What is Autotune?Īutotune is an audio signal processor tool originally used to correct off-key pitches in vocal performances (or any other instrument).
I'm going to show you how to achieve all three stages, from sounding like a robot, to sounding like a synthesizer, to undetectable perfection. Most pop artists are selected based on their overall marketability (looks, ability to perform, above average vocal talent) as opposed to being chosen based on a supreme skill in singing. The only difference between the second and third stage is how good of a vocalist the artist is. The perfect amount - every other genre that you don't notice it in.Too much needed - modern Pop and Country music.Purposefully too much - like Cher, T-Pain, and Lil Wayne.
There are three levels of autotune, as far as I see it: In order to push the effect into overdrive you have to purposefully have a bad performance to a certain degree, which is why it works so naturally well for rap artists in terms of singing to the correct pitch. The main contributing factor to an "invisible" autotune is a great vocal performance. Let me tell you, they all are, but their mixing engineers are doing such a fantastic job with it you wouldn't know. Then you consider all of the artists you think aren't using it. It's my opinion that the 2010 decade will be considered a "dark age" of music, partially due to this effect that many artists will come to regret in the future. Take artists like Cher or T-Pain, or even Lil Wayne when rapping, who nearly sound like robots during their songs. More artists than you'd realize use this tool undetectably, while others make it very obvious. Autotune can compensate for this.Autotune is the perfect example of a signal processing method that can be used in overdrive as an effect or used properly in a transparent way to improve a performance.
Similarly, singers can be affected by nerves and adrenaline during a live performance, which will throw their pitch off. In this scenario, singers will make use of live autotune to tighten their live vocals up, resulting in a crystal-clear performance that doesn’t require the artist to lip-sync. However, a less-than-perfect vocal performance will also open the artist up to criticism. Unfortunately (thanks to the internet), being caught lip-syncing during a live performance can create backlash against an artist. Some may choose to lip-sync during certain parts of their performance, or in some cases, they’ll lip sync the entire thing. Singing live is a different atmosphere for artists.
While this works great for recorded music, it can be tough to recreate in a live setting. When an artist records a vocal track in the studio, they’ll record it a tonne of times to get it as close to perfect as possible.įollowing that, the finished track goes through a hefty post-production process to get things sounding perfect. Some popular artists that have used autotune for this reason include: However, others prefer to be a little more discreet about it (such as the famous Britney Spears example we’ll get to a little later on in this article). When it comes to this aspect of the production process, many singers are transparent about their use of autotune and accept it as a normal part of the production process. Recorded music serves as the backbone of any pop singer’s reputation, meaning it has to be passionate yet perfect. Autotune allows singers to achieve perfection by prioritizing the feel of a track and touching up any minor pitch imperfections with autotune. To put it into an easy-to-remember quote:Īutotune often the difference between “a great take with just one small fix” and “endless hours of an artist trying to achieve perfection”. Similarly, if a record is on a tight production schedule and the singer doesn’t have time to record the take several times over, autotune will be used to fix up any imperfections. In this scenario, autotune will be used to tighten up the pitch and polish the finished product. Often, a singer will nail the feeling of a particular line, but find themselves a little off-pitch in the process. No matter how talented a particular singer might be, a recorded vocal track is never going to be perfect. Ready? Let’s get started! To Tighten Up Pitch Imperfections In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into the four reasons listed above, as well as throwing in some examples to illustrate each point.