This is the MOST IMPORTANT video I've ever made.

[@riffhammeron]

Pitch correction isn't like lip gloss, it's like lip injections

[@rickfromthecape3135]

Which are ugly as all heck!

[@Mark_Wheeler]

Spot on!

[@sallyatticum]

Reverb is lip gloss....

[@riffhammeron]

@@sallyatticum YES!

[@derekboardman9995]

Perfect analogy. I have not seen one person with Botox injections that looked better afterwards in my opinion.

[@leeclarke8993]

There’s beauty in imperfection.

[@SeanFlaherty]

Leonard Cohen: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”

[@terencemccormick8178]

Wabi-sabi

[@AhavahTruthTehilahShalomASwart]

And HUMANITY.

[@AhavahTruthTehilahShalomASwart]

Which is imperfectly beautiful.

[@johnnance6534]

can you imagine auto correct on Joe Cocker's You are so Beautiful? the imperfection is the most beautiful thing in the song.

[@nasticanasta]

What so many of these types don't understand is that by trying to make it perfect electronically, it becomes what I call sterile, cold, and soulless

[@garyneilson3075]

Yes!!!

[@VideoArchiveGuy]

It turns your voice into a synthesizer.

[@YtuserSumone-rl6sw]

Digiplastic music!

[@dianecourtney2724]

Yes… soulless

[@ivannovotny4552]

Most definitely.

[@kelliintexas3575]

Fil @ 09:35 You just described what Elvis' said VERBATIM in his Aloha to Hawaii interview. He says what he loves & missed about performing live in concert with a big band and the audience. He says its a Live conversation, a give and take, all feeding each other. I often think back to that. As a Non-musician I always assumed he meant just the immediate response, the feedback from the crowd. He was excited for the entire world to all feel, see & hear the collective energy of the band, orchestra and him all feeding off one another - Conversing with each other. ❤

[@lyallg7925]

Exactly. I always use Elvis as an example. He recorded tracks on From Elvis In Memphis with a cold, and it’s an iconic album. Have you seen Fil’s videos on Elvis?

[@buckbreaker5185]

you rebutted her in the most complimentary and respectful way.

[@GeeTrieste]

Yes, almost to a fault. At some point you can be so overpolite in insulting someone, you lose the impact of your criticism.

[@cbass2755]

He’s intelligent and a professional….❤

[@mightyV444]

LOL! Yeah, if that was me, I would've commented that she was full of 💩! 😅

[@Dan-dg9pi]

When I play basketball, I use "shot correction" so that all my misses are now swishes. My mates complain but I tell them it is the industry standard.

[@bettyparker3317]

👍👍💯🙏

[@ShiddyFinkelstein]

I was wondering hunters have something like that yet. No more wasted bullets.

[@Dan-dg9pi]

@@ShiddyFinkelstein Yes. And when I play snooker, I always get 147. Why is that wrong?

[@maryroberts9315]

In my social media profiles, I use someone else's picture. I call it "body correction". Nothing wrong with that. LOL

[@scottk3292]

Nailed it! Great analogy. 😁

[@robertscopa2626]

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Not Oscar Wilde, but still a good quote.

[@YtuserSumone-rl6sw]

"But I already have no identity and personality. Might as well fake it till I make it." -Hipstress 2024

[@ThundermansThunder]

@@YtuserSumone-rl6sw Anything faked is counterfeit, so be original. You are the only one who can be you.

[@YtuserSumone-rl6sw]

@@ThundermansThunder Yeah I agree but there are masses of people who buy and eat up the counterfeit, so artistic crime pays off, especially for those who don't have much inborn creativity and personal touch.

[@ThundermansThunder]

@@YtuserSumone-rl6sw Unfortunately, what you say is true, which explains why the industry is overrun with mediocre commonness, as opposed to the unique musical and vocal creativity that should be available. The worst part of it is that the public condones this behavior with high praise, to remain "relevant" among their peers, and financially, when they buy the music and the tickets to attend concerts and other functions, not necessarily because they actually enjoy the music. It's just so bizarre!

[@stephendecatur189]

We're quoting Oscar Wilde. I love it. (Ex English major)

[@nettie607]

When I was a kid, if I used "But everybody's doing it," as an argument, my mother would ask me: "If everybody was jumping off bridge, would you go, too?" Just because "everybody" is doing it is not a good reason. As a voice teacher, I would never tell a student to use autotune or pitch correction. This was an important one. Thank you, Fil!

[@Lilah1754]

You most have grown up around same time I did! My mother always used that saying to me to. Great saying by the way! Lol

[@SuziQ.]

It’s an analogy to lemmings. Doesn’t she understand that? She’s a horrible “vocal coach” (whoever she is).

[@veramilton833]

I absolutely agree !

[@Amaranthine1000]

lol I just said the same thing, before i found that you had already said it. oh well great minds think alike.

[@johndelconte9915]

I guess the “vocal teacher“ who made that comment never was asked that. Besides that, “ everyone” does not use pitch correction.

[@johnclawed]

Fil is a master of his craft but also a principled man.

[@scottbostic6247]

Fil, you are much appreciated not only in the states but all over the world. Class act and all about the music. Thank you man!!!

