Auto-Tune 8 World Standard Professional Pitch and Time Correction Owner’s Manual
©2014 Antares Audio Technologies. All rights reserved. Certified Isinglass-free.™ All trademarks are property of their respective owners. www.antarestech.com v 2.
The Obligatory Legal Mumbo-Jumbo The Antares Auto-Tune 8 software and this User’s Manual are protected by copyright law. Making copies, adaptations, or derivative works without the prior written authorization of Antares Audio Technologies, is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law. Auto-Tune 8 License Agreement Antares Audio Technologies grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use Auto-Tune 8 under the terms and conditions stated in this agreement.
Term of the Agreement This agreement is effective until terminated by you or Antares. You may terminate the agreement at any time by notifying Antares and destroying all copies of the manual, and erasing Auto-Tune 8 from all machinereadable media, whether on-line or on archival copies. In the event of breach of any of the terms of this agreement, you shall pay the attorney’s fees of Antares that are reasonably necessary to enforce the agreement plus resulting damages.
Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Getting Started What’s New in Auto-Tune 8 Installing and Authorizing Technical Support 3 5 5 Introducing Auto-Tune 8 Some background So what exactly is Auto-Tune 8? A little bit about pitch How Auto-Tune 8 detects pitch How Auto-Tune 8 corrects pitch Automatic Mode Graphical Mode Pitch Shifting and Formant Correction Time Shifting and Correction 6 6 6 7 8 8 11 12 13 Auto-Tune 8 Controls Common Controls The Options Dialog Automatic Mode Controls Graphical Mode Co
vi Chapter 4 Auto-Tune 8 Tutorials Tutorial 1: Automatic Mode Basics Tutorial 2: Flex-Tune Tutorial 3: Targeting Ignores Vibrato Function Tutorial 4: Natural Vibrato Function Tutorial 5: Transpose and Formant Control Tutorial 6: Graphical Mode Basics Tutorial 7: Precision Tutorial 8: Make Curve Function Tutorial 9: Import Auto Function Tutorial 10: Make Notes Function Tutorial 11: Time: Error Correction Tutorial 12: Time: Creative Editing 64 66 66 67 68 68 70 70 72 74 76 78 Chapter 5 The Auto-Tune Voca
1 Welcome! On behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies, we’d like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase Auto-Tune 8, the latest (and indisputably greatest) generation of the worldwide standard in professional pitch and time correction and manipulation. Before you proceed any farther, we’d like to strongly encourage you to register and authorize your copy of Auto-Tune 8. (You can skip ahead to the Authorization and Installation instructions on page 5. We’ll wait.
2
3 1: Getting Started If you are new to Auto-Tune, we encourage you to read this manual and work through the tutorials in Chapter 4. It’s the quickest way to become familiar with what Auto-Tune 8 does and how it does it. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Auto-Tune, you will find that most of what you’re already doing will continue to work in Auto-Tune 8, only better. To get up to speed quickly, just check out the new feature overview below and then refer to related sections of in Chapter 3.
4 Graphical Mode Editing Tools Active During Playback For those XIP prefer editing on the fly or with looped segments, Auto-Tune 8’s editing tools are now active during playback, so you never haWF to stop and restart just to hear the results of an edit. Audio Feedback of Note Object Pitch Auto-Tune’s Note mode was already the easiest way to re-pitch already recorded melodies.
5 Installing Auto-Tune 8 Any unique instructions for installing AutoTune 8 for your specific host or plug-in format are located in the Auto-Tune 8 Read Me file that accompanies the plug-in. This file may also contain any last-minute Auto-Tune 8 information that didn’t make it into this manual. Auto-Tune 8 is designed to work with a wide variety of digital audio applications. Please refer to your host application’s user manual for more information on installing and using plug-ins.
6 2: Introducing Auto-Tune 8 Some background In 1997, Antares Audio Technologies first introduced the ground-breaking Auto-Tune Pitch Correcting Plug-In. Auto-Tune was a tool that actually corrected the pitch of vocals and other solo instruments, in real time, without distortion or artifacts, while preserving all of the expressive nuance of the original performance. Recording Magazine called Auto-Tune the “holy grail of recording.
7 vibrating element (vocal chords, a string, an air column, etc.). The sound that is thus generated can be graphically represented as a waveform (a graph of the sound’s pressure over time) that is periodic. This means that each cycle of waveform repeats itself fairly exactly, as in the periodic waveform shown in the diagram below: Because of its periodic nature, this sound’s pitch can be easily identified and processed by Auto-Tune 8. Other sounds are more complex.
