Using Technology Creatively For Better Vocals - Page 5

The ultimate extention of these types of sampled voices is Yamaha's Vocaloid program. At the moment, it's chief drawback is that it's relatively complicated to program. As I wrote back in March for Tech Central Station:

In 2003, Yamaha created a product that they call "Vocaloid". Its programming can be input by any musician; its basic graphical user interface is much like any software-based synthesizer. But after that, words are typed onto the screen. And then the user enters phonemes if the words aren't in Vocaloid's vocabulary. Phonemes are the phonetic unit of language that conveys distinction in meaning, such as the "mmm" of mat and the "buh" of bat. Finally, performance characteristics such as the tone of the singer's tone, breathiness and dynamics are programmed in.

When all the programming is complete, press play, and it sings. No, not computer generated singing — but it sings with a human voice that has been digitally sampled, deconstructed, and re-assembled according to your input. And Vocaloid can do its own harmonies and back-up vocals.

Currently, Yamaha, through Zero-G, their UK distributor, markets Vocaloid with three different voices each available separately, two female, and one male. They're named Leon, Lola, and Miriam, after the actual humans whose voices have been sampled to create the synthetic singers.

The initial programming typically does sound like a synthesized android's voice; it takes a lot of programming to make Vocaloid sound like a real voice, and not a synthesizer.

But synthesized instruments have gotten increasingly realistic sounding over the past twenty years, and there's no reason to believe that within a much shorter period of time, Vocaloid, and its inevitable competitors will eventually become indistinguishable to most listeners from the human voice.

There's no reason why the vocal loops, SoundFonts and synthesized voices such Vocaloid can't be run through flangers, phasers, or even the Antares Auto-Tune, to give them their own effects. (Incidentally, you may find that unless the Acid loop is first copied to a new audio loop, or its loop feature disabled, it won't track properly through the Auto-Tune patch.)

Of course, you can always "roll your own" in addition to using pre-sampled sources. It can be helpful to record a variety of grunts, screams, yelps, and other lines of scat singing to be able to drop into songs during solos, drum breaks and other key parts. If you employ a friend for your vocals or backup vocals have him or her go crazy singing--and screaming--some of this material. You'll never know when a nice scream fits the bill perfectly after a drum break, but before a verse starts.

Article Author: Ed Driscoll

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