Autotune in Ableton Live: How to Use Auto Shift

For a long time Ableton Live didn't have its own autotune. Since Live 12.1 it does: Auto Shift. According to Ableton, it's a device that tracks and corrects your pitch in real time, with extra controls for vibrato, pitch shifting and formants. Here's how to use it on your rap vocal.

1. Find the key of your beat

Autotune pulls your voice to notes from a scale. That scale has to match your beat. Don't know the key? Check it with the free Beat Lab. More in how to find the key of a song.

2. Put Auto Shift on your vocal

Find Auto Shift in the browser under audio effects and drag it onto your vocal track. Put it at the top of your effects, before your EQ and compressor.

3. Choose the scale

In the Quantizer section you set the scale: the root note and the type of scale, like minor. You can also turn on Use Current Scale. Then Auto Shift follows the scale you've set in your project.

4. Set the strength

The Correction Strength slider sets how hard Auto Shift pulls your voice to the right note. Low sounds more natural and smooths out small off-key bits. High gives you that well-known robotic effect.

5. Formant and vibrato

• Formant Shift: changes the character of your voice. Handy as an effect, but for a natural lead you usually leave it in the middle.
• Vibrato: Amount, Rate and Fade In add a wobble. On rap you usually turn it off, on singing it can sound nice.

6. Want to hear autotune while recording?

Then you need to listen through Live, not through your interface's direct monitoring. Set your buffer as low as your computer can handle, or you'll hear yourself late. Read how to fix latency when recording.

Bonus: making harmonies

Auto Shift can also receive MIDI through a sidechain. Then MIDI notes control which pitch your voice gets, and you can build harmonies from one vocal. Handy for hooks and ad-libs.

Haven't recorded yet? Read how to record vocals in Ableton Live first. Ready to mix? Read how to build a rap vocal chain in Ableton Live.

FAQ

Does Ableton Live have autotune?

Yes, since Live 12.1 Live has its own pitch correction device: Auto Shift.

Why does my autotune sound off-key?

The scale probably doesn't match your beat. Check the key and set the right root note and scale in Auto Shift.

Should I put Auto Shift on my ad-libs?

That's up to you. A lot of people put it on the lead and decide per track whether doubles and ad-libs get it too.

Source: the Ableton Live 12 manual and Ableton's blog on Live 12.1.