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In Reply to: RE: So how do you know when someone IS using it? posted by John PA on July 01, 2009 at 11:50:10
It's crazy..... I personally recognized the symptoms roughly 15 years ago (I just couldn't stand the "generic" tonal character, as I once described it), yet it was just over two years ago, a Clark Johnsen post on General (link), which revealed what was causing it. (If you search my name with "pitch correction", you won't find a single post prior to this revelatory post.)I call it the "Christina Aguilera" sound..... (Or the "Juanes" sound for male singers.) If a singer has that stereotypically sexy "pop" tone, it's probably the pitch correction you're hearing. (To my knowledge, only Elvis Presley and Tom Jones produced such tone in a natural way.) Additionally, if you ever hear a child singer that sounds like a "polished pop diva" (like what's often presented on American Idol or Got Talent), I can almost guarantee it's pitch correction.
The sad part is the masses perceive non-pitch-corrected singers sounding somewhat "plain" in an unimpressive way, because the masses have gotten so used to pitch-corrected singers. (Its use had entered mainstream music in so gradual of a way, over a period of 20 years, hardly anybody noticed.) And are often impressed by pitch-corrected singers, since the masses in most part have no idea such application even exists. Hence the false impression of extraordinary talent. (I'd guess over 95 percent of the mainstream population aren't aware of pitch correction.)
In fact, before I was pointed to the revelation by Clark's post, I personally had fallen into this trap, thinking Renee Olstead and Michael Buble were extraordinary singers. It was only later, after awareness of the application, did I realize these singers used subtle applications of pitch correction. (You'll see recs from me for Olstead prior to 2008. You'll also notice I no longer bash singers with pitch problems. Most notably Kurt Elling. The only singer I prefer with pitch correction is Barbra Streisand.)
Edits: 07/01/09 07/01/09Follow Ups:
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