You should do a video comparing 2 performances by an artist who is actually singing. That would help your audience understand how much difference there should actually be.
Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣 P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
Maybe you are the one getting fooled. Fil is doing it for RUclips views and hatred towards Taylor Swift. Why would he mention about her wealth when you are talking about her music?
I wonder how Taylor Swift would feel if everybody in the crowd, instead of cheering and clapping, just stood there and played a recording from their phones of them cheering and clapping ? LOL.
Of course I can't find it anymore, but there was a clip online of Taylor alerting security because of a fan fainting or getting otherwise unwell, and in that clip you can hear the autotune over her talking. Although some people were commenting that Taylor was skillfully weaving this message into her singing, lol.
At one of her concerts I could not hear Taylor singing because the audience was louder than her, singing every word she sang, it was unbelievable to experience the power of 12,000 voices!
@@mayganphynix8267 yes, at the MCG here in Melbourne she got as close to that, ~89,000 I think, as it'll ever be possible with that kind of monster stage setup
@@SongwritingDeconstructed MJs biggest concert was 120,000 people apparently. He drew so many people, that he just held concerts in a huge field. I miss that guy. No one will ever be as big or as talented as him.
As a sound engineer, I often kill the fx at the end of the song when the singer wants to address the audience, then flip it back on when they start singing. Same thing can be done with autotune which is effectively, another fx being applied to the vocal channel. So, yes, you are right. The engineer can turn it off on cue because speaking with autotune would be weird 😄
I don't regard autotune as an effect, an effect adds something to a performance while autotuine changes the performance. Reverb, for example, is an effect but autotune is a cheat.
@@davidwells184 I agree that autotune is a cheat, but it still alters the audio content like reverb or compression. How it alters the audio doesn't matter, whether adding something like space as in reverb, or changing the pitch as in autotune. I think we are just being picky here. Any modification to the original audio is an effect. Basically, they are all plugins of some sort.
I believe what is happening is Fil is looking at a compressed audio signal that gives the same affect as auto-tune. It's a new codec for saving space on your device and transmission. It focuses on the human speaking voice but when used on singing voices it creates these long drawn out tones.
@@davidroach1567But compression as you described wouldn't allow every note to align perfectly night after night. Even playing to click track to get an exact tempo, there would be variances in vocal phrasing, breath control, plosives, late entries and early exits on some lines. Fil's analysis shows cookie-cutter precision that's impossible to produce naturally even if the best singer ever were to sing the song 10 times in a row.
The people who say they can't hear autotune/pitch correction probably can hear it, but they have no idea it's not a natural sound. They may well have heard very little in the way of natural voices singing.
Ironically Most people think that Synthesized Pianos, Hammond Organs and Brass is what these things actually sound like. Same with Drums Most people think a Drum Machine is real drums.
Your last line is it. This has been going on for so long, there are adults in their 20's and maybe even 30's that grew up with the "robot voices" (as I call them) and have no idea. I stopped listening to radio completely in the '90's because my ears can't take the robot.
*Many of her fans have grown up hearing nothing but auto-tuned vocals in pop music.* *There's a good chance they know (consciously or unconsciously) her voice ia enhanced.* *That being said, they'll still pay hundreds (if not thousands) to see her in real life.*
Fil.. the reason some of those short notes slip past the tuner is because theyve set a slow retune speed (attack)... this removes the T pain effect and makes it sound more natural. The problem is that on some of her very short words/notes, they occur before the retune speed actually tunes the note. For example, you set the retune speed to 250 ms, this will create a natural sounding tuned sound (you observed this when you saw how at the start of some notes, shes out of tune but then snaps into tune)... but if you have a single stacatto word that comes out around 250ms long... then the tuner doesnt actually have time to retune the input to the pitch its aiming at
Good comment. You seem to know a lot about auto-tune. Are you a sound technician or a musician that has access to these mics and technology? I'm hoping Fil can get an interview with someone that is an expert in the field of auto-tune capabilities and use in the studio and during a "live" performance.
@@diamonddavemusic It's not like Autotune is a military secret or anything. Its capabilities are well known - and mostly obvious. You can set attack time, intervention range and a bunch of other parameters; the output can be very subtle (like, slowly correcting notes which are over 50 cents off) all the way to "T-Pain" (who doesn't use "autotune", it's a vocoder). Like you can use a subtle reverb/slap delay to mimic a live recording or a different room, or as an over-the-top effect to sound like you're singing in the Grand Canyon. I only used the first (Antares) AutoTune plugin around 2000, but most current voice effect boxes offer some kind of real-time correction, often with a randomized level of intervention to make the output sound more natural.
@diamonddavemusic i am a studio mix engineer and post production engineer for film and television. While I'm not a live sound engineer per se, I have done quite a bit of FOH mixing for musical artists over the last 15 years. We started with Antares AVP-1 and Antares ATR hardware units, and now everything is plugins over a Dante network, usually something like Waves Tune. Long story short, everybody and their grandma uses live pitch correction these days and it's very subtle. It takes a good ear and digital analysis like good sir Fil is providing to pull back the curtain.
My problem with Taylor Swift she is the biggest artist in the industry today, why just take a stand use no autotune and perform everything live. She can be the difference in the industry, but instead she's setting the tread for the modern music industry based on false perfection. I am also not buying that "she needs to rest her voice" most of her songs are in one octave, maybe one or two high notes here and there, but if that's a problem just lower the key. Artists back then were singing two-three octaves night after night, they just did it live. Anyways, excellent analysis video!
Maybe because she CAN'T perform and sound great w/o autontune.. at what point is she just mouthing the the words to a song.. what is GENUINE TALENT, and what's Memorex.. Taylor Swift is the Memorex Queen !!!
I watched Taylor Swift live around 2009 when she was doing country music. I remember her show being good, but her singing was not good. I don't think she was using auto tune or pitch correction then.
Her voice has improved of course but it is worth noting that some of her songs are whiny because when you are young and trying to hold it togeher your voice does that thin whiny tightly stretched thing and some of the melodies are that 'whine' which sounds 'bad' but is actually quite clever. When you play her arrangements on the piano you can hear it - and things like I can't breahe (that F note is suffocated) - she's a great songwrier and singer - not a big bang voice, but highly nuanced - and a great singer.
I saw a video from years ago where she was singing a song (maybe the Beatles) acapella and she was so out of tune and out of sync. I could sing better than her and I am a terrible singer. I haven't been able to find that video anymore. I just think she is a creation of the industry. On the other hand, what amazes me is seeing someone like Paul McCartney doing a talk show and just singing a few lines of a song just sitting in the interviewee's chair. His voice is so excellent that it sounds like it came out of a recording studio.
I'm not a swifty but I came a cross a video of hers singing live and it is really good. Search " Taylor Swift Out of the Woods Live at the Grammy Museum". She wrote that, sings and plays the piano, and it is a beautiful. I think if she doesn't have to sing and dance around in a huge stadium she can be good. She is a great song writer for sure.
@@nancyneyedly4587 she doesn’t have to do any dancing. If people love her voice then that’s what they want to hear. She’s not even a great dancer anyway. She doesn’t solely write all her music either.
Yes, Mr. Croakey is to be admired for giving us the honest goods. Love Paul, and would always rather have his voice as-is, even if it is not what it used to be (age and smoking put paid to that). And let's not even talk about Bob Dylan.
I hope all your videos popularize a trend back towards organic real music. My wife and I go to many live concerts a year that are not auto tuned, usually smaller venues featuring jazz, blues, singer-songwriter, folk, bluegrass etc. Hearing a truly genuine unprocessed human voice is such an emotional experience at times, something we live for. Sadly I couldn't believe my ears, we saw a show at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and they were using live auto tune. I thought folk music was sacred but it was clearly being done (no analysis needed, my ears can hear it).
You can't get any more unprocessed than true a cappella. Check out some international champion barbershop quartet performances, I bet you'll love them!
Yeah like I don't think we'll ever get to the point again or we're rooting auto-tune or similar software tricks and mining for that matter out of popular music. But I hope at least encourages a counter movement of more and more live pop acts. Well rock too I obviously should specify as even a lot of them are now relying more and more on this stuff
I hope so too. I've never seen a live autotuned or mimed performance as, like you, we tend to see a lot of jazz, blues, folk as well as classical, choral music and independent pop in smaller/very small venues where this just isn't done, and often there are no mics and tech involved at all. Hearing a local folk singer a capella at a free folk event in a local church (no accompaniment and no amplification) was one of the most moving performances I've ever seen. For me that's what music is about; creating an emotional connection. All of this further convinces me I don't ever need to see a mainstream artist perform! It's sad that you found autotune being used in folk; it just isn't what it's about at all!
Yes I know good local musicians, in my area there is gypsy swing played by the actual gipsies themselves who are taught from their family and it's one million times better than going to a robot voice concert
Unfortunatly the trend is to continue this robot voice. And with AI improvements it will be even harder to notice. I mean this has been exposed now with these videos but without this knowledge....I mean, she fooled me for sure and many others. How could we know without an in depth analysis? it is so well masked and with a pro team behind, anyone could be a pop singer?
The thing is, she's an entertainer, and she's entertaining. I don't think her fans will care 1 way or the other. People bought tickets to see Elvis Presley movies, when he couldn't act, and his singing was right from a studio recording booth, and they knew it. But they still bought tickets to the show because it was Elvis Presley. This is Taylor Swift. She will pack her shows, entertain her fans, make a lot of money, then do it again next week. And no one will leave her shows feeling like they were ripped off.
I remember listening to The Night Comes Down when I first bought the album in the 80s when I first became a fan. I thought his vocals were painfully (not just slightly) out of tune at the time. So actually they did need a fix. The trouble is, they went too far and 'over fixed' everything all over the shop where it wasn't necessary.
I'm old enough to remember the Milli Vanilli fiasco and its dramatic effect on live performances. In the 80s, before MV, it was not uncommon for performers to lip sync when doing "live" TV performances or concerts. Almost immediately after MV, no performer would be caught dead lipsyncing a performance. Everyone was hyperaware and hypersensitive about it. But as time passed and the impact of MV faded, performers gradually began lipsyncing again. Maybe videos like these can encourage performers to get back to live performances.
The two Pavarotti scandals were deemed just as bad. One scandal was his voice cracked on one note and people wanted their money back and the second he was lipsyncing at shows that cost about $850 per ticket in the 1980s.
They were very different though. It was never their voices. It was a session guy, who sang the songs on the album, and I think they just used the actual studio tracks, for live shows. It was when they were asked, snd could barely speak English, and they couldn’t sing either. It was a total con, that someone came up with, that got them Grammies, and sold millions of albums, doing. One of them wouldn’t admit it for a long time, even after it was all exposed and folks had admitted to it.
Why didn't you ... Just tell Taylor Swift fans that the results show that there is miming in her shows, and they need to deal with it. I think what's far more concerning are the fans who attend her shows AND CAN'T REMEMBER ANY OF IT.
My big concern is when studios start pitch-correcting old studio albums. I know they are starting to do it to old live performances, and i'm just dreading the day they start doing it to old studio albums, too. Can you imagine a pitch-corrected Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, or Born to Run?
I asked Fil about this very thing on Patreon. He said that a simple remaster doesn’t imply autotune, etc. however, he also said in another video that they are indeed ‘fixing’ recordings by the likes of Freddie mercury (seriously….probably Ken Tamperin’s idea to fix Freddie’s flaws).
I think lots of people can't tell when vocals are autotuned simply because it is so common it has become the sound of modern pop vocals. I used to really notice it when it started but now I find I really can't tell anymore apart from the really obvious corrections, it has just become what I'm used to hearing now.
Even old performers like Cher seem hyper auto tuned. I wonder if Sinatra used this? how early? We who are owners of multiple DVDs with various renditions want to know!
@@sandifireson7114 Autotune was not around at all during the Sinatra era. It has been around in earlier clunky formats since the 1970s (Eventide Harmonizer) but not used much. Autotune as we know it was released in 1996 (or 1997?) and Cher’s production team made it known as a tool when they released Believe (1998) and they created this robotic sound. Cyndi Lauper is not autotuned or pitch corrected. There are some hold outs… thankfully… but probably no one from the newer generation of singers 😔 Also… autotune and pitch correction software are a bit different. Autotune is real time pitch correction whereas if you are recording an album, producers will usually use a pitch correction software to adjust things after the recording. Even “live” performances are often pitch corrected and then released so what we think is the live sound is not. And sadly, old recordings like Frank Sinatra songs are often pitch corrected and that is what we hear as an official version of the song now. It’s an absolute abomination.
We have the radio on in the shop where I work and to me and the other "oldies" can clearly hear autotune and the robotic vocals are clear but for some reason the younger people cannot hear it. It hurts my ears.
@@Laura-rp2kiThese are great points. I loved the early informal recordings of Sierra Ferrell widely available on youtube. Amazing old-timey voice. I have been oddly dissatisfied with the sterility of her voice on her albums. Now I know what is happening.
I am a Taylor Swift fan. I would prefer imperfections on the live songs than to be paying to hear auto tune. It is still an enjoyable concert and I really enjoyed it but this is disappointing
I understand.. but she's not just singing she is also entertaining.. she is running around on stage.. she is dancing.. she's playing an instrument.. she's connecting with the crowd.. she has to keep her hair and makeup looking good... sweating and dehydrating...etc. Janet Jackson runs on a treadmill and sings at the same time just to practice' singing live on stage and dancing... cos it's that exhausting.. the performance would look terrible if was singing live . for 2 hours...😮.. hope that helps you understand things a bit better
@@thill4854 Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣 P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
@@kathrynB261 Again, did you go to Taylor’s concert? NO! All you know is just making up stories by using trash videos from a FLOP RUclipsr who uses Taylor’s name for some clout! There are so many Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour Reviews on The Internet including on RUclips which gave The Eras Tour best reviews from musicians, music critics, journalists, concertgoers, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Billie Joe Amstrong, etc.
