Modern Bard Performs Skyrim's "The Dragonborn Comes"

[Thyunda]

Then why is it, when my cousin tries the same trick, it comes out disgusting, whereas I quite like the gimmicky appeal of T-Pain.

Because 1) (I'm guessing) he's not a professional engineer and b) there are different kinds of Autotune as well as different ways people use it.

Some kinds (like Melodyne) will literally let you drag a mouse over any part of a vocal you want and choose exactly how 'in tune' you want it - sort of like adjusting a brightness slider in a new game. Some kinds just go down over the whole vocal and tune as you sing.

Also, it is possible he just doesn't know how to use it properly.

The way I saw it, T-Pain isn't using it to cover up any vocal imperfections, he's merely doing it because he likes it. Difference is, my cousin is using it to cover up vocal imperfections, but over-applying it to the point where his songs become an electronic mess. And that's what I mean by Autotune being a skill. It's no substitute for actual talent, but it does take skill to do it properly. Just like the ridiculous over-application of reverb in the on-topic video. Just to prove a point, I'm embarking on a quest to persuade my opera-trained girlfriend to sing on-camera a Skyrim song. I'll upload any success I have, but to be honest, she's so stubborn she's almost Welsh, and I really don't think I'll get far.
But I guarantee. It's better than this.

 

[Gecko clown]

I get shivers EVERY TIME I hear the "Dovakin, Dovakin," bit from the theme tune.


Wait did I spell Dovakin wrong or am I good?

 

[Shilefin]

This is great. Maybe a little to ambient and slow-ish for my refined Iron-Maiden tastes, but it is still very impressive. I wonder if she'll do more of the tavern songs from Skyrim. I'd love to hear them.

 

[Gecko clown]

I get shivers EVERY TIME I hear the "Dovakin, Dovakin," bit from the theme tune.


Wait did I spell Dovakin wrong or am I good?

 

[kazeryu]

I used to sing like this, but then I took an arrow to the knee

 

[MiracleOfSound]

The way I saw it, T-Pain isn't using it to cover up any vocal imperfections, he's merely doing it because he likes it. Difference is, my cousin is using it to cover up vocal imperfections, but over-applying it to the point where his songs become an electronic mess. And that's what I mean by Autotune being a skill. It's no substitute for actual talent, but it does take skill to do it properly. Just like the ridiculous over-application of reverb in the on-topic video. Just to prove a point, I'm embarking on a quest to persuade my opera-trained girlfriend to sing on-camera a Skyrim song. I'll upload any success I have, but to be honest, she's so stubborn she's almost Welsh, and I really don't think I'll get far.
But I guarantee. It's better than this.

Of course it's a skill for the engineer - using any program is learning a new skill. But not for the singer. That's what I'm saying.

The skill there is not 'doing autotune right' - the skill is being able to sing. If you're able to sing, then Autotune won't hit wrong notes when you use it.

Is there too much reverb on this song? Definitely. But not to the point where it ruins it IMO, it could have maybe used just a little less to bring out her voice tone more.

I'm not sure what point you want to prove by getting your girlfriend to sing on camera, but good luck with that.

 

[Thyunda]

The way I saw it, T-Pain isn't using it to cover up any vocal imperfections, he's merely doing it because he likes it. Difference is, my cousin is using it to cover up vocal imperfections, but over-applying it to the point where his songs become an electronic mess. And that's what I mean by Autotune being a skill. It's no substitute for actual talent, but it does take skill to do it properly. Just like the ridiculous over-application of reverb in the on-topic video. Just to prove a point, I'm embarking on a quest to persuade my opera-trained girlfriend to sing on-camera a Skyrim song. I'll upload any success I have, but to be honest, she's so stubborn she's almost Welsh, and I really don't think I'll get far.
But I guarantee. It's better than this.

Of course it's a skill for the engineer - using any program is learning a new skill. But not for the singer. That's what I'm saying.

The skill there is not 'doing autotune right' - the skill is being able to sing. If you're able to sing, then Autotune won't hit wrong notes when you use it.

Is there too much reverb on this song? Definitely. But not to the point where it ruins it IMO, it could have maybe used just a little less to bring out her voice tone more.

