Pitch Correction For Your Vocal Recordings

  I’ve been recording music on multi-track equipment for 21 years now. I’ve gotten some incredible vocal takes over the years but I always hear the little bits that are a touch out of tune, or a little off the beat. About 2 years ago I switched to Pro Tools LE for all my studio recordings and it has really opened up a whole new world for music production. This is the current version of the  system I own:
Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Factory Pro Tools LE System
Mine is actually the Digi 002 Rack but I just wanted you to have a reference on what my studio setup is like. [Click Here to Find Digidesign Digi 002 Rack on eBay]

   What I’d like to talk about today is the amazing pitch correction plugin by Celemony called:
Celemony Melodyne Uno

   In a software based recording environment such as Sony Acid or Steinberg Nuendo you basically save each audio track to your computers hard drive and then you can edit the individual tracks in an amazing number of ways.
   I use Melodyne Uno extensively when fixing up vocals. Melodyne Uno can be used as a plugin with an audio production suite or it can be used as a standalone program. The way it works is it will load an audio file and then analyze the pitch and determine what note you’re singing. It will tell you how far off standard pitch that note is as well as how much the pitch drifts while the note is held. It will even analyze how much vibrato you’re using in your voice. Then it will allow you adjust all those parameters of the sound including the length of the note and the timing on a time-line. If you assign a Beats Per Minute parameter to the file you’re working on, it will even quantize the vocal line for you and put the notes exactly on the beat.
   I use Melodyne Uno primarily for pitch correction. I sing pretty close to in tune most of the time so the corrections are very subtle. But they really make a big difference to the finished track! If you want to get really radical you can move the notes all over the place and completely rearrange the melody any way you want it.
   There are more expensive versions of Melodyne that will create harmony lines for you and let you work on multiple tracks simultaneously. They are all available as upgrades to Melodyne Uno so I would suggest getting Uno to try it out and then if you want the more feature rich versions to go ahead and upgrade.
So my recommendation for software based pitch correction is:
Celemony Melodyne Uno
it has just been fantastic for me and I know you’ll love it too. Melodyne Uno has been replaced by the much more powerful Melodyne editor software. See below:

Celemony Melodyne editor SoftwareMelodyne editor is the first Celemony product to offer the revolutionary Direct Note Access (RDNA) technology. This makes possible what had previously been considered impossible—access to individual notes in polyphonic audio material. Correct wrong notes in a piano recording; change the chords in a guitar accompaniment after the recording is over; refashion a sample lick. Melodyne editor lets you do things with your digital audio which, until now, you could only dream of. Massive Freedom With Melodyne editor you can edit your audio material in an intuitive and flexible way. Simply move an audio note to a different pitch or a different position. Make notes longer or shorter, louder or softer. Delete notes from chords or add new ones by copying. Transpose or quantize your material, create from it melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic variations. Once you’ve experienced the power to reshape audio in this way, you won’t want to live without it. The Best of Company Melodyne software is at home in all the great studios of the world and can be heard on countless productions. Leading producers are of one voice in praising the sound quality, flexibility, swiftness, and reliability that Melodyne brings to their day-to-day work. Melodyne editor continues this great tradition, and with DNA Direct Note Access, permits completely new applications that make Melodyne still more indispensable. A New Audio Age Melodyne editor with DNA Direct Note Access represents a quantum leap in audio editing and the logical continuation of the musical approach for which Melodyne is known. Direct Note Access will change the way we work with audio. A new, simpler, and more creative audio age is dawning, and with Melodyne editor, you’re in at the start.Applications First Take: Final Take That inspired first take can, with Melodyne editor, be the final one, even if it wasn’t error free. Simply reach into the recording and move wrong notes to the correct place or erase them. You can even correct intonation or timing errors automatically by macro if you wish, even if the material is polyphonic. Perfect Vocals Melodyne has proved itself a thousand times in the correction and optimization of vocal recordings. Melodyne editor with Direct Note Access offers still greater mastery of this high art: intonation and timing problems, unsteady volume, exaggerated or weak vibrato—all that can be corrected with a few mouse clicks. And the sound quality is Melodyne’s best ever. Perfect Timing With Melodyne editor, it’s child’s play to get things spot-on. You can adjust effortlessly and continuously the extent to which a performance deviates from metronomic precision and even give recordings a totally different rhythm. When quantizing, Melodyne not only moves individual notes but also adjusts their length, even when the material is polyphonic. That guarantees results of unprecedented musicality. Sound Library Reloaded With Melodyne editor, much will change, includ

[Click Here to find Melodyne Uno on eBay]