[@Rejetnicks]

Its a shame, that the ears of the "regular music consumer" are now only used to pitch correction. Bring back imperfection!! Im a big fan of 60s music and the imperfection of the big hits of that time is part of the magic.

[@lyallg7925]

Exactly…artists like Elvis and Bobby Darin (and I daresay most of them of that era and prior) did live shows and recorded albums with colds and other ailments. They were often imperfect but geez they connected with the audience. We loved that they were legendary flawed humans. Also, I recently saw Harry Connick Jnr live. He is an amazing musician who sings and sings to almost every tune that he plays. He certainly doesn’t not have a perfect voice and it has aged, but his voice holds heart soul and sincerity. He uses his voice like an instrument….it’s difficult to put into words as a non-singer. I’m sure that Fil would be able to explain why I just wanted Harry to keep on singing.

[@Veritas-TheGoader]

Some make art Some make a living Few do both

[@DiamondGirl-1234]

Everything now is becoming fake. Fake nails, fake hair, fake eyelashes. Fake bodies etc... we are accepting and expecting perfections that really do not exist. Give me real every day, imperfect as it is. I want real, creative, and emotional art. EDIT for spelling error.

[@ivannovotny4552]

@Diamond Well said and exactly my thoughts.

[@TheDivayenta]

I blame the male gaze and porn for having driven women to such grotesque lengths to appear attractive.

[@zenawarrior7442]

Great points, I agree.

[@DianeAvila-bv4fc]

Fake perfection has become the norm. I’m proud to be a grandmother and look like one

[@Elaine_Parhamovich]

Kind of like plastic surgery. More often than not, the person comes out looking worse than before and some people just don't even look like their former self. However, no matter what people do in terms of appearances, nothing is going to change the date on their birth certificate. Pitch correction is like musical plastic surgery. Take it away and you have the person's real voice and there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe my analogy is a bit in left field, but there you have it.

[@imeldaweijers3284]

Music, like any art, should not be made with perfection, but with love and emotion

[@johndalessandro6433]

I agree, I like the rawness of music...especialy live

[@bigmick562]

Art for art's sake...

[@sueb.6595]

Thank you. I couldn’t agree more!

[@Yohann67]

To me perfection is combination of all the elements and the mood or emotion contributes to what makes perfection for me.

[@garyneilson3075]

You said.. ... IT! YEAH!

[@carolinej3661]

I am always so impressed by how careful and courteous you are in these videos. You are clearly not about talking down others, and you are clearly not pitching. You are what a teacher is meant to be. And, I (we) are grateful for you!

[@stoatystoat174]

It's lovely that the example to disagree with her about the use of auto tune is her own beautiful singing voice

[@Psalm1267]

Industry standard - yes. Musical standard - no way!

[@phranerphamily]

Very well put!

[@myopicautisticmetal9035]

Industry standard is hate speech to me.

[@joesmith942]

That's the comment that just sent me over the edge. It's the reason popular music is a mess.

[@heaven7360]

@@myopicautisticmetal9035Young people think it's cool to be a crummy singer and technology can make them a star and no one will care and they can achieve fame. I guess it does work if you have the proper look and fit into what is considered a money making artist/group. I guess it's up to the audience to demand real quality and see what's going on. I imagine it's quite tempting and frustrating at the same time for those who have the dream of being a successful singer.

[@ThundermansThunder]

@@heaven7360 True, they see it work for someone like Cher, for example, and assume that all bad singers will be accepted in the same manner and experience the same level of success. The reality is that, no matter what distractions she offers, she will always sound like a braying donkey with a vibrato reminiscent of a bleating goat, regardless. Like many other similar celebrities, she is very good at self promotion and diverting attention from her shortcomings, which is her true talent, as it enables her to convince her audience to treat her as a celebrity, despite her lack of talent, but her relentless persistence paid off. In this way, she has truly paved the way for those pop stars in her wake to promote themselves in like manner to their own successes, despite their lack of talent, when they are willing to invest the time and effort, and if they are noticed and helped by the right people, as was she. It is amazing how young people can so naively accept this pretense as authenticity!

[@papalaz4444244]

If people expected this robot perfect pitch then all old tracks would sound dreadful But they sound BETTER.

[@idankoos4156]

The Evolution of sound ideals is interesting....like the Holodeck in Star Wars....we live in the internet era..everyone seems to have a virtual alter ego ( ideal version of yourself)

[@papalaz4444244]

@@idankoos4156yes, Idan Koos no avatar. We all saw the bait in this one, too.

[@papalaz4444244]

@@Spo-Dee-O-Dee"Stickman" no avatar

[@pixie3760]

​@@Spo-Dee-O-Deeyeah, it's what the ear gets used to. We're becoming conditioned to "perfection " kinda sad really.

[@papalaz4444244]

@@pixie3760How many sockpuppets do you have?

[@SnoopSaibot]

As an audio engineer that was around when everyone started to use melodyne on everything I can tell you that by far the main (and often the only) reason was and is vastly reduced costs for the production and labels. Before melodyne you would have way longer recording sessions with the singers hunting for that perfect take or figuring out which takes can be edited together nicely. So you have to pay the artist, producer, engineers as well as (precious) studio time. With melodyne you only hunt for the take with the right inflection and feel and keep going even if a couple of notes are a bit off. And afterwards you only pay one guy on his home computer to do the melodyne. So once again good old greed gets us to this sad place we are in now.

