Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I am not a singer.
This video should prove that.
I’m not a musician of any kind.
What I am is a music lover, and someone who, like many of you, has grown bored while quarantining at home during the coronavirus pandemic. So I sought out new activities to occupy my time (and my mind) to keep from going stark raving mad.
Among the activities I chose was to learn how Auto Tune works, or more specifically, how a feature called Flex Pitch works in Apple’s Logic Pro X. So I decided to put it to the ultimate test by singing a karaoke song and seeing if I could pitch correct my own horrible singing voice.
You see, I’ll be the first to admit that my singing voice sounds like a cross between fingernails on a chalkboard and the mating calls of a garbage truck in heat. So I figured if I could pitch correct my voice in Flex Pitch, then it surely ought to work for a musician who can actually sing. Most of these songs are a testament to how effective applications such as Flex Pitch and Auto Tune can be correcting off-pitch singers.
But here’s what I didn’t expect from this exercise: After recording my first song, I had so much fun, I decided to do a second one. And by the time that one was done, I was hooked. I decided to record a bunch more.
Don’t get the wrong impression. I know my performances suck. Flex Pitch does an amazing job at masking how horribly off-key I am throughout these songs. (You have no idea.) But it can’t hide the fact that I lack the presence and emotive nature that a professional singer brings to their vocals. But I don’t care. I had such a ball doing these songs that I’ll probably keep doing more. My musician friends tell me I should stay at it because it’s good for the soul. I’ve found that to be true so far, at least for me.
These songs, mostly old Frank Sinatra standards (and a few songs made famous by some other artists that I admire), went into a collection (“album?”) that I’ve titled Charmin of the Bored as a salute to Sinatra’s nickname, “Chairman of the Board,” with a sarcastic nod to the circumstances we’ve all been living under in this pandemic, where bathroom tissue became a precious commodity and maintaining one’s sanity became an exercise in futility.
I do not own the copyrights to these songs. The backing tracks are karaoke tracks that I downloaded, and I don’t own the copyrights to them, either. These songs are not for sale (as if anyone would buy them), and I have no intention of monetizing them on YouTube. I’m sharing them mostly for the amusement of my closest friends who know how completely devoid of any musical talent I am, and to share my love of music with the world. If you’re entertained by my performances, then I would suggest you clean out your ears and go listen to the versions of these songs by the original artists. They’re much, much better.
:-)
I am not a singer.
This video should prove that.
I’m not a musician of any kind.
What I am is a music lover, and someone who, like many of you, has grown bored while quarantining at home during the coronavirus pandemic. So I sought out new activities to occupy my time (and my mind) to keep from going stark raving mad.
Among the activities I chose was to learn how Auto Tune works, or more specifically, how a feature called Flex Pitch works in Apple’s Logic Pro X. So I decided to put it to the ultimate test by singing a karaoke song and seeing if I could pitch correct my own horrible singing voice.
You see, I’ll be the first to admit that my singing voice sounds like a cross between fingernails on a chalkboard and the mating calls of a garbage truck in heat. So I figured if I could pitch correct my voice in Flex Pitch, then it surely ought to work for a musician who can actually sing. Most of these songs are a testament to how effective applications such as Flex Pitch and Auto Tune can be correcting off-pitch singers.
But here’s what I didn’t expect from this exercise: After recording my first song, I had so much fun, I decided to do a second one. And by the time that one was done, I was hooked. I decided to record a bunch more.
Don’t get the wrong impression. I know my performances suck. Flex Pitch does an amazing job at masking how horribly off-key I am throughout these songs. (You have no idea.) But it can’t hide the fact that I lack the presence and emotive nature that a professional singer brings to their vocals. But I don’t care. I had such a ball doing these songs that I’ll probably keep doing more. My musician friends tell me I should stay at it because it’s good for the soul. I’ve found that to be true so far, at least for me.
These songs, mostly old Frank Sinatra standards (and a few songs made famous by some other artists that I admire), went into a collection (“album?”) that I’ve titled Charmin of the Bored as a salute to Sinatra’s nickname, “Chairman of the Board,” with a sarcastic nod to the circumstances we’ve all been living under in this pandemic, where bathroom tissue became a precious commodity and maintaining one’s sanity became an exercise in futility.
I do not own the copyrights to these songs. The backing tracks are karaoke tracks that I downloaded, and I don’t own the copyrights to them, either. These songs are not for sale (as if anyone would buy them), and I have no intention of monetizing them on YouTube. I’m sharing them mostly for the amusement of my closest friends who know how completely devoid of any musical talent I am, and to share my love of music with the world. If you’re entertained by my performances, then I would suggest you clean out your ears and go listen to the versions of these songs by the original artists. They’re much, much better.
:-)
