'Music should be good!'

I hear lots of people complaining that things like autotune are killing music. But if the end product is pleasant music, does it really matter if the musician is talentless? What's your opinion?

The problem is that artists are using autotune and thinking it makes the music inherently good.

Autotune is good if the music calls for it. Daft Punk, techno, stuff like that is in the clear. It's also ok to use autotune every once in a while, but when EVERY SONG is in autotune...

It's 100000x better to hear actual singing. People with actual talent make a lot better music. Lets take the pro sports for example. Would you rather watch the actual sport with athletes that practice and have a ton of talent, or watch a video game with two idiots playing. Choice is yours.

In my opinion autotune is fair game if it's used to create an effect rather than cover errors. I don't think your analogy is relevant, as music isn't a competition. We still get pleasure from music even if errors in the vocals have been corrected.

Errors in music just adds personality.

Autotune is good if the music calls for it. Daft Punk, techno, stuff like that is in the clear. It's also ok to use autotune every once in a while, but when EVERY SONG is in autotune...

It's 100000x better to hear actual singing. People with actual talent make a lot better music. Lets take the pro sports for example. Would you rather watch the actual sport with athletes that practice and have a ton of talent, or watch a video game with two idiots playing. Choice is yours.

I agree with Eddy Baby about the relevance of your analogy, and would also like to point out that there is a difference between watching two college boys playing Halo and watching people who play video games professionally. You need a lot of talent and practice for that as well. That said, I do agree that people with actual musical talent singing without the need for autotuning is much better than pop stars who can't sing and need to autotune themselves all the time.

Errors in music just adds personality.

I also agree with this. One of my favourite notes in any song is a mistake. But at the same time, would you listen to an eternally out of tune singer?

Quote from: Mugthulhu on November 16, 2010, 02:10:04 PM

Errors in music just adds personality.

I also agree with this. One of my favourite notes in any song is a mistake. But at the same time, would you listen to an eternally out of tune singer?

Not if every damn note is sung horribly out of tune, but I don't mind if the singer screws up a note or two in a song.

Quote from: Eddy Baby on November 16, 2010, 02:14:24 PM

Quote from: Mugthulhu on November 16, 2010, 02:10:04 PM

Errors in music just adds personality.

I also agree with this. One of my favourite notes in any song is a mistake. But at the same time, would you listen to an eternally out of tune singer?

Not if every damn note is sung horribly out of tune, but I don't mind if the singer screws up a note or two in a song.

Agree.
But if you heard a note perfect, enrapturing song, would your opinion on it be affected if you found out it had been autotuned?

Most likely.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do autotuning. The right way is to polish an end result which would still sound good in concert. The wrong way is to turn the most tone-deaf idiot who ever pursued a singing career into something miraculous, and then having him lip-sync all his performances.

But should it detract from the music? It still sounds good.

Music is a subjective art form. For some people, the thought that what they are hearing is not as "real" as they first imagined it to be will inevitably spoil the feeling.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do autotuning. The right way is to polish an end result which would still sound good in concert. The wrong way is to turn the most tone-deaf idiot who ever pursued a singing career into something miraculous, and then having him lip-sync all his performances.

The same can be said about any effect, even things as basic as reverb.