"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix. Dramatic quiet-to-loud arc, stormy climax. dense layered composition, atmospheric complexity. Mood: cathartic, heavy, intense, rebellious, transcendent. Visual style: 1969 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."
Real momentum, more energetic than 94% of our 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for workout.
60
BPM
The Star-Spangled Banner by Jimi Hendrix is 60 BPM — Adagio (slow).
Half-time 30 BPM · Double-time 120 BPM · released 1969
Fan image for "The Star-Spangled Banner"
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: Distorted, chaotic guitar work with explosive sound effects mimicking warfare—rockets, bombs, and sirens create an overwhelming sensory experience that shifts from apocalyptic intensity to moments of strange calm.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release
A radical reimagining of the U.S. national anthem using feedback, distortion, and pictorial guitar work to comment on war, civil rights, and American identity.
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Moods: cathartic, heavy, intense, rebellious, transcendent
Traditions: experimental rock, protest music, psychedelic rock
Intense — what to expect
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is in our intense band.
At least one of our five sensory dimensions crosses the threshold that means "this can be a lot." Most commonly: instrumental or complex texture, or a dynamic range of 9/10. The full breakdown is below. If you arrived here looking for a calmer alternative, our use-case verdicts section flags songs with similar mood but lower intensity.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 9/10 is in the upper band of our library. This song has a significant quiet-to-loud arc. For sensory-sensitive listening, set the opening volume well below your comfortable top-end; the climax will land harder than the intro suggests.
Sudden changes: present. This song uses surprise as a feature. For focus or background listening, it's likely to pull your attention away; for active listening, that's often the point.
Texture: complex.
Predictability is low — this song does not follow standard verse-chorus form closely, and rewards active listening more than passive listening.
Vocal style: instrumental.
Where this sits in Jimi Hendrix's catalog
We have 42 songs from Jimi Hendrix in the library. Of those, 1 are rated Safe, 17 Moderate, and 24 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 9/10 sits above the artist average of 7.8, making it the #5 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
1969 context
Released in 1969. We have 222 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.3/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1960s.
Explore by mood and tradition
How fast is "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
60 BPM — Very slow (ballad / ambient)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.
For daily life
Sleep, meditation, reading, focus work.
Browse more songs at 60 BPM.
When "The Star-Spangled Banner" 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 — 60 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
~
Driving / road trip
Maybe — the intensity / sudden changes are fine for solo highway driving but skip for city or rainy-weather driving.
✗
Cooking / dinner background
No — too active to function as background; will pull attention away from what you're doing.
✓
Emotional release / catharsis
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
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Why this rating
We rate this song Intense. Our rule is deliberately conservative: any one of high dynamic range, present sudden changes, harsh texture, or a strained/screamed vocal is enough to trigger Intense on its own. Full scoring rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
79/100 intensity
See how “The Star-Spangled Banner” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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If this one is too much: sensory-overload protection
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-13. 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
This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 94% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 79/100 comes from a dynamic range of 9/10, complex texture, extreme shifts, and instrumental. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is a slow, unhurried pace: 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 full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time) — Eric Dolphy · 91%Jam Back at the House — Jimi Hendrix · 90%Manfred Symphony — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky · 89%Symphony No. 9 — Gustav Mahler · 89%
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: Proper Hoodidge — Amon Tobin
What it’s good for
Sleep0/10
Focus3/10
Workout6/10
Dinner4/10
Party / hype6/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1969 in context
The 222 songs we’ve measured from 1969 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 9/10, 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
Intensity79
Dynamics89
Tempo11
Surprise100
Density60
Predictability100
Vocal force0
Trigger load38
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix?
"The Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix has a tempo of 60 BPM (Adagio (slow)). At half-time that is 30 BPM, and at double-time 120 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix?
"The Star-Spangled Banner" by Jimi Hendrix rates as Intense. Dynamic range 9/10, extreme sudden changes, complex texture, instrumental vocal style. Any one of high dynamic range, present sudden changes, or harsh texture triggers the Intense rating.
How loud is "The Star-Spangled Banner" — what is its dynamic range?
"The Star-Spangled Banner" has a dynamic range of 9/10. Substantial quiet-to-loud arc. Start at a volume well below your top-end; the climax will land harder than the intro suggests.
Does "The Star-Spangled Banner" have sudden or surprising changes?
Yes. "The Star-Spangled Banner" uses surprise as a compositional feature. Expect unsignaled transitions.
What is "The Star-Spangled Banner" best for?
In our library "The Star-Spangled Banner" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "The Star-Spangled Banner" released?
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is from 1969, on the album "Live at Woodstock". It appears in our 1960s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
We tag "The Star-Spangled Banner" as cathartic, heavy, intense, rebellious, transcendent. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
The vocal style is instrumental.
Is "The Star-Spangled Banner" good for running?
Not really — at 60 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "The Star-Spangled Banner" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (9/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "The Star-Spangled Banner" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Too intense overall.
Should I listen to "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is Intense in our ratings — dramatic dynamics, possible sudden changes, or strong vocal or textural energy. Best with intention rather than ambient use. If you are sensory-sensitive, the alternatives section surfaces calmer songs in the same mood family.
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?
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