The Deceptive Perfection of Auto-Tune 437
theodp writes "For a medium in which mediocre singing has never been a bar to entry, a lot of pop vocals suddenly sound better than great — they're note- and pitch-perfect. It's all thanks to Auto-Tune, the brainchild of Andy Hildebrand, who realized that the wonders of autocorrelation — which he once used to map drilling sites for the oil industry — could also be used to bestow perfect pitch upon the Britney Spears of the world. While Auto-Tune was intended to be used unnoticed, musicians are growing fond of adjusting the program's retune speed to eliminate the natural transition between notes, which yield jumpy and automated-sounding vocals. 'I never figured anyone in their right mind would want to do that,' says Hildebrand."
As these techniques improve and become more popular, it makes me wonder what music produced twenty or fifty years from now will sound like, and how much authenticity will be left.
And... (Score:4, Funny)
I thought they all lip-synced.
Next up: Fake Symphonies with synthesized "Real Life" performers. (with the symphony ticket cost)
Authenticity (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, because everything that isn't done manually is inauthentic. And it's been getting worse almost every day since the end of the Bronze Age.
Re:Inauthentic? (Score:5, Funny)
Is hip-hop and R&B EVEN a form of music?
Actually, I kind of like R&B, but I refuse to recognize Hip-Hop as music. I mean sure, it's got a beat and you can kill cops to it, but it's still lacking something.
Re:It's an instrument. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Authenticity (Score:3, Funny)
"Yes, because everything that isn't done manually is inauthentic"
How do you do non-manual singing?
Re:Authentic is the wrong word (Score:2, Funny)
Too bad Auto-tune wasn't around when Bob Dylan was made pop music.
Re:Authenticity (Score:3, Funny)
"Yes, because everything that isn't done manually is inauthentic"
How do you do non-manual singing?
Many singers find the throat to be useful in this regard.
Re:And... (Score:3, Funny)
Simple:
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Turn down the volume, or the lameness filter thinks you're yelling. That's feedback, stupid.
Re:Authenticity (Score:1, Funny)
Many singers find the throat to be useful in this regard.
I record the sound of sticking my fingers down my throat and call it music you insensitive clod!
Re:Authenticity (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's an instrument. (Score:5, Funny)
Though admittedly the image of mercilessly beating a bard with a lemur is rather entertaining, and if he uses an auto tuner then he deserves it!
Re:Authenticity (Score:3, Funny)
Ashley Simpson posts on Slashdot?