Pitch shifting is a
sound recording
Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...
technique in which the original
pitch of a sound is raised or lowered.
Effects unit
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ...
s that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated
musical interval
In music theory, an interval is a difference in pitch between two sounds.
An interval may be described as horizontal, linear, or melodic if it refers to successively sounding tones, such as two adjacent pitches in a melody, and vertical or ha ...
(
transposition) are called pitch shifters.
Pitch and time shifting
The simplest methods are used to increase pitch and reduce durations or, conversely, reduce pitch and increase duration. This can be done by replaying a sound waveform at a different speed than it was recorded. It could be accomplished on an early
reel-to-reel tape recorder
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is pla ...
by changing the diameter of the
capstan or using a different motor. As for vinyl records, placing a finger on the turntable to give friction will retard it, while giving it a "spin" can advance it. As technologies improved, motor speed and
pitch control could be achieved electronically by
servo drive
A servo drive is an electronic amplifier used to power electric servomechanisms.
A servo drive monitors the feedback signal from the servomechanism and continually adjusts for deviation from expected behavior.
Function
A servo drive receives a c ...
system circuits.
Pitch shifter and harmonizer
A pitch shifter is a sound
effects unit
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ...
that raises or lowers the
pitch of an
audio signal
An audio signal is a representation of sound, typically using either a changing level of electrical voltage for analog signals, or a series of binary numbers for digital signals. Audio signals have frequencies in the audio frequency range of ro ...
by a preset
interval. For example, a pitch shifter set to increase the pitch by a fourth will raise each note three
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
intervals above the notes actually played. Simple pitch shifters raise or lower the pitch by one or two
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
s, while more sophisticated devices offer a range of interval alterations. Pitch shifters are included in most
audio processors today.
A harmonizer is a type of pitch shifter that combines the pitch-shifted signal with the original to create a two or more note harmony. The
Eventide H910 Harmonizer, released in 1975, was one of the first commercially available pitch-shifters and digital multi-effects units. On November 10, 1976, Eventide filed a trademark registration for "Harmonizer" and continues to maintain its rights to the Harmonizer trademark today.
In digital recording, pitch shifting is accomplished through digital
signal processing
Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing '' signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, ...
. Older digital processors could often shift pitch only in
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
Th ...
, whereas many modern devices using computer processing technology can change pitch values virtually in real time.
Pitch correction is a form of pitch shifting and is found in software such as
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-T ...
and
Melodyne to correct intonation inaccuracies in a recording or performance. Pitch shifting may raise or lower all sounds in a recording by the same amount, whereas in practice, pitch correction may make different changes from note to note.
Notable uses
Numerous cartoons have used pitch shifters to produce distinctive animal voices.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...
recordings with David Seville (aka
Ross Bagdasarian
Ross S. Bagdasarian (; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, best known for creating the cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmun ...
) were created by recording vocal tracks at slow speeds, then playing them back at normal speeds.
Voice artist Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...
used pitch shifting techniques to create the voices of
Tweety
Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for t ...
and
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
.
In the '70s, reruns of shows like ''
I Love Lucy'' were sped up in order to run more advertisements during commercial breaks. The Eventide H910 Harmonizer was used to downward pitch-shift the characters' voices back to normal after the episode was sped up.
''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...
'' creators
Trey Parker and
Matt Stone have used pitch shifting for most of their characters throughout the show's run.
One notable early practitioner of pitch shifting in music is
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
, who used the technique to make his voice sound younger. Many of the
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
' records from 1966 and 1967 were made by recording instrumental tracks a half-step higher and the vocals correspondingly low. Examples include "
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
", "
I'm Only Sleeping", and "
When I'm Sixty-Four".
Electronic musician
Burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
is known for including pitch-shifted samples of vocal melodies in his songs.
Goregrind
Goregrind is a fusion genre of grindcore and death metal. British band Carcass are commonly credited for the emergence of the genre. Goregrind is recognized for its heavily edited, pitch shifted "watery"-sounding vocals and abrasive musiciansh ...
and occasionally
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...
use vocals that are often pitch-shifted to sound unnaturally low and guttural.
The famous bass intro to the song "
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, ''Elephant'' (2003). V2 Records released the song to American alternative radio on February 17, 2003, as the lead single ...
" by
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...
, is the result of guitarist
Jack White playing an
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
through a pitch shifting effects pedal set to an octave below. The band was a duo, who lacked a bassist and had never previously used one in any of their music, choosing instead to mimic the sound of a bass guitar.
In the single "
Diane Young" by
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson ...
, the lead singer
Ezra Koenig makes use of a pitch shifter in the chorus.
From 1986 to 1988, American musician
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
used pitch shifting to create his “Camille” vocals.
See also
*
Audio time stretching and pitch scaling
*
DigiTech Whammy
*
Pitch control
*
Puberphonia
References
External links
Pitch shifting explainedTime Stretching And Pitch Shifting of Audio Signalsby Stephan M. Bernsee
pitchshift.js from KievIIPitch shifter algorithm in Javascript, fro
KievII library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitch Shift
Audio engineering
Digital signal processing
Effects units
Sound recording