05-08-2008, 10:58 AM
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#31 of 31 
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Scott D. Atwell
Member
Location: Michigan (U.S.A.)
Join Date: Feb 2007
Local Time: 12:28 AM
Local Date: 12-03-2008
Posts: 1,405
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Re: Happy Days - future releases may be too musical
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Originally Posted by silverking
I'm English & live in the UK so PAL "Speed-Up" is not an issue for me. In reverse I don't notice Region 1 discs slowing down at all.
Chris
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This is quite interesting. It may be because you are used to the faster speeds(?), or perhaps it is due to some other factor. When music is sped up (including vocal music), I have found that even casual listeners can tell quite easily that something is 'wrong.' For some (such as myself) it may be because the work is now in an unusual key (and by this I mean distinctions such as 445 'A' as opposed to 440 'A'). For others it may be because the quality of the voice, depending on the timbre of the singer, can seem unnatural in this 'new' key. To cite one example, when the voices of the Beatles are sped up, it's quite distracting to my ears, since the overall sound is somehow just 'not right.' But when their voices are slowed down (such as in the La Scalla recordings from AHDN), their voices sound (relatively) fine to me. (Their voices and their tracks IMO sound much better in flatward keys, but that is a discussion for another time.)
It may also have to do with the function of time to some extent (the perception of protracted melodic lines and harmonic rhythm over greater periods of time when music is slowed down as opposed to when it is sped up). I have found that one sure way to do incredible violence to much music is to play it way too fast (be it Bach, the Beatles, Miles Davis, Linkin Park, etc.). When certain musics are performed too quickly it transcends my ability to comprehend them aurally (my sensory apparatus are bombarded beyond my ability to assimilate that which I am hearing).
I was taught years ago that music has a tendency to descend rather than ascend. I agree with this on the whole. It is probably tied in with our abilities to hear more pitches (and overtones) when lower notes (fundamentals) are produced than when higher notes are produced. BTW, since all orchestras do not use the same 'A' when they tune, I may do well to remain in North America, although I do love the U.K. 
Last edited by Ockeghem : 05-08-2008 at 11:02 AM.
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