Pre-metronome musical tempo was set to the human pulse

Evidence

The heartbeat has had a strong influence on the tempo of music. Before the invention of the metronome, the tempi of music were determined from the human pulse, and the difference between a saturnine or frenetic beat in music depended on how far it departed on one side or the other from this modulator. Thus tempi which lie close to the human heartbeat have an obvious appeal for man. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 749

Categorization

• XREF: A measured musical fact connecting heartbeat modules to music corpus and to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. — connects to: The human body provides the scale for comprehending acoustic rhythms — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 747; Group rhythm practice advances from felt heartbeat to polyrhythmic composition. — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 113; Keynote sounds underpin and rhythmically shape daily life — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 172
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 749

Broader Connections

• Keynote sounds underpin and rhythmically shape daily life #exemplifies (0.50) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 172