Editing audio in Pitch Edit mode

In Pitch Edit mode you can correct and/or transpose the pitches of individual detected notes in monophonic recordings. Pitch Edit mode is developed especially for editing and correcting the pitches of vocal recordings. The audio pitch editing is made graphically in a way similar to other pitch correction/editing software on the market.

As soon as you open an audio clip in Pitch Edit mode, the Stretch and Transpose Type will be automatically set to “Vocal”.

Pitch Editor elements

A clip with a lead vocal stereo recording open in Pitch Edit mode.

The Pitch Editor contains the following elements:

•	Close button

Click this button to close the audio clip and exit to the Arrange View.

•	Clip Overview

The Clip Overview area at the top shows the clips on the selected audio track. In the Clip Overview area, selected audio clips are displayed in the same fashion as in the Arrange View, i.e. with Clip Resize handles. However, in Pitch Edit mode the Level handle and Fade handles are not available. You can select one or several audio clips in the Clip Overview and perform clip-based editing (e.g. moving and resizing) - just like in the Arrange View.

•	Note Level handle

With the Note Level handle you can adjust the level(s) of the selected note(s).

•	Note handle

Hold this and move sideways to move the note back or forth in time. The range is limited by the adjacent notes, which are indicated by the Note Lines.

•	Note Lines

These indicate where the notes start and end. You can adjust the start/end positions by click-holding a Note Line and dragging it sideways. Changing the position(s) and/or length(s) will also automatically stretch the note(s).

•	Drift handle

The Drift handle appears when you select the note(s). Drag the Drift handle downwards to reduce the amount of any natural pitch drift/vibrato present in the selected note(s).

•	Transition handle

The Transition handle(s) control the pitch transition times between the selected note(s) and the previous adjacent note(s). To preserve the natural small pitch fluctuations (vibrato and other expressions), use the Preserve Expression parameter in the Inspector, see “Preserve”.

•	Pitch Correct button

The Correct button transposes all selected notes to their nearest exact semitone. If no note is selected, the Correct function corrects all notes in the open audio clip.

•	Pitch Reset button

The Reset button removes any transposition/pitch correction changes you have made for all selected notes. If no note is selected the Reset function resets the pitches of all notes in the audio clip.

•	Transpose mode buttons

This is a three-way switch that determines what happens when you drag notes up/down on the note pane:
Snap = the notes snap to absolute semitones.
Jump (default) = the notes snap relative to their original pitches, i.e. moves in semitone steps but preserves any fine tuning.
Fine = the notes can be transposed freely, in cents. You can also fine-tune by Shift-dragging notes up/down on the note pane, for quick adjustments.

•	Monitor button

With the Monitor button on, you will hear the pitch of a note as a continuous reference tone, when you click the note and hold the mouse button depressed. The reference tone changes pitch when you drag the note up/down on the note pane. The reference tone reflects the pitch+fine-tune setting of the note. It doesn't matter where in the note you click.

•	Reference Keyboard

The Reference Keyboard is there as a visual guide for the notes on the note pane.

Selecting notes

Selecting notes in Pitch Edit mode can be done as follows:

Click a note on the note pane, or on the note’s corresponding section in the clip overview.

You can also select one or several notes by dragging a selection rectangle on the note pane,

Select all notes on the note pane by selecting “Select All” from the Edit menu or context menu.

Click anywhere on the note pane background to deselect the note(s).

Auditioning notes

It’s possible to audition individual notes without needing to start playback of the sequencer:

Select the Speaker Tool in the Toolbar and click on the desired note, or its corresponding section in the clip overview.

Each time you click, the note is played back once in its entirety.

With the Selection Tool (Arrow) selected, pressing [Alt](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) will momentarily switch to the Speaker Tool.

Note that auditioning notes plays back the unprocessed audio - bypassing the Main Mixer settings.

Correcting pitches

1.	Select the note(s) you want to pitch-correct. If no note is selected, all notes will be affected by the pitch correction.

2.	Click the Correct button to the left of the note pane.

The Correct function moves all selected notes to their nearest exact note pitch.

Alternatively, hold down [Shift]+[Ctrl](Win) or [Shift]+[Cmd](Mac) and press [C].

To undo the pitch correction and revert to the original pitch(es), click the Reset button.

