Melodyne as Mirror (Vocal, Intermediate, Recording)

A lot has been said about vocal tuning programs and plug-ins, such as Autotune and Melodyne. (Melodyne is good for more than just vocal manipulation, by the way.) While an effect like Melodyne can "fix" less-than-perfect performances, it can also be used as an objective vocal coach, or sorts. Here's how (you'll have to be comfortable with DAW recording):

1. With a well-tuned musical instrument, record the "standard" arpeggio vocal exercise: C root-E-G-C octave-G-E-C root; C# root-F-G#-C# octave-G#-E-C# root; D root-F#-A-D octave-A-F#-D root; etc. You know: Do-mi-so-do!-mi-so-do (I think...).

2. Track your vocal to follow the exercise.

3. Run the Melodyne Plugin to analyze your notes.

4. See how reasonably close you are as far as pitch matching and the strength of your vocal range. If you are familiar with the Melodyne interface, you'll know how easy it is to spot where your notes are on the scale - flat/sharp, in between notes, or relatively spot-on.

5. If there are problems, don't fix them in Melodyne! That's not the point of this exercise! Practice more (but don't blow out your vocal cords), learn to breathe better (yoga, anyone?), look up some decent vocal tips online, and/or pay for one-on-one lessons with a vocal coach.

Happy singing, happy recording...be happy! (Okay, be intense when the situation calls for it.)

Celemony Melodyne Plugin (Recording)

If there was ever an appropriate music analogy to Sauron's Ring of Power (from The Lord of the Rings), it would be the Melodyne Plugin. While it is true that in Pro Tools you can shift pitch by using the pitch-shifting effect in the non-real time Audio Suite menu, and you can stretch and fix tempos with the Elastic Time option in Pro Tools 7.4, Melodyne just makes those tasks a snap. It's like magic. No, better: Melodyne is like treating waveforms as MIDI.

The current version of Melodyne works best with monophonic sounds, that is, single-note melodies. Melodyne can only modify the tempos of multi-track recordings (like drums) and polyphonic sounds (chords and the like). (It has been reported that the next Melodyne version will decipher chords so you can fix/modify chord pitches.)

Keep in mind, that Melodyne can be used for "evil" too. Like Autotune, a producer can go perfection-crazy by fixing all sorts of notes and make a performance into some soft of pop music "perfection" (artifice would be the actual term). If your producing needs need that Autotune function, then by all means, go for it. However, you are just scratching the surface when it comes to manipulating the sounds around you: With Melodyne, you can make avian choirs from sampled bird chirps from your backyard and highway orchestras from the various cars zooming by your street - with actual melody, harmony, and tempo!

Yes, the Melodyne Plugin will take Pro Tools into the realm of Photoshop-for-the-ears in light-speed time. It works as VST, AU, and RTAS, so non-Pro Tools users can also experience the power of Melodyne! Check out the Celemony website for more information. The Melodyne Plugin costs between $250 and $300. The anticipated polyphonic upgrade will cost $130, or $400 for the full version (new users).

Just make sure that this and other plugins don't corrupt you musically (that's subjective!) and turn you into Gollum! Happy recording, my preciousss...