Antares Harmony Engine user manual

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•	 If	the 	Input 	Audio 	does 	contain 	its 	own	
natural vibrato and the Humanize control 
has been set to allow it to be present in 
the Harmony Voices (or you are using 
Fixed Interval mode), using the Vibrato 
controls may cause interference between 
the natural and programmed vibratos, with 
unnatural-sounding results. This is not to 
say that this can’t be an interesting effect, 
only that it is unlikely to sound realistic.
•	 If 	the 	Input 	Audio 	contains 	its 	own 	natural	
vibrato and the Humanize control is set 
to 0 (preventing the pitch component of 
the natural vibrato from being present 
in the Harmony Voices), any loudness 
component of the natural vibrato will 
still be present in the Harmony Voices. 
Depending on the amount of loudness 
variation, there might still be interference 
with programmed vibrato. However, 
unless the loudness variation is fairly 
extreme, it is unlikely to be a problem.
Vibrato Rate
This control sets the rate of the vibrato (in Hz) 
for its Harmony Voice. The range is from 1.0 
Hz to 9.0 Hz.
The default Vibrato Rate values are 
slightly different for each Harmony 
Voice channel as follows: Channel 1: 6.2 Hz 
Channel 2: 5.8 Hz 
Channel 3: 5.4 Hz
Channel 4: 5.0 Hz
Option (Mac)/Control (PC)- clicking a fader 
returns it to its default value. 
Vibrato Onset Delay
This control sets the onset delay of the vibrato 
for its Harmony Voice. The control reads out 
in milliseconds such that there is no vibrato for 
the selected time and then there is a transition 
to full vibrato over the selected time.
“Huh?” you might be asking. Understandable. 
Here’s an example: If you select 750 (i.e., 750 milliseconds), for 
the first 750 ms after the onset of a note, 
there will be no vibrato. Over the next 750 ms, 
the vibrato will transition from none to the full 
amounts set in the Amount controls below. 
Therefore, a setting of 750 results in a total of 
1500 ms (i.e., a second and a half) from note 
onset to full vibrato amounts.
The default Onset Delay values are 
slightly different for each Harmony 
Voice channel as follows:
Channel 1: 20 
Channel 2: 30 
Channel 3: 40
Channel 4: 50
Option (Mac)/Control (PC)- clicking a fader 
returns it to its default value. 
Vibrato Pitch Amount
This control sets the depth of the pitch 
modulation for its voice. The range is from 0 
(no pitch variation) to a maximum of 100.
The default Pitch Amount value is 0 (i.e., no 
pitch vibrato). Option (Mac)/Control (PC)-
clicking the fader returns it to that value. 
Vibrato Amplitude Amount
This control sets the amount of loudness 
variation for its voice. The range is from 
0 (no variation) to a maximum of 100.
The default Amplitude Amount value is 0 (i.e., 
no loudness variation). Option (Mac)/Control 
(PC)- clicking the fader returns it to that value.  
						

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Humanization
The functions in the Humanize section are 
designed to allow you to add a selectable 
amount of random variation to each harmony 
voice as well as deciding how much (if any) of 
the original input’s vibrato and pitch gestures 
will be present in the harmony voices.
Each of these controls affect all active 
harmony voices. However, they affect 
each harmony voice individually (i.e., if 
you set a certain range of pitch variation, 
the actual amount of variation will be a bit 
different for each active harmony voice).
Experiment with different combinations 
of the Pitch and Timing controls. They can 
create dramatically different vocal ensembles. 
With Timing Variation at its minimum and 
substantial Pitch Variation, you have a vocal 
group that’s rhythmically tight but a bit loose 
with intonation. Conversely, reversing those 
settings gives you a group that’s solidly in 
tune, but rhythmically loose. There are, of 
course, many variations in between. Match the 
performance style to the style of your music.Naturalize
This control 
selects the 
amount of the 
original input’s 
vibrato and pitch 
gestures that will 
be present in the 
harmony voices. 
If the original input contains natural vibrato and 
you are planning to use the harmony voices’  Vibrato controls to add programmable vibrato 
to the harmony parts, this control should 
usually be set to 0 to minimize the amount of 
the original vibrato in the harmony voices. 
N
OTE : In Fixed Interval mode 
(only), the harmony voices will 
always parallel all of the original 
input’s vibrato and pitch gestures. Setting the 
Naturalize function above 0 in that case will 
actually accentuate (i.e., expand the range of) 
the vibrato and gestures. 
The range of the control is from 0 (no input 
vibrato or pitch gestures) to a maximum of 100 
(harmony voices duplicate the input vibrato 
and/or pitch gestures - except in Fixed Interval 
mode as mentioned above) .
The default Naturalize value is 0. Option (Mac)/
Control (PC)- clicking the knob returns it to that 
value. 
Pitch Variation
The Pitch 
Variation control 
lets you select 
the amount of 
random variation 
in pitch applied 
to each harmony 
voice. The higher 
the value, the 
larger the maximum amount of allowable 
variation in each voice. As mentioned above, 
the actual amount of pitch variation will be 
different (and continuously variable) for each 
active harmony voice. 
						