[@Cynical_Finch]

100% Bang on. People went from being willing to pay $20 for an album to refusing to pay more than $0.033 Cents for a single listen of a single song. So the music industry had to go from paying up to $250,000 per album recording, to $250 per song recording. I'll never forget the day that kids were burning Metallica albums in the streets, because that was the day I knew it was over for quality music.

[@Fiveash-Art]

@@Cynical_Finch When the music's over, turn off the light

[@kcutoob]

But in those cases, it would be understandable to me to pitch-correct a couple notes/phrases in a take. That wouldn't take the life out of the recording. But making every note 'perfect' does risk making it sound phony, with no 'feel'.

[@SnoopSaibot]

@@kcutoob I totally agree. But you have to understand that correcting just a couple of missed phrases takes a lot of more work because as an engineer you have to listen to the vocal track phrase by phrase, syllable by syllable, correct, listen again, correct, etc. If you just go over it and flatten everything out, you can do most things by eye which takes exponentially less time aka money and can be more easily done by an engineer that never heard the song before and was not part of the recording team (and is often cheaper on an hourly basis). So everything boils down to the money again.

[@aligensa]

Thanks very much for the insight. Next step will be to fire the engineer and use AI. :(

[@maguffintop2596]

In the words of Hall and Oats at the end of Method of Love "Don't mess with imperfection!"

[@kfings]

“Our ears have come to expect perfect pitch when it comes to music” that’s not true. Most average music listeners can not hear if a not is slightly out of tune. I appreciate this channel standing up for real voices.

[@jubuttib]

I'd almost say most of them can't hear even if it is somewhat grossly out of tune... Rick Beato complains about this quite often.

[@k.h.6991]

Very true. I'm genetically not very musical, but my mom made sure I learned to sing. I sang in a choir for years, so I'm trained. All that to say: I'm decent, but not great. But normal people consistently tell me I'm a great singer. They can't tell the difference.

[@kfings]

@@k.h.6991 exactly, I think a lot of people are listening for tone and emotion. I personally try to sing without autotune. I think in most cases it sounds better. Doing it this way takes way more time, but the results are sonically better in my opinion.

[@Tinuvielthefair]

I'm a professional singer, and I HATE pitch correction! I've had to wean my producer to stop using it on my voice because it just sounds better. Am I perfect all the time? No! But the performance is better not using it. We save both a lot of time not using it. When he puts a standard "auto-tuner" pitch correction on my voice, it actually makes my voice MORE pitchy not better. He then would have to go in and namely pitch correct each individual line! Now he doesn't have to do that since I got him to stop putting the standard overlay on my voice. He started to only "correct" a few spots. And it's more now for scratch vocals at this point. I pride myself on being pitch accurate without computer help.

[@stevetournay6103]

One of the musicians my brother plays with puts a little NO AUTOTUNE logo on all his projects. My brother himself hates it too. So do all the other musicians I know. And so would I were I a musician myself! (Actually I do anyway...)

[@Tinuvielthefair]

@@stevetournay6103 love this!

[@myopicautisticmetal9035]

I think what you meant to say is that, "Am I perfect all the time? No! But that is a Performance. Pitch Correction is Not a performance."

[@Tinuvielthefair]

@@myopicautisticmetal9035 yes, that's pretty much what I meant.

[@Psalm1267]

@@stevetournay6103It might become the musical version of "organic".

[@daviddrennon4089]

I wanna hear how someone actually sounds with their own voice. They're changing what their voice actually sounds like. IT IS ARTIFICIAL.

[@goblinqueen4991]

That coach is doing her listeners a great disservice by encouraging the use of pitch correction as the default. Thanks for continuing to push back, Fil.

[@michaelxz1305]

I'm not sure.. Because it's probably good for a lot of people who don't have great voices.

[@markgardiner1613]

Perhaps Edith Piaf summed it up well "use your faults, use your defects then you'll be a star" 😊

[@suzukibn1131]

Don’t get bullied Fil. You are honest, know the technology and the pitfalls, you cerebrally explain the facts and the workings of all of this to people (like me for one) who never knew. You have opened up my ears!

[@VideoArchiveGuy]

I love that: "Buy my plug-in, you won't be able to hear any difference!"

[@mattmckeon1688]

Our ears have come to expect it, but we can't hear the difference... 🤔

[@rickfromthecape3135]

@@mattmckeon1688 Scratching my head on that one also......

[@seanmorrissey3103]

It's all part of the current decline in logic, sadly. Cognitive dissonance is hip and sexy now.

[@therrdon1841]

I grew up with the greats: Frank Sinatra, Linda Rhondstadt, John Denver, Kenny Loggins, Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond, Karen Carpenter, Aretha Franklin, Marilyn McCoo, (I keep remembering GREAT voices), and on and on. You completely nailed it with this video. I am not a musician or even really an "audiophile." but everybody, today sounds alike! You are spot on with you naming of "expression." As I have said in other comments on your channel, it is not simply "hitting the note" it is about the "artistic flourishes" around the notes. If it was just "hitting the note" a low grade AI would put all singers out of business. I HOPE today's "vocal artists" recognize this.

