Sneaky Tech: Pitch Correction
Manipulating pitch and intonations makes music generic, less intelligible, and less compelling
We are accustomed to movies and books about technological rampages resulting in robots overthrowing society, intelligent computers remorselessly eliminating humans, and the subjugation of humans to machines.
At this point it’s more about little nibbles being taken out of human interactions and expression, the classic “death by a thousand cuts” scenario, as communication tech gradually fouls up communication, and connection platforms slowly poison relationships.
Emails go unread and unanswered, leading to missed information and bewilderment. Algorithms inject blindspots in feeds, making it hard to reach people directly. Cell phones have latency problems, making conversations overlap awkwardly so they’re unpleasant. Texts wake people up, interrupt shared experiences, and divert attention from those around us. Digital maps don’t give us the big picture, but keep us locked into screens and oblivious to the world around us.
One area of a thousand cuts can be found in modern musical recordings and live shows. A musician in the UK, Fil Henley of a band called Wings of Pegasus, has been doing yeoman-like work in this area, using pitch monitoring software to show how pitch correction and Auto-Tune are being applied to modern recordings, modern live acts, and — most shockingly — to videos of performances of retired or deceased acts, sometimes with their blessing.