3 Ways to Tune Vocals Explained

Classic and Simple Autotune

One of the oldest ways to tune vocals is also one of the simplest.

Automatic vocal tuners all have a similar setup—they include 12 selectable notes, the speed of note transition, and, of course, the amount by which the note will have its pitch shifted to the nearest enabled note.

On some tuners, you may see a “Humanize” function, which controls pitch modulation within the individual note.

For example, if a singer hits the note A4, the fundamental frequency will be 440Hz; however, it’s unlikely that the singer will adhere to that frequency.

Their voice will likely modulate or move slightly above and below that frequency, as will all of the vocal’s overtones at their respective frequencies.

Usually, this is just called vibrato. The humanize function either retains the majority of this vibrato or, when off, reduces pitch modulation to adhere more closely to the intended frequency.

We’ll be able to control this more with different processors, but for now, humanize is a limited but effective way to either preserve or alter vibrato.

Regarding the vocal’s key, there will likely be 7 notes that are in-key and 5 that are out-of-key. The performance may have fewer notes, so it’s a good idea to find the exact notes and enable those instead of using a preset key.

Once this is established, control the amount, the speed, humanize, or any other parameter.

Alternatively, keeping all 12 keys enabled and using subtle tuning can sound the most natural. Some of the notes will still be slightly out of tune, but it’ll improve the overall ratio of in-tune to out-of-tune parts.

So again, all of this is straightforward - you have 3 main options for these tuners. You can use the classic Autotune, Slate Digital’s Metatune, which has some additional features like doubling, lookahead, and minimum time frames before notes can change, or, you can try to find a free option.Spoton by Sixth Sample is a great free option.

Let’s listen to a vocal being tuned with each of these tuners.

Watch the video to learn more >

Intermediate Melodyne Tuning

Whereas Autotune and other real-time tuners are more suited to quick mixing, achieving a tuned vocal sound, or live performances, Melodyne and other vocal editors are where the majority of vocal tuning occurs for most projects.

The track is imported into the software and analyzed to determine its key, tempo, the relative pitch of each phase, amplitude values, and pitch modulation. Then, each vocal phrase is mapped like MIDI data.

This data can have its pitch, timing, vibrato, formants, dynamics, and amplitude altered as the engineer sees fit. Meanwhile, the key and tempo can be altered if needed.

This can be done for the collective performance using macro controls up top, or each note can be meticulously placed and adjusted.

For example, if I click on a note and open the tab to the left, we can observe and control the intended note, the cents above or below the intended frequency, with every 6 cents equating to 1Hz, or we can control the frequency.

The Humanize function we discussed earlier is here, but now it’s divided into two functions: Pitch Modulation and Pitch Drift. Again, modulation is more or less vibrato, while drift is the gradual pitch bending up or down to a note from a previous note.

These can be changed globally, note by note, or to a small section of notes.

Then we get some more unique controls like formant shifting. Vocalists typically have 3 formants or clusters of frequencies responding to vowel articulation.

By shifting the formants up or down, we can retain the note's original pitch while making the singer sound as if they have a deeper or higher voice. Again, this can be global or individual.

The overall amplitude can be adjusted, notes can be turned off, and we have control of the attack and sibilance of the vocal.

This is more editing than tuning, but it helps to know it’s an option.

I find this note window the easiest way to adjust a note or section, but there’s a toolbar if you’d prefer a more visual approach.

So, say I wanted natural-sounding tuning - I could highlight the notes and use the macro pitch control to move each phrase to the closest in-key note. Similarly, I could subtly adjust the pitch drift to reduce bending up or down to a note.

If needed, I could adjust notes individually - moving their pitch and adjusting the parameters.

If I wanted an unnatural sound, I’d use more aggressive settings.I could use the macro controls like before, then individually alter the modulation and drift to create unnaturally static notes that strictly adhere to the intended frequency.

Although more than can be done in this platform, let me show you one more tuning-related option.

If I want to create harmonies, I could highlight the note or notes, hit command-C or right-click and copy. Then, I’ll move the play bar to where the note or phrase started, ensure I don’t have notes highlighted, and hit command V or right-click and paste.

If I kept the original selection highlight, Melodyne will replace the highlighted section with what I pasted.

Since I didn’t, I now have notes stacked on top of one another, which I can pitch shift.

If I want to create a 3rd or a 5th, I would drag the pasted phrase to that note. Like any separated phrase, I could adjust the pitch, modulation, formants, and any other provided parameter, and it won’t affect the original performance from which I copied this one.

Let’s listen to an untuned vocal. Then, we’ll listen to the vocal being tuned to sound naturally in tune, and lastly, the vocal tuned to sound unnatural.

Watch the video to learn more >

Free DAW Alternatives to Melodyne

DAWs are beginning to incorporate tuning methods similar to Melodyne - although I can’t speak for every DAW, Logic includes flex pitch options that follow a similar concept.

Here’s the quickest way to use it.

Double-click the vocal track you want to affect. This will open up the editor window.

Ensure you edit the track and not the file to avoid making permanent changes.

Next, click the flex icon that looks like a bow tie.

Turn on Flex when prompted, and notice that the track has been separated into multiple smaller phrases.

Right now, Flex has only measured timing variations and not pitch.

To the right of the Flex Icon, open the window and select Flex Pitch - at this point, you’ll see Logic’s Piano Roll.

You’ll likely need to scroll down until you see each phrase allocated to a note, just like in Melodyne.

If you’d like, you can select a scale to snap the notes to, or you can highlight and adjust their pitch with the pitch correction slider.

To edit individual notes and access more parameters, zoom in until you see 6 blue dots around a note.

Now, you can move the pitch of the individual note or hover over each dot, representing a different parameter. These include pitch drift to and from a note, fine-tuning in cents, amplitude, vibrato or pitch modulation, and the formant.

To alter multiple notes, highlight a group or hit command A, zoom in until you see these dots, and adjust the parameter over 1 note. The changes you make to this note will affect all other highlighted notes.

To create harmonies, you’ll need to duplicate the original track and adjust the notes of the duplicate.

To my ear Logic’s free version introduces more artifacts; however, it’s really impressive that this comes with the DAW.

Let’s listen to the same vocal we used in the previous demo. Again, we’ll start with the untuned before listening to natural tuning, followed by unnatural tuning.

Let me know if you think Logic’s version of Melodyne holds up to the original.

Watch the video to learn more >