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The range of the control is from 0 (no pitch 
variation) to a maximum of 100 .
The default Pitch Variation value is 30. Option 
(Mac)/Control (PC)- clicking the knob returns it 
to that value. Timing 
Variation
The Timing 
Variation control 
lets you select 
the amount 
of random 
variation in 
timing applied to 
each harmony voice. The higher the 
value, the larger the maximum amount of 
allowable timing variation. As mentioned 
above, the actual amount of timing 
variation will be different (and continuously 
variable) for each active harmony voice.
Harmony Engine’s timing variation is 
completely independent of pitch variation. 
The range of the control is from 0 (no timing 
variation) to a maximum of 100 .
The default Timing Variation value is 50. Option 
(Mac)/Control (PC)- clicking the knob returns it 
to that value. 
Glide
The Glide function allows you to control the 
speed at which harmony voices transition from 
note to note during legato phrasing.
Transition Rate
This control lets you set a selectable 
amount of glide (or, for those who grew up 
with synthesizers, portamento) between 
overlapping note transitions. The control reads 
out in milliseconds and represents the time it 
takes to get halfway to the destination pitch.
N OTE : Glide only takes effect when 
successive notes overlap or butt 
up against each other. If there is 
any silence between two notes (even a few 
milliseconds worth), no glide will be applied. 
The range of the control is from 0 milliseconds 
(essentially instant transitions) to a maximum of 
1000 milliseconds.
The default Transition Rate is 125 milliseconds. 
Option (Mac)/Control (PC)-clicking the knob 
returns it to that value.  
						

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Freeze
The Freeze functions allow you to freeze either 
the formants or both the pitches and formants 
of the harmony voices while the original input 
continues. Which mode you select depends 
on the specific effect you desire.Formant Only
Click the Formant 
Only button to engage 
the Formant Only 
Freeze function. 
The button will turn blue to indicate the 
function is active and the harmony voices’ 
formants and articulation will be frozen 
at the instant the button is clicked. 
In Formant Only mode, the harmony voices 
will continue to change pitch per the current 
harmony mode and will respond to Register 
and Spread changes as well.
Click the button again to disengage the 
function and return the channels to normal 
behavior.
One useful effect of this mode is to simulate 
a backup group holding a particular word in 
a lyric while continuing to provide harmony 
behind the lead singer (in this case, the original 
input). There are, however, a lot of other really 
intriguing possibilities (highly dependent on 
your particular vocal). We encourage you to 
play around and discover some for yourself.
N OTE : The Formant Only mode 
is not available in Fixed Interval or 
Smart Interval modes. The button is 
disabled in those modes. Formant + Pitch
Click the Formant 
+ Pitch button to 
engage the Formant 
+ Pitch Freeze 
function. The button will turn blue to 
indicate the function is active and both the 
harmony voices’ formants and articulation 
and their current harmony pitches will be 
frozen at the instant the button is clicked. 
Click the button again to disengage the 
function and return the channels to normal 
This is useful for, among other things, having 
the harmony voices hold a chord while the 
original input continues with the melody over it. 
i mp OrTa NT N OTE: In both Freeze 
modes, there must be audio present 
in the original input and harmony 
sounding in at least one harmony voice at the 
moment the Freeze function is engaged. If 
not, all harmony output will be muted until the 
function is disengaged, giving the impression 
that Harmony Engine is somehow “broken.” 
Be careful. 
						

