Unfortunately, “Emotion” isn’t a parameter you’ll find on pitch correction software. Pitch correction can oftentimes make a lifeless performance a bit more dynamic, but too much correction might turn a human into a robot. It’s safe to say that maintaining the emotional intent of a performance is first and foremost. With surgical pitch correction, you can find the errant section and fix it. Let’s say a vocalist holds out a note over several seconds, but loses pitch at the very end. You can probably imagine how useful this is in nearly any situation. Surgical vocal tuning, with a plugin like Melodyne, for example, gives the user control over each individual note in a take. What sounds great on one passage or phrase may not be as useful on another. The thing to remember, though, is that one setting acts on every note that a vocalist performs. When tracking through a plugin, or on performances that need just a slight bit of help, real-time plugins can do the trick. Pick the Right Tool(s)Īs we led with above, knowing when to use real-time pitch correction or surgical correction is important. You’ll have to rely on your ears for what works and what doesn’t in those instances.

If a passage is neither major or minor, there’s usually a “Chromatic” setting, too. Most plugins will provide all 12 keys and a major or minor designation. Believe it or not, I’m sure there have been instances where we’ve forgotten to set the appropriate key on our pitch correction tools and wondered why a performance sounds terrible. If it seems obvious, then that’s a good sign. The very first thing you’ll want to do when you open your vocal tuning plugin is set the key center of the song.

Waves vocal rider tutorial