I've been trying out this software called Vocaloid 4. It's a program that allows you to use synthesized vocals in music. It's great when you don't have the voice of an angel but still wants to create music with lyrics.
So I've been sitting at my computer for a couple of days and tried to test this out.
I made a cover of a song for the game Lunar: Silver Star Story called Winds Nocturne. It's a beautiful piece of music, and the game Is one of my favorite role-playing game. I used the software Vocaloid 4 and used the voice bank called Cyber Diva, which uses English words as its source.
You can listen to this cover on my SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/aeico/winds-nocturne-vocaloid-cover-cyber-diva
Vocaloid music has been in the music industry for a decade now and has evolved into a big money-making business machine.
Check this concert, for example, the front figure of all Vocaloids at the moment, Hatsune Miku.
You're probably wondering why the fuck this hentai shit is getting popular? And why are people going to concerts to see this?
The reason is probably that it's entertaining as these shows are using holographic tech to project the character on stage, but also the music tends to be good, and it's an experience itself.
We had also seen the same tech that brought dead 2-pac on stage on Coachella, performing with Snoop and Dre.
Or a live performance with the Gorillaz characters on stage like this
But there is a huge difference between these live performances as Gorillaz and 2-pac are real artists, Hatsune Miku is mainly a community driven fictional character, with songs and videos made entirely by creative people.
Also, the craft behind composing Vocaloid music is hard since you are manually working with deciding the pitch and sound of the voice, which a real singer has no problem with thus creating a slower workflow when producing music.
So why would anyone use Vocaloid if it's better to work with a real singer?
The reasons are endless of course, but the two ones I've encountered is the flexibility to create lyrics and flow instantly to the produced content. Also, you control every aspect of the work if done by yourself which takes off conflicts and disagreement in regular productions.
All you need to do is use the software and find the voicebank you deem fits your music. You can also create your voicebank, but that requires a lot of recording since you will have to fill a whole dictionary of words into it.
A voicebank is necessary when you are using the Vocaloid software because it holds all the necessary syllables and words for the vocal parts. Also, a voicebank has its unique voice, which is a determining factor depending your style of music. You are free to tune the words as you please, and you are also able to add effects.
See it as programming music; you have a tool to create something all by yourself. And with the right use, it can be something to create awesome and amazing pieces of music.
So I'm going to test this out a lot and see the other possibilities for its use, because it's really addictive.