Tyvm for the longer, time-consuming video on such a major world-wide musical artist as Taylor Swift! Even though I’m an amateur old grandpa singer/songwriter, this confirms what my ears are hearing. But it doesn’t upset me because some highly ambitious people will use any technology to sound “better”, whereas others couldn’t do it in good conscience. Keep up the excellent work!
I can imagine that using automation must be lifeless. What you get out of your own live performance is very rewarding. As a musician, I only go to see LIVE talent. ( therefore, Ill probably never be at another arena concert )
@ Maybe checking live concert videos on RUclips before attending? I’ve seen Tool live a couple of times with my son (he’s a big fan but I enjoy them, too).
The problem is that concerts are not about the MUSIC anymore. Fans will pay tons of cash to see visual effects, coreographed dancers, lasers, projectors, and a pretty face. The music itself is just not important.
Millions of fans treating her like she’s a goddess is mainly because parents fail to emphasize to their kids what’s truly important in life. The draw of people made famous by popular culture is an empty pursuit which will soon be forgotten. TS is a phenomenon, but not for the long haul. Of course she doesn’t care. She’s raking in the money that foolish people spend on low talented, pretty faces who know how to put on a show. Don’t know the average age of concert attendees, but I would guess it’s very young. In many, maybe most, cases, moms and dads are paying for the tickets. She’s destined to flame out sooner or later, but being a billionaire, again, she doesn’t care.
I don't want to be aggressive, but u know, that it will sound processed, because u are playing one stem, which is isolated, but part of the stem is in other instruments so it sounds robotic.
FYI my buddy is a systems engineer (tunes the PA) for tours of this level. Basically, other than a handful of artists, all these pop stars are using "live" pre-tour rehearsal recordings through the same signal chain and recorded at the playback engineer's desk, then forwarded to front of house. At front of house, the engineer has often 20-40 tracks for the vocal including the raw/tuned versions of the pre-recorded and live vocals, a bunch of backing tracks, etc. While FOH *can* blend in the live vocal, it is RARELY done; the vast, vast majority of the time the FOH engineer is playing back the pre-recorded tuned vocal with everything else buried. For any stage banter the engineer is riding the fader for the live vocal. It is what it is. For frame of reference he said he is 99% that P!nk is using majority or all live vocal so try using one of her tours for a comparison?
Absolutely. No production of such scale and budget is going to run without multiple levels of redundancy. There will always be prerecorded backing tracks running in a typical pop concert because there are simply not enough musicians on stage to execute every tiny thing the audience expects to hear from the original album. If nothing else, these tracks are used to keep everyone on stage in sync. There will be count-ins for the musicians, a click track for the drummer, cues for the dancers and backup singers, and audible callouts for each verse, chorus and bridge, so nobody loses their place in a complex arrangement. Because playback is literally holding the show together, there will be redundant playback systems with automatic change-over if the primary machine fails. The FOH engineer will have access to both the live and recorded tracks. Bass player's pickup shorts midway through the song? Swap in the prerecorded bass track while a stage tech sorts it out. Flute player came down with COVID? Audience will still hear that flute part. Backup singer lost her voice yesterday? No problem, at least she can still dance. Obviously, Taylor is likely to mime some songs where the choreography is too demanding for proper breathing. Other songs may have been planned as live, but something went wrong: wireless mic cut out and they can't swap it until the song's over. That's why the rehearsal vocal is running parallel. It's all under control of the FOH mixer and, at any given moment, Taylor may not even know what the audience is actually hearing.
@@robnunya572Pink’s vocal ‘imperfections’ are what make her Pink. She’s not trying to sound cute and fuzzy. Nothing Swift sings has any emotion in the vocals.
as a vocal coach i wanna thank you for doing the work and showing the facts. i once tried to point out i heard the editing on a so called live performance on a Dutch tv show called De Beste Zangers from Floor Jansen and the stanbase was brutal. I only had like 15k views, but that was a lot for me and i could not handle the comments. i once auditioned for Hollands Got Talent and got humiliated over my outfit, so this made me decide that one day i was gonna record my album myself and release it.
I imagine most tv shows have significant editing, especially competition and showcase shows. Its a bit disappointing if true in Floor's case, I know how talented she is and it brings up all kinds of questions regarding if an artist knows its going to happen and if they have a choice. And I can imagine the knee-jerk reaction from the Nightwish "army" that would come without people really sitting down and thinking about the issue. It doesn't really reflect on Floor for me, but a reflection on the industry and its approach to "live" tv content. If there was evidence of her using Autotune or miming during concerts then that would be very disappointing.
Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣 P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
@@geirmyrvagnes8718 No, that wording has been used before by Fil in any number of contexts. The way it was used in the comment I replied to was in denigration of a singer. My point was that Fil would never do that.
"Everybody knows" - I was watching one of your Taylor Swift videos and my daughter came by. She thought it was particularly interesting because her college roommate would talk on and on about how great Taylor Swift because she has the vocal stamina to do a three hour performance night after night. 🙂
This is a point i totally disagree with Fil. It seems like Swift tour was 149 shows over almost a 2 years time span so obviously it wasn't night after night at all. I listen to The Grateful Dead, and these guys would play 3 hours shows probably 3 to 4 nights a week and that over years and years. They even played multiple shows on a single day at a few occasions. In the year 1970, they played together 153 times. Jerry Garcia, lead singer and guitarist also had another band at that time and i'm not including these shows in the count. Singing (live obviously) for hours and days seems to ask a lot to the artist but it is truly possible, Bob Weir, the other (one) guitarist and singer who started with The grateful dead mid 60's still plays a lot of live music, and tours with multiple bands today.
What Fil is trying to explain about Autotune is that it can be set from 0%-100% with a human variation setting, and it can either be programmed for each song based on the key of the song or use the audio feed from a guitar or keyboard to match the key of the song. To me, it sounds like the Autotune is set to about 20-40% based on the song, so it doesn’t kick in until it notices that much variation from the key. Edit: Later in the video, it sounds like it’s set to a 100%.
Good comment. You seem to know a lot about auto-tune. Are you a sound technician or a musician that has access to these mics and technology? I'm hoping Fil can get an interview with someone that is an expert in the field of auto-tune capabilities and use in the studio and during a "live" performance.
@diamonddavemusic you don't even need to be a sound engineer or anything now, the most basic autotune software now has the humanise function which you can set to varying degrees, I got it on a free one, it's already that common.
I believe what the case is that people don’t want to hear that their favorite musical artist is miming or that their voice is going through something like auto tune and/or pitch correction. To be fair, yes, I’d feel disappointed if my favorite artists were doing this. But some people are ever so faithful to the point that they believe that their favorite artists walk on water. From Fil’s previous and current analyses on Taylor Swift, this is what I’m reading in the comments.
I'm a product design engineer by education, profession, and personality, so I completely agree with your technique of analysis of data. Human senses are SOOOOO easily fooled. One suggestion for future videos: You refer to the pitch grid lines and the data traces as (just) 'lines', which may confuse the less technical members of your audience. I suggest saying something like pitch grid lines (or just pitch lines) and vocal data traces (or just vocal traces) to make it clear which lines you are referring to. Keep up the good work! Respect!
Swift has 14 Grammy awards. In their life times Joplin and Hendrix combined have ... 0. So much for the Grammy holding any credibility or significance.
To be fair, Janis and Jimi had relatively short careers. Maybe their Grammys were just around the corner. But I'm pretty sure neither of them ever lip-synced.
It sounded mechanical to me, so I believe it was auto tuned. I saw the proof on the monitor, so how can anyone dispute it? Thank you, Fil, for another excellent analysis! Rock!
No reason to dispute it. She has never claimed to be performing live and unaltered. She just sells tickets and puts on a show, and sells them out, packing the venues, something she will continue to do.
It sounds like 1) there's some lipsyncing, such as on the faster songs where she's moving around and dancing, 2) there are some live vocals, such as on the acoustic and piano songs and maybe some others, and 3) she's using a live auto-tune/pitch correction software throughout the concert when she is singing live (and the prerecorded vocals are obviously pitch corrected in the studio). Maybe I'm getting too sympathetic, but I sort of expected it would be like that and I don't think it'll bother most actual Swift fans very much, but I'm sure it would bother some of them.
Same here. I think she's mostly celebrated for being a songwriter and performer, so however she chooses to showcase her songs live is her business, as long as the people buying the tickets know the truth. Almost all music is autotuned these days which is why I'm not crazy about any of it, none of it sounds raw or original.
@@lisandra5330 Yes, I agree that it's important they ticket purchases know the truth and it's likely that most of her fans would accept a certain % of lip-syncing each night because it allows for more dancing theatrics, etc., but the trick is how to disclose that without ruining the fun. But I think she's got a really great voice. Top notch. It's just that she's known more for her songwriting than say Celine Dion or Mariah Carey who are first and foremost vocalists.
I think you’re on the money. Except for some delusional crazies, this is exactly what everyone expected to varying degrees when it comes to the exact amount of live pitch correction used. I think the main issue with the first video Fil released was the accusation of a 100% sterile audio show straight from the can. That was a bit insulting to the Swifties, who know that there’s more individualism to the experiences they enjoyed. This video, however, is a much more level handed analysis, and I for one appreciate the integrity he showed by taking the time and digging a bit deeper, even if it might have seemed like a waste of time to him. I understand, that we ultimately might be looking for different things. But it’s 2024 and this isn’t a crazy weird thing to happen in the industry. she’s also a songwriter rather than a singer, and the whole phenomenon has never been about her vocal prowess. I think we’re good at this point. If Fil doesn’t like this standard, that’s cool, if some of his followers see that as cause to deride everything Swift stands for, whatever… But for the community around Taylor Swift, this is good enough, even if some of you don’t understand it. It’s fine. Live and let live. 🫶
@@alexanderlyonI like TS but she is just moderately good as a singer and nowhere near as gifted as Celine Dion, not even close. But she doesn't have to be, very few singers are that good.
Thank you for confirming what many of us have already knew for a long time. Auto-tune/miming is everywhere and 90% of mainstream artists are simply scamming people without remorse. On the other hand, 90% of average listeners have no idea they are being scammed or they don't give a f....
@@lucakat9262 But obviously, he has a real big issue w/ live vocal tuning, not just lip-syncing. Sure, I expect *some* live vocals at least at concerts, but live vocal tuning is fine by me. Singing is a lot about the pitch but not just about that. If Taylor Swift were that terrible, even Auto-Tune Live would not make her sound any good.
@@lucakat9262The hell if he doesn't. He breads his butter by tearing people down. He selectively chooses performances and he probably even tweaks the software to make it say what he wants it to say.
Same here, it's a whole new world to me. I'm in my 40's and since i was very young my musical love was essentially guitar based music. Whether rock and metal as a nipper, punk rock, indie rock etc. So the notion of not actually playing instruments live, or using auto-tune live, or pitch correcting vocals after the fact is foreign to me. As is the sentence that gets mentioned when a pop singer/songwriter is famous "AND... she writes her OWN SONGS!" to which my response is.... "And? Is that's what you're kinda supposed to do?" I dunno, it seems this lady has very little confidence in her own ability and her own material which probably explains why she wears next to nothing when she performs. That'll distract 'em!
Auto-tune has 'flex tune' and 'humanize' knobs. Humanize will allow you to slide between notes once you have hit the note initially. Not exactly sure what flex tune does, but it does make it sound more natural. Also can detect natural vibrato and let it through. Its pretty advanced these days.
As a touring singer( who gets paid only 350 euros per gig), I often sing 3 x 45 minute sets per show 6 nights per week and sometimes I’m required to do 2 shows per day , plus I dance in my show. All eyes are on me and my audience is right up close. There’s no room for faking it. No auto tune and no miming. After my show, audience members always come up to me and tell me I should be on the world stage and often they hug and thank me for a fantastic performance. I’m grateful to be able to sing to a high standard each time live and to be able to bring real joy for those moments. I’ve never wanted fame, just to be genuine with my audience and live without worrying about the roof over over my head. I only found this channel recently and it’s actually quite sad to know that so many singers on the world stage are actually mainly poor vocalists and mime artists. Thank you for the insight and knowledge.
@@pamrogers5979 hi. I didn’t stipulate any name of the ‘artists’ in my comment, I acknowledged and thanked the author of this channel for the insight and evidence of poor vocalists and mime artists in general. As a new subscriber and now watching many of his videos it’s interesting to see the tricks of the trade used in the industry which propel an ‘artist’ into stardom.
It's nice to know that there are still some singers who sing live for the love of music, and in order to give their audience a genuine and honest musical experience.
Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣 P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
I'm a Taylor fan but also been in the industry in one respect or another for over 40 years and I can tell you that using a voice track with or without auto tune is also very common for many of not most pop artists and touring bands today. And in way it's justified for Taylor especially for an artist that does a 200 minute concert vs the average concert length is 90 minutes (and most have vocal breaks such as drum or guitar solos etc so the vocalist can get a break). Any vocalist would thrash his/her voice in days with such a schedule. I think her voicetrack is justified and areas where auto tune is used is also justified. Just do the fans right by announcing on the video screen that "this concert my use a backing vocal and intrumental track in order to enhanse the concert experiance and ensure a consistant performance at every show" (or similar). Another great video...but nothing new...this is pretty common practice in today's day and age (even with classic rock bands that still tour like Def Leppard, Kiss etc). Rock On!
It’s the truth and facts though. Taylor does put on a great show but not a live singing performance. It’s basically a show/event. 3 hours 45 mins 3 nights on the bounce every week. It’s a backing track and auto tune no doubt. Although she does sing live but can get away with missing words & mistakes while dancing and running around . Nobody could do those shows like that live while dancing and singing live night after night for hours. The only live part every show is the acoustic sessions she calls it and that’s the part where Taylor plays 2 guitar songs & 2 on the piano. It’s the only part that is different each show also.✌️
Those that are using the ERA's Tour film as proof she can sing....sorry....Concert videos are all re-engineered and the sound is technically enhanced before release, so you are not getting original sound and vocals there either.
