an all together different note-duration.  Unless you're a serious musician that tabs, scores or records music, most of the time you're not going to worry about the dynamics of tempo.  

"Just give me that beat"

Google the song bpm you're looking for and notice different websites will give you different bpm ratings.  Next example, is hilarious because Wikipedia states 200bpm, while another site right below it states 400bpm.  Hmm.

DragonForce - Through the Fire and Flames

Let's get this obvious statement out of the way:  DragonForce is fast!  I've had the pleasure of seeing them live and they're dead on accurate and sound just like they do on the album, at least in my experience.  This track is labeled 200bpm and 400bpm.  That's a phenomenal difference.  In terms of note duration:  that's either 16th or 32nd notes.  Not much "head bobbing" involved with this song nor "head banging".  That would look pretty amusing.

So, if I had a measure that was 200bpm with 1/4 note duration and a measure with 100bpm with 1/8 note duration, would they theoretically be the same?  The duration or sustain of notes would obviously be different.  Feel free to leave a comments, opinions, and criticism.  This topic is widely argued by many, including myself.  

Check out the two songs here on YouTube

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