[@thomasmurray3920]

I am with you on this. You can also add the more unique voices such as Jon Anderson of Yes.

[@judyrichards8365]

YES! Expression! That was exactly it.

[@niemann3942]

I was recently wondering what would happen if they applied it to Ella Fitzgerald. In her jazz-influenced way, she often hits and slides around notes in ways where you can't quite place what the note is supposed to be ... but it WORKS. It's what makes her brilliant, playing with those in-between microtones.

[@niemann3942]

I also just remembered Paul McCartney talking about a typical John Lennon stylistic touch, relating it to the song "A Hard Day's Night". Paul said they always had a hard time trying to put out sheet music for that because on the first line -- "It's been a hard day's night ... and I've been work-ING like a dog" -- the second syllable of "working" is so bluesy that it's not actually a real note that can be played on a piano. The way John sings it, it's between two notes, and it just sounds wrong if you sing it as the note on either side. What would happen if they pitch-"corrected" the way John sang those purposely flattened bluesy notes?

[@conditionallyunconditional5691]

Elvis

[@BDM55]

Fil -- you are definitely one of the classiest people on KZbin

[@wingsofpegasus]

Thanks!

[@IMeMineWho]

And the best amateur soliciter and detective! As logical and can build a case as good as a Vulcan attorney!😆

[@petemusgrove7422]

He really is!

[@robertkruk1795]

Agreed. Fil is a class act and talented.

[@Jeri_C11]

I agree with you. I just watched your videos on Judy Garland / Kelly Clarkson and then happened to watch you analyze Elvis’s voice. He wasn’t pitch corrected and has one of the greatest voices of all time as is Judy Garland. They are SINGERS. They don’t need perfection. Elvis is so emotive when he sings, one can find themselves deeply affected & I hope we keep singers from years ago and just leave them alone. I hope I never see these singers corrected or auto tuned. We would really miss out on their greatness. Keep on informing and teaching us. 👍🏻😁😁🌹🌹🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️

[@michaelxz1305]

This is the first time I've heard Elvis having been described as having one of the greatest voices. One of the most recognizable, sure

[@orbatos]

An addendum to this. Once pitch correction is "standard" synthetic voices will be easier to sell. What's cheaper than cheap talent? No human hires at all.

[@fredhinckley8630]

The person in the video is comparing pitch correction to putting on lip gloss. Lip gloss is not "changing" your lips, it is just enhancing the natural look of your lips. A better comparison to pitch correction is when you go to a doctor and get lip filler injected to change the natural shape of your lips.

[@nickrider5220]

I think you explained pitch correction perfectly, humans aren't perfect, but it's that human element that makes a singer a unique individual and potentially so listenable !

[@pclark4522]

Pitch correction allows the "music" industry to promote a lot of semi-talented singers almost solely on the basis of their looks, their costuming and their projected persona. Of course, it wants to make pitch correction the industry standard.

[@MiguelBaptista1981]

Bingo.

[@tommcdermott11]

Just throwing this out there, but thank God this stuff wasn't around "back in the day", whenever that "day" is for you. Chrissie Hynde with the Pretenders comes to mind, she's bobbing and weaving around the pitch in a lot of songs and its freaking beautiful (middle part of "Kid" comes to mind). Thanks for a GREAT video explaining/analyzing all this stuff.

[@Rael39]

When you pitch correct a vocal you suck the soul out of it. The reason why great singers touch something deep within us is not because they have perfect pich, its because they are able to communicate their soul to ours. Neil Young is by no strech of the imagination a technically good vocalist but he knows how to sing from his soul and we feel it. The intent behind what we do is everything.

[@maurenegarza6427]

“Everybody is doing it” is the kind of argument a child makes to their parents to explain why they did something incredibly stupid. And the parents respond “if everyone jumped off a cliff would you follow them?“

[@stevetournay6103]

My favourite middle school teacher asked me something like that..."would you just jump out of a plane?" My answer was "sure, if it was parked..." Mr Sutherland got a kick out of that.

[@MrsRosencranz1]

Well, not again!

[@anngulliver5964]

Exactly. It's such a lame excuse. Drug cheats in sport say the same thing

[@Mark_Wheeler]

Can you imagine pitch correcting Frank Sinatra? He was the king of vocal nuance and emotive expression. You can't replace that kind of talent with technology.

[@stevetournay6103]

Heh. From what I know of Frank Sinatra, bad things would've happened pretty damn quick to anybody who tried pulling a stunt like that on him...😁

[@VideoArchiveGuy]

The thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if future releases do the same way as Fil has shown they've been pitch correcting the Eagles.(!) on new "remasters."

[@DerekADempsey]

@@VideoArchiveGuythere’s an iTunes Sinatra purchase of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” where they cut off the first syllable of “She’s a fool and don’t I know it…”. Now it’s “He’s a fool and don’t I know it…”. Ffs. How could they miss that?Probably while trying to apply something they learned in music/sound school about hiss or sibilance.

[@YtuserSumone-rl6sw]

Come to think of it, I'm gonna search if anyone's done "digicorrected" versions of Bob Dylan. That'd be hilarious and probably sucking out all life from it 😂

[@Wrongald]

I always thought Sinatra was constantly pitch correcting himself...

