Inspecting and preparing vocals

Welcome Back to the Course!

So now we sort of looked at timing and replacing drums, making sure your groove is okay. I just want to quickly also talk about something else that's equally important.

Tuning Vocals

Quite often, unfortunately, in this day and age, stuff comes in with problems, specifically, tuning. I often receive sessions where the vocals are really out of tune or some instruments have issues, but the main problem is usually the vocals.

Tools for Tuning

I actually spend a lot of time tuning vocals these days.

• Melodyne: My favorite tool.
• Autotune: Another option, but I prefer Melodyne.

Demonstration

In this lesson, I'm demonstrating with a singer who is actually very good. There are no significant tuning issues, just tiny tweaks in one or two places, but really nothing at all.

I want to quickly show what Melodyne looks like.

1. Transfer Process: Melodyne transfers the audio file into memory and creates a new audio file that gets worked on.
2. Visual Representation: You can see the notes here; they're pretty much aligned on the grid. If one deviates too much, there are various tools available to move them up and down.

I won't play this audio clip out of respect for the artist; she's genuinely in tune, so there was very little for me to adjust.

Tips for Using Melodyne

• Practice: Tuning vocals with Melodyne takes some practice, but it's fairly straightforward.
• Grid Movement: You can move the notes around on a grid, and they usually snap to the nearest note. Just double-click on it to snap to the nearest pitch if there's too much wobble.
• Pitch Modulation Tool: There's another tool called the pitch modulation tool that allows you to straighten out notes.

Final Thoughts

If you have the software, learn how to use it, and don't be afraid to fix pitch issues.

• A mix is never going to sound right if the lead vocals are out of tune.
• If no one else has corrected this by the time it reaches you as the mixer, it's your responsibility to do so.

By fixing it up, you will greatly improve your mix.

Conclusion

So, there we go! Those are two very important things to check before you even start mixing:

• Ensure everything is in time
• Make sure everything is in tune

Otherwise, your job will be impossible.

This may sound like a lot of preparation work, but if you follow these steps and prepare your mix well, it will come together quickly and sound amazing.