I'm not sure what point you want to prove by getting your girlfriend to sing on camera, but good luck with that.

It's not that my cousin hits the wrong notes. He can very clearly sing. Problem is, mainstream music has been in an Autotune phase, and he's become convinced that the more Autotune is the better. With the right hands, Autotune can make a bad singer good, but in the wrong, it turns talent into trash. The proper application is clearly the hard part.

It's a personal point I want to prove. Mainly to see if she'll actually do it. BUT the point is - she needs to draw attention to herself. The talent is there, but she only really seems to do charity work. It's common sense really. Never actually occurred to me before, though. Skyrim is popular. People like Skyrim songs. Have her do Skyrim songs, draw attention to her, hope the right people see it, take all the credit and the ensuing money and rest upon my laurels.

 

[ChocoFace]

I really needed this. Got a full week of studying ahead and now i know i can take solace in the knowledge that i'll be able to listen to this.

 

[Phaerim]

I fell a bit in love there /blush

 

[ms_sunlight]

It's horrible. This kind of excessively chorused, reverbed crap was annoying when Clannad did it in the 1980s and it's not any less annoying now.

On the Autotune issue: pitch correction may well have been used, probably Melodyne. If it's used carefully and she's got basically good singing pitch you won't get obvious "artifacts", and it's very difficult to tell with such an overprocessed vocal.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

.

On the Autotune issue: pitch correction may well have been used, probably Melodyne. If it's used carefully and she's got basically good singing pitch you won't get obvious "artifacts", and it's very difficult to tell with such an overprocessed vocal.

She didn't use Melodyne and I don't hear chorus either, only multitracking. You can hear the tiny flaws and wavers in her voice that imply the vocal was untreated apart from some compression and yeah, a bit too much reverb.

It's a sad sign about the music business that people presume everyone uses pitch correction these days. Some singers can actually sing you know.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

autotune or not, this sounds great

It's not autotuned. It's multi-tracked, which means singing in different parts separately and playing them back together.

Proof that there is no autotune, the mild (not at all bad) flaw in her voice at 1.22. Autotune would have raped that little vocal mishap.

I'll admit I don't really know anything about autotune, just that a lot of people were saying she used it. Nice to hear that it's not

 

[dubious_wolf]

I dunno I didn't think it was that cool when Bethesda's marketing team on fb posted this. Now the guy that used wine glasses to play "the song of healing" that was cool.

 

[CK76]

Well, I enjoyed it. My kind of stuff, good job m'lady.

 

[ThaBenMan]

Beautiful, I got goosebumps from that. And yeah, I don't hear any auto-tune. I don't think she needs it, she seems to be a really talented singer.

 

[ms_sunlight]

She didn't use Melodyne and I don't hear chorus either, only multitracking. You can hear the tiny flaws and wavers in her voice that imply the vocal was untreated apart from some compression and yeah, a bit too much reverb.

It's a sad sign about the music business that people presume everyone uses pitch correction these days. Some singers can actually sing you know.

I'm not saying she used pitch correction; I'm saying that if she used it well, it would be impossible to tell with such an overprocessed vocal. There was more going on there than old-fashioned reverb.

 

[Switchblade 327]

It needs a deathmetal version...

Fine, I'm working on it :3

 

[Terrik]

For some reason her smug face kinda annoys me.


Good job nonetheless.

Yes, I find it annoying as well, but indeed a good job by her.

 

[Areani]

It's like listening to a glass harp. Such clear and cold vocals. I don't mind the reverb. Makes it more epic and kinda adds some mystery to it. Just Awesome

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I'm not saying she used pitch correction; I'm saying that if she used it well, it would be impossible to tell with such an overprocessed vocal. There was more going on there than old-fashioned reverb.

You can always spot pitch correction if you have a trained ear, it's never impossible really unless it's buried under a tonne of layers or instruments, which her voice isn't. 1.21 to 1.27 is the proof, as she wavers out of tune very slightly a couple of times.

Over-processed? It's reverb and compression. That's not even processing, it's just effects.

I've worked in music production for ten years. I can spot when a vocal has been processed. Dunno why this is such a difficult thing for you to believe.