What 2026's music is actually built from
5,496 reference tracks decoded. Real tempo, real key, real structure.
Methodology: these are reference tracks chosen by Suno Prompt Machine users and decoded by our engine, so the sample reflects what producers are referencing — not what is charting. Tempo and key are researched per track from published sources; free-text fields are grouped only where the wording is unambiguous, and anything that cannot be classified is reported as such rather than reassigned. Rows created by our own admin accounts are excluded. Empty buckets show zero.
The busiest tempo band is 120–129 BPM, holding 966 of 5491 decoded tracks (17.6%). The median tempo across the whole sample is 118 BPM, with individual tracks running from 49 to 240.
Of the 5438 tracks with an unambiguous major or minor key, 58.8% are minor against 41.2% major. The single most referenced key is C minor (389 tracks, 7.2%).
Tempo discipline varies sharply by genre. trap is the loosest of the top genres — an interquartile range of 59 BPM around a median of 126 — while melodic house is the tightest, with an interquartile range of just 4 BPM around 124.
References are extremely long-tailed: 1179 distinct sub-genres appear across 5496 decodes, and even the most referenced one — contemporary r&b — accounts for only 2.5% of the sample (137 tracks).
Tempo distribution
10-BPM bands across 5,491 tracks with a researched tempo. Out-of-range rows are shown explicitly at each end so no track is dropped. Median 118 BPM; most common band 120–129 BPM.
| BPM band | Tracks | Share | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 60 | 17 | 0.3% | |
| 60–69 | 165 | 3% | |
| 70–79 | 394 | 7.2% | |
| 80–89 | 617 | 11.2% | |
| 90–99 | 635 | 11.6% | |
| 100–109 | 464 | 8.5% | |
| 110–119 | 537 | 9.8% | |
| 120–129 | 966 | 17.6% | |
| 130–139 | 597 | 10.9% | |
| 140–149 | 439 | 8% | |
| 150–159 | 292 | 5.3% | |
| 160–169 | 150 | 2.7% | |
| 170–179 | 148 | 2.7% | |
| 180 and above | 70 | 1.3% |
Key distribution
41.2% major against 58.8% minor, across 5,438 tracks whose stored key names an unambiguous major or minor tonic. A further 55 tracks state a modal or incomplete key (for example a bare tonic, or Phrygian) and are excluded from this table rather than forced into major or minor.
| Key | Tracks | Share | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| C minor | 389 | 7.2% | |
| G major | 386 | 7.1% | |
| E minor | 372 | 6.8% | |
| A minor | 357 | 6.6% | |
| B minor | 323 | 5.9% | |
| C# minor | 303 | 5.6% | |
| D major | 300 | 5.5% | |
| C major | 292 | 5.4% | |
| F minor | 283 | 5.2% | |
| G minor | 273 | 5% | |
| D minor | 252 | 4.6% | |
| F# minor | 206 | 3.8% | |
| A major | 205 | 3.8% | |
| C# major | 173 | 3.2% | |
| F major | 164 | 3% | |
| B major | 159 | 2.9% | |
| E major | 148 | 2.7% | |
| G# minor | 138 | 2.5% | |
| Ab major | 122 | 2.2% | |
| A# minor | 109 | 2% | |
| F# major | 81 | 1.5% | |
| Bb major | 74 | 1.4% | |
| Eb major | 72 | 1.3% | |
| D# minor | 63 | 1.2% | |
| Bb minor | 57 | 1% | |
| Eb minor | 40 | 0.7% | |
| Db major | 29 | 0.5% | |
| Ab minor | 20 | 0.4% | |
| G# major | 19 | 0.3% | |
| Gb major | 12 | 0.2% | |
| Db minor | 8 | 0.1% | |
| A# major | 5 | 0.1% | |
| Gb minor | 3 | 0.1% | |
| D# major | 1 | 0% |
Genre distribution
Top 20 of 1,179 distinct sub-genre labels. Percentages are of all 5,496 decodes, so they do not sum to 100.
| Sub-genre | Tracks | Share | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| contemporary r&b | 137 | 2.5% | |
| synth-pop | 87 | 1.6% | |
| alternative metal | 83 | 1.5% | |
| hard rock | 83 | 1.5% | |
| hardcore hip-hop | 73 | 1.3% | |
| emo rap | 72 | 1.3% | |
| trap | 72 | 1.3% | |
| southern hip-hop | 68 | 1.2% | |
| tech house | 66 | 1.2% | |
| melodic house | 57 | 1% | |
| progressive house | 52 | 0.9% | |
| hardstyle | 51 | 0.9% | |
| uplifting trance | 48 | 0.9% | |
| post-grunge | 46 | 0.8% | |
| soft rock | 46 | 0.8% | |
| neo-soul | 45 | 0.8% | |
| grunge | 43 | 0.8% | |
| alternative rock | 42 | 0.8% | |
| progressive metal | 42 | 0.8% | |
| alternative r&b | 41 | 0.7% |
Tempo by genre
Median BPM and interquartile range for the ten most referenced genres. The IQR is the span between the 25th and 75th percentile — half of that genre's tracks fall inside it, so a wide figure means the genre is referenced at very different tempos.