Lawyers can only come after him if he isn’t telling the truth . Last thing they want is opening a can of worms if she is actually miming. if he’s stating fact he is fine there is zero they can do if he is stating fact.
You kind of have a point . And if they tell him to stop it, I think he would if it were legal action. But so far RUclips hasn't said anything and no lawyers have sent letters
I don't think anyone is surprised, any more than they would be surprised that Elvis Presley's singing in movies was actually done in the recording studio mot on the movie set. They knew, and they all bought tickets, and no one asked for their money back.
@johnwest7993 Right, no question you know what you're getting with her. A very well packaged pop singer who won't be of any relevance 5 years from now.
She's not though? It's standard practice to use pitch correction for live performances these days. It's not breaking news, and she already receives a ton of scrutiny.
This makes sense. I was there last weekend for the last night in New Orleans. As a career guitar player and singer for the last 30 years (give or take), it was very apparent she wasn't miming the whole show. The acoustic/guitar/piano parts were clearly live ; that being said, she was VERY bang on ; it makes sense, as auto tune has come a long way over the last few years, and someone triggering it makes the most sense, as to Fil's points, she does improv and change things from night to night, so having that safety net of someone manually kicking in the auto tune when needed makes the most sense. I imagine when you have a BILLION dollar tour, they take NO chances. NO ONE is singing 3 nights in a row for 3 1/2 hours. I assumed it was common knowledge, but you make a good point. They want it to sound flawless, night in, night out. The only way for that to happen is what they are doing ; mime some, auto tune on command. You get some moments of her signing and talking (auto tune when someone deems is necessary), and mime the big set pieces. Thanks, fort the work you put into these videos.
Most concert goers do not care about "flawless, night in, night out". They want to hear singers sing LIVE, dancers dance LIVE, and theatre actors act LIVE. For millions of dollars, a person should be able to sing LIVE and then just be themselves. We don't need slick, phony, and massively produced entertainment.
To be honest, I think unfortunately many live performances have been pitch corrected to be released on YT and elsewhere. I wonder if they're doing this to big bands like Metallica, for example. I didn't find any recent analysis video on them, so I'll request it to Fil! 😅
As far as I know, Bruce sings the entire 3 or 4 hours of his concerts, and if he can't do it he stops the entire tour until he can. I'm no fan of his politics or ticket prices but he has a lot of good songs and some I don't care about. All of the concerts I've seen recordings from show him singing all the same songs differently, as is all any human can do at best. So I detect no miming. Are they pitch corrected or auto-tuned? They don't sound that way to me but maybe Fil could run a check and let us know for sure.
Today I watched a video taped, live Linda Ronstadt concert taped in California in 1980. There was just a singer, a band and a small stage. It was an awesome concert in every way. Linda is a highly talented songstress of the highest order. Also, she is a gorgeous lady, both inside and out. What was missing was a stage the size of a football field, a cable zip line, a catapult, scores of backup singers and dancers, numerous wardrobe changes, pyrotechnics, auto tune and miming. I don't begrudge Taylor Swift's success, This is America and she can rise as high as her success elevates her. However, if she tried holding an audience's attention the same way Linda did, by just singing, she would not have reached the heights she has attained. Taylor's voice lacks emotion and pitch so she uses other means to hold the audience's attention.
Hard working musicians are going to be fuming about this, I can totally understand why Dave spoke up. This is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. The highest earning tour ever was mimed...
Hmmm. Fil has some bad news for you. If it’s on RUclips (particularly if it’s on the official RUclips channel of the respective artist), there’s absolutely no guarantee it hasn’t been digitally pitch corrected. See 70s “live” concert performances of Fleetwood Mac and Eagles as just two examples that Fil has analysed.
I've come to the conclusion that this is what the fans want-a generic pop celebrity, essentially the McDonald's of music. You won’t convince these people that she’s lip-syncing because her A&R team knows the fans of this music aren’t looking for authenticity. If she speaks to the crowd, they’ll believe she’s singing live. This is detrimental to all the artists who can actually perform a three-hour live show. Many genuinely talented singers can’t even afford to eat or pay rent
@@Humm-0-0 so true . Taylor Swift was bought and paid for then sold again . Swifties don't like the truth . Her daddy shelled out big bucks for her to have an audience .
@@mayganphynix8267 Britney Spears was doing similar things at the height of her career. It was obvious because no-one could move like that on stage and perform the vocal lines without impact. People like the big shows with the lights, visual effects, athletic dance moves, and figure-hugging costumes. The real problem comes when young, talented, performers have the expectation of matching this kind of precision. It's no different to girls expecting their bodies to resemble supermodels, especially when they're relying on photographs which have been touched up, or strategically applied makeup, to eliminate 'flaws'. I think talent is appreciated by 'the general public' but the entertainment industry just cares about profit. Factor in the way people associate outside of work and home environments and you have a gradual collapse of the lowest tiers where talent could be developed.
A great video as always Fil. Like you I can quite easily hear if auto tuned. An amusing story about my late grandfather who was 'tone deaf'. He only knew two tunes, one was the National Anthem and one wasn't. He could tell the difference as of course everyone stood up for the National Anthem !
What you're hearing on the sustained autotuned note is phase shifting as the processor stretches or compacts the waveform in order to place the zero crossings on the corrected points in time. Especially where there is reverb or delay, this phasing becomes apparent. It is the sound of autotune.
Most of the "phasey" sound, though, comes from the software that separates the vocals from the other sounds. The exact same record played in two different rooms would give different results; live recordings are particularly taxing on the software because of the crowd singing along.
@@TheAntibozo "Perhaps"? Do you know or do you "think"? Because I know. It's not like I'm using Fisher-Price tools for my job, and even the pro standard for stem separation leaves artifacts (and that "phasey" sound), moreso if there are more voices or a crowd.
Well, I am, as none of it surprises me. As for her fans, I imagine they will be split between those who say they already knew this and it's irrelevant, to those who will send you angry messages, and some will manage to be both. As I've said before, fans who are that invested in believing it's all live are not viewing Taylor Swift through any kind of objective lens, to put it mildly.
I agree. A friend of mine told me about several rock concerts she had recently attended, and I told her that I no longer want to pay top dollar to see a "performer" mime to backing tracks, and she told me the shows she went to were all live singing and playing. I suggested she watch this channel, but I didn't have the heart to tell her the bands were likely not playing or singing live at all. At least not to all of the songs, but maybe some of the songs. It all feels like a huge scam to me.
@@carol127v yes, by definition they're "fanatics". I'm not talking about that. I'm referring to fans who refuse to acknowledge that their artist is a fake and they're willfully ignorant about it, meaning they know it's true but they will never acknowledge it no matter what.
Thanks Fil - I was wondering if I was imagining this "processing" sound. So many songs nowadays have it sadly. It would be great if you could point us to some singers today who don't sing with this sound.
I’ve enjoyed Taylor’s music for a long time. I have also suspected for a long time that she was not singing everything live. I haven’t seen her concerts, but the social media videos were inescapable last year, and I watched the Era’s Tour concert movie on Disney+. Anyway, thanks for sharing this interesting analysis showing how some parts can be live and some mimed, with both using Autotune. I really wasn’t sure just how it all could work. The show is obviously a technological marvel, but knowing more about how the vocals are consistently manipulated makes me no longer feel disappointed that I didn’t get to see it myself.
Actually official tour recordings aren't a good judge because the vocal always has post production. The best videos to discern whether something is live, is from fan footage.
@ Hmmm… I didn’t think I was suggesting that in my comment, but I can see how it came off that way. I think I was just trying to show that you can enjoy Taylor Swift’s music and even the Eras Tour but not be delusional about whether or not she’s performing it fully live.
I've been watching you a long time and one thing I know for sure is that you would not misrepresent or fabricate any of your analysis. If there's one thing you know is music inside and out and a great musician yourself and I trust your opinion 100%.
Hopefully Mina will watch and understand what FIL does. He's just honest, no matter what group/vocalist he does an analysis on. She seemed quite angry yesterday! I wonder what the ticket prices are for the chance to watch her dance? LOL!!!
@@nobodygnomes she was commenting a lot on the chat yesterday. In one comment she was expecting FIL to address her frustrations on the spot, so I "told" her that if she wanted him to definitely see her question, she'd need to send it in like everybody else. And he actually DID because somebody let him know she was in the chat. So he went through her long list of questions.
Hopefully, there will come a time when artists will display on their albums that no autotune/pitch correction has been used, and this will be a selling point to their credibility. Much in the same way as Queen declared no computers on their Sheer Heart Attack album. Tbh, many artists really don't need these fx.
This must have taken a lot of time to put together. Thanks for making this video in response to TS fans. Sadly, the audience is not getting to hear her voice. They are hearing the output of a calibrated computer program, autotune, instead of her own voice. Some songs are mimed and some are not, but the processed sound is always present. Fans are enjoying the show however, and are conditioned to this sound, so it seems like her natural vocal to them.
If Taylor Swift did a tour with just a small like 6 piece band and everything was old school live, I think her fans would love it, AND she would get even more fans . And I know she has the talent to do it.
@@marksmusic1972 then why doesn't she? Id be willing to pay pretty good money to sit in the nosebleed section of this, and I'm usually a "close to front, or not at all" person when it comes to concerts. I love how she plays instruments during her shows and she's a good writer. I just hate how she does her live shows.
she does not have the talnet, already did that before and she was not that great. Without these tricks and schemes she would never make so much money. it is all about the money sadly.
Omg I would love it if you did multiple recordings of the high note in Don't Blame Me...I want to see if that gets autotune manually turned off. That's the part where most of the crowd shuts up because they want a good video of her singing it. And she was slightly off pitch for that at the show I went to. Ngl I don't even mind the autotune and the miming for certain parts of the show but if that one was like that I would be mad as a fan. I was actually wondering how her voice is not ruined by now and I haven't seen anyone ask her anything about that or her talk about it whatsoever and what she does to keep it healthy. I think it's smart to use some tech to conserve it because she's not known for her singing live as for example Mariah Carey or Celine Dion. I would come to their shows for different reasons.
For what it is worth: This is all supposed to be (and is) scientifically repeatable. _Anyone_ can obtain the same vocal pitch monitoring software and perform an analysis to see how well snapped the vocal lines are to the pitch scale lines. And it would actually be a good thing if lots of people did this, and all came to the same conclusions. The software is in the Google Play Store. Have a go!
Am confused by why this is such a big thing , if you have ever seen her in earlier years you know despite her lyrical and songwriting talents her live voice is average to at the most good. When she would do duets with the older stars of their big hits on talk shows etc the difference between even an old star mostly past their primes voice and hers live was stark.
I found you by accident and am hooked. I have always wandered how "PERFORMERS" can sing and move the way they do on stage without being out of breath. I now know thanks to Fil. And now I know that my hearing is going downhill!! I really find it difficult that the artist I grew up listening to don't realize that this is being done. My husband doesn't notice a difference, and I wander if it is because I used to play piano when I was younger.
A NOTE ABOUT AUTOTUNE: AutoTune HAS HAD (for YEARS) the ability to: 1. Correct to a particular KEY -- you can even create a custom scale (or just use default chromatic scale) 2. Correct to a particular PERCENTAGE (i.e., it doesn't HAVE TO snap to the exact pitch. When set at 50% for example, it will snap to halfway between the actual pitch and the exact pitch). Using less than 100% correction (along with slowing the correction speed) goes a long way to making it more natural sounding. 3. Adjust the correction/reaction SPEED -- so that it doesn't have to snap to pitch INSTANTLY (the Cher "Believe" effect) but can slide over a few milliseconds up or down to pitch. The reason AT has "come such a long way" is that more and more FOH engineers are actually taking the time to ADJUST these parameters for the most natural-sounding result, whereas many in the past would just pull up a preset and go. I've heard AT done REALLY WELL even decades ago. But more often, I've heard just the lazy set-it-and-go mechanical-sounding version 'cuz "optimizing the AutoTune" is a low priority compared to the hundred other things a mix engineer has to worry about.
Another important detail that might not be apparent to most people is that you can also automate any effect. So you could have passages where the autotune effect is inactive, and then have it automatically start at a certain point of a song. You could even have several different auto tuners with different settings activate and deactivate completely automatically during a performance.
That is true. And also resources. For someone with the kind of resources like Taylor, she could afford the top engineers with personalized customization of the AT on her performances.
Music production has only asked if it can be fixed, but not should it be fixed. I think fans would be happy with the imperfections. When I was a child in the 70's, fans would always talk about what imperfections and differences they would notice between what they saw live and records that people listened to at home. Production believes that fans expect perfect consistency.
1st. If it's too difficult for you to sing and dance at the same time, don't dance. Or do simpler dance moves and have the backup dancers do the gymnastics. 2. I know singers who have done true live shows for a week straight (2.5 hr set) at my local theatre, so it is possible for some singers to do this multiple days in a row. However, vocal rest is important and will make the performance better. Therefore, you should book the concerts so they are more spread out. Do not book back to back gigs, especially if the set is 3 hrs. Do a couple shows per week for the first half, then take a few weeks off before you continue the remainder of the tour. You'd think this was common sense but I guess they're too cheap and greedy.
Sure, book a huge stadium for millions of dollars per day but let’s just skip some days between shows while she’s resting her voice. This would cause ticket prices to soar even further as the 190+ shows are already sold out multiple times. Fewer fans would see her and only the super wealthy would be able to afford a ticket. Realistically, what TS is doing is not a bad compromise between providing good entertainment for as many fans as possible.
@@TomoBystedt A top level show such as this is pulling in millions per night for Taylor Swift (and other equally famous performers). Even with the outgoings she will make a fortune. Her management would hate it but maybe she should say she is happy to clear "just" 1 million per show instead of 10 million!
