Don't Drop the Beat: Music that Saves Lives

While CPR training can be quiet and serious, the American Heart Association (AHA) flipped that idea on its head by using music to save lives. Their “Don’t Drop the Beat” marketing campaign releases playlists of popular songs with 100–120 beats per minute—the exact rhythm your hands should follow during CPR compressions. That means songs you already know can help your body remember what to do in an emergency. This campaign shows how creativity, science, and pop culture can work together. A catchy song can turn panic into action and information into instinct.

Your Task:

You’re helping the AHA add one more song to next year’s “Don’t Drop the Beat” playlist. This can be a song from any time period, language and genre.

Step 1: Pick a song you like. You can manually count the beats or use SongBPM to find your song and it will tell you the total Beats Per Minute (BPM). Manual instructions: play the song and count how many times you hear the main beat in 15 seconds (tap your finger each time). Now multiply that number by 4. If your final number is between 100 and 120, your song qualifies!

Example: If you count 26 beats in 15 seconds → 26 × 4 = 104 BPM (this works!)

Your submission: Write a short pitch explaining why your song belongs on the CPR playlist. Include:
• Song title and artist
• Your BPM result
• Who this song would help most remember CPR (parents, K-Pop fans, etc.)

Image: Courtesy The American Heart Association

This Skillbuilder is part of American Heart Month.