AI Singing vs Vocal Instrument VST

[SaucyJackBass]

I have one really cool Vocal plugin for adding realistic vocal to a demo track so I can express melody. I use this to help with lyric writing and to get the melody to the singer that might be recording my take.
I am curious if anyone has messed around with AI Singing where you can feed the lyrics in. I can't find one that will take input of Lyrics and MIDI for melody, but I admit, AI is way out of my league.
Just curious what others have found.

 

[FRoss6788]

Please avoid AI at all costs.

Let's try and keep music fully created by humans.

Just do the work yourself.

 

[SaucyJackBass]

What does that even mean. Do you use pedals? Do you use effects while mixing? Do you use any synthesizer plugins?
Why is AI cheating?

 

[FRoss6788]

None of those items "creates" a melody, which is what you seem to be asking for.

Create your own melody.

Effects augment sounds, that's it.

AI, IMHO, has NO PLACE in the arts.

None.

 

[SaucyJackBass]

You didn't read the post, I am creating the melody, I want to insert a MIDI and LYRICS (which I created) into an AI to replicate the sound of someone singing. I am hoping to have it AUGMENT my sound.

 

[MattZilla]

Dude, just sing it. It’s not that hard. You were born with the instrument built into your neck.

Do whatever. It’s your game, we’re just the NPC’s.

I don’t know why you’d post about it here, a site for people who enjoy doing things by hand, the slow and tedious way; a site for people who enjoy learning to become masters of their bodies. We’ve spent years/decades honing our craft. We’ve dealt with oozing blisters and built up stiff callouses for our trade skill. We’ve blown $$$$ or more on the work tools themselves.

You don’t feel like learning to sing, don’t feel like working with a singer who has put in the time & effort to learn to use their voice proficiently and you want to talk to this community about what you’re doing to skirt that…

And you’ve been on this Luddite community board for almost fifteen years?!

I don’t know you from any other child of God, but dude, take it to talkAI.com if you’re looking for cheerleaders or helpers for your endeavor.

 

[JRA]

Please avoid AI at all costs....AI, IMHO, has NO PLACE in the arts

take it to talkAI.com

what is behind your 'fear and loathing' of "AI?"

if you've covered this before (your rationale) i'll read your links. TIA

 

[FugaziBomb]

I have one really cool Vocal plugin for adding realistic vocal to a demo track so I can express melody. I use this to help with lyric writing and to get the melody to the singer that might be recording my take.
I am curious if anyone has messed around with AI Singing where you can feed the lyrics in. I can't find one that will take input of Lyrics and MIDI for melody, but I admit, AI is way out of my league.
Just curious what others have found.

I use Melodyne to pretty much do this. I'll usually start by laying the vocal melody down on keys, then I'll sing along to the melody track to record lyrics. After that I'll go clean it up my horrible voice with Melodyne.

Please avoid AI at all costs. It'll take over soon enough, no point helping it along

 

[brianrost]

If you really can’t sing, you can use a vocoder if all you need is a scratch vocal to give to a singer to learn. A lot simpler than going with some AI thing. Most DAWs have a vocoder you can use.

FugaziBomb’s suggestion about Melodyne is another way to go.

 

[FRoss6788]

Why is AI cheating?

Because AI "learns" or is "taught" by consuming other peoples actual work that they actually created with their minds and bodies (singing and artwork).

This content is essentially stolen and used to teach AI, these artists and authors are not compensated for the use of their works.

I know AI is here to stay, but I will aviod it at all costs as long as I can, and I firmly believe it has no place in the arts.

It cheapens and diminishes everything it is used to "create".

 

[Inertialsky]

“AI” is just an I/O device.

Just like a calculator.

Didn’t the Beatles just do this to complete an old track?

 

[FRoss6788]

Just like a calculator.

No, it's not just like a calculator.

 

[ole Jason]

I don't know of any easy to use AI implementations that will accept MIDI/text as inputs and spit out good sounding vocals. It's really only a matter of time until that happens though. Musicians freaking out about it, like in this thread, isn't going to change that fact. Adapt or get left behind.