[@grodenvr7076]

With everyone acclimatized to pitch-corrected singing, it will be easy for the industry to replace the singers with AI.

[@katherinea.rodgers8366]

Right!

[@elpusegato]

EXACTLY

[@chatsnoirblamo]

And for humans to stand out via reinvention 🙏🏻

[@bloozedaddy]

I'm convinced the Celine vocal at the Olympics was AI taken from her old recordings. It's just too clean considering the physical struggles she's reportedly going through. They did it with Randy Travis ...they could do it with her.

[@iagreewithyou3478]

​@@bloozedaddy yeah I've seen a video of her struggling to sing. It was sad. From that to the Olympics performance, either it's a miracle or music industry "magic".

[@ClarenceHW]

Appreciate your integrity. Thanks~ Too add something, the young person speaking is a child of pop culture, she's been programmed to think as she does... a justification of "it's what people expect" goes to show how insidious the programming is. Does she not see the perfection of nature. It is a sad state of affairs!

[@msherer260]

Personality in the voice can trump perfection in performance in the everyday hit song every time. There is a place for the perfect performance, but songs we love do not need perfection. After all when most of us walk around the house singing our favorite songs are we worried about perfect pitch or even staying in the same key from verse to verse.

[@neccron9956]

Have her listen to music of the 70's (golden area of recording), and even the 50-60's, and try to convince us that artists today (with auto correction/tuning) are better than earlier artists.

[@AIainMConnachie]

Don't lose faith. You're doing good work

[@terryriley8963]

I listen to my old vinyl albums from the 60s and 70s that all have no pitch corrections on them, quite a few are recorded in mono and all have scratches, crackles and hiss on them, that is what I call perfection.

[@tedfordhyde]

You are absolutely on target, Fil, with everything you're saying! Music is being dehumanized by these so-called "enhancements"! Thank you for all your excellent work, brother!

[@elsiestormont1366]

Fil, you hit the nail on the head. The industry wants to homogenize the musicians, and then they can profit from anyone. So if all the artists correct their pitch on their albums, can they ever perform live? It seems that the only way that they can sound like the recordings when they appear live is to lip sync. Who would pay to see that? Keep defending the cause, sir. The upcoming generations deserve to know authentic, unadulterated music.

[@garyhalmbacher6875]

Lip syncing. Tell that to Don Henley of the remnants of The Eagles.

[@barackmycat9448]

Thankyou Fil! I think many modern singers are addicted to fake.

[@heaven7360]

Not much depth of those singers I think.

[@ObiWanKannabis07]

Not sure if you were thinking it but didn't want to say it: Pitch correction was (in part) the master plan of the industry to get rid of just normally looking and ugly musicians. Now every singer looks like a model or a movie star, so it's quite easier to market them. I grew up in the 80's and I enjoyed a fair share of REALLY talented, but not especially good-looking bands and singers. Milli Vanilli was just a warning... They didn't have the technology, but now they do!

[@garyneilson3075]

Oh yea!

[@stevetournay6103]

Yes. But everyone I know wants the real thing, not the fakery, and some of them are young 'uns. So there is perhaps some hope.

[@SuziQ.]

I don’t care if musicians are not pretty looking. I can’t see them through my stereo. I don’t go to concerts to look at the musicians. I go to hear them live. If they happen to look attractive, I don’t care. A balding, gap toothed pianist inspired me to learn how to play.

[@sagittated]

Bands were judged by their appearance in the 80s, too. Especially the women. The industry has always been shallow. Some men were allowed to be unattractive if they were already talented, but they weren't pop singers. And women always had to also be pretty.

[@ObiWanKannabis07]

@@sagittated You certainly have a point, but even for female musicians, there were more opportunities back then. Some examples (from my very subjective perspective) are the singer from The Pretenders (Chrissie Hynde), Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Patty Smyth, etc. Yes, it's difficult to remember just a plainly ugly female singer, but I think that if a singer was truly good, she had at least a shot at success.

[@TomHendricksMusea]

Great singers know, either through learning or instinctively, that you can enhance vocals by these ways. When you sing slightly sharp, you add tension and intensity to the vocal. When you sing slightly flat, you give a more relaxed vocal. When you sing slightly ahead of the note you add a hurry up let's go, anticipation to the vocal. When you sing slightly behind the note you give a more reflective and contemplative vocal

[@joelopez8839]

There's a KZbin channel which takes "classic" vocal performances and pitch corrects them. They "pitch correct" Steve Perry for example and it's kinda horrifying. Thank you so much for what you are doing, Fil.

[@sarahughes6452]

This was a fantastic analysis, Fil. Well done, I couldn’t agree more. I can think of so many artists growing up in the late 60’s and 70’s who wouldn’t have connected the same had their voices been corrected.

[@edwardhoppe4294]

What she's doing is called rationalizing.

[@ezlow1065]

Yep!

[@paulm749]

To extend the make-up analogy, we've all seen people with make-up applied so heavily that they appear unnatural and off-putting. Pitch correction is like make-up applied to the human voice and like make-up, it hides what is natural, even when a natural voice - flaws and all - sounds more pleasing to the ear. Thank you again Fil for taking the time and effort to highlight and explain this issue that is so important to artists and listeners alike.

