Antares AutoTune 4 user manual

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NOTE: This function uses the same Stochastic Optimal Linear Estimation
Theory as the Auto Mode’s Improved Targeting function to attempt to
differentiate between vibrato and intended pitch changes. Therefore,
you can typically select a portion of your audio containing both vibrato
and intended pitch change and the Scale Vibrato function will scale the
vibrato while leaving the intended pitch changes alone. But again,
depending on the actual performance, sometimes this will work better
than others. If Scale Vibrato seems to be making changes to parts of
the audio you’d like to leave alone, simply Undo the scaling and use
the I-beam to select only the vibrato portions you wish to edit.
TRACKING
The Graphical Mode Tracking control is
similar in function but separate from
the Tracking control in Automatic
Mode.
In order to accurately identify the pitch
of the input, Auto-Tune 4 requires a
periodically repeating waveform,
characteristic of a voice or solo instru-
ment. The Tracking control determines
how much variation is allowed in the
incoming waveform for Auto-Tune 4 to still consider it periodic.
If you are working with a well-isolated solo signal (e.g., tracking in a studio
or off of a multi-track tape) you can typically set the Tracking control to 25
and forget it.
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 circum-
stances tracking is not guaranteed and a too “relaxed” setting may intro-
duce distortion and popping.
The default Tracking value is 25. Double-clicking the Tracking knob will
reset it to that value.
NOTE: Be cautious about changing the Tracking value after performing
the Track Pitch function. Auto-Tune 4 uses the Tracking setting during
both the Track Pitch and the Correct Pitch functions. Changing the
Tracking setting after Tracking Pitch, but before Pitch Correction, may
result in unpredictable pitch modifications or strange (though possibly
interesting) artifacts. 
						

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RETUNE SPEED
The Retune setting is used only during
the Correct Pitch process. It’s similar in
function but separate from the Retune
control in Automatic Mode.
In Graphical Mode, the target pitch is
not the scale tone nearest to the input,
but rather the yellow target pitch
curve. The Retune Speed control allows you to specify how quickly Auto-
Tune 4 will change the pitch of the input to that of the target pitch curve.
A value of zero will cause the output pitch to precisely track the target
pitch curve. Depending on the target pitch curve, this may or may not
provide the desired results. Slower values will have the effect of “smooth-
ing out” the target pitch curve. As ever, you should let your ears be your
guide to selecting the proper value for a particular performance.
The default Retune Speed is 20. Double-clicking the Retune Speed knob will
reset it to that value.
NOTE: Slower Retune Speed values may also allow you to use simple
horizontal line segments to define the target pitches while still preserv-
ing the natural pitch gestures of the original performance. See Chapter
4 for details. 
						

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Chapter 4: Auto-Tune 4 Tutorial
This chapter introduces you to how Auto-Tune 4 works by guiding you
through a number of brief tutorials.
These tutorials make use of a number of audio and MIDI files. (We will
assume that you are familiar with loading audio and MIDI files into your
host application.)
If you purchased a packaged version of Auto-Tune 4, your will find the
required files in the “Tutorial Audio” folder on the installation CD ROM.
If you purchased your copy of Auto-Tune 4 via download, you will have to
separately download the Tutorial Audio files from the same web page that
you downloaded Auto-Tune 4.
Tutorial 1: Automatic Mode Basics
This tutorial will guide you through the basic Automatic Mode functions
using the file “A2-A3-A2 sweep.” This is a simple synthesized waveform
sweeping slowly from A2 up to A3 and back to A2. While it is unlikely that
you’d ever need to process such an input with Auto-Tune 4, it provides a
very clear example of what each of the main Auto-Tune 4 controls do.
Begin the tutorial by doing the following:
1. Load or import “A2-A3-A2 sweep” into a track of your host program.
Play the track so that you are familiar with the original audio.
2. Set up Auto-Tune 4 to be an insert effect on that track.
3. Set Auto-Tune 4 to Automatic Mode.
4. Set the Key to “A” and the Scale to “Major.”
5. Set the Retune Speed to zero.
6. Set “A2-A3-A2 sweep” to loop continuously and put your host program
into Play mode.
What you will hear is an A major scale. This is because Auto-Tune 4 is
continuously comparing the input pitch to the notes of the A major scale
and instantaneously correcting the output pitch to the nearest of the scale
tones.
Now do the following:
T 
						

