The Changing Voice of Music

If you’ve turned on the radio any time recently, you will have noticed the vast majority of it would be classed as pop music, sometimes bordering into the realm of rock, but never straying into the genres of metal or anything too alternative. ‘Popular music’ named so owing to its popularity and abundance, obviously, is typically recognised by the catchy melodies, use of instruments such as guitars and drums to create a beat, and a vocal accompaniment, almost always between three and four minutes in length. It has been that way ever since pop music began to rear its head as a new wave of non-classical music clearly distinguishable from the genres of jazz and country, further defined by the revolutionary bands of the 60s including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

However, recently, I’ve noticed quite a significant change in the sound of pop music. Listening to any typical Ke$ha, Black Eyed Peas or any generic rapper, it is clear to hear that the vocal sound has been distorted. In these cases, this is through the use of what is known as auto-tune. Oh, heard of it, have you? Most people are familiar with the term and how to recognise it, but aren’t so sure on the technicalities of the programme. Autotune, isn’t, as the title suggests, automatic, and the name is, in fact, rather demeaning as its scope is not limited to patching up tuneless singers’ voices, and is in fact a very precise, time consuming implement.

“Auto-Tune” is in fact a patented brand name of the Microsoft-owned software which employs a phase vocoder to correct pitch, most commonly in a vocal, but can extend to instrumental sound as well. A phase vocoder is a system which can change the pitch and timing of sound, and in most music, is used simply to clean up the transitions between notes and to alter slightly out-of-tune notes, but increasingly, we are seeing it being used as a complete mask to the human voice, making it seem almost robotic in tone.

The question is, to me at least, is this tasteful? It’s not being used as an artistic instrument to add a new element to the singer’s voice, but to disguise the fact they cannot sing in tune. Therefore, is it not overcoming one of the main requirements of being a singer – being able to sing? In turn, this is changing our expectation of music. When we listen to the radio, we no longer expect a natural, distinctive voice, but a synthetically flawless, though absolutely character-less voice. Especially amongst female singers, I can no longer tell the difference from one to the next; it is not only their voices that are merging into one monotonous drone, but also the pretty, bed-headed Barbie look that is common to them all.

Does this then mean that all voice distortion in music is automatically bad? Not necessarily, I don’t think. There are many artists who use their voice more as an instrument in itself rather than an accompaniment to other instruments. A modern example of this is Imogen Heap, whose song Hide and Seek employs a harmoniser to distort the voice, and no other backing instruments accompany the track. The viral sensation Iamamiwhoami (later revealed to be Jonna Lee) uses even more heavily distorted vocals to aid the ethereal tone of the music. It may not be for everyone, but it is certainly in a very different category to Britney’s autotune. Really, a lot of it is down to taste, and while I find the stuttering of Lady Gaga’s Papa-paparazzi and p-p-poker face rather irritating, I don’t think anyone can deny she is a talented singer.

The subject of vocal distortion covers a wider area than could possibly be discussed in a short article, but I think it is clear to see that the purpose of the alteration of a singer’s voice varies greatly from artist to artist, and some are more commendable than others. While the use of autotune has morphed into a quick-fix for under-par singers, music and the way the voice is used is changing, and there are some many more creditable artists who use vocal distortion artfully, and therefore, it should not all be discredited as a by-product of the deterioration in modern pop-music.