I had to move a few years ago and put my stuff in storage. Over two thousand records and fifteen hundred CDs. I was there getting some things with my girlfriend recently and she asked me why I keep it all when everything is available on streaming. This. This is why. Thanks Fil
I equate streaming with fake. May not be a truism but I'll bet it applies to most streamed music - whether it originated decades ago or just yesterday.
@@elizabethmiller7291, Same here, because what happens if the internet goes down? We’ll still have our albums, CDs, and cassette tapes. Plus, I can hear auto tune and most applications of pitch adjustment, and those sounds hurt my ear/brain path. It’s like fingernails on a black board.
OMG, Fil! It is criminal to pitch correct Teddy Swims voice! They made his voice sound like a robot! Thanks for showing Teddy's natural live voice! Fil, the music industry is systematically killing our music! As the song said, "The Day The Music Died." That day is now upon us,sadly! Great analysis video, Fil! 💜
They performed last year on the pre-show performances. All live. This year they didn't in the US however.... they are performing in VMAs Europe in Manchester next month.
Hi Fil, I can see your frustration once again with what the music industry continues to force us to accept as the NEW standard in vocal recordings. Listen to the expression in Teddy's voice. His raw natural unaltered live vocal performance in this small club. This is what his fans (and people in general) want to hear. It's so pure, so real, singers can't fake emotions like this. He's singing in the moment, singing what he's feeling at this moment in time. To be there with him at that moment is what watching a singer's live performance is all about.
"I assume they all know that it's not actually going to be a live thing; it's just more of a kind of get-together" 😂😂 Beautifully put Fil. That should be in your channel's About page!
Teddy Swims is so unique and it is a travesty to alter him. I am so disheartened to see this happening and concerned on where it will all lead. Thank you, Fil, for bringjng these abhorrent practices to light for us.
I gave up TV decades ago, now I use Netflix. No radio in Decades , I download songs and burn them to a CD for my car, When I want to see and hear a certain song, I use UA-cam. To learn I come to Wings of Pegasus to learn the Truth. Fil, I trust everything you say. You can sing, play multiple instruments, Your videos are great to see. I am 69 years old and on Oxygen 24/7, No Cure for COPD. We are very Fortunate to watch and Learn from Fil. Thank you for every upload you do, I know it takes up so much of your Personal time/
Guys, there are now multi format audio systems that burn files from vinyl, cassette, and CD to a file or a disc. Mine has a built in speaker, Bluetooth, aux out to extra speakers… that might be it. It’s a nice (and affordable) way to save your music collection. Rock!
I'm watching the most influential art form of my life, crumble be for my eyes 😿 My saving grace, is that my music collection is so massive, I stopped adding to it 10 or so years ago. I will forever have my current catalog, that has none of the issues we are seeing take over the entire industry 😭
The biggest mistake I made in my life was selling my entire record collection at a garage sale about 15 years ago. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself. Also, Bonk!
It's a crime that so many artists who don't need pitch correction at all are being pitch corrected to drag them down to the lowest common denominator in order to make the talentless sound ok... An abysmal abuse of those who CAN do the music without help that results in removing any emotion from it, rendering it utterly sterile and robotic. Criminal!!!
I remember seeing Deacon Blue at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall back in the 90s. The venue was still quite new then and had been specifically designed for music (ie awesome sound and acoustics). During one song, Ricky Ross quietened the band down to a silence and began to sing a cappella. He then held the mic away from his face and continued singing and everyone could still hear him. 100% pure. No amplification, no compression, no auto-tune, no pitch correction, etc, etc. Just one voice and 2,500 people listening to it. Utterly brilliant. I suspect that wouldn’t happen these days.
Hopefully, singers will start a rebellion against auto-tune and pitch-correction (except when robotic style is the goal). It's so bland, and ruins the good singers! Thanks, Fil.
I hope the consumer too. Sometimes I do concerts in living rooms without amplifiing, everything just acoustical - and people love it so "pur" and "true" : )
New subscriber! I learn a lot from your videos but I adore the videos you analyze where the artist isn't autotuned/pitched corrected. This was good but I'm sure I'll be doing another watch tonight of "We've Only Just Begun" featuring Tori Holub; your smile throughout is absolutely charming and restores my faith in humanity.
Yeah, in the first one she is harmonizing herself, with a recording. I have literally zero problem with that, because it adds to the performance, and is just, in essence, employing a loop she made beforehand. 100% legitimate mode, to my mind. She isn't cheating, or trying to deceive anyone with anything, she is trying to enhance the performance, with a recording she made previously. And if she is singing the lead vocal with it, real time, that is cool. That is using tech in a positive way, to my thinking, not negative. It is also obvious that she was using the autotune, set to that ridiculous level, as a gimmick to get a specific sound. Again, nobody that knows anything could miss that, and they SURE AS HELL weren't trying to hide it, or if they were, they failed miserably. Similar to what Cher did in that one song early on, to intentionally make the voice sound robotic. I actually don't have a problem with that either. It is when they employ it subtly, and especially when they claim they aren't, that I think it is underhanded and unethical. If you make it readily known, then the argument becomes one of the merit of using autotune (which I don't like), rather than one of ethical behavior. That title says it all, and I expect that virtually all these GOOD vocalists would agree. It really does screw up a truly good performer's performance. It NEEDS TO CHANGE. And it likely will, but in the meantime we have to listen to this crap, if you listen to this crap, which I mostly don't.
