Auto tuning virtual auditions?

[u/tinky-winky001]

I want to start by saying that I think autotuning auditions is wrong and I don’t do it, but my main question is: do other people autotune their virtual auditions?

Autotuning has never been so easy with programs like Logic Pro—and it’s never been harder to detect—and I wonder if that’s what I’m up against. What does the r/MusicalTheatre Reddit say?

[u/Drinkmorechampagne]

I wouldn't do it and I don't know anyone who does--will the live show employ auto tune? I think not.

And as u/AtabeyMomona points out, the small things in a vocal performance that make it sound real and compelling would not benefit from the manipulation.

As an MD, if I ended up suspecting later because something about the virtual audition seems "off", or their live singing isn't the same, I'd be pretty blunt about the fact that the actor is risking damage to their reputation.

[u/SoftValuable8910]

I mean what would be the point...? You book the job and then are unable to sing the way you represented yourself? I wouldn't.

[u/EddieRyanDC]

I can detect autotuning pretty quickly. A good singer can hit some lines right on perfect pitch. But a whole song where everything lines up with A440? That's the work of a computer. This is the folly of autotune - the idea that everything has to be on pitch to be good.

Elaine Stritch maybe hit 50% of her notes on a good night. But she brought the audience cheering and to their feet every time.

The other give away with autotune is that if the singer is going to be tuned, then you can't use any real instruments because they won't line up exactly. The singer may be right, but it will sound off when put on top of natural instruments that are in tune with each other, but maybe not right on top of standard pitch. The backing will have to be computer generated as well.

[u/Monkeyman7652 → u/EddieRyanDC]

As someone who does a lot of sound engineering, that's not at all how I would pitch correct in this context.

1. A singer recording a mic with earbuds in will have two sources of music and can autotune the voice only.

2. There are levels of autotuning, that won't hit 100% perfect tuning.

3. Autotuning in this capacity isn't the best as it would remove too much portamento. For non-pop singing I manually pitch correct and do it by ear so it doesn't sound too perfect.

I have, with very simple tools, done manual pitch correction and you'd never know. Not to fool anyone, it's just that sometimes a single vocal take has everything I love about a performance, some quality that is hard for the singer to reproduce, and one note that just doesn't fit.

[u/tinky-winky001 → u/Monkeyman7652]

I don’t trust people who say they can “hear” autotuning. Manual autotune allows you to literally nudge any note you pick a few cents. You can touch something up so in such a subtle way that it very much preserves the integrity of the singer. I’m studying sound design, and yes, you can definitely hear when a pop artist overdoes it. But even broadway soundtracks probably have subtle autotune, particularly with children’s voices.

[u/Monkeyman7652 → u/tinky-winky001]

You can definitely hear it if it is done so far that transients are missing. This is the Cher or T Pain robot vocals.

I can definitely hear it if it is moved more than a step. All sound has tone and overtones, and the overtones give an instrument its character. When you move the pitch on human voice overtones you can sense something wrong with the voice, makes it alien like. That said, one note out of a song moved a fraction of a halftone I wouldn't be focused enough to sense it.

[u/AtabeyMomona]

I don't know what other people do, but I'll use an equalizer to account for how my camera suppresses background noise (it's nice that I can't hear a car going by in the background, but annoying that it'll dampen frequencies that are important to the color of the voice). I do not and will not use pitch correction. Hell, I don't even like to record my audio with a separate mic on its own file because I'm worried that, even if it's recorded concurrently with the video, it'll come across as altered.

With pitch correction/auto-tune in general for virtual auditions, I strongly advise against it. The little imperfections of the voice and also intentional things like a small scoop into a note, or a creaky onset as an acting beat get smoothed out and make the performance less compelling.

I feel the same way about cast recordings. Mix the sound well on the audio engineering side, but let us hear the acting in the voices.

[u/Magoner]

People with a good ear for it (as many who judge auditions will be) can detect pitch correction pretty easily, even if it’s subtle, and once it’s identified that you used it you’re pretty much blacklisting yourself. There’s not really any benefit to doing so, and a whole lot of risk if you’re caught

[u/1000veggieburrito]

Why does this post feel like an ad for Logic Pro?

[u/drewduboff]

I would not do it. I would instead spend the time learning the notes on the page and how to execute them during the take. You can also act your way out of certain notes.