The method adjusts the playback speed of an audio recording such that the pitch of the playback is substantially the same as the pitch at the time of the original recording. Assuming tuned instruments were used for the recording, the method alters the playback speed of the recording to bring the pitch back to the original. The method should produce accurate results when correcting speed changes that were causing pitch errors less than or more than a semitone. The method can be used to correct pitch even when the first machine used for the recording had an incorrect recording speed. This method can be used to correct the speed of a nonmusical recording by referencing known frequencies or frequencies in the recording.