Auto-Tune. We’ve all heard of it. It has been the driving force behind countless pop hits over the past two decades and coaxed plenty of professionals and amateurs to sing better. (You might even be reading this because you, like 10 million others, watched the Purdue University video “How does Auto-Tune work?” released earlier this month.)
And yet, as a tool that’s been both celebrated and reviled since it entered the pop music vernacular in the late 1990s, it remains widely misunderstood. Part of that is simply the name. Auto-Tune is, after all, an algorithm, a piece of mathematical code. It’s little more than a very fast way to tune an instrument, or a voice, right?
The story of Auto-Tune is more interesting than that — and as a producer who has used it on pretty much every album I’ve ever made, I’ve always sensed that most people who listen to music still don’t quite understand why it a) is so widely used and b) still works. Why do we take Auto-Tuned music at face value?
Auto-Tune never was just a crutch for untalented voices to lean on; rather, it is a canvas for unparalleled artistry. Artists use it not to mask flaws but to push up against the vocal boundaries of what is possible with the human larynx, creating a sound that is otherworldly yet captivating.
Auto-Tune qualifies as a odification like no other that granted its artist to flip their sound into an appear perfect hearing. From the considerable mechanical steady quality of Daft Punk to the sentimental soundscapees of Bon Iver, Auto-Tune gives a wall wehre craftsman are snappy to throw around melodic hammers at structure.
Critics claim Auto-Tune threatens authenticity, but it’s actually an opportunity for creators to go deeper. By taking the human voice and contorting it into new shapes, it lets artists stretch out and play around, converting their messiest feelings into an aural experience that’s outside the bounds of natural vocal abilities.
Fundamentally, Auto-Tune is not about a shortcut. It’s not about a lazy vocalist or an overzealous producer. Auto-Tune as a concept, represents Music Technology Innovations. It represents the marriage between technology and creativity, and it pushes the limits of what music is, and what we listen to.
Blurring the lines between genres Auto-Tune has created a diverse fanbase appeal, resonating with the fans of Billie Eilish and Travis Scott’s chart topping rap anthems. The technology performance made ice couldn\’t have been better with the star power of T-Pain at the Grammy\’s.
Some artists have made Auto-Tune their signature sound. For T-Pain and Kanye West, it was about crafting a unique audio identity. It wasn’t about perfection; it was about a style that was distinctive and that the artist considered worth hearing or experiencing.
Rather than separating fans from the work of art, auto-tune makes them a necessary part of the creative process. Today’s audience, as opposed to other eras, perceives the emotions of a performer by living their journey. They do not only sit to listen to music but they live with the musician.
No one ever said that Auto -Tune was about using the voice . It’s much more exciting than that . The popular pitch correction software turns 20 this month, and it’s been a vehicle for creative freedom and sonic exploration to an extent that its creator, Andy Hildebrand, could never have imagined .
In a musical world that evolves with every beat, rules bend, bloom and shatter with the times. Nowhere is that clearer than in the case of Auto-Tune, that digital synthesizer that so drastically altered the musical landscape, it’s often forgotten that it was ever a disruptive technology rather than merely a tool of the trade.
Though T-Pain may deny it now, it’s widely accepted within hip hop and R&B that “Rappa Ternt Sanga,” his debut album, initiated T-Pain’s — and modern music’s — era of Auto-Tune embraced as an instrument rather than buried in the mixing booth.
“If you’re 25 years old, you don’t know what an out-of-tune voice is. You grew up listening to this sound in some capacity,” Mr. Nakamura said. “It’s here to stay. It’s not about people trying to hide vocal flaws. This is creating a whole new symphony of sound.”