[@Psalm1267]

@paulm749 It perverts the listener's standard for flawlessness. I'm thinking of The Winner Takes It All - the imperfections in it are perfect and help make it a deeply moving song. If they had pitch-corrected them out, the song wouldn't be the winner that it is.

[@drytool]

Pitch correction isn't lip gloss, it's plastic surgery.

[@jacktoddy9783]

Excellent video - it reminds me of when drum machines where first introduced into recording. in many instances the drum machine technician had to programme imperfect timing into the software in order to syncopate the 'beats' in order to make the whole drum sound natural.

[@brucefarnsworth8395]

Outstanding video. Hopefully this will clear up that people don't need to change the way they sound. I would rather hear a natural voice then one thats being pulled to pitch.

[@pixie3760]

I love that the process is so well explained, I come from an era where we had no pitch correction, I don't personally like it, I prefer the anomalies of the human voice...in saying that I like being informed

[@garyneilson3075]

Because the feel, the emotion evaporates

[@pixie3760]

​@@garyneilson3075you're so right!

[@JohnLnyc]

Maybe. But your era saw many technical applications to achieve something as close to perfection as possible. The obvious is EQ, compression, de-essing, mic selection, reverb, etc. We are rarely hearing anything as close to a raw unaltered performance as we may think we are. Even back in the day.

[@pixie3760]

​@@JohnLnycI understand what you're saying although one thing I'll say is that there was never the discrepancy between live performance,s and recordings that you have now. We used to see a lot of live performances in the 70's - 80's, you knew what you were going to get. I recall seeing the Stones around '72 and it exactly what you expected.

[@JohnLnyc]

@@Spo-Dee-O-Dee Yes. Tape was slowed or sped up. Tedious. When digital recording came around it solved a lot of problems. It also brought unintended consequences. Few people realize what has gone into the records they like. In a way, pitch correction is only a part of a much larger discussion.

[@omg-vert]

What people like her don't seem to get is that the "imperfections" IS the polish on the vocals. What they are doing is the opposite of what she is claiming auto-tune/pitch correction does. Like taking sandpaper to chrome and saying it's better chrome.

[@russbear31]

"Everyone's doing it..." Ah, no. I know a famous professional singer with 3 Grammy Awards on her shelf. (She's a friend of a friend.) It would be a scandal if she used pitch correction because she sings opera. She has sung at the Met in NYC and La Scala in Milan, Italy. She survives purely on her talent. No tricks or gimmicks. Either you can sing or they will throw eggs and tomatoes at you. 😅😅

[@elpusegato]

Real artists know what's up. They're trying to replace us with computers.

[@tonywardle4764]

Good call and a damn good analysis Fil.

[@TheMrmartind40]

Fil is not only talented but musically brilliant. Great analyses.

[@brianmorrow5350]

It seems Fil may have become a lightning rod....... Stand strong Fil!

[@tnmoppylaura5476]

Fil knows what he’s talking about. Thanks so much.

[@ericzeichert511]

I think I recognized the reactor and I am very disappointed. On the other hand, I do have a trunkload of Gucchhi handbags that I would like to offer her for sale.

[@trentgerein4907]

Is this that Diane girl? I'm hoping to find out so I can avoid her videos.

[@SuziQ.]

@@trentgerein4907, “YourOnlineSingingCoach”. I don’t know her name. I just watched the video. It’s from 3 weeks ago.

[@edwasintx]

I think she’ll do well churning out pop until an AI obsoletes her and produces perfect pitch from a program. I like singers who can sing, and don’t expect perfection, I expect expression.

[@Cashcrop54]

The reasons that they come up with show clearly that they are not comfortable about using these enhancements. I would have no satisfaction, or pleasure, in my performance if I used it. Especially if I didn't need it. Play with the cards you've been dealt. That's talent! Thanks Fil. Keep them coming!

[@patriciasnyder6915]

I have most of “the oldies” original version. You have single handily give me another HUGE reason why I don’t want newer music.

[@sallyatticum]

I think most indie artists aren't using it. Some do it for effect, but that's not the same as using it every song.

[@theyouofyesterday6254]

Not all newer artists are using it. I follow a fair few (genuinely) independent 'pop' (for lack of a better term!), jazz and folk artists who would only use it for effect if at all. There are wonderful artists out there making great, authentic music - you just need to look outside of mainstream pop to find them ❤😊

[@dl7281]

You’re really a gifted educator. Thanks for the clarity you’ve brought to this topic; the crutch of pitch correction seems out of control lately.

[@Rybarth]

Please just keep your one in a million honesty. Thank you.

[@DrDavidThor]

__ As a writer who isn't particularly musical, Fil's words are music to my ears. He's describing subtlety and nuance.

[@johnburgess5468]

I am with you all the way on this subject Phil !

[@Angelicus-p5p]

I see your prominent disclaimer/explainer at the start now. 👍 Thanks for what you do. Keeping it REAL!

[@bajemo359]

It’s like using photo shop on a Monet.

[@MichelleSanGiorgio]

Your followers are trickling in Fil. Please keep posting this.

[@SK43853]

thank you FIL, good stuff...

[@J.Hermansson]

Great video by the way. I totally agree with your analysis. That why we love Hendrix, can you imagine if we put his guitar through a pitch correction sofware.