Regarding your first point, the silly thing is she doesn't even dance much. she is a terrible dancer and mostly walks around and shakes her hips a few times. And there are performers who do a lot of dancing and live singing but they also prepare their bodies heavily for that task. I've heard one basic training tip is to practive singing your songs while running so your lungs can get used to the higher demand on them. Same thing with the vocal rest as you mentionned. Some opera singers avoid even talking in between shows and closely regulate the humidity of the air around them for instance. The thing is all that is very very demading. It requires a high level of commitment to the craft and a lot of discipline. The problem is tho, pop stars don't have that kind of commitment to singing or discipline. They want all the rewards of pulling off such performances without any of the work. and it bothers me because rather than bringing the sound guy on stage and thanking them because they're the ones truly responsible for all that you got to hear during the concert, they lie by omission (and sometimes directly to you face like Taylor and her band have done in the past, smuggly proclaiming all to be live) which creates false standards for their personal ability but also for what live singing is supposed to sound like. As a result, people who truly put in the work don't get recognize but also the public stops being able to recognize what live vocals sound like and are much harsher on people for breathing or cracking. People are more and more vicious to singers who don't sound like the heavily processed studio version bc of that and it's wild. You put in all the work to be great and get called untalented bc of poeple who mime or rely on undisclosed technology creating an unacheivable standard. It's like how i see teenage girls who are disgusted by the pores on their own skin or makeup on their faces having texture because all they see on social media is so filtered that they believe pores and texture are an issue that need fixing.
@@thegood9 you’re right. My daughter watches streams from virtually every night of the tour and she can tell you exactly when she is going to wink , pause, what she’s going to say between songs . Every night is the exact same.
You can prove it soooooo easily. There are countless videos of errors happening that prove she’s singing live. Literally 2 days ago, her IEM pack died. While they were changing it, she goes off pitch, off beat, and adlibs a whole run that’s not normally there. Yes, she has a backing track. But she also has a phenomenal live band, 4 incredible backing vocalists, and yes. Her own live vocals.
Is it even about the sound quality of the music when it’s thousands of fans singing along to every word at the top of their voices? Sounds more like worship than appreciation.
16:00 The note getting snapped a half-step high and then re-snapped to the right pitch: Nobody could "not hear" the autotune there! :) So disappointing. :(
I would assume that any of these pop performers that move around a lot during a show have their live mike turned down to like 30 percent and their backing tracks turned up. So, they are singing live but also to a backing track.
To avoid autotune 'snaps' they could be programming with certain tolerance and low sensitivity to 'capture' the sound and correct it. That's why it doesn't always catches the sound to make a correction.
Yeah, and there have been quite a few mishaps happened at the eras tour. Swifties like to call them the errors tour. There are video compilations on here of lol those moments on the Eras tour
It's great. I saw the classic Deep Purple and Gillan and Blackmore were having arguments over Ian treading into Ritchie's territory and then Jon Lord collapse from drink/drugs and had to be lifted off the stage by roadies. It was chaos. It was totallly live and it was great. I was outside and there were 5 cars, one for each member. So clearly not happy campers. I did manage to speak to Ian Paice the drummer and he said SNAFU, and got into his limo.
Great video! I’m a huge Swiftie and this is basically what I assumed. 😂 Taylor’s strength has never been her voice even thought she’s gotten a lot better over the years. Maybe I’d be more annoyed if it were a purported vocalist pulling this stuff, but honestly Taylor is doing is a service by letting us rock without her shaky vocals distracting from the spectacle.
So you’re okay listening to someone who isn’t what they present them self to be? 🤔 You’re basically being scammed but that’s ok? I have listened to some truly genuine talented singers over the years and their voices have literally moved me. To this day I’m stunned at how popular Swift is.
I guess the point is I’m not under the impression that Taylor is an exceptional vocal talent. If it turned out she didn’t write her own songs I’d be upset, but vocal delivery isn’t what I find compelling about her. Now the same tricks by someone who is purported to be a vocal master would bother me, but Taylor’s show is more about the spectacle and getting to scream the songs you love with other people who also love them. Maybe I’d feel differently if it were a purely acoustic show in a smaller venue.
I can just imagine a team of 5 guys backstage on laptops trying to create or manage Taylor's "voice" in real time for 3 hours straight. What a job. I'm sure everyone is required to sign nondisclosure agreements. Is this what music has come to?
I worked with a famous rock singer years ago and had to sign a NDA. A few months ago I was commenting on another channel about his voice and got an email from them. I was so surprised after all this time and had to delete my comment.
I guarantee there are not 5 guys backstage using laptops to manage her voice ... it will be 90% automated and there will be one person who can switch it in and out in case of unplanned "emergencies".
She is the product of persona building through modern social media.... She started out as a pretty teenage girl who sang about The breakups with her boyfriends..... Her producer capitalized on her beauty and was smart enough to get her the hottest songwriting hired guns in Nashville...... For those who don't know how the music business works..... This is exactly how it works.... In fact, It is quite rare to actually have an artist right their own song, and rarer still to even write part of a song That actually makes it through the mastering. It's what radio A&r guys used to call middle of the road music.... It has to be just good enough that you don't change the radio station.... Which is after all what her music amounts to.
So for a typical Taylor Swift show on this tour: 1. What number of her songs did she actually sing live (how many were with auto tune and how many without)? 2. What number of her songs did she mime/lip-sync to?
@12:00 she isnt singing live... you cant land every note on the same 1/100th in two performances no matter how much you practice. They just input the recorded audio thru the auto-tuner...
I'm really okay with an artist doing this. The question is, 'was I not entertained?' I learned to sing these songs by singing along with the originals. I felt wonderfully in sync with another 92,000 people, all (vaguely) hitting the same notes, with something processed to help us sing along. Even with auto-tune, this still felt like a wonderfully live concert. I'd rather have a crowd all having a (processed) target note to aspire to and sometimes reach, rather than have them trying to match something that isn't expected. In this case, good for Taylor for considering her audience. We weren't there for her, we were there for ourselves to express us. ^_^
Okay that was just weird. You’re supposed to go to a concert to see the artist perform live. It’s a live concert so it should be performed live. That’s what the whole experience is supposed to be. What a total let down if all she’s doing is awkward dancing and hip shaking while miming along to a recorded track. Save me the hundreds of dollars and I’ll just play a cd instead. 🤦🏻♀️
You should do a video comparing 2 performances by an artist who is actually singing. That would help your audience understand how much difference there should actually be.
Yes. Do Band Maid
I think the video Fil posted on 30 Oct-DOUBTERS - You HAVE to watch THIS video-goes along the lines of what you have in mind.
I suspect that this information is far too complicated for their minds.
Do Queen. They could sing. All of them.
@@jdhlsc169 they keep their throats well lubed
It's far far easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they've been fooled.
Keep up the good work Fil.
👍😎
That goes both ways.
Saying Swift is trying to fool her fans is like saying Johnny Depp is trying to fool people into believing he is actually Captain Jack Sparrow.
Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣
P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
@@johnwest7993umm no
Maybe you are the one getting fooled. Fil is doing it for RUclips views and hatred towards Taylor Swift. Why would he mention about her wealth when you are talking about her music?
I wonder how Taylor Swift would feel if everybody in the crowd, instead of cheering and clapping, just stood there and played a recording from their phones of them cheering and clapping ? LOL.
😅
lol you made me giggle!
I don’t know whether to laugh or be concerned that I could imagine a concert crowd doing that
as long as she gets her millions she'll be alright 😉
@@rodrigofonseca6241 Yes, that's the important part. 🤣
Of course I can't find it anymore, but there was a clip online of Taylor alerting security because of a fan fainting or getting otherwise unwell, and in that clip you can hear the autotune over her talking. Although some people were commenting that Taylor was skillfully weaving this message into her singing, lol.
wish I could see it that’s brutal
At one of her concerts I could not hear Taylor singing because the audience was louder than her, singing every word she sang, it was unbelievable to experience the power of 12,000 voices!
@@WhotheHellknowsAnywayeven better when it's closer to 100,000 people. Has Taylor ever performed at a concert with that many people before?
@@mayganphynix8267 yes, at the MCG here in Melbourne she got as close to that, ~89,000 I think, as it'll ever be possible with that kind of monster stage setup
@@SongwritingDeconstructed MJs biggest concert was 120,000 people apparently. He drew so many people, that he just held concerts in a huge field. I miss that guy. No one will ever be as big or as talented as him.
As a sound engineer, I often kill the fx at the end of the song when the singer wants to address the audience, then flip it back on when they start singing. Same thing can be done with autotune which is effectively, another fx being applied to the vocal channel. So, yes, you are right. The engineer can turn it off on cue because speaking with autotune would be weird 😄
I don't regard autotune as an effect, an effect adds something to a performance while autotuine changes the performance. Reverb, for example, is an effect but autotune is a cheat.
@@davidwells184 I agree that autotune is a cheat, but it still alters the audio content like reverb or compression. How it alters the audio doesn't matter, whether adding something like space as in reverb, or changing the pitch as in autotune. I think we are just being picky here. Any modification to the original audio is an effect. Basically, they are all plugins of some sort.
I believe what is happening is Fil is looking at a compressed audio signal that gives the same affect as auto-tune. It's a new codec for saving space on your device and transmission. It focuses on the human speaking voice but when used on singing voices it creates these long drawn out tones.
@@davidroach1567But compression as you described wouldn't allow every note to align perfectly night after night. Even playing to click track to get an exact tempo, there would be variances in vocal phrasing, breath control, plosives, late entries and early exits on some lines.
Fil's analysis shows cookie-cutter precision that's impossible to produce naturally even if the best singer ever were to sing the song 10 times in a row.
@@davidroach1567 More or less like a sustain pedal?
The people who say they can't hear autotune/pitch correction probably can hear it, but they have no idea it's not a natural sound. They may well have heard very little in the way of natural voices singing.
Ironically Most people think that Synthesized Pianos, Hammond Organs and Brass is what these things actually sound like. Same with Drums Most people think a Drum Machine is real drums.
Your last line is it. This has been going on for so long, there are adults in their 20's and maybe even 30's that grew up with the "robot voices" (as I call them) and have no idea. I stopped listening to radio completely in the '90's because my ears can't take the robot.
Good point!
*Many of her fans have grown up hearing nothing but auto-tuned vocals in pop music.*
*There's a good chance they know (consciously or unconsciously) her voice ia enhanced.*
*That being said, they'll still pay hundreds (if not thousands) to see her in real life.*
@@Lamster66😂😂Hammond organs. Too true
Fil.. the reason some of those short notes slip past the tuner is because theyve set a slow retune speed (attack)... this removes the T pain effect and makes it sound more natural. The problem is that on some of her very short words/notes, they occur before the retune speed actually tunes the note.
For example, you set the retune speed to 250 ms, this will create a natural sounding tuned sound (you observed this when you saw how at the start of some notes, shes out of tune but then snaps into tune)... but if you have a single stacatto word that comes out around 250ms long... then the tuner doesnt actually have time to retune the input to the pitch its aiming at
Thank you for adding info. Autotune used to be extremely obvious in the 2000s; now no wonder people are being fooled.
Good comment. You seem to know a lot about auto-tune. Are you a sound technician or a musician that has access to these mics and technology? I'm hoping Fil can get an interview with someone that is an expert in the field of auto-tune capabilities and use in the studio and during a "live" performance.
@@diamonddavemusic It's not like Autotune is a military secret or anything. Its capabilities are well known - and mostly obvious. You can set attack time, intervention range and a bunch of other parameters; the output can be very subtle (like, slowly correcting notes which are over 50 cents off) all the way to "T-Pain" (who doesn't use "autotune", it's a vocoder). Like you can use a subtle reverb/slap delay to mimic a live recording or a different room, or as an over-the-top effect to sound like you're singing in the Grand Canyon.
I only used the first (Antares) AutoTune plugin around 2000, but most current voice effect boxes offer some kind of real-time correction, often with a randomized level of intervention to make the output sound more natural.
@diamonddavemusic i am a studio mix engineer and post production engineer for film and television. While I'm not a live sound engineer per se, I have done quite a bit of FOH mixing for musical artists over the last 15 years. We started with Antares AVP-1 and Antares ATR hardware units, and now everything is plugins over a Dante network, usually something like Waves Tune. Long story short, everybody and their grandma uses live pitch correction these days and it's very subtle.
It takes a good ear and digital analysis like good sir Fil is providing to pull back the curtain.
Interesting info. Thanks for sharing
My problem with Taylor Swift she is the biggest artist in the industry today, why just take a stand use no autotune and perform everything live. She can be the difference in the industry, but instead she's setting the tread for the modern music industry based on false perfection. I am also not buying that "she needs to rest her voice" most of her songs are in one octave, maybe one or two high notes here and there, but if that's a problem just lower the key. Artists back then were singing two-three octaves night after night, they just did it live. Anyways, excellent analysis video!
She’s the biggest because she’s played the game the best. Why would she want to change the game?
Because she can't??
Because then no one would want to see her live (or at all)??
Maybe because she CAN'T perform and sound great w/o autontune.. at what point is she just mouthing the the words to a song.. what is GENUINE TALENT, and what's Memorex.. Taylor Swift is the Memorex Queen !!!
@@carlmayer691 not sure how that’s a reply to my post sorry.
If she could really sing...
The proof is in the objective analysis. Fil is an honest and respectful music analyst. Just proving the truth. Good job Fil. They asked, they got. 👍🏻
I watched Taylor Swift live around 2009 when she was doing country music. I remember her show being good, but her singing was not good. I don't think she was using auto tune or pitch correction then.
Her voice has improved of course but it is worth noting that some of her songs are whiny because when you are young and trying to hold it togeher your voice does that thin whiny tightly stretched thing and some of the melodies are that 'whine' which sounds 'bad' but is actually quite clever. When you play her arrangements on the piano you can hear it - and things like I can't breahe (that F note is suffocated) - she's a great songwrier and singer - not a big bang voice, but highly nuanced - and a great singer.
