Antares AutoTune 8 user manual

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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. 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 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 e(ects.  
						

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Tu t o r i a l  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 e(ect 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. In the Edit Scale Display, click the Remove buttons next to the notes B, D, F# and G#. 
 8. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep.”
You will now hear an arpeggiated A Major triad because you have removed all the other notes from the scale.
 9. Set the Correction Style to a Flex-Tune setting of 10.
 10. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again.
With a setting of 10, the correction range around each scale note is quite wide.You will hear each note of the A Major triad instantly tuned as the sweep enters the correction range, but as the sweep moves out of the correction range, you will hear it transition to the next note without correction.
 11. Set the Correction Style to a Flex-Tune setting of 55.
 12. Play “A2-A3-A2 sweep” again.
At this setting, the correction range around each scale note is quite narrow. Consequently, each scale note will be tuned to only briefly as the sweep passes through the narrow correction range and will transition to the next note without correction as it leaves each correction range.
Tu t o r i a l  3:  
Targeting Ignores Vibrato 
Function
This tutorial will demonstrate the purpose and use of the Automatic Mode’s Targeting Ignores Vibrato 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 pronounced vibrato. Play the track so that you are familiar with the original audio. Despite the wide vibrato, you will notice that the singer’s pitch drifts alternately sharp and flat. 
 2. Set up Auto-Tune 8 to be an insert e(ect on that track. 
 3. Set Auto-Tune 8 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 program’s controls to Bypass Auto-Tune 8. Set “wide_vibrato” to loop continuously and put your host program into Play mode. Watch the blue Detected Pitch indication on Auto-Tune 8’s Virtual Keyboard. As you will see, the singer’s 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 Targeting Ignores Vibrato is not selected and remove Auto-Tune 8 from Bypass. Watch the Detected Pitch indication and listen to the result. As you will hear, whenever Auto-Tune 8 thinks G# or F# is the target pitch, it will move the input closer to those notes, in e(ect making the situation worse.  
						

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 9. Now, leaving all other settings the same, click Targeting Ignores Vibrato. With Targeting Ignores Vibrato engaged, Auto-Tune 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 e(ect of Targeting Ignores Vibrato: 
 1. Still using “wide_vibrato,” set up Auto-Tune 8 as described in Steps 1-5 above. 
 2. Set Retune Speed to 0. 
 3. Make sure Targeting Ignores Vibrato is O(. 
 4. Set Auto-Tune 8 to Graphical Mode. 
 5. Click the Track Pitch button and play wide_vibrato through Auto-Tune 8. A red curve representing the pitch contour of wide_vibrato will be drawn to the screen as the file plays. 
 6. Stop playback and click the Track Pitch button again to stop the tracking function. 
 7. Click the Import Auto button. A blue 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 8 identifies G# or F# as the target pitch. 
 8. Set Auto-Tune 8 back to Automatic Mode. 
 9. Set Targeting Ignores Vibrato to On. 
 10. Return once again to Graphical Mode. 
 11. Click Import 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 blue curve is now a straight line on “G,” indicating that the Improved Targeting algorithm has accurately identified the pitch excursions as vibrato and has therefore ignored it as far as target pitch selection is concerned. 
Tu t o r i a l  4:  
Natural Vibrato Function
This tutorial will demonstrate the use of the Natural Vibrato function using the same audio file we used in the previous tutorial. 
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 pronounced vibrato. Play the track so that you are familiar with the original audio. 
 2. Set up Auto-Tune 8 to be an insert e(ect on that track. 
 3. Set Auto-Tune 8 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. Set “wide_vibrato” to loop continuously and put your host program into Play mode. 
 8. Set Natural Vibrato to 12 and note the e(ect on the vibrato. Set Natural Vibrato to -12 and note the e(ect on the vibrato. 
 9. Set all Scale notes to Bypass to disable any pitch correction. Again, adjust Natural Vibrato as in Step 8 and note that its e(ect is still active.  
						