8 repetitions of the waveform. Divide this time into one, and you have the frequency in Hertz. Auto-Tune 8 does exactly this: It looks for a periodically repeating waveform and calculates the time interval between repetitions. The pitch detection algorithm in Auto-Tune 8 is virtually instantaneous. It can recognize the repetition in a periodic sound within a few cycles. This usually occurs before the sound has sufficient amplitude to be heard.
9 Retune Speed Auto-Tune 8 also gives you control over how rapidly, in time, the pitch adjustment is made toward the scale tone. This is set with the Retune Speed control (see Chapter 3 for more details). Fast Speed settings are appropriate for short duration notes and for mechanical instruments, like oboe or clarinet, whose pitch typically changes almost instantly. A fast enough setting will also minimize or completely remove a vibrato, as well as produce the iconic Auto-Tune Vocal effect.
10 In the original performance, we can see that although the final note should be centered around D, the vocalist allowed the tail of the note to fall nearly three semitones flat. The “after” plot is the result of passing this phrase through Auto-Tune 8’s Automatic Mode programmed to a D Major Scale (with C# and B set to ”Remove”) and a Retune Speed setting of 25. That Retune Speed causes the pitch center to be moved to D, while still retaining the vibrato and general shape of the expressive gestures.
11 Graphical Mode The Graphical Mode is similar to the Automatic Mode in that it also continuously tracks the pitch of the incoming sound and modifies the output pitch to be closer to a desired pitch. But in the Graphical Mode, the desired pitch is not a predefined scale tone, but rather is a graphical representation of your desired pitch (called a “correction object”).
12 The horizontal grid lines (or Lanes, when Show Lanes in selected) represent scale pitches. The key annotation, scale name, and scale detune value are those defined by the common area controls at the top of the interface. They do not affect the computations of the Graphical Mode in any way. They are merely a reference to guide you in setting the target pitches.
13 Although you can also accomplish overall transposition in Graphical Mode by selecting all the correction objects in your track and manually moving them up or down, in most cases, using the Transpose function will provide superior results. Formant Correction A sound’s ”formants” are the combined acoustic resonances that result from the physical structure of whatever is producing the sound. In the case of a human voice, air from your lungs is forced through your vocal chords, causing them to vibrate.
14 The Move Region tool is designed for moving notes, words, or phrases while preserving the timing of the moved element. As with the Move Point tool, you first select a range of audio and then select the region within that selection that you want to move and move it forward or back in time, again compressing and expanding the audio around it. Both tools are context sensitive. That is, they change function (from selection to moving, for example) depending on what lies beneath them on the screen.
15 3: Auto-Tune 8 Controls This chapter is a reference for all of the controls used in the Auto-Tune 8 interface. How these controls are used together for pitch correction and time shifting is demonstrated in Chapter 4, Auto-Tune 8 Tutorial. Continuous Controls Auto-Tune 8’s continuous controls are represented graphically as virtual knobs. Depending on your preference, you can control knobs by vertical, horizontal or radial mouse movement. Set your preference in the Options dialog described below.
16 If, on the other hand, your signal is noisy or not well-isolated (as might be more common in a live performance situation) or you are dealing with a particularly breathy or guttural voice, it may be necessary to allow more signal variation (higher Tracking numbers). However, under these circumstances tracking is not guaranteed and a too “relaxed” setting may introduce distortion and popping.
17 Auto-Tune 8 comes with 29 preprogrammed scales. The first three equal-tempered scales, chromatic, major, and minor, are the ubiquitous scales typically found in Western tonal music. The other scales are historical, ethnic, and micro-tonal scales. An in-depth discussion of these scales and their history is beyond the scope of this manual. The interested reader will find more information in Tuning In — Micro-tonality In Electronic Music by Scott R. Wilkinson, published by Hal Leonard Books.
18 correction will result in the “munchkinization” effect familiar from tape speed changing and early digital sampling. (Of course, if singing chipmunks are what you’re going for, leave Formant Correction off.) The default Transpose setting is 0 semitones (i.e., no transposition). Double-clicking or Command (Mac)/Control (PC) clicking the Transpose knob will reset it to that value. Throat Length As mentioned above, the shape of a singer’s throat is a prime contributor to their vocal character.
