"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Cottontail" by Duke Ellington. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. dense layered composition, atmospheric complexity. Mood: energetic, joyful. Visual style: 1940 vintage painting aesthetic, warm aged tones. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
Cottontail
Duke Ellington
Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band (1940)
Balanced energy, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
220
BPM
Cottontail by Duke Ellington is 220 BPM — Presto (very fast).
Half-time 110 BPM · Double-time 440 BPM · released 1940
Fan image for "Cottontail"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
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Song DNA
Notes: A lively and upbeat jazz composition.
Recommended for: energy movement
Right in the middle of our energy scale. It’s easy enough to follow without going flat. This one lurches between soft and loud and never jolts you, busy in texture, with an all-instrumental build, no vocal to follow at a fast pace. Across the library, it sits more energetic than 68% of songs, calmer than the rest.
Cultural Context
Captured the essence of the swing era.
Listening Prompt
Feel the rhythm and let loose.
What to Expect
Consistent energy with playful motifs.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: energetic, joyful
Volume Warning
"Cottontail" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. Duke Ellington built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.
Sudden changes: none. Transitions are musically signaled — nothing will surprise you if you're only half-listening.
Texture: complex.
Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.
Vocal style: instrumental.
Where this sits in Duke Ellington's catalog
We have 21 songs from Duke Ellington in the library. Of those, 6 are rated Safe, 14 Moderate, and 1 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.6, making it the #5 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
We have 3 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Take the 'A' Train — moderate DR 7
- Don't Get Around Much Anymore — safe DR 5
1940 context
Released in 1940. We have 15 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 5.6/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1940s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on m…
The Calmest Songs We’ve Ever Measured
Out of 19,144 songs scored for intensity, these measure as the very calmest — the gentlest, steadies…
Even Flow: Pearl Jam’s Song for the Man Everyone Walks Past
Even Flow is Pearl Jam at full throttle — and underneath the riff is a portrait of a homeless man an…
How fast is "Cottontail"?
220 BPM — Extreme (sprint intervals / hardcore)
For running
Sprint / interval pace. Too fast to sustain; best for short bursts.
For workouts
Sprint sets, fast-twitch training, max-effort bursts.
For daily life
Active tasks, getting pumped up, party, anything high-energy.
Browse more songs at 220 BPM.
When "Cottontail" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
✗
Running / workout
No — 220 BPM is above typical running cadence.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
~
Emotional release / catharsis
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm
low-intensity Workout Music: Energy Without Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
The Calmest Songs We’ve Ever Measured
Out of 19,144 songs scored for intensity, these measure as the very calmest — the gentlest, steadiest, lowest-energy music in the library. A…
Songs Like La Femme d’Argent by Air — 60 BPM With a Dynamic Range of 6
La Femme d’Argent measures 60 BPM, intensity 30/100 and dynamic range 6 — slow, but with far more movement than most slow records. Its match…
Why this rating
We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
52/100 intensity
See how “Cottontail” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-05. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 68% of songs, calmer than the other 32%. Its intensity reading of 52/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, complex texture, no sudden shifts, and instrumental. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 100% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Yardbird Suite — Charlie Parker · 85%Take the 'A' Train — Duke Ellington · 84%I Got Rhythm — Oscar Peterson · 84%Cherokee — Clifford Brown · 85%
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
Dial the feeling up or down
Same feeling, calmer: Piano Phase — Steve Reich
What it’s good for
Sleep5/10
Focus10/10
Workout3/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype6/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1940 in context
The 15 songs we’ve measured from 1940 average a dynamic range of 5.6/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity52
Dynamics67
Tempo100
Surprise0
Density60
Predictability50
Vocal force0
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Cottontail"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Cottontail" by Duke Ellington?
"Cottontail" by Duke Ellington has a tempo of 220 BPM (Presto (very fast)). At half-time that is 110 BPM, and at double-time 440 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Cottontail" by Duke Ellington?
"Cottontail" by Duke Ellington rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, none sudden changes, complex texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Cottontail" — what is its dynamic range?
"Cottontail" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Cottontail" have sudden or surprising changes?
No. "Cottontail" has no sudden unsignaled changes. Every transition is musically telegraphed.
What is "Cottontail" best for?
In our library "Cottontail" is recommended for: energy, movement. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Cottontail" released?
"Cottontail" is from 1940, on the album "Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band". It appears in our 1940s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Cottontail"?
We tag "Cottontail" as energetic, joyful. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Cottontail"?
The vocal style is instrumental.
Is "Cottontail" good for running?
It's on the fast end — 220 BPM is above sustained running cadence for most people. Better for sprint intervals or short bursts.
Is "Cottontail" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Cottontail" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Dynamic range is too high — quiet moments will be ambushed by louder ones.
Should I listen to "Cottontail"?
"Cottontail" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.
Songs with the same DNA
complex texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.