Nightcore vs Sped Up vs Slowed + Reverb: What Is the Difference?
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Sped up, nightcore, slowed + reverb, daycore, chopped and screwed. You see the terms everywhere and they sound alike. They also all do the same thing to a song: they change the speed, and the pitch comes along. Still, they come from very different places. Here is what is what.
The difference in one table
| Style | Speed | Pitch | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nightcore | faster, often around 25 to 35 percent | higher | Norway, early 2000s |
| Sped up | faster, often 20 to 30 percent | higher | TikTok, from around 2020 |
| Slowed + reverb | slower, often around 20 percent | lower, plus lots of reverb | YouTube, around 2017 |
| Daycore | slower | lower | online, as the opposite of nightcore |
| Chopped and screwed | much slower | lower, plus repeated parts | Houston, around 1989 and 1990 |
The percentages are guidelines. Sources put nightcore at roughly 25 to 35 percent faster, for example, and sped up versions on TikTok vary a lot.
What they have in common
In all of these styles, speed and pitch go up or down together, like a record played faster or slower. That changes the colour of the song, not just the tempo. Faster sounds brighter and more energetic, slower sounds darker and dreamier. At 1.25× a song goes up almost 4 semitones, at 0.80× it drops almost 4 semitones.
Nightcore
Nightcore started in Norway in the early 2000s. Two school students going by the name Nightcore sped up trance and Eurodance tracks, as Vice and Bandcamp Daily describe. Later the style got its familiar look on YouTube: an anime drawing over a fast, high song. According to MusicRadar, nightcore edits run about 35 percent faster.
Sped up
Sped up is basically the TikTok version of the same idea. NBC News traces the sound's roots back to nightcore. The difference is mostly the context: not anime and trance, but pop songs and rap used as sounds under short videos. Labels and artists now release official sped up versions themselves. SZA put a sped up version of Kill Bill in a remix pack, and Miguel released an official sped up version of Sure Thing, as The Ringer and NBC News report. Universal even released a compilation of official sped up remixes in June 2023, according to Music Business Worldwide.
Want to make one yourself? Read how to make a sped up song.
Slowed + reverb
Slowed + reverb goes the other way: slower, lower and with a lot of reverb. According to Clash, the trend started around 2017 on YouTube, with Slater from Houston as its originator. YouTube, and later TikTok, made it big.
What sets it apart from daycore is the reverb. That gives it the spacious, late night feel. Want to make one? Read how to make slowed + reverb: the basics.
Daycore
Daycore is the opposite of nightcore: a song slowed down and pitched lower. Wiktionary also calls it anti-nightcore. Not much has been written about it, and in practice it overlaps a lot with slowed versions. The main difference from slowed + reverb is that reverb is not necessarily part of the style.
Chopped and screwed
Chopped and screwed is the oldest of the bunch, and the most hands-on. DJ Screw discovered it around 1989 in Houston, Texas Monthly writes, when he accidentally hit the pitch button on his turntable. According to Red Bull Music Academy, his first slowed tapes came out in 1990.
- Screwed means slowed down with the pitch control, so slower and lower.
- Chopped means working with two copies of the same record, one slightly behind the other, switching and scratching between them. That repeats phrases and doubles up beats.
So slowed + reverb borrows the slowing down from chopped and screwed, leaves out the chopping and adds reverb.
Which one fits your song?
- Want more energy and a bright sound for short videos? Go for sped up, around 1.20× to 1.30×.
- Want a dreamy, late night version? Go for slowed + reverb, around 0.80× with plenty of reverb.
- Want it heavy and slow without a blanket of reverb? Then you are closer to daycore or screwed.
Releasing a version of your own song? Also read how to release a sped up version of your song. Want to do something with someone else's song? Read can you upload slowed + reverb songs first.
FAQ
Is nightcore the same as sped up?
Technically almost: both are faster and higher. Nightcore is the older internet style with trance, Eurodance and anime. Sped up is the TikTok version, often of pop and rap.
Is slowed + reverb the same as chopped and screwed?
No. Chopped and screwed is a DJ style from Houston that slows tracks down and chops them up. Slowed + reverb is a simpler internet version: slower, lower and with lots of reverb.
What is the difference between daycore and slowed + reverb?
Both are slower and lower. In slowed + reverb the thick reverb is a fixed part of the sound, in daycore not necessarily.