19 AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Over the very small intervals usually associated with basic pitch correction, formant shifting is essentially inaudible and AutoTune’s classic pitch adjustment technology still provides the optimum results. Formant Correction is designed to be used with overall transposition or on tracks where notes are shifted by large intervals. Correction Mode Click the appropriate button to select either Automatic or Graphical Mode. The maximum buffer length is 14,400 seconds (i.e., 4 hours).
20 CIRCULAR: Click any where around the circumference of the knob, press and hold the left mouse button and “rotate” the knob in the desired direction. The current value of the knob’s parameter appears in its associated numeric display. FOLLOW HOST: Some hosts also allow you to select a knob control method and pass that selection on to plug-ins. If yours does, selecting Follow Host will automatically set Auto-Tune 8’s Knob Control to the method selected in your host.
21 SMOOTH SCROLLING DELAY We have found that some hosts result in smoother smooth scrolling than others. If you have selected Smooth Scrolling and the display does not scroll smoothly (I.e., it jerks or jumps), changing the Smooth Scrolling Delay value can often help. DEFAULT RETUNE SPEEDS Since Auto-Tune 8 allows independent Retune Speeds for each correction object, we’ve provided the ability to set custom default Retune Speeds for each of the three object types: Lines, Curves and Notes.
22 Other Controls Reset Internal Cock Nudge Up Nudge Down Zoom In Horizontal Zoom Out Horizontal Zoom In Vertical Zoom Out Vertical Adjust Retune Speed Faster Adjust Retune Speed Slower Adjust Vibrato Depth More Adjust Vibrato Depth Less Adjust Throat Length Longer Adjust Throat Length Shorter SAVE AS DEFAULT When the “Save as default” box is checked, any changes you make to the various Options settings are saved as defaults for all future instances of Auto-Tune 8.
23 The default Retune Speed value is 20. Doubleclicking or Command (Mac)/Control (PC) clicking the Retune Speed knob will reset it to that value. Correction Style The Correction Style control lets you select either the classic Auto-Tunestyle pitch correction or our new Flex-Tune pitch correction technology, which is designed to provide pitch correction while also preserving a singer’s expressive vocal gestures intact.
24 Natural Vibrato The Natural Vibrato function allows realtime modification (either increase or decrease) of the depth of any vibrato present in the input audio while preserving the original shape and character of the vibrato. This function uses the same Stochastic Optimal Linear Estimation Theory as the Targeting Ignores Vibrato function (described below) to differentiate between vibrato and intended pitch changes, adjusting the vibrato depth while leaving intended pitch changes intact.
25 NOTE: Although Auto-Tune 8 allows setting scale note behaviors in individual octaves, any edits made via the Edit Scale Display will affect all octaves. To edit notes in individual octaves, use the Virtual Keyboard. Bypass The Edit Scale Display The Edit Scale Display is used to create custom scales or to modify any of the preset scales selected in the Scale popup. Edits made using this display are associated with each scale. That is, each scale retains its own edits independent of the other scales.
26 Set All CORRECTED BY AUTO-TUNE 8 Clicking this button sets all notes in the current scale to Scale Notes in all octaves. This function is useful as a Reset button to instantly erase all previous Remove and/or Bypass settings and reset an edited scale to its default state. ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE Remove All D3 C#3 Clicking this button sets all notes in the current scale to Remove in all octaves. B2 10.0 10.5 11.
27 The Virtual Keyboard The Virtual Keyboard displays Auto-Tune 8’s pitch detection range and acts as a real-time display of the currently detected pitch, a display of the current Scale settings, and as a tool for setting target note behaviors in specific octaves. IMPORTANT NOTE: The keyboard is only active for scales with exactly twelve notes. It will be grayed out (hence inactive) when any other scale is selected.
28 NOTE: Pressing and holding the Shift key on your keyboard will temporarily toggle the Keyboard Mode. A TIP: The main purpose of the Momentary mode is to allow you to deal easily with specific individual events in a performance. However, you can also use it to “play” the target melody notes in real time.
29 Automatic Mode MIDI Functions Auto-Tune 8 provides two functions that require it to receive MIDI data from the host application. Depending on your intent, this data could come in real time from a MIDI controller (typically a keyboard) or from a prerecorded MIDI sequencer track. Refer to your host application’s manual for details on how to route MIDI to Auto-Tune 8.
