Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

John Lennon Would Have Loved Auto-Tune - Paul McCartney

In a recent interview, Beatle Paul McCartney declared that his fellow Beatle John Lennon would have loved to use Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recordings and live performances.

Auto-Tune was originally intended to disguise or correct off-key inaccuracies, allowing vocal tracks to be perfectly tuned despite originally being slightly off-pitch.

"I'd say that if John Lennon had had an opportunity, he would have been all over it," McCartney says in the first episode of "Watch the Sound," a new Apple TV+ docuseries hosted by producer Mark Ronson. "Not so much to fix your voice, but just to play with it."

(Via Insider)

The idea for Auto-Tune, and the music culture that it would spawn, was first imagined by Bernard Brown in his 1931 story Prima Donna 1980. He called it Perfect Voice Modulation:

They hurried through the central projector hall into a smaller chamber, the walls of which were decked with huge photographic prints of sound records. Several men were adding to the collection as though their lives depended upon the job.

“Look here,” Nash indicated three six-foot long prints. “This represents part of a single sound pronounced by Dorna Guiselle and Miss Wentworth. It was recorded by the ‘fulltone’ process having an effective response up to twenty thousand cycles per second. See the difference?”


(The perfect voice from 'Prima Donna 1980' by Bernard Brown)

“Aren’t you as badly off as you were at first?” asked the doctor with a puzzled frown. “You seem to have cut off the top of Miss Wentworth’s voice and then elaborately put it back again.”

“Rot!” snapped Nash. “I cut her off her top, if you like, but then I add a fresh one. Not Dorna Guiselle’s even; scientifically perfect frequencies as can be obtained only from a thermionic oscillator. It is the perfect voice.”

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/3/2021)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Culture ")

Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.' - Julian Huxley, 1927.

Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.' - Anthony Boucher, 1943.

Vesuvius Challenge Accepted - Ancient Burnt Scroll Read!
'The image on the Trimagniscope tube was an enlarged view of one of the pocket-size books found on the body...' - James P. Hogan, 1977.

Humans Love Helping Other Species
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'

SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'

Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'

CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Imagine digging your heels in to a steam horse!

Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'

Warp Drive Tech Back On The Menu
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'

Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone
Why can't we get more innovative phone configurations?

Sleep Pods At Daxing International Airport
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'

Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'

JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'

Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'

Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'

Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!

Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'

Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'

TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.