Question 1

How do I change the key of a song without changing the speed?

Accepted Answer

Upload your audio to the Pitch Shifter, enter the number of semitones up or down (positive = higher, negative = lower), and process. The tempo stays identical — only the pitch shifts. The phase-vocoder algorithm handles this cleanly without the speed-up artefacts of naive resampling.

Question 2

What is the difference between a pitch shifter and a time stretcher?

Accepted Answer

A pitch shifter changes pitch while keeping tempo constant — useful for transposing a song to a different key. A time stretcher changes tempo while keeping pitch constant — useful for matching BPM. Both controls are available independently, and you can apply them in sequence.

Question 3

Can I shift vocals without making them sound like chipmunks?

Accepted Answer

Yes — enable formant preservation. This keeps the vocal-tract resonances at their original frequencies while shifting the fundamental pitch, so the voice keeps its natural timbre even when transposed several semitones up or down. Without formant preservation, big shifts make vocals sound unnatural.

Question 4

How accurate is the pitch shift?

Accepted Answer

1-cent precision — that is 1/100th of a semitone, finer than most musicians can hear. Use 1-cent adjustments to micro-tune samples that are slightly off pitch, or whole-semitone shifts for musical transposition. The algorithm runs at the source sample rate to preserve full bandwidth.

Question 5

Will pitch shifting reduce audio quality?

Accepted Answer

Modern phase-vocoder pitch shifting is high-quality up to about ±6 semitones, with mild softening of transients at more extreme shifts. For musical transposition (±3 to ±5 semitones) the result is broadcast-grade. For creative effects (±octave or more) some artefacts are inherent to the technique.

Question 6

Is the pitch shifter free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Pitch Shifter is part of the standalone Audio Tools suite, included free with a Mixing & Mastering AI account. Free accounts include monthly processing minutes; paid plans process unlimited tracks. No credit card required to start.

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