How long before industry wonks start going back to classic jazz and opera singer recordings to pitch-destroy? Seriously, current music production trends have me yearning for the asteroid.
I already have my favourite recordings of period music. But it would certainly be better not having to worry about it at all. When internet started, everyone was so excited because anything would be more easily obtained. What sweet summer children.
It would be harder to process opera recordings because there are no individual tracks to use and teasing out the vocals from an orchestra is not a trivial task...but if they could somehow fix the time Lucia Popp hit a Bflat on the line (when she needed Bnatural) in the final trio of "Der Rosenkavalier".
The "imperfections" in someone's natural voice is what adds depth and an organic feel. One reason I don't like beat boxes either. The slight variations in tempo are what gives a song feeling.
The variation in his natural voice is so much more interesting. It’s near enough to sound good, but the variation makes this beautiful. Pitch correction is like hearing exactly the same sound over and over again. Maybe that’s why it sounds so boring.
Wow - the difference between Teddy’s natural voice and mechanized voice is so dramatic. The natural variation resonates with me and keeps my interest (to say the least!). The mechanized version bores me and makes me want to turn off the TV. But, tbf, I’m definitely not the target audience for the MTV VMAs. 😂 Thanks, as always, for shining your light, Fil!
Following The Warning's explosive performance on the Extended Stage at 2023 MTV VMAs, MTV has promoted their latest album continuously in 2024. So the channel's target audience has changed a bit with people like me tuning onto MTV after a gap of 3 decades. In fact, the sisters have been invited to perform on the main stage of MTV EMAs in Manchester on 10th Nov.; EMA = European Music Awards.
@@MrSudeepdas, They sound flat and wrong to me. I tried to like them, but I don’t. I tried several times, and years apart. I think they’re using some kind of software. If not, I can’t explain why the vocals sound so flat to my ears. Usually it’s the pitch adjusted bands that sound flat and wrong.
@@SuziQ. Did you try their live performances? The Warning are one of those rare bands that lay it all out in the open as Fil said here. The reason why they are among the best live groups ever. BTW which songs / albums did you listen to across the years?
The two comparisons were night and day. The only way for this to stop as a new standard is for artists with integrity to make a stand and pull together to speak out about how this is damaging their reputation and work.
I was in the grocery store yesterday and they were playing some godawful "music" and I could hear all the metal-y / robotic like sounds. It was horrid! If I had to work in place that played crap like that all day, I would lose my mind. Truly.
Fil, I agree with all you say, except…I think you really give industry individuals way too much credit for applying pitch correction to Teddy Swims’ vocal in order to “bring him back to the pack” so that he doesn’t show up any inferior singers. In my experience, modern A&R/producers (especially concerning TV shows) are not that deep. They simply instruct engineers to apply correction as a matter of course. By today’s ears, a vocal is either considered ‘in tune’ or ‘out of tune’. There’s minimal room for shades of grey and nuance. It’s a play safe approach that will very seldom attract flak. Good news for bad/average singers, bad news for great singers. The homogenization of music is in full swing.
Glad I'm old enough to have a collection of Real, non-processed, actual music. Spirit, soul, and all good things are being scrubbed from the reality we are being handed. And as long as folks keep cheering for it, it will ever-continue to be handed out. Love you and thanks for your sharing❤
Perfection in Imperfection. First of all, I love your diagnostic videos, exposing the frauds and the sanctimonious. It certainly appeals to my musical OCD tendencies. However, I’m thankful everyday for coming of age before any sort of pitch correction was invented. I strongly believe there is perfection in imperfection. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and many other soul singers, were constantly sharp. Same for prime Rod Stewart. Sharpness subliminally denotes urgency and commitment. The inconsistencies of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Phil Lynott are things of unpredictable beauty. And let’s not forget Billy Joel, as you’ve already illustrated his tendencies to slide into notes from a starting point that are technically flat. The intentional abandon of Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer spoke volumes for the rebellious stance their songs represented. Energy and attitude trump precision every time in pop/rock/soul genres, imo. In truth there are far too many classic recordings, and iconic artists, whose imperfections touch us all deeply, on a subconscious level, for me to try and list here. The perfection of imperfection. It’s what makes an artist unique. Individual. Makes us cry, reminisce, identify with, sometimes run from, and appreciate the beautiful frailty of the creative process. Classical guitarist, John Williams, says, “Music expresses the inexpressible, and I think in all ways music can just touch a point which it’s very difficult to find words for.” I wholeheartedly agree. It’s magic, and has very little to do with hitting, or holding, a note accurately. The human voice belongs in the ears and souls of the listener, not on a graph. I’m glad you constantly remind people of that fact. Thank you, Fil.
The funny thing is that if we became so attuned to autocorrection, AI is basically at the point that you'd never be able to tell the difference because there's no human rawness for it to impossibly mimic
If you are old enough to remember the Charlie Brown cartoons in which the teacher's voice was in the cartoon, that is probably snapped exactly to the lines. No meaning, no emotion, just a droning annoyance interrupting the life of poor old Charlie Brown or Linus. That's what pitch corrected and autotuned mean to me.
