To change pitch in Final Cut Pro, select the clip, press Command-5 to open the Effects browser, search for Pitch Shifter and drag it onto the clip. Then set Semi Tones in the Audio inspector (−2 lowers a whole step). The speed stays the same. No Mac? Try our free video pitch changer.
Final Cut Pro pitch effects compared
Final Cut Pro’s pitch tools are Logic effects, the same audio engine Apple uses in Logic Pro. Names and controls below follow Apple’s current Final Cut Pro and Logic Effects user guides.
| Tool | What it does | Main controls | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch Shifter | Moves all audio up or down by a fixed interval | Semi Tones, Cents, Timing, Mix | New key for a song, higher or lower sound |
| Vocal Transformer | Transposes a voice, can shift formants separately | Pitch, Formant, Mix, Robotize | Deeper or higher voices, character voices |
| Pitch Correction | Pulls sung notes to the nearest note of a scale | Root Note, Scale/Chord, Response, Tolerance | Tuning a slightly off-key vocal |
| Retime + Preserve Pitch | Changes clip speed; keeps or releases the pitch | Retime pop-up menu below the viewer | Slow motion, fast motion, tape effects |
How to use Pitch Shifter in Final Cut Pro
- Select the audio clip (or a video clip with audio) in the timeline.
- Click the Effects button at the top right of the timeline, or press Command-5.
- Type “Pitch Shifter” in the Effects browser’s search field.
- Drag Pitch Shifter onto the clip, or double-click its icon to apply it to the selected clip. The picture is not changed.
- Open the inspector (Command-4) and click Audio. Pitch Shifter appears in the Effects section.
- Set Semi Tones: −1 to −3 lowers a song or voice, +1 to +3 raises it, ±12 is one octave. Use Cents for fine detuning (100 cents = 1 semitone).
- Choose a Timing algorithm: Drums keeps the groove, Speech balances rhythm and harmony, Vocals keeps the intonation, Pitch Tracking follows the incoming pitch, Manual exposes Delay and Crossfade. Apple suggests Speech when the material fits no category.
- Set Mix to 100 % for a clean key change; lower values blend the shifted and original sound (a harmony or doubling effect).
- Play the clip, then export with File > Share.
Apple’s tip from the Pitch Shifter controls guide: keep Mix at 100 % while you compare Timing settings, because artefacts are easier to hear. Count the steps between two keys with the semitones-to-change-key table, or find the current key with the song key finder.
How to change pitch gradually (keyframes)
Final Cut Pro can keyframe audio effect parameters in the Audio inspector and in the Audio Animation editor. Add a keyframe on Semi Tones at the start and another at the end with a new value, and the pitch glides between them: a pitch drop, a rising riser or a “slowing record” feel without changing the speed.
How to change a voice: Vocal Transformer and Pitch Correction
Vocal Transformer has separate Pitch and Formant knobs. Move Pitch alone for a sung line in a new key; move Formant with it (or against it) to make a voice sound bigger, smaller or like a different person. Pitch Shifter moves pitch and formants together, which is why large shifts on speech sound like a chipmunk or a giant.
Pitch Correction is not a key changer. Set the Root Note and Scale/Chord to the song’s key, then use Response (how fast notes are pulled in tune) and Tolerance (how far a note may drift before correction starts). For heavier vocal tuning, compare the options in the best pitch correction software. The difference between moving a key and moving pitch is in key change vs pitch change.
Retime and Preserve Pitch: change speed, keep the pitch
- Select the clip, or a range inside it, in the timeline.
- Click the Retime pop-up menu below the viewer and choose a speed (or a custom one).
- In the same menu, Preserve Pitch shows a checkmark when it is on. It is on by default, so fast clips do not sound higher and slow ones not lower.
- Choose Preserve Pitch again to turn it off when you want the tape or record effect. You can switch it before or after retiming (Apple: Preserve pitch in retimed clips).
