Shattering Gleam: A Podcast About Music and Gender

Musical Shape-Shifting: The Many Pitches of Prince

Episode Summary

How do our ears gender vocal pitch, and what happens when artists intentionally play with this? Sasha Geffen introduces us to a long, dynamic history of how artists like Kanye West, Parliament Funkadelic and more have experimented with vocal pitch in different ways, but with a focus on the legendary Prince. Professor Susan Rogers, Prince’s sound engineer, gives us the inside scoop on Prince’s fascination with creating personas and a story about musical revenge...through pitch-shifting.

Episode Notes

How do our ears gender vocal pitch, and what happens when artists intentionally play with this? Sasha Geffen introduces us to a long, dynamic history of how artists like Kanye West, Parliament Funkadelic and more have experimented with vocal pitch in different ways, but with a focus on the legendary Prince. Professor Susan Rogers, Prince’s sound engineer, gives us the inside scoop on Prince’s fascination with creating personas and a story about musical revenge...through pitch-shifting.