Antares AutoMotion Guide

							Updating, Editing and Creating
Auto-Motion™ Patterns
This document provides instructions for updating, editing and creating your own 
Auto-Motion patterns.
Auto-Tune EFX 3 Auto-Motion patterns are contained in a file entitled “Patterns.xml” 
in a standard format called MusicXML. This file can be edited by any application that 
can open and write MusicXML files. A list of MusicXML-aware applications can be 
found here:
http://www.musicxml.com/software/
If you dont already have a MusicXML-aware application, you can download the free 
open source music notation program MuseScore here:
http://musescore.org/en
Locating Your “Patterns.xml” File
Macintosh:
To find your Patterns.xml file on a Macintosh:
- Locate your Auto-Tune EFX 3 plug-in file. 
VST and AU plug-ins are typically found in Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST or 
Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components (for AU). 
AAX plug-ins are found in Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-ins.
- Right-click or Control-click the plug-in and select Show Package Contents.
- Locate the file at Contents/Resources/Patterns.xml 
						

							PC:
To find your Patterns.xml file on a PC:
- Locate your Auto-Tune EFX 3 plug-in file. 
VST3 plug-ins are found in \Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
- Locate the Patterns file at: Auto-Tune EFX.vst3\Contents\Resources\Patterns.xml
For the VST2 version, the Patterns file will be found at:
\Program Files\Antares Audio Technologies\Auto-Tune EFX\Patterns.xml
AAX plug-ins are found in \Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins
- Locate the file at: Auto-Tune EFX.aaxplugin\Contents\Resources\Patterns.xml
About the “Patterns.xml” File
The “Patterns.xml” file contains all of the patterns available in Auto-Tune EFX 3. 
When opened with a MusicXML aware application, the patterns are displayed as a 
conductors score with one pattern per staff.
Although all of the patterns are notated in the key of C Major, their actual pitch is 
defined by the note of the vocal track at the moment the Trigger button is clicked, 
along with the currently set Key and Scale. 
Specifically:
• C above Middle C represents the note of the vocal track at the moment you click 
the Trigger button. If you want your pattern to start with that note, make C above 
Middle C the first note of your pattern. 
• The remaining scale notes represent transpositions relative to the note of the 
vocal track at the moment you click the Trigger button. For example, E represents 
a third above (or a sixth below, depending on the octave) the note of the vocal 
track. Whether that third is a major or minor third depends on the currently set Key 
and Scale.  
						

							• If a pattern contains only notes of the C Major scale (i.e, C, D, E, F, G, A and B), the  
pattern will be restricted only to notes of the currently set Key and Scale.
•  If the pattern contains any accidentals (sharps and flats), the pattern will be 
considered a chromatic pattern and can contain any chromatic note, whether or not 
in the selected scale. 
• While the patterns are notated in eighth notes, the actual tempo will be defined by 
the plug-ins tempo controls.
Updating “Patterns.xml”
From time to time we may release new patterns via a new Patterns.xml file. To install 
a new file, simply navigate to the file location described above and copy the new file 
over the existing file. (You might want to copy the original file to some other location 
first in case you decide you want to revert back to it later.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: On the Macintosh, when copying the new file into the bundle, you 
will initially get a scary alert that it is not possible to replace the current file. Dont 
panic. Simply click the alerts Authenticate button and enter your account 
password. All will be well.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: On the Macintosh (but not the PC), if you have multiple 
versions of the plug-in installed on your system (e.g., VST and RTAS or AU), each 
version has its own Patterns.xml file. In that case youll need to update each plug-in 
version separately.
YET ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: If youve edited the original patterns file or added 
new patterns of your own, copying a new patterns file over that file will delete your 
edits and/or new patterns. To avoid this, first move your current file to another 
location. Then open it and copy all of your edited patterns and new patterns. Finally, 
open the new patterns file and paste your edited and new patterns into it.
Editing Patterns
To edit existing patterns in the “Patterns.xml” file, navigate to the file and open it 
with your MusicXML aware application. You will see the current patterns in standard 
music notation, one per stave. Use your applications tools to add, delete, or change 
notes as desired and then save the file. Your edited patterns will be available the next 
time you instantiate Auto-Tune EFX 3. 
						

							Creating New Patterns
To create a new pattern:
- Open your Patterns.xml file in your MusicXML aware application and add a new staff 
to the page. 
- Enter the name of your pattern (as you want it to appear in the Select Pattern 
menu) in the field thats typically used to designate the instrument associated with a 
staff (e.g., Violin 1, Oboe, etc.).
- Use your applications tools to enter the notes of your pattern on the new staff. 
Remember:
• If you want your pattern to start with the currently sung note, begin your pattern 
with C above Middle C.
• Notate your pattern in eighth notes. (If you want a pitch to sustain for more than 
one rhythmic pulse, enter successive eighth notes at that pitch.)
• If you want your pattern to be limited only to the notes in your selected Key and 
Scale, do not use any accidentals (sharps or flats) in your pattern.
• If you do use accidentals, notate the accidental for every note in each measure 
that you want it to affect. E.g., if you enter a C# at the beginning of a measure, any 
subsequent Cs in that measure that you want to be C#s should also have the # sign 
entered for them.
• Dont enter rests. Rests will be skipped over as if they werent there.
Since every application has its own control scheme, the methods for accomplishing 
the above will be unique to each application. However, as an example, heres how to 
create a new pattern using MuseScore:
1. Open the “Patterns.xml” file with MuseScore.
2. Select the menu item Create->Instruments and choose Vocals->Voice.
3. Click the Add button and press OK.  You should see an additional staff line added 
to the bottom of the score.  Note that if you have lots of patterns you may need to 
customize the paper size to legal size or longer, so all the patterns fit on the page.  
(Use Layout->Page Settings.) 
						

							4. Click to select a measure in the new staff and right-click or Control-click and select 
Staff Properties to access the Staff Properties panel. Change the “Long instrument 
name” from Voice to the name of your pattern (which will appear in Auto-Tune EFX 
3s Select Pattern menu).  Click OK. You should see your pattern name to the left of 
the new staff line.
5. Go to Notation mode by clicking the big “N” in the toolbar, select the eighth note, 
and begin creating your pattern by moving the note cursor to the first beat of the 
first measure of the new staff and clicking to enter it your desired note there. 
Continue placing notes until your pattern is complete. 
6. From the menu, select File->Save As, choose “MusicXML Format (*.xml)” as the 
format and then click Save. 
7. Replace your original Patterns.xml with this new file (keeping the original file, just 
in case...). The next time you launch Auto-Tune EFX 3, your new pattern will be 
available from the Select Pattern menu.