I saw a video from years ago where she was singing a song (maybe the Beatles) acapella and she was so out of tune and out of sync. I could sing better than her and I am a terrible singer. I haven't been able to find that video anymore. I just think she is a creation of the industry.
On the other hand, what amazes me is seeing someone like Paul McCartney doing a talk show and just singing a few lines of a song just sitting in the interviewee's chair. His voice is so excellent that it sounds like it came out of a recording studio.
I'm not a swifty but I came a cross a video of hers singing live and it is really good. Search " Taylor Swift Out of the Woods Live at the Grammy Museum". She wrote that, sings and plays the piano, and it is a beautiful. I think if she doesn't have to sing and dance around in a huge stadium she can be good. She is a great song writer for sure.
@@nancyneyedly4587that video uses autotune in the post editing
@@nancyneyedly4587 she doesn’t have to do any dancing. If people love her voice then that’s what they want to hear. She’s not even a great dancer anyway. She doesn’t solely write all her music either.
And to think people criticize McCartneys voice but I give the man great credit for not miming or using autotune!
True artist!
I love his voice!
Exactly. I would much prefer a genuine live voice with imperfections than a “perfect” auto tuned performance.
He can probably play a song in a lower key if necessary......
Yes, Mr. Croakey is to be admired for giving us the honest goods. Love Paul, and would always rather have his voice as-is, even if it is not what it used to be (age and smoking put paid to that).
And let's not even talk about Bob Dylan.
I've been very skeptical about how many actors now suddenly have amazing singing voices. Well, my goodness! Who wouldn't?
Thank you for following up with more data when we all asked for it and patiently presenting it!
I hope all your videos popularize a trend back towards organic real music. My wife and I go to many live concerts a year that are not auto tuned, usually smaller venues featuring jazz, blues, singer-songwriter, folk, bluegrass etc. Hearing a truly genuine unprocessed human voice is such an emotional experience at times, something we live for. Sadly I couldn't believe my ears, we saw a show at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and they were using live auto tune. I thought folk music was sacred but it was clearly being done (no analysis needed, my ears can hear it).
You can't get any more unprocessed than true a cappella. Check out some international champion barbershop quartet performances, I bet you'll love them!
Yeah like I don't think we'll ever get to the point again or we're rooting auto-tune or similar software tricks and mining for that matter out of popular music. But I hope at least encourages a counter movement of more and more live pop acts. Well rock too I obviously should specify as even a lot of them are now relying more and more on this stuff
I hope so too.
I've never seen a live autotuned or mimed performance as, like you, we tend to see a lot of jazz, blues, folk as well as classical, choral music and independent pop in smaller/very small venues where this just isn't done, and often there are no mics and tech involved at all.
Hearing a local folk singer a capella at a free folk event in a local church (no accompaniment and no amplification) was one of the most moving performances I've ever seen. For me that's what music is about; creating an emotional connection.
All of this further convinces me I don't ever need to see a mainstream artist perform!
It's sad that you found autotune being used in folk; it just isn't what it's about at all!
Yes I know good local musicians, in my area there is gypsy swing played by the actual gipsies themselves who are taught from their family and it's one million times better than going to a robot voice concert
Unfortunatly the trend is to continue this robot voice. And with AI improvements it will be even harder to notice. I mean this has been exposed now with these videos but without this knowledge....I mean, she fooled me for sure and many others. How could we know without an in depth analysis? it is so well masked and with a pro team behind, anyone could be a pop singer?
If she's faking her performance, can I just buy tickets with Monopoly money then? Or does the money still have to be real?
🤣
Good one.😂😂
Guess you could probably get by with just drawing a ticket? Make it nice though, they like nice.
The thing is, she's an entertainer, and she's entertaining. I don't think her fans will care 1 way or the other. People bought tickets to see Elvis Presley movies, when he couldn't act, and his singing was right from a studio recording booth, and they knew it. But they still bought tickets to the show because it was Elvis Presley. This is Taylor Swift. She will pack her shows, entertain her fans, make a lot of money, then do it again next week. And no one will leave her shows feeling like they were ripped off.
@@johnwest7993 Unfortunately today people are happy with all things fake.
This has been a particularly tough few days for the Swifties.
We will see in the long run. This isn’t going how yall think it will
Yeah swifties need to pull their heads out of their asses and wake up @shortycb2349
🤣😂🤣
You bitter morons are arguing with 14 year olds 😂😂😂
@@shortycb2349
Many more...🤣🤣🤣
EVEN Freddie Mercury's vocals were pitch corrected on the new remaster of Queen 1...... shameful, as they were perfectly imperfect originally.
Yes, even Michael Bublé has his voice atutotuned on his records, and his pitch is almost perfect
And that's an absolute CRIME!
exactly. It's an industry standard, now.
I remember listening to The Night Comes Down when I first bought the album in the 80s when I first became a fan. I thought his vocals were painfully (not just slightly) out of tune at the time. So actually they did need a fix. The trouble is, they went too far and 'over fixed' everything all over the shop where it wasn't necessary.
I’m sticking with my old albums.
I'm old enough to remember the Milli Vanilli fiasco and its dramatic effect on live performances. In the 80s, before MV, it was not uncommon for performers to lip sync when doing "live" TV performances or concerts. Almost immediately after MV, no performer would be caught dead lipsyncing a performance. Everyone was hyperaware and hypersensitive about it. But as time passed and the impact of MV faded, performers gradually began lipsyncing again. Maybe videos like these can encourage performers to get back to live performances.
Tragic
At least they had audio quality issues to use as an excuse back then. Nowadays its just blatant cheating.
The two Pavarotti scandals were deemed just as bad. One scandal was his voice cracked on one note and people wanted their money back and the second he was lipsyncing at shows that cost about $850 per ticket in the 1980s.
I think one key difference here is that Milli Vanilli also did not sing on the albums.
They were very different though.
It was never their voices.
It was a session guy, who sang the songs on the album, and I think they just used the actual studio tracks, for live shows.
It was when they were asked, snd could barely speak English, and they couldn’t sing either.
It was a total con, that someone came up with, that got them Grammies, and sold millions of albums, doing.
One of them wouldn’t admit it for a long time, even after it was all exposed and folks had admitted to it.
Thanks!
Why didn't you ...
Just tell Taylor Swift fans that the results show that there is miming in her shows, and they need to deal with it. I think what's far more concerning are the fans who attend her shows AND CAN'T REMEMBER ANY OF IT.
My big concern is when studios start pitch-correcting old studio albums. I know they are starting to do it to old live performances, and i'm just dreading the day they start doing it to old studio albums, too. Can you imagine a pitch-corrected Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, or Born to Run?
Remixes of older albums have been going on since probably the 1990s. I'm sure that is part of the process.
Fil did a video on that.
I asked Fil about this very thing on Patreon. He said that a simple remaster doesn’t imply autotune, etc. however, he also said in another video that they are indeed ‘fixing’ recordings by the likes of Freddie mercury (seriously….probably Ken Tamperin’s idea to fix Freddie’s flaws).
Ship already sailed, sorry
I'm genuinely afraid to check if they pitch corrected Ann Wilson and Geoff Tate.
I think lots of people can't tell when vocals are autotuned simply because it is so common it has become the sound of modern pop vocals. I used to really notice it when it started but now I find I really can't tell anymore apart from the really obvious corrections, it has just become what I'm used to hearing now.
Yep. And people who sing without it and are incredibly talented now sound awful to people 😢
Even old performers like Cher seem hyper auto tuned.
I wonder if Sinatra used this? how early?
We who are owners of multiple DVDs with various renditions want to know!
@@sandifireson7114 Autotune was not around at all during the Sinatra era. It has been around in earlier clunky formats since the 1970s (Eventide Harmonizer) but not used much. Autotune as we know it was released in 1996 (or 1997?) and Cher’s production team made it known as a tool when they released Believe (1998) and they created this robotic sound. Cyndi Lauper is not autotuned or pitch corrected. There are some hold outs… thankfully… but probably no one from the newer generation of singers 😔 Also… autotune and pitch correction software are a bit different. Autotune is real time pitch correction whereas if you are recording an album, producers will usually use a pitch correction software to adjust things after the recording. Even “live” performances are often pitch corrected and then released so what we think is the live sound is not. And sadly, old recordings like Frank Sinatra songs are often pitch corrected and that is what we hear as an official version of the song now. It’s an absolute abomination.
We have the radio on in the shop where I work and to me and the other "oldies" can clearly hear autotune and the robotic vocals are clear but for some reason the younger people cannot hear it. It hurts my ears.
@@Laura-rp2kiThese are great points. I loved the early informal recordings of Sierra Ferrell widely available on youtube. Amazing old-timey voice. I have been oddly dissatisfied with the sterility of her voice on her albums. Now I know what is happening.
I am a Taylor Swift fan. I would prefer imperfections on the live songs than to be paying to hear auto tune. It is still an enjoyable concert and I really enjoyed it but this is disappointing
It's not a concert if you aren't singing. It's an act - mime show
I understand.. but she's not just singing she is also entertaining.. she is running around on stage.. she is dancing.. she's playing an instrument.. she's connecting with the crowd.. she has to keep her hair and makeup looking good... sweating and dehydrating...etc. Janet Jackson runs on a treadmill and sings at the same time just to practice' singing live on stage and dancing... cos it's that exhausting.. the performance would look terrible if was singing live . for 2 hours...😮.. hope that helps you understand things a bit better
to Taylor Swift fan: I enjoyed your nuanced response. Thank you. It's also true, it's time to differentiate between 'concert' and 'performance'.
@@thill4854 Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣
P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
@@kathrynB261 Again, did you go to Taylor’s concert? NO! All you know is just making up stories by using trash videos from a FLOP RUclipsr who uses Taylor’s name for some clout! There are so many Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour Reviews on The Internet including on RUclips which gave The Eras Tour best reviews from musicians, music critics, journalists, concertgoers, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Billie Joe Amstrong, etc.
These videos are an absolute education , great stuff
Tyvm for the longer, time-consuming video on such a major world-wide musical artist as Taylor Swift! Even though I’m an amateur old grandpa singer/songwriter, this confirms what my ears are hearing. But it doesn’t upset me because some highly ambitious people will use any technology to sound “better”, whereas others couldn’t do it in good conscience.
Keep up the excellent work!
I can imagine that using automation must be lifeless. What you get out of your own live performance is very rewarding. As a musician, I only go to see LIVE talent. ( therefore, Ill probably never be at another arena concert )
@ Maybe checking live concert videos on RUclips before attending? I’ve seen Tool live a couple of times with my son (he’s a big fan but I enjoy them, too).
The problem is that concerts are not about the MUSIC anymore. Fans will pay tons of cash to see visual effects, coreographed dancers, lasers, projectors, and a pretty face. The music itself is just not important.
True and it's also about the occultism and rituals. Young kids saying they feel possessed during a concert is not normal. 😢
She needs to work on the face part
Our culture, our government, our people.... We are all about images and words, propaganda and lies, FAKE. One day that will catch up with us.
Millions of fans treating her like she’s a goddess is mainly because parents fail to emphasize to their kids what’s truly important in life. The draw of people made famous by popular culture is an empty pursuit which will soon be forgotten. TS is a phenomenon, but not for the long haul. Of course she doesn’t care. She’s raking in the money that foolish people spend on low talented, pretty faces who know how to put on a show. Don’t know the average age of concert attendees, but I would guess it’s very young. In many, maybe most, cases, moms and dads are paying for the tickets. She’s destined to flame out sooner or later, but being a billionaire, again, she doesn’t care.
Yes and I'd add that a big part of it is wanting to be in the same "room" as the artist because they worship the artist
I don't want to be aggressive, but u know, that it will sound processed, because u are playing one stem, which is isolated, but part of the stem is in other instruments so it sounds robotic.
This is the most I've ever listened to TS watching this video....that was enough for me.
Yep
HaHa, me too.
Ive heard cats fckng more on pitch that her howling....😢
Thought the same thing.
Same...
FYI my buddy is a systems engineer (tunes the PA) for tours of this level. Basically, other than a handful of artists, all these pop stars are using "live" pre-tour rehearsal recordings through the same signal chain and recorded at the playback engineer's desk, then forwarded to front of house. At front of house, the engineer has often 20-40 tracks for the vocal including the raw/tuned versions of the pre-recorded and live vocals, a bunch of backing tracks, etc. While FOH *can* blend in the live vocal, it is RARELY done; the vast, vast majority of the time the FOH engineer is playing back the pre-recorded tuned vocal with everything else buried. For any stage banter the engineer is riding the fader for the live vocal. It is what it is. For frame of reference he said he is 99% that P!nk is using majority or all live vocal so try using one of her tours for a comparison?
Absolutely. No production of such scale and budget is going to run without multiple levels of redundancy. There will always be prerecorded backing tracks running in a typical pop concert because there are simply not enough musicians on stage to execute every tiny thing the audience expects to hear from the original album. If nothing else, these tracks are used to keep everyone on stage in sync. There will be count-ins for the musicians, a click track for the drummer, cues for the dancers and backup singers, and audible callouts for each verse, chorus and bridge, so nobody loses their place in a complex arrangement. Because playback is literally holding the show together, there will be redundant playback systems with automatic change-over if the primary machine fails. The FOH engineer will have access to both the live and recorded tracks. Bass player's pickup shorts midway through the song? Swap in the prerecorded bass track while a stage tech sorts it out. Flute player came down with COVID? Audience will still hear that flute part. Backup singer lost her voice yesterday? No problem, at least she can still dance.