Regardless, for your purposes check out EmVoice. It doesn't sound super realistic but should be good enough for your purposes.

 

[FugaziBomb]

The problem with AI is that it is using a data pool of human creatives to undermine human creativity. Where there used to be an economically viable career in commercial art, now AI does it for free based on the work of the previous generation of artists. So not only does this push the human creatives into obsolescence, but by doing so ensures that it's own pool of data to pull from becomes stagnant by the lack of human creatives adding to that very pool.

I can't see AI as a good thing for humanity. It's already painful to see so many people unable to do the kind of work their grandparents could. Computers now do a lot of the ground work humans used to have to do and it feels like we've already lost a grasp on the basic foundation for things. I work in architecture and the last 10 years have given way to generating building plans from 3D models instead of being drafted by actually people and the results are atrocious. 15-20 years ago, I would have never dreamed of seeing the kind of glaring errors I see on building plans these days, or the lack of knowledge most professionals seem to have in their respective fields. We're growing fat and lazy and it's alarming to me that I can actually recognize it happening.

 

[Inertialsky]

No, it's not just like a calculator.

Yes, It’s exactly like a calculator. You give it input, and you get an output. The output is entirely dependent on the input.

Neither a calculator or “AI” is sentient. So they actually have a lot in common.

 

[Poobini]

I have one really cool Vocal plugin for adding realistic vocal to a demo track so I can express melody. I use this to help with lyric writing and to get the melody to the singer that might be recording my take.
I am curious if anyone has messed around with AI Singing where you can feed the lyrics in. I can't find one that will take input of Lyrics and MIDI for melody, but I admit, AI is way out of my league.
Just curious what others have found.

Check out Vocaloid software or some open source alts... I think people are getting hung up on your use of AI. Vocal synthesis is more what you're looking for. That's been used for decades and is generally beloved.

 

[MuseChaser]

I use Melodyne to pretty much do this. I'll usually start by laying the vocal melody down on keys, then I'll sing along to the melody track to record lyrics. After that I'll go clean it up my horrible voice with Melodyne.

Please avoid AI at all costs. It'll take over soon enough, no point helping it along

I have to admit that I'm pretty much with @MattZilla on this one, although I don't know if I'd characterize my views of AI as "fear and loathing." Maybe more like sadness and disappointment. It just seems like technology, speaking in vast generalities, is more about making things easier and more accessible, rather than better and uniquely artistic. Easier is not always better... I've said that many times about many subjects.

As a for instance.... CGI effects in movies have made pretty much ANYTHING possible, and a lot of current CGI stuff can appear startlingly real. BUT.... the achievement, at least to me, is nowhere near as mindboggling and impressive as the actual creation of huge sets, "cast of thousands" scenes, amazing stunt work, etc., when they were actually DONE by people. Plus, CGI hasn't added to the poignancy and quality of the storylines; a pretty cogent argument could be made that it's had the opposite effect. It's become the focus of so many movies now, instead of the craft of truly skilled human actors who spend their lives perfecting their art.

Music is no different. If something sounds rough in my playing or singing on a recording, I clean it up with a device called "Practicing"... it's worked great for 63 years so far (OK... 58... I took the first five years off), although it does take time, dedication, blood, sweat, and tears. The post to which I'm replying is a little mystifying.... the writer suggests avoiding AI, immediately after recommending a program that undoubtedly uses some form of AI (at least as AI seems to be defined these days) in order to digitally correct human "flaws" in performance. Admittedly, I have no experience with Melodyne, nor Autotune or similar software. I use Samplitude for recording, editing, and mastering on my DAW, but refuse to "correct" performances... just EQ, some room ambience, fades, trimming lead-ins and tails, etc.

Music to me is a real-time, human expression. It's beauty is DUE, partly, to the struggle and dedication of the performer, warts and all. Without that, it's just computer generated noise. Might be pleasant noise, but it's still just audible ones and zeros.