[@tammydoolittle6054]

Singers voices should not be pitch corrected. If it has to be used at all, maybe it would be a little help on a note that can't be hit. I dont like pitch correction because their voices sound robotic and takes out all of the emotions and expressions of the singers voice. What's a story without emotions? Its meaningless! I'd rather hear the singers' natural voice, the emotions, the expressions, flaws and all. Thank you, Fil, for explaining this in specific detail so we can understand it. Keep up the good work!

[@adamknight7041]

Not entirely true actually I mean their even pitch correcting; Andrea Bocelli, Lucy Thomas, Jonathan Antoine etc...just to name a few world class singers and the emotion and expression still comes through although what I would say is because the sound has been manicured to an extent their voice loses a sense of vulnerability which you'd hear more in a live concert environment without any studio sound booth gimmicks.

[@ashrach18]

Fil, I'm in stitches watching you trying to keep a straight face, when she is saying that pitch correction is an enhancement and she uses it all the time🤣

[@mimi-3212]

Don't miss this video! It's an excellent presentation; an emphatic yet winsome argument for the superiority of genuine, un-pitch-corrected vocals which maintain expression and match the instrumentation, therefore sounding unique, and better as well!

[@moinasandon5812]

You're spot on. When I've recorded songs, I refuse to mess about with it, for all the above reasons, but also, the small intonations and blips are often the emotion and heart in the piece. I'm unlikely to ever "make it big", but when I play and sing for people, they get to connect, and that is a huge reason for any art. Also, it means that if I'm asked to sing something, I don't have to worry about "not sounding like the recorded me"!

[@cwize]

Beat quantization and vocal pitch correction are pretty much like anything else - there’s a time and a place for it and too much of a good thing is bad. I really appreciate this video, because this shows a very subtle tweak to her vocals - and she left her “pitch envelope” intact and didn’t just smash each note to the line (where we start getting into “Believe” territory). It’s kind of amazing to me that so many people really have no understanding of musicality or the human voice, so I guess the “buzz word” of autotune or pitch correction gets thrown around like some derogatory term. Kinda sucks. I agree that anyone who can actually sing should stay far away unless they had a great take with one beefed note or something (easier than punching in). But where would we be if Macy Gray, or Bob Dylan, or Lemmy used pitch correction? I wouldn’t want to live in that world.

[@flametop93]

Hello Fil; this isn't just one of the most important videos you've made, it's one of the most important videos on the net! Very well explained, I feel.

[@pinkthistle5713]

If someone has an outstanding voice, then surely, there is no need for pitch correction ! The variation and emotion in voices is what we want to hear.

[@suelucey9621]

Ex: Joe Cocker

[@debiw8599]

Thank you, Fil! It's worth noting that orchestral strings are notorious for going out of tune if you look at them wrong. They are sensitive to temperature and humidity changes, and will change their shape in response because they're made of wood. Someone singing with an orchestra MUST be agile enough to meet the strings where they are at that moment, not where the "correct" pitch is. As an example, the auto-tuned Conan performance of Disturbed's Sound of Silence cover. In the last few notes, David Draiman sounds flat on the auto-tuned A4 because the orchestra is slightly sharp as their instruments have swelled up a tiny bit from the heat of the stage and the humidity from the audience. I bet he went just a touch sharp on that note to match the strings and the computer brought it down to "the correct pitch", so now he sounds flat on the note instead.

[@fiddlejohn9305]

Part of the problem with pitch in an orchestra is that as a room full of musicians (and perhaps an audience) warms up, the strings go flat and the winds go sharp.

[@pippagrey9633]

Years ago I sang with a cathedral choir, and we did a lot of unaccompanied music (because the old organ, since replaced, was pretty dreadful). One of the altos had perfect pitch, and there were plenty of times when she'd sound sharp because the rest of the choir had gone just a shade flat, but in pitch with each other, and there she was, at the original pitch.

[@edwasintx]

Just heard him sing it live in concert and yes, he had a number of flat areas on that and other songs. And I expected that. Likely many didn’t.

[@MadMattAllen]

i can tell this truly is your passion as whenever she is naturally accurate you can't help but smile/laugh haha like out of sheer joy at seeing accuracy. right on. i look forward to more vids

[@TangSongs]

Love your channel and comments! I’m a voice teacher/vocal coach and think you are always spot on! 🎶🎶🎶

[@wingsofpegasus]

Thanks!

[@JohnLnyc]

No it’s not an “enhancement”… it is “correction” a tool to achieve “aural perfection”…as defined by some or all of the people involved in the recording and/or final product. It can be over used or used incorrectly. I think Fil has opened the door to the almost cavalier use of it. “Slapped” on a recording as an afterthought or a cost savings move. She does reveal wittingly or unwittingly it is an “industry standard” Fil’s take on this is excellent and eye (ear?) opening. Standard for Pop maybe. Too many productions involve over production. Voices are over manipulated. Not just pitch correction but over comped…I watched a video of a very good singer who was thrilled her vocal was comped…100 times in one song. There’s EQ. Some vocals are a bit too, in your face and massaged to the extreme. Ballads or slower pieces are loaded with heavy breathiness as an ear catching gimmick to add gravity…adding pretension to a performance. In short, it’s not adding “lipstick” it’s a full on makeover!

