Technology ‘takes the sex out’ of music

Advances in music recording technologies mean musicians often rely on the power of computers rather than their musical skill and ability when recording, according to the head engineer at Auckland’s York St Recording Studios.

Over the past 15 years computer-based audio recording programmes have taken off. With programmes like Pro-Tools, Logic and Cubase, musicians are able to record, mix and master full-length albums without leaving home.

While these and other programs have become accepted as platforms to record onto, it is the ability of the their plug-ins that, according to some, has seen a slide in musical ability and the growth of music lacking any real personality.

“[Plug-ins] have led to a drop in preparation. Musicians are probably not as well rehearsed or even as good a musician as they once would’ve been,” says Simon Gooding, head engineer at York St.

“We’ve had bands come in and say they haven’t practised a few of their songs much, and assume we’ll be able to fix it with the computer.”

Antares Auto-Tune is marketed as “the worldwide standard in professional pitch correction”. Digidesign Elastic Audio can shift a tired drumbeat or bass section back in time with the rest of the band and Serato Pitch ‘n Time Pro does a combination of both.

These and other plug-ins are often used to fix mistakes in musicians’ performance.

Computers are now so affordable that most musicians have some way to record from home. Because outboard analogue equipment can be expensive and bulky, most home studios are heavy on plug-ins.

“They’ve become the norm, so people rely on them,” Gooding says.

Karsten Schwardt, a musician and audio department programme leader at Audio Engineering and Film School SAE Institute Auckland, says music is being produced to fit into tightly defined categories, with an over-emphasis on perfection.

He says music is being over-processed to fit into categories because that’s what the consumer-driven market expects. He calls it “corporate cleanliness”.

“I don’t like the obsession with being perfectly tight in every single aspect because it takes a lot of the energy out of the music.

“The commercial imperative kills the creativity. It takes the sex out of the music.”

He’s seen musicians try to recreate the “raw” sound of analogue recording through processing and fail.

“There’s an obsession with processing recordings.

“[Musicians] think because we’ve got these tools we have to use them.

“It’s not just pop either. Even heavy rock is often polished heavy rock, produced to fit into the ‘category’ of heavy rock.”

Schwardt says the argument that musical ability is declining because of technology depends on where the musician is in terms of skill and what genre they perform.

“Typically you need to be able to advertise yourself as a musician, so it’s still important to be well practised.

“In rock, for instance, the musician is still very important, but in other genres such as RnB, if it’s compiled by samples, it becomes exchangeable.

“To be successful you still need to be able to play live, so ability is still hugely important,” he says.

One of New Zealand’s most accomplished jazz musicians, Nathan Haines, says he has noticed a shift in popularity from analogue recording to digital and now back to analogue.

His first album, Shift Left, was produced using entirely analogue hardware, recorded and mastered to magnetic tape. This was before the shift to digital technology took off.

“In 2000 when I made Sound Travels everybody was shifting to Logic.

“People went completely digital because it was cool. Now it’s shifting the other way.

“In the past five years, since Squire for Hire [Nathan’s fourth album], there’s been a big swing back to analogue.”

Although he sees a shift away from over processing, he agrees that the popularity of plug-ins and the ability of computers has changed music.

“It’s really coloured the music.

“When I put on music TV I hear the plug-ins. They get in the way of the music and a lot of it sounds very transparent.

“Radio pop is so ridiculously polished and produced,” he says.

Haines believes through computer technology, specifically MIDI

(Musical Instrument Digital Interface), music has evolved from being an exclusively musicians’ domain.

“With MIDI it has taken the performance aspect away, so people who couldn’t make music before can do so.”

He doesn’t think musicians have necessarily become less competent with the rise of digital recording, although he does recall one instance when he had a well known British solo artist do lead vocals on one of his tracks.

“He came into the studio and didn’t even know the song. It took us about two days of judicious auto-tuning and editing – shifting every note in Logic.”

He says the artist in question definitely had musical ability, but just didn’t prepare at all for the session.

Those spoken to agree that computer-based processing, when used accurately and most importantly, sparingly, has made recording music more accessible, although musical ability still reigns supreme.

“These tools have become so widely available that everyone has some sort of set-up at home,” Mr Schwardt says.

“In saying that, all these processors like auto-tune sound good if you’re tight to start with, otherwise you’re trying to add things that aren’t there.