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:''For the children's magazine, see Fast Forward (magazine)

"Fast forward" or "fast-forward" is a term used to describe the process of "forwarding" through a song or other tangible work at a speed faster than that at which the data would usually flow, often applied to stereo equipment and music media.

To reach a certain portion of a song, a person may fast-forward through a Cassette Tape by pressing a button (often labeled "Fast Forward" itself) on the Tape Deck containing the tape. The tape deck's motor activates at a speed higher than usual -- for example, double the standard 1-7/8 Ips playing speed of the 1/8" cassette tape -- and can be stopped by the end of the tape, the pressing of a "Stop" button on the deck (or another button mechanism disengaging the button), or simply lifting a finger from the "Fast Forward" button.

Fast-forwarding is the exact opposite of rewinding, in which tape, music, etc., are moved backward at a user's discretion. In either operation, because of sound distortion, volume is usually muted or severely reduced.

With the advent of inexpensive digital music media, fast-forwarding has most likely lost its past meaning related to the speed of a tape deck motor (or record turntable, or another device allowing fast-forwarding) and now may, especially as cassette tapes and other Analogue media are used less and less by younger generations, only apply to the operation of moving ahead in a recording's time frame -- accomplished today by simple clicking, dragging a slide image, or even via Speech-recognition Software .