To change the speed of a song without changing its pitch, the audio has to be time-stretched, not played faster or slower. Open a file in the music speed changer below, pick a speed from 25 % to 200 % or a target BPM, loop the part you are learning, and download it. Nothing is uploaded.
Music Speed Changer
Slow a song down to learn it, loop the hard part, then bring it back up to speed. The pitch stays the same.
Your song
Processed in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Start here: choose a song or recording from your device.
File:
100 %Normal speed. Choose a slower or faster speed.
Detected tempo –
Open a song: its BPM is detected, then type the BPM you want to practise at.
Listen and loop a section (A–B)
To practise one part: play, press Set A here where it starts and Set B here where it ends. It then repeats at your speed.
Download at this speed
Open a file first. The download is the whole song at the chosen speed, with the pitch unchanged.
More options speed-up trainer, pitch, voice, file format
Start slow (for example 70 %). Each time the loop repeats it gets a little faster, until it reaches the stop speed.
Leave at 0 to keep the original pitch. Change it to play along in another key.
Voice uses shorter analysis windows for speech and, when the pitch is shifted, keeps the vowel colour (formants).
By default the download matches your file: MP3 for compressed files, WAV for WAV and FLAC. The sample rate is kept.
Related tools
How to slow down a song without changing the pitch
- Open the song. Tap Choose a song or audio file or drop it on the tool. MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, FLAC and the sound of a video work.
- Pick the speed. Drag the slider, tap −5 % / +5 %, or use a preset: 50, 75, 90, 100 or 110 %. The box shows the new length and BPM.
- Or type a BPM. The tool detects the tempo of the song. Type the BPM you want, for example 96 for a 120 BPM song, and the speed follows (80 %).
- Loop the hard part. Press Play, then Set A here where the passage starts and Set B here where it ends. It repeats at your speed until you press Pause.
- Download. The file is the whole song at the chosen speed, named like
song_speed-75.mp3, in the original key.
More options holds a speed-up trainer (+2, +5 or +10 % after each loop, up to a stop speed you choose), an optional pitch change in semitones, a Voice sound type for speech and singing, and the file format.
A practice plan: slow down, loop, speed up
Most musicians learn a fast passage the same way: slow enough to play it cleanly, then a little faster each time. The tool is built around that loop. This is a common method, not a rule; pick the numbers that suit your level.
| Stage | Speed | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hear it | 50–60 % | Loop 2 to 8 bars. Listen for the notes, the words or the fingering you cannot catch at full speed. |
| 2. Play it clean | 70–80 % | Play or sing along until you get it right several times in a row. |
| 3. Build speed | +5 % per loop | Turn on the speed-up trainer with a stop speed of 100 %. If it falls apart, go back 10 %. |
| 4. Full tempo | 100 % | Play the loop at full speed, then turn the loop off and play the whole song. |
| 5. Push | 105–110 % | A little faster than the record makes the real tempo feel easy. |
Singers can use the same ladder for fast lyrics and runs. If the problem is the key rather than the speed, the pitch shifter or a lower key is the better fix.
Speed, BPM and length: the numbers
Speed in percent is the new tempo divided by the old tempo. At 75 %, a 120 BPM song plays at 90 BPM and a 3-minute song lasts 4 minutes. A record player or a plain playback-rate change would also lower the pitch by 12 × log2(0.75) = −4.98 semitones: nearly a perfect fourth. Time stretching removes that side effect. Pitch vs tempo explains the two words, and what are semitones the unit in the last column.
| Speed | 120 BPM becomes | A 3:00 song lasts | Pitch the record-player way | Pitch here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 % | 30 BPM | 12:00 | −24.00 semitones | unchanged |
| 50 % | 60 BPM | 6:00 | −12.00 semitones | unchanged |
| 60 % | 72 BPM | 5:00 | −8.84 semitones | unchanged |
| 70 % | 84 BPM | 4:17 | −6.17 semitones | unchanged |
| 75 % | 90 BPM | 4:00 | −4.98 semitones | unchanged |
| 80 % | 96 BPM | 3:45 | −3.86 semitones | unchanged |
| 90 % | 108 BPM | 3:20 | −1.82 semitones | unchanged |
| 100 % | 120 BPM | 3:00 | 0 | unchanged |
| 110 % | 132 BPM | 2:44 | +1.65 semitones | unchanged |
| 125 % | 150 BPM | 2:24 | +3.86 semitones | unchanged |
| 150 % | 180 BPM | 2:00 | +7.02 semitones | unchanged |
| 200 % | 240 BPM | 1:30 | +12.00 semitones | unchanged |
How the pitch stays the same (time stretching)
The tool uses a phase vocoder. The sound is cut into thousands of short, overlapping slices, each measured as a set of frequencies. To slow down, the slices are spaced further apart; to speed up, closer together. Each frequency’s phase is corrected so the slices join without clicks. The frequencies inside a slice are never changed, so the pitch stays put while the length changes.
