To make nightcore, speed a song up to about 125% to 135% of its original speed and let the pitch rise with it, the way a record does when you play it too fast. At 130% a song plays about 4.5 semitones higher and a 128 BPM track lands at 166 BPM. A small bass boost brings back the low end that speeding up thins out.
This guide explains the exact settings, shows what each speed does to pitch, tempo and length, and walks through making a nightcore edit in your browser.
Photo by Marcin Sajur on Unsplash
What is nightcore?
Nightcore is a remix style that speeds up an existing track and raises its pitch by the same amount, so vocals sound higher and brighter and the beat hits faster. The name comes from a 2001 school project by the Norwegian duo Thomas S. Nilsen and Steffen Ojala Søderholm (DJ TNT and DJ SOS), who sped up trance and Eurodance tracks, according to Wikipedia. The same article notes that later edits applied the treatment to pop, hip hop and K-pop, and that nightcore is closely tied to anime artwork and fan culture.
The key point for making it: nightcore does not keep the original pitch. It is the opposite of a time-stretch. Speed and pitch move together, exactly like a turntable running fast.
What speed and pitch should nightcore be?
Use 130% speed as your starting point and adjust between about 125% and 135% by ear. Wikipedia describes the classic template as a speed-up of roughly 25% to 35%, with the early tracks commonly landing around 160 to 180 BPM.
Because pitch follows speed, you never set the pitch separately. The pitch change in semitones is 12 × log2(speed). The table below uses that formula for a 100 BPM pop song, a 128 BPM house track and a 3:30 song:
| Speed | Pitch change | 100 BPM becomes | 128 BPM becomes | 3:30 song becomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120% | +3.2 semitones | 120 BPM | 153.6 BPM | 2:55 |
| 125% | +3.9 semitones | 125 BPM | 160 BPM | 2:48 |
| 130% | +4.5 semitones | 130 BPM | 166.4 BPM | 2:42 |
| 135% | +5.2 semitones | 135 BPM | 172.8 BPM | 2:36 |
| 140% | +5.8 semitones | 140 BPM | 179.2 BPM | 2:30 |
| 150% | +7.0 semitones | 150 BPM | 192 BPM | 2:20 |
Two things stand out. First, 135% is the same ratio as playing a 33⅓ rpm record at 45 rpm (45 ÷ 33.33 = 1.35), which is why nightcore is often compared to a vinyl played at the wrong speed. Second, above about 140% vocals start to sound like cartoon voices, because the pitch has risen by more than five and a half semitones. That can be the goal, but most nightcore stays under it.
A practical rule: aim for a final tempo of 160 to 180 BPM. If your source is already fast (say 150 BPM), 115% to 120% is enough. If it is a slow ballad at 80 BPM, you will need far more than 130% to reach that range, and the vocals may not survive it, so pick a different song.
How do you make a nightcore song step by step?
On SearchSound.cloud you can make nightcore with the free nightcore maker, which runs in your browser, so your file is never uploaded. The steps:
- Pick a song with clear vocals and a steady beat. Upbeat pop, Eurodance, trance and electronic tracks work best. Dense mixes with lots of low end can sound thin once sped up.
- Open the nightcore maker and drop in your file. It starts from a preset of 130% speed with a +3 dB bass boost.
- Adjust the speed slider while the preview plays. Changes are audible straight away. Stop when the vocals sound energetic but still natural to you. The slider goes from 50% to 200%.
- Adjust the bass boost. Speeding up moves everything higher, so the low end loses weight. The preset adds a gentle low shelf below about 120 Hz. Raise it for punchier kicks, or set it to zero to keep the original balance.
- Download as MP3, WAV or FLAC. The export uses the same audio graph as the preview, so the file sounds exactly like what you heard.
If you want to check where your edit lands, run the original through the BPM and key finder and multiply the BPM by your speed.
What is the difference between nightcore, sped up and a tempo change?
