Open your preferred digital audio workstation, for example Logic, Pro Tools or Cubase.
Launch the song session containing the vocals you want to edit. The process for doing so varies slightly between programs, but you typically click “File,” “Open” and “Recent” or just “File” and “Open Recent.” Then select the song session you want.
Click “S” on the vocal track. This solos the track, muting everything else so you can isolate your edits.
Click on the track to highlight it. This assigns all subsequent edits to the vocal track specifically, rather than the mix as a whole.
Open the pitch-correction effect. Auto-tune is a brand name owned by Antares, but the term has been informally adopted to describe the pitch-correction process. Auto-tune is a third-party plugin that you buy separately from your digital audio workstation, although each digital audio workstation typically has its own version. For example, Logic has “Pitch Correct” and Mixcraft has “GSnap.” Each functions in a similar way to Auto-tune.
Enter the key of the song where it says “Key.” This enables the software to detect which notes are out of tune.
Click on “Input” and select the option least similar to the input type. For example, if a baritone sang the vocals, select “Soprano.” For a pitch-correction application, you’d select the correct input type to help the software make natural-sounding pitch corrections. By selecting the wrong one, you effectively trick the software into moving the notes out of their natural range. This creates an unnatural jump in pitch.
Set the “Retune Speed” parameter to zero. This is the crucial part of creating a robotic effect. When a human sings, there is a natural modulation of pitch as they aim to reach the right note. Better singers can hit the right note quicker. However, a zero retune speed instantly snaps the note from out of tune to perfectly pitched. This creates the robotic sound that characterizes the chorus on “Believe,” by Cher.