Sound Definitions

Techniques : pitch shift : resampling

The simplest way to change the duration or pitch of a digital audio clip is to resample it. This is a mathematical operation that effectively rebuilds a continuous waveform from its samples and then samples that waveform again at a different rate. When the new samples are played at the original sampling frequency, the audio clip sounds faster or slower.

Problems with re-sampling

Unfortunately, the frequencies in the sample are always scaled at the same rate as the speed. In other words, slowing down the recording lowers the pitch, speeding it up raises the pitch, and the two effects cannot be separated. This is analogous to speeding up or slowing down an analog recording, like a phonograph record or tape.

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