Monday Geek Out: I Am T-Pain(ish)
If you're unfamiliar with what auto-tune is, all you would really need to do is listen to any pop song that has come out in the last year and a half (kidding...kind of) or check out what the always reliable WIkipedia has to say on the subject.
In short, auto-tune is a corrective device for keeping a singers voice in tune. Because the tones are so regimented to the key that you are singing in, it give the singers voice a robot sound if turned up too high. T-Pain is an artist who has made a career out of his mastering of the "robot voice" sound.
The auto-tune craze has gotten so big that Kanye West's last album was essentially totally auto-tuned, and Jimmy Fallon even made fun of it at this year's Emmy Award Show (see below).
Now, T-Pain (the master of the robot voice) has teamed up with super app developer Smule to introduce his very own app, "I Am T-Pain." The app allows you to auto-tune your everyday voice, use it to record to your own songs, or sing along with some pre-loaded instrumental versions of T-Pain's hits. (There is a great video of regular people using the app if you click here)
The Verdict: I love it. It seems ridiculously addictive. Everyone who has heard an Akon or T-Pain song has wondered what they would sound like with an auto-tuned voice. If you get enough people together and have this app, you have the newest singing/embarrassing/funny get together tool since the karaoke machine was invented. On that note, if you took the I Am T-Pain app to the karaoke bar, the results could be epic.
If you happen to see a karaoke night sponsored by The Deuce in the near future, don't be surprised to see an auto tuned duet between Jordan Miller and myself.
Kyle Stuef is a marketing consultant who blogs on Internet/technology trends, and being a young professional in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor for The Deuce and AnnArbor.com
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Comments
Kyle Stuef
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 : 4:57 p.m.
@ Erik: From what I hear, it works better if you hold it further away from your mouth. Maybe with some messing around with voice volume and placement of the phone, you'll be able to find the right combination.
Babonx
Tue, Oct 6, 2009 : 7:35 a.m.
I haven't been able to get this app to work that great.... volume seems to be an issue, even when plugged into a stereo, so all you hear is my dumb voice yelling into an iphone.