«So sa-a-a-ad that you're leaving». Making music with Auto-Tune, from Cher to vocal psychedelia

The pitch correction software Auto-Tune has become a pervasive feature in popular music on a global scale since its initial release in 1997. Despite its frequent dismissal as a device enabling those with limited vocal abilities to perform, Auto-Tune has been employed as an expressive tool from its earliest appearance on the music scene. The normalization of Auto-Tune in popular music practices can be observed both in the performance aspect, which regards the interaction between the singer and the software in real time, or at the production stage; and the reception aspect, which pertains to the impact of Auto-Tune on the aesthetic of contemporary pop voices. While there is a consensus regarding the influence of Auto-Tune on popular music over the past twenty-five years, reflections on this impact from a musicological perspective are scarce. Notably absent is any attempt to contextualize Auto-Tune as a device for making music, or a musical instrument in itself. This article aims to contribute to the existing literature on the subject matter by deline- ating a conceptual framework for understanding Auto-Tune as a defining technology in contemporary “musicking”, using the concept of “affordance”, and proposing an initial historicization and systematization of different musical practices and discourses regarding Auto-Tune.