"The Box" Is Auto Tune dumbing us down?
I must admit that I, like most, am extremely technologically dependent. I'm sold. I can send my Mother pictures from my phone, check up on all my friends on Facebook, and pay bills and rent movies without leaving the house. There's not even a time when I'm turned around driving anymore. I Just pull up the GPS, or phone app. and I'm back on track. Our lives truly have an added convenience due to our gadgets. Including the convenience of always singing in Key! Everyone's a singer!
Meet Auto Tune. An audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto Tune's vocoder components correct the pitch of an audio signal. Instrumental or Vocal performances can now be flawless. I'm not sold. Now I have a bunch of talentless clowns invading my ears. Auto Tune is now available in a rack-mounted unit for live performances as well as in a studio setting. Personally, live music is something I love because of the imperfections. It's there for you to hear and be entertained. Stripped down from the studio polish....or used to be.
The first time it noticeably invaded my ears was on Cher's "Believe" in 1998. It was used as a vocal effect more than a "fix up." However the success of that song and the use of Auto Tune caught on to the masses. Now it's everywhere. Used as an effect, in live performances, and in the studio. Artists like Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, T-Pain, and....Jamie Foxx all have hit songs with the popular guest appearance. I had a guy argue with me that "T-Pain's voice just sounds like that." How do you even explain to somebody who obviously thinks cyborgs exist that it's only a little pitch correction device? You don't. I cut my losses. The wanna be Idol TV show X Factor has actually been running contestants through Auto Tune. Where's the competition then? If the singers get a choice to use it or not, then that's fine. But not if the programmers and producers don't tell us. I mean come on people! Can you not hear the robotic tone in the 16 year old's vocal cords? Oh that's right, she just sounds like that.
I'm a national recording artist myself. Producers have said to me and my group before: "That's alright. I"ll fix it later and run it through the box." I of course decline and just do it until it's right. That's a big problem in my eyes. But you can't blame the album producers and engineers. They're just doing their jobs. It's standard practice these days. The problem lies in the ease of auto-tune. Record companies and top dog executives would rather sign a sexy, charismatic, dancing, half naked girl than a talented musician or band they don't know how to market. Even if she's tone def. They'll just have their guys "run her through the box" in the studio, invest in a music video, and sell a million records. It's the insurance policy for pop music.
Artists in the pre-Auto Tune era HAD to be good. There's wasn't a record deal if you weren't good. Much less an album or video. Take country music for example. Somehow the very origin and meaning of it got flipped upside down. Willie Nelson hardly ever sings in key. It's part of his whole aura. Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Doc Watson, and Emmylou Harris. They all had success based on the norm of the times. People felt like they were just like them. They didn't sing perfect, but they surely meant what they sang. Now country artists such as Trisha Yearwood, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Patty Loveless, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, and Rascal Flats (just to name a few) all have admitted to using Auto Tune. Country Music. The music of the regular, hard working, family oriented, people has been dumbed down just like the rest of the pop music world. Even Kanye West who built a career as a talented rapper threw it all out the window for an Auto Tune based album. What a gimmick. Talk about an Auto Tune induced migraine.
Some other artists are standing up and vocalizing their opposition for Auto Tune. Jay-Z titled a song on his album The Blue Print 3 "D.O.A.(Death of Auto Tune.) Indie rock band Death Cab For Cutie wore ribbons protesting it's use as well. Christina Aguilera was seen in public in 2009 wearing a T-shirt that read "Auto Tune is For Pussies." Thanks guys.
I'm afraid that nobody will be able to listen to people sing without machines anymore. I love music. I love real art. I love when Eric Clapton hits a bad note on Unplugged starting "Alberta." He catches it and laughs it off. And so does the crowd! What's wrong with that? What's wrong with real people entertaining real people with their god given talent, having a slip, and laughing if off. After all. We're all human..or are we?