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How to Use Auto Tune

How to Use Auto-Tune

Have you ever wondered what it takes to Auto-Tune a record? Have you ever heard a perfect Auto-Tuned song and wonder how the vocal effect was achieved? Auto-Tuning a song requires skill and experience in using Auto-Tune. There are various software, plugins and Auto-Tune VSTs that help with Auto-Tuning. However, you need the knowledge of VST effects to correctly make things work. In this article, we are going to focus on what you need to know.

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What is Auto-Tune?

Auto-Tune is a piece of software created by Antares Audio Technologies that measure and alter pitch levels in instrumental and vocal music recording. The original use was to disguise or correct pitch, allowing tracks to sound perfectly tuned despite being slightly off-pitch. Now, Auto-Tune is widely used in studios and at concerts to disguise pitch flaws in the performance and make it sound pitch-perfect. Here are steps on how to use Auto-Tune in your music.

How to use Auto-Tune

Isolate the vocal track

Auto-Tune can only be used on one track of a song at a time. So the first step is to isolate the track that you would like to pitch-correct and add an instance of Auto-Tune onto that track. If you want to correct multiple tracks, you can do that by creating multiple instances of Auto-Tune on each individual track.

Find the key of the song

Find out what the key of the song is.  Once the software is set up, it will determine the key automatically after analyzing the track. The key might be a flat one or any other one before using the retune key. Make sure you set the key, or the track will sound wonky.

Adjust the retune speed to taste

The retune speed determines how long it takes to correct an existing note to the correct key. A very fast retune speed will make your vocals more “perfect” in terms of pitch, but they are likely to sound less natural as well.

This is where your own artistic vision comes into play. If you want to make a song that sounds like T-Payne, then you can crank the retune speed and embrace that classic Auto-Tune sound. If you’re going for something more natural, though, you’ll want to put in just enough retuning to perfect the sound without making it obvious. This will give you something that sounds natural and doesn’t create artifacts. As a general rule, aim anywhere between 50 and 80 milliseconds.

Set other effects

There are some other effects that you can add as well. Make sure you select the effects like ‘Natural Vibrato’ and ‘Humanize’ to make your recording clearer and more natural. Play around with the effects settings until it gives you the effects you desire.

Auto-Tune, whether you love it or hate it, is a pitch-correction tool that sound engineers and artists use. The use of this tool helps immensely in cleaning up tracks and making them sound better. When done correctly, the sound effects and pitch will sound better. But when done incorrectly, it will result in a wonky mix. For professional Auto-Tuning and music mixing and mastering services, contact us today at https://mrmixandmaster.com/ and we will be glad to help you out.

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