Pitch Correction - Uses of Pitch Correction

Uses of Pitch Correction

Besides correcting out-of-tune vocals, pitch correction has numerous other applications and is commonly used to add a harmony to certain words or phrases without re-recording those words or phrases again and again at the necessary pitches. Depending on the specific model used, various vocal effects can be added and the better quality devices can be adjusted to allow expression to remain in the music with some pitch correctors even possessing the ability to add vibrato.

With extreme parameter values, pitch correction has also become popular as a distinctively electronic voice effect. A notable example of Auto-Tune-based pitch correction is the Cher effect, so named because producer Mark Taylor originated the effect in her 1998 hit song "Believe". More recently, it has been used by composer John Boswell for his popular Symphony of Science and Symphony of Bang Goes The Theory (a BBC science show) mash-ups.

In 2010, Teddy Riley claimed that the processing of Michael Jackson's voice with Melodyne caused fans to question the authenticity of the voice on the posthumous album Michael. Riley claimed that because he did not have a "final vocal" from Jackson, Melodyne had to be used "to make his voice work with the actual music," "to get him in key" and this resulted in the vibrato sounding "a little off" or "over-processed."