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1. In the Edit Scale Display, click the Remove buttons next to the notes B,
D, F# and G#.
2. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again.
You will now hear an arpeggiated A Major triad because you have removed
all the other notes from the scale.
To continue:
1. In the Edit Scale Display, click the Bypass button next to E.
2. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again.
You will now hear the effect of not correcting the E. During the time that
Auto-Tune 4 would normally be tuning the input to E, Auto-Tune 4 instead
enters bypass mode and passes the input through uncorrected.
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 4 makes instantaneous pitch changes.
The setting of 30 is slower. Auto-Tune 4 makes gradual pitch changes. This
parameter controls how rapidly the pitch correction is applied to the
incoming pitch. The units are milliseconds. A value of zero will cause
instantaneous changes from one tone to another and will completely
suppress a vibrato (note that related volume changes will remain). Retune
values from 10 to 50 are typical for vocals.
To continue:
1. Set the Retune Speed to 0
2. In the Edit Scale Display, click the Remove buttons next to to all the
notes except F#.
3. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again. As the sound is playing, move Scale
Detune knob.
The output pitch will be locked to F#, however, you will hear the output
pitch change with the Detune slider movement. This is because the Detune
knob is changing the pitch standard of the scale.
Finally:
1. Select “sine wave” from the Vibrato Type pop-up.
2. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again.
3. Experiment with the various vibrato controls to hear their effects. 
						

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Tutorial 2: The Improved Targeting Function
This tutorial will demonstrate the purpose and use of the Automatic
Modes Improved Targeting function.
Begin the tutorial by doing the following:
1. Load or import “wide_vibrato” into a track of your host program. This
is a recording of a male voice singing a sustained G with a pro-
nounced vibrato. Play the track so that you are familiar with the
original audio. Despite the wide vibrato, you will notice that the
singers pitch drifts alternately sharp and flat.
2. Set up Auto-Tune 4 to be an insert effect on that track.
3. Set Auto-Tune 4 to Automatic Mode.
4. Set the Key to “C” and the Scale to “Chromatic.”
5. Set the Input Type to Low Male Voice
6. Set Retune Speed to a value of 24.
7. Use your host programs controls to Bypass Auto-Tune 4. Set
“wide_vibrato” to loop continuously and put your host program into
Play mode. Watch the blue Detected Pitch indication on Auto-Tune 4s
Virtual Keyboard. As you will see, the singers vibrato is so wide that it
consistently gets closer to G# and F# than G, causing Auto-Tune to
intermittently select those notes as target pitches.
8. Check that Improved Targeting is not selected and remove Auto-Tune 4
from Bypass. Watch the Detected Pitch indication and listen to the
result. As you will hear, whenever Auto-Tune 4 thinks G# or F# is the
target pitch, it will move the input closer to those notes, in effect
making the situation worse.
9. Now, leaving all other settings the same, click Improved Targeting.
With Improved Targeting engaged, Auto-Tune 4’s vibrato identification
algorithm recognizes the pitch excursions as vibrato and continues to
use G as the target pitch.
Next, well use Graphical Mode for a dramatic graphic demonstration of
the effect of Improved Targeting:
1. Still using wide_vibrato, set up Auto-Tune 4 as described in Steps 1-5
above.
2. Set Retune Speed to 0.
3. Make sure Improved Targeting is Off.
4. Set Auto-Tune 4 to Graphical Mode.
5. Click the Track Pitch button and play wide_vibrato through Auto-Tune 4.
6. Stop playback (depending on your host application, you may also have
to click the Track Pitch button again to stop the tracking function). 
						