30 If you happen to have made an error during note entry, or want to try again for any other reason, simply click the Learn Scale From MIDI button and start the process again. NOTE: When you start the process by pressing the Learn Scale From MIDI button, all notes are first Removed from the chromatic scale in preparation for adding just the notes you play. If you then press the Learn Scale From MIDI button again without playing any notes, you will be left with a chromatic scale with all notes removed.
31 Create Vibrato Functions The controls are: Shape Selects the shape of the vibrato. The choices are: NO VIBRATO Pretty self-explanatory. SINE WAVE Changes smoothly from minimum to maximum and back again. The most common choice for a conventional vibrato. SQUARE Jumps to maximum where it spends 50% of the cycle and then jumps to minimum for the remaining 50% of the cycle. The controls in this section are designed to add a synthesized vibrato to the input.
32 Onset Rate Sets the amount of time (in msec) between the end of the Onset Delay (set above) and the point at which the vibrato reaches the full Amounts set in the Pitch, Amplitude and Formant Amount settings. The range is from 0 to 1500ms (1.5 seconds). The default value is 500ms. Double-clicking or Command (Mac)/ Control (PC) clicking the knob will reset it to that value. Onset Example: As an example of the above parameters, assume an Onset Delay of 1000ms and an Onset Rate of 750ms.
33 The Pitch Change Meter The Pitch Change Amount Indicator The Pitch Change Indicator shows you how much the pitch is being changed, measured in cents (100 cents = one semitone). For example, if the indicator bar has moved to the left to -50, it indicates that the input pitch is 50 cents too sharp and Auto-Tune 8 is lowering the pitch by 50 cents to bring the input back to the desired pitch.
34 Graphical Mode Controls The Clock Controls Sync to host transport (host dependent) If your host provides valid time information, once you have tracked audio and created correction objects (see below), Auto-Tune 8 will maintain sync with the host program, allowing you to move around in your track at will. Additionally, if your host does not provide valid time information or does not strictly adhere to its plug-in format specification, sync problems could ensue.
35 Time Display Mode Use this control to display the timeline labels in the Pitch Graph Display in either bars and beats (as defined by your host’s tempo), or absolute time in hours, minutes, seconds, and fractions of seconds. NOTE: If you select Bars + Beats, you will only see the timeline labels for regions where you have tracked pitch or pitch and time.
36 Pitch Tracking and Correction Objects Track Pitch The Track Pitch function is used to detect the pitch of the audio to be processed so that it can be displayed on the Pitch Graph Display. NOTE: If you will only be correcting the pitch of your vocal and will not be editing the time, you need only use the Track Pitch function as described below.
37 Make Curve Import Auto Additionally, green output pitch curves are created that represent the exact pitches output at the currently selected Retune Speed. If you select the correction curve, move it, and adjust the Retune Speed, you will see the green output curve change in real time to reflect the changing Retune Speed. Pressing the Import Auto button causes blue target pitch contour objects (curves for short) to be created from the red input pitch contour data.
38 If you aren’t satisfied with the results of the Import Auto function, simply switch to Automatic Mode, modify any of the settings as desired, and then return to Graphical Mode and click Import Auto again. NOTE: In addition to its use as a Graphical Mode correction tool, the Import Auto function can also be used to provide an informative visual representation of the results of Automatic Mode settings.
39 NOTE: If prior to clicking the Make Notes button, a range of time has been already selected by using the I-Beam Tool, the Make Notes function will apply only in the selected time range. Notes also display the audio’s envelope contour over the Note’s duration and a green output pitch curve based on the currently selected Retune Speed. NOTE: The Retune Speed behavior for Notes is a bit different from that of the other correction objects.
40 When Number of Note Objects is set to the “Less” end of its range: As you might imagine, when Number of Note Objects is set to intermediate values, the results fall somewhere between these two extremes. A TIP: As good as Auto-Tune 8’s analysis capabilities are, there may nonetheless be occasional situations in which its creation of Notes is not exactly what you want. In those cases, you can use the editing tools described later in this chapter to quickly and easily modify any errant Notes.
41 Whenever you select a single correction object, the Retune Speed Control will become active and its data display will show the object’s current Retune Speed. If you select multiple objects with different Retune Speeds, the Retune Speed control will move to a value that is an average of the Retune Speeds of all of the selected objects.
42 Throat Length Adjust To give you maximum control over the timbre of your vocal tracks, the Throat Length Adjust control lets you independently set the throat length of each individual correction object (Curve, Line or Note). While the overall Throat Length for your track is still set by the master Throat Length control in the Common Controls section, each correction object can have its own independent adjustment (either longer or shorter) as desired.
