Sound FX

Pitch Shift 10

″I′ll tell you something.I am a wolf,But I like to wear sheep′s clothing.″

— ″TEMPTATION WAITS,″ GARBAGE, VERSION 2.0 (ALMO SOUNDS, 1998)

Use a playback sample rate that is higher than the original sample rate used when the audio was recorded, and the pitch goes up. Play an audiotape at a slower speed than intended and the pitch of the recording goes down. Somewhere in this simple principle lies an opportunity for audio exploration and entertainment.

This chapter explains the fundamentals of pitch shifting and initiates an inventory of the production potential.

10.1 Theory

The principle of shifting pitch is straightforward. The basis for the effect is the delay. The same device stretched to such creative limits in Chapter 9 has ...