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A red curve will appear in the Pitch Graph. This is the pitch contour of
wide_vibrato.
7. Click the Make Auto button. A yellow curve will appear. This curve
represents the pitch correction that would result from processing the
audio with the current Automatic Mode settings. Note all the instances
in which Auto-Tune 4 identifies G# or F#as the target pitch.
8. Set Auto-Tune 4 back to Automatic Mode.
9. Set Improved Targeting to On.
10. Return once again to Graphical Mode.
11. Click Make Auto (there is no need to track pitch again, as the red pitch
curve is still present in the Pitch Graph).
12. Notice that the yellow curve is now a straight line on G, indicating
that the Improved Targeting algorithm has accurately identified the
pitch excursions as vibrato as has therefore ignored it as far as target
pitch selection is concerned.
Tutorial 3: Using the Automatic Mode MIDI Functions
This tutorial will introduce you to Auto-Tune 4’s two Automatic Mode MIDI
functions: Learn Scale From MIDI and Target Notes Via MIDI.
With Learn Scale From MIDI, you can create the correct scale for a particular
melody without knowing a G-sharp from a B-flat. Simply play with the
melody on a MIDI keyboard which is patched through your host application
to Auto-Tune 4 or play an existing MIDI file with contains the MIDI notes of
the melody to be processed.
Begin the tutorial by doing the following:
1. Load or import the audio file “somewhere” into a track of your host
program. This is a recording of Somewhere Over the Rainbow sung
with fairly extreme pitch errors. (Our very talented singer made us
promise to tell you that she did this on purpose at our request.)
2. Set up Auto-Tune 4 to be an insert effect on that track.
3. Import the MIDI file “somewhere.mid” into your host program’s MIDI
sequencer.
4. Select Auto-Tune 4 as the target for the MIDI track.
5. Select Automatic Mode and click the “Learn Scale from MIDI” button
so that its LED lights.
6. Click the All Octaves button so that its associated LED lights.
7. Play the MIDI file through once and watch as the scale develops on
Auto-Tune 4’s virtual keyboard and in the Scale Edit window. As each
note is sung, it is added to the scale until the scale incudes every note
that appears in the melody. 
						

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8. Set the Retune control to 20 and play the audio track using this scale.
NOTE: You can also instantaneously define a scale by playing all of the
notes of the scale as a chord (i.e., all scale notes played on the same
beat) and recording that into a MIDI track. This is an ideal way to use
Auto-Tune 4 in music with many key (scale) changes.
With Target Notes Via MIDI, Auto-Tune 4 looks at its MIDI input in real time
to determine its current target note(s). Try the following with the provided
audio and MIDI files:
1. Set up your host program and load or import the “somewhere” audio
and MIDI files as described in steps 1–4 above.
2. Select Automatic Mode and click the “Target Note Via MIDI” button so
that its LED lights.
3. Click the Octaves as Played button so that its associated LED lights.
4. Play the audio and MIDI track together and watch the current target
note change in real time on the Virtual Keyboard — and listen to the
results.
The most interesting part of the Target Notes Via MIDI feature is that it
only operates for the duration of the MIDI note — that is, when there is no
current MIDI Note On value, Auto-Tune 4 is effectively in Bypass mode. This
means that if you delay the MIDI notes, then the audio performs its attacks
as performed and then corrects to pitch when the MIDI note occurs (of
course, at whatever Speed is set). In the case of the ‘Somewhere’ vocal
performance, most of the intonation problems happen during the notes’
sustain portions. Try moving the notes in the MIDI file around and listen to
the results. This gives far more subtle control than Automatic Mode alone,
while not being quite as tweaky as operating in Graphical Mode.
NOTE: The MIDI functions look only at MIDI note values. Controller
data such as Pitch Bend or Mod Wheel do not affect Auto-Tune 4’s
performance.
Long live MIDI!
Tutorial 4: Graphical Mode Basics
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 “A2-A3-A2 sweep” into a track of your host program.
Play the track so that you are familiar with the original audio.
2. Set up Auto-Tune 4 to be an insert effect on that track.
3. Set Auto-Tune 4 to Automatic Mode.
4. Set the Key to “A” and the Scale to “Major.” 
						