43 In practice, if your MIDI file is a single melody line that has been carefully played or programmed such that no two notes overlap, everything will be as you expect. If notes overlap, you may or may not get exactly the result you want. If not, simply edit the MIDI data (or play more precisely). If your MIDI file is polyphonic, you’re likely to get pretty wacky results. If wacky isn’t what you’re looking for, it’s probably better not to do that.
44 The Pitch and Envelope Graph Displays The Pitch Graph Display The Pitch Graph displays the pitch contour of the audio to be processed as well as the pitch correction objects that you create and a plot of the exact output pitch based on each object’s current Retune Speed. Optionally, the amplitude envelope of the displayed audio can be displayed as a background element of the graph.
45 horizontal lanes that extend from the left-hand “keys” and are tinted to differentiate the sharps and/or flats. Note objects snap neatly into these lanes. They are particularly useful when you will be using Note objects to shift the pitch of individual notes. NOTE: The Show Lanes option is only available when the Major, Minor or Chromatic scales are selected. In all other cases, the Show Lanes button will be disabled. NOTE: The horizontal scale buttons always control the Pitch Graph.
46 Auto Scroll The Envelope Graph Display The Envelope Graph Display is visible whenever “SHOW ENVELOPE GRAPH” is checked in the Options window. The Envelope Graph displays the amplitude (loudness) envelope of the sound whose pitch is shown in the Pitch Graph. Additionally, its central horizontal axis will display red in any range in which time has been tracked.
47 Editing Tools Editing Modality With Auto-Tune 8, you are free to use the graphical editing functions while correcting pitch. This can be particularly useful if you edit specific sections while looping them, as you can immediately hear the results of an edit without having to stop and restart the transport. You can, for example: • • • • Draw new correction objects while you are correcting pitch.
48 If you have enabled Snap To Note mode (see below), each segment will automatically snap to the nearest semitone. Pressing the Shift key on your keyboard while drawing a line temporarily toggles the state of the Snap To Line button. I.e., if Snap To Note mode is not enabled, pressing Shift will enable it for as long as Shift is pressed. Conversely, if Snap To Note mode is enabled, pressing Shift will disable it for as long as Shift is pressed.
49 MANIPULATING LINES AND CURVES Clicking on the background of the Pitch Graph and dragging horizontally selects objects’ anchor points. Shift-clicking extends the selection. Dragging beyond the Pitch Graph boundaries automatically scrolls the graph. Moving the Arrow Tool over a Line or Curve causes the cursor to change to the object cursor (a horizontal bar).
50 A TIP: When moving a Note with Snap To Note off, you can refer to the Object Pitch Display to determine the Note’s exact pitch at any position. If “PLAY AUDIO FOR SELECTED NOTE OBJECT” is checked, you will also hear the pitch of the note as you move it. When the cursor is near either end of a note, the length adjustment cursor (horizontal left and right arrows) will be displayed.
51 When the Magnifying Glass cursor is displaying the default “+”, clicking the Magnifying Glass anywhere in the pitch display will increase the display’s horizontal and vertical zoom factors one step (if possible). Pressing Option(Mac)/Alt(PC) will cause the cursor to change to “-”. In this state, clicking anywhere in the pitch display will decrease the display’s horizontal and vertical zoom factors one step (if possible).
52 The Undo Button The Cut And Copy Buttons The Undo button becomes active whenever you move or modify a target pitch contour object. Clicking the Undo button once will undo the most recent change. If you have made multiple changes, you can continue to click Undo to undo additional changes up to the limit that you set in the Options dialog. The Cut and Copy buttons become active whenever one or more correction objects are selected. Cut removes selected objects.
53 The Nudge Buttons The Nudge buttons allow you to move all currently selected correction objects up or down in precise one-pixel increments. NOTE: If Snap To Note mode is enabled, Note objects can not be nudged. If you want to nudge a Note object, first turn off Snap To Note. After nudging the Note to its new pitch, you can re-engage Snap To Note.
54 Time Shifting Overview As mentioned back in Chapter 2, in order to do its time shifting magic, Auto-Tune 8 must first create a copy of any audio you wish to edit. As you might imagine, these audio files can be quite large. Unlike the pitch data generated by the traditional Track Pitch function, which is always stored with the instances of Auto-Tune in your session, the audio recorded for time shifting by the Track Pitch + Time function is saved as one or more separate files elsewhere on your computer.