With Preserve Pitch off, the pitch moves by 12 × log2(speed):
| Clip speed | Pitch change | In cents |
|---|---|---|
| 25 % | -24.00 semitones | -2400 cents |
| 50 % | -12.00 semitones | -1200 cents |
| 75 % | -4.98 semitones | -498 cents |
| 90 % | -1.82 semitones | -182 cents |
| 110 % | +1.65 semitones | +165 cents |
| 125 % | +3.86 semitones | +386 cents |
| 150 % | +7.02 semitones | +702 cents |
| 200 % | +12.00 semitones | +1200 cents |
| 400 % | +24.00 semitones | +2400 cents |
Frame-rate changes are the hidden case: footage played at a different frame rate without pitch preservation is slightly sharp or flat. If your audio already carries that shift, a Pitch Shifter with the opposite Cents value puts it back:
| Situation | Speed change | Pitch change | To correct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film to 24 fps | +0.100 % | +1.7 cents | Pitch Shifter Cents -2 |
| 24 fps played at 25 fps (PAL speed-up) | +4.167 % | +70.7 cents | Pitch Shifter Cents -71 |
| 23.976 fps played at 25 fps | +4.271 % | +72.4 cents | Pitch Shifter Cents -72 |
| 25 fps played at 24 fps | -4.000 % | -70.7 cents | Pitch Shifter Cents +71 |
| NTSC 29.97 to 30 fps | +0.100 % | +1.7 cents | Pitch Shifter Cents -2 |
Why speed and pitch are tied together is covered in pitch vs tempo; outside Final Cut Pro, read how to change pitch without changing speed. Every value above can be checked with the semitone calculator, and what semitones are explains the units.
Tips for a clean pitch change
- Stay small: ±1 to ±3 semitones sounds natural on most songs; past about ±5, artefacts get obvious.
- Match the Timing algorithm to the audio: Drums for beats, Vocals for singing, Speech for dialogue or mixed material.
- Shift the music, not the dialogue: split or detach the audio and apply the effect only where it is needed.
- Use one effect: set the final value in one Pitch Shifter instead of stacking two.
No Final Cut Pro? Change the pitch in the browser
For one clip in a new key you do not need an editor. The online pitch changer tools run on your own device and upload nothing. In our tests, the video pitch changer kept the picture byte-identical in 18 of 18 exported videos (MP4, MOV and WebM), with a worst pitch error of 0.080 cents and sound within one frame of the picture (how we test our tools).
- Songs and WAV files: audio pitch changer; MP3 in, MP3 out: MP3 pitch changer.
- Speed and pitch separately: pitch and tempo changer.
- Deeper or higher voice with formant correction: vocal pitch changer.
Same job in Adobe’s editor: how to change pitch in Premiere Pro. Free on a Mac: GarageBand or Audacity. On an iPhone: changing pitch on mobile.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Pitch Shifter in Final Cut Pro?
Open the Effects browser (Command-5) and type “Pitch Shifter” in the search field. After you apply it, its controls are in the Effects section of the Audio inspector.
How do I lower the pitch of a clip in Final Cut Pro?
Apply Pitch Shifter and set Semi Tones to a negative number, e.g. −2 for a whole step or −12 for an octave down. Set Mix to 100 % so none of the original pitch remains.
Does changing speed change the pitch in Final Cut Pro?
Not by default: Preserve Pitch in the Retime menu is on. Turn it off and 50 % speed plays one octave lower, 200 % one octave higher.
Which Timing setting should I use?
Drums for rhythmic material, Vocals for singing, Speech for dialogue. Apple recommends starting with Speech if the audio fits no category.
What is the difference between Pitch Shifter and Pitch Correction?
Pitch Shifter moves every note by the same interval (a key change). Pitch Correction pulls notes toward a scale to fix tuning and keeps the key.
Why does my pitch-shifted voice sound robotic?
Large shifts and the wrong Timing algorithm cause artefacts. Keep shifts small, try Vocals or Speech, or use Vocal Transformer with Formant for voices. More fixes are on our troubleshooting page and in the other pitch and key guides.
Mayer runs Online Pitch Changer (OnlinePitchChanger.com) independently. Mayer maintains the site’s free browser tools for changing the pitch, key and tempo of audio, video and voice, and writes and checks its guides on keys, semitones, transposition and vocal ranges. Each rebuilt tool is tested before release with measured test tones, and app steps in the guides are checked against official manuals such as the Audacity manual and Apple’s GarageBand guide. Audio processed with the tools never leaves the reader’s browser. Mayer is not affiliated with YouTube, Google or any audio software company. For corrections or tool problems, see the Contact page.