Comments on: In praise of Auto-tune

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:58:32 +0000

Autotune has become a horrible beast. I wish people knew how to sing but that skill is no longer.

By: Ethan

Ethan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:15:01 +0000

You’re right that Auto-tune contributes to the ratcheting up of expectations around recorded music, and I think you’re even more right that the ratcheting has been underway for a long time. What holds people back from participatory music-making is anxiety about being judged negatively. Having effortless access to recordings of the best of the best musicians has made that anxiety paralyzing for almost everyone I know. Why would I ever want to play mediocre trumpet when I have thirty Miles Davis albums on my hard drive? If anything, I actually think Auto-tune can make the situation better. I’ve worked with a few singers who wouldn’t dream of committing their voice to a recording for widespread scrutiny without the safety of Auto-tune (including myself.) Having that big cushion underneath you encourages tightrope walking that you wouldn’t attempt otherwise. Drum machine software had a similar effect – I have a lot of ideas for drum and percussion parts, but they’d be locked inside my head if I was limited to my ability to physically perform them.

By: pjm

pjm — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:39:18 +0000

I admit I haven’t spent a lot of time informing myself in the auto-tune debate, but I think my objection to its (over)use in commercial music is the expectations that it creates. We used to be a culture that felt free to create imperfect, amateur music in home or community settings. Now, as you mention, most of us suffer from self-consciousness because we don’t sound as perfect as the music on the radio. (N.B. this started long before the invention of auto-tune, of course.) It’s not that it doesn’t make the music better, because it often does. It’s that I’m not sure we need to push music performance that next step closer to perfection.

By: nom nom nom

nom nom nom — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:57:51 +0000

i’m ok with autotune if it’s used in an obvious sense. i just hate it when it’s used subtly and then you suddenly hear a little glitch in pitch or when you hear an odd warble that doesn’t sound human. IT’S WEIRD and it’s annoying too when you know the singer is actually good. oh, and i think auto tune should be banned from live music.

By: I… Like Autotune! | Diary Of A Wannabe Rapstar

I… Like Autotune! | Diary Of A Wannabe Rapstar — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:51:35 +0000

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