User manual ANTARES AUTO-TUNE - FOR TDM AND VST

Auto-Tune For TDM and VST UserÕs Manual tm v 1.8 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual i © 1999 Antares Audio Technologies All Rights Reserved Antares Audio Technologies 464 Montery Ave. 2nd Floor Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408) 399-0008 web: www.antarestech.com Auto-Tune software and this UserÕs Manual are protected by copyright law. Making copies, adaptations, or derivative works without the prior written authorization of Antares Audio Technologies, is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law. Antares Audio Technologies retains all ownership rights to the Auto-Tune software and other software offered by Antares Audio Technologies and their documentation. Use of Auto-Tune is limited by the license agreement printed on the envelope containing your original diskette and distributed on Þles with Auto-Tune. This license agreement also appears below. All trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Auto-Tune License Agreement Carefully read all the terms and conditions of this license agreement. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, notifying Antares Audio Technologies and destroying all copies of the manual, and erasing Auto-Tune from all machine-readable media, whether on-line or on archival copies. Software License Agreement Antares Audio Technologies grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use Auto-Tune, under the terms and conditions stated in this agreement. Use of Auto-Tune indicates your agreement to the following terms and conditions. License You may: 1. use Auto-Tune on only one computer at a time; 2. physically transfer the program from one computer to another, provided that the program is used on only one computer at a time. You may not: 1. make copies of Auto-Tune or of the user manual in whole or in part except as expressly provided for in this agreement. Your right to copy Auto-Tune and the user manual is limited by copyright law. Making copies, verbal or media translations, ii Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 2. 3. adaptations, derivative works, or telecommunication data transmission of AutoTune without prior written authorization of Antares Audio Technologies, is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law. make alteration or modifications to Auto-Tune (or any copy) or disassemble or decompile Auto-Tune (or any copy), or attempt to discover the source code of AutoTune. sub license, lease, lend, rent, or grant other rights in all or any portion of Auto-Tune (or any copy) to others. Term of the Agreement This agreement is effective until terminated by you or Antares Audio Technologies. You may terminate the agreement at any time by notifying Antares Audio Technologies and destroying all copies of the manual, and erasing Auto-Tune from all machine-readable media, whether on-line or on archival copies. In the event of breach of any of the terms of this agreement, you shall pay the attorney's fees of Antares Audio Technologies that are reasonably necessary to enforce the agreement plus resulting damages. Limited Warranty and Disclaimer Auto-Tune AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Antares Audio Technologies does not warrant that the functions contained in the program will meet your requirements. The entire risk as to the use, quality, and performance of Auto-Tune is with you. Antares Audio Technologies warrants the diskettes on which the program is furnished to be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety (90) days from the day of delivery to you as evidenced by a copy of your receipt. 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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual iii Welcome! On behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies, weÕd like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase the absolute best intonation correction software in the world. Before you proceed much farther, weÕd like to strongly encourage you to Þll out and return the Auto-Tune registration card. As an Auto-Tune owner, you are entitled to receive notiÞcation of any upgrades, technical support, and advance announcements of upcoming products. But we canÕt send you stuff unless we know who and where you are. So please, send it in. At Antares, we are committed to excellence in quality, customer service, and technological innovation. With your purchase of Auto-Tune, you have created a relationship with Antares, which we hope will be long and gratifying. Let us know what you think. You can count on us to listen to you. Again, thanks. The Whole Antares Crew iv Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 Getting Started 7 A few words from Dr. Andy 7 How To Use This Manual 8 The Contents Of This Manual 8 Chapter 1: Getting Started 8 Chapter 2: Introducing Auto-Tune 8 Chapter 3: Auto-Tune Tutorial 8 Chapter 4: Auto-Tune Controls 8 Installing Auto-Tune 9 Software Notes 9 Owner Registration 9 Technical Support 9 CHAPTER 2 Introducing Auto-Tune 11 What Is Pitch? 