Concerts are amazing in the moment; both the artists and the audience bring a great energy, which creates an opportunity to see musicians as they are in the recording studio. It’s an experience that’s both raw and awesome. Auto-Tune and other editing technology ruin exactly what can make a favorite artist a favorite in the first place.
I’m not saying that everyone should ditch the iPods and go back to vinyl records (though they sound awesome), or that music should never be edited at all. After all, studios have been editing music for decades while still releasing quality tracks.
However, I do think the editing should be kept to a minimum.
My problem with newer technology is not the fact that it gives music careers to people who can’t actually sing, though I do think that can be true. In fact, it’s quite the opposite— Auto-Tune actually masks the talent of many artists who really can sing.
Take Ke$ha, for example. Her Auto-Tuned song “Die Young” sounds like a computer is singing the entire thing. But a later-released “deconstructed” version proves that when she sings raw, with a keyboard accompanying her, she actually is deserving of the fame she gets for her singing.
Miley Cyrus also receives a fair amount of criticism for her songs and apparent lack of talent, among other things, but belted out a beautiful version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” in a Backyard session held recently. She clearly has the voice of a talented country singer, but instead goes for computerized pop.
Why do stars who became famous for a good voice choose to hide this trait? I’m not saying that an acoustic version of “Teenage Dream,” by Katy Perry would be a hit at bRAVE, but when Cyrus covered “We Can’t Stop” with Jimmy Fallon, she kept the same tempo and managed to make the song catchy without the Auto-Tuning.
The new technology we have is amazing and should be used to enhance songs, but should be kept to a minimum and shouldn’t drastically change the composition of the music. Why trade in a strong voice for one that sounds like Microsoft Word reading off song lyrics?
