Clay Aiken's 'A Thousand Different Ways': A breakdown of the elements of speed to this entire album of ballads across a variety of slow speeds

On September 19, 2006 the universal cultural phenomenon Clay Aiken released his second album, made up of cover songs, called A Thousand Different Ways. Apple's iTunes.com lists each track here under its genre: ‘pop.’ There is a recording company responsible for Clay’s intellectual property: A Thousand Different Ways, ©2006, 19 Recordings Limited.

Clay shows a surprisingly adept manner of handling speed and tempo in a variety of slow ballad to mid-tempo ballad ranges: we hear the meanemotion ranges of surreal (below 55 beats per minute), melodrama (55-58 beats per minute), sincerity (59-62 beats per minute), ceremony (63-69 beats per minute), grace (70-76 beats per minute), loneliness (79-84 beats per minute), renewal (85-89 beats per minute) and natural (98-105 beats per minute). Hence, you will find no songs in the speed ranges of: bittersweetness (77-78 beats per minute), enthusiasm (90-97 beats per minute), lust (106-114 beats per minute), foreboding (115-118 beats per minute), victory (119-128 beats per minute) or mixed fast (129 and above). This Clay Aiken work is not about fast and lusting. This is about deep ceremonial introspection. This is a man singing the modern ballads with truth, honesty and from the heart.

Below are all the elementary speeds of Clay’s album, as measured by agent 19.5 and I:


Track #1
song title= “Right Here Waiting”
meanspeed=84.3 beats per minute
meanemotion=loneliness
meanspace=0.712 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.40 beats per second
meanpitch=359.60 hertz, 50 cents higher than F4=349.228 hertz, 50 cents lower than F#4/Gb4=369.994 hertz.

Track #2
song title= “Lonely No More”
meanspeed=68.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=ceremony
meanspace=0.882 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.13 beats per second
meanpitch=290.13 hertz, 79 cents higher than C#4/Db4=277.183 hertz, 21 cents lower than D4=293.665 hertz.

Track #3
song title= “Without You”
meanspeed=61.9 beats per minute
meanemotion=sincerity
meanspace=0.970 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.03 beats per second
meanpitch=284.44 hertz, 44 cents higher than C#4/Db4=277.183 hertz, 56 cents lower than D4=293.665 hertz.

Track #4
song title= “Everytime You Go Away”
meanspeed=81.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=loneliness
meanspace=0.741 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.35 beats per second
meanpitch=345.60 hertz, 81 cents higher than E4=329.628 hertz, 19 cents lower than F4=349.228 hertz.

Track #5
song title= “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”
meanspeed=64.9 beats per minute
meanemotion=ceremony
meanspace=0.924 seconds per beat
meanphase=3.02 beats per second
meanpitch=277.04 hertz, 99 cents higher than E4=329.628 hertz, 1 cent lower than F4=349.228 hertz.

Track #6
song title= “When I See You Smile”
meanspeed=67.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=ceremony
meanspace=0.896 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.12 beats per second
meanpitch=285.87 hertz, 53 cents higher than C#4/Db4=277.183 hertz, 47 cents lower than D4=293.665 hertz.

Track #7
song title= “A Thousand Days”
meanspeed=67.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=ceremony
meanspace=0.896 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.12 beats per second
meanpitch=285.87 hertz, 53 cents higher than C#4/Db4=277.183 hertz, 47 cents lower than D4=293.665 hertz.

Track #8
song title= “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)”
meanspeed=69.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=ceremony
meanspace=0.870 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.15 beats per second
meanpitch=294.40 hertz, 4 cents higher than D4=293.665 hertz, 96 cents lower than D#4/Eb4=311.127 hertz.

Track #9
song title= “Because You Loved Me”
meanspeed=101.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=natural
meanspace=0.594 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.68 beats per second
meanpitch=430.93 hertz, hertz, 63 cents higher than D4=293.665 hertz, 37 cents lower than D#4/Eb4=311.127 hertz.

Track #10
song title= “I Want To Know What Love Is”
featured singer=Suzie McNeil
meanspeed=83.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=loneliness
meanspace=0.723 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.38 beats per second
meanpitch=354.13 hertz, 24 cents higher than F4=349.228 hertz, 76 cents lower than F#4/Gb4=369.994 hertz.

Track #11
song title= “These Open Arms”
meanspeed=69.5 beats per minute
meanemotion=grace
meanspace=0.863 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.16 beats per second
meanpitch=296.62 hertz, 17 cents higher than B4=493.883 hertz, 83 cents lower than C5=523.251 hertz.

Track #12
song title= “Here You Come Again”
meanspeed=85.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=renewal
meanspace=0.706 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.42 beats per second
meanpitch=362.67 hertz, 69 cents higher than F4=349.228 hertz, 31 cents lower than F#4/Gb4=369.994 hertz.

Track #13
song title= “Everything I Have”
meanspeed=88.1 beats per minute
meanemotion=renewal
meanspace=0.681 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.47 beats per second
meanpitch=375.94 hertz, 25 cents higher than F#4/Gb4=369.994 hertz, 75 cents lower than G4=391.995 hertz.

Track #14
song title= “Broken Wings”
meanspeed=83.0 beats per minute
meanemotion=loneliness
meanspace=0.723 seconds per beat
meanphase=1.38 beats per second
meanpitch=354.13 hertz, 25 cents higher than F4=349.228 hertz, 75 cents lower than F#4/Gb4=369.994 hertz.

Track #15
song title= “Lover All Alone”
meanspeed=54.7 beats per minute
meanemotion=melodrama
meanspace=1.097 seconds per beat
meanphase=0.911 beats per second
meanpitch=233.35 hertz, 2 cents higher than A#3/Bb3=233.082 hertz, 98 cents lower than B3=246.942 hertz.




Ian Schneider
meanspeed.com
January 25, 2007