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Tu t o r i a l  5:  
Tr a n s p o s e   a n d   F o r m a n t   C o n t r o l
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
Begin the tutorial by doing the following:
 1. Load or import the audio files onto two tracks in your host program.
 2. Set up Auto-Tune 8 to be an insert e(ect on “hidin_ vocal.wav” and select Automatic Mode.
 3. Select Ab minor as the Key and Scale, “alto/tenor” as the Input Type, set the Retune Speed to 20 and the Correction Style to 0.
 4. Play the audio file. 
 5. Set the Transpose control to 6 (a perfect fifth up). Check to be sure that Formant is o( . 
 6. Play the audio file and listen to the quality of the voice. Since the formants are being shifted with the pitch, you will hear the familiar “chipmunk” e(ect.
 7. Click the Format button to turn on formant correction. Set the Throat Length to 120.
 8. Play the audio file again and note the di(erence.
 9. Play the audio file again while adjusting the Throat Length control to hear the e(ect of changing the modeled vocal tract.
 10. Repeat steps 5 through 9 with di(erent settings of the Transpose control.
Tu t o r i a l  6:  
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 8 to be an insert e(ect on that track. 
 3. Set Auto-Tune 8 to Graphical Mode. 
 4. Set the Key to “A” and the Scale to “Major.” 
 5. Click the Track Pitch button. 
 6. Play the sweep signal through Auto-Tune 8. A red curve representing the pitch contour of the signal will be drawn to the screen as the file plays. 
 7. Stop playback and click the Track Pitch button again to stop the tracking function. 
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. 
						

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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). 
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.
 3. Set the Retune Speed to 0 and observe the green output curve. Play back the sound to hear the e(ect. 
 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. Play back the sound to hear the e(ect.
 6. Vary the Retune Speed between 0 and 400 and note the e(ect on both the green output curve and the audio.
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. (Refer back to Chapter 3 for detailed descriptions of the Arrow and Scissors Tools’ behaviors.)
As you experiment in the following steps, play back the file to hear the e(ect 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.
 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 equivalents work in your host application:
Command/Control-Z Undo
Command-Shift-Z/Control-Y  Redo
Command/Control-X  Cut
Command/Control-C  Copy
Command/Control-V  Paste
Command/Control-A  Select All 
						

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Tu t o r i a l  7:  
Precision
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.
(By this time, we’ll assume you’re comfortable loading files and calling up Auto-Tune 8.)
 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 8 to each of the two tracks and select Automatic Mode for each of them.
 3. In each Auto-Tune 8, set the Retune slider to 0.
 4. In each Auto-Tune 8, set the Key pop-up to B-flat.
 5. Do whatever your host application requires to bypass both instances of Auto-Tu n e   8 .
 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 8 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
Tu t o r i a l  8:  
Make Curve Function
This tutorial will introduce you to the Make Curve function. The Make Curve function gives you precise control over pitch accuracy and inflection.
 1. Setup to process the file “Crowd All” through Auto-Tune 8.
 2. Select Graphical Mode.
 3. Press the Track Pitch button.
 4. Play the “Crowd All” file.
 5. Select the Magnifying Glass Tool and drag out a box on the Pitch Graph that encloses the red curve for the “-gether” part of the last word, “together.” You will see something like the following:
 6. Use the I-Beam Tool to drag a selection of “-gether” in the Pitch or Envelope Display. The result will be something like the following: 
						

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 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 di-cult 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.
 8. Select the Arrow Tool and click precisely on the left end of the curve to select only the left anchor point (you’ll know you’re over the anchor point when the cursor changes to the up-and-down arrow cursor). Drag this straight up, stretching the curve so it is centered around the D3 graph line. 
 9. Drag the Arrow tool across all of the visible curves to select them. Then move the Arrow Tool over the body of a correction curve so that the cursor changes to the horizontal bar. Click and drag the curves straight down so they centered on the C3 graph line. The Pitch Graph should now appear as follows:
 10. Set the Retune Speed to 0 and play back the sound. Note that the errant note is now in tune.
To continue, here is an alternative approach to the same pitch problem using the Line Tool.
 1. Click “Select All” and then click “Cut” to delete the curves you created in the steps above.
 2. Make sure Snap To Note is engaged and use the Line Tool to draw a horizontal line at C3 as shown below:
 3. Set the Retune Speed to 20 and play back the sound. Experiment with other Retune Speeds to see their e(ect on the green correction curve and to hear their e(ects.
Some notes:
Vibratos and other pitch gestures typically occur with related loudness gestures. Specifically, with vibratos, some vocalists produce mostly pitch variations and little loudness variations while others produce small pitch variations and a lot of loudness variations (the latter is often called tremolo). Nonetheless, almost all voices seem to produce a combination of both pitch and related loudness variations. Therefore, trying to take an existing vibrato and change it (say speed it up) often sounds unnatural because the new pitch variation does not correspond to the original (and still present) loudness variation.
These considerations are also important when correcting pitch. It’s rarely e(ective to draw in a new pitch gesture at the desired pitch, even though that gesture may have worked well in another performance. 
						

