Blog-Auto-Tune

The more contemporary music I listen to the more I wonder where creativity is going. It seems like more than ever, the same basic models for a commercial release are just being cloned from other efforts. I don’t care which genre you’re listening to. It’s amazing how unoriginal the productions are and I swear if you’re not listening too closely you can’t even tell one from the other. Thank goodness there is indie music out there because that’s where a lot of the creativity is going. People are actually trying new things although, alas, there is some “playing it safe” going on there, too.

So, that brings me to the subject at hand: Auto–Tune”. It is without a doubt a phenomenal technology that is at work in these software apps that let you fix bad vocal pitch or instrumental intonation problems after the fact (or if you dare in a live show). The thing that drives me absolutely nuts though is hearing cut after cut with the same over-use of Auto-Tune. It’s like a flu bug that everybody catches. We are all out here trying to make great recordings and promote our projects, but in my humble opinion leaning heavily on gizmos, gadgets and gimmicks is just sort of phoning it in and not really being very creative. I know we can do better. The music industry was built on innovation and innovation is what makes it grow.

I say let folks see what you’ve got! Use the amazing tech tools we have available when they are really what you want and/or need, but not as a part of someone else's formula for making a “hit record”. Share from your heart with your lyrics, melody, and arrangement.

P.S. In the early sixties, my Dad used to say “let’s go down to Greenwich Village and be non-conformists like everyone else.

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