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5. Set Auto-Tune 4 to Graphical Mode.
6. Click the Track Pitch button.
7. Play the sweep signal through Auto-Tune 4.
8. Stop playback (depending on your host application, you may also have
to click the Track Pitch button again to stop the tracking function).
A red curve will appear in the Pitch Graph. This is the pitch contour of
the sweep signal.
To continue:
1. Select the Magnifying Glass tool and drag out a box on the Pitch Graph
that encloses the red curve. The result will be something like the
following:
2. Select the Line tool and enter a line similar to that below. By clicking
multiple anchor points on the Pitch Graph, line segments joining the
points will be drawn.
When done, double-click the last point or press  on the keyboard. 
						

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To erase the last point entered, press  on the keyboard (you
can press  repeatedly to erase back to the first anchor point).
3. Set the Retune Speed to 0. Click the Correct Pitch button and play back
the sound to hear the effect.
4. Select the Curve tool and create a curve similar to the one shown
below. Click and hold the mouse button and drag to draw the curve.
When done, release the mouse button.
5. Press Correct Pitch and play back the sound to hear the effect.
6. Vary the Retune Speed between 0 and 50 and note the effect.
Now that we have some yellow lines and curves on the Pitch Graph Display,
this would be a good time to become familiar with the functions of the
Arrow and Scissors Tools. (Refer back to Chapter 3 for detailed descriptions
of the Arrow and Scissors Tools behaviors.)
As you experiment in the following steps, press Correct Pitch and play back
the file to hear the effect of each action.
7. Select the Arrow Tool.
8. Drag the Arrow Tool across the Pitch Graph to select objects.
9. Move the cursor over curves and anchor points. Practice selecting entire
curves and individual anchor points.
10. Use the Arrow Tool to drag selected curves and individual anchor
points.
11. Use the Arrow Tool to double-click anywhere on one of the existing
line (not curve) segments to create a new anchor point. Use the Arrow
Tool to drag the new point to a new position.
12. Still using the Arrow Tool, double-click on the new anchor point you
created in Step 11 to delete it and return the line to its initial state. 
						

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13. Select the Scissors Tool and click on an existing line or curve to break it
in two at that point. A stacked pair of anchor points will be created at
the point you click. Select the Arrow Tool again and use it to drag each
of the new end points in turn to new positions.
14. Select one or more objects and play with the Edit Buttons (Undo, Cut,
Copy, Paste, Select All).
This would also be a good time to see if the Edit Button keyboard equiva-
lents work in your host application:
Command/Control-Z undo
Command/Control-X cut
Command/Control-C copy
Command/Control-V paste
Command/Control-A select all
Tutorial 5: Precision
This tutorial is actually more of a demonstration to show the extraordinary
precision with which Auto-Tune 4 can track and correct intonation prob-
lems. If this doesn’t sound interesting, feel free to proceed to Tutorial 6
below.
(By this time, we’ll assume you’re comfortable loading files and calling up
Auto-Tune 4.)
1. Arrange the files “C2 Ahhh v3” and “C2 Ohhh v1” so that they are on
separate tracks and can be played simultaneously.
2. Assign a separate instance of Auto-Tune 4 to each of the two tracks
and select Automatic Mode for each of them.
3. In each Auto-Tune 4, set the Retune slider to 0.
4. In each Auto-Tune 4, set the Key pop-up to B-flat.
5. Do whatever your host application requires to bypass both instances of
Auto-Tune 4.
6. Play back the files so you can hear them together without processing.
Believe it or not, these vocal samples from a sample CD are supposed to
be the same pitch. Yikes!
7. Now enable Auto-Tune 4 on each of the tracks and play the files again.
If you’ve done everything right, you will hear the samples so well in tune
that they sound like one voice.