Obviously, Taylor is likely to mime some songs where the choreography is too demanding for proper breathing. Other songs may have been planned as live, but something went wrong: wireless mic cut out and they can't swap it until the song's over. That's why the rehearsal vocal is running parallel. It's all under control of the FOH mixer and, at any given moment, Taylor may not even know what the audience is actually hearing.
@@davidrick959 She knows that they are not hearing her live.
There is no excuse to not be playing live. What you are describing is corruption
Pink can sing. Have a look for her live acoustic cover of Me and Bobby McGee, where the guitarist loses his place and she keeps right.on going.
@@robnunya572Pink’s vocal ‘imperfections’ are what make her Pink. She’s not trying to sound cute and fuzzy. Nothing Swift sings has any emotion in the vocals.
as a vocal coach i wanna thank you for doing the work and showing the facts. i once tried to point out i heard the editing on a so called live performance on a Dutch tv show called De Beste Zangers from Floor Jansen and the stanbase was brutal. I only had like 15k views, but that was a lot for me and i could not handle the comments. i once auditioned for Hollands Got Talent and got humiliated over my outfit, so this made me decide that one day i was gonna record my album myself and release it.
Fil is a great template for how to do your music, your way. Glad you’re still singing.
Since you bring up Floor you should check out Fil's analysis of Floor Jansen and Nightwish, you will stand corrected lol
I imagine most tv shows have significant editing, especially competition and showcase shows. Its a bit disappointing if true in Floor's case, I know how talented she is and it brings up all kinds of questions regarding if an artist knows its going to happen and if they have a choice. And I can imagine the knee-jerk reaction from the Nightwish "army" that would come without people really sitting down and thinking about the issue. It doesn't really reflect on Floor for me, but a reflection on the industry and its approach to "live" tv content. If there was evidence of her using Autotune or miming during concerts then that would be very disappointing.
@@myrathjanssen1938 But you're not saying that Floor Jansen never uses autotune live, are you? Because how would you know?
@@myrathjanssen1938Fil analyzes Floor…and he’s very impressed.
ONCE A POSER ALWAYS A POSER ❤
Thanks for being honest, Fil. There isn’t much honesty available nowadays.
Fanbases can be delusional about Taylor's abilities.😂😂😂
Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣
P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
Taylor is not being dishonest. It is HER singing, though digitally enhanced.
LOL. This guy is the biggest fraud out there except Trump. And you believing him is embarrassing for you.
honesty is such a lonely word. everybody is so untrue. don't google it but i came up with that. you're welcome.
From now on, before I go to a concert, I’m asking Phil to vet the artist.
Or Fil???
Before i pay significant amounts of money to hear "Famous Artist", I will search for them on this channel. 😁
@ all spelling complaints should be addressed to autocorrect.
@@thegood9 I am sure Mr Collins could provide some good advice, as well.
@DainnBrighteye Or, go see Nightwish and Floor Jansen.
"She is making the noise" couldnt have said it better myself!
He would have said the same about any great singer, just so you know ... even your favourite singer.
@@elizabethmiller7291 ...if he or she was using Autotune live. That is the point of this wording.
@@geirmyrvagnes8718 No, that wording has been used before by Fil in any number of contexts. The way it was used in the comment I replied to was in denigration of a singer. My point was that Fil would never do that.
@@elizabethmiller7291no he wouldn’t. That’s the point of this video. The shame is she has a great voice. They ought to let her sing.
@@iangelling He wouldn't what and who is the he you refer to? But, we agree on that last bit!
"Everybody knows" - I was watching one of your Taylor Swift videos and my daughter came by. She thought it was particularly interesting because her college roommate would talk on and on about how great Taylor Swift because she has the vocal stamina to do a three hour performance night after night. 🙂
This is a point i totally disagree with Fil.
It seems like Swift tour was 149 shows over almost a 2 years time span so obviously it wasn't night after night at all.
I listen to The Grateful Dead, and these guys would play 3 hours shows probably 3 to 4 nights a week and that over years and years. They even played multiple shows on a single day at a few occasions. In the year 1970, they played together 153 times. Jerry Garcia, lead singer and guitarist also had another band at that time and i'm not including these shows in the count.
Singing (live obviously) for hours and days seems to ask a lot to the artist but it is truly possible, Bob Weir, the other (one) guitarist and singer who started with The grateful dead mid 60's still plays a lot of live music, and tours with multiple bands today.
What Fil is trying to explain about Autotune is that it can be set from 0%-100% with a human variation setting, and it can either be programmed for each song based on the key of the song or use the audio feed from a guitar or keyboard to match the key of the song. To me, it sounds like the Autotune is set to about 20-40% based on the song, so it doesn’t kick in until it notices that much variation from the key.
Edit: Later in the video, it sounds like it’s set to a 100%.
It seems like it gave a bit of leeway if the notes were sharp, but none if they were flat.
Good comment. You seem to know a lot about auto-tune. Are you a sound technician or a musician that has access to these mics and technology? I'm hoping Fil can get an interview with someone that is an expert in the field of auto-tune capabilities and use in the studio and during a "live" performance.
@diamonddavemusic you don't even need to be a sound engineer or anything now, the most basic autotune software now has the humanise function which you can set to varying degrees, I got it on a free one, it's already that common.
I believe what the case is that people don’t want to hear that their favorite musical artist is miming or that their voice is going through something like auto tune and/or pitch correction. To be fair, yes, I’d feel disappointed if my favorite artists were doing this. But some people are ever so faithful to the point that they believe that their favorite artists walk on water. From Fil’s previous and current analyses on Taylor Swift, this is what I’m reading in the comments.
In the end she sounds like T Pain 😂
Thanks for this longer more detailed video fil, i really enjoy your analysis and videos 😊
I'm a product design engineer by education, profession, and personality, so I completely agree with your technique of analysis of data. Human senses are SOOOOO easily fooled. One suggestion for future videos: You refer to the pitch grid lines and the data traces as (just) 'lines', which may confuse the less technical members of your audience. I suggest saying something like pitch grid lines (or just pitch lines) and vocal data traces (or just vocal traces) to make it clear which lines you are referring to. Keep up the good work! Respect!
Poor Milli Vanilli, so ahead of their time !
HAHAHHA who knew they were pioneers all along
They fessed up too, over to you taytay
They weren’t even singing. It was another person.
Swift has 14 Grammy awards. In their life times Joplin and Hendrix combined have ... 0. So much for the Grammy holding any credibility or significance.
She's a fake corporate "product."
Sorry you had to find out this way.
@@cornfilledscreamer614
Exactly, Taylor Swift and most modern pop stars are fake and manufactured.
Katy Perry having 0 Grammy's makes sense but Joplin and Hendrix? That's crazy! 😮😮😮
It's generally understood that if an 'artist' has grammys don't bother wasting your money or bother hearing them.
To be fair, Janis and Jimi had relatively short careers. Maybe their Grammys were just around the corner. But I'm pretty sure neither of them ever lip-synced.
It sounded mechanical to me, so I believe it was auto tuned. I saw the proof on the monitor, so how can anyone dispute it? Thank you, Fil, for another excellent analysis! Rock!
Those 13 years don't care either way.
That inhale was very robotic. It would be hard for somebody to explain that was her natural breath.
No reason to dispute it. She has never claimed to be performing live and unaltered. She just sells tickets and puts on a show, and sells them out, packing the venues, something she will continue to do.
A friend saw Rihanna. He said Nuno Bettencourt was about the only live performance on that stage.
You cover everything Fil. Any longer and we would be in 2025. Lol
It sounds like 1) there's some lipsyncing, such as on the faster songs where she's moving around and dancing, 2) there are some live vocals, such as on the acoustic and piano songs and maybe some others, and 3) she's using a live auto-tune/pitch correction software throughout the concert when she is singing live (and the prerecorded vocals are obviously pitch corrected in the studio). Maybe I'm getting too sympathetic, but I sort of expected it would be like that and I don't think it'll bother most actual Swift fans very much, but I'm sure it would bother some of them.
Same here. I think she's mostly celebrated for being a songwriter and performer, so however she chooses to showcase her songs live is her business, as long as the people buying the tickets know the truth. Almost all music is autotuned these days which is why I'm not crazy about any of it, none of it sounds raw or original.
@@lisandra5330 Yes, I agree that it's important they ticket purchases know the truth and it's likely that most of her fans would accept a certain % of lip-syncing each night because it allows for more dancing theatrics, etc., but the trick is how to disclose that without ruining the fun. But I think she's got a really great voice. Top notch. It's just that she's known more for her songwriting than say Celine Dion or Mariah Carey who are first and foremost vocalists.
I think you’re on the money. Except for some delusional crazies, this is exactly what everyone expected to varying degrees when it comes to the exact amount of live pitch correction used. I think the main issue with the first video Fil released was the accusation of a 100% sterile audio show straight from the can. That was a bit insulting to the Swifties, who know that there’s more individualism to the experiences they enjoyed.
This video, however, is a much more level handed analysis, and I for one appreciate the integrity he showed by taking the time and digging a bit deeper, even if it might have seemed like a waste of time to him. I understand, that we ultimately might be looking for different things. But it’s 2024 and this isn’t a crazy weird thing to happen in the industry. she’s also a songwriter rather than a singer, and the whole phenomenon has never been about her vocal prowess. I think we’re good at this point. If Fil doesn’t like this standard, that’s cool, if some of his followers see that as cause to deride everything Swift stands for, whatever… But for the community around Taylor Swift, this is good enough, even if some of you don’t understand it. It’s fine. Live and let live. 🫶
@@alexanderlyonI like TS but she is just moderately good as a singer and nowhere near as gifted as Celine Dion, not even close. But she doesn't have to be, very few singers are that good.
@@SanSan-gl6zd question is do you want your idol to be a person or a machine? Live or not live lmfao.
Excellent and thorough work, Fil. Truly edifying!!!!
Thank you for confirming what many of us have already knew for a long time. Auto-tune/miming is everywhere and 90% of mainstream artists are simply scamming people without remorse.
On the other hand, 90% of average listeners have no idea they are being scammed or they don't give a f....
Let’s go, Fil. Tell them…
OMG. Taylor Swift is exposed by some random youtuber. Now I will never listen to her music. Thankyou so much Fil. 🙄
@@akashvalsan6609it's not that deep. You are making this something it doesn't have to be. Fil means no ill will. But whatever.
@@lucakat9262 But obviously, he has a real big issue w/ live vocal tuning, not just lip-syncing. Sure, I expect *some* live vocals at least at concerts, but live vocal tuning is fine by me. Singing is a lot about the pitch but not just about that. If Taylor Swift were that terrible, even Auto-Tune Live would not make her sound any good.
Nobody gives a flying fk. Swift doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.
@@lucakat9262The hell if he doesn't. He breads his butter by tearing people down. He selectively chooses performances and he probably even tweaks the software to make it say what he wants it to say.
This is more Swift for me than my sum total up till now.
Same.
I didn't watch the video. I came for the education in the comments. Still holding at 0 hours of listening to her.
Same here, it's a whole new world to me. I'm in my 40's and since i was very young my musical love was essentially guitar based music. Whether rock and metal as a nipper, punk rock, indie rock etc. So the notion of not actually playing instruments live, or using auto-tune live, or pitch correcting vocals after the fact is foreign to me. As is the sentence that gets mentioned when a pop singer/songwriter is famous "AND... she writes her OWN SONGS!" to which my response is.... "And? Is that's what you're kinda supposed to do?" I dunno, it seems this lady has very little confidence in her own ability and her own material which probably explains why she wears next to nothing when she performs. That'll distract 'em!
@@twinnedwitherlangen I go to see musical talent, not what you were born with.
Once again great work FIL!
Auto-tune has 'flex tune' and 'humanize' knobs. Humanize will allow you to slide between notes once you have hit the note initially. Not exactly sure what flex tune does, but it does make it sound more natural. Also can detect natural vibrato and let it through. Its pretty advanced these days.
@@sludgebucket3042 so freaking sad. I hate how auto tune is ruining music. And as much as I love AI created vocals that is too ☹️
As a touring singer( who gets paid only 350 euros per gig), I often sing 3 x 45 minute sets per show 6 nights per week and sometimes I’m required to do 2 shows per day , plus I dance in my show. All eyes are on me and my audience is right up close. There’s no room for faking it. No auto tune and no miming. After my show, audience members always come up to me and tell me I should be on the world stage and often they hug and thank me for a fantastic performance. I’m grateful to be able to sing to a high standard each time live and to be able to bring real joy for those moments. I’ve never wanted fame, just to be genuine with my audience and live without worrying about the roof over over my head.
I only found this channel recently and it’s actually quite sad to know that so many singers on the world stage are actually mainly poor vocalists and mime artists. Thank you for the insight and knowledge.
I'm not sure Tay is a poor vocalist
@@pamrogers5979 hi. I didn’t stipulate any name of the ‘artists’ in my comment, I acknowledged and thanked the author of this channel for the insight and evidence of poor vocalists and mime artists in general. As a new subscriber and now watching many of his videos it’s interesting to see the tricks of the trade used in the industry which propel an ‘artist’ into stardom.
It's nice to know that there are still some singers who sing live for the love of music, and in order to give their audience a genuine and honest musical experience.
Your example is one of the many reasons I usually only spend my money on blues gigs or on performers I know wouldn't get anywhere near auto tune, etc.
miming and auto-tune, the Swifties will like you 8-)
It's not about "you" [Fil]. It's about the truth.
Nah, we demand y’all to go to The Eras Tour (If you have some money since y’all need Taylor Swift for clout!) then you’ll realize this dumb RUclipsr used edited audio and edited video made by an unknown (not a reputable source) and to make look like Taylor Swift didn't sing LIVE the whole time (almost 4 hours long) is the dumbest thing! Again his videos are trash and don’t forget, karma will hunt y’all and y’all whole family down 🤭🤣
P.S. Whether y’all like Taylor Swift or not Taylor Swift still holds the record for The Greatest Live performer in Music, The Highest Grossing Tour Of All Time, and The First Artist to have grossing tour > $1 billion and $2 billion! (Source: Forbes, Billboard, Polstar, etc.)