Using AI to cure cancer? Help people walk/see/hear? I'm all in. Remove the necessity of sweat equity and dedication from human endeavor? Not sure I see ANY gain in that. There's some phrase that says, "If <insert activity here> was easy, everyone would do it." Human triumphs and joys are found and felt when we struggle and accomplish difficult tasks, not when we press a few buttons. Winning the lottery or decades of hard work learning skills, making money, and building your own beautiful home with your own two hands. Which is a fuller, better life? A live performance of Beethoven's 9th symphony, or AI-generated loops in earbuds ... we all have our own preferences. For some, the "Easy Button" IS what it's all about. For others, including myself, "easy" is usually a blockade to quality. Of course, my friends call me "Hardway," so there's that...

 

[FRoss6788]

Yes, It’s exactly like a calculator. You give it input, and you get an output. The output is entirely dependent on the input.

Neither a calculator or “AI” is sentient. So they actually have a lot in common.

Fine. Be obtuse.

We disagree, completely.

 

[FugaziBomb]

The post to which I'm replying is a little mystifying.... the writer suggests avoiding AI, immediately after recommending a program that undoubtedly uses some form of AI (at least as AI seems to be defined these days) in order to digitally correct human "flaws" in performance. Admittedly, I have no experience with Melodyne, nor Autotune or similar software. I use Samplitude for recording, editing, and mastering on my DAW, but refuse to "correct" performances... just EQ, some room ambience, fades, trimming lead-ins and tails, etc.

I'm pretty adamant about not using vocal correction on the actual recordings, but for demoing an idea to my singer, I have no qualms about it. I'm never going to be a good singer, with any amount of practice, but I can at least use the tool as a way to precisely convey the idea to a someone who is skilled enough to produce the performance without aid. That's where I am with it. When I sketch a set of plans for a drafter, I still use straight edges and compasses to ensure the rough idea I'm passing along is easily decipherable. I look at the way I use vocal correction the same way.

 

[younggun]

The problem with AI is that it is using a data pool of human creatives to undermine human creativity. Where there used to be an economically viable career in commercial art, now AI does it for free based on the work of the previous generation of artists. So not only does this push the human creatives into obsolescence, but by doing so ensures that it's own pool of data to pull from becomes stagnant by the lack of human creatives adding to that very pool.

I can't see AI as a good thing for humanity. It's already painful to see so many people unable to do the kind of work their grandparents could. Computers now do a lot of the ground work humans used to have to do and it feels like we've already lost a grasp on the basic foundation for things. I work in architecture and the last 10 years have given way to generating building plans from 3D models instead of being drafted by actually people and the results are atrocious. 15-20 years ago, I would have never dreamed of seeing the kind of glaring errors I see on building plans these days, or the lack of knowledge most professionals seem to have in their respective fields. We're growing fat and lazy and it's alarming to me that I can actually recognize it happening.

Some good points there, I wouldn't disagree that AI definitely has some massive downsides, but I've heard many of the same observations everytime there is a leap ahead or new technology. Here's basically how I see:

To be blunt, I think the majority of the population has always been "fat and lazy" and will use any tool they can to become even fatter and lazier. Essentially most people are consumers, and most of those consumers don't care what they consume as long as it is instantly self gratifiying. We've seen this in the dumbing down and simplification of the music business for the last 25 to 30 years, and many other walks of life since the creation of electricity and the industrial revolution. The masses used to be forced to "create" through labor and craftsmanship, because they had no other choice to survive, and that is becoming less and less true. Technology has created a LOT of free time for the average human, but most of those people are still consumers, and will therefore use that free time and technology to do what they do...consume more. I've seen no evidence that's going to change.
On the flip side, there has also always been a minority of people who have the propensity, talent, and desire to keep creating and aspire to higher ideals. Those type of people take technological advances and use them to serve creative purposes. I've also never seen any evidence that is going to change either...creatives will always create, regardless of the culture around them. The way I see it, AI is just another technical advance that creatives will use to create, and consumers will use to consume.