55 When performing time compression, AutoTune 8 needs to process the audio at faster than real time. At the limit of 10:1, audio must be processed at ten times it’s normal rate.
56 YET ANOTHER NOTE: Be cautious about changing the Tracking value after performing the Track Pitch + Time function. Auto-Tune 8 uses the Tracking setting during both the Track Pitch + Time function and while correcting pitch. Changing the Tracking setting after Tracking Pitch + TIme, but before correcting, may result in unpredictable pitch modifications or strange artifacts.
57 Time Control Functions The Time Control section provides time edit control functions that are independent of the pitch edit controls described earlier. The Enable Button The Enable function is an easy way to quickly compare the effect of all of your current time edits to your original audio. When this button is blue, time shifting is active. You will hear all of your current edits and are free to make new edits. When it is gray, time shifting is inactive.
58 • A note, word, or phrase that both begins and ends at the correct times, but whose internal articulation you would like to edit. Using the Move Point Tool is a two step process: 1. Select the audio range you wish to operate on. 2. Select the point within that range that you want to shift and move it forward or backward as desired.
59 The Move Region Tool • The Move Region tool is designed for moving notes, words, or phrases in their entirety while preserving the timing of the moved element. NOTE: For clarity, in the following descriptions, a “range” is defined as the overall range of audio that you will be working with, while a “region” refers to the audio within that range that you wish to move. As with the Move Point Tool, you first select a range of audio.
60 2. When you place the Move Region Tool cursor within the range selected in step 1, it will turn into the double I-Beam Select Region cursor. Use the Move Region Tool to select the region that you wish to move. 3. When you place the Move Region Tool cursor within the region selected in step 2, it will turn into the Move Region cursor. Click and hold anywhere within the selected region and move it forward or backward in time as desired.
61 Before Tracking any Audio If you instantiate Auto-Tune 8 on a track and use the Track Pitch + Time function to track some audio, a data folder for that instance will be automatically created at the default location for your computer and all data files created by that instance will be written to that folder. If that works for you (as it usually will), you needn’t take any other action. Just track and edit.
62 The symptoms of this situation are pretty unmistakable. When you play your track, you will hear audio from another place in the track, from another track, or from an entirely different session. To correct the problem, click the “Find Data Folder…” button, dismiss the resulting alert, and navigate to the correct data folder. Move Data Files… To move the folder containing the data files to a new location: • • • Click the “Move Data Files…” button.
63 If There’s a Problem As mentioned above, if Auto-Tune 8 is unable to find previously recorded audio data at the location it expects, the Data File Management button will flash red to alert you to this problem. If this happens, click the button and you will see something like this: In any of these cases, the solution is to point Auto-Tune 8 at the correct folder, wherever it is and whatever it’s currently named. To do that: • • • Click the Find Data Folder… button. A navigation window will appear.
64 4: Auto-Tune 8 Tutorials This chapter introduces you to how Auto-Tune 8 works by guiding you through a number of brief tutorials. These tutorials make use of a number of audio files. (We will assume that you are familiar with loading audio files into your host application.) If you purchased a packaged version of Auto-Tune 8, your will find the required files in the “Tutorial Audio” folder on the installation DVD.
65 To continue: 1. Set the Retune Speed to about 30. 2. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again. Compare the 30 setting to the 0 setting. 3. Try various other Speed settings. The setting of 0 is fast: Auto-Tune 8 makes instantaneous pitch changes. The setting of 30 is slower. Auto-Tune 8 makes gradual pitch changes. This parameter controls how rapidly the pitch correction is applied to the incoming pitch. The units are milliseconds.
66 Tutorial 2: Flex-Tune This tutorial will guide you through the use of Flex-Tune using the same “A2-A3-A2 sweep” file. Begin the tutorial by doing the following (if you haven’t already from the previous tutorial): 1. Load or import “A2-A3-A2 sweep” into a track of your host program. 2. Set up Auto-Tune 8 to be an insert effect on that track. 3. Set Auto-Tune 8 to Automatic Mode. 4. Set the Key to “A” and the Scale to “Major.” 5. Set the Retune Speed to zero. 6. Set the Correction Style to 0 (Classic). 7.
67 9. Now, leaving all other settings the same, click Targeting Ignores Vibrato. With Targeting Ignores Vibrato engaged, AutoTune 8’s vibrato identification algorithm recognizes the pitch excursions as vibrato and continues to use “G” as the target pitch. Next, we’ll use Graphical Mode for a dramatic graphic demonstration of the effect of Targeting Ignores Vibrato: 1. Still using “wide_vibrato,” set up AutoTune 8 as described in Steps 1-5 above. 2. Set Retune Speed to 0. 3.
