I seem to remember a while back in one of the discussions about slow-down software that Windows Media Player can also do this. I searched the forum, but couldn’t find a reference. Does anyone have any experience with this? I’ve tried looking around MP for such a feature, but I can’t find it. Any ideas on how to find it, or am I just hallucinating? 
I have version 10.0 and I can slow down the speed by going to View>Enhancements>Play Speed settings. That causes a small part of the visualization window to show at the bottom which, when dragged up with the cursor, exposes the actual controls.
cool! Why didn’t I see this the first time? 
I ask myself the same.
I use the media player more than slowdowner or any of the other software solutions. Its only drawback is that you cannot adjust the pitch. I don’t usually need to do that though. Some have said that it skips on them. I have never had that problem.
Ron
I used to like the WMP speed function, but I’ve changed my mind.
Media Player won’t slow down all file types, won’t adjust pitch, has a crumby algorythm that gibbles up the sound quality, and won’t let you loop sections to really work on them. The Amazing Slowdowner does all this, with the added advantage of being Microsoft-free. The free version is great - just burn a disc with only two songs, or only learn the first reel of a set (built-in limitations in the free software) - of shell out a few bucks for the full version. It really is made with musicians in mind.
Thanks Ten for the MP tip. I’ll try it out tonight.
Hi Ten (and everyone else),
I found the “Play Speed Settings” in the enhancements, but I can’t seem to get it out of “normal” mode. Clicking on slow/normal/fast does nothing. Clicking the “snap slider” on/off doesn’t get anything to appear on the speed bar to change the tempo. Neither does clicking on the numbers. What am I missing?
Unfortunately, there appears to be no help functionality with my Win MP to look this up.
Any more helpful ideas?
Audacity is a free (which is good), open-sourced (which is even better) multitrack recording studio.
It has the slow-down / speed-up functions described, also pitch control, makes it very easy to record yourself along with the track…very very good software.
The only catch is if working from a CD, you’ll need to rip the track first. That’s not a big deal, but I thought I should point it out.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net
–James
I agree with peeplj, Audacity works well and is generally more useful. I’ve not had the problem with Media Player you describe, however. I found the following on the help screens for Media Player:
To play content at variable speeds
Play content.
On the View menu, point to Enhancements, and then click Play Speed Settings.
In the Enhancements pane, move the Play Speed slider to the speed at which you want to play the content, or click the Slow, Normal, or Fast links.
Notes
Not all content can be played at variable speeds.
To maintain audio and video fidelity when playing content slower or faster than normal, select play speeds between 0.5 and 2.0. This feature, known as time expansion and time compression, is only supported for files with the extensions .wma, .wmv, .wm, .mp3, or .asf. In addition, it may not be available when playing streaming or progressively downloaded media.
To select speeds between the play speed marks, clear the Snap slider to common speeds check box.
The timecode indicator is only active when playing files in Windows Media Format that include Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) timecode information. The timecode indicator displays the progress of the file in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames (hh:mm:ss:ff).
Maybe the format of the file you’re trying to slow down is not supported as suggested in the help article. Try it on a mp3 file if that’s not what you’ve tried already.
ahh, light finally dawns on marble head (as we’d say 'round these parts). I was trying to manipulate the speed from a CD, and your comment about MP3 format, made me realize I was using the wrong media. Once I ripped the CD onto my hard drive, I was able to use MS WP to change the speed. I can now play along with Michael McGoldrick at about 30% of his tempo. Maybe I’ll get up to 60% in a couple years…
Thanks to all for your help.
I know the feeling. I just got an O’Brien 3-piece Eb whistle, so Flook’s Eb Reels set should be a snap, right? I’m up to 50% speed, and progress is stalled untill I get a finger transplant 
.
Serves me right for all those years playing big, slow instruments. Nobody ever asks you to play The Boy’s Lament for his Dragon at tempo di scalded cat on contra clarinet.