Autotune Effect in Garageband
Jay-Z may have proclaimed the “death of autotune” but I discovered it is very much alive and well thanks to programs like Garageband. If you don’t know what autotune is, it’s a vocal effect that’s used to correct the pitch of a singer.
It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything on this blog… go figure something like this finally inspired me to get something up here. I spent some time hanging out in Garageband and iMovie to make the video below. Let’s just say I had way too much fun geeking out and fulfilling my inner pop-star fantasies.
How to create the autotune effect in Garageband:
1. Pick a song that you like. Find a karaoke version (lots to be found on Youtube or you can try MySpace).
2. Open Garageband. If you’re on a Mac running Tiger, click “Music Project” and set the key of the song you’ll be recording. If you’re running Mac OS 10.5+, just click voice.
3. Make sure your key is set properly. Look at the bottom panel near the play and record buttons and select the project icon. This will pull up a mini screen that indicates the key you’re recording in.
4. Record your track and then locate the little scissor icon in the lower left of panel. Click it and you’ll see a set of preferences come up. Move the second slider “Enhance tuning” to the right to create the autotune effect. Make sure you select the “Limit to key” check box.
That’s it! It’s as easy as that. Now if you don’t have a Mac or this is just too much work for you, highly recommend the T-Pain iPhone app, which is pure genius. It costs $3 at the iTunes store (link), but it’s ridiculously fun. Check out the kiddies testing it out below:
Alright, that’s all I got for now! Let me know what you think and happy auto-tuning!
UPDATE: Best autotune video ever:
TEDxBoston: Reverse-mentorship and Bridging the Digital Divide
Today I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural TedxBoston event, hosted by the wonderful folks at Fidelity’s Center for Applied Technology (FCAT). It was an incredible experience full of wonderful people, performances, and yes, “ideas worth spreading.”
My short interlude covered a concept that I call “reverse-mentorship.” While I would love to take credit for the origin of the phrase, it’s something that I believe Barry coined while we were piloting out the idea.
In a nutshell I make the argument that reverse-mentorship, the pairing of digital natives with senior level executives, is the fastest way towards bridging the digital or generational divide. Here’s a summary highlighting my main points:
Meet the Millennials. There is no shortage of words to describe who were are in the eyes of our elders. Some say we’re spoiled, some say we’re naive. We’re most definitely inexperienced and yes, we care about ourselves a lot. To label us the “ME” generation is fairly accurate, however self preservation and pursuit of individual happiness has always been part of America’s cultural DNA.
Who’s in charge? A climate crisis, a broken health care system, a need for education reform, and a recession. For all the negative labels surrounding Millennials today, at least we can say we didn’t create these problems. Previous generations have demonstrated flawed leadership-styles that can no longer be counted on to produce the results we need. It’s time for change.
Reverse-mentorship isn’t about sparking a youth revolution. It’s not about asserting that one generation is better over the other. Rather, this is about expressing an opportunity for us to isolate our flaws, and work together to compensate for them. What Millennials lack in experience, we make up for in our digital aptitude, eagerness to learn, and desire for speed. We can help tenured professionals overcome their lack of technical finesse, in exchange for their knowledge and expertise. Together, we can create partnerships that reinforce organizational systems that are faster, smarter, social, and change-oriented.
I’ve met and worked with enough executives and professionals by now to know that this partnership of generations can work. How it actually plays out in practice…. that’s a completely separate post.
More on this topic to come.
UPDATE 8/14: Here’s the video of the talk!
2 AM Thoughts on Startup Life
Since when did public enemy number one equal “the man”? Maybe this is a product of the recession or maybe the fact that I just have adventurous friends, but it seems to me like these days, everyone is in start-up mode.
As someone who’s been at it now for officially 3 months, I can only conclude the following: this isn’t for everyone. We can all fantasize about determining our own hours, avoiding morning commutes, and having the luxury to do what we want on our terms. However, being in start-up mode comes with the burden of doing everything for yourself, relentless multi-tasking, endless networking, and this notion that you’re on 24/7.
There’s that John Lennon quote, “Life’s what happens when you’re too busy making plans,” and I have to wonder if that’s true or not. Will I look back at my 20′s thinking life passed me by or will I embrace this experience as a path to self discovery? Other girls my age are thinking about boys, weekends at the beach, and what to wear. I’m thinking about cash flow, invoices, revenue streams, and how to take over the Internet.
By no means am I an expert on entrepreneurship, but I have to believe that we’re all out of our minds. In order to start a company, you have to be absolutely crazy. You have to be crazy to the point where you love something so much, people are actually willing to pay you to be passionate. You have to be willing to be disciplined and willing to sacrifice. You have to be okay hearing the word no. Most of all, you have to be stubborn enough to fight for yes.
In the words of my wonderful friends at DartBoston, “It’s all about the small victories.”