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Fixed Interval Mode
When Fixed Interval 
mode is selected, the 
Interval popups in the 
individual harmony 
voice channels are 
enabled and all of the other controls in the 
Harmony Control section are disabled.
In this mode, each enabled harmony voice 
tracks the original input at the interval defined 
by the number of semi-tones up or down 
selected in the track’s Interval popup. 
Since no allowance is made for diatonic scale 
tones, using this mode in conventional diatonic 
harmony with any intervals aside from octaves 
will almost certainly result in dissonant, out-
of-scale notes. As a result, this mode is best 
Harmony Control
The controls in this section allow you to chose the method by which Harmony Engine decides 
which harmony notes are assigned to each harmony voice. 
These controls, in combination with the Freeze controls and the Harmony and Voice Parameter 
Preset sections described below, is where the truly unique power of Harmony Engine lies.
While Harmony Engine offers the usual extremes of automatic fixed and “smart” scale interval 
modes on one hand (very easy to use, but with little creative control) and the ability to completely 
specify every note of each harmony voice via MIDI on the other (ultimate control, but requiring 
solid expertise in note-by-note vocal arranging), it’s the powerful new options in the middle that we 
believe will provide you with innovative (and downright entertaining) ways of creating the harmony 
arrangements you hear in your mind. 
The desired harmony mode is selected with the Harmony Source popup menu. Depending on 
which mode you select, the other controls in this section will be either activated or disabled as 
necessary. Rather than discuss each control separately, we’ll look at all of the controls that function 
in each mode.
Here’s how they all work:
for drones, chant and other applications where 
absolutely parallel harmony is desired.
NOTE : In Fixed Interval mode, all of 
the input audio’s pitch gestures are 
followed regardless of the Naturalize 
setting. Increasing the Naturalize setting above 
0 will actually expand the range of those 
gestures.
Scale Interval Mode
When Scale Interval 
mode is selected, the 
Key/Root and Scale 
popups are enabled 
(along with the Interval 
popups in the individual harmony voice 
channels) and all of the other controls in the 
Harmony Control section are disabled. 
						

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In Scale Interval mode, each harmony 
voice tracks the original input at the interval 
defined by the scale degree selected 
in its Interval popup in combination 
with the Key and Scale settings. 
In contrast to the Fixed Interval mode, this 
mode always chooses harmony notes that fall 
in the selected key and scale. For example, If 
you have selected C Major as the key and set a 
harmony voice’s Interval popup to +3rd, when 
the input is C, the harmony voice will sound at 
E (a major 3rd). However, when the input is D, 
the harmony voice will sound at F (a minor 3rd).
imp OrTa NT N OTE: An exception 
to the above is when Unison or any 
Octave interval is selected. In that 
case, the harmony voice will track the input 
note-for-note, regardless of whether they are 
scale notes or not.
To use Scale Interval mode, select your song’s 
key with the Key/Root popup. Note that 
sharp/flat keys are specified as flats with the 
exception of F#. If your song is in an unlisted 
key, you should choose the enharmonic 
equivalent:
Db = C#  Ab = G#
Eb = D#  Bb = A#
F# = Gb 
The Scale popup offers three variations of the 
major and four variations of the minor scales: Major
Major with no 7th (Maj/no 7th)
Major with a flat 7th (Maj/flat 7th)
Natural Minor (Minor)
Harmonic Minor (Harm. minor) Minor with a natural 6th (Minor/nat. 6th)
Minor with a major 7th (Minor/Maj7th)
There aren’t really any hard-and-fast rules for 
picking one over the others. Depending on the 
structure of your particular song, one may offer 
better results. Trial-and-error is the method of 
the day.
VE ry i mpOrTa NT N OTE: When 
you are using Scale Interval mode 
in combination with the Harmony 
Preset buttons described below, the settings 
of the Key/Root and Scale popups are not  
stored with button presets. This is so that 
you can program all of your desired harmony 
intervals to preset buttons and then, if you 
need to change the key of your song, you 
can simply change the Key/Root and Scale 
popups and all of your button presets will 
automatically be transposed to the new key.
To accommodate modulations or songs with 
complex harmonic structures, you can either 
create multiple host presets with the required 
Key/Scale combinations or use automation 
to change the Key and/or Scale settings at 
the appropriate places in your song (thereby 
automatically transposing any Harmony 
Presets to the correct keys).
N OTE : In Scale Interval mode, it is 
particularly important that the original 
input be properly in tune before being 
input to Harmony Engine. If the original falls 
between scale notes, you can get annoying 
results as the harmony voice flips back and 
forth between two adjacent harmony notes. 
If in doubt, Auto-Tune
® the original first. 
						