| Genre | Tracks | Median BPM | IQR (Q1–Q3) | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| contemporary r&b | 137 | 87 | 71.5 – 100 | 28.5 BPM |
| synth-pop | 87 | 115 | 105 – 122 | 17 BPM |
| alternative metal | 83 | 140 | 114 – 156 | 42 BPM |
| hard rock | 83 | 118 | 103 – 138 | 35 BPM |
| hardcore hip-hop | 73 | 92 | 88 – 95 | 7 BPM |
| emo rap | 72 | 121 | 92.3 – 140 | 47.7 BPM |
| trap | 72 | 126 | 81 – 140 | 59 BPM |
| southern hip-hop | 68 | 91.5 | 81.5 – 121.3 | 39.8 BPM |
| tech house | 66 | 127 | 125 – 129 | 4 BPM |
| melodic house | 57 | 124 | 122 – 126 | 4 BPM |
Key by genre
The three most common keys within each of the ten most referenced genres, counted from tracks with an unambiguous major or minor key.
| Genre | Most common | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| contemporary r&b | C minor (25 · 18.2%) | B major (11 · 8%) | B minor (10 · 7.3%) |
| synth-pop | C major (11 · 12.6%) | C minor (7 · 8%) | D minor (7 · 8%) |
| alternative metal | E minor (19 · 22.9%) | D minor (13 · 15.7%) | C minor (11 · 13.3%) |
| hard rock | E minor (23 · 27.7%) | A major (7 · 8.4%) | G minor (7 · 8.4%) |
| hardcore hip-hop | C minor (22 · 30.1%) | D minor (7 · 9.6%) | C# minor (6 · 8.2%) |
| emo rap | C# minor (10 · 13.9%) | C minor (8 · 11.1%) | C major (6 · 8.3%) |
| trap | B minor (10 · 13.9%) | C minor (10 · 13.9%) | C# minor (10 · 13.9%) |
| southern hip-hop | C minor (10 · 14.7%) | F minor (10 · 14.7%) | C# major (8 · 11.8%) |
| tech house | A minor (12 · 18.2%) | F minor (6 · 9.1%) | B minor (5 · 7.6%) |
| melodic house | A minor (9 · 15.8%) | G minor (7 · 12.3%) | F# minor (6 · 10.5%) |
Song structure
Most common arrangements among 5,493 tracks with a decoded structure. Bracket and dash spellings are normalised so identical arrangements count together; even so, 2,596 distinct structures appear, which is why the leading ones hold a small share.
| Arrangement | Tracks | Share | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus - Outro | 347 | 6.3% | |
| Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus - Outro | 305 | 5.6% | |
| Intro - Verse - Prechorus - Chorus - Verse - Prechorus - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus - Outro | 213 | 3.9% | |
| Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Outro | 171 | 3.1% | |
| Intro - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Outro | 88 | 1.6% | |
| Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Solo - Chorus - Outro | 60 | 1.1% | |
| Intro - Build - Drop - Breakdown - Build - Drop - Outro | 56 | 1% | |
| Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Outro | 56 | 1% | |
| Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Outro | 49 | 0.9% | |
| Intro - Verse - Pre - Chorus - Chorus - Verse - Pre - Chorus - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus - Outro | 49 | 0.9% | |
| Intro - Chorus - Verse 1 - Chorus - Verse 2 - Chorus - Outro | 35 | 0.6% | |
| Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Solo - Chorus - Outro | 30 | 0.5% |
Energy level
Energy is stored as free text by the decoding engine. Values opening on a recognised intensity term are grouped onto a six-step ladder; longer descriptive phrases are counted honestly in their own row rather than being forced onto the ladder.
| Energy | Tracks | Share | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| low | 448 | 8.2% | |
| medium-low | 487 | 8.9% | |
| medium | 830 | 15.1% | |
| medium-high | 468 | 8.5% | |
| high | 2557 | 46.5% | |
| very high | 550 | 10% | |
| descriptive (free text) | 153 | 2.8% |
Aggregate figures only — no track titles, users or per-record data are published. Last computed 14 October 2026. Free to cite with a link to this page.
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