Why Are People Ignorant About Autotune

[DarthScorpio11]

I was arguing with someone who thinks no one uses autotune anymore. I mentioned that most mainstream artist use it, and if anything, it's more used that it ever was. I mentioned that wiz khalifa uses it a lot in his hooks, like during the singing parts in "Roll Up", and "No Sleep", Nikki Minaj uses it a lot in the singing parts of songs, Lil Wayne uses it, especially in the song "How To Love". Brittney Spears, and Lady Gaga...

They said something like, "no, listen to a T Pain song, and then listen to a Wiz song. Wiz doesn't sound like a robot."

*facepalm* Are people not aware that autotune was never meant to be robotic sounding. Autotune is capable of producing smooth natural-like sounds. It only gives off that T Pain sound when it's turned up a lot.

 

[Laser Priest]

Because T-pain and such is what made Autotune well-known, and it's mostly used for it's robotic sound now.

Also, not many people study autotune.

 

[weker]

Autotune is capable of producing smooth natural-like sounds.

I would like some proof of this statement XD All the Auto tune I know of is changing pitch to a massive degree allowing awful singers to sing with no talent what so ever.

 

[DJDarque]

Not only that, but people aren't really aware of how long it's been in use either. People tend to associate its rise with artists like T-Pain, who abuse it, but it's been around (at least more commonly) since '97. When used right, you hardly notice it, if at all. Most people just associate auto-tune with the robot sound, which it isn't, because real pitch correction isn't really noticeable.

 

[Dense_Electric]

I've mostly seen it used by cheap hacks with no talent that MTV and the sort of people who watch it have somehow elevated to the status of "musician" (see: all of the people you listed).

The last time I can recall it being used for effect rather than to make a non-musician's singing presentable was in the final chorus of Lost by Avenged Sevenfold.

 

[weker]

Rebecca Black is a perfect

Those words don't belong together... XD

 

[fenderstrat]

because humans make mistakes and robots (or machines, or software) do not. also, a good singer can make a mistake sound good, which can actually add to the texture and mood of a song...

 

[kebab4you]

Who on earth are those artists? I could only recognize britney spears(Which I had no idea still made shitty albums) and lady gaga.

OT: Um not sure what to discuss but I will go with autotune, I find people that use it are cheating since you´re(being a god chunk of all god damn artists)entrusting that the song will sound good because the computer did the work not you[footnote]Rebecca Black *cough*[/footnote]

 

[Aidinthel]

To answer the title question: Because people are ignorant about most things, and you only notice it regarding your areas of expertise.

 

[Erana]

This is a case of people being incredibly vocal about a subject that they have put absolutely no effort into understanding.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

Autotune is capable of producing smooth natural-like sounds.

I would like some proof of this statement XD All the Auto tune I know of is changing pitch to a massive degree allowing awful singers to sing with no talent what so ever.

Listen to a song by the band "We Came As Romans" in studio, then listen to them live. I'd say that's a pretty good example. Doesn't take a terrible voice and makes it good. It takes a decent voice and polishes it.

 

[weker]

snip

I listened to plant the seed and could tell the slight auto tune i think on the official video version, however not a big enough difference to make it worthwhile and the other is live so shit quality imo.
Really I find a good auto tune is the one that I can't hear, if I can hear it and its not used for special effects it's there to cover for bad singing or song writing.

 

[Funkysandwich]

I'd rather hear someone sing slighty out of tune then hear them sing with auto tune. I prefer my music to be raw and natural sounding, as opposed to over produced rubbish.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

snip

I listened to plant the seed and could tell the slight auto tune i think on the official video version, however not a big enough difference to make it worthwhile and the other is live so shit quality imo.
Really I find a good auto tune is the one that I can't hear, if I can hear it and its not used for special effects it's there to cover for bad singing or song writing.

With WCAR, you can tell they've used autotune, simply because his voice is so smooth. On the live versions, he's a bit rougher, though he still sounds good (in my opinion, at least).

 

[robert01]

When Autotune is properly used and as it was intended to be used you probably won't be able to tell. Obviously when it is used to create a mechanical sounding voice it is noticeable and that is what gave it such a bad name, the over processing of peoples voices to get that sound that apparently needs to be shoved in almost every top 40 song.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I don't generally listen to rap and pop so I wouldn't know how auto-tune works either.

 

[Deimateos]

General Rule of thumb for commercial music: If it's on the radio/billboard list/making lots of money, pitch-correction was used at some point (be it autotune, melodyne or any other plugin). Record companies are in the business of making their money back (and then some), so leaving the pitch-correctness up to how the singer is feeling that day is not an option. Even if the singer has some great takes, it's still safe to assume that pitch correction is still on to polish any imperfections (and there are a few in every single take).

Autotune isn't meant to be used at full settings (T-Pain, etc), it's mainly used to nudge singers and their instruments into a specific key. The only reason people think autotune is gone is because "Autotune" became the public slang for the T-Pain sound.

 

[Phisi]

because there are some people who are just ignorant idiots who don't want to here that they are wrong or don't want to learn. It's not just autotune (thanks for the info I had no idea what it even was) but happens with everything. There are those that accuse Mass Effect of being a sodomy simulator and those that don't understand how science works and want it removed from their schools. You just have to learn that it is impossible to win an argument with a brick, you could argue all day and still not get a valid response. It's just life mate.

 

[JochemDude]

Very little music doesn't have any sort of pitch alteration for that matter.

Some music also doesn't try to aspire a realistic feel, but merely attempt to create and experience. In that case, the case in which it will be relatively impossible to recreate the sound live it will all come down to ones stage performance considering their acting skills and not their musical skills.