68 Tutorial 5: Transpose and Formant Control Tutorial 6: Graphical Mode Basics This tutorial will demonstrate Auto-Tune 8’s pitch shifting, formant correction and throat modeling capabilities. We will use the “hidin_ vocal.wav” and “hidin_accomp. wav” audio files This tutorial will introduce you to the basic Graphical Mode functions, again using the “A2-A3-A2 sweep” file from Tutorial 1. Begin the tutorial by doing the following: 1. Load or import the audio files onto two tracks in your host program.
69 To erase the last point entered, press on the keyboard (you can press repeatedly to erase back to the first anchor point). When done, double-click the last point or press on the keyboard. A green output curve will appear reflecting the current default Line Retune Speed. Now that we have some correction objects on the Pitch Graph Display, this would be a good time to become familiar with the functions of the Arrow and Scissors Tools.
70 Tutorial 7: Precision Tutorial 8: Make Curve Function This tutorial is actually more of a demonstration to show the extraordinary precision with which Auto-Tune 8 can track and correct intonation problems. If this doesn’t sound interesting, feel free to proceed to Tutorial 8 below. This tutorial will introduce you to the Make Curve function. The Make Curve function gives you precise control over pitch accuracy and inflection.
71 7. Click the Make Curve button. Auto-Tune 8 will compute a new blue curve object from the existing pitch data as well as a green output curve that reflects the default Curve Retune Speed. (The new curves may be difficult to see at first because they may exactly overlay the red curve.) Click the I-Beam Tool on the background of the Pitch Graph to cancel the area selection. 1. Click “Select All” and then click “Cut” to delete the curves you created in the steps above. 2.
72 As this tutorial has demonstrated, the following two techniques provide successful approaches to Graphical Mode pitch correction: • • The first technique uses the Make Curve button to create a curve of the existing pitch, allowing you to drag that curve up or down, or stretch it by dragging one end vertically. The Retune Speed can then be set very fast (0 to 5).
73 8. Click the Import Auto button. Auto-Tune 8 will compute a new blue curve object from the existing pitch data as well as a green output curve: PITCH DRAWN TO NEIGHBORING NOTES Assuming that this entire phrase should be centered around E3, there are several problem spots, indicated above, where the pitch is being incorrectly adjusted towards neighboring tones. 9.
74 Tutorial 10: Make Notes Function At this point, it should look like this: This tutorial will help you become familiar with Auto-Tune 8’s Notes correction objects and how they are used for pitch correction and selective pitch shifting. For this tutorial, we will use the “dont_give_ up_ vocal.wav” and “dont_give_up_accomp. wav” audio files. 1. Load or import the audio files onto two tracks in your host program. 2. Set up Auto-Tune 8 to be an insert effect on “dont_give_up_ vocal.
75 The section should now look something like this: We’ll continue with an example of selective pitch shifting. 11. Ensure that Formant Correction is engaged. With the Arrow tool still selected, move the cursor over the middle of the C#3 note and notice that it turns into the pitch shift cursor (little vertical up-and-down arrows). Click on the note and drag it up one semitone to D3. Play the file and listen to the melodic change.
76 Tutorial 11: Time: Error Correction In this tutorial we’ll use Auto-Tune 8’s Move Point and Move Region functions to correct timing errors in a lead vocal track. While you can use Auto-Tune 8’s bars and beats scale as a reference for correction, we’ve also included a harmony track with proper timing that will let you try correcting by ear. 8. Use the Move Region tool to select the region to be moved.
77 The Move Point Tool: Adjusting an Ending Moving on in the track, we’ll use the Move Point Tool to correct a phrase that starts at the right point but ends late. 1. Adjust the zoom and scroll controls to focus on bars 3 through 5. Play the track and note that the end of the second phrase (the end of the word “illusion), is sustained too long. The Move Point Tool: Adjusting an Internal Syllable For our final example, we’ll use the Move Point Tool to correct a syllable in the middle of a word. 1.
78 Tutorial 12: Time: Creative Editing In this tutorial we’ll use Auto-Tune 8’s Move Region function for a creative, rather than corrective, purpose. 1. Load or import the audio file “Bass_riff” (a two-bar bass line) into a track of your host and set your host’s tempo to 110 BPM. Listen to the track to become familiar with it. We’re going to use the Move Region tool to move the second note of the pattern and change the feel of the bass line. 8.
