How Does Slowing Down A Happy Song Make It Better For A Breakup Playlist?

In 2022, I went through (1) breakup and ended (2) situationships, which meant that if there was an art to making a breakup playlist, I have pretty much mastered it.

As much as I wanted to be ‘indie’ in my soundtrack selection (pretentious, yes I know), I couldn’t help but slip in a few ‘slowed and reverb’ and ‘sped-up’ song edits into my mix. To reflect the highs and lows of my breakup recovery, I created two separate playlists based on these two genres, and one that combined both in a progressive order of despair, acceptance, and finally, relief.

These speed-altered edits scratch my brain in just the right way, which got me thinking: what makes these edits slap harder during a breakup?

Recommended for Today: Slowed + Reverb and Sped Up Music

Sped-up and Slowed + Reverb mixes have been around for years, sparking from the “Chipmunk Soul” sampling technique and the Nightcore genre in the early 2000’s, and the Chopped and Screwed technique, which originated in Houston in the 1990s, respectively.

But if tempo-altered music has been around for decades, why are these remixes sweeping the charts now?

Well, the short answer is…TikTok.

Love it or hate it, a remix on the platform is a lifeline for tracks that didn’t quite make it during their original run. For example, despite being released in 2015, Thundercat’s “Them Changes” cracked Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart this October, after a sped-up rendition went viral on the platform.

Similarly, singer Ruth B saw a 10 million increase in her monthly Spotify listeners after a slowed version of her 2017 track, “Dandelions”, was released in 2021 (and it’s still charting on Singapore’s Top 50 on Spotify as of now!).

As TikTok’s fast-paced format favours short, impactful snippets that get lyrics across immediately, it follows that slowed + reverb and sped-up tracks are gaining prominence on the app. But the central question remains — what makes these songs resonate with us now, especially during a heartbreak?

Mix 1: Slowed + Reverb

Slowed and reverb music has its roots in the “Chopped and screwed” genre, which draws on a technique by the late mixtape artist DJ Screw, whereby tracks are slowed down to 50–70% of their original speed (screwing), and two records are played on separate turntables one beat apart, using techniques like crossfading to repeat or emphasise certain words (chopping).

Notably, the originator of the slowed + reverb edits, Houston producer Slater, credits DJ Screw for influencing and inspiring his style, and Spotify’s “slowed & reverb” mix has “chopped and screwed” in the playlist description.

The first slowed + reverb edit on Youtube is Slater’s remix of rapper Lil’ Uzi’s 2018 track, “20 Minutes”, posted in early 2018. It transforms the lighthearted lyrics of “I said girl why you keep calling”, and “I know you want me because I got that dough” from a playful celebration of his newfound status and the “hoes” he can attract, into a melancholic reflection on fame and the emptiness it brings.

As the upbeat melody and beat turns into an almost mournful drawl, these slowed-down mixes draw out new details in the song we’ve never noticed before, as we, too, are prompted to reflect on our emotional state through a different lens.

This is especially useful in a breakup playlist, because heartbreak hurts, emotionally and physically.

Studies has shown that the emotional pain of a breakup shares the same neural pathways as the part of the brain that deals with physical pain, and that long-term distress of a heartbreak results in increased stress hormones like cortisol, which manifests in headaches, a sensation of your chest being squeezed, and stomach pain.

Slowed + reverb tracks tend to be moody and evocative of despair and loneliness, which seems like a counterintuitive remedy for a heartbreak — but, research reveals that listening to sad music can result in greater regulation of negative emotions, and evoke beneficial emotional effects like consolation.

The typical characteristics of sad music are minor chords, lower sound levels, and a slower pace, along with sad lyrics. However, the emotional experience of the song is unique to each listener, and what makes a song sad is ultimately subjective. Regardless, these songs provide us with a low-risk and socially acceptable outlet to explore difficult emotions that we’ve been socialised to keep to ourselves, helping us validate our feelings by prompting reflection.

Just as how the chopped and screwed genre became the go-to mix for cruising around in the humid Houston heat, slowed and reverb edits are the perfect soundtrack for us to bask in all our feels.

So add that slowed + reverb rendition of “Apocalypse” by Cigarettes After Sex into your playlist, and grab a box of tissues — you’re in for a long night.

