Don't Confuse me with Taylor Swift... I really mean it this time...

Ok, I'll admit it SOMETIMES I DON'T SING IN TUNE. Yeah, I said it. 

I feel that modern audiences are being conditioned to not know what singing in tune actually sounds like courtesy of 'AUTOTUNE'. 

If you want to know about this commonly used device and consider artists who have used it see: http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/27/3964406/seduced-by-perfect-pitch-how-auto-tune-conquered-pop-music

I have no issue with the mere existence of AUTOTUNE. It's a tool, like any other, and if people want to use it, then fine and dandy. I've even noted young performers are unknowingly teaching themselves to 'warble' their voices to replicate the auto tuning they unconsciously register on their idols' voices.

However, if AUTOTUNE is overly used, there is a hazard that when people really hear you sing, well - you know the rest.

Personally, I like to hear 'real' vocals, and history will be the judge of how 'good' a singer is. In fact, being able to make contact with people on an emotional level is one of the defining qualities of a great vocalist. 

Did Elvis Presley, Nat Cole, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Morrissey, Ray Charles, Dylan, Stevie Wonder, John Foggerty, Anita O'Day, Billie Holiday, or any of the greats, use autotune? Of course not, but they are still great to listen to, perhaps as much for their flaws as for their messages.

But lately, I'm thinking more and more about the pressure on young musicians to sing 'perfectly'. AUTOTUNE can be like an aural equivalent of photoshopping a model's body to make it more 'perfect'. This is accompanied by a spate of young women hating on themselves, because they are being pitched an ideal they can't possibly match.

Spoiler: I really like Taylor Swift so don't think I'm accusing her of anything 'bad'. But I find it ironic that she issues a single called 'Shake it Off' and video which is cute and self-deprecating, but has thrown every electronic trick in the book at the production of a 'flawless' performance. But it's just what happens when songwriting is reduced to becoming 'product' designed to shift 'units'.

From the viewpoint of a guy who makes music in a converted barn (and trust me, it does look like an actual barn, not one of those tastefully renovated versions) making music with glitches in it is part of the pleasure, and serves to establish another reason for people not to confuse me with Taylor Swift.   (Heh, like I need another one....)