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The use of digital pitch correction software on vocal recordings

To my mind, this practice is fraught with dishonesty.

The most obvious issue is:
- with digital pitch correction software applied to it, a vocal recording presented to the listener is done so under the pretense that it presents the human voice singing, when in fact any number of moments therein are the result of a program shoehorning the human-produced tones into a “perfect” tone” (whether it may be a Bb, C, F#, Db, or whatever), thereby negating the human expression and negating the validity of the pretense.
Much like a photo portrait of a human body post-airbrushing ceases to be a “true” presentation of that body, the viewer is not being presented with a faithful representation of that human form.

The next issue is:
- rampant apologia within the industry.
I’ve even heard an industry insider say, “pitch manipulation software does nothing we couldn’t do in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It just lets us do it for a lot less money.”
That’s a cute thing to say, but incorrect.
The finished vocal recording that was changed by the implementation of pitch correction software is, by definition, different from the finished vocal recording featuring none.

I am welcoming the thoughts of Audiogon members regarding this practice.

tylermunns
frogman
7,475 posts
 

@tylermunns , oh, please! Take a chill pill and relax, man. Obviously, I struck a chord (😊) with you. It should be obvious why I used the phrases that I used. “Pompous”? Really? Read your own words to see pomposity.

I’ll make it short:

The use of pitch correction and its possible attack on musical integrity is a matter of the degree to which it is used. It seemed from many of the responses (including yours) that the use of this electronic tool is considered objectionable in all instances and not only when there is a gross reliance on it by the “artist”. Used very sparingly it can be very useful and not objectionable, imo. That was my point, nothing more.


**** I have perfect pitch. I know what off-pitch sounds like. I’m a singer.
I sing on pitch.****

Pomposity, anyone?

larsman's avatar
larsman
2,030 posts
 

What @tylermunns says sounds like a perfectly reasonable statement to me and bothers me not a jot. 

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,251 posts
 

The OP is Ahab and digital pitch correction is...  We know how that story ends.

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,207 posts
 

And there is auto tune.

If auto tune were to disappear tomorrow, an entire genre of todays popular music would disappear with it.

Perhaps a topic for another thread?

 

 

mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 

Two YTbers I follow, Rick Beato and Fil of Wings of Pegasus, have videos talking about auto tune ( others too ). Very enlightening and educational, if so interested. Our recordings that we listen to, are vastly manipulated by the folks involved who are making the recordings. To name the many characteristics I am speaking of, would be another area to examine and research, on the net. For those who have spent time in a recording studio, know of what I am speaking. But the point of it all.....if you enjoy the end result, this is all that matters. So, Enjoy ! My best, MrD.

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