Auto-Tune is a situation that some like, some dislike and are uncomfortable with the people who use it, and some are completely neutral towards the subject. Recently, Auto-Tune has been in so much of the music industry that the song that does not have Auto-Tune has officially become finger pointing.
So what is Auto-Tune, why is it used, what does it do? To answer this question, let’s dig a little deeper.
What is Auto-Tune?
Autotune is a proprietary audio processor developed by Antares Audio Technologies. When it was first developed it was prepared to interpret seismic data. But it was later discovered that this technology could also be used for detection and analysis and tuning. It allows many artists to make more precisely tuned recordings. The term is generally used to refer to ‘Tuning’ correction technology developed by other companies.
No matter how scientifically it is explained, in general, in recent rap culture, Auto-Tune is used far from its scientific meaning, which causes people to attribute a different meaning to Auto-Tune than it normally does. Of course, when the essence of the matter is known, it is obvious that this situation is not true, but such a logic is settled for now.
What does Autotune do?
Developed by Antares Audio Technologies, which we mentioned above, Auto-Tune is normally used to correct the tuning of vocal and instrumental performances. In a more known sense, it is used to eliminate the detone problem.
The situation that causes misunderstanding in popular culture today is that Auto-Tune has an effect that will change the voice of the person with some settings. If this use, which is out of the ordinary, is not paid attention to, the sound loses its naturalness and becomes mechanical because it tries to destroy the tones in the sound very quickly. This situation, which is frequently encountered in today’s rap songs, has changed the perspective of many people against this technology.
How to use Autotune?
- Step 1# Apply the Autotune Plugin to the track.
- Step 2# Select key scale and input type.
- Step 3# Select the reset speed.
- Step 4# Decide how perfect the vocal should be.
- Step 5# Remove your vocals from the song and focus on the background music.
Even though each Auto-Tune program has its own working style, the general function principle remains the same. Although this situation is simple enough to be handled with one click for iOS and Android, things are a little different on the computer. So, assuming you have installed a plug-in on the computer, we touched on the subject.
Step 1# Apply the Autotune plugin to the track
Although the plugins all look different from each other, they all work the same. Although the aforementioned terms are those in the default plugin of Logic Pro, it will be obvious what is what, as we will explain it in a language that is likely to appear in all plugins. Since Auto-Tune can only be used on one part of a song at a time, all you have to do here is simply separate the part and the part you want to edit.
Step 2# Select key, scale and input type
In this case, you will usually have two options. You can manually select a key and a scale (such as G Minor key, Melodic minor scale) or enter it yourself from the provided program. If you select a key and scale from the list, you may still want to set which notes can be used as the target for tuning from the keyboard.
Step 3# Select the recalibration speed
Now we will focus on the reset button. A slower rate like 400ms to half a second is completely undetectable but in most cases will be completely slow even to do anything. Loop the vocals in solo mode (So you can only hear the singer) and start retuning at the slowest amount allowed. Increase it slowly and start to see the notes that the meter detects. You will also begin to see how sharp or flat it is in cents as it is perceived as well. This amount also shows how much correction needs to be applied.
Step 4# Decide how perfect the vocal should be
No matter how finely tuned you are, no human can hit a perfect note. Even the best will be missing a few cents. If you remove this deficiency, it will sound unrealistic. If you want to add the human element back to the vocal track, use the Flex Tune option if available in your plugin. This allows vocals to be excluded by the amount you define. Simply put, it tells the program not to make any changes if it is close enough. A small amount of this can bring your piece back to reality.
Now focus on the ‘Humanize’ button or something similar if available. If the vocals start to fluctuate too much instead of smoothing out an unwanted note, it tells the plug-in to hold a certain note. Use this when your song holds long notes at the end of sentences.
Step 5# Remove your vocal from the song and focus on the background music
In the last step, you remove the solo of your vocal so that you can hear the background songs. This way, listen to your work as a full mix. From here, the only thing you’ll probably want to tweak is the retuning speed. The add-ons you will make here will be completely according to your heart. You may want a slightly robotic sound in electronic music such as Dubstep or EDM, or you can slow down the retuning speed for music such as classical jazz, rock, and pop as you want the sound to be less.
Here are some Autotune apps you can find in the Android store:
Here are some Autotune apps you can find in the iOS store:
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