I'm a Taylor fan but also been in the industry in one respect or another for over 40 years and I can tell you that using a voice track with or without auto tune is also very common for many of not most pop artists and touring bands today. And in way it's justified for Taylor especially for an artist that does a 200 minute concert vs the average concert length is 90 minutes (and most have vocal breaks such as drum or guitar solos etc so the vocalist can get a break). Any vocalist would thrash his/her voice in days with such a schedule. I think her voicetrack is justified and areas where auto tune is used is also justified. Just do the fans right by announcing on the video screen that "this concert my use a backing vocal and intrumental track in order to enhanse the concert experiance and ensure a consistant performance at every show" (or similar).
Another great video...but nothing new...this is pretty common practice in today's day and age (even with classic rock bands that still tour like Def Leppard, Kiss etc). Rock On!
It’s the truth and facts though. Taylor does put on a great show but not a live singing performance. It’s basically a show/event. 3 hours 45 mins 3 nights on the bounce every week. It’s a backing track and auto tune no doubt. Although she does sing live but can get away with missing words & mistakes while dancing and running around . Nobody could do those shows like that live while dancing and singing live night after night for hours. The only live part every show is the acoustic sessions she calls it and that’s the part where Taylor plays 2 guitar songs & 2 on the piano. It’s the only part that is different each show also.✌️
It is Fil who needs a state sponsored entourage of police protecting him - from outraged swifties. Not multimillionaire Swift.
Those that are using the ERA's Tour film as proof she can sing....sorry....Concert videos are all re-engineered and the sound is technically enhanced before release, so you are not getting original sound and vocals there either.
Now I'm scared the music industry execs are going to come for you. We need to start a bodyguard and lawyer fund!
Lawyers can only come after him if he isn’t telling the truth . Last thing they want is opening a can of worms if she is actually miming. if he’s stating fact he is fine there is zero they can do if he is stating fact.
And a safe house 🤣👍 These are Swift fans after all.
By now, this channel has 433k subscribers, if everyone clicks the "thanks" button, it is a good amount to help the channel.
Edit: I go first 🤗
You kind of have a point . And if they tell him to stop it, I think he would if it were legal action. But so far RUclips hasn't said anything and no lawyers have sent letters
If Fil's channel gets taken down..or even worse?...ends up with concrete underpants in the bottom of a lake...we all will know why...
The surprise for me is that anyone is surprised. If this is an example of her original music I haven't been missing anything.
1989 is the greatest pop album of the 2010's
she's a mediocre song writer and a mediocre singer 🤷♀️ you aren't missing anything
@@Alix777. Go listen to some Led Zeppelin and get back to me.
I don't think anyone is surprised, any more than they would be surprised that Elvis Presley's singing in movies was actually done in the recording studio mot on the movie set. They knew, and they all bought tickets, and no one asked for their money back.
@johnwest7993 Right, no question you know what you're getting with her. A very well packaged pop singer who won't be of any relevance 5 years from now.
Your analysis is so interesting
So why is Taylor Swift immune from the same scrutiny as Milli Vanilli? This should be all over the entertainment news. Excellent work as always Fil!
Because all the media outlets kiss the ground Taylor is walking on.
Um milli vanilli couldn’t sing at all others sang their songs , at least Taylor can actually sing.
@@Teek4Tatmilli can sing better tgan taylore
@@jackkolero you’ve never actually heard them sing. That’s the point.
She's not though? It's standard practice to use pitch correction for live performances these days. It's not breaking news, and she already receives a ton of scrutiny.
This makes sense. I was there last weekend for the last night in New Orleans. As a career guitar player and singer for the last 30 years (give or take), it was very apparent she wasn't miming the whole show. The acoustic/guitar/piano parts were clearly live ; that being said, she was VERY bang on ; it makes sense, as auto tune has come a long way over the last few years, and someone triggering it makes the most sense, as to Fil's points, she does improv and change things from night to night, so having that safety net of someone manually kicking in the auto tune when needed makes the most sense. I imagine when you have a BILLION dollar tour, they take NO chances. NO ONE is singing 3 nights in a row for 3 1/2 hours. I assumed it was common knowledge, but you make a good point. They want it to sound flawless, night in, night out. The only way for that to happen is what they are doing ; mime some, auto tune on command. You get some moments of her signing and talking (auto tune when someone deems is necessary), and mime the big set pieces. Thanks, fort the work you put into these videos.
Did anyone ever ask the ticket-buying music lover if they prefer fake and flawless over real without a safety net?
um musical theatre performers do 8 shows a week and don't mime.
Most concert goers do not care about "flawless, night in, night out". They want to hear singers sing LIVE, dancers dance LIVE, and theatre actors act LIVE. For millions of dollars, a person should be able to sing LIVE and then just be themselves. We don't need slick, phony, and massively produced entertainment.
Tina Turner and hundreds of other artists did that and do that regularly. And no it’s not common knowledge at all and shouldn’t be! It’s a disgrace.
@@hopeysmoke What are you saying is a disgrace?
Taylor Swift has become her first tribute performer.
I wonder what analyzing Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel concerts would tell us.
My guess the analysis would show that Bruce and Billy are brilliant musicians with integrity.
Now THAT is funny!
To be honest, I think unfortunately many live performances have been pitch corrected to be released on YT and elsewhere. I wonder if they're doing this to big bands like Metallica, for example. I didn't find any recent analysis video on them, so I'll request it to Fil! 😅
As far as I know, Bruce sings the entire 3 or 4 hours of his concerts, and if he can't do it he stops the entire tour until he can. I'm no fan of his politics or ticket prices but he has a lot of good songs and some I don't care about. All of the concerts I've seen recordings from show him singing all the same songs differently, as is all any human can do at best. So I detect no miming. Are they pitch corrected or auto-tuned? They don't sound that way to me but maybe Fil could run a check and let us know for sure.
@@Micas099 Bruce is far from brilliant. He’s mediocre and boring.
Billy Joel is a genuine talent.
Today I watched a video taped, live Linda Ronstadt concert taped in California in 1980. There was just a singer, a band and a small stage. It was an awesome concert in every way. Linda is a highly talented songstress of the highest order. Also, she is a gorgeous lady, both inside and out. What was missing was a stage the size of a football field, a cable zip line, a catapult, scores of backup singers and dancers, numerous wardrobe changes, pyrotechnics, auto tune and miming. I don't begrudge Taylor Swift's success, This is America and she can rise as high as her success elevates her. However, if she tried holding an audience's attention the same way Linda did, by just singing, she would not have reached the heights she has attained. Taylor's voice lacks emotion and pitch so she uses other means to hold the audience's attention.
We all know Linda Ronstadt used AutoTune. LOL!
Wow, now compare her to Karen Carpenter or Olivia Newton-John lol There were so many wonderful women singers in the 70s it just wasn't fair.
Linda is a true giant. She wasn't a writer though. She just had the very best pipes. This is not a fair comparison.
@@boffo63 There are still many great singers today. Just not super famous .Try Beth Hart, Haley Reinhart, Morgan James.
@@DAVID-io9nj I'd add Chinchilla. Fingers Live is phenomenal.
Hard working musicians are going to be fuming about this, I can totally understand why Dave spoke up. This is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. The highest earning tour ever was mimed...
Yup and all these fools spend their time online defending her
I was lucky growing up in the 80's and 90's as the singers were just levels more talented than today.
@@crystaldawn9965 I agree. When I say hard-working, I mean actually playing live at your own concerts.
No one who goes to her concerts cares. Y'all are so bitterrrrrr 😆
@@tanalee837 Nothing against her personally or her fans; just having a laugh. Take care!
Are we going to get a Taylor Swift song about Fil?
It was called “Shake it off”
😂😂😂
I'm never ever ever ever .. going to subscribe to Fil
Or maybe, ‘Let me stick your auto-tune where the sun don’t shine”
OK, that was funny.
I’ve never had the endurance to listen to a complete song of hers. Great analysis!
Oh my. So glad that RUclips is the source of all my original concert material from the 70s and 80s.
Hmmm. Fil has some bad news for you. If it’s on RUclips (particularly if it’s on the official RUclips channel of the respective artist), there’s absolutely no guarantee it hasn’t been digitally pitch corrected. See 70s “live” concert performances of Fleetwood Mac and Eagles as just two examples that Fil has analysed.
@@fromchomleystreetyeah. Tragic. Broke my heart. 😢
I've come to the conclusion that this is what the fans want-a generic pop celebrity, essentially the McDonald's of music. You won’t convince these people that she’s lip-syncing because her A&R team knows the fans of this music aren’t looking for authenticity. If she speaks to the crowd, they’ll believe she’s singing live. This is detrimental to all the artists who can actually perform a three-hour live show. Many genuinely talented singers can’t even afford to eat or pay rent
You really do experience the really good musicians at small events.
McDonald's of music is exactly right.
@@haraldmax9685 it's a reflection of how society is now. Raw talent isn't appreciated anymore. People don't care about talent like they used to ☹️
@@Humm-0-0 so true . Taylor Swift was bought and paid for then sold again . Swifties don't like the truth . Her daddy shelled out big bucks for her to have an audience .
@@mayganphynix8267 Britney Spears was doing similar things at the height of her career. It was obvious because no-one could move like that on stage and perform the vocal lines without impact. People like the big shows with the lights, visual effects, athletic dance moves, and figure-hugging costumes. The real problem comes when young, talented, performers have the expectation of matching this kind of precision. It's no different to girls expecting their bodies to resemble supermodels, especially when they're relying on photographs which have been touched up, or strategically applied makeup, to eliminate 'flaws'. I think talent is appreciated by 'the general public' but the entertainment industry just cares about profit. Factor in the way people associate outside of work and home environments and you have a gradual collapse of the lowest tiers where talent could be developed.
Let's face it, in live situations, Taylor Swift is an entertainer, not a performer.
I don't find her entertaining at all. 🤷
I don’t know what that means.
She calls herself a singer and ticket paying fans expect to see AND HEAR a live performance.
No, she’s a performer but not a singer….lol
yeah, that shows how low the bar is set, especially for younger generations 😢
A great video as always Fil. Like you I can quite easily hear if auto tuned. An amusing story about my late grandfather who was 'tone deaf'. He only knew two tunes, one was the National Anthem and one wasn't. He could tell the difference as of course everyone stood up for the National Anthem !
You are indeed a daredevil. You keep poking Godzilla's eye. 🦖 Fil, the fearless anti-miming, anti-autotune, anti-pitch correction warrior. 🙇🏻♂️
Thank you for sharing your expertise. I was considering going to my first Swift concert. Not now!
You know it's a bit sad considering the vast majority of people who went actually said it was great and had a lot of fun
What you're hearing on the sustained autotuned note is phase shifting as the processor stretches or compacts the waveform in order to place the zero crossings on the corrected points in time. Especially where there is reverb or delay, this phasing becomes apparent. It is the sound of autotune.
Thanks, I thought I heard some "phasey" stuff going on😅..
Most of the "phasey" sound, though, comes from the software that separates the vocals from the other sounds. The exact same record played in two different rooms would give different results; live recordings are particularly taxing on the software because of the crowd singing along.
@@IlBiggo Most? No. A little, perhaps.
@@TheAntibozo "Perhaps"? Do you know or do you "think"?
Because I know. It's not like I'm using Fisher-Price tools for my job, and even the pro standard for stem separation leaves artifacts (and that "phasey" sound), moreso if there are more voices or a crowd.
@@IlBiggo I know.
Well, I am, as none of it surprises me. As for her fans, I imagine they will be split between those who say they already knew this and it's irrelevant, to those who will send you angry messages, and some will manage to be both. As I've said before, fans who are that invested in believing it's all live are not viewing Taylor Swift through any kind of objective lens, to put it mildly.
hmm. that's called a cult, I believe.
I agree. A friend of mine told me about several rock concerts she had recently attended, and I told her that I no longer want to pay top dollar to see a "performer" mime to backing tracks, and she told me the shows she went to were all live singing and playing. I suggested she watch this channel, but I didn't have the heart to tell her the bands were likely not playing or singing live at all. At least not to all of the songs, but maybe some of the songs. It all feels like a huge scam to me.
@SasquatchLovesMe fans have always been like that. its not jut her. there are so many examples..
@@carol127v yes, by definition they're "fanatics". I'm not talking about that. I'm referring to fans who refuse to acknowledge that their artist is a fake and they're willfully ignorant about it, meaning they know it's true but they will never acknowledge it no matter what.
Thanks Fil - I was wondering if I was imagining this "processing" sound. So many songs nowadays have it sadly. It would be great if you could point us to some singers today who don't sing with this sound.
I’ve enjoyed Taylor’s music for a long time. I have also suspected for a long time that she was not singing everything live. I haven’t seen her concerts, but the social media videos were inescapable last year, and I watched the Era’s Tour concert movie on Disney+. Anyway, thanks for sharing this interesting analysis showing how some parts can be live and some mimed, with both using Autotune. I really wasn’t sure just how it all could work. The show is obviously a technological marvel, but knowing more about how the vocals are consistently manipulated makes me no longer feel disappointed that I didn’t get to see it myself.
Actually official tour recordings aren't a good judge because the vocal always has post production. The best videos to discern whether something is live, is from fan footage.
@ Hmmm… I didn’t think I was suggesting that in my comment, but I can see how it came off that way. I think I was just trying to show that you can enjoy Taylor Swift’s music and even the Eras Tour but not be delusional about whether or not she’s performing it fully live.
I've been watching you a long time and one thing I know for sure is that you would not misrepresent or fabricate any of your analysis. If there's one thing you know is music inside and out and a great musician yourself and I trust your opinion 100%.
Thank you Fil. I hope everybody is satisfied.
