Our free online music speed changer lets you slow down or speed up any song without changing its pitch! Use it as a song slower to learn difficult passages at half speed, an audio speed changer to match tempos for choreography, or speed up MP3s and podcasts to save time. Upload your audio, adjust the speed, preview changes in real time, and download your tempo-changed audio instantly!
What is a Music Speed Changer?
A music speed changer (also called a tempo changer, audio speed changer, or time stretcher) is a tool that speeds up or slows down audio without changing its pitch or key. Unlike simply pressing fast-forward or slow-motion (which makes audio sound higher or lower pitched), a speed changer uses time-stretching algorithms to preserve the original pitch while adjusting only the speed. This means a singer’s voice sounds natural whether you play a song at 50% or 150% speed – only the pace changes. This makes a music speed changer an essential tool for musicians who need to slow down difficult passages to learn them note by note, dancers who need to practice choreography at different speeds, language learners who want to slow down native speech to catch every word, and DJs who need to match tempos between tracks.
How to Change Song Speed Without Changing Pitch
Slowing down or speeding up any song while preserving its original pitch is simple with our free audio speed changer:
- Upload Your Song: Select any MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, or OGG audio file – works with any genre, from rock and pop to classical, podcasts, and language recordings
- Choose Tempo Speed: Use the presets for common speeds (75% to slow down, 50% for half speed, 125% to speed up) or click ‘Custom’ to adjust precisely from 50% to 200%. Below 100% slows down, above 100% speeds up
- Preview Instantly: Press the preview button or spacebar to hear your tempo-changed audio before downloading. The pitch stays exactly the same while the speed changes
- Fine-Tune (Optional): Adjust the tempo slider and click Preview again to hear the new speed. Find the perfect speed for your practice session, choreography, or learning pace
- Download & Use: Click ‘Change Tempo’ and your track downloads in the same format as your input file, ready for practice, performance, or study
Understanding Tempo and BPM
What is Tempo? Tempo is the speed at which music is played, typically measured in BPM (beats per minute). A song at 120 BPM has 120 beats in one minute. When you slow a song to 75% tempo, a 120 BPM song becomes 90 BPM. At 50%, it becomes 60 BPM. Understanding this helps you set the right practice speed for your needs.
Common Tempo Adjustments and Their Uses:
- 90–95% (slight slowdown): Subtle reduction that makes fast passages just a bit more manageable. Great for nearly performance-ready pieces where you need a small edge
- 75% (three-quarter speed): The most popular practice speed. Slows music enough to clearly hear and play along with every note, while still maintaining the musical feel and groove. Ideal for learning new songs
- 50% (half speed): Perfect for learning extremely fast passages note by note. Guitar solos, rapid piano runs, and complex drum patterns become accessible at half speed. Also excellent for language learners trying to catch every syllable
- 110–125% (moderate speedup): Challenges you to play faster than the original. Once you can play along at 110–125%, the original tempo feels comfortable. A proven practice technique for building speed
- 150–200% (fast): For advanced practice, creating uptempo remixes, or quickly scanning through long audio recordings like lectures or podcasts
Why Musicians Need a Music Speed Changer
For Instrumentalists – Slow Practice Method: The most effective way to learn a difficult piece is to slow it down to a tempo where you can play it perfectly, then gradually increase the speed. This builds muscle memory correctly from the start. Whether you’re learning a fast guitar solo, a complex piano passage, a challenging drum fill, or an intricate bass line, slowing down the original recording lets you hear exactly what needs to be played while keeping the pitch in the correct key for your instrument.
For Dancers – Choreography at Any Speed: Dance instructors and students use tempo changers constantly. When learning new choreography, slowing the music to 50–75% lets you focus on each move without rushing. As you master the routine, gradually bring the tempo back to 100%. Competition dancers often practice at 110–125% speed so the actual performance tempo feels effortless. Since the pitch stays the same, the music sounds natural at every speed, keeping the mood and feel intact for artistic expression.
