Posted in: Musicouching by Henry James on August 31st, 2010 | 0 Comments
We hear the singers on the TV and radio, they’re pitch perfect. How do they do it? Auto Tune!
We’ve all listened to singers on the TV and Radio. It seems like they can never hit a wrong note. They are perfect. Damn them, how do they get so good?
But listen carefully….
Sometimes you will hear a grinding robotic note. Wait a second, that’s not a human voice! It’s an AutoTune device.
Image by Draco2008 via Flickr
The Auto Tune is a device that alters the pitch and frequency of the voice to make it more pleasing to the ear. It’s a brilliantly ingenius devise. To hit that perfect note! (Well, the computer does!) However, it is the hallmark of produced pop music and a much malingned device. The most famous piece involving it is probably Cher’s “Believe”.
A more modern Autotune abuser was the Teen Dramedy Glee
Recently American Idol and X Factor have admitted to using these Autotune devices to enhance the performance of their wannae Stars and Starlets. Isn’t that akin to taking steriods for a runner, or literally ‘moving the goalposts’?
People were horrified to find out that something that was allegedly a competition was being manipulated by cynical musical producers. To counteract the bad press, the producers of these two ‘competitions’ have agreed not to use auto tune for the competitors. Country singers have boycotted the Autotune on principle and surely good singers don’t need more adornment than their voice.
Let’s see how good they are next season…..