[@stevetournay6103]

Less lipstick than plastic surgery. Or at least a CGI filter...

[@veramilton833]

Well said ! 👏

[@JohnLnyc]

@@danwarb1Not necessarily! If we are going to celebrate imperfection, then any number of pitch corrected performances are likely those uncorrected performances we claim to admire. The troubling part of this is the indiscriminate use which effectively “masks” the un doctored performance. The point being in most cases we really don’t know what that unaltered performance was.

[@louieatienza8762]

It's the difference between lipstick and Botox...

[@knarf_on_a_bike]

Back in the mid 80s there were a bunch of charity songs put out by "supergroups" fundraising for the famine in Ethiopia. ("Do They Know It's Christmas" and "We Are the World") In Canada, Northern Lights was the celebrity group that did "Tears Are Not Enough". Producer David Foster did several takes of Neil Young, saying, "You're a bit flat, let's do it again," each time. Finally, Neil said to him, "Hey man, that's my sound." Can you imagine doing pitch correction on Neil Young or Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell?

[@BrendaMorgan-ne7fu]

Thank you for bringing this to light. Personally I just can't listen to the robotic tunes. Like nails on a chalkboard. Eeww.shiver

[@JR-pr8jb]

Good point about singers "singing with the instrumentation". Pitch correction means separating the singer from the orchestra.

[@rickandosca8262]

You sir are excellent in every way with what you do.

[@dosbox2010]

I enjoy your analysis videos. I am a retired senior certified electronics tech, commercial two way radio and audio frequencies outside the 300-3000 Hertz range are used for controlling purposes and so are critical and need to be accurate. Having also been a teacher to new techs, I found sometimes you just can't move someone to the point they grasp something no matter which avenue you approach it from. Do not despair, you can't win them all.

[@the.2nd.age.of.Christianity]

I hate being lied too, thanks for the exposure. Great video - thank you

[@Veritas-TheGoader]

What I hear this lady say is, music is to be created for the music industry, not for self or fans.

[@naomisusanisaacs3810]

Thank you SO MUCH for this analysis video. I LOVE your attitude to music making and the human voice. Very often, listening to recordings of old blues artists, the so-called minor third doesn't even reach the 2nd of the scale, but it still sounds "perfect" and would lose all its humanity/message if it were pitch corrected. On that note, I'd love to hear your analysis of ANY of the 14 tracks on Paul Simon's very first LP "Song book" from 1965. No pitch correction, no click track, but (to my mind) vastly more personal than so many later recordings....

[@willyD200]

Please, keep speaking and proving the truth, it is of the up most importance. The truth is always the truth !

[@robinw7412]

So glad you are talking about this. As a baby boomer I have finally realized why there is a lot of music today I don’t care for.

[@alisong2328]

And certainly not worth $100 for a concert ticket!

[@Terri_MacKay]

I hope that the commenters who complained about you picking on singers who use pitch correction give this video a watch. Not only do you explain exactly what an analysis video is and why you analyse the particular vocals that you do, but you demonstrate, in such a simple but powerful way, exactly what is lost when a voice is pitch corrected. Fantastic video!! ❤️🇨🇦

[@veramilton833]

Terri , very well said ! I agree completely!

[@gbulmer]

Well done, Fil. you're right. My simplest complaint is badly applied pitch correction "sets my teeth on edge". Further, consider the 'recording industry' game. First, to be clearer, by making every singer sound similar (by pitch correction), the 'industry' producers and marketers become more important, because they are the ones gaining power to shape the music the public hears. Second, by pushing all music to a common scale, sampling, mixing, looping, etc. become much easier. Again, the 'creative power' moves away from the artist and towards producers or even industry executives. By making singers sound similar the industry is ensuring 'continuity of supply; one singer can be replaced by another. Manufacturers want uniform ingredients because it makes manufacturing cheaper and quicker. Ultimately, uniformity ensures a manufacturer can use the cheapest ingredients, or force ingredients' prices 'to the floor'. Great artists will lose out to weaker artists. This shifts money away from artists towards producers and industry executives. Finally, by removing the emotion created by the singer's inflection and pitch, music is either 'pasteurised' (drained of unusual or unique emotion), or the producer become free to re-introduce the emotion they want to convey. None of that feels good for artists, or for music consumers. Well done Fil. ☮ I will add, the 'everybody is doing it' argument is very worrying. It was used in propaganda, 'normalising' unnecessary or aberrant behaviour. It's almost an excuse for 'mob mentality', with extreme examples during the 20th century practised by 'people' wearing swastikas. History shows persuading a population that doing something unnatural or artificial should become the norm does not play out well. Take food as a different, but universal example. It took years to recognise that spraying crops with DDT, or injecting animals with steroids or growth hormones had serious health consequences for the humans that eat those foods. For many, music is 'nourishment for the soul'. Let's imagine what happens when peoples souls are starved of nourishment, History indicates bad outcomes.

[@dockjm]

Great video ... AS ALWAYS. 😁👍

[@Serenaluv17]

Fil, I always love your detailed analysis..you are amazing.

[@HealthAtAnyCost]

You continually amaze me. Thank you for alllll you do for music and musicians who are real and complete on their own. You are a gift to music today.