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Register & Spread
The Register and Spread controls are used 
together with their associated graphic 
display to define the general range and 
“closeness” of the harmony notes in Chord 
Degrees, Chord Name, and Chord via MIDI 
modes. They provide an amazingly easy 
and intuitive method of arranging your 
harmonies in almost any desired style.
Since they function identically in all three 
modes, we’ll describe their use here and 
then just reference them in the individual 
mode descriptions that follow.
Register
The Register control sets the general range 
of the lowest generated harmony note, with 
the leftmost setting being the lowest and the 
rightmost setting the highest. As you move 
the control, you will see the lower boundary of 
the graphic range display change in response.
If you adjust this control while a chord is 
sounding (not recommended during a real 
performance, but instructive for understanding 
what it’s doing), you will hear the lowest 
note of the chord move up or down by 
octaves in response to your adjustments.
Spread
The Spread control sets the “closeness” 
of the generated harmony notes. Lower 
settings result in the harmony notes being 
spaced tightly together, while higher 
settings result in the harmony notes being 
spaced progressively farther apart. 
As you move the Spread control, you will 
see the upper boundary of the graphic range 
display change in response.
If you adjust this control while a chord is 
sounding (again, for instructive purposes), you will hear all but the lowest note of the chord 
move apart or together in response to your 
adjustments.
Here are some example settings:
Wide harmony:
High, very tight harmony:
Low, very tight harmony:
Medium range, moderately tight harmony:
i
mp OrTa NT N OTE: When using 
Register and Spread, the harmony 
notes will be assigned to the various 
harmony channels such that the lowest pitched 
note will be assigned to the highest numbered  
						

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active channel and the progressively higher 
pitched notes will be assigned in order to 
the progressively lowered numbered active 
channels. For example, for a four note chord, 
the lowest note will be assigned to harmony 
channel 4, the next higher to channel 3, the 
next higher to channel 2 and the highest to 
channel 1.
This ensures that you can use each channel’s 
Throat Length control to define a timbre, 
confident of that channel’s general range. 
In the example above, for instance, since 
harmony channel 4 will always be assigned the 
lowest note, you might choose to lengthen the 
Throat setting a bit to reinforce its identity as a 
bass voice.
In the end, this is all actually a lot easier to see 
and hear than it is to describe, so just play with 
the controls for a bit and you’ll understand 
what’s happening.
Chord Degrees Mode
When Chord Degrees mode is selected, the 
Key/Root, Scale, Chord, Inversion, Register, 
and Spread controls are enabled and the 
Interval popups in the individual harmony voice 
channels are disabled.
In Chord Degrees mode, the harmony notes are generated by the combination of the settings 
of the Key, Scale, Chord, Inversion, Register, 
and Spread controls. This mode is specifically 
designed to be used with the Harmony Preset 
buttons described below.
Start by setting the song’s Key and Scale in the 
same way as described above for Scale Interval 
mode. Again, if your song is in an unlisted key, 
use the enharmonic equivalent:
Db = C#  Ab = G#
Eb = D#  Bb = A#
F# = Gb
Next, for each chord that appears in your 
song, select the chord from the Chord popup 
(specified as a degree of the selected key 
and scale) and the desired inversion from the 
Inversion popup. 
Finally, set the chord’s voicing with the Register 
and Spread controls as described in the previous 
section.
VE ry i mpOrTa NT N OTE: When you 
are using Chord Degrees mode in 
combination with the Harmony Preset 
buttons described below, the settings of the 
Key/Root and Scale popups are  not  stored with 
button presets. This is so that you can program 
all of the chords in your song to preset buttons  
						

