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I just saw a post about PITCH SHIFTING and TEMPO STRETCHING (I cut/pasted this. The caps were there).

I advance-searched Forum and index at Help, but haven't found much. What would real-world applications be? Is pitch shifting = vocal pitch correction.

Just speak down to me. Like if I were a 6-chord folk guy, use a simplified answer if possible, OR if it is for more complex music structures, you can just say that; it would be beyond my skills at this point.

Thanks.

A 6-Chord Folk Guy


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Hi Andy,

Pitch Shifting is the ability to change the key of a song after it's composed (eg. if a song key doesn't suit the vocalist you can change it to a more suitable key).

I use Tempo stretching mainly to speed up or slow down a song after it's composed eg. if the vocalist wants to sing it faster or slower. I've also used it to change tempo of songs to suit dancers where song needs to be to specific beats per minute tempo.

Vocal Pitch correction is a different ball game and would work on the vocal track after recording to correct any imperfections in the vocalist's pitching (eg corrections where he/she might go sharp or flat)

Hope this helps.

Kev.

Last edited by Kev T; 12/18/16 08:56 AM.

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OH!, OK. Thank you, Kev.

Probably not exactly like (or exactly like) the standard Key and Tempo settings in the top menu. Plus the vocal correction. I need to monkey around with this one. I've seen "a friend" have the engineer use auto-correct, but though I knew the technology is in BB, I don't run the vocal track thru BB. But I should look at that. For that friend....

Thanks, Kev.


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I have used it to correct a bad note here and there but to pull a flat vocal into place you adjust by cents rather than semitones. 100 cents is one semitone, or one half step. If your note is just a SHADE flat, try moving it 10 cents at a time. Highlight just that note and adjust accordingly.

Last edited by eddie1261; 12/18/16 09:55 AM.
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Thanks, Eddie. Great appreciated.

And thanks for tying the "cents" in. I have a StroboHD instrument tuner that I use to sweeten my guitar strings, as you know, to dial them in to adjust for fret/neck/string flex, etc. I never thought about cents with vocals. Makes perfect ok I'm not going to say it.

Thanks!


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In PGMusic products the pitch shifting is a manual job; try it by 10 cents, see if it's close then adjust again.

Tuning plugins are different, they auto adjust as needed.
A free one is GSnap
http://www.gvst.co.uk/gsnap.htm
(worth looking at the manual to get the workflow)

Most others cost decent $$ ..
I have a couple others, but GSnap may be good enough for some.


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Thanks, RHarv!


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Some early versions of Cakewalk software had time stretch features. I believe most of the new ones do as well and also are including Melodyne as part of the package.

The time shifting was promoted as a way to make tracks fit into a specific time frame either by stretching or compacting them without altering the pitch. They used the example of needing to fit a 27 second clip into a 30 second radio or TV commercial spot.

With any time or pitch shifter, the important part of using it is to avoid the appearance of artifacts that are audible to the listener. The further you shift from the original pitch/tempo, the more likely you are to introduce artifacts. The artifacts are more noticeable in certain instruments and not so much in others. Drums for example, tend to not show artifacts as easily.

This artifact creation aspect of time and pitch shifting is one of the reasons you see "recommended" tempo ranges on real tracks. If you decide to use a piano track with a recommended tempo of 60bpm in a song running at 160bpm, the artifacts and character will generally be off the charts so much so that in fact, the track will not fit well.

I don't know much about the real tracks we use, but I think I heard that they are all recorded several times and each time in different keys so that when you go to use one, there's a fairly good chance that one of those takes was in the key you're using or is only a half step or so away from one of the keys. That way, the artifacts are minimized from what they would be if RB had to transpose 3 whole steps on a piano part.

The less you have to move something.... either in time or pitch, the better off you are.

Just my 2 cents


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There is a great free VST autocorrect out there called GSNap, which has a subtle setting on it.

They also have Gtune, which is like a guitar tuner you can place in any channel. Really nice. And free.

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/gsnap-by-gvst


or 64 and 32 bit

http://www.gvst.co.uk/gsnap.htm


If you have a slight pitchiness in your vocals, you can run it though the subtle setting and it will pretty much fix it, and it is not noticeable.

Work really great if you are "close" and just want to trim the edges.

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Thanks, guys. Greatly appreciated.

I'm usually within a 1/2 step or so of the note.

Seriously, it would be interesting to look at it. Right on, Herb, my dad called similar stuff, "tinker-itis". Don't screw with stuff too much, you'll get lost and the befores-and-afters get all jumbled and you forget where you were trying to go.

I'm stoked about the tuner, David. And thank you so much for your good ears yesterday with the chord sequences. Shifting "my" norms around really took the song and me somewhere else.

And now I'm trying not to screw with the rest of the song too much. Which is an impossibility.

Laters!


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