I started out as a vocalist back when dinosaurs roamed the earth so I didn’t know anything about Auto-Tune.
My first microphone was a rock. But seriously, I know a lot of old school singers and coaches who have a complicated relationship with Auto-Tune.
Sure, it’s become a staple of recorded music and that’s just the way it is. And it really can be used to save some magically emotional performances that might have a pitch issue or two. But, let’s call it what it is:
1. It can suck the emotional life out of a performance
Auto-Tune is ubiquitous. It’s on more recordings than you can imagine and I’m not sure that’s going to change any time soon.
However, if not used well and very carefully, it can flatten vocal performances down to a mere shell of the original. I know producers who tune every single syllable that comes out of their artists’ mouths and/or comp every syllable just to create the perfect vocal.
And, let’s face it: we’re used to clicked drums, instruments synched to the drums and perfectly pitched vocals so we miss it if we don’t hear them. But, what are we missing out on? Where’s the humanity?
2. It can make you less concerned about pitch accuracy
Back in my day, you were your own personal pitch correction machine; either you were on, or you sucked! And you had to keep doing takes until you got it right.
Back in my day, you were your own personal pitch correction machine.
A line could take 2, 4, 10, 30 attempts! Now, producers say, “Well, that was close enough, come on in, we can tune it afterward”. Great. Thanks. No problem. I’ll just figure out what else I should do with my life.
Imagine if this “close enough” concept appeared everywhere else in life: “That’ll be $40…well, you only have $36…CLOSE ENOUGH!” “Your brakes aren’t working? Well, I can kind of fix them, at least CLOSE ENOUGH!” You get the idea.
So, singers, become the best, most accurate vocalists you can be. Study sight singing; train your ears; learn instruments – because it’s the right thing to do.
3. It can create a false self-image
I know lots of artists that don’t like to listen to their own voices. Therefore, they don’t watch their producers finish up their vocals.
The producer wants to do a great job for their client, so they pull out all the stops and Auto-Tune the crap out of the artist to make sure they sound perfect. Then, voila…the mastered final!
And WOW, do you sound GREAT! You can’t believe how great you sound; all your friends are high-fiving you every minute of every day! Great, right?
Waaaaaait a minute. Not so fast. How about you go listen to the un-tuned vocals and get back to me on that? It takes a brave recording artist to listen to him or herself being comped and tuned; it takes an even braver one to accept whatever truths they find.
Jaime was a Musical Director, coaching voice and performance for Disney and wrote “Working With Your Voice: The Career Guide to Becoming a Professional Singer” (Alfred Publishing). As a session singer, she ‘jingled’ for Coke, Pillsbury, Folgers, Chevrolet, and hundreds more. She’s sung on thousands of live gigs (covers and original music) and toured for years with Leon Russell and Sam Moore. Jaime sang BGVs live and digitally with George Strait, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Webb, Miley & Billy Ray Cyrus, Johnny Mathis, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Willie Nelson and others. She performed off-Broadway in “Search: Paul Clayton”, toured nationally with “Old Jews Telling Jokes” and presently coaches students in voice, performance, beginner guitar/piano, studio singing, songwriting and auditioning in NY, CT, LA, Nashville and virtually. For bookings: www.workingwithyourvoice.com
