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122 Chapter 10 Pitch
Setting the Pitch and Formant Parameters
The Pitch parameter transposes the pitch of the signal up to two octaves upwards or
downwards. Adjustments are made in semitone steps. Incoming pitches are indicated
by a vertical line below the Pitch Base field.
Transpositions of a fifth upward (Pitch = +7), a fourth downward (Pitch = –5), or by an
octave (Pitch = ±12) are the most useful, harmonically.
As you alter the Pitch parameter, you might notice that the formants don’t change.
Formants are characteristic emphases of certain frequency ranges. They are static and
do not change with pitch. Formants are responsible for the specific timbre of a given
human voice.
The Pitch parameter is expressly used to change the pitch of a voice, not its character. If
you set negative Pitch values for a female soprano voice, you can turn it into an alto
voice, without changing the specific character of the singer’s voice.
The Formant parameter shifts the formants, while maintaining—or independently
altering—the pitch. If you set this parameter to positive values, the singer sounds like
Mickey Mouse. By altering the parameter downwards, you can achieve vocals
reminiscent of Darth Vader.
∏ Tip: If you set Pitch to 0 semitones, Mix to 50%, and Formant to +1 (with Robotize
switched off), you can effectively place a singer (with a smaller head) next to the
original singer. Both will sing with the same voice—in a choir of two. This choir effect is
quite effective, and is easily controlled with the Mix parameter.
Using Robotize Mode
If you switch Robotize on, the Vocal Transformer can augment or diminish the melody.
You can control the intensity of this distortion with the Tracking parameter.
The four –1, 0, 1, and 2 buttons set the Tracking slider to values of –100%, 0%, 100%,
and 200%, respectively. These buttons are convenience controls that make it easier to
set the Tracking parameter to the most useful settings.
 At a value of 100% (switch 1), the range of the melody is maintained. Higher values
augment, and lower values diminish, the melody.
 At a setting of 200% (switch 2), the intervals are doubled.
 A setting of 0% (switch 0) delivers interesting results, with every syllable of the vocal
track being sung at the same pitch. Low values turn sung lines into spoken language.
 At a setting of –100% (switch –1), all intervals are mirrored.
The Pitch Base parameter is used to transpose the note that the Tracking parameter is
following. As an example: the note which is spoken, if Tracking is set to 0%.