An Asterisk for Auto Tune
They say war makes strange bedfellows. I guess this is a good example.
In a recent Edmonton Journal article, country music legend Merle Haggard held little back when sharing his thoughts on “Auto Tune”:
“They fix a person’s voice when it’s out of tune, and then they have to do it live when they can’t sing. I can’t stand it. Well, I don’t allow my music to be tampered with; it goes directly to tape with very little sweetening. I don’t believe in a producer; God is my producer. Anyways, I want it to be real so we can do it properly onstage.
It wasn’t very long ago that the words “Auto Tune” were only known by music industry types and recording engineers. When I wrote about it back in October of 2008, word was starting to spread about this piece of cheater technology that bends the pitch of imperfect singers.
Well now “Auto Tune” is a household word, not because of the mainstream pop and pop country acts like Rascal Flatts, who openly admit using the off-key disguiser; they would probably like to go back to 2008, when Auto-Tune was their little secret. The people exposing it are hip-hoppers, principally T Pain and his ilk, who turn the Auto Tune to 10 till their voice sounds like a computer, using it to disguise their heroic lack of talent.
Another hip-hopper helping to expose Auto Tune is Jay-Z, but he doesn’t look upon it so kindly. In his song Death of Auto Tune, he puts the “superstar in a can,” in it’s place:
“This is anti-autotune, death of the ringtone. This ain’t for Itunes, this ain’t for sing-along. . . I know we facin a recession, But the music yall makin gonna make it the great depression . . .”
He’s sold thousands of “Death of Auto Tune” shirts. The song won a Grammy.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not glorifying Jay-Z or his music. Jay-Z funded his music career by selling crack cocaine on the streets of New York and New Jersey. He pushed his way to the top by pushing others down, and now he owns record labels, clothing lines, a pro basketball team, and is worth $150 million as he raps about “keeping it real.” But even a confessed criminal can see the absurdity of Auto Tune, how it is fundamentally immoral.
Even Taylor Swift can see it, because God knows, one thing we can all agree on is she doesn’t use it.
In baseball they talk about the “steroid era,” how a big asterisk will be put beside the records of people like Barry Bonds. Maybe a big asterisk needs to be placed beside the records of top pop performers of our era who use Auto Tune to disguise their lack of talent, training, or heart. Is it a coincidence that the era that has seen the rise of Auto Tune has also seen a plummet in music sales?
Only when the use of Auto Tune becomes a pariah will there be the possibility of a Renaissance in the blighted and battered music industry, but my guess is that as the pool of talent that is willing to deal with the overbearing nature of the music industry dries up, it’s use will only become more widespread.
March 7, 2010 @ 10:32 am
you enlightened us a long time ago…you are doing what you were meant to do, SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC.
i’m all about the asterisk next to the ‘auto tune’ songs. it should be required.
December 24, 2010 @ 9:45 am
Was doing some more reading on the site, as I am new around here. I remember a few years ago one of the morning show blonds did a segment about auto-tune by singing something (she totally had a tin ear and could not sing) and then showing how they auto-tuned it in the editing studio and turned it into a sort of acceptable piece of music. It was shocking and I couldn’t believe that people who called themselves singers actually used such a thing and got away with it. Then there was MIlli Vanilli 🙂 and Ashley Simpson lip synching to her own music and on and on.
What is sad and shocking to me is how “cheating” in all forms in our culture has become the norm and totally acceptable to young people.
I have to laugh at those people who defend auto-tuned singers like T. Swift, but you don’t see them asking her to sing on their albums or duets with them. Old Nashville like the Oak Ridge Boys whose whole game is based on perfect harmonies and beautiful pitched solos, defend the little girl. If people started being honest again about honest music, maybe things could get back to being real!
K
March 7, 2010 @ 10:51 am
That’s fuckin’ bullshit, especially in genres like country, etc where the vocals are what’s mainly focused on. Rap is pathetic enough without the singers cheating.
March 7, 2010 @ 11:12 am
Give me Lo-fi till i Die! And the reson Jayz is were hes at is cuz of what you said, crack dealer just like these Major lables no diff same biss practices. Good that he sang about it won a grammy also…but do sheep really listen? I dont think so there hooked on this Music “crack” they push. Good write up Trigg!
March 7, 2010 @ 11:33 am
here’s another vote for mandatory auto tune notice!
March 7, 2010 @ 11:57 am
Good idea AJ, just like the explicit lyric tag, have a tag that says “WARNING: Auto Tuned.”
March 7, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
Good analogy Nix, pop music is like crack, I like that.
