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3 years ago
Auto-Tune
This week I’ll be talking about how to Auto-tune.
Auto-Tune is a proprietary[2] audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform perfectly tuned vocal tracks without the need of singing in tune. While its main purpose is to slightly bend sung pitches to the nearest true semitone (to the exact pitch of the nearest tone in traditional equal temperament), Auto-Tune can be used as an effect to distort the human voice when pitch is raised/lowered significantly.[3]
A lot of you may have heard electronically-sounding voices in recent music tracks. This technology was created by Andy Hildebrand, an engineer working for Exxon. He realized that the same autocorrelation technique used to find oil could also be used to correct singers’ unruly notes.
First of all, before I go on with teaching how to Autotune, I’ll give my opinion on it. There are a lot of debates going on as to whether Autotune is for the good or not. Because of this technology, even the not-so-vocally-talented people are able to make decent music, minus off-key notes. That’s why quite a number of people do not support Auto-tune or artists who use Autotune. Personally, I don’t think that Autotune or Autotune-using artists are deplorable. I believe that singing is an expression of oneself, and if using Autotune will aid you in that endeavor, then it is a welcome technology. And, like most technologies, it will also bring forth new ideas and styles not thought of before. I think of it as an artistic license. An example would be the Charlie-Bit-Me video that was autotuned, which I think is cute. :)
This method I’m going to show uses the Autotune plugin in Audacity, an audio-editing freeware.
1. Download Audacity 1.3 (Beta) and install it.
2. Download vst-bridge-1.1.exe and install it into the Program Files\Audacity 1.3 Beta (Unicode)\Plug-Ins folder. Take note, when you run the installer, the default installation folder set is Audacity\Plug-Ins without the “1.3 (Beta)”. Make sure you browse and install to the one with the “1.3 (Beta)” as seen in the picture. I’m using a 64bit system, hence it is installed in the x86 Program Files folder.
3. Run Audacity for the first time, and close it after it runs. This is simply a precautionary measure.
4. Download Atune EVO VST.
5. Run Setup.exe and install both the main program and the VST(i) plugin in the \Program Files\Audacity 1.3 Beta (Unicode)\Plug-Ins folder. You should be able to browse and choose the directory where the two will be installed. It might be good to run the setup as administrator, as some drivers would be installed. I didn’t run it as administrator, but it still worked out.
5. Restart your computer.
6. Run Audacity, record your voice or perhaps load an existing sound file.
7. Select the part of the sound wave you wish to Autotune and click on Effect > Antares Audio: Auto-Tune Evo VST
8. Copy the settings in the picture. You can save these settings so you won’t have to set them each time you want to Auto-tune. You can also tweak these settings to have different effects. I just found these settings on the net, which results in a T-Payne effect.
Settings:
key = c
scale = major
retune speed = 0
scale detune = 4 cents, 441.0 hertz
humanize = 0
natural vibrato = 0.0
rate = 0.1
onset delay = 0
variation = 0
onset rate = 0
pitch amount = 0
amplitude amount =.3
formant amount = 1To be able to export your file into an mp3, you will need to download Lame mp3 Encoder. And that is how you Auto-tune. Hope you enjoyed it. Happy Auto-tuning!
Notes
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