Hopefully Mina will watch and understand what FIL does. He's just honest, no matter what group/vocalist he does an analysis on. She seemed quite angry yesterday!
I wonder what the ticket prices are for the chance to watch her dance? LOL!!!
Mina may decide to stay away... 😂
Sorry, who’s Mina?
$1k and up
@@nobodygnomes She is a Swift fan who asked Fil to analyze more of Swift's songs.
@@nobodygnomes she was commenting a lot on the chat yesterday. In one comment she was expecting FIL to address her frustrations on the spot, so I "told" her that if she wanted him to definitely see her question, she'd need to send it in like everybody else.
And he actually DID because somebody let him know she was in the chat. So he went through her long list of questions.
Hopefully, there will come a time when artists will display on their albums that no autotune/pitch correction has been used, and this will be a selling point to their credibility. Much in the same way as Queen declared no computers on their Sheer Heart Attack album. Tbh, many artists really don't need these fx.
This must have taken a lot of time to put together. Thanks for making this video in response to TS fans. Sadly, the audience is not getting to hear her voice. They are hearing the output of a calibrated computer program, autotune, instead of her own voice. Some songs are mimed and some are not, but the processed sound is always present. Fans are enjoying the show however, and are conditioned to this sound, so it seems like her natural vocal to them.
If Taylor Swift did a tour with just a small like 6 piece band and everything was old school live, I think her fans would love it, AND she would get even more fans . And I know she has the talent to do it.
@@marksmusic1972 then why doesn't she? Id be willing to pay pretty good money to sit in the nosebleed section of this, and I'm usually a "close to front, or not at all" person when it comes to concerts. I love how she plays instruments during her shows and she's a good writer. I just hate how she does her live shows.
she does not have the talnet, already did that before and she was not that great. Without these tricks and schemes she would never make so much money. it is all about the money sadly.
If you know anything about how she got to where she is, the last thing you would attribute to her rise is talent.
Omg I would love it if you did multiple recordings of the high note in Don't Blame Me...I want to see if that gets autotune manually turned off. That's the part where most of the crowd shuts up because they want a good video of her singing it. And she was slightly off pitch for that at the show I went to. Ngl I don't even mind the autotune and the miming for certain parts of the show but if that one was like that I would be mad as a fan.
I was actually wondering how her voice is not ruined by now and I haven't seen anyone ask her anything about that or her talk about it whatsoever and what she does to keep it healthy. I think it's smart to use some tech to conserve it because she's not known for her singing live as for example Mariah Carey or Celine Dion. I would come to their shows for different reasons.
For what it is worth: This is all supposed to be (and is) scientifically repeatable. _Anyone_ can obtain the same vocal pitch monitoring software and perform an analysis to see how well snapped the vocal lines are to the pitch scale lines. And it would actually be a good thing if lots of people did this, and all came to the same conclusions. The software is in the Google Play Store. Have a go!
Am confused by why this is such a big thing , if you have ever seen her in earlier years you know despite her lyrical and songwriting talents her live voice is average to at the most good. When she would do duets with the older stars of their big hits on talk shows etc the difference between even an old star mostly past their primes voice and hers live was stark.
True, she was a very weak singer, but a great performer and sing writer.
Hats off. Taking on the Swifties.
Was that the goal?
It's really helpful to see how different the vocal lines look when two live performances are plotted together.
Hello, wanted to thank you for reviewing the Greatful Dead. Watching you smile made my day. Please review any dead music!
I found you by accident and am hooked. I have always wandered how "PERFORMERS" can sing and move the way they do on stage without being out of breath. I now know thanks to Fil. And now I know that my hearing is going downhill!! I really find it difficult that the artist I grew up listening to don't realize that this is being done. My husband doesn't notice a difference, and I wander if it is because I used to play piano when I was younger.
A NOTE ABOUT AUTOTUNE: AutoTune HAS HAD (for YEARS) the ability to:
1. Correct to a particular KEY -- you can even create a custom scale (or just use default chromatic scale)
2. Correct to a particular PERCENTAGE (i.e., it doesn't HAVE TO snap to the exact pitch. When set at 50% for example, it will snap to halfway between the actual pitch and the exact pitch). Using less than 100% correction (along with slowing the correction speed) goes a long way to making it more natural sounding.
3. Adjust the correction/reaction SPEED -- so that it doesn't have to snap to pitch INSTANTLY (the Cher "Believe" effect) but can slide over a few milliseconds up or down to pitch.
The reason AT has "come such a long way" is that more and more FOH engineers are actually taking the time to ADJUST these parameters for the most natural-sounding result, whereas many in the past would just pull up a preset and go.
I've heard AT done REALLY WELL even decades ago. But more often, I've heard just the lazy set-it-and-go mechanical-sounding version 'cuz "optimizing the AutoTune" is a low priority compared to the hundred other things a mix engineer has to worry about.
Another important detail that might not be apparent to most people is that you can also automate any effect. So you could have passages where the autotune effect is inactive, and then have it automatically start at a certain point of a song. You could even have several different auto tuners with different settings activate and deactivate completely automatically during a performance.
That is true. And also resources. For someone with the kind of resources like Taylor, she could afford the top engineers with personalized customization of the AT on her performances.
Since the mix engineer is so busy he might consider not using the autotune at all? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Music production has only asked if it can be fixed, but not should it be fixed. I think fans would be happy with the imperfections. When I was a child in the 70's, fans would always talk about what imperfections and differences they would notice between what they saw live and records that people listened to at home. Production believes that fans expect perfect consistency.
1st. If it's too difficult for you to sing and dance at the same time, don't dance. Or do simpler dance moves and have the backup dancers do the gymnastics.
2. I know singers who have done true live shows for a week straight (2.5 hr set) at my local theatre, so it is possible for some singers to do this multiple days in a row. However, vocal rest is important and will make the performance better. Therefore, you should book the concerts so they are more spread out. Do not book back to back gigs, especially if the set is 3 hrs. Do a couple shows per week for the first half, then take a few weeks off before you continue the remainder of the tour.
You'd think this was common sense but I guess they're too cheap and greedy.
@@MM62442 I know Taylor's a bit unhappy with her current tour manager. Next time I'm having a chat with her, I'll let her know that you're available.
Sure, book a huge stadium for millions of dollars per day but let’s just skip some days between shows while she’s resting her voice. This would cause ticket prices to soar even further as the 190+ shows are already sold out multiple times. Fewer fans would see her and only the super wealthy would be able to afford a ticket. Realistically, what TS is doing is not a bad compromise between providing good entertainment for as many fans as possible.
@@TomoBystedt A top level show such as this is pulling in millions per night for Taylor Swift (and other equally famous performers). Even with the outgoings she will make a fortune. Her management would hate it but maybe she should say she is happy to clear "just" 1 million per show instead of 10 million!
Regarding your first point, the silly thing is she doesn't even dance much. she is a terrible dancer and mostly walks around and shakes her hips a few times. And there are performers who do a lot of dancing and live singing but they also prepare their bodies heavily for that task. I've heard one basic training tip is to practive singing your songs while running so your lungs can get used to the higher demand on them. Same thing with the vocal rest as you mentionned. Some opera singers avoid even talking in between shows and closely regulate the humidity of the air around them for instance.
The thing is all that is very very demading. It requires a high level of commitment to the craft and a lot of discipline. The problem is tho, pop stars don't have that kind of commitment to singing or discipline. They want all the rewards of pulling off such performances without any of the work. and it bothers me because rather than bringing the sound guy on stage and thanking them because they're the ones truly responsible for all that you got to hear during the concert, they lie by omission (and sometimes directly to you face like Taylor and her band have done in the past, smuggly proclaiming all to be live) which creates false standards for their personal ability but also for what live singing is supposed to sound like.
As a result, people who truly put in the work don't get recognize but also the public stops being able to recognize what live vocals sound like and are much harsher on people for breathing or cracking. People are more and more vicious to singers who don't sound like the heavily processed studio version bc of that and it's wild. You put in all the work to be great and get called untalented bc of poeple who mime or rely on undisclosed technology creating an unacheivable standard. It's like how i see teenage girls who are disgusted by the pores on their own skin or makeup on their faces having texture because all they see on social media is so filtered that they believe pores and texture are an issue that need fixing.
Excellent work as always Inspector Fil !!!
I LOVE when people say, "But on MY night, when WE were there, she was NOT miming, and we KNOW it...." That's some funny shite.
@@thegood9 you’re right. My daughter watches streams from virtually every night of the tour and she can tell you exactly when she is going to wink , pause, what she’s going to say between songs . Every night is the exact same.
@@dvp36 Soon, she can just project her hologram and she won't have to even pretend anymore.
@@thefirst9500How do we know she doesn’t already?
You can prove it soooooo easily. There are countless videos of errors happening that prove she’s singing live. Literally 2 days ago, her IEM pack died. While they were changing it, she goes off pitch, off beat, and adlibs a whole run that’s not normally there. Yes, she has a backing track. But she also has a phenomenal live band, 4 incredible backing vocalists, and yes. Her own live vocals.
@@ItsAaronRenner Did you even watch this video?!
I've just watched Paul Weller live, and for the last 45 years, his voice has gotten better. True musicians.
He sounds best with the auto-processor set to “Down in the tube station at night”.
Is it even about the sound quality of the music when it’s thousands of fans singing along to every word at the top of their voices? Sounds more like worship than appreciation.
Bunch of leftist cultists.
16:00 The note getting snapped a half-step high and then re-snapped to the right pitch: Nobody could "not hear" the autotune there! :) So disappointing. :(
I would assume that any of these pop performers that move around a lot during a show have their live mike turned down to like 30 percent and their backing tracks turned up. So, they are singing live but also to a backing track.
To avoid autotune 'snaps' they could be programming with certain tolerance and low sensitivity to 'capture' the sound and correct it. That's why it doesn't always catches the sound to make a correction.
The beauty of a live show is that anything could go wrong at any moment..
that's a cool way of seeing it. like a play
Yeah, and there have been quite a few mishaps happened at the eras tour. Swifties like to call them the errors tour. There are video compilations on here of lol those moments on the Eras tour
It's great. I saw the classic Deep Purple and Gillan and Blackmore were having arguments over Ian treading into Ritchie's territory and then Jon Lord collapse from drink/drugs and had to be lifted off the stage by roadies. It was chaos. It was totallly live and it was great. I was outside and there were 5 cars, one for each member. So clearly not happy campers. I did manage to speak to Ian Paice the drummer and he said SNAFU, and got into his limo.
Great video! I’m a huge Swiftie and this is basically what I assumed. 😂 Taylor’s strength has never been her voice even thought she’s gotten a lot better over the years. Maybe I’d be more annoyed if it were a purported vocalist pulling this stuff, but honestly Taylor is doing is a service by letting us rock without her shaky vocals distracting from the spectacle.
So you’re okay listening to someone who isn’t what they present them self to be? 🤔 You’re basically being scammed but that’s ok? I have listened to some truly genuine talented singers over the years and their voices have literally moved me. To this day I’m stunned at how popular Swift is.
I guess the point is I’m not under the impression that Taylor is an exceptional vocal talent. If it turned out she didn’t write her own songs I’d be upset, but vocal delivery isn’t what I find compelling about her. Now the same tricks by someone who is purported to be a vocal master would bother me, but Taylor’s show is more about the spectacle and getting to scream the songs you love with other people who also love them. Maybe I’d feel differently if it were a purely acoustic show in a smaller venue.
@@dakotalee6990 You won't ever see her do a purely acoustic show, but even if she did, she could still be autotuned.
@@lamusiclover2264 so I guess I don’t have to worry about that then. Easy enough.
I can just imagine a team of 5 guys backstage on laptops trying to create or manage Taylor's "voice" in real time for 3 hours straight. What a job. I'm sure everyone is required to sign nondisclosure agreements. Is this what music has come to?
I worked with a famous rock singer years ago and had to sign a NDA. A few months ago I was commenting on another channel about his voice and got an email from them. I was so surprised after all this time and had to delete my comment.
I guarantee there are not 5 guys backstage using laptops to manage her voice ... it will be 90% automated and there will be one person who can switch it in and out in case of unplanned "emergencies".
She is the product of persona building through modern social media.... She started out as a pretty teenage girl who sang about The breakups with her boyfriends..... Her producer capitalized on her beauty and was smart enough to get her the hottest songwriting hired guns in Nashville...... For those who don't know how the music business works..... This is exactly how it works.... In fact, It is quite rare to actually have an artist right their own song, and rarer still to even write part of a song That actually makes it through the mastering. It's what radio A&r guys used to call middle of the road music.... It has to be just good enough that you don't change the radio station.... Which is after all what her music amounts to.
That, and her content is largely created by many others. It's handed to her. They don't even trust their singer to enterainer to sing.
I think she writes all her songs.
So for a typical Taylor Swift show on this tour:
1. What number of her songs did she actually sing live (how many were with auto tune and how many without)?
2. What number of her songs did she mime/lip-sync to?
@12:00 she isnt singing live... you cant land every note on the same 1/100th in two performances no matter how much you practice.
They just input the recorded audio thru the auto-tuner...
I'm really okay with an artist doing this. The question is, 'was I not entertained?' I learned to sing these songs by singing along with the originals. I felt wonderfully in sync with another 92,000 people, all (vaguely) hitting the same notes, with something processed to help us sing along. Even with auto-tune, this still felt like a wonderfully live concert. I'd rather have a crowd all having a (processed) target note to aspire to and sometimes reach, rather than have them trying to match something that isn't expected. In this case, good for Taylor for considering her audience. We weren't there for her, we were there for ourselves to express us. ^_^
Okay that was just weird. You’re supposed to go to a concert to see the artist perform live. It’s a live concert so it should be performed live. That’s what the whole experience is supposed to be. What a total let down if all she’s doing is awkward dancing and hip shaking while miming along to a recorded track. Save me the hundreds of dollars and I’ll just play a cd instead. 🤦🏻♀️