What is Auto-Tune, and Why Does Jay-Z Want it Dead?

The newest song released off Jay-Z’s upcoming album, The Blueprint 3, is not particularly earth-shaking in its musicality, but rather for its statement, entitled “D.O.A.,” or Death of Auto-Tune.

But what is auto-tune? The term has been a particular source of both fervor and heated contention throughout both pop and rap oeuvres over the last year or two, becoming radio-ubiquitous to the point that many are likely exposed to it (willingly or otherwise) without knowing what it is.

Auto-tune is a software audio processing filter developed by Antares Audio Technologies, originally developed for producers who had to deal with singing starlets who hadn’t quite spent enough time with the vocal coach—automatically, artificially tuning one’s voice to computer-perfect pitch. The filter did produce a slight warbling sound that most often went unnoticed, until artists began cranking up the settings to deliberately distort their voices as an artistic ‘misuse.’ The resulting effect is a cold, robotic crooning that has become near-requisite for a chart-topping single.

Enter Jay-Z, who, along with an emphatic cohort in the music criticism community, have had enough of a technique that many view as a mere gimmick. While Jay-Z’s single is a prominent denunciation, it’s doubtful that it will be the last word in what has been a dramatic aesthetic debate between technology and traditionalism.

[image via i am guilty]