I've noticed that it tends to sound a lot more melodic when it's not pitch corrected or autotuned. I guess vocals that are nailed onto straight lines just don't carry much melody. Sad that the industry is taking that away.
Fil - The Warning has been invited to the MTV EMA show this year in Manchester UK. It will be on November 10th and they will be performing live. Check them out.
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine. It was noticable how his tonal accuracy changed when the piano came in. We are stronger together, we are only real when true.
Suggestion: You could check the piano accompanying him. His voice (his ear) is probably responding (instantaneously) to slight irregularities in the acoustic instrument in a pub.
UA-cam are getting worse for interfering with bloody adverts. I’m not going to pay them to miss adverts out, but they’re taking the proverbial urine now. Two adverts before this video started, then multiple adverts through the video 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
The endgame here would seem to be that music execs are tired of having to wait around for talent to emerge naturally in a readily sellable 'package', so if they can normalise the sound of "corrected" vocals they can essentially ignore whether someone can sing or not (within reason obviously) and focus on churning out performers who satisfy some generic aesthetic requirement whose image will sell. I understand there's always been a bias, esp in pop music, to select for image over talent but they can essentially industrialise that process now with natural vocal talent being a near trivial ingredient for success.
Hi Fil! You saw Rick in conversation with Tori? At one point near the end she said something like [the musical] industry was flawed but we had one. Musical industry does't exist anymore. Well not the one I knew. It's not the money that lacks but the love and culture of music. Well I'm sure the orthodox listeners of classical music will say the same of me if they found me listening to Winger, oh well, nobody's perfect I guess. Peace 'n' Love 'n' Rock 'n' Roll
Hey Fil! Teddy clearly doesn't need it. Ti's true, I must be sensitive to it, I can hear it. Everywhere. On radio, TV, online- it's too much for my ears. It''s EVERYbody- I just change the channel. But it makes me think... and I'm working on a request for you... Cheers! -- Daisy
Producers probably guilt trip these singers into using pitch correction. Telling them how much they're holding up the recording process with their imperfections. Gaslighting them into thinking that the ears they developed over the years of training are wrong because the computer says so.
Hi Fil, Great job on this analysis…. Was that even really singing from that first performer(s). I get the rappers, but her “singing” was unbearable. And thank you for not showing the dancing part! Also Teddy Swims does not need pitch correction! Interesting one for today! Debbie☮️
Her Vocal snaps, sounds like it has a delay filter on top of everything. Reminds me of that big hit Cher had a fair few tears back. Although the weird, filter, robotic delay seems shorter. Teddy "Snaps" or "pops" whichever you prefer to call it. Seems I've been hearing more of this for a number of years now. The notion of all artists being equal seems more like a sad reflection on wider society. I hoped and worked hard in my youth to be an amazing bassist! I rate myself back then as competent and that's fine. I had fun and although "insert your fave bassist here" was in no danger from my skills 😊
Dayum, thanks for turning me on to The Warning. They are fantastic!!! I would love to see a video of your recommendations one day. You have such excellent taste!
When voices are pitch corrected or auto tuned it unfortunately drains a large percentage of the natural emotion contained within. It's one reason I don't do live concerts anymore. I will do small venue performances and local music but nothing else. There's something very real about a singer slightly off key at times that makes the experience so much more joyful and connected..
I keep comparing these pitch corrected performances to sports and I have another one. Hitting a frequency dead on the line this perfectly with every single note is like a baseball player getting a "hit" every single time he comes up to the plate. It's just humanly impossible. In fact, a person who gets a hit, 3 out of 10 times at bat (i.e. a 0.333 average) will most likely end up in the hall of fame because that's an amazing average. And there is not a single sports fan in the world who would say that a 0.333 average is trash.
Teddy Swims is truly a breath of fresh air in today's musical world with the direction it's taken over the past few years. It's sad that so many talentless people are being held up for standards they can't reach on their own. And in turn, lots of folks with true talent are overlooked and/or pushed aside and held down from sharing their beautiful potential
I think it's just safe to say everyone is using something these days. And honestly people were many years ago including Michael Jackson and more. Sadly..
The more I watch these, the less I try to process my own vocals. I do more takes and better dub matching. Then again, when I did pitch correction, I always tried to make it sound non-robotic.
Why alter your voice's pitch at all? Unless of course you've got a singing voice no one wishes to listen to and if that be the case , find more productive and honest endeavors
Last year's Grammy awards.....A fantastic all star band in the pre-show,then on the actual show EVERY act was a lip-sync,except for Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder.The music business is getting killed.
hey Fil, i just saw Jeff Lynne's ELO this past week and can verify he did not use dubbed vox. he does have a brilliant band with members who step up, just as the old days ala Roy Wood, Kelly Groucutt to fill in spots. Fil, this is the last ELO tour, forever. there will be one last show before the spaceship is put to rest. it will be at Hyde Park. please keep your eyes open for it and PLEASE go. you will be forever happy you did.