If no note is selected, the Reset function will reset the pitches of all corrected (and transposed) notes in the clip!

Changing transposition

1.	Select the note(s) you want to transpose.

2.	Click and drag the note(s) up/down on the note pane to transpose.

The Transpose buttons to the left of the note pane determine how the notes will be transposed:

Snap = the notes will snap to absolute semitones.

Jump (default) = the notes will snap relative to their original pitches, i.e. move in semitone steps but preserves any fine tuning.

Fine = the notes will be transposed freely, in cents.

You can also fine-tune by holding down [Alt]+[Shift](Win) or [Cmd]+[Shift](Mac) while dragging the notes up/down on the note pane.

•	If the Monitor button is on a reference tone, with the pitch of the held note, will play continuously.

To undo the transposition and revert to the original pitch(es), click the Reset button.

If no note is selected, the Revert function will reset the pitches of all transposed (and pitch-corrected) notes in the clip!

Alternatively, you can edit the transposition numerically in the Inspector, see “Note” and “Fine-tune”.

Resetting pitches

Click the Reset button to reset any transposition and/or pitch correction and revert to the original pitch(es) of the selected note(s).

If no note is selected, the Reset function will reset the pitches of all transposed and pitch-corrected notes in the open audio clip!

Splitting the clip at notes

It’s possible to split an audio clip at the edges of selected notes in Pitch Edit mode (similar to splitting at slices in Slice Edit mode):

Select the note(s) where you want to split the clip and then select “Split at Notes” from the Edit menu or context menu.

Reverting all notes

It’s possible to “undo” all edits you have made in Pitch Edit mode (similar to the “Revert Slices” function in Slice Edit mode):

Select “Revert All Notes” from the Edit menu or context menu.

The clip will be completely re-analyzed and any pitch, timing and timbre edits will revert to the original.

Attenuating pitch drift/vibrato

You can attenuate the pitch drift or vibrato for each note individually:

1.	Select the note(s) you want to change the pitch drift/vibrato for.

2.	Lower the Drift handle to “straighten out” the pitch curve in the note, removing large scale pitch drift.

The default setting is always 100%, which means you can only attenuate the pitch drift/vibrato - not increase it.

Alternatively, you can edit the Drift numerically in the Inspector, see “Drift”.

If you want to preserve small pitch fluctuations in the note, you can use the Preserve Expression parameter in the Inspector, see “Preserve”.

Editing transition times

When you have recorded your audio and haven’t (yet) made any pitch changes (transpositions) of notes, editing the transition times won’t have any effect at all.

It’s only after you have edited note pitches (moved notes up/down on the note pane) that editing transition times will have any effect.

You can edit the pitch transition times between transposed notes as follows:

1.	Select the note(s) you want to change the transition time(s) for.

2.	Drag the Transition handle(s) up/down to control the pitch transition between the selected note(s) and the previous adjacent note(s).

The important thing here is to get a smooth pitch curve (the line) from the preceding note to the following note. Adjust the Transition handle until the pitch curve is a smooth line between the notes. The dark blue colored transition zones in the notes themselves indicate the transition times. The Transition times can be max 200 ms - or half of the note length (if the note length is less than 400 ms).

Alternatively, you can edit the Transition times numerically in the Inspector, see “Transition”.

To get the best result when editing transition times you might also have to change the actual note positions without moving/stretching the audio, see “Changing note start positions (without affecting the audio)”.

Moving notes and changing note lengths

Moving notes

To move a note back or forth in time, proceed as follows:

1.	Select the note(s) you want to move.

2.	Click and hold the Note handle in the Clip Overview and drag sideways.

The closest adjacent notes will then be stretched.
You may want to deactivate the Snap function if you want to fine-adjust the note position(s).

Alternatively, you can move the note(s) numerically in the Inspector, see “Position”.

If you want to change the note start position(s) and/or note lengths, see “Changing note start positions and lengths”.

Changing note start positions and lengths

To change note lengths, and thus stretch the note(s), proceed as follows:

1.	Select the note(s) you want to adjust.

2.	Click and hold the desired Note line, on the note pane or in the Clip Overview, and drag sideways.

Adjusting the length of a note automatically changes the start position of the consecutive note - and vice versa. You may want to deactivate the Snap function if you want to fine-adjust the note(s).

