Autotune techniques/software

[billg1]

It's funny how people can interpret things differently. I thought the performance (and arrangement) of the live version from the "Ellen" show was much more powerful and enjoyable than the way over the top video. Besides her voice going into the "robot" realm in the lip synced video, the production was . . . well, very produced.

By comparison, instead of going for the glitz the live version actually sounded like a real group of good musicians playing a pretty good song with a terrific arrangement with an honest emotional vocal delivery. I'll take that anytime over a faked out production. In the live version the singing, though not entirely pitch perfect was very natural and heartfelt imo & the less than pitch issues that I heard were the kind of things that I expect sometimes in a live setting where the monitors may not be perfect etc., but you have to realize that I'm still used to natural vocal performances because I rarely listen to the obviously autotuned stuff because it's not my cup of tea. (and my own vocals are always "pitchy"!) I certainly didn't listen to that live performance & come away with the idea that her producer wouldn't be able to get a killer NATURAL vocal track from her if he had 4 or 5 tracks to comp in the studio.

thanks for posting these, I watched (and enjoyed) the entire live performance clip but could only take about a minute of that video, which to me could have been a digital short from SNL spoofing over-the-top music videos.

[mojobone]

Bill, where would this world be without the excellent efforts of hard-workin' purists like you? It's awfully hard to argue against singing well, that's for sure, so I salute you!

This thing about autotuning technology dating our musical era is as real as a heart attack, especially since it is used to correct way more than just the sour moments in a performance. It's worth saying that I personally never automatically tune anything with this type of software. I just use it to sweeten notes that are distracting to the song as a whole.

Here are some noteworthy examples of the pros and cons of tuning technlogy. The first one is an amazing live performance by Lady Gaga. This performer needs nothing to make her magic. This is the juice Bill is talking about. Amazing! The next two are Katy Perry with & without help. As much as I love 90% of Katy's live performance, there are plenty of OMG <yuck-bleckkkh> moments. The professional recording example is fabulous, but I suppose perfection like this could become tiresome in the future if we ever get back to nature with our music. So the question is: What would you do with Katy Perry if the live material below was the best she could give you after multiple takes? Should she be told she's not good enough to make a recording? Please keep in mind I'm not asking whether she could and does do better.

Lady Gaga Live (Lighting up a room without any help from tuning tech.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7HvURBhMGE

Katy Perry Recording (I'll bet anything she received a digital tune-up)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw

Katy Perry Live (As pitchy and unpredictable as it gets. OMG!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWPtx0u6hg

Um, sorry, but the live performance was also tuned, unless that telltale warble is a new vocal trick that Katy just learned. (humans can sound like that, when they're yodeling) I've mentioned before that Taylor Swift might not even know she's being tuned; when you use A/T live, you can't feed the tuned version to the performer's ear monitors, it screws 'em up even worse.

[allends]

I seriously doubt there's auto-tuning engaged between 01:05 & 01:09. Whenever I make that warble sound it's because I drank milk before the show.

BTW: I sent BillG a PM to say that I changed my mind and he wins the debate: I am actually quite fond of Katy's gritty live version now. She's got guts!! I was going to say "you can feel her guts", but people with dirty minds would have twisted that one!

[mojobone]

Tuning starts at :47, and you can hear the box chattering back and forth between scale tones shortly afterward, but the warble is even more prominent when it gets to the chorus. Not saying Katy can't sing, that's obviously not the case; there wasn't much massaging of her Mtv Unplugged performance, she's just getting a little help with some extra-wide intervals.