Madonna - The Girlie Show (20th Anniversary)

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Impossible

Vocally she'll never be as terrible as Taylor Swift or Katy Perry

I think they're all "on par" with one another. The thing is that Madonna CAN sing, like they all can. However, performers are usually too concerned with dancing to sing properly. There's no way to dance THAT much and sing properly.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Impossible

Vocally she'll never be as terrible as Taylor Swift or Katy Perry

Oh gawd.

[MiracleandWonder]

So... what is next to Madge on Blu since its pretty established Girlie isn't coming anytime soon? MDNA Tour? Desperately Seeking Susan for her movies?

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by Impossible

You can't process live vocals that much beyond reverb etc unless you are putting an actual effect on the whole vocal.

Which is exactly what I am saying.

It's just that they change, frequently, since as I think everyone knows, Madonna's shows (even more so than other artists) are planned down to the second. Everything is kept in a computerized sync. The musical versions of the same song are the exact same length performance to performance. Variations can occur in pauses, such as waits for applause (which is why such a system needs manual intervention), but the actual music and vocals are of identical length (any variation is in silent pauses).

Doing this, it's rather simple to not use auto-tune per se, but apply predetermined effects in rapid succession. For a completely made up example:

I made it through the wilderness/Somehow I made it through/Didn't know...
(Effect 1------------------------->Effect 2------------>Effect 3->Effect 1....)

A crude mock up, but that's what I am talking about. Although, yes, you can auto-tune to a certain extent "live" at this point with an almost imperceptible delay, it's not about that - it's about replicating the audio experience of the studio track. Madonna doesn't have a problem singing off-key that needs correction, it's more of producing the same sound quality as one gets on an album in an arena show.

This processing would happen before the vocal hits the sound board for the final outgoing mix, which is why dedicated machines are required and operated/overseen by someone other than the person at the board who is responsible for balancing the overall sound.

It's all actually rather genius - it's not a knock on Madonna at all. She herself has argued she is a performance artist and not simply a "singer" - and I don't think that's a pejorative in the least.

[IndyMLVC]

Trust me. As someone who has heard the live soundboard tracks from her recent tours, there is absolutely NO auto-tuning going on.

To try and get this thread back on (some semblance of) track, look for the MDNA tour in 3rd/4th quarter this year.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

Trust me. As someone who has heard the live soundboard tracks from her recent tours, there is absolutely NO auto-tuning going on.

I'd agree. I don't think anyone is auto-tuning anything. Auto tune is not the only available effect.

Unless she has a vocal modulator implant in her throat which produces filters and effects on command, it's being done before the sound is even hitting the soundboard. ;-)

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

I'd agree. I don't think anyone is auto-tuning anything. Auto tune is not the only available effect.

Unless she has a vocal modulator implant in her throat which produces filters and effects on command, it's being done before the sound is even hitting the soundboard. ;-)

Right but, again, she doesn't use effects for only certain parts of songs. They're either there for the whole song (Die Another Day) or they're not.