Nightcore and sped up songs use the same technique; nightcore usually goes further and leans into the high, bright sound. A tempo change is different, because it keeps the original pitch.
| Edit | Typical speed | Pitch | What it sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sped up (TikTok style) | 115% to 130% | Rises with speed | Faster, a bit brighter, vocals still recognisable |
| Nightcore | 125% to 135% | Rises with speed | Fast, high, energetic, often with extra bass |
| Tempo change (time-stretch) | Any | Unchanged | Same voice, faster or slower beat |
| Pitch shift | Unchanged | Any | Same tempo, higher or lower key |
Wikipedia notes that nightcore has also gone under the name "sped-up", and that in the 2020s major labels began releasing official sped-up remixes as TikTok grew. On SearchSound.cloud the sped up song maker starts at a milder 120%, while the tempo changer changes the speed without the pitch, and the pitch shifter changes the key without the speed. If you want a faster track without the "chipmunk" effect, use the tempo changer instead of nightcore.
Why does nightcore sound higher pitched?
Nightcore sounds higher because it plays the recording faster, which raises every frequency by the speed ratio. At 130% speed, a 440 Hz note plays at 572 Hz, which is about 4.5 semitones up. The same thing happens when a turntable runs fast or a tape is played at a higher speed.
In a browser this is what the Web Audio API does when you raise a source's playbackRate: the audio is resampled, so speed and pitch change together. Pitch-preserving tools need an extra time-stretch step to undo the pitch change, which nightcore deliberately skips.
Photo by Dima Zimakov on Unsplash
Can you upload nightcore songs to YouTube or SoundCloud?
You can upload them, but a nightcore edit of someone else's song is still their recording, and you cannot earn money from it on YouTube. YouTube's Partner Program policies list "songs modified to change the pitch or speed, but are otherwise identical to the original song" as reused content that is not allowed to monetize.
Copyright owners can also find these uploads through Content ID, YouTube's automated matching system. When it finds a match, the video gets a Content ID claim, and depending on the owner's settings the video is blocked, monetized for the owner, or only tracked. Speeding a track up does not give you any rights to it.
Safer options if you want to publish:
- Use your own music, or a track whose licence allows remixes and derivative works.
- Ask the artist. Many independent producers on SoundCloud are happy to allow edits with credit; get it in writing.
- Use Creative Commons or royalty-free music that allows modification. Our no-copyright and royalty-free music page lists SoundCloud tracks creators have made available for reuse, and the guide to finding royalty-free music for YouTube explains the licences.
Making a nightcore edit for personal listening is a different matter from publishing it. Rules differ between countries, so this is not legal advice.
Where can you find nightcore and sped up music?
On SearchSound.cloud you can search SoundCloud for "nightcore" or "sped up" and filter by BPM, genre and upload date, which helps you find edits in the 160 to 180 BPM range. The same search is a good way to find source tracks: look for upbeat songs between 120 and 140 BPM, since 130% speed puts them right in the classic nightcore range. The guide to finding music by BPM for DJ sets covers BPM filtering in more detail, and the workout BPM guide shows where fast tracks like these fit in a training playlist.
FAQ
What percentage is nightcore?
Classic nightcore is around 125% to 135% of the original speed, and 130% is a good default. That raises the pitch by about 4 to 5 semitones. Faster source songs need less; aim for a final tempo of 160 to 180 BPM.
Is nightcore the same as sped up?
They use the same technique: speed and pitch rise together. Nightcore usually goes a little faster than TikTok-style sped up edits and often adds some bass. Wikipedia notes that nightcore has also been called "sped-up".
Can I make nightcore without the chipmunk voice?
Keep the speed at 125% or below, or use a tempo changer, which speeds up the track without raising the pitch. Strictly speaking that is no longer nightcore, since the higher pitch is part of the style, but it is a common compromise for vocal-heavy songs.
Can I monetize nightcore videos on YouTube?
Not if the song belongs to someone else. YouTube's Partner Program policies exclude songs that only have their pitch or speed changed, and Content ID can still match sped-up uploads. Use your own music or a licence that allows remixes.
Does the nightcore maker upload my song?
No. The SearchSound.cloud nightcore maker processes the audio on your device, in your browser, and the file is never sent to a server. You can download the result as MP3, WAV or FLAC.