Vocal Synthetics

Liam Clarke

Project Description

Technological music tools such as digital audio workstations and electronic instruments have enabled musical creation without limitations from performance ability. Many instruments have been transferred to digital space through audio-based sampling and synthetic replication. However, the human singing voice has not yet been effectively represented in a synthetic form. The automation of vocals is particularly difficult because beyond pitch and timbre, the vocalization of language requires additional parameters for control. As the production of a vocal synthesizer and its vocal palettes is complex, the current market sees these difficulties represented through products that have limited voices and do not adapt to vocal trends. Developments in the field of deep neural networks open up the possibilities of creating a highly realistic vocal synthesizer that is not dependent on large stores of audio. The aim of this project is to bring the human voice into the realm of digital music production, enabling a music maker to include a large range of vocal styles within their production tool set.