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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). This will force a precise re-tuning, but will sound extremely natural since the target pitch curve will precisely synchronize with the original loudness gestures of the voice.
• The second technique is to draw a flat line segment across the duration of a tone at the desired pitch and then set the Retune Speed in the range of 20 to 40. This has the e(ect of gently moving the input pitch towards the desired pitch. The slower values of 20 to 40 will let through a vibrato but still draw the overall pitch closer to being in tune. The average pitch will eventually settle to the given line and the pitch gestures will occur both sharper and flatter relative to that line. The settling time is about twice the Retune Speed setting (in milliseconds). 20 to 40 will let through about one-half of a typical vibrato. Slower settings will let through more vibrato but will cause the new pitch to be reached more slowly.
Tu t o r i a l  9: 
Import Auto Function
The Import Auto function allows you to display and edit the pitch corrections that would result from specific Automatic Mode settings.
 1. Setup to process the file “Crowd All” through Auto-Tune 8.
 2. Set the Key and Scale to C Major. Select Automatic Mode and set the Retune Speed to the default of 20.
 3. Select Graphical Mode.
 4. Press the Track Pitch button.
 5. Play the “Crowd All” file.
 6. Select the Magnifying Glass Tool and drag out a box on the Pitch Graph that encloses the red curve for the words “crowd all rushed.” You will see something like the following:
 7. Use the I-Beam Tool to drag a selection in the Pitch or Envelope Graph as shown: 
						

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 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. To hear the pitch corrections that would be produced in Automatic Mode, set the Graphical Mode Retune Speed to 0 (which will cause the green output curve to exactly match the blue object curve). Play back the file.
 10. Switch to the Automatic Mode and click the Remove buttons next to C, D, F, A, and B.
 11. Return to the Graphical Mode and use the I-Beam tool to drag out a selection in the Envelope Graph, as in Step 7.
 12. Press the Import Auto button. Auto-Tune 8 will compute new blue and green curves from the existing pitch data:
Note how the pitch errors from the previous curve have been removed. Also, note the raised pitches indicated above. This occurs because the Automatic Mode Retune slider value of 20 is slow compared to the rapidly increasing pitch that is occurring at that point in time. But even with the raised pitches, the average output pitch is centered on E3 and the phrase sounds in tune. 
						

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Tu t o r i a l  10:  
Make Notes Function
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 e(ect on “dont_give_up_ vocal.wav” and select Graphical Mode.
 3. Select D Major as the Key and Scale and “soprano” as the Input Type.
 4. Press the Track Pitch button. 
 5. Play the project and track the first 17 seconds of the track (until right after the word “remain”). Stop the transport to exit the tracking function. Assuming Auto-Scroll is enabled, the display will scale to include all of the tracked audio.
Notice that the singer (who made us promise to tell you that she did this on purpose at our request) is generally flat throughout.
 6. Click the “Make Notes” button.
Play the project. Note that the default settings for the Number of Note Objects and Retune Speed do a good job of correcting the pitch for most of the phrase. However, the final syllable of “remains” goes so flat that some additional adjustment is necessary.
At this point, it should look like this:
The first thing we need to do is correct the dip in pitch before the final C#3. We could do this by selecting each of the two low Note Objects (A2 and B2) and individually moving them up to C#3, but it’s easier just to expand the existing C#3 object.
 7. Select the Arrow tool and move the cursor over the left end of the long C# note so that the cursor turns into the length adjustment cursor (little horizontal left-and-right arrows). Drag the left end of the note until it just butts up against the end of the previous D3 Note Object.
 8. Since there’s also a large dip in pitch towards the very end of the word, move the Arrow cursor over the right end of the long C#3 note and drag it to the right until it extends over the entire remaining waveform (to a cursor position of about 16.870 seconds).