Why are artists releasing sped-up versions of their songs?

[kitekrazy1]

https://www.musicradar.com/news/sped-up-songs?utm_term=0DF43CE8-F433-42DB-AB57-C96579DCD55F&utm_campaign=0205D92E-E67C-43E4-B0CF-F6FEA0D1AF4F&utm_medium=email&utm_content=34974AC6-FBFE-41BA-B938-787A236F7035&utm_source=SmartBrief

[craigb]

Life on Earth will end soon and they want to get their plays in? ?

[Byron Dickens]

Coke?

[craigb]

13 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said:

Coke?

❓

[Rain]

2 hours ago, Byron Dickens said:

Coke?

This is not to be considered a pro drug statement in any way shape or form, but a LOT of my favorite popular music was written, recorded, and produced by people by people on blow.  In fact, it's probably safe to assume that at least one person involved in the process was on coke for any of my favorite albums.

I doubt that any of them are among the "artists"  releasing sped up versions of their material, so I wouldn't blame this on coke. Drugs are bad, but people are worse.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Rain

[craigb]

[Rain]

1 hour ago, craigb said:

[telecode 101]

Fascinating trend. I love it. Release the official version. Then release sped up version for party night. and then release the half time version for after party come down. For every song you get 3 x the chances for streams. Whats not to love?

[Wibbles]

The nice thing about being of an age where youth culture completely baffles me is that officially I don't have to give a toss about anything happening beyond my own tiny little universe. 

[craigb]

8 hours ago, Rain said:

Want some Hippy Repellent? ?

[Rain]

According to South Park, playing some Slayer also works.

[Notes_Norton]

We play quite a few songs on the gig a little faster than the tempo on the record. It adds energy. Of course, that depends on the song and what we think our audience would react positively to.

But 50%. No way. I can't spit out the words that fast.

Many years ago when I was in a band that opened in concert for the "star" band, I noticed that they played many of their songs faster than they did on the record, so I just figured it was the right thing to do. We learn from the masters.

 

Notes ♫

[X-53mph]

On 2/1/2023 at 12:57 AM, kitekrazy said:

https://www.musicradar.com/news/sped-up-songs?utm_term=0DF43CE8-F433-42DB-AB57-C96579DCD55F&utm_campaign=0205D92E-E67C-43E4-B0CF-F6FEA0D1AF4F&utm_medium=email&utm_content=34974AC6-FBFE-41BA-B938-787A236F7035&utm_source=SmartBrief

Did you ever hear the story about a famous indie band who sent out their latest release to John Peel and he put it on the record player at the wrong speed....and simply loved it? So the band re-released the single sped up and had a hit on their hands.

[Old Joad]

According to George Martin, they would speed up Beatles songs.?

[kitekrazy1]

The latter days if VH there was a concert when they did Jump which the synth part was a wav file.  It was up a half step.  It took Eddie a bit of time to adjust but Roth was nailing in that key.

Supposedly Sir Duke was recorded in Bb and sped up to B.  Trumpets, trombones, and the sax family are all based on flats and would not be that easy. 

There are some music hard asses that say keys are for amateurs but seeing bands live they don't always do the key that your hear in a studio.

[Notes_Norton]

22 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

Supposedly Sir Duke was recorded in Bb and sped up to B.  Trumpets, trombones, and the sax family are all based on flats and would not be that easy. 

Not easy, but that depends on the horn player. A good horn player can play in any key, but what you get used to is always easier.

In the past, most jazz guys liked Eb or Bb (F and C on the tenor sax and trumpet - C and G on alto) because so many of the standards were written ion those keys. These guys hated E and A (F# and B on the tenor).

I grew up playing in guitar bands, so E, A, and C are easier for me (F#, B, and D on tenor).

I can play in any key, but the keys I play in most often are the most comfortable for me.

Unlike the guitar, to play a song on the sax in a different key involves entirely different fingerings. It's like learning it all over again. So if the song starts in Bb (my C on tenor) and then changes to B (my C#) I have to learn it again in C#. Every instrument has its challenges and gifts.

That is why non-transposing instrument players have to learn our scales and arpeggios in all 12 keys. It helps to get the common patterns under our fingers, and that makes learning things in different keys easier.

In my first band, we learn a song that has no saxophone part (an oversight, I'm sure). The guitar player teaches me barre chords, and I play rhythm guitar. At the end of the song we modulate and all I have to do is move my hand up one fret and finger everything the same way. My reaction? "WOW! This is great! Wanna modulate again?"

But like I said, every instrument has hit's challenges too. It's much easier to read music on sax or piano than it is on guitar.

In the old tape days, it was very common to speed a song up by running the tape playback faster. Play along with some old pop records, and you will find some of them in between keys, even if there is an organ or piano in the group (which can't play between keys).

In our duo, we learn songs with these things in mind.

• What key is best for the singer. That's the first priority.
• Ease of play, if the singer is best in a difficult key, we'll try it in a half step above or below to make it easier. BUT if it doesn't sound as good a half step away, we'll leave it in the more challenging key.
• How does the song sound in this key? I don't know why, but some songs just don't sound good in certain keys, again, a half step away usually solves that problem
• Record key, if we can do it well in record key, we'll keep it in record key.

I played with a blind piano player for a couple of years. He could play in any keys, but preferred keys like B, F# and C# because it's easier to find the black keys on the piano by touch. A lot of Stevie Wonder songs are in those easy to find by touch keys. He went back to France and became famous, Gilbert Montagné.

Funny road story with Gilbert. We were booked by an agent in a redneck bar. This was back when country folk had short hair and hated long haired weirdos.

So Gilbert has long hair, sunglasses his wife picked out that were teardrop shaped (feminine) and like most Europeans at the time carried a 'man purse'. So we go walking in, Gilbert can't see so I'm leading him in, arm in arm. The rednecks confronted us, thinking we were 'homos' (in their words) and wanted to beat us to a pulp. Luckily there was a couple of them calm and reasonable enough to listen, and they calmed down. Gilbert knew a lot of songs from every genre, so when we started playing, we hit them with a lot of recent country music hits, and in the end, they actually liked us.

Back on topic...

One last word to the guitar and bass players here. Be happy you can change keys without learning the song again. And if you are playing live, don't be afraid to speed it up a little bit.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