Auto-Tune
| Developer(s) | Antares Audio Technologies |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1997 [1] |
| Stable release | 5
|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux |
| Type | Autotuner |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.antarestech.com |
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies that uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed many artists to produce more precisely tuned recordings. The term "autotune" is also used to refer to pitch correction technologies developed by other companies.
In addition to being used to subtly change pitch, with some settings it can be used as an effect to deliberately distort the human voice.[2]
Auto-Tune is available as a plug-in for professional audio multi-tracking suites used in a studio setting, and as a stand-alone, rack-mounted unit for live performance processing.[3] Auto-Tune has become standard equipment in professional recording studios.[4]
Auto-Tune was initially created by Andy Hildebrand, an engineer working for Exxon. Hildebrand developed methods for interpreting seismic data, and subsequently realized that the technology could be used to detect, analyze, and modify pitch.[2]
Auto-Tune in popular music
Pitch correction
According to the Boston Herald, "Country stars Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have all confessed to using Auto-Tune in performance, claiming it is a safety net that guarantees a good performance."[5] Sara Evans, John Michael Montgomery and Gary LeVox of the group Rascal Flatts also rely on Auto-Tune to compensate for pitch problems. However, other country music singers, such as Loretta Lynn, Allison Moorer, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, and Patty Loveless have refused to use Auto-Tune.[6]
In 2009, Time magazine quoted an unnamed Grammy-winning recording engineer as saying, "Let's just say I've had Auto-Tune save vocals on everything from Britney Spears to Bollywood soundtrack albums. And every singer now presumes that you'll just run their voice through the box." The same article expressed "hope that pop's fetish for uniform perfect pitch will fade," speculating that pop-music songs have become harder to differentiate from one another, as "track after track has perfect pitch."[7] At the 51st Grammy Awards, Seattle band Death Cab for Cutie made an appearance wearing blue ribbons to protest the use of Auto-Tune in the music industry.[8]
The "Cher effect"
Auto-Tune was also used to produce the prominent altered vocal effect on Cher's "Believe", recorded in 1998. When first interviewed about this, the sound engineers claimed that they had used a vocoder, in what Sound on Sound perceives as an attempt to preserve a trade secret.[9] A year later, it was used in Kid Rock's popular song "Only God Knows Why." Eiffel 65's dance hit Blue (Da Ba Dee) incorporated this effect.[citation needed]
R&B singer T-Pain elaborated on the "Cher effect" in contemporary popular music by making active use of it in his songs, a style that has since gone on to be imitated by numerous other R&B and pop-music artists such as Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg.[10]
Rapper Kanye West used Auto-Tune prominently on his 2008 album 808s and Heartbreak, saying that he "loves using Auto-Tune."[11].
Other artists had different reasons for using the effect. Kanye West stated that he enjoyed the effect because it allowed him to express certain emotions he couldn’t with rapping. Lil Wayne adopted his own style of using the Auto-Tune effect, labeling it “The Weezy Effect” where he used it to exaggerate his raspy voice, as opposed to T-Pain who relied more on his singing ability. Akon, 50 Cent, Soulja Boy, and the Game have also incorporated this into their music.[12]
The first single from Jay-Z's 2009 album The Blueprint³ is titled "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)". West, who co-produced the album, told MTV in a May 2009 interview, "We actually removed all the songs with Auto-Tune off of his album, to make the point that this is an anti-Auto-Tune album, even though I released an album that has all Auto-Tune!"[13]
References
- ^ Antares history page
- ^ a b Frere Jones, Sasha. "The Gerbil's Revenge", The New Yorker, June 9, 2008
- ^ Antares product page
- ^ Everett-Green, Robert. "Ruled by Frankenmusic," The Globe and Mail, October 14, 2006, p. R1.
- ^ Treacy, Christopher John. "Pitch-adjusting software brings studio tricks," The Boston Herald, February 19, 2007, Monday, "The Edge" p. 32.
- ^ McCall, Michael. Pro Tools: A number of leading country artists sing off key. But a magical piece of software-Pro Tools-makes them sound as good as gold."
- ^ Tyrangiel, Josh, "Singer's Little Helper," Time, February 5, 2009
- ^ "Death Cab for Cutie protests Auto-Tune". Idiomag.com. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ "Recording Cher's 'Believe'"
- ^ Singers do better with T-Pain relief
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1597139/20081015/west_kanye.jhtml
- ^ http://musicouch.com/music-making/the-rise-and-fall-of-auto-tune/
- ^ Kanye West Promises Jay-Z's 'Anti-Auto-Tune' Blueprint 3 Will Be 'Amazing' Retrieved 2009-06-09.
External links
- Antares Auto-Tune EVO Pitch Correcting Plug-In - product home page
- Pitchfork: Neko Case Interview - artistic integrity and Auto-Tune
- CBC Radio One Q: The Podcast for Thursday June, 25, 2009 MP3 - NPR's Tom Moon on the takeover of the Autotune.
- "Auto-Tune", NOVA scienceNOW, PBS TV, June 30, 2009