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Rolling Stones | Brown Sugar | matherton tempo illustration – why?

The Rolling Stones are the most famous and most influential rock band over the past 100 years?

This image is part of what I call a Matherton Tempo Illustration — a tempo chart that I made to help me understand a song, not only by its harmony and melody, but also by its speed. A lot of people wonder what these pictures are for — they’re just to help people. There’s no sales pitch, no product behind it.

Instead of just saying “the tempo is 128 BPM,” this kind of chart shows how the pace actually moves — moment by moment — the way a real performance does. You can see when things subtly speed up or slow down, which might be useful if you’re a musician figuring out the groove, or someone exercising to a beat, or even just trying to feel more connected to the music.

What You’re Looking At:

• The blue line shows the tempo as it moves in real time — how fast or slow each part of the song feels as it goes.

• The red line is the same data, but sorted from slowest to fastest, just to make the overall range easier to see.

• The straight black lines are trend lines — kind of a way to see whether things tend to speed up or slow down across the song overall.

The median tempo (basically the middle point of all the speed changes) is about 128.8 beats per minute.

This was made from real beat-by-beat timing, so even though it looks like artwork, it’s actually math. But what makes it interesting to me is how human it still is — those little rises and dips are the sound of real people playing together, not a computer or a click track.

matherton_tempo_map / Rolling Stones /Brown Sugar
Rolling StonesBrown Sugarmeanspeed® map

 

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John Mayer, “3×5” / declassified tempo map

John-Mayer-3x5-matherton-diagram-cmmon-tempo-map

This is just for fun—four different trials (or runs, or takes) where the speed was tracked over time. If you’re into music, movement, or just like cool patterns, you can try matching it to songs that feel like they move the same way, or use it as a beat for a workout, dance, or even relaxing.

I know the numbers might look a little intense, but don’t worry—this is really just about rhythm, not math. Each line shows how fast something was going, and how that speed changed. That’s it!

Use it however you want. The point is to enjoy it.

“3×5” is a song written and performed by John Mayer.

Fleetwood Mac “Don’t Stop”- matherton tempo-chart

A tempo chart for Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” showing beat speed changes throughout the song. The red line represents live studio tempo shifts, while the blue line marks the average speed of 119.1 beats per minute. Designed to visually show how the song’s energy varies over time.
Fleetwood Mac
Don’t Stop

“Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac
I made this chart to show how the tempo actually changes throughout the song. It’s not about the math—it’s more about the feel.

The average speed is about 119 beats per minute, but it moves around a lot more than you’d think. You can take this number and plug it into any BPM search site or just use it however you want—maybe to find songs with a similar energy, or for a workout playlist.

“Times of Your Life” — Same Tempo, Three Views

Matherton Tempo Illustration of Times of Your Life with clear beats-per-minute tracking on a dark background
Times of Your Life
Paul Anka
tempo illustration

Tempo chart of Times of Your Life by Paul Anka overlaid on a photo of President Obama speaking, conveying a reflective mood
This post features a tempo chart of the Eagles’ “Try and Love Again,” showing how the song flows at an average of 77 beats per minute. It’s not about the math — it’s just a way to see how the song moves, whether you’re relaxing, exercising, or looking for other songs with a similar feel. One simple tempo, one visual rhythm.

Paul Anka’s Times of Your Life has always felt kind of bittersweet to me—nostalgic, gentle, a little reflective. That feeling made me wonder about its tempo, so I mapped it out with a Matherton Tempo Illustration. It turns out the song mostly hovers around the mid-70s beats per minute. Steady, relaxed—almost like it’s walking through a memory.

The data is the same in all three charts below, but each one looks and feels a little different. This post isn’t about the math—though it’s there if you’re curious. It’s more about the pacing, the vibe, and giving people a different way to experience the song.

Obama version:

This version uses the same tempo numbers but overlays them on a high-contrast image from a moment in time—like the song itself, it invites reflection. This one leads the post because of its emotional tone. The lines feel more urgent. The chart feels less technical. Same numbers, different energy.

Classic version:

This is the cleaner, more straightforward chart. Black background, red tempo trend lines, and everything clearly marked. If you’re someone who likes to see the details of a song’s movement, this one’s for you. You can spot tempo dips and rises as the song flows from verse to chorus to outro.