79 Your display should now look like this: Play back your track and note the new feel. You can click the Time Control Enable button to A/B the original and time shifted versions. Also note how Auto-Tune 8’s time shifting algorithm has turned the small bit of audio at the end of the moved A# into a naturalsounding decay leading into the following C.
80 5: The Auto-Tune Vocal Effect In addition to its adoption as the worldwide standard in professional pitch correction, Auto-Tune has also gained renown as the tool of choice for what has become one of the signature vocal sounds of our time. First heard on Cher’s 1998 mega-hit “Believe,” variations of the effect have gone on to appear on songs from a huge variety of artists. Since there seems to be a lot of mythology about how it’s accomplished, we thought we’d provide the official Antares version here.
81 Graphical Mode Using Auto-Tune 8’s graphical Note Objects will give you the ultimate control over the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect. 1. Since you want all of your notes quantized, start by opening the Options dialog and setting the default Notes Retune Speed to 0. 2. Unless you will using something other than a standard diatonic scale, turn on Show Lanes mode. 3. Track your audio. 4. Click the Make Notes button.
82 6: The Auto-Tune 8 Scales The following are brief descriptions of the scales available in Auto-Tune 8: Modern Equal Temperament These first three equal-tempered scales are the ubiquitous scales typically found in Western tonal music: Major: a seven-tone equal tempered major scale. Minor: a seven-tone equal tempered minor scale. Equal Tempered chromatic: a twelve-tone equal tempered chromatic scale. Historical Tunings Ling Lun: a twelve-tone scale dating from 2700 B.C. China.
83 Contemporary Tunings Equal tempered scales with a large number of tones are typically used to play common tonal harmony with greater purity of intervals and chords. The typical approach is to analyze a passage (or less) of music and select tones from a scale that will best approximate the desired pure intervals. 19 Tone: This scale has greater purity of minor thirds and major thirds (and conversely, minor and major sixths) than twelve-tone equal temperament.
84 Index A Adjust Vibrato 41 All/Tie Buttons 46 Amplitude Amount 32 Antares Audio Technologies ii Arrow Tool 48 Audio Feedback of Note Object Pitch 4 Authorizing Auto-Tune 8 5 Automatic Mode 8 Basics 64 Automatic Mode Controls 22 Create Vibrato Functions 31 Edit Scale Display 25 MIDI Functions 29 Pitch Change Meter 33 Pitch Correction Functions 22 Sample Rate Display 28 Virtual Keyboard 27 Automatic Mode MIDI Functions 29 Automatic Update Notification 4 Auto Scroll 46 Auto-Tune Vocal Effect 80 How to do i
85 G Getting Started 3 Graphical Mode 11 Graphical Mode Controls 34 Clock Controls 34 MIDI Functions 42 Pitch Tracking and Correction Objects 36 Graphical Tools 47 H Hand Tool 51 Hide or Show Amplitude Envelope in Main Edit Display 4 Hide or Show Envelope Display 4 Historical Tunings 82 Hold Button 33 How Auto-Tune 8 corrects pitch 8 How Auto-Tune 8 detects pitch 7 How To Use This Manual 4 Humanize 23 I I-Beam Tool 51 Import Auto 37 Import Auto Function 72 Increased Maximum Timeline Resolution in Bars
86 P Paste Button 52 Pen Tablet Input 53 Pitch Amount 32 Pitch and Envelope Graph Displays 44 Pitch Change Amount Indicator 33 Pitch Change Meter 33 Pitch Correction Functions 22 Pitch Graph Display 56 Pitch Shifting 12 Pitch Shifting, Formant Correction and Throat Modeling 12, 28, 53 Pitch Tracking and Correction Objects 36 R Recording MIDI Information 42 Rename Folder 62 Retune Speed 9, 40 S Sample Rate Display 28, 35 Scales 8, 82 Contemporary Tunings 83 Ethnic Tunings 82 Historical Tunings 82 Moder
87 W What’s New in Auto-Tune 8? 3 Audio Feedback of Note Object Pitch 4 Automatic Update Notification 4 Editing Tools Active During Playback 4 Hide or Show Amplitude Envelope in Main Edit Display 4 Hide or Show Envelope Display 4 Increased Maximum Timeline Resolution in Bars + Beats Mode 4 Low Latency Mode 3
88
89
