"Before He Cheats" - TEMPO OF MUSIC MEETS TEMPO OF FOOTBALL - Where did Carrie Underwood play faster: In the studio or live with Peyton Manning?

Anyone reasonable - I stress you do not have to be a musician to understand speed - you can read from the numbers or by look at the charts (same information, different modes of presentation), the song "Before He Cheats" is played at precisely the same speed in both the Saturday Night version and the studio version. In all likelihood, as over 90% of contemporary performers do today, Carrie plays with a pre-recorded sequenced basic drum track. That is not saying that she is lip-syncing. It is not saying the band is cheating. It has just become standard to keep everyone on the same page, if not literally than aurally.

Meanspeed Music Summary, two versions -
1) Live version -
Song="Before He Cheats"
performer=Carrie Underwood
event=Saturday Night Live, march, 2006, Peyton Manning Host
total time calibrated=1692.66 seconds
beats calibrated=2,088
beats per trial=232
average time per trial=188.073 seconds
Average Tempo (Meanspeed)=74.0 beats per minute
Average Beat=0.818 seconds
emotive category in mean speed music theory=grace (70-76 beats per minute)
source=Direct TV® as played on a 65" Toshiba® hi definition television



2) Studio version -
Song="Before He Cheats"
performer=Carrie Underwood
recording source=iTunes®
total time calibrated=1693.21seconds
beats calibrated=2,088
beats per trial=232
average time per trial=188.13 seconds
Average Tempo (Meanspeed)=74.0 beats per minute
Average Beat=0.818 seconds
emotive category in mean speed music theory=grace (70-76 beats per minute)
Album=Some Hearts
Size=3.3 MB
Bit Rate=128 kbps
Sample Rate=44.100
Intellectual Property=© 2005, 19 Recordings Limited
Profile=Low Complexity
Channels=Stereo
FairPlay Version=2
Volume=(-13.5 dB)
Kind=Protected AAC File





Ian Schneider
January 13, 2008
meanspeed music