I agree- I watched Teddy in concert and although I loved it and him I just got the feeling they were playing around with his voice. It does change the emotional connectivity and makes it a little too bland
My prediction months ago: Sadly the first person that stands up and says I won't be autotuned to sound like a machine!" will be accused of not being able to sing on pitch! 🎺
How do the artists feel having been made to sound like robots? Is there a clause in the contract? Are they aware of the manipulation? The natural voice of Teddy is far superior to the manipulated one!
15:50 question: why is it so important that the singing note be on the line? Is there something about the human ear that makes sound waves that only line up with the designated note pitch to sound good?
I don't know exactly what kind of genre you would call that first song, but I really, really hate that sort of sound, it just totally gets on my nerves. But I know some people like it, and I think many of them do understand about backing tracks being used, and don't care. And I guess the autotune sound works for that genre. But the problem that I have is when producers start using pitch correction to make other genres sound more like whatever that is. Leave Teddy alone! Teddy is not trying to sound like Anitta! Just let the man be the artist that he is.
Another great video !!! and I went straight to listen to the suggested video of Teddy ! finally great to listen to a great true voice ! He situation nowadays is so depressing 😢 I wonder if there is something we can do but as pointed out there is a lot of big record labels money riding on everybody sounding the same. Still these videos are great to educate as many people as possible, myself included !!
Hi Fil, I just wanted to thank you for all the great content you put out on your channel. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into breaking down performances and sharing your insights with the community. I’ve been watching some concerts from NPR’s Tiny Desk series, and I wanted to get your opinion. From what I hear, it sounds pretty authentic since it’s not perfect, which is something I really love about their performances. But I’m curious, do you think they use pitch correction in these concerts, or is it all natural? Thanks again for everything!
Yes, The Warning do perform live, but they do also have some vocals on their backing tracks. "More" from the VMA's is a perfect example of this. I wish they didn't have vocals on the backing track, they definitely don't need them. "Sharks" is another that has it. Not having a go at The Warning btw, excelkent live band.
I have an idea. After editing all our music, the industry should grammar correct all our classic literature. Let's get all our culture cleaned up and proper.
I had to move a few years ago and put my stuff in storage. Over two thousand records and fifteen hundred CDs. I was there getting some things with my girlfriend recently and she asked me why I keep it all when everything is available on streaming.
This. This is why.
Thanks Fil
Yep, once you have the physical media, it can't be updated, remixed or erased. 👍
@@frankowalker4662 i've broken up rships for that very reason
I equate streaming with fake. May not be a truism but I'll bet it applies to most streamed music - whether it originated decades ago or just yesterday.
@@elizabethmiller7291,
Same here, because what happens if the internet goes down? We’ll still have our albums, CDs, and cassette tapes. Plus, I can hear auto tune and most applications of pitch adjustment, and those sounds hurt my ear/brain path. It’s like fingernails on a black board.
The natural human voice is vastly superior, full of emotion and life! The humanity of the natural voice , no autotune can ever replace!
They breeding human uniqueness and individual expression out of music today.
Mine certainly is.
Post modernist society demands NO individuality, comrade.
OMG, Fil! It is criminal to pitch correct Teddy Swims voice! They made his voice sound like a robot! Thanks for showing Teddy's natural live voice! Fil, the music industry is systematically killing our music! As the song said, "The Day The Music Died." That day is now upon us,sadly! Great analysis video, Fil! 💜
I knew The Warning were up for a VMA award, and am SO happy to hear they performed properly live!
They performed last year on the pre-show performances. All live. This year they didn't in the US however.... they are performing in VMAs Europe in Manchester next month.
Hi Fil, I can see your frustration once again with what the music industry continues to force us to accept as the NEW standard in vocal recordings. Listen to the expression in Teddy's voice. His raw natural unaltered live vocal performance in this small club. This is what his fans (and people in general) want to hear. It's so pure, so real, singers can't fake emotions like this. He's singing in the moment, singing what he's feeling at this moment in time. To be there with him at that moment is what watching a singer's live performance is all about.
could not agree more, perfectly expressed❤😊
"I assume they all know that it's not actually going to be a live thing; it's just more of a kind of get-together" 😂😂 Beautifully put Fil. That should be in your channel's About page!
Teddy Swims is so unique and it is a travesty to alter him. I am so disheartened to see this happening and concerned on where it will all lead. Thank you, Fil, for bringjng these abhorrent practices to light for us.
I gave up TV decades ago, now I use Netflix. No radio in Decades , I download songs and burn them to a CD for my car, When I want to see and hear a certain song, I use UA-cam. To learn I come to Wings of Pegasus to learn the Truth. Fil, I trust everything you say. You can sing, play multiple instruments, Your videos are great to see. I am 69 years old and on Oxygen 24/7, No Cure for COPD. We are very Fortunate to watch and Learn from Fil. Thank you for every upload you do, I know it takes up so much of your Personal time/
I also watch till the very end
"I download songs and burn them to a CD for my car" Hey, I do the same thing!
Guys, there are now multi format audio systems that burn files from vinyl, cassette, and CD to a file or a disc. Mine has a built in speaker, Bluetooth, aux out to extra speakers… that might be it. It’s a nice (and affordable) way to save your music collection.
