# Auto tune use on TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409 "2015-09-09T02:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/1 "2015-09-09T02:07:30Z")
Hello Everyone, I’m watching Scrubs on Netflix and in the last episode they did it as a musical (ugh, kill me now). The entire cast had singing parts and they were all fairly good singers. Now usually in a group of 100 people, 99 of them couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket so I have to assume that: A) They had pros sung the parts. This I doubt as you could tell it was the actor’s voices. B) They ran all of them (or some of them) through the “box”. Is auto tune really that good? C) Everyone on that show can sing damn near professionally. This I doubt, see my bucket comment above. So how is it done? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/2 "2015-09-09T02:12:27Z")
Auto-Tune is very good when used for its original intended purpose. But most professional actors will have had quite a bit of voice training, anyway. It’s just what you do when you’re trying to build up your resume in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/3 "2015-09-09T02:41:52Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Now usually in a group of 100 people, 99 of them couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket Maybe not - but of 100 people you see who’ve made it to performing on TV professionally, 99 probably came up starring in their high school musicals and the like (not that I’m discounting the possible use of autotune.) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/4 "2015-09-09T04:15:59Z")
Was it _Scrubs_ that had that trio of a-capella harmonizing accountants from the hospital business office? They cracked me up every time. I heard them doing the _Underdog_ theme song; I would have loved to hear them sing “Mighty Mouse”, bur I don’t think they ever did. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/5 "2015-09-09T09:42:25Z")
I haven’t really watched the show, but _Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt_’s theme song having autotune should be zero surprise to those familiar with [the people behind it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songify_the_News). ---
**Author:** ![txtumbleweed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@txtumbleweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txtumbleweed)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/6 "2015-09-09T12:27:25Z")
One of my favorite episodes of _Scrubs_. Love the way the music is an integral part of the plot, not just shoe-horned in as a gimmick. The answer is (c), all the cast had some sort of training and experience in musical theater. And they compensated for Sarah Chalke, who apparently loves music but can’t sing worth a darn, by giving her a smaller and simpler part to sing. Also note that Judy Reyes (Carla) had broken her pelvis so had to do most of her parts sitting down. They came back and filmed “I’m Dominican” after she had healed. [According to Bill Lawrence, the show’s creator:](http://www.tvguide.com/news/tune-tonights-scrubs-35612/) > [@](#): > > It didn’t hurt that the cast was so talented, too. “I knew that Donald [Faison] and Judy [Reyes] were Broadway-style singers and dancers. I knew Sarah [Chalke] could dance, because she danced when she was young. I knew Zach [Braff] loved musical theater. I had actually seen Ken Jenkins in Big River on Broadway when I was a kid. Neil Flynn (Janitor) and John McGinley were the last two guys to admit that they’d done a lot of musicals and stuff, but being actors, they had. Johnny C. knew how to do a Gilbert and Sullivan number, and Neil had a big baritone voice.” > > While fans have all seen Donald Faison sing on the show whenever possible, there had to be at least one person who was nervous because he or she wasn’t a strong vocalist, right? “The funniest thing was that the worst singer in the cast wasn’t apprehensive at all,” he laughs. “We always make fun of Sarah Chalke, because she loves music and loves musicals but can’t carry a tune for her life. She was hyperexcited to sing, but we didn’t give her all that much because she could break glass with that voice.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/7 "2015-09-09T16:25:26Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Was it _Scrubs_ that had that trio of a-capella harmonizing accountants from the hospital business office? They cracked me up every time. > > I heard them doing the _Underdog_ theme song; I would have loved to hear them sing “Mighty Mouse”, bur I don’t think they ever did. They are a quartet, [The Blanks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blanks), that existed outside of the show. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/8 "2015-09-09T16:28:41Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > One of my favorite episodes of _Scrubs_. Love the way the music is an integral part of the plot, not just shoe-horned in as a gimmick. > > The answer is (c), all the cast had some sort of training and experience in musical theater. > > And they compensated for Sarah Chalke, who apparently loves music but can’t sing worth a darn, by giving her a smaller and simpler part to sing. Also note that Judy Reyes (Carla) had broken her pelvis so had to do most of her parts sitting down. They came back and filmed “I’m Dominican” after she had healed. > > [According to Bill Lawrence, the show’s creator:](http://www.tvguide.com/news/tune-tonights-scrubs-35612/) Wow, thanks! Once again, SD comes through! ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/9 "2015-09-10T14:26:37Z")
But in the end, if they did use autotune (which the majority of recording artist probably do at some point), do you think they would even say that? Probably not. They will just talk about what a great cast they have. I have no doubt that all of their cast could sing better than the average person, but autotune can help even the best singers in the world. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/10 "2015-09-10T14:58:10Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Auto-Tune is very good when used for its original intended purpose. Yes, it’s important to note that the original purpose of Auto-Tune was to make subtle corrections to imperfect performances, not to be used as the heavy-handed (and ridiculous) “effect” (or would it be an “affect”?) that is popularly done today. . ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/auto-tune-use-on-tv-shows/730409/11 "2015-09-10T14:59:32Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I haven’t really watched the show, but _Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt_’s theme song having autotune should be zero surprise to those familiar with [the people behind it](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songify_the_News). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xECUrlnXCqk/hqdefault.jpg "That's the Joke") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk)