In the fall of 1998, pop music changed forÂevÂer — or at least it seems that way today, a quarÂter-cenÂtuÂry latÂer. The epochal event in quesÂtion was the release of Cher’s comeÂback hit “Believe,” of whose jaggedÂly fracÂtured vocal glisÂsanÂdo no lisÂtenÂer had heard the likes of before. “The glow-and-flutÂter of Cher’s voice at key points in the song announced its own techÂnoÂlogÂiÂcal artiÂfice,” writes critÂic Simon Reynolds at PitchÂfork, “a blend of posthuÂman perÂfecÂtion and angelÂic tranÂscenÂdence ideÂal for the vague reliÂgiosÂiÂty of the choÂrus.” As for how that effect had been achieved, only the tech-savviÂest stuÂdio proÂfesÂsionÂals would have susÂpectÂed a creÂative misÂuse of Auto-Tune, a popÂuÂlar digÂiÂtal audio proÂcessÂing tool brought to marÂket the year before.
As its name sugÂgests, Auto-Tune was designed to keep a musiÂcal perÂforÂmance in tune autoÂmatÂiÂcalÂly. This capaÂbilÂiÂty owes to the efforts of one Andy HildeÂbrand, a clasÂsiÂcal flute virÂtuÂoso turned oil-extracÂtion engiÂneer turned music-techÂnolÂoÂgy entreÂpreÂneur. EmployÂing the same mathÂeÂmatÂiÂcal acuÂmen he’d used to assist the likes of Exxon in deterÂminÂing the locaÂtion of prime drilling sites from processed sonar data, he figÂured out a vast simÂpliÂfiÂcaÂtion of the calÂcuÂlaÂtions theÂoÂretÂiÂcalÂly required for an algoÂrithm to put a real vocal recordÂing into a parÂticÂuÂlar key.
RapidÂly adoptÂed throughÂout the music indusÂtry, HildeÂbrand’s invenÂtion soon became a generÂic tradeÂmark, like Kleenex, Jell‑O, or Google. Even if a stuÂdio wasÂn’t using Auto-Tune, it was almost cerÂtainÂly auto-tunÂing, and with such subÂtleÂty that lisÂtenÂers nevÂer noticed.
The proÂducÂers of “Believe,” for their part, turned the subÂtleÂty (or, techÂniÂcalÂly, the “smoothÂness”) down to zero. In an attempt to keep that disÂcovÂery a secret, they claimed at first to have used a vocoder, a synÂtheÂsizÂer that conÂverts the human voice into manipÂuÂlaÂble anaÂlog or digÂiÂtal sigÂnals. Some would also have susÂpectÂed the even more venÂerÂaÂble talkÂbox, which had been made well-known in the sevÂenÂties and eightÂies by Earth, Wind & Fire, SteÂvie WonÂder, and Roger TroutÂman of Zapp. Though the “Cher effect,” as it was known for a time, could plauÂsiÂbly be regardÂed as an aesÂthetÂic descenÂdant of those devices, it had an entireÂly difÂferÂent techÂnoÂlogÂiÂcal basis. A few years after that basis became wideÂly underÂstood, conÂspicÂuÂous Auto-Tune became ubiqÂuiÂtous, not just in dance music but also in hip-hop, whose artists (not least RapÂpa Ternt SanÂga T‑Pain) used Auto-Tune to steer their genre straight into the curÂrents of mainÂstream pop, if not always to high critÂiÂcal acclaim.
Used as intendÂed, Auto-Tune conÂstiÂtutÂed a godÂsend for music proÂducÂers workÂing with any singer less freakÂishÂly skilled than, say, FredÂdie MerÂcury. ProÂducÂer-YoutuÂber Rick Beato admits as much in the video just above, though givÂen his clasÂsic rock- and jazz-oriÂentÂed tastes, it doesÂn’t come as a surÂprise also to hear him lament the techÂnolÂoÂgy’s overuse. But for those willÂing to take it to ever-furÂther extremes, Auto-Tune has givÂen rise to preÂviÂousÂly unimagÂined subÂgenÂres, bringÂing (as emphaÂsized in a recent Arte docÂuÂmenÂtary) the uniÂverÂsal lanÂguage of melody into the linÂguisÂtiÂcalÂly fragÂmentÂed areÂna of globÂal hip-hop. As a means of genÂerÂatÂing “digÂiÂtal soul, for digÂiÂtal beings, leadÂing digÂiÂtal lives,” in Reynolds’ words, Auto-Tune does reflect our time, for betÂter or for worse. Its detracÂtors can at least take some conÂsoÂlaÂtion in the fact that recent releasÂes have come with someÂthing called a “humanÂize knob.”
RelatÂed conÂtent:
The EvoÂluÂtion of Music: 40,000 Years of Music HisÂtoÂry CovÂered in 8 MinÂutes
How the YamaÂha DX7 DigÂiÂtal SynÂtheÂsizÂer Defined the Sound of 1980s Music
What Makes This Song Great?: ProÂducÂer Rick Beato Breaks Down the GreatÂness of ClasÂsic Rock Songs in His New Video Series
The DisÂtorÂtion of Sound: A Short Film on How We’ve CreÂatÂed “a McDonald’s GenÂerÂaÂtion of Music ConÂsumers”
How ComÂputÂers Ruined Rock Music
BriÂan Eno on the Loss of HumanÂiÂty in ModÂern Music
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.