What I find most fascinating about Antares Auto-Tune is that everyone and their mother knows what it is, despite the fact that it's just another digital audio plugin used in bedroom and professional studios alike. Even people who have no clue what an EQ or compressor does somehow at least know of the word 'Auto-Tune' and even the general effect it has on the human voice.
Sep 07, 2015 The Key of a Tune is Represented by the Chord on Beat One of the 2nd to Last Bar. If the first chord of the 2nd to last bar is major or dominant, the tune is in the corresponding major key. If the first chord of the 2nd to last bar is minor, the tune is in that minor key. This is generally a consistent rule. At the normal settings, auto tune merely shifts the pitch of the singer to the closest semi tone (think key on a piano key board). This fixes the voice when it is somewhat sharp or flat. It does not sound obviously robotic or processed (though professionals will notice subtle artifacts that will give it away). Quickly find the Key and BPM to any of your songs online! Search our massive song key database for compatible tracks to produce the perfect mashup. Find key and BPM information for any song. Explore an extensive database of 40+ million tracks with data on release date, label, energy, happiness, and danceability. Discover DJ recommendations for harmonic mixing.
But even though Auto-Tune has evolved to become this cultural phenomenon, very few artists or producers truly understand how to get it to sound like the way it sounds on major records.
In case you don't know what it is, Auto-Tune, in a nutshell, is a pitch correction software that allows the user to set the key signature of the song so that the pitch of the incoming signal will be corrected to the closest note in that key (and does so in real time). There are other pitch correction programs out there that do similar functions: Waves Tune, Waves Tune Real-Time, and Melodyne (which is pitch correction, but not in real time), but Auto-Tune seems to have won the standard for real-time pitch correction.
Auto-Tune traditionally is used on vocals, although in some cases can be used on certain instruments. For the sake of this article we will be discussing Auto-Tune and its effect on the human voice. Listen to this early example from the 'King of Auto-Tune,' the one artist who did more to popularize its effect than any other, T-Pain.
T-Pain - 'Buy U A Drank'
Working as a full-time engineer here at Studio 11 in Chicago, we deal with Auto-Tune on a daily basis. Whether it's people requesting that we put it on their voice, something we do naturally to correct pitch, or even for a specific creative effect. It's just a part of our arsenal that we use everyday, so over the years we have really gotten to know the ins and outs of the program—from its benefits to limitations.
So let's delve further into what this software really is and can do, and in the process debunk certain myths around what the public or people who are new to Auto-Tune may think. If you were ever wondering why your Auto-Tune at home doesn't sound like the Auto-Tune you hear from your favorite artists, this is the article for you.
To set the record straight, as I do get asked this a lot of times from clients and inquiring home producers, there really are no different 'types' of Auto-Tune. Antares makes many different versions of Auto-Tune—Auto-Tune EFX, Auto-Tune Live, and Auto-Tune Pro—that have various options and different interfaces, but any of those can give you the effect you're after. Auto-Tune Pro does have a lot of cool features and updates, but you don't need 'Pro' to sound pro.
I wanted to debunk this first, as some people come to me asking about the 'the Lil Durk Auto-Tune,' or perhaps that classic 'T-Pain Auto-Tune.' That effect is made from the same plugin—the outcome of the sound that you hear depends on how you set the settings within the program and the pitch of the incoming signal.
So if your Auto-Tune at home sounds different from what you hear on the radio, it's because of these factors, not because they have a magic version of Auto-Tune that works better than yours at home. You can achieve the exact same results.
In modern music Auto-Tune is really used with two different intentions. The first is to use it as a tool in a transparent manner, to correct someone's pitch. In this situation, the artist doesn't want to hear the effect work, they just want to hit the right notes. The second intent is to use it as an audible effect for the robotic vocals you can now hear all over the pop and rap charts.
But regardless of the intent, in order for Auto-Tune to sound its best, there are three main things that need to be set correctly.
The correct key of the song. This is the most important part of the process and honestly where most people fail. Bedroom producers, and even some engineers at professional studios who might lack certain music theory fundamentals, have all fallen into the trap of setting Auto-Tune in the wrong key. If a song is in C major, it will not work in D major, E major, etc.—though it will work in C major's relative minor, A minor. No other key will work correctly. It helps to educate yourself a bit about music theory, and how to find the key of a song.
The input type. You have the option to choose from Bass Instrument, Instrument, Low Male, Alto/Tenor, and Soprano. Bass Instrument and Instrument are, of course, for instruments, so ignore them if you're going for a vocal effect. Low Male would be selected if the singer is singing in a very low octave (think Barry White). Alto/Tenor will be for the most common vocal ranges, and soprano is for very high-pitched vocalists. Setting the input type correctly helps Auto-Tune narrow down which octaves it will focus on—and you'll get a more accurate result.
Retune speed. This knob, while important, is really all dependent on the pitch of the input source, which I will discuss next. Generally speaking, the higher the knob, the faster it will tune each note. A lower speed will have the effect be a bit more relaxed, letting some natural vibrato through without affecting a vocalist's pitch as quickly. Some view it as a 'amount of Auto-Tune knob,' which isn't technically true. The amount of correction you hear is based off the original pitch, but you will hear more effects of the Auto-Tune the faster it's set.
So let's say you have all of these set correctly. You have the right key, you choose the right range for the singer, and the retune speed is at its medium default of 20ms. You apply it on the singer expecting it to come out just like the pros. And while their voice does seem to be somewhat corrected, it's still not quite corrected to the right pitch.
Here's why your Auto-Tune doesn't sound like the pros:
The pitch of the vocalist prior to Auto-Tune processing must be close enough to a note in the scale of the key of the song for Auto-Tune to work its best. In other words, the singer has to be at least near the right note for it to sound pleasing to the ears.
Whether you're going for a natural correction or the T-Pain warble, this point still stands. If the note the singer originally sings is nowhere near the correct note in the key, Auto-Tune will try to calculate as best it can and round up or down, depending on what note is closest. And that's when you get undesirable artifacts and hear notes you weren't expecting to hear. (Here is an example of how it sounds when the incoming pitch isn't close enough to the scale, resulting in an oddly corrected pitch.)
So if you put Auto-Tune on a voice and some areas sound good, some sound too robotic and a bit off, those are the areas that the singer needs to work on. Sometimes it can be difficult for non-singers to hear slight sharp or flat notes, or notes that aren't in the scale of the song, so Auto-Tune in many cases can actually help point out the problem areas.
This is why major artists who use Auto-Tune sound really good, because chances are they can sing pretty well before Auto-Tune is even applied. The Weeknd is a great example of this—he is obviously a very talented singer that has no problem hitting notes—and yet his go-to mixer, Illangelo, has said before that he always uses at least a little bit of Auto-Tune on the vocals.
If you or the singer in your studio is no Weeknd, you can correct the pitch manually beforehand with a program like Melodyne, or even with built-in pitch correction tools in your DAW, where you can actually go in and change the pitch of each syllable manually. So if you find yourself in a situation where you or an artist you are working with really want Auto-Tune on their vocals, but it's not sounding right after following all the steps, look into correcting the pitch before you run it through Auto-Tune.
If you get the notes closer to the scale, you'll find the tuning of Auto-Tune to be much more pleasing to the ears. For good reason, T-Pain is brought up a lot when discussing Auto-Tune. Do you want to know why he sounds so good? It's not a special Auto-Tune they are using, its because he can really sing without it. Check it out:
T-Pain's unplugged and Auto-Tune-free medley
Hopefully this helps further assist you in your understanding and use of Antares Auto-Tune, and debunk some of the myths around it. Spend some time learning some basic music theory to help train the ear to identity keys of songs, find which notes are flat and which notes are sharp. Once you do, you'll find you'll want to use Auto-Tune on every song, because let's face it—nearly a decade after Jay-Z declared the death of Auto-Tune on 'D.O.A.'—it still sounds cool.
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These two new additions to Antares' auto tune family bring the power of vocal tuning to new, affordable price points. Matt Vanacoro plugged in...
As time goes by, Auto-Tune is becoming more of an environment than a single plugin. With pitch correction included in many modern DAWs, Antares had to adapt and bring more to Auto-Tune in order to continue to offer value. Lucky for all of us, over the last few years Auto-Tune has grown immensely in functionality, performance, and creativity. The two latest additions to the ever-growing product line are Auto-Tune Access and Auto-Key. I downloaded both to take a look and a listen.
Auto-Tune Access
Auto-Tune Access is a simple and budget-friendly way to get into the Auto-Tune environment. Access includes pitch correction with a selection of key and activation/deactivation of notes at the bottom of the window. The user can adjust retune speed as well as the amount of ‘humanization’ allowed in the track. The knobs are three position knobs and not continuous, so you’ve basically got slow/medium/fast for the speed control and off/min/max for humanization. This simplified interface lets you dial in subtle or extreme pitch correction within seconds.
As for the controls, that’s all you’ve got to deal with. One of the benefits of this ‘stripping down’ of the plugin is its extremely low CPU overhead and its responsiveness. The interface feels very snappy, and truth be told, you can probably take care of about 75% of the intonation problems you’ll encounter with this plugin. If you’re looking to purchase a version of Auto-Tune to just ‘tighten things up a bit’, this is really all you need. If you’re looking for graphical control or more precise control over the algorithm, you’re going to want to invest in EFX or Pro.
Auto-Key
Auto-Key was an interesting addition to the lineup. A single utility plugin separated from the main plugin, Auto-Key can communicate with all instances of Auto-Tune in your project at once. This is a godsend for those of us tracking large amounts of background vocals, double tracked lead vocals, and more. You can instantiate this plugin in a single place, and it will instantly analyze the song, let you know what key it thinks it should use, and push the updated key information out to all of the instances of Auto-Tune in your project. I tried it out with both Access and Pro in a Logic session and it worked perfectly.
How To Tell Key Of Song For Auto Tuneup
Another cool feature of this is that it can analyze your entire song in faster than realtime by opening up an audio file. This is handy if you have a bounce of the tune and you don’t want to turn it on and let it listen to a whole song. All in all, for 50 bucks, Auto Key seems like a no-brainer if you’re going to be using multiple instances of Auto-Tune or aren’t confident in your theory skills enough to determine the key of a song.
How To Tell Key Of Song For Auto Tunes
Conclusion
These two plugins work quite well hand-in-hand. I bought Auto-Key for keeps immediately after my review. I already owned Auto-Tune Pro so I didn’t really have a need for Auto-Tune Access, but if you haven’t jumped into the Auto-Tune product line yet, Access is most definitely worth a look if you don’t have graphical editing or precise control needs. I wished Auto-Key could continually analyze the song as it progressed and offer a stream of updated key data to the Auto-Tune instances, but hopefully that’s a feature coming down the line!
Price: Auto-Key - $49 / Auto-Tune Access - $99
Pros: Simple interface, light on the CPU, easy to install, no documentation really needed, it’s autotune for under a hundred bucks.
Cons: Three position knobs don’t offer as much control as I’d like, fingers crossed for an Auto-Key live that updates the key information continuously!
Website:www.antarestech.com
Learn more about vocal production: https://ask.audio/academy?nleloc=new-releases