- Between about 70 and 130 % most songs sound natural.
- Very slow speeds (25–50 %) smear drum hits and add a slight echo. The notes are still easy to hear, which is what practice needs.
- Speech and singing: choose Voice under More options. It uses shorter analysis windows, and if you also shift the pitch it keeps the vowel colour, like the vocal pitch changer.
- Practising in another key? Set the pitch in semitones too. The song key finder tells you the key first.
Change speed without changing pitch in Audacity, YouTube, VLC and video editors
| Program | Where | Keeps the pitch? |
|---|---|---|
| Audacity | Select the audio → Effect → Pitch and Tempo → Change Tempo → set the percent → Apply. More in change pitch in Audacity. | Change Tempo keeps it; Change Speed changes both. |
| YouTube | Gear icon → Playback speed, 0.25× to 2×. | Yes, while you watch; nothing to download. |
| VLC | Playback → Speed, or the [ and ] keys. | Yes, with audio time-stretching on (the default). |
| Premiere Pro | Clip → Speed/Duration → tick Maintain Audio Pitch. Guide: change pitch in Premiere Pro. | Only with that box ticked. |
| Final Cut Pro | Retime menu → choose a speed; Preserve Pitch is in the same menu. Guide: change pitch in Final Cut Pro. | Yes, with Preserve Pitch on. |
For GarageBand and phone apps, see GarageBand and changing pitch on mobile. The tool above does the job in any browser and gives you a file.
Limits: what this speed changer cannot do
- Accuracy: in our tests every file from 25 % to 200 % kept the pitch within 0.1 cents and hit the chosen speed within 0.01 %.
- Not instant: each new speed is processed first. A 3-minute song starts playing in about 0.5 seconds and the whole file is ready in about 6 seconds on a desktop computer; phones take longer.
- Files: up to 8 minutes and 200 MB. The slowed-down file must stay under 16 minutes, so an 8-minute song goes down to 50 %, not 25 %.
- Tempo detection needs a steady beat. Free-time music and speech show “no steady beat”; use the percent instead.
- No video out: the download is audio. For video, use the video pitch changer or your editor.
- Trainer steps: when the speed-up trainer moves to the next speed there can be a very short gap between loops.
Which tool should you use?
| You want to… | Use | Pitch |
|---|---|---|
| Practise a song slower or faster, loop a part | This page | Kept |
| Change the key but keep the speed | Change pitch without changing speed | Changes |
| Change key and tempo together, or work out BPM and semitones | Pitch and tempo changer | Your choice |
| Sing a karaoke track in your key | Karaoke pitch changer | Changes |
| Slow down or retune a video file | Video pitch changer | Your choice |
Every tool on the site is listed on all pitch tools.
Questions about changing speed without changing pitch
Can I slow down a song without changing the pitch?
Yes. Open it above and choose a speed below 100 %. The notes stay in the same key; only the tempo and the length change.
How do I speed up a song without the chipmunk sound?
Choose a speed above 100 %. The chipmunk sound comes from playing faster the record-player way. Time stretching keeps the pitch, so voices sound normal, just quicker.
How do I change a song to a specific BPM?
Type the BPM into “Target BPM”. The tool detects the tempo, so 96 on a 120 BPM song sets 80 %. For key and BPM changes together, use the pitch and tempo changer.
What speed should I practise at?
The fastest speed you can play cleanly. Many players start between 60 and 80 % and add 5 % when it feels easy; the speed-up trainer does that for you.
Can I slow down a YouTube video?
Only while watching. YouTube’s playback speed keeps the pitch, but gives you no file. This tool needs an audio or video file.
Is my audio uploaded?
No. The file is opened and processed on your device. Nothing leaves your browser.
Tested: what we measured
- 12 downloaded files from 25 % to 200 % re-measured: pitch within 0.1 cents, speed within 0.01 %, length = original ÷ speed.
- Tempo detected exactly on click tracks at 72, 90, 100, 128 and 140 BPM; a 128 BPM track set to 96 BPM measured 96 BPM again.
- Once the song is processed, the A–B loop is cut from it sample for sample, so the loop you practise matches the file you download.
- The preview you hear equals the downloaded file; MP3 was decoded again and measured.
Last updated 28 September 2026 by Mayer. More tools on the online pitch changer home page; how we test: how it works.