For Language Learners – Slow Down Native Speech: Native speakers often talk too fast for learners to catch every word. Slowing down podcasts, audiobooks, songs, or recorded conversations to 60–80% makes it much easier to hear individual words, recognize pronunciation patterns, and understand connected speech. The pitch stays natural, so voices don’t sound distorted – just slower and clearer.
For Vocalists – Learn Complex Vocal Runs: R&B, gospel, and pop vocalists often perform rapid vocal runs and melismas. Slowing these passages to 50–75% lets you hear each individual note in the run, making it possible to learn and practice these ornaments accurately before performing at full speed.
Audio Speed Changer for Different Use Cases
Music Transcription: Musicians who transcribe music by ear rely heavily on tempo changers. Slowing a recording to 50% reveals notes that are impossible to hear at full speed. Complex jazz solos, fast metal riffs, and intricate orchestral passages become decipherable when slowed down enough. Our tool preserves the original pitch, so every note remains in the correct key for accurate transcription.
Exercise and Workout: Fitness instructors and athletes match music tempo to exercise intensity. Slowing down high-energy tracks creates the right pace for warm-ups and cool-downs. Speeding up moderate tracks creates intense workout music. With pitch-preserved tempo changes, your favorite songs sound great at any workout speed.
Podcast and Lecture Review: Speed up recorded lectures and podcasts to 125–150% to review material faster without missing content. The pitch stays natural, so speakers sound like themselves – just faster. This is a popular study technique for students reviewing recorded classes.
DJ Preparation: DJs use tempo matching to seamlessly blend tracks. Adjusting one track’s tempo to match another’s BPM without pitch change ensures smooth transitions. Our tool helps DJs prepare tracks at matching tempos before a set.
Accessibility: People with auditory processing differences or hearing impairments often benefit from slowed-down audio. Reducing tempo to 70–85% can make speech significantly clearer and easier to follow without the unnatural pitch shift that comes from simple slow-motion playback.
Music Speed Changer Best Practices
Start Slow and Build Up Gradually: When using tempo changes for practice, start at a speed where you can play or follow along perfectly (even if that’s 30% speed). Then increase by 5–10% increments as you gain confidence. Jumping from 50% straight to 100% is less effective than gradual progression.
Use High-Quality Source Audio: The better your input audio quality, the better your tempo-changed output will sound. High-quality MP3s (256–320 kbps), FLAC, or WAV files work best. Low-quality audio may sound worse when the tempo is changed significantly because compression artifacts can become more noticeable.
Preview Before Downloading: Always use the preview function to test your tempo change before creating the final file. Play the most challenging sections to ensure the speed works for you. Adjust the tempo slider and click Preview to hear new speeds.
Consider the Musical Feel: Very slow tempos (below 40%) can make it hard to feel the musical groove or beat. If you need extreme slow-down for learning individual notes, that’s fine, but be aware that the “feel” of the music changes at very low speeds. Moderate slowdowns (60–85%) usually preserve the rhythmic feel while being slow enough to practice effectively.
Progressive Practice Technique: Professional musicians often use a specific progression: start at 50%, master it, then go to 60%, then 70%, then 80%, then 90%, and finally 100%. Some even practice at 105–110% so that 100% feels easy during performance. This methodical approach builds solid technique.
Frequently Asked Questions About Music Speed Changing
What is a music speed changer / tempo changer?
A music speed changer (also called a tempo changer or audio speed changer) adjusts the speed of audio without changing its pitch or key. Unlike simply speeding up or slowing down a recording (which affects pitch), time-stretching preserves the original pitch so voices and instruments sound natural at any speed. Perfect for musicians practicing, dancers choreographing, and language learners.
How do I change the speed of a song without changing the pitch?
Upload your audio file, adjust the tempo slider to your desired speed (below 100% to slow down, above 100% to speed up), preview it to hear the change, then click ‘Change Tempo’ to download. Your song will play at the new speed while keeping the same pitch and key.
How do I slow down a song for practice?
