Auto-tune in the music industry;

There were cheats way before auto tune.
I remember reading a book about the music industry years ago and a trick that was common was to use Guide Vocals.
The Guide Vocalists would record demos of the songs with the professional complete vocal arrangment, nuances, phrasing and the artist would just come in and copy it all and record while the guide vocals were playing through the headphones.

So even having a good voice didn't necessarily mean that they knew their craft well or even had the basic ability to work out their own phrasing or vocal arrangement.

Vocal coaches in the studio were also common for those who were incapable of inventing appropriate phrasing in original music.

So even the artists of old weren't without their "aids".

reply to post by SolarE-Souljah


Yea, i can't stand it either, i just thought people would like a little background on this guy, I thought he was cool, too bad he didn't spend his time working on a car that gets 200 MPG..

I used a much superior product (in my opinion) called Celemony Melodyne.

I typically use it to create harmonies for myself when there isn't another singer available.

Autotune and Melodyne have been somewhat bastardized, but they are absolutely critical to about 99% of professional productions nowadays. Just because its overused in a certain respect does not mean that it is less artistic. Its part of the sound the person was going for and whether you like it or not, computers are a part of the musical form nowadays. Whether it be a midi-trigger keyboard or pitch correction, its part of the fabric now.

I say get over it and don't listen to it when it is overused if you don't like it. The thing is, if you're a talented engineer or producer, you won't let it become too noticeable on the recording.. Because EVERYONE is using it now, even "pitch perfect" singers. And pitch perfect singers don't exist.

I remember listening to kansas and being blown away by the lead's voice.. But it didn't hurt that there was natural "pitch correction" happening by having a 5-part harmony to fix any mistakes he made.

a reply to: baddmove
No auto tune here just great singing.