Rock!
This is why I miss the authenticity of Karen Carpenter’s voice. It was pure talent, no electronic artifice.
Have you listened to Tori Holub? She covers KC a lot. She recently covered Olivia Newton John. Her voice is lovely, and unmolested.
I'm watching the most influential art form of my life, crumble be for my eyes 😿 My saving grace, is that my music collection is so massive, I stopped adding to it 10 or so years ago. I will forever have my current catalog, that has none of the issues we are seeing take over the entire industry 😭
I have a ton of vinals and cds also, thank heavens! A great gift left to me by my parents! So glad you have your collection also, Ninja! Bonk!
@@veramilton833 ... 🐈bonk for you and for honest 🎶,as both are worthy 🤗
The biggest mistake I made in my life was selling my entire record collection at a garage sale about 15 years ago. I wish I could go back in time and stop myself. Also, Bonk!
*before my eyes.
Bonk!
It's a crime that so many artists who don't need pitch correction at all are being pitch corrected to drag them down to the lowest common denominator in order to make the talentless sound ok... An abysmal abuse of those who CAN do the music without help that results in removing any emotion from it, rendering it utterly sterile and robotic. Criminal!!!
I remember seeing Deacon Blue at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall back in the 90s. The venue was still quite new then and had been specifically designed for music (ie awesome sound and acoustics).
During one song, Ricky Ross quietened the band down to a silence and began to sing a cappella. He then held the mic away from his face and continued singing and everyone could still hear him. 100% pure. No amplification, no compression, no auto-tune, no pitch correction, etc, etc. Just one voice and 2,500 people listening to it.
Utterly brilliant.
I suspect that wouldn’t happen these days.
Pitch correction is like plein air landscape done on an iPad. Love you Fil❤👍👍
Hopefully, singers will start a rebellion against auto-tune and pitch-correction (except when robotic style is the goal). It's so bland, and ruins the good singers! Thanks, Fil.
I hope the consumer too. Sometimes I do concerts in living rooms without amplifiing, everything just acoustical - and people love it so "pur" and "true" : )
The Warning are a great band. There is still some percentage of rock (and metal) bands that doesn't lip sync or use pitch correction.
New subscriber! I learn a lot from your videos but I adore the videos you analyze where the artist isn't autotuned/pitched corrected. This was good but I'm sure I'll be doing another watch tonight of "We've Only Just Begun" featuring Tori Holub; your smile throughout is absolutely charming and restores my faith in humanity.
I recommend popping over to Tori’s channel and listening to her ONJ cover. I prefer it over her KC covers.
Well done to The Warning. Rock bands are the best out there at the moment.
Thank you for your important work. 🌠
Music is being transformed into Muzak.
Hi Fil, as always, it was an awesome analysis! Kudos on getting 429k subscribers! I'll see you at the LS tomorrow night! Rock! 🙂🤘💜
VMA = Video Miming Awards 😂
Yeah, in the first one she is harmonizing herself, with a recording. I have literally zero problem with that, because it adds to the performance, and is just, in essence, employing a loop she made beforehand. 100% legitimate mode, to my mind. She isn't cheating, or trying to deceive anyone with anything, she is trying to enhance the performance, with a recording she made previously. And if she is singing the lead vocal with it, real time, that is cool. That is using tech in a positive way, to my thinking, not negative.
It is also obvious that she was using the autotune, set to that ridiculous level, as a gimmick to get a specific sound. Again, nobody that knows anything could miss that, and they SURE AS HELL weren't trying to hide it, or if they were, they failed miserably. Similar to what Cher did in that one song early on, to intentionally make the voice sound robotic. I actually don't have a problem with that either. It is when they employ it subtly, and especially when they claim they aren't, that I think it is underhanded and unethical. If you make it readily known, then the argument becomes one of the merit of using autotune (which I don't like), rather than one of ethical behavior.
That title says it all, and I expect that virtually all these GOOD vocalists would agree. It really does screw up a truly good performer's performance. It NEEDS TO CHANGE. And it likely will, but in the meantime we have to listen to this crap, if you listen to this crap, which I mostly don't.
I totally agree with you. I see no issue with using it as an artistic expression. Using it in deceit is what I hate.
Yeah, layering sounds and vocals are 💯 legitimate and honestly expected to enhance & level up a performance. I also have no issues with this process
How long before industry wonks start going back to classic jazz and opera singer recordings to pitch-destroy? Seriously, current music production trends have me yearning for the asteroid.
Why stop at vocals? Let's go back and pitch correct bebop saxophone solos or fix out of tune guitar bends.
I already have my favourite recordings of period music. But it would certainly be better not having to worry about it at all.
When internet started, everyone was so excited because anything would be more easily obtained. What sweet summer children.
It would be harder to process opera recordings because there are no individual tracks to use and teasing out the vocals from an orchestra is not a trivial task...but if they could somehow fix the time Lucia Popp hit a Bflat on the line (when she needed Bnatural) in the final trio of "Der Rosenkavalier".
Weekend coming up 😅 thumbs up y'all. Thanks Fil, Rock !!