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and then, if you need to change the key of your 
song, you can simply change the Key/Root and 
Scale popups and all of your button presets will 
automatically be transposed to the new key.
NOTE : As mentioned in the 
Register and Spread section, the 
harmony notes will be assigned 
to the various harmony channels such that 
the lowest pitched note will be assigned to 
the highest numbered active channel and 
the progressively higher pitched notes will 
be assigned in order to the progressively 
lowered numbered active channels. 
Once you get everything the way you want it, 
assign the settings to a Harmony Preset button 
as described below.
Repeat the process for each of the chords in 
your song. If your song modulates, you can 
either create a new host preset in the new 
key or use automation to change the Key and/
or Scale setting to the new key (which, as 
mentioned above, will automatically transpose 
all of the chords to the new key).
a Tip: Keep in mind that you can, for 
example, assign the same chord, but 
with different Register and Spread 
settings, to multiple Harmony Preset buttons  so that you can have different harmony voicings 
for the same chord depending on where it 
appears in your song.
When you have programmed all of the chords 
and any alternative voicings, you’re ready to 
play your song and simply select the various 
Harmony Presets at the appropriate times, 
either manually (by clicking the buttons) or, 
better yet, via automation.
i
mp OrTa NT N OTE: In Chord Degrees 
mode, the harmony notes are 
generated independently of the actual 
pitch of the original track. The original can be out 
of tune (or even a monotone, for that matter), 
but the harmony notes will still be perfectly in 
tune with the A=440 pitch reference.
Chord Name Mode
When Chord Name mode is selected, the Key/
Root, Chord, Inversion, Register, and Spread 
controls are enabled, while the Scale popup and 
the Interval popups in the individual harmony 
voice channels are disabled.
Chord Name mode is almost identical to Chord 
Degrees mode, with the exception that instead 
of setting a key and scale and then defining the 
chords by scale degree, you define each chord 
by its explicit name, independent of the scale 
or key. 
						

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In Chord Name mode, the Key/Root popup 
is used to define the root note of the chord. 
(And yes, this is where the discussion of 
enharmonic equivalents that we’ve already 
included twice above would go. If you don’t 
already know it by heart, check it out in the 
Chord Degrees section.)
The Chord popup is used to define the 
type of chord, and the Inversion popup, not 
unexpectedly, defines the inversion. 
The Register and Spread controls function 
exactly as described above.
As in the Chord Degree mode, assign all the 
chords and voicings you need to Harmony 
Preset buttons and harmonize away.
imp OrTa NT N OTE: In Chord 
Name mode, the harmony notes 
are generated independently 
of the actual pitch of the original track. 
The original can be out of tune (or even 
a monotone, for that matter), but the 
harmony notes will still be perfectly in 
tune with the A=440 pitch reference. Chord Degrees vs. Chord Name
Why use one versus the other? 
The advantages of Chord Names are that if you 
have a lead sheet with written chord names, 
it’s extremely simple to quickly define and 
assign all of the chords you need to Harmony 
Preset buttons. Additionally, the Chord Name 
mode offers a wider variety of chord types. 
The advantages of Chord Degrees are that 
some people are more familiar with that 
naming convention (especially if they studied 
formal harmony in an academic environment). 
More usefully, if you are early in the song 
creation process and the song’s final key 
may eventually change, if you’ve used Chord 
Degrees mode it’s only necessary to change 
the Key popup to the new key and all the rest 
of your work is still applicable.
Chord via MIDI Mode
When Chord via MIDI mode is selected, 
Register, Spread and the MIDI Velocity control 
is enabled, while all other section controls and 
the Interval popups in the individual harmony 
voice channels are disabled.
Chord via MIDI is very similar to the two 
preceding modes, except that instead of 
defining chord name by some combination