Mood View / Bridge version:

Here, the same tempo data is placed over a foggy bridge photo. This version is more about the feel than the data—it’s meant to echo the wistful, reflective nature of the song. It’s not meant to be “read” so much as absorbed

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Why all three?

Because sometimes how something looks affects how it feels. All three are telling you the same thing about the speed of the song—but each one hits a little differently. Maybe one speaks to your mood. Maybe one just looks cooler. That’s the whole point: use them however you want.

You don’t need to know the formulas. You just need to feel something from the music.

Eagles – “Try And Love Again” – matherton tempo chart

Tempo chart showing the speed of the Eagles’ song ‘Try and Love Again,’ averaging 77 beats per minute with small variations over time.
Eagles-Try and Love Again-matherton tempo chart-B=W

Tempo Sketch: “Try and Love Again” by the Eagles

This chart shows the tempo (speed) of the Eagles song “Try and Love Again” as it moves along — kind of like watching the pace of a walk or heartbeat over time.

The average tempo is around 77 beats per minute, which is a little slower than your typical pop song. That makes it good for relaxing, gentle exercise, or even just matching with other songs that feel like they move at the same pace.

I built this chart to help visualize tempo — not to get technical, but just to offer another way of experiencing music: by how it feels to move through. If you like how this one flows, you might enjoy other songs around this same speed too.

“Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers – matherton tempo illustration

Ain’t No Sunshine

Bill Withers modern tempo illustration
Ain’t No Sunshine
matherton tempo illustration

This is a Matherton Tempo Illustration for “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers. I did the math here, but you don’t need to know much math to get it.

The white line shows how the song speeds up and slows down as it goes—kind of like a mood tracker for tempo. The red line is the middle ground: where the tempo mostly hangs out. And that black diagonal line shows the overall direction—here, the song slowly picks up steam.

You can use this however you want. To move your body, to calm your mind, to play along, to feel something deeper. It’s just a visual way to catch the flow of the music.

Every song has its own rhythm story—this is just one way to read it.

“What The World Needs Now” – Jackie De Shannon – matherton tempo illustrations

A visual tempo chart of ‘What the World Needs Now’ shows how the song’s speed shifts over time — a unique way to feel the rhythm beat by beat.
“What The World Needs Now”
Jackie De Shannon

A visual tempo chart of ‘What the World Needs Now’ shows how the song’s speed shifts over time — a unique way to feel the rhythm beat by beat.
“What The World Needs Now”
Jackie De Shannon

🎵 Tempo in Motion: How This Song Moves, Beat by Beat

Here’s something I made to help visualize the rhythm of a song — not just how fast it is, but how the pace actually changes from moment to moment. This chart shows the tempo of Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now”, as heard in the Forrest Gump soundtrack. It’s part of something I call a Matherton Tempo Illustration — basically a way to turn music into a visual timeline of speed.

What you’re seeing here is a white line that traces the tempo of the song as it plays. It rises and dips depending on how the song flows. The red line running through it is the average tempo, which in this case comes out to 107.7 beats per minute.

That number — the average tempo — is helpful, but what’s even more interesting is how the speed moves. Some parts of the song gently accelerate or slow down. That gives it feeling, shape, and emotion. That’s what this chart helps show.

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So What Can You Do With This?

• Use it to match your mood. The song’s tempo sits in that sweet spot between mellow and active. It’s great for reflective moments or just relaxing with a cup of coffee.

• Use it to move. If you’re walking, rebounding, or warming up on a treadmill, try syncing your steps to the beat. It has a gentle groove that stays pretty steady but still breathes.

• Use it to notice details. Musicians and fans alike can see how the performance drifts slightly faster or slower in different sections. These aren’t flaws — they’re part of what makes music feel alive.

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In Plain Terms…

This chart is kind of like a heart monitor for the song. It shows you when the pulse quickens, when it steadies, and when it calms down again. Whether you’re into data, music, movement, or just curious about how songs work underneath the surface, this gives you a new way to look — or feel — the rhythm.

“Smooth” – Santana and Rob Thomas – matherton tempo illustration

Smooth is a song by Santana and Rob Thomas - The white line moves outward when the music speeds up, and inward when it slows down — a visual way to follow the flow of the song.
Santana-Rob Thomas-Smooth-matherton tempo illustration

This circular Matherton Tempo Illustration shows how the speed of the song (tempo) changes from beginning to end. The white line moves outward when the music speeds up, and inward when it slows down — a visual way to follow the flow of the song.