Reverse Audio: Play a Song Backwards
Reverse audio from any song, voice memo or sound effect and hear it play backwards: drop the file, press Reverse and download. It is the quickest way to try the reverse singing challenge, make a riser for a video intro or check a track for hidden backwards messages. The whole file is flipped in your browser, so nothing is uploaded, and MP3, M4A, WAV and FLAC files come back in the same format unless you choose another.
- Runs on your device
- Web Audio
- WebCodecs · GPU
- Works offline
Updated
Drop your audio files here
How to reverse audio
Step 1: Drop your audio files on the box above (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG and more).
Step 2: Leave Save as on Same as input, or pick MP3, M4A, WAV or FLAC.
Step 3: Press Reverse, listen on the result card and download.
Good to know
Formats
Batch-friendly: add many files and they are processed one after another — if one fails, the rest still finish.
How it runs
- Web Audio
- Audio is processed with the browser’s built-in Web Audio engine, sample-accurate and fast.
- Hardware video engine
- Video is decoded and encoded by your device’s media hardware through WebCodecs — usually several times faster than real time.
What reversing does to different sounds
Reversing plays every sample in the opposite order, so whatever fades out now fades in. That one change explains most of the strange, fascinating results.
| Sound | Forwards | Backwards |
|---|---|---|
| Piano or guitar note | Sharp attack, slow fade | Slow swell, sudden stop |
| Cymbal crash | Hit, then shimmer | Rising whoosh, the classic riser |
| Reverb and echo | Trail after the sound | Ghostly build-up before it |
| Speech | Familiar syllables | Unfamiliar, almost-language sounds |
How do I play a song backwards?
Drop the song here and press Reverse: the whole track is flipped from the last second to the first and saved as a new file, which any player can then play normally. Long songs are read backwards in six-second blocks rather than loaded all at once, so even a full album side works on a laptop.
The reverse singing challenge, step by step
- Cut a short line of a song, 3 to 6 seconds, with the MP3 cutter.
- Reverse it here and listen to the backwards version a few times.
- Record yourself imitating the backwards sound with the voice recorder.
- Reverse your recording here. If you copied it well, the original line comes out, forwards.
Why do reversed songs sound creepy?
Because our ears expect sounds to start sharply and die away. Reversed, every note swells up and then cuts off, reverb arrives before the sound that caused it, and speech turns into syllables that are almost but not quite language. Musicians have used that effect deliberately since the 1960s, and it is why people search reversed songs for “hidden messages”: the brain looks for words in near-speech.
Tips & troubleshooting
Reverse only part of a track: cut the part with the MP3 cutter, reverse it, then put the pieces back together with the audio joiner.
Reversing a video’s sound and picture together? Use reverse video.
For a riser before a drop, reverse a cymbal crash or a reverb tail and place it just before the beat.
Reverse Audio FAQ
How do I reverse a voice memo?
Save the memo to Files (Share › Save to Files on iPhone), open this page, drop the .m4a file and press Reverse. The reversed memo is saved as M4A, or choose MP3 under Save as.
Can I reverse just part of a track?
Not in one step. Cut the part with the MP3 cutter, reverse that clip, then join it back with the audio joiner in the right order.
Does reversing reduce quality?
The reversal itself is exact. With Same as input, MP3 and M4A files are re-encoded at a bitrate close to the original; WAV and FLAC stay lossless.
Is my audio uploaded?
No. Reversing happens in your browser on your device, so nothing is sent to a server.