Know the key before you write
Drop the beat and read its key, its Camelot code and its tempo. Press Hear key and the key's chord plays at the beat's own tuning: sing over it until a note feels like home, and that's where your melody starts.
The beat isn't always at 440
Beats get pitched, sped up and slowed down, and a lot of them don't sit at A = 440 any more. DropWave measures how far off they are, in cents. That number matters when you tune a vocal to the beat: in DropWave Tune, set Reference A to match, or let Detect suggest it.
The key of an a cappella
Key detection reads pitch, not rhythm, so it needs no beat. Drop an a cappella, a voice memo or a hummed idea, and read its key. How to find the key of a vocal →
DropWave Tune: in tune, in real time
Put DropWave Tune on your vocal, pick the song's key and scale, or press Detect and choose from what it suggests. Then set the feel:
- Retune speed, from 0 to 400 ms: 0 is the hard-tuned sound, slower is natural.
- Note transition, Humanize and Expression keep slides, scoops and held notes sounding like you.
- Natural Vibrato makes your vibrato shallower or deeper. Formant keeps your voice's character.
- Presets to start from: Natural, Pop, Hard tune and Hard tune (keep vibrato).
Latency is 5 to 10 ms, low enough to sing through while you record. Set Voice to your range for the surest tracking:
| Voice | Listens for | Latency |
|---|---|---|
| Soprano | 160–1100 Hz | 5 ms |
| Alto | 120–800 Hz | 6 ms |
| Tenor | 90–600 Hz | 6 ms |
| Low | 60–400 Hz | 10 ms |
| Wide | 60–1100 Hz | 10 ms |
Everything DropWave Tune does →
Move a song into your range
DropWave Editor hears a song once and splits it into vocals, drums, bass and other on your Mac. In its Pitch view, move the key on the Camelot wheel until the song sits in your range, with Keep formants so voices still sound like themselves. Mute the vocal stem and sing over the rest, live in your DAW.
Your voice stays yours
Demos, unreleased songs and rough takes are analysed on your computer and never uploaded. DropWave Tune and DropWave Editor do their work on your Mac too.
Questions
How do I find the key of a beat before I sing on it?
Drop the beat on DropWave and read its key and Camelot code. Press Hear key and the key’s chord plays at the beat’s own tuning, so you can sing over it and find your starting note.
Can DropWave find the key of an a cappella?
Yes. Key detection reads pitch, not rhythm, so it needs no beat. A tempo reading on a vocal on its own is usually not reliable, and DropWave says so with a low confidence.
How do I get DropWave Tune?
It comes with DropWave 3.4.5 and later for Mac, in the free closed beta. Download DropWave, get your beta key in the Discord, then choose DropWave → Install DropWave Tune… and reopen your DAW.
Does DropWave Tune run on Windows?
Not yet. DropWave Tune is on the Mac only.