# Might a radio station play things pitched slightly higher? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326 "2017-10-19T22:35:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326/21 "2017-10-20T17:06:26Z")
3/4 of a half step is a huge shift, not relatively little. Note that if a station wanted to make a song play faster but not change the pitch (to achieve a brighter sound) at all, they could do that too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326/22 "2017-10-20T17:53:55Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > 3/4 of a half step is a huge shift, not relatively little. Nah, to me that’s relatively little. It’s not even a full semitone. Since I don’t have perfect pitch, I sure as shit can’t tell the difference unless I have other cues to go by (in this case, I think it was mostly the timbre of Sting’s voice and the slight rushed feeling.) If you gave me a piano and it was in tune with itself, but a half step sharp or flat, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. I mean, I know I wouldn’t be able to, because I’ve played on keyboards where I left the keyboard transposed a full step and didn’t realize it until days later. And I’ve played piano my whole life (since 8). And when I play guitar, sometimes it’s tuned to E, sometimes to E flat. If I forget, I need to check a reference note, because I can’t tell on its own which it’s tuned to. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326/23 "2017-10-20T19:04:06Z")
_432hz!_ (bleh) ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326/24 "2017-10-20T20:11:12Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > How do they feel about Werckmeister temperaments and Indian music? No idea. I’ll try and ask them. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326/25 "2017-10-20T20:45:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I don’t have perfect pitch, but I do have a good musical memory. Back in the 70s, this was standard for the hits, but not for songs that were no longer in the top 40. I remember hearing one of those and thinking it sounded wrong because I was used to the speeded up version. Yeeeeeees, boy did that ring some faint memory from the 70s. I can’t remember the album, but I definitely remember being annoyed about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/might-a-radio-station-play-things-pitched-slightly-higher/799326.md?page=1)