See you all tomorrow for the LS. Rock!
Old records is where it's at!
The "imperfections" in someone's natural voice is what adds depth and an organic feel. One reason I don't like beat boxes either. The slight variations in tempo are what gives a song feeling.
The variation in his natural voice is so much more interesting. It’s near enough to sound good, but the variation makes this beautiful.
Pitch correction is like hearing exactly the same sound over and over again. Maybe that’s why it sounds so boring.
It’s worse than boring. I can hear robotic, weird artifacts from the processing. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
@@SuziQ. Yes that too 😖
Love you Fil !!! Thanks for all the hard work.
Wow - the difference between Teddy’s natural voice and mechanized voice is so dramatic. The natural variation resonates with me and keeps my interest (to say the least!). The mechanized version bores me and makes me want to turn off the TV. But, tbf, I’m definitely not the target audience for the MTV VMAs. 😂 Thanks, as always, for shining your light, Fil!
Following The Warning's explosive performance on the Extended Stage at 2023 MTV VMAs, MTV has promoted their latest album continuously in 2024. So the channel's target audience has changed a bit with people like me tuning onto MTV after a gap of 3 decades.
In fact, the sisters have been invited to perform on the main stage of MTV EMAs in Manchester on 10th Nov.; EMA = European Music Awards.
@@MrSudeepdas,
They sound flat and wrong to me. I tried to like them, but I don’t. I tried several times, and years apart. I think they’re using some kind of software. If not, I can’t explain why the vocals sound so flat to my ears. Usually it’s the pitch adjusted bands that sound flat and wrong.
@@SuziQ. Did you try their live performances? The Warning are one of those rare bands that lay it all out in the open as Fil said here. The reason why they are among the best live groups ever.
BTW which songs / albums did you listen to across the years?
The two comparisons were night and day. The only way for this to stop as a new standard is for artists with integrity to make a stand and pull together to speak out about how this is damaging their reputation and work.
I was in the grocery store yesterday and they were playing some godawful "music" and I could hear all the metal-y / robotic like sounds. It was horrid! If I had to work in place that played crap like that all day, I would lose my mind. Truly.
Love your videos, FIl!!!!! ROCK!!!! 🎸🎸🎸
Fil, I agree with all you say, except…I think you really give industry individuals way too much credit for applying pitch correction to Teddy Swims’ vocal in order to “bring him back to the pack” so that he doesn’t show up any inferior singers. In my experience, modern A&R/producers (especially concerning TV shows) are not that deep. They simply instruct engineers to apply correction as a matter of course. By today’s ears, a vocal is either considered ‘in tune’ or ‘out of tune’. There’s minimal room for shades of grey and nuance. It’s a play safe approach that will very seldom attract flak.
Good news for bad/average singers, bad news for great singers.
The homogenization of music is in full swing.
Glad I'm old enough to have a collection of Real, non-processed, actual music. Spirit, soul, and all good things are being scrubbed from the reality we are being handed. And as long as folks keep cheering for it, it will ever-continue to be handed out.
Love you and thanks for your sharing❤
Great update as always Fil
Perfection in Imperfection.
First of all, I love your diagnostic videos, exposing the frauds and the sanctimonious. It certainly appeals to my musical OCD tendencies. However, I’m thankful everyday for coming of age before any sort of pitch correction was invented.
I strongly believe there is perfection in imperfection. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and many other soul singers, were constantly sharp. Same for prime Rod Stewart. Sharpness subliminally denotes urgency and commitment. The inconsistencies of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Phil Lynott are things of unpredictable beauty. And let’s not forget Billy Joel, as you’ve already illustrated his tendencies to slide into notes from a starting point that are technically flat. The intentional abandon of Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer spoke volumes for the rebellious stance their songs represented. Energy and attitude trump precision every time in pop/rock/soul genres, imo.
In truth there are far too many classic recordings, and iconic artists, whose imperfections touch us all deeply, on a subconscious level, for me to try and list here.
The perfection of imperfection. It’s what makes an artist unique. Individual. Makes us cry, reminisce, identify with, sometimes run from, and appreciate the beautiful frailty of the creative process.
Classical guitarist, John Williams, says, “Music expresses the inexpressible, and I think in all ways music can just touch a point which it’s very difficult to find words for.” I wholeheartedly agree. It’s magic, and has very little to do with hitting, or holding, a note accurately.
The human voice belongs in the ears and souls of the listener, not on a graph.
I’m glad you constantly remind people of that fact. Thank you, Fil.
@@stevelunt4309 Eloquently stated my man.
@@dillarddillard-p4e Thank you, sir.
The funny thing is that if we became so attuned to autocorrection, AI is basically at the point that you'd never be able to tell the difference because there's no human rawness for it to impossibly mimic
As a music lover and amateur singer, this terrifies me.
Great video. Thanks for your scientific analysis and educated opinions.
Thank you Professor Fil.
If you are old enough to remember the Charlie Brown cartoons in which the teacher's voice was in the cartoon, that is probably snapped exactly to the lines. No meaning, no emotion, just a droning annoyance interrupting the life of poor old Charlie Brown or Linus. That's what pitch corrected and autotuned mean to me.