11 Some Terminology 12 The Purpose of Pitch Correction 13 How Auto-Tune Detects Pitch 14 How Auto-Tune Corrects Pitch 15 Auto-Tune Modes: Automatic and Graphical The Automatic Mode 16 The Graphical Mode 18 16 CHAPTER 3 Auto-Tune Tutorial 21 Lesson 1: Automatic Mode Controls 21 Lesson 2: Graphical Mode 24 Keyboard equivalents: 28 Lesson 3: A Quiz 29 Lesson 4: Precision 30 Lesson 5: Using the Make Curve Button 30 Lesson 6: Using the Make Auto Button 34 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual v More Information and Usage Tips 37 CHAPTER 4 Auto-Tune Controls 39 Automatic Mode Controls 39 The Scale popup 39 Modern equal temperament: 39 Historical tunings: 40 Ethnic Tunings: 40 Contemporary Tunings: 41 The Key popup 42 The Edit Scale button 42 The Scale Detune slider 44 The Retune slider 45 The Tracking slider 45 The Vibrato Section 45 The Change meter 46 Graphical Mode Controls 46 The Arrow buttons 46 The Graphical tools 47 The Line tool 47 The Curve tool 47 The Pointer tool 47 The Zoom/Select tool 48 The Undo button 48 The Cut and Copy buttons 48 The Paste Button 49 The Select All Button 49 Keyboard equivalents: 49 The Make Curve button 49 The Make Auto button 50 The Tracking slider 50 The Retune slider 51 The Playback controls 51 The Track Pitch button 51 The Correct Pitch button 52 The Buffer size control 52 The Use Cursors button 52 vi Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual CHAPTER 1 Getting Started A few words from Dr. Andy I remember, as if it were yesterday, sitting in my junior high school band, happily playing away on my ßute, when I noticed that our conductor was screaming and jumping up and down on the podium. What was this about? Suddenly, I realized she was screaming at me. And just in time too Ñ since I was able to duck and watch a baton ßy past my head, missing me by inches. ÒWhy [expletive] canÕt you play in tune?Ó she asked. But I was in tune. Everybody else was out of tune. It was then I began to learn about intonation. Many artists struggle with intonation. An entire concert can be spoiled by a single sour note. Many of our most celebrated entertainers spend hours in the studio doing retake after retake, trying to sing expressively and in tune. Afterwards, their producers spend yet more time trying to correct intonation problems using inadequate tools. Auto-Tune is dramatically changing all of that. Because of Auto-Tune, sessions can focus on feeling and expression, rather than retakes. Studio hours are reduced and production costs are lowered. Even artists in live performance situations can concentrate on interpretation, conÞdent that any pitch inaccuracies will be caught and corrected before they make it out to the audience. WhatÕs more, Auto-Tune is incredibly easy to use (a fact attested to by the thinness of this manual). So Þre up Auto-Tune, invest a half hour or so in reading the following pages, and prepare to make intonation problems a thing of the past. Andy Hildebrand Ph.D. Founder and Chief Scientist andy@antarestech.com Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 7 Getting Started How To Use This Manual Auto-Tune has a transparent user-interface and is extraordinarily easy to use. However, because Auto-Tune does things that have never been done before, some aspects of the user-interface will not be immediately obvious. You must read either Chapter 3, Auto-Tune Tutorial, or Chapter 4, AutoTune Controls, to learn the essential information you will need to operate Auto-Tune. The Contents Of This Manual Chapter 1: Getting Started The chapter you are reading. Chapter 2: Introducing Auto-Tune This chapter explains basic facts about pitch and how Auto-Tune functions to correct for pitch errors. The basic functionality of Auto-Tune is discussed, and information you need to use it effectively is provided. Chapter 3: Auto-Tune Tutorial This chapter introduces you to details of how Auto-Tune works by guiding you through several tutorials. All of the important controls are explained. Also, important hints and tips are presented that will help you use AutoTune effectively. If you only read one chapter, read this one. Chapter 4: Auto-Tune Controls This chapter is reference information for all of the controls used in the AutoTune interface. Much of the information in this chapter is also presented in Chapter 3, however, some of the less important controls are only explained in Chapter 4. 8 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual Installing Auto-Tune Installing Auto-Tune To install Auto-Tune, double click the installer icon. Information about the authorization process call be found in the installed read-me Þle. Software Notes The TDM version of Auto-Tune is used within ProTools and other programs that access TDM through DAE. Auto-Tune processes one audio channel per DSP chip. Owner Registration Your purchase of Auto-Tune entitles you to technical support, special introductory offers on new products from Antares Audio Technologies, and notiÞcation of software updates. Software updates will be published as the program evolves. Please Þll out and return the Owner Registration Card. The information on the card will allow us to communicate more effectively with you and will enable us to serve you better in the future. Technical Support If you have some problem using Auto-Tune that canÕt be solved by reading the manual, call Antares Customer Support at (888) 332-2636, or (408) 3990008 Monday through Friday between 9 AM to 5 PM PaciÞc Standard Time. Also, you might Þnd what you want at our web page: www.antarestech.com You can also e-mail: techsupport@antarestech.com Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 9 Getting Started 10 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual CHAPTER 2 Introducing Auto-Tune Auto-Tune is a breakthrough in digital signal processing (DSP) in the music industry. It puts you in control of pitch. Moreover, Auto-Tune is a precision instrument for controlling pitch, allowing you to apply nuances of intonation to any performance. These nuances were only previously available to synthesized music if the engineer involved was willing to do a lot of work. Access to this new level of control is achieved by any Auto-Tune user who has a basic understanding of pitch and how Auto-Tune functions to correct for pitch errors. This chapter presents basic terminology and introduces Auto-TuneÕs operating paradigm, giving you information you need to use it effectively. What Is Pitch? Pitch is a quality of sound relating to the frequencies of the energy involved. Some sounds are very complex and donÕt involve energy of speciÞc frequencies. Even then, there is pitch. Compare, for example the pitch of hissing steam with the rumble of an earthquake. Other sounds, although still complex, have more speciÞc pitch. A symphony orchestra playing a scale in unison is an example of this. The waveforms involved are very complex; nonetheless, you are able to easily sense the pitch. Vocalist and the majority of individual instruments have the most clearly deÞned quality of pitch. The sound-generating mechanism of these sources is a vibrating element (vocal chords, a string, an air column, etc.). The sound that is generated consists of energy at a frequency (called the fundamental) and energy at frequencies that are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency (called harmonics). These sounds have a waveform (pressure as a Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 11 Introducing Auto-Tune function of time) that is periodic. This means that the waveform repeats itself, such as the periodic waveform shown in the diagram, below. Periodic Waveform: Digiwave Non-periodic Waveform: Violin Section Other sounds are more complex. The non-periodic waveform, above, is from a violin section playing a single tone. Our ears still sense a pitch, but the waveform does not repeat itself This non-periodic violin section is a summation of a number of individually periodic violins. The summation is non-periodic because the individual violins are slightly out of tune with respect to one another. Some Terminology The pitch of periodic waveforms is deÞned as the number of cycles per second of the waveform. This unit is named Hertz (abbreviated Hz.). The standard instrumental tuning is A3 = 440 Hz. Pitches are often described relative to one another as intervals, or ratios of frequency. For example, two pitches are said to be one octave apart if their frequencies differ by a factor of two. Pitches which are integer multiples of one-another sound more ÒharmoniousÓ when played together, whereas pitches that are not are said to be ÒdissonantÓ. Pitch ratios are measured in units called ÒcentsÓ. There are 1200 cents per octave. For example, two tones that are 2400 cents apart are two octaves apart and have a pitch ratio of 4 (or 1/4). 12 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual The Purpose of Pitch Correction The twelve-tone Equal Tempered Scale consists of tones that are, by deÞnition, 100 cents apart. These are called semi-tones. This scale is the ubiquitous scale used (or rather approximated) in 99.9% of all Western tonal music. The twelve equally-spaced tones of the Equal Tempered Scale happen to contain a number of intervals that approximate integer ratios in pitch. The following table shows these approximations: Nearby Ratio 16/15 9/8 6/5 5/4 4/3 3/2 8/5 5/3 16/9 15/8 2 Interval minor second major second minor third major third perfect fourth tritone perfect Þfth minor sixth major sixth minor seventh major seventh octave TABLE 1. The Cents 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 Ratio Cents 111.73 203.91 315.64 386.31 498.04 701.95 813.69 884.36 996.09 1088.27 1200 Equal Tempered Scale As you can see, the intervals in the Equal Tempered Scale are NOT equal to the harmonious integer ratios. Rather, the Equal Tempered Scale is a compromise. It became widely used because once a harpsichord or piano is tuned to that scale, any composition in any key could be played and no one chord would sound better or worse than that same chord in another key. In modern times, synthesizers can generate any intonation at any moment, allowing the use of ideal pitch ratios when ever they are desired. The Purpose of Pitch Correction When voices or instruments are out of tune, the emotional qualities of the performance are lost. Correcting intonation solves this problem and Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 13 Introducing Auto-Tune restores the performance. Auto-Tune is mostly used to solve these gross intonation problems. However, as you shall see, Auto-Tune is also a precision instrument, allowing intonation to be controlled to extraordinary degrees of accuracy. This allows the tonal aspects of music to be controlled accurately and easily to achieve any desired consonance or dissonance in harmonies. Don't try to raise the pitch more than an octave. Auto-Tune has a built-in limitation of not being able to raise a pitch more that one octave (1200 cents). This is not considered a problem since most pitch corrections will be +/- 20 cents. How Auto-Tune Detects Pitch In order for Auto-Tune to automatically correct pitch, it must also detect the pitch of the input sound. ItÕs easy for you to calculate the pitch of a periodic waveform: Simply measure the time between repetitions of the waveform. Divide this time into one, and you have the frequency in Hertz. Auto-Tune does the same thing: It looks for a periodically repeating waveform and calculates the time interval between repetitions. The pitch detection algorithm in Auto-Tune is virtually instantaneous. Like your eye-ball, it can see the repetition in a periodic sound within a few cycles. This usually occurs before the sound has sufÞcient amplitude to be heard. Used in combination with a slight delay (about 1 to 10 milliseconds), the output pitch can be detected and corrected without artifacts in a seamless and continuous fashion. Auto-Tune will not detect pitch when the input waveform is not periodic. Hence, Auto-Tune will fail to tune up a violin section. (It is possible to tune up an out of tune violin section, either tuning the sound as is, or by tuning up the individual players within the sound. This is done on samples for synthesizers using the Antares Audio Technologies InÞnity software. Using InÞnity, you can actually made a community orchestra sound like the New York Philharmonic. But InÞnity processes samples, whereas Auto-Tune is used on performances.) Back to Auto-Tune, if the input waveform is not periodic, Auto-Tune will fail. At times, this can be a problem. Consider, for example, a breathy voice, or a voice recorded with a wind sound. The added noise is non-periodic, 14 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual How Auto-Tune Corrects Pitch and Auto-Tune will have difÞculty determining the pitch of this sound. There is a slider (the Tracking slider, discussed in Chapter 4) that will allow Auto-Tune to be more casual about what it calls ÒperiodicÓ, which will help in these cases. If you have problems processing a particular sound, zoom it up and look at it. If it is non-periodic, Auto-Tune will not work. If you can correct that problem, by using EQ or re-recording, then those are options available to you. The precision by which Auto-Tune detects pitch is extraordinary. At a frequency of 400 Hz and a sample rate of 44100, the Auto-Tune DSP algorithm computes the pitch to an accuracy of .0001 samples per cycle, or .0004 Hz. At this resolution, the very question ÒWhat is pitch?Ó becomes relevant. That is, as the pitch of typical performances continuously change, the amount of variation in pitch, even over the time of a few cycles, changes greatly in comparison to the accuracy by which Auto-Tune computes pitch. The pitch computed by Auto-Tune is a mathematical estimate of the cycle period repetition rate over the last two (or sometimes the last four) cycles. Auto-Tune was designed to detect and correct pitches up to C6. In reality, if a pitch goes higher than C6, Auto-Tune will often interpret the pitch an octave lower. This is because it interprets a two cycle repetition as a one cycle repetition. These pitches can be corrected by the usual means. On the low end, Auto-Tune will detect pitches as low as A0 (55Hz). This range of pitches allows intonation correction to be performed on all vocals and almost all instruments. How Auto-Tune Corrects Pitch Auto-Tune changes the instantaneous pitch and introduces no distortion in the output. It does this using the same basic computations used in samplers to re-tuned samples. This is different from other pitch-shifting algorithms which put noise in sounds as a result of FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) overlap-and-save algorithm phase errors. The Auto-Tune algorithm is very clean and transparent. It isnÕt possible to tell that a sound has been processed by Auto-Tune except that it is in-tune. Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 15 Introducing Auto-Tune The accuracy of pitch correction in Auto-Tune is exceptional. In the worst case, a continuously varying tone can be corrected (at the discretion of the user) to within an error of at most one cycle in 80 seconds (assuming the Retune slider is set to zero). These accuracies are equivalent to the .01 cent accuracies by which the various scales of the Automatic Mode (discussed below) are internally speciÞed. These accuracies are also equivalent to the accuracies of the clocks which control music studio functions. Chapter three will step you through a demonstration where two badly out of tune C2Õs are independently tuned to the same standard with no beat cycles. (Beat cycles are the perceptual result of hearing two tones that are close in frequency. As the relative phase of the fundamental and harmonics change from in phase to out of phase, constructive and destructive reinforcement occurs which alternately makes the composite sound loud and soft.) Auto-Tune Modes: Automatic and Graphical Auto-Tune has two separate and distinct ways to operate, almost as if there were actually two separate programs in one package. These are called modes, and are named the Automatic Mode and the Graphical Mode. The Automatic Mode and Graphical Mode function separately; when one is active, pitch corrections of the other are not performed. Both the Automatic and Graphical Mode allow the ÒbypassÓ button to be used. Even though bypass is a well known plug-in control, I mention it because it functions seamlessly and can be used to punch pitch correction on and off during processing. The Automatic Mode The Automatic Mode works by continuously tracking the pitch of the input sound and comparing it to a scale. The scale tone having pitch closest to the input is continuously identiÞed. An output pitch is generated which is closer to the scale tone than the input pitch. You have control of the scale. 16 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual The Automatic Mode Major, minor, chromatic and 26 historical, ethnic and microtonal scales provide unprecedented control of the output tonality. Scale pitches can be disabled causing no pitch correction. Scale pitches can also be removed allowing a wider range of pitch correction for neighboring pitches. The scale can be de-tuned, allowing pitch correction to any pitch center. You also choose the key of the scale. You have control over how rapidly, in time, the pitch adjustment to the scale tone is made. This is done with the Retune slider (fast to slow settings). Fast Retune settings are more appropriate for short duration tones and for mechanical instruments, like an oboe or clarinet. A fast setting will remove a vibrato. Slow Retune settings are appropriate for longer tones where you want expressive pitch gestures (like vibrato) to come through to the output. A slower setting can leave a vibrato unmodiÞed but accurately adjust the pitch center to be in-tune. The Automatic Mode can also introduce a vibrato into the sound. The Vibrato Section lets you control the depth, rate and delay of the vibrato. You can also choose the style of pitch variation in the vibrato (sine, ramp or square).You would use the Vibrato Section when you have a vocalist who Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 17 Introducing Auto-Tune has not learned to use his (or her) own vibrato. It can also be used for special sound design effects. A fast pitch adjustment to remove an existing vibrato can be used in conjunction with the Vibrato Section to replace a vibrato with a new one. This will not always give good results, though, (as discussed in Chapter 3), because there are usually accompanying changes in the loudness of the sound. The Graphical Mode The Graphical Mode is similar to the Automatic Mode in that it also continuously tracks the pitch of the incoming sound and modiÞes the output pitch to be closer to a desired pitch. But in the Graphical Mode, the desired pitch 18 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual The Graphical Mode is not a scale tone, rather it is given graphically by you and is called the Òtarget pitch functionÓ. As in Automatic Mode, the rate of change towards the desired pitch (the target pitch function) is controlled by the Retune slider. The Graphical Mode uses the Pitch Graph: In this graph, higher pitches are upwards and increasing time is to the right. The lighter (red) curve is the input sound pitch and the darker line is a target pitch function. The light, horizontal lines are scale pitches. The key annotation, scale names, scale pitches and Detune value are those deÞned in the Automatic Mode. They do not affect the computations of the Automatic Mode in any way. They are merely annotated on the Pitch Graph to guide you in setting the target pitch function. To change them, choose the Automatic Mode and change the Key popup, Scale popup, or the Detune slider, respectively. Moving the detune slider down (more negative) causes the horizontal line to go down (ßatter). The Graphical Mode also uses the Envelope Graph: This graph shows the envelope of the sound whose pitch is shown in the Pitch Graph. The horizontal scale of this graph will either 1) show the entire Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual 19 Introducing Auto-Tune envelope of the pitch-detected sound or 2) align the envelope to the horizontal scale and position of the Pitch Graph. In Graphical Mode, the user draws the target pitch function using line and curve drawing tools. Complete image sizing and scrolling controls are provided. A graphical editor allows easy editing, including cut, copy and paste functions. The basic steps you will perform in Graphical Mode are: ¥ Select some sound for processing. For ProTools III, this is done in the Edit window. ¥ Bring up Auto-Tune and press the Track Pitch button, then play back the sound. The pitch will be detected and then displayed in the Pitch Graph as a red curve. ¥ Create a target pitch function using the graphical tools and adjust the Retune slider for the desired effect. ¥ Play back the sound. This will cause the pitch to be corrected as speciÞed. In Graphical Mode, Auto-Tune sometimes identiÞes the pitch to be an octave lower than it really is. In these cases, simply correct the pitch as you would if the pitch was lower (ex. +/- 20 cents). Auto-Tune will apply this correction to achieve the desired result. In Graphical Mode, it is important that the sound played back for pitch correction begins precisely at the same spot as the sound played back for pitch detection. This is because the plug-ins do not know the absolute Òtime-of-dayÓ. The speciÞed target pitch will be applied to whatever sound occurs after playback begins, even if it is a completely different sound. 20 Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual