Mom Hack of the Day
How to Create the Ultimate Workout Music Playlist Using BPM (Beats Per Minute)
We all intuitively know, and it has been reported in the NY Times that exercising to music with the right tempo motivates us to work out longer, harder, and to enjoy it more
- Choosing music with the right Beats Per Minute (BPM) can be tricky. We spent way too much time trying to find this information!
- The chart below approximates what BPM corresponds to walking, jogging or running speeds. Note this can vary based on your height and stride.
- Find the BPM of your favorite songs via iTunes and other software (see below) and build your ultimate playlists!
Fine Tuning the Perfect BPM Workout Music Playlist Can Be Tricky!
- To view BPMs in iTunes go to View / Options/ Click on Beats Per Minute box and you will see a column of BPM at the far right. You can also drag and move the column to view more easily
- BPM #s will not always exist in iTunes depending on how you bought the music, and sometimes it is incorrect
- Many software programs exist to analyze and correct the BPM of your iTunes music library and build playlists
- Caution: Many of these programs were built by/for 20 something DJ techies, are hard to use, and very frequently either double count BPM or under-count it by half! --> Don't waste your time!
- Check the BPM of your favorite songs yourself using manual BPM software counters like BPM Widget for Mac or BPM Checker for PC. It's easy. Just tap to the beat of the music (as you would tap your foot) to get the correct BPM.
- To fix BPMs in iTunes: Right click on the song in iTunes, click 'Get Info' and input the correct BPM number
The Simplest Way to Build Your BPM Workout Music Playlists
1. Pick your favorite songs. Don't try to analyze BPMs for your entire music library. It is shockingly time consuming!
2. If a BPM in iTunes looks suspiciously high or low, verify it with a manual BPM Counter and correct it in iTunes
3. Sort on BPM in iTunes and make your own Playlists - OR -
4. Use the Cadence App (see below) after doing steps 1-2 above
Best BPM Software
- Cadence is a great App for iPhone/ iTouch/ iPad that allows you to select a desired BPM, and then finds music in your library that matches that BPM. (Input correct BPMs in your iTunes library first for this to work best)
- Cadence also has a desktop program (for Mac & PC). Tangerine (Mac only) is a desktop program similar to Cadence that analyzes BPMs, exports them to iTunes, and builds playlists based on BPMs.
- Caution: These BPM software programs have poor directions for new users, and often double or halve BPM counts
- I wasted a lot of time trying to use BPM software programs. Cadence Desktop and Tangerine were better, but still not ideal and very time consuming. Don't waste your time with MixMeister BPM, BEA Tunes, and BPM Assistant. Full list of other BPM Software options
Existing BPM Music Playlists- You can search in iTunes for running music or workout music. Be aware that a lot of the albums will have familiar songs, but not original artists.
- Watch this space, we will publish BPM Workout Music Playlists soon!
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