What's the deal with Nightcore? 

Songs you already know, but different

Author

aika vrdj
December 07, 2023

Nightcore is a musical genre born in the 21st century. However, nightcore is not like every other type of electronic music. You've heard this before, but this one's truly unique.

So, what is Nightcore? 

Unlike other music genres, Nightcore is not defined by its structure or particular sounds, like Hardstyle is known for its reverse kick, and Drum & Bass for the iconic Amen break for drums. Nightcore is a type of edit, a remix that DJs and producers can do to existing tracks to change their nature. 

To make a NIghtcore track, one must take an existing song, commonly a dance or pop song, and speed it up approximately 25-35%. Therefore, a track with an original speed of 128 Beats per Minute (BPM) is now a fast-paced 175-180 BPM song. 

Speed is not the only thing going on in Nightcore. Traditionally, in the time of vinyl records, playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM would result in a faster speed but also a change in pitch. The effect, when abused, results in the famous 'chipmunk' voice we all know and secretly hate. However, in moderation, the high pitch gives the original song a new, somewhat happier personality. Speeding up a song Nightcore style increases its pitch nearly five semitones. Female vocals, now high-pitched, resemble the voices of female anime characters, which might be why Nightcore has become part of the Japanese fandom or otaku culture.  

Where does Nightcore come from?

Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, at least, Nightcore was created by "Norwegian DJ duo Thomas S. Nilsen and Steffen Ojala Søderholm, known by their stage names DJ TNT and DJ SOS respectively," when they made a 13-track album with sped-up songs. They called their project Nigthcore, and the name stuck. 

How are Nightcore songs made?

Making a Nightcore edit is more challenging than speeding up a song. As you speed up the track, everything, and not only the vocals increase in pitch, so the bass sounds, and the kick get thinner and must be corrected; sometimes remade entirely!

The result is worth it. After all, millions of Nightcore fans play these sped-up songs, often while gaming. Nightcore is sometimes called gaming music!

But there's more. Nightcore songs are passion projects. As they are technically existing songs, even if modified, they are protected by copyright law and can't be used to make a profit. Nightcore exists because people love it, even though it has many haters. After all, nightcore is all about having fun and dancing to the songs you already know, but faster and harder. As its Norwegian inventors explained, "Our name, 'Nightcore, 'means that we are the core of the night, so you'll dance all night long."  

Nightcore to listen: