Antares AUTO-TUNE-FOR TDM AND VST User Manual
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
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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
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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
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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
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Limited Warranty and Disclaimer
Auto-Tune AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT
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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
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
A few words from Dr. Andy 7
How To Use This Manual 8
Installing Auto-Tune 9
Software Notes 9
Owner Registration 9
Technical Support 9
CHAPTER 2
What Is Pitch? 11
Some T erminology 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 16
The Automatic Mode 16
The Graphical Mode 18
Getting Started 7
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
Introducing Auto-Tune 11
CHAPTER 3
Lesson 1: Automatic Mode Controls 21
Lesson 2: Graphical Mode 24
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 Tutorial 21
Keyboard equivalents: 28
Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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More Information and Usage Tips 37
CHAPTER 4
Automatic Mode Controls 39
Graphical Mode Controls 46
Auto-Tune 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
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
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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.
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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.
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
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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
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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 Wa vef orm:
Digiwave
Non-periodic Wavef orm:
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.
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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).
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
Interval Cents
minor second 100 16/15 111.73
major second 200 9/8 203.91
minor third 300 6/5 315.64
major third 400 5/4 386.31
perfect fourth 500 4/3 498.04
tritone 600
perfect Þfth 700 3/2 701.95
minor sixth 800 8/5 813.69
major sixth 900 5/3 884.36
minor seventh 1000 16/9 996.09
major seventh 1100 15/8 1088.27
octave 1200 2 1200
TABLE 1.
The Equal Tempered Scale
Ratio
Ratio
Cents
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
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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.
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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,
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
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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
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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.
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
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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
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Auto-Tune UserÕs Manual
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