Auto-Tune… when will it curl up and die?

T-Pain ft. Lil’ Wayne- Snap Your Fingaz (Link 2)

The Antares Auto-Tune is ruining music. I wanted to throw that one out there quickly- it’s better to get the pretenses out of the way and get down to the real issues. This is how we (and many other people) feel, right?

The fault lies with the artists as much as the producers who first introduced it simply to ease the pressure of the studio. Whilst Cher’s voice sounded ‘weird’ and it was clear Britney cranked the dials up in the studio (and uses playback), the newest generation of Auto-Tuners are taking things to a new extreme. Take Kanye West, who forged a new style called ‘Heartbreak’, comprised of 808s and Auto-Tune for his recent album. In his live performances, the audience often hear the auto-tune fighting with Kanye’s voice (see his recent SNL performances), and this just about sums up what is wrong with the technology.

Auto-Tune never claimed to offer everyone ‘the voice’. Rather, Antares designed the system so that they could build on something that was already there. Post-production is one of the most important aspects of making music, and auto-tune eases the pressure on recording artists… Unfortunately, in Kanye and Weezy’s cases, there is no foundation. I also say this as it always comes as a surprise (and letdown) when a live performance bombs (which is often the case with these artists).

T-Pain is right at the centre of this. I have a lot of respect for his production genius, and how he has managed to fool the public by marketing himself as a singer. “Thr33 Ringz’ was an impressive feat of trickery, and whilst he isn’t terrible live, most would not bracket him as ‘world class’? Despite this, his work often finds its way to the top of billboard, and he is showing no signs of slowing down. Alongside Lil’ Wayne, he is forming T-Wayne, and we can expect an album full of material similar to ‘Snap Your Fingaz’ (see above) later this year.

I would love to hear your opinions on this- its quite a controversial topic at the moment, and I think its about time we take a stand and put pressure on the artists, as the result will be better music/performances. It was never the intention to turn you off a whole genre of music- instead, enjoy the polished studio recordings from these artists, but always keep a note in the back of your mind- that might not be their voice. I rest my case:



8 Responses to “Auto-Tune… when will it curl up and die?”

1. Robin says:

   February 14, 2009 at 1:39 am

   Amazing Post!

   Really well written. I basically agree with everything you say, except I don’t like lil’ wayne or Kanye.

   When I attend a band performance, I will check to see what they are like on youtube. For example, I wouldn’t go to see the Ting Tings or any other band which uses too many loops or just aren’t good performers.

   People like the Ting Tings, Kanye won’t be remembered forever, they will just be seen as popstars. It’s good performers who live on like Nirvana and The Strokes.
2. Will says:

   February 14, 2009 at 3:56 am

   Cheers man- I recently checked out your blog and the design is sickkkkkk. Seriously, you are onto a great thing there: keep up the good work. I’ll be emailing you soon about an idea I have…

   You make a good point- I found Auto-Tune really intriguing when I first heard it on a record, but its been over-used and is getting old really quickly.

   I saw Stevie Wonder using a vocoder at the Grammys last week and it was incredible. The thing is, he used it as an instrument rather than as a way of compensating for no vocal skills.

   I saw the Ting Tings last year and it was okay I suppose. Nothing too incredible, but yes, their loops are rather annoying. I think its passable though as their drummer cues them all with his feet!
3. Tom Gutteridge says:

   February 15, 2009 at 2:29 pm

   Hey Will
   Good post-but truly the problem with this technology is the false advertising that occurs. You’re in the car, and some wicked song comes on. The problem? That’s not really the voice of the performer-it’s some computer generated voodoo that has no resemblance to how they truly sound!

   Anyway bro, the blog looks good, but Facebook me on how things are going. I haven’t heard from you in too long.
4. question says:

   February 15, 2009 at 3:04 pm

   Is it really a problem that it’s not the voice of the performer?

   You know the drums on every single one of their tracks… they’re not really the sound of the drums, they’re some computer generated voodoo that has no resemblance to how they truely sound!
5. Will says:

   February 15, 2009 at 3:42 pm

   I think the distinction is that drums are inanimate objects, and also that drums are not paid for their contribution to the world of music.

   Musicians make an absolute killing through their ‘live’ tours, when very few actually perform without playback. I have a lot of respect for the bands/musicians who never use playback, but most of the people mentioned above are not in this group.

   It is, however, a case of opinion. Each person has a different view on Auto-Tune… all I know is that it would anger me if I paid money for a live performance, and we didn’t get one. What do you think?
6. answer says:

   February 16, 2009 at 3:05 pm

   I left a reply for this, but it disappeared apparently… it went something along the lines of…

   I’m not too fussed about a-t being used on the whole, but it depends on the context.

   More the point I was trying to make was that a song shouldn’t stop being ‘wicked’ or be a ‘problem’ because a computer gets involved.

   For me this recent bout of a-t seems to be used more as a production technique rather than a correctional tool. Producers are creating that ‘robot’ sound along with more electronic beats to fabricate a trademark sound… rather than becoming great vocalists. Illustrated in the first sentence of T-Pain’s Wikipedia page…
7. Enford says:

   March 13, 2009 at 3:42 am

   очень занимательно было почитать
8. Paddy says:

   March 22, 2009 at 4:32 pm

   I think your argument that the Auto-Tune is “ruining music” is too sweeping and close-minded to be an effective one. When you are of the mind, as many are, that what goes into making a piece of music does not matter as long as the finished product sounds good or is entertaining, then arguments like this tend to lose their validity.

   It is a bonafide position to respect an artist more for having personally produced every sound in a song, but this is a matter of opinion. Personally, I don’t believe that using the Auto-Tune automatically precludes a particular song or an artist’s oeuvre from being “legitimate.” Rather, it can expose bad musicians.

   With Lil’ Wayne, if any part of a piece of music is left to his discretion or execution, he will inevitably make it worse (see “I Feel Like Dying” – great idea, good beat, but his mistaken belief that anything he does is clever and golden makes it terrible). In the case of T-Pain, it doesn’t seem there is much talent there to begin with. His success likely has as much to do with the paucity of good “hook” men today as his aptitude for the job.

   But put the technology in the hands of someone like Kanye West, who has all the taste, talent, knowledge, and cleverness in the world, as well as an overpowering will to make a piece of music as good as it can be, then the Auto-Tune has the potential to be a good thing. Just because his toolbox-o-talents didn’t come with a voice doesn’t mean he should have to leave it to someone else to sing the lyrics he came up with. I don’t know what you’re basing your argument that Antares came up with it to “build on something that was already there,” but even if this is true, I think it can serve just as valid a purpose as an enabling device as it can a perfecting device.

   Discuss.

   Thanks man, for starting this conversation, I think with the technology seeing a rebirth, it’s a topic that should be discussed. Good stuff.