new-fangled vocal effect we used … we didn ’ t succeed . In this case , no news is good news . It shouldn ’ t be evident that we have applied any pitch correction at all .
UNIQUE , JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE : Once we have a good grasp on the timing and variance and formant settings on a single vocal , we can start to think about harmonizer effects . These sorts of tools allow us to build up a backing choir of a few voices out of an input of a single vocal line . For this effect to work well , it is imperative that we enter the right key and scale for the song . Let ’ s assume for ease of discussion here that we have a song in the key of C Major . We can build a triad of voices from the input signal by creating a harmony part up a third and a fifth and an octave from our source . If our vocal input is a C note , the harmonizer set to C Major will create an E and a G and another C up an octave — a major chord . Just as we noted with the Cher and T-Pain example , we likely don ’ t want to have a perfect chord generated in perfect time . Using the Dual Auto Key Harmoniser within the Allen & Heath dLive system as an example , the ‘ Pitch Variation ’ and ‘ Time Variation ’ controls would be the two key settings to adjust in order to bring in the most human ( imperfect ) elements that we desire . Even the most professional choir of vocalists will have some amount of pitch and time variation , these two settings are the secret sauce in crafting generated vocal harmonies that work well in most worship settings .
THE KEY TO SUCCESS : Remember in the previous section when I said , “ For this effect to work well , it is imperative that we enter the right key and scale for the song ”? Well , how do I get the ‘ right ’ key and scale ? Should we just ask the worship leader before the service and jot them all down per song ? That is certainly one way to do it . We also have other options that could work . Again , referencing A & H dLive as our example , the Quad Voice Harmoniser generates up to 4 voices of natural-sounding vocal harmony , specified in musical intervals for simplicity , which follow either the global key , a local key , or a MIDI input . Still too much work for ya ? The Dual Auto Key Harmoniser adds up to 2 voices of harmony , utilizing the same core engine as the Quad-Voice Harmoniser , but with the addition of the intelligent Auto-Key mode , where a polyphonic source such as guitar or piano can be used to automatically determine the key of the performance in realtime . Auto-magical ! For those of you who need to get more fancy in your harmonizing , MIDI Harmoniser creates harmonies based
on an external MIDI input , from a DAW or played live , and includes a monophonic mode with a glide parameter to provide portamento between notes , plus a polyphonic mode for up to 4 voices of controllable harmony . Whether you have a MIDI input , jot down the global or local key per song and enter it in manually or let the dLive engine calculate the ‘ best ’ key , you ’ ll need to ensure that you work closely with the worship leader and the vocal team to align musical expectations prior to the service . Once again , we don ’ t want any surprises here and in many cases the goal is subtlety — to not make it obvious that generated harmonization is being used at all .
Hopefully this series on pitch correction has served as a good primer of the basics . It is by no means a complete guide and there is no substitute for testing out the various settings and methods during rehearsals with live musicians . Head over to https :// www . allenheath . com / hardware / dlive-series / rackultrafx / harmonisers / to hear the various referenced harmony tools in action on the Allen & Heath website . Thanks for tuning in !
Jeff Hawley A 20 + year music industry veteran — equally at ease behind the console , playing bass guitar , leading marketing teams or designing award-winning audio products . He currently heads up the marketing for Allen & Heath in the US .
98 October 2024 Subscribe for Free ...