Changing note start positions (without affecting the audio)

Similar to when editing in Slice Edit mode it’s possible to “decouple” the notes from the actual audio in the note. This can be useful if the automatic note placement wasn’t perfect and you have a hard time adjusting the transition times between transposed notes (see “Editing transition times”).

Hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Option](Mac) and drag the note line sideways to change the note start/length without affecting the audio.

You may want to deactivate the Snap function if you want to adjust the note start position with greater precision. As you can see in the picture above, the pitch curve is left unaffected (unstretched) and only the note start/length is affected.

Proportional stretching of multiple notes

Like in Slice Edit mode it’s possible stretch a range of notes, proportionally, in an “accordion style” fashion:

1.	Select the desired consecutive range of Notes on the Note pane.

If you drag the start or end Note line in the range, the whole range will be stretched as if it were a single note:

If you drag a Note line within the selected range, all selected notes will be stretched proportionally against the start and end Note lines of the selected range.

Quantizing notes

Quantizing notes in Pitch Edit mode works just like when quantizing in Slice Edit mode, see “Quantizing audio”.

Note, though, that the quantization is made on the pitch transitions (where the notes start) and not on the level transients as in Slice Edit mode.

Splitting and joining notes

Splitting notes

To split a note, proceed as follows:

1.	Select the Razor tool from the Toolbar.

2.	Click on a note where you want to split it, or click in the Clip Overview at the desired split position.

You may want to deactivate the Snap function if you want to split the note with more precision.

The two halves of the note are now re-analyzed and placed in suitable pitch positions of the note range. This could mean that the new notes are placed differently than the original note.

Joining notes

To join notes, proceed as follows:

1.	Select the Eraser tool from the Toolbar.

2.	Click on a note that you want to join with the preceding note, or click in the corresponding section in the Clip Overview.

The new “joint” note is now re-analyzed and placed on the suitable pitch position in the note range. This could mean that the new note is placed differently than the original notes.

To join several notes in one go, draw a selection rectangle with the Eraser tool and then release the mouse button.

The result will be one long note, re-analyzed and placed on the most suitable pitch position in the note range.

About switching from Pitch Edit mode to Slice Edit mode

When you have edited an audio clip in Pitch Edit mode and then switch to Slice Edit mode (with the “Vocal” Stretch and Transpose Type still selected), the slices are now based on the note transitions from Pitch Edit mode, and not on the level transients.

Audio pitch editing in the Inspector

In Pitch Edit mode a series of additional audio pitch editing boxes appear in the Inspector. These are unique to the Pitch Edit mode and apply to selected notes on the note pane:

The Inspector elements for a selected note in Pitch Edit mode.

Position

Here you can edit the start position of the note in Bars, Beats, 1/16th notes and Ticks.

Note

Here you can set the note value to transpose to, in semitone steps. If the note has a Fine-tune setting, this will be preserved also after the semitone Note transposition.

Fine-tune

Here you can detune the note up/down in steps of 1 cent. If you fine-tune more than +/- 50 cents, the Note value will change and the fine-tuning will now be based on the new Note value instead. This way you will be able to use the Fine-tune function throughout the entire MIDI note range.

Drift

Here you can attenuate the pitch drift/vibrato of the audio in the note. The default 100% keeps the pitch drift/vibrato unaffected, and at 0% the audio in the note doesn’t contain any pitch drift/vibrato at all.

Preserve

The Preserve Expression function works in tandem with the Drift function. If you raise the Preserve Expression value, small pitch fluctuations (vibrato and other expressions) are maintained even when you “straighten out” the note by lowering the Drift value.

Transition

This controls the pitch transition time between the selected note and the preceding note.

There are dark blue colored transition zones in the notes themselves, which changes according to your edits. The Transition times can be max 200 ms - or half the note length (if the note length is less than 400 ms).

Formant

Here you can edit the formant “position” of the selected note(s). Changing the Formant downwards creates a deeper tone and changing it upwards generates a brighter tone to the vocals.

Range +/-1 octave, in steps of 0.01 semitones.

For more information about formants, please have a look at “What are formants?” in the Neptune Pitch Adjuster and Voice Synth chapter.

Level

Here you can change the level of the selected note(s). The range is -inf to +18 dB.