The MUSIC MASTER is at it again. We can "see how they gets on" and Teddy Swims is perfect without correct IMO!
I've noticed that it tends to sound a lot more melodic when it's not pitch corrected or autotuned.
I guess vocals that are nailed onto straight lines just don't carry much melody.
Sad that the industry is taking that away.
Fil - The Warning has been invited to the MTV EMA show this year in Manchester UK. It will be on November 10th and they will be performing live. Check them out.
He has been to see The Warning live a year and a half ago when they were in the UK and has multiple videos on them.
Another outstanding video.
Thx for this, the new stuff just isn't the same. Teddy sounds soulful and wonderful
A part of me wishes that I didn't take the red pill that is this channel, but at the end of the day I'd rather know than not know.
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine. It was noticable how his tonal accuracy changed when the piano came in. We are stronger together, we are only real when true.
I don't know who is singing what, but I would never voluntarily listen to any of it. Thank you as always for your analysis.
The world is changing and it's not for the better 😢
Great vid, thanks.
Suggestion: You could check the piano accompanying him. His voice (his ear) is probably responding (instantaneously) to slight irregularities in the acoustic instrument in a pub.
That Anita waveform is so square it looks like an unfinished wall.
FIL.....Love your stuff....Fantastic.
Whether or not Anitta is miming/lip syncing/pitch corrected...that song is awful.
I always get frustrated and sad when i sing to the vocal monitor and im not right on the line
You’re not supposed to be right on the lines. I doubt that CSNY, or any sixties band known for vocal harmonies were on A440hz.
@@SuziQ. Beatles
UA-cam are getting worse for interfering with bloody adverts. I’m not going to pay them to miss adverts out, but they’re taking the proverbial urine now. Two adverts before this video started, then multiple adverts through the video 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
The endgame here would seem to be that music execs are tired of having to wait around for talent to emerge naturally in a readily sellable 'package', so if they can normalise the sound of "corrected" vocals they can essentially ignore whether someone can sing or not (within reason obviously) and focus on churning out performers who satisfy some generic aesthetic requirement whose image will sell.
I understand there's always been a bias, esp in pop music, to select for image over talent but they can essentially industrialise that process now with natural vocal talent being a near trivial ingredient for success.
Hi Fil! You saw Rick in conversation with Tori? At one point near the end she said something like [the musical] industry was flawed but we had one.
Musical industry does't exist anymore.
Well not the one I knew. It's not the money that lacks but the love and culture of music.
Well I'm sure the orthodox listeners of classical music will say the same of me if they found me listening to Winger, oh well, nobody's perfect I guess.
Peace 'n' Love 'n' Rock 'n' Roll
Kip Winger composes symphonies, too.
I have been saving the Tori Amos interview for when I have time. I love her music, and I’m a bit of a metal head.
2:30 Fil, Fil meeee 😂
Has Dua Lipa's tiny desk live concert been manipulated? Or do we have a channel with actual live vocals?
Sitting in the hairsalon today ,every song that played,whether from the 60s to now. Were autotuned,pitch corrected ....awful!
Sadly the 💵is addicted to auto tune, the fentanyl of the music industry 🤔🤔🤔sad 😢
Freaking caught in a time loop. I'm having the most serious de ja vu over this.
Hey Fil! Teddy clearly doesn't need it. Ti's true, I must be sensitive to it, I can hear it. Everywhere. On radio, TV, online- it's too much for my ears. It''s EVERYbody- I just change the channel. But it makes me think... and I'm working on a request for you... Cheers! -- Daisy
Teddy Swims. The 1st time I heard him on social media I was floored. His voice is amazing!!!😊
These fraudsters are clowning us. Give them not a dime nor a click.
Love teddies voice, great vid.
Producers probably guilt trip these singers into using pitch correction. Telling them how much they're holding up the recording process with their imperfections. Gaslighting them into thinking that the ears they developed over the years of training are wrong because the computer says so.
Good lord, I feel so sorry for young people, this is just awful. I don't think they could dumb down music anymore then they have. Sad 😢
Hi Fil,
Great job on this analysis…. Was that even really singing from that first performer(s). I get the rappers, but her “singing” was unbearable. And thank you for not showing the dancing part! Also Teddy Swims does not need pitch correction! Interesting one for today! Debbie☮️
Her Vocal snaps, sounds like it has a delay filter on top of everything. Reminds me of that big hit Cher had a fair few tears back. Although the weird, filter, robotic delay seems shorter. Teddy "Snaps" or "pops" whichever you prefer to call it. Seems I've been hearing more of this for a number of years now. The notion of all artists being equal seems more like a sad reflection on wider society. I hoped and worked hard in my youth to be an amazing bassist! I rate myself back then as competent and that's fine. I had fun and although "insert your fave bassist here" was in no danger from my skills 😊
Modern music is like homogenized milk. The cream is no longer allowed to rise to the top. It is sad really. Thank you for the analysis.
Dayum, thanks for turning me on to The Warning. They are fantastic!!! I would love to see a video of your recommendations one day. You have such excellent taste!
His cover songs reflect his taste. They’re on a playlist of their own.
Thanks!
Thank you!
