Chords for It's not just Autotune - how singers cheat today (Pop Theory)

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_ _ [Db] _ _ So [E] you may think that [D] someone like Louise here would not be able to become a [E] world-class pop star.
Not with that [D] voice, right?
But with modern vocal production, it's more than possible.
[A] Let me show you how.
[G] _ Hello and [A] welcome to Pop Theory, the series where we dive into the secrets [G] of modern pop music.
This episode is all about vocal production.
That is, [A] how to make a singer sound as good as possible in [G] the studio.
You're probably already [A] familiar with autotune, or rather, pitch correction.
Do you know what autotune is?
I don't know.
It sounds a little bit like a robot?
Like a lover.
When you don't really have a lot of talent, press the autotune and make it sound [Db] perfect.
If I would tell you that Taylor Swift uses [C] autotune, would that change?
I haven't seen Taylor use that kind of stuff.
It doesn't mean that it is autotune.
For most people, autotune has become synonymous with all kinds of vocal processing.
But actually, the branded processor autotune can only do a specific set of things.
The first hit single to use autotune was Cheers Believe, and it used the most [Am] extreme setting,
making it sound [D] robotic in a way.
That kind of sound had not been heard before.
So within a year of the release of Believe, autotune [G] had been sold to every major studio
in [Dm] the world.
The inventor said that autotune might be to music what Photoshop is to photography.
Everyone uses it, but not many are keen to admit it.
Let's quickly listen to what autotune can do.
Here I have a short phrase of me [N] singing.
Just because I, I want you to love me.
Okay, so let's try to put autotune on it.
Just because I, I want you to love [D] me.
Can you hear the subtle difference?
It's a bit more accurate, [A] and you could say that it's got [E] more of a pop sound [D] to it.
This is the retune speed wheel, which changes how extreme the effect is.
You can get the effect from Cheers Believe by turning the wheel to zero, while turning
it the other way will make the effect less and less noticeable.
_ [Am] Basically, autotune takes the incoming [B] signal, that is the voice, and takes it to the [A] closest
note, making it in pitch.
You can think of it sort of like a guitar, where [Eb] wherever you push on the neck, you'll
get a real note because [A] of the frets.
But the voice without autotune is more like a violin, where you have to kind of slide
[B] around sometimes to get to the note you [E] want.
The pitch of a note is defined by frequency, and is measured [Bb] in hertz.
The note A has a frequency of [Ab] about 440 hertz, while the closest note above it, A sharp,
has a frequency of about 466.
So if I would sing a note in between these [B] two frequencies, autotune would try to correct
it either to A sharp or to A.
And if the note I'm singing is actually pretty much perfectly
in between these two notes, autotune might have trouble identifying which note I'm going
for, and it would create a warbling effect, like this.
I want you [G] to love me.
But changing the frequency is only part of what autotune does.
Have you ever wondered why [E] speeding up a song [G] sounds like a chipmunk [E] is singing?
It's because [G] you're increasing the frequency of the sound.
But it also means that you're shortening the note.
So the cool thing that autotune [A] does is that it [G] changes the frequency and the length of the note.
_ _ First, we record every [F] phrase of the song on its own five times.
We make sure that Louise [Bb] sings in a few different ways, so we have more options later.
That's perfect, let's do that.
Once we have the best possible takes from the singer, let's get to the production magic.
Through a process known as [B] comping, we listen and find the best parts of every take we recorded
and combine them.
This creates sort of a Frankenstein's monster, where sometimes [Gb] every note comes from a [N] different take.
Then we do some cutting and time stretching to make sure that every note is exactly as
long as we want.
Now, I'll use a combination of two separate tools, Melodyne and autotune, to sort out the [B] pitch.
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_ [Bb] Finally, I use the original vocal to generate dubs and backing [Db] vocals to give it a bigger,
fuller sound.
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_ _ [Ebm] _ _ _ Do [N] you think that you guys could be pop singers?
Anyone can be nowadays.
You can get anyone up the street, autotune it.
_ _ And then autotune kind of _ brings it together.
You probably do [Eb] not see my face.
[Bm] So is vocal production a bad thing?
As with anything, I wouldn't say that the answer is a clear [F] yes or no.
There are a [C] few positive things that modern vocal production has allowed for in music.
First off, [D] more precise vocal [F] recordings.
And secondly, [Cm] it has allowed for [G] faster workflows in the studio, meaning that your favorite
artists can make music way faster.
And thirdly, it has allowed people like T-Pain, Kanye, and Drake to make music in new ways,
sounding [D] kind of like robots, but it's like a new [F] aesthetic for singing.
So even [Ab] though your favorite [D] artists probably cheat [F] a bit in the studio, try [G] to remember
that the tracks that you love by them might not have existed without this technology [C] speeding
up their workflow.
So with [Ab] that in mind, let's listen [B] to what vocal production has done for Louise.
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