Yesterday the internet went wild over the beautiful, ambient results of a Justin Bieber track slowed down by 800%. Feeling inspired to make your own ambient epics? Here's how.
Check out the video above for a quick walkthrough (best viewed fullscreen in 720p), or jump down to the instructions below if you prefer text instructions. In case you missed it, here's the slowed down Bieber track:
…and here's the original:
This guide was inspired by reader pbhj, who pointed us in the direction of Paul Stretch, the application we're using below.
Step One: Download and Install Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch
First, you'll need to download Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch, an application made specifically for extreme sound stretching. Paul Stretch is available for download here for Windows and Linux. UPDATE: Looks like someone also ported it to OS X. I've only tested in Windows.
Step Two: Open Your Song in Paul Stretch and Set Your Parameters
Go to File -> Open… and navigate to the song you want to slow down. You can adjust the stretch time by moving the Stretch slider back and forth in the Parameters tab. You can stretch your audio anywhere between 1 and 10,000 times. The number immediately following "Stretch:" is the slow down amount, and the number in parenthesis is the length of your new, slowed track.
Step Three: Render Your Slow Audio
Now just click over to the Write to File tab and click the Render selection button. Name your file and choose your output format. (I went with OGG.) Remember, the longer you stretch the audio—and the longer the source track is to begin with—will have a big impact on how long it takes Paul Stretch to create your ambient epic. You can experiment by rendering small pieces by changing the pos1 and pos2 selections (position one and two—the default is to select the entire track), or hit the play button at the bottom of the window for a preview. If you choose to slow down your track a lot—say, over 100 times—it can take a really long time, so it's worth testing before you commit an hour-plus to rendering.
Step Four: Enjoy
When it's done rendering, your track should be in the output folder you chose above. Open it up in your player of choice and enjoy your new ambient track.