I work at a college where we teach music, music technology, recording, music production, etc. up to foundation degree level.

Autotune is not generally available on the 50 plus music workstations where students learn the technology of music production but it is available in the three studios along with a whole host of hardware and software effects.

It's used in some music genres as an "effect", to produce a particular sound but it's also used to correct errors which should have been fixed at recording. If it's used properly the end result is a fixed track and it's often used just on a single note to bring it back into line complete with the original pitch and amplitude modulation. In the final mix you may never know that it's been used.

I've used it and had it used on my tracks but hopefully you will never know by listening to the final product but some, predominantly vocalist see it as a slur on their abiliy if you say I'll just use autotune to bring that last note into pitch.

We have no problem with EQ and reverb, compression and a whole host of other effects used to make commercial recordings (or maybe we do?). Why not a little tweeking of the pitch.


However, on the subject of compression I'm much more concerned about the "loudness wars" where ever more intelligent compressors are used to make a track sound louder overall. I think I saw a "Dynamic Range Day" advertised recently. Perhaps I missed it. I'll go and get my ear plugs.

Mitch