Mix 2: Sped Up

On the other end of the spectrum, sped-up songs derive from the “Chipmunk Soul” sampling technique, whereby typically slower Soul and R&B songs are sped up to the traditional rap tempo. The sped-up genre also has links to Nightcore, a genre invented in 2001 by Norwegian DJ duo DJ TNT and DJ SOS, where a trance or eurodance track is taken and sped up by 20–35%.

Any good playlist has a sense of progression, and after a series of heart wrenching, slow + reverb renditions, it’s only right to end off with some sped-up bangers to help you get back on your feet, and dance like no one’s watching.

Studies have shown that listening to upbeat music evokes positive emotions like happiness and excitement, as they activate a significant and large part of the brain’s auditory cortices. Sped-up songs provide us with this dopamine burst in short, catchy snippets, by giving us the best bits of the song right away, further catering to our waning attention span.

These sped-up edits also align with the DIY ethos of its nightcore and chipmunk soul predecessors, with the relatively lax copyright policies of TikTok providing a sonic landscape rife for experimentation. While not all melancholic tracks can fully transform into upbeat anthems, they cast the sadness in a digestible, pitched up aesthetic that makes suffering kind of…vibey.

Look, we both know you’re not going to get over your heartbreak in the span of a playlist — so at least be sad in style, and get the dopamine hit of a fast track while you’re at it.

Uniquely Yours

The slowed + reverb and sped-up edits are genres that found footing on the Internet and TikTok, uniting people across the world in a weird, but comforting breakup community finding solace in a good beat.

The comment section for both edits are typically filled with praises for the mix, and imaginative scenarios of where these tracks would be played — from a chill, late night drive, to a glamorous Hollywood afterparty, we’re briefly united in our shared imagination, and the few minutes we take out of our day to ~ vibe ~ to this track.

Ultimately, music is a tool that helps give meaning to our struggles. Sad songs encapsulate entire relationships into catchy verses, and happy songs reassure us that we’ll get back on our feet eventually.

As much as I want to claim ownership of the perfect breakup playlist, your heartbreak is your own. So slowed + reverb or sped-up, take some time to reflect and wrap it up at your own speed.

Artist Message

Thanks for spending 2022 with Ribbit.FYI!

As a token of our appreciation, here’s Ribbert’s amateur attempt at a breakup playlist, sorted from slowed — normal — sped up, to help him
frog-et his lover: click here to get in your feelings.

Let us know how it works out!

References/ Bibliography

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2. Fallon, Rob. Tik Tok and Tick Tock: Shorter Attention Spans and The Consumer Market. Forbes (2022, August 5). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/08/05/tick-tock-and-tiktok-shorter-attention-spans-and-the-consumer-market/?sh=4afce8273ec8
3. Jefferson, J’na. DJ Screw’s Legacy Is Being Celebrated After TikTok Teens Tried Gentrifying His ‘Chopped and Screwed’ Style. The Root, (2020, August 14). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://www.theroot.com/dj-screws-legacy-is-being-celebrated-after-tiktok-teens-1844726412
4. Harbon, Lucy. Why is Tik Tok So Obsessed with Sped Up songs? Why Now, (2022, July). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://whynow.co.uk/read/tiktok-sped-up-songs
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6. Kross, Ethan et al. Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain. PNAS, (2011, March 28). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1102693108
7. Leight, Elias. Sped-Up Songs Are Taking Over TikTok and Driving Songs Up the Charts. Billboard (2022, October 11). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://www.billboard.com/pro/sped-up-songs-tiktok-streaming-charts/
8. Liu, Ying et al. Effects of Musical Tempo on Musicians’ and Non-musicians’ Emotional Experience When Listening to Music. Front. Psychol. (2018, 13 November). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02118.
9. Rapaport, Lisa. Adele’s Album Just Dropped: Why Her Sad Songs Make Us Feel So Good. Everyday Health. (2021, November 23). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/adeles-album-just-dropped-why-her-sad-songs-make-us-feel-so-good/
10. Schaefer, Abba. What Does Heartbreak Do to Your Health? Healthline (2016, March 16). Retrieved Dec 12, 2022. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-does-heartbreak-do-to-your-health#the-body
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