They used Autotune on Aretha Franklin, FFS! Aretha Franklin! If they were capable of that desecration, these Vandals will do anything for money.
Not on Her Majesty the Queen of Soul!! NOT NEEDED in any shape, form, or fashion!!
When voices are pitch corrected or auto tuned it unfortunately drains a large percentage of the natural emotion contained within. It's one reason I don't do live concerts anymore. I will do small venue performances and local music but nothing else. There's something very real about a singer slightly off key at times that makes the experience so much more joyful and connected..
Why oh why did they correct Teddy’s voice? He’s amazing ❤ Fil’s smile shows it 😊
I keep comparing these pitch corrected performances to sports and I have another one. Hitting a frequency dead on the line this perfectly with every single note is like a baseball player getting a "hit" every single time he comes up to the plate. It's just humanly impossible. In fact, a person who gets a hit, 3 out of 10 times at bat (i.e. a 0.333 average) will most likely end up in the hall of fame because that's an amazing average. And there is not a single sports fan in the world who would say that a 0.333 average is trash.
Teddy Swims is truly a breath of fresh air in today's musical world with the direction it's taken over the past few years. It's sad that so many talentless people are being held up for standards they can't reach on their own. And in turn, lots of folks with true talent are overlooked and/or pushed aside and held down from sharing their beautiful potential
I think it's just safe to say everyone is using something these days. And honestly people were many years ago including Michael Jackson and more. Sadly..
she is live singing against her recorded track, doubling herself and the recorded track is the leading track
The more I watch these, the less I try to process my own vocals. I do more takes and better dub matching. Then again, when I did pitch correction, I always tried to make it sound non-robotic.
Why alter your voice's pitch at all? Unless of course you've got a singing voice no one wishes to listen to and if that be the case , find more productive and honest endeavors
Last year's Grammy awards.....A fantastic all star band in the pre-show,then on the actual show EVERY act was a lip-sync,except for Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder.The music business is getting killed.
Well, tune your instruments to 439 Hz and next time to 441 Hz. Your voice will adjust... 😇
DUDE YOU DONT KNOW HOW RIGHT YOU ARE.
hey Fil, i just saw Jeff Lynne's ELO this past week and can verify he did not use dubbed vox. he does have a brilliant band with members who step up, just as the old days ala Roy Wood, Kelly Groucutt to fill in spots. Fil, this is the last ELO tour, forever. there will be one last show before the spaceship is put to rest. it will be at Hyde Park.
please keep your eyes open for it and PLEASE go. you will be forever happy you did.
hi, can you compare voices of Elvis to that preacher pastor Bob Joyce we gotta know, thank you for all that you do
Teddy Swims is one of the best I’ve heard in a very long time. He’ll outlast a lot of his peers.
I agree- I watched Teddy in concert and although I loved it and him I just got the feeling they were playing around with his voice. It does change the emotional connectivity and makes it a little too bland
My prediction months ago: Sadly the first person that stands up and says I won't be autotuned to sound like a machine!" will be accused of not being able to sing on pitch! 🎺
Teddy Swim's natural voice is awesome. The pitch correction of his voice sounds awful. It is like night and day. Thanks for this analysis, Fil.
How do the artists feel having been made to sound like robots? Is there a clause in the contract? Are they aware of the manipulation? The natural voice of Teddy is far superior to the manipulated one!
15:50 question: why is it so important that the singing note be on the line? Is there something about the human ear that makes sound waves that only line up with the designated note pitch to sound good?
I don't know exactly what kind of genre you would call that first song, but I really, really hate that sort of sound, it just totally gets on my nerves. But I know some people like it, and I think many of them do understand about backing tracks being used, and don't care. And I guess the autotune sound works for that genre. But the problem that I have is when producers start using pitch correction to make other genres sound more like whatever that is. Leave Teddy alone! Teddy is not trying to sound like Anitta! Just let the man be the artist that he is.
Of course, it _'gets on [your] nerves'_ as it would be the case for any normal, decent human being..that's BECAUSE IT'S TRASH
Another great video !!! and I went straight to listen to the suggested video of Teddy ! finally great to listen to a great true voice ! He situation nowadays is so depressing 😢 I wonder if there is something we can do but as pointed out there is a lot of big record labels money riding on everybody sounding the same. Still these videos are great to educate as many people as possible, myself included !!
Hi Fil,
I just wanted to thank you for all the great content you put out on your channel. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into breaking down performances and sharing your insights with the community.
I’ve been watching some concerts from NPR’s Tiny Desk series, and I wanted to get your opinion. From what I hear, it sounds pretty authentic since it’s not perfect, which is something I really love about their performances. But I’m curious, do you think they use pitch correction in these concerts, or is it all natural?
Thanks again for everything!
Warning: "Video music" may not contain actual music substance. :)
Yes, The Warning do perform live, but they do also have some vocals on their backing tracks. "More" from the VMA's is a perfect example of this. I wish they didn't have vocals on the backing track, they definitely don't need them. "Sharks" is another that has it. Not having a go at The Warning btw, excelkent live band.
I have an idea. After editing all our music, the industry should grammar correct all our classic literature. Let's get all our culture cleaned up and proper.