Upload your song and drag the tempo slider below 100%. Try 75% for a comfortable practice pace, or 50% to hear every note clearly. The pitch remains unchanged so you can play along in the original key. Use our ‘Slow Down (75%)’ preset for the most popular practice speed.
Is this music speed changer free?
Yes, completely free with unlimited use, no file limits, no subscriptions, and no hidden charges. Change the speed of as many tracks as you want for practice, choreography, language learning, or any purpose.
What audio formats does the speed changer support?
Our audio speed changer supports MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, and OGG formats. Use it as an MP3 speed changer, FLAC speed changer, or WAV speed changer – upload any of these formats and download your tempo-changed audio in the same format as the input file.
How much can I slow down or speed up?
You can adjust tempo from 50% (half speed) to 200% (double speed). The most common practice speeds are 50% (half speed) and 75% (three-quarter speed). For speed training, try 110–125%.
Will tempo changing affect audio quality?
Our tool uses advanced time-stretching algorithms for high-quality results even at extreme speeds. Moderate changes (60–150%) sound virtually transparent. Half speed (50%) remains clean and artifact-free.
Does changing tempo change the song’s duration?
Yes. Slowing down makes the song longer, speeding up makes it shorter. At 50% tempo, a 3-minute song becomes 6 minutes. At 200%, it becomes 1.5 minutes. The pitch stays the same regardless.
Can I preview before downloading?
Yes! Click the ‘Preview Audio’ button or press spacebar to hear your tempo-changed audio before downloading. The preview uses the exact same algorithm as the download, so what you hear is what you get.
What’s the difference between tempo changing and pitch shifting?
Tempo changing adjusts speed while keeping pitch the same. Pitch shifting changes pitch while keeping speed the same. Our tempo changer only changes speed – voices and instruments stay in the same key.
Can dancers use this for choreography?
Absolutely! Slow down music while learning choreography, then gradually increase speed as you master the moves. Since the pitch stays the same, the music sounds natural at any speed – perfect for rehearsal and competition prep.
Can I use this to slow down speech for language learning?
Yes! Slow down podcasts, audiobooks, or recorded conversations to 60–80% to clearly hear every word. The pitch stays natural so voices sound like themselves, just slower. This is one of the best techniques for training your ear in a new language.
Does this work on mobile devices?
Yes! Our tempo changer works on all devices – iPhone, Android, iPad, desktop, and laptop. Just open the page in your mobile browser and change tempos right from your phone.
Can I speed up a podcast or audiobook without the chipmunk effect?
Yes! Our audio speed changer uses time-stretching to increase playback speed while keeping the pitch completely natural. Voices sound like themselves even at 150% or 200% speed – no chipmunk squeakiness, no robotic distortion. Speed up lectures, podcasts, and audiobooks to save time without sacrificing clarity.
How do I slow down a song so I can learn to play guitar along with it?
Upload the song, then slow it down to 50–75% using the slider or presets. The pitch stays in the original key, so you can play along on your guitar without retuning. Start slow, nail the part, then gradually bump the speed up until you’re at full tempo. This is the number one technique guitar teachers recommend for learning fast solos.
What’s the best free online music speed changer?
SoundTools offers a completely free online music speed changer with no account required, no file size limits, no ads, and no software to install. Slow down or speed up MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, or OGG files from 50% to 200% with instant preview and download in the original format. Everything runs in your browser – your audio never leaves your device.
Can I use this as a song slower to slow down music for dance practice?
Absolutely. Our song slower feature lets you reduce any track to 50–75% speed while keeping the pitch and feel of the original music intact. Dance instructors use this daily to teach choreography step by step, then gradually bring the tempo back up as students master the routine.
How do I speed up an MP3 without changing the pitch?
Upload your MP3, drag the tempo slider above 100% (try 125% for a moderate boost or 150–200% for faster playback), then click ‘Change Tempo’ to download your sped-up MP3. The pitch is preserved automatically – no chipmunk voices, no distortion. Great for speeding up podcasts, lectures, and workout music.