March 7, 2010 @ 12:14 pm
I MAY HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD AUTO-TUNE..I THOUGHT IT WAS USED IN THE STUDIO,NOT LIVE..THATS THE REASON MOST OF THE SINGERS THAT CAN’T SING A LICK SOUND GOOD ON CD’s BUT SOUND TERRIBLE LIVE..SWIFTY IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE ON SOUNDING BETTER IN VIDEOS BUT SOUNDED SO BAD AT THE AWARDS..NOW IF YOU SOUND THAT BAD YOU CAN LIP SYNCH..MERLE SOUNDS THE SAME LIVE AS HE DOES ON HIS ALBUMS..EXPLAIN WTF YOU ARE SAYING..
March 7, 2010 @ 12:51 pm
i hadn’t heard of this insidious device before. thanks for the heads up. time for it to go away.
March 7, 2010 @ 1:35 pm
Auto Tune can be used live or in recording. I think it is much more common in the studio, because then they can go back and round the edges so to speak, and not make it so obvious when the tuner changes the pitch. Live it’s a little more tricky, but Rascal Flatts openly use it during live performance, and I’ve read reviews of them of people saying they can hear the Auto Tune kick in.
The rappers are using it turned way up to purposely get that jolt each time the pitch is changed.
I found this video on it that pretty music explains the whole thing if anyone really wants to geek out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYzv-AVi78E
March 7, 2010 @ 2:07 pm
Bandana,
To maybe help answer your question, what Haggard said was true. There are performers out there that use Auto Tune in studio, but then when they have to do it live, can’t sing. Though you can sing with Auto Tune live. One reason a performer might use it in the studio and not live is because they might think in the studio you have to make things perfect, but live they may think that’s where you cross the moral line. You can also hear when Auto Tune kicks in during a live performance, where in the studio you can hide that. Also some things, like some awards shows, won’t allow performers to use Auto-Tune.
March 7, 2010 @ 2:37 pm
It is pretty funny how this trick seems to have crossed the line with a fair number of people. It is definitely the most insidious of the various studio tricks. I do wonder just how vilified it will be though, the majority of pop music fans don’t seem to have any qualms about lip syncing so they probably won’t get too up in arms about auto tuning, if they even know what it is. Of course, talent has never been a huge concern with pop music fans anyway.
March 7, 2010 @ 3:02 pm
I hate rap, esp T-whats it…I hate that mech voice over used shit too…give us the astrisk
March 7, 2010 @ 3:04 pm
THANKS TRIGGERMAN,THAT EXPLAINS IT..I DON’T GO SEE NONE OF THE SONS OF BITCHES OR BITCHES THAT USE AUTO-TUNE LIVE..I DON’T WATCH CMT OR GAC ANYMORE SINCE I’VE GOT YOU TO REPORT ON IT..I’VE NEVER WATCHED THE RAP SHIT EXCEPT A LITTLE BY ACCIDENT..MY EARS ARE TOO OLD TO BLEED OVER ALL THE BULLSHIT..THE ONLY THING I STILL WATCH IS CMT INSIDER TO HEAR SOME NEWS ON POP COUNTRY..I HAVE ALWAYS SAID SOMEONE HAS TO WATCH IT TO REPORT IT AND THAT USE TO BE ME..I GUESS I NEED TO START LISTENING TO SOME OF IT AGAIN SO I WON’T BE UNDER EDUCATED..EAR PLUGS WON’T STOP THE BLEEDING,JUST STOPS IT UP AND IT GUSHES OUT WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OUT..THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY EARS FOR A COUPLE YEARS..YOU NEED TO PUT A PHRASE BELOW SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC THAT READS:SAVING MY PEOPLE’S EARS SO THEY CAN LISTEN TO REAL COUNTRY MUSIC FOR A FEW MORE YEARS..
March 7, 2010 @ 4:00 pm
Bandana: Good rhyme. I can see it on a T-Shirt.
Burch: The one thing about pop fans is they love to tear down just as much as they love to give undue credit to their pop idols. I think they do know what Auto Tune is, because of T-Pain. If it wasn’t for his overindulgence with it, they might not, but with the T Pain iPhone App (click on the video link above) and all the other ways it has bled into the pop culture, I think your average teenager residing in the bullseye of the pop demographic knows exactly what it is. They say Guitar Hero is going to make a generation of great guitar players. Auto Tune might make a generation of bad singers.
Carla: Don’t play the fool. We all know your a big T Pain fan.
March 7, 2010 @ 4:28 pm
I AM SO OUT OF TOUCH..I’VE NEVER HEARD OF T-PAIN..I SWEAR I HAVE NEVER HEARD THE NAME..I LIVE A SHELTERED LIFE AND I LOVE IT..I KNOW WAYLON,HANK III,SR.,CRR,JOE BUCK,DAC,REBEL SON,ANTiSEEN,BOB WAYNE,LUCKY TUBB,WAYNE HANCOCK,JOEY ALLCORN,357 STRING BAND,TOO MANY MORE TO NAME BUT NO T-PAIN..
March 7, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
Didn’t know as much about auto tune as I’m sure a lot of people do. I just knew what the effect was (heard it used with Kid Crock and P-Brain) “Im on a goat” .. stupid nigger. Somebody would be lame as fuck to use that shit live … as Rascal Flatts would be a prime example to take that honor. They would also be rubbish to use that shit in recording as well .. maybe as a joke but, I think the link you posted shed a lot of light. P-Brain’s music is a joke and I hope his Grammy exposes the rapper and the award for the bullshit that they are. The young people are so idiotic and would eat shit to propel the sales of the afforementioned “artists”. I’m satisfied that maybe the self porady, as it were, of the auto – tune program will make it’s practitioners’ music seem even more stupid in the future to people that are too stupid to currently recognize it. But it will get them rich til then. And that’s what it’s all about, right? I’m on a boat, your legacy is up shit creek.
March 7, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
Good stuff David. I think the use of Auto Tune, at least as a sound effect, will be laughed on by future generation. Just like look back at the spandex, eyeliner, and big hair of 80’s glam rock and laugh.
March 9, 2010 @ 9:10 am
Triggerman…..just a little correction….”They say Guitar Hero is going to make a generation of great guitar players.” I don’t know who THEY are but anybody that plays guitar AND has tried to play Guitar Hero knows that a guitar player CAN’T play Guitar Hero. It’s completely different. So,there won’t be any great guitarists due to Guitar Hero.
I definitely agree that people that use Auto Tune should have to put a disclaimer next to each song that it was used on. If it was the entire album then the entire album should have to have a disclaimer right on the front. People have a right to know exactly what they’re getting when they pay their hard earned cash for ridiculously over-priced CD’s.
It’s no different than a sex offender having to post a sign and be registered in the system. Auto Tune users should also have to be registered as such and disclaimers added to everything they do. Live shows should also have to have a disclaimer on all advertisements and tickets stating that Auto Tune will be used during this show. And, if it isn’t going to be used then they need that disclaimer as well so that people paying hard earned cash for ridiculously over-priced tickets will know exactly what to expect….an off key ear-bleeding performance.
It ALL boils down to truth-in-advertising. Companies and businesses are NOT allowed to pretend to be something they are not or APPEAR to supply a product that doesn’t exist. By the same token, artists and record companies should NOT be allowed to use Auto Tune without proper statements noted, qualifying disclaimers, and truthful advertisements.
All of the above doesn’t even scratch the surface of WHY. Why the hell would ANYBODY promote or give a record deal to ANYBODY that HAS to use Auto Tune. Is everybody on crack? I just don’t get it. Either you can sing…..or you can’t. If you can’t….DON’T!! I’m not an airline pilot but you don’t see my country ass getting in a 747 and trying to fly off into the wild blue yonder! I’m not a physician but you don’t see me sawing into somebody’s head to work on their brain! So, why is it ACCEPTABLE for people that AREN’T singers to screech like a turpentined cat and get paid for it?
March 9, 2010 @ 9:43 am
Answer is simple Okie, because they’re attractive people.
March 9, 2010 @ 11:06 am
Uhhhhh….attractive to who?
Seriously!! Kenny Chesney has to be the ugliest sum-bitch around. He looks like he wasn’t quite done yet when he was born.
Taylor Swift has about as much grace as a rock rolling down a ladder. And, I question whether she’s an alien or not. I mean, if her eyes get any further apart she’ll be able to see two different directions without moving her head.
Kieth Urban is a David Spade look-a-like.Enough said.
Miley Cyrus has teeth that could core an apple through a picket fence. And, she’s Billy Ray’s kid. Enough said.
Gary Allan is the pop country twin of Bigfoot.
Lady Antebellum is two guys and a girl. WTF! The girl is pretty hot but one of the guys looks like his head has been mashed in a vice and the other one looks like an anvil hit him on top of the head and mashed it flat the other way.
Kellie Pickler isn’t bad but that blonde hair and dark roots pisses me off. I wonder what else is fake?
Tim McGraw is just another ugly sum-bitch that got lucky and married a hot woman and just HAPPENS to have a famous Dad.
Josh Turner has a haircut that would scare a buzzard off a gut wagon. The only claim to fame he has is a deep voice. And ladies, I don’t know what you’ve been told but a deep voice DOES NOT equate to a large penis (I would have said big dick….but he is and could have been confusing).
Which brings me to Trace Adkins. Does anybody really believe that a ponytail dangling out from under a cowboy hat is attractive? If you do….get a life! And again, ladies, I don’t know what you’ve been told but a deep voice DOES NOT equate to a large penis (I would have said big dick….but he is and could have been confusing).Give me a break.
I can continue if anyone wants. BUT, my point here is…..WHAT ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE?
There are only a handful as far as I can tell. So….WTF?
March 9, 2010 @ 8:09 pm
I agree with you about Jay Z, I actually like that song. I just like real no matter what. I know a little about it, I am married to an audio engineer and I remember him telling me a long time ago about certain singers that use it and ones that don’t need it. I just think that if you are going to be a performer it should be raw and from the heart, not hacked all to hell with whatever software they can get their sell out hands on.
March 10, 2010 @ 6:33 pm
Hell, I’m laughin now, but it ain’t funny.
March 17, 2010 @ 12:10 am
There has been voice doctoring going on for years. This AutoTune gadget is just more sophisticated than what was used in the past. Perhaps you remember Gary Lewis (son of comedian Jerry) who had a couple of hits in the 60’s, one of which was “This Diamond Ring”. When he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show (or Shew as Ed called it) and forced to sing live, he was absolutely hopeless without echo & double tracking. Seemed to finish off his career to the great relief of us all.
April 17, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
I understand this post is about the auto tune, but why do country folk care about rap shit? It ain’t even music. You jes push buttons fer bass loops and make up shitty rhymes about sex and drugs. I have twin cousins that rodeo and they like some of that rap. Ugh I had to listen to it with certain friends back in the day and I’d keep my mouth shut and not say anythin’ cause I didn’t wanna get in a fight over it.
That said…I agree with the label or warnin’ on albums that have auto tune used on them. Also should be used with online sales as well. I’ve always been a Hag fan and it seems him and George Jones know jes what to say when it comes to music these days. As Haggard once said, “If we were in rock ‘n’ roll, they’d be playing us. Eric Clapton and I are about the same age (and) they’re playing him on rock ‘n’ roll stations…In order to be played (on country radio) nowadays, you have to be singing about air. It’s got to have a goddamn line-dance tempo to it, and you’ve got to be under 40.” He could’ve said it also needs an auto tune used to make ’em sound better. Glad you brought this up as I never heard of the auto tune before.
July 18, 2010 @ 10:41 pm
i cant agree more with merle haggard-even a guy like me from GHANA AFRICA now living in canada who loves country music and sing at karaoke bars cant understand why country stations have forgotten about real classic country singers like merle hag -george jones willie to mention just a few –what they play these days is not country-its murder on music row
July 20, 2010 @ 7:21 pm
I understand the post against auto-tune and maybe the dislike for rap, but some of these posts are pushing the line to ignorance.
1. To argue that rappers aren’t talented, what is a talent? Its a skill or ability. Clearly, rappers have one. Maybe not one YOU value, but a talent all the same. How is a poet talented, yet a rapper not? If anything the rapper is MORE talented, as poets work with pen and paper, but many rappers do “freestyle” on the spot improv.
2. Yes, in some cases auto tune is clearly cheating, IE covering when you miss a note, HOWEVER, in T-pain’s style, its really not. He’s not covering a note he can’t hit, he’s using the voice distortion to create a desired effect. What T-Pain style singers do to their vocals with Auto-tune is no different than electric guitarists using whammy bars and distortion pedals.
3. Jay-Z was talking about the latter. He wasn’t criticizing Auto tune as cheating. His song was saying that he feels AutoTune as a style has become played out, and its time to move on.
4. To the poster that elt the need to post “Stupid N***”, wow. Good job. You just reinforced the very stereotype most decent country fans would love to get away from.
July 20, 2010 @ 9:54 pm
Hardrocker,
1. A poet has talent, because they have a knack for writing things in a unique way, and use abstract anlogies and metaphors. Most rappers ARE NOT POETS. ———— Talent is the ability to do something SIGNIFIGANTLY BETTER than the average person. Most rappers HAVE NO TALENT!!
2 T-pain’s music DEPENDS on the autotuner, because he lacks talent, when a guitarist uses distortion, it’s an effect, just some over the top bullshit, but they don’t depend on it ususally
3 Who cares
4. Slavery ended over 100 years ago, quit crying, you are you’re own worst enemy when you cry.
February 13, 2012 @ 2:02 pm
I turn off any auto-tuned song, wont purchase any auto-tuned song and will leave any live performance where there is auto-tune in use.
Its horrendous. And, the music industry better pay attention to my statement because I am not the only one who cant stand it. So long as I have a power button on my radio, it will used when auto-tune anything (that goes for commercials too!) comes on.
Stop the auto-tune madness now. If you cant sing, then dont sing. If you’re an established performer hiding behind auto-tune, then shame on you. We CUSTOMERS used to like to hear your live performances when they used to sound LIVE, not processed and over produced.
Wake up folks.