YAMAHA's presence at NAMM is part of their Trans-Pacific Project which aims to bridge the Japanese Vocaloid creative fandom with the English-speaking one. They have also attended CES 2013 and showcased Megpoid English, Akikoloid-chan, and AHSoftware's Kaai Yuki. Vocaloid is definitely struggling right now as a fandom and as a product, nothing new as far as I know of has been released apart from Mikoto and Hime. However, this branching off that CFM is doing could be good for them. It let's them shine and it let's people know that they exist too, not just Yamaha.
Once upon a time, there was a big name business company named YAMAHA! It wanted to create something unique… and they did back in 2004 in Japan! Vocaloid was made as an instrument for vocals!
- Yamaha Japan has introduced the Vocaloid VKB-100 keyboard, a singing keytar thing based on their Vocaloid virtual vocalist technology. The VKB-100 site is in Japanese and doesn’t have much information on it yet, but it looks like the keytar will allow you to play notes with one hand while articulating vocalization with the other.
- ヤマハ株式会社が運営するvocaloid(ボーカロイド、ボカロ)公式サイトです。 vst/au対応したvocaloid5を購入できるのはvocaloid公式サイトだけ。 vocaloid5の他に追加ボイスバンクなど楽曲制作に必要なソフトウェアをダウンロード購入することができます。 その他、ラーニングコンテンツや、ニュース.
What Is Vocaloid Anyway?
Created by the big dog YAMAHA, you know like instruments and motor vehicles, Vocaloid is a synthetic software that allows those who can’t sing worth a lick to put phonetics into a program to produce a sound and eventually a harmony! You now have the choice of different Vocaloids, which are basically different sounding tones and even different languages- MAIKA is the most multi-lingual. Each Vocaloid is made using the voice of one person, and each one is very professionally made! The difference between real life and Vocaloid singing is the robotic essence it sometimes has. This is not to say that the producer can’t make it sound human, it just has a certain feel to it that most seem to find odd and enjoy! I know I do!
What’s The Difference Between Vocaloid And A Real Band?
I thought I already said this, but okay! Vocaloid is most often than not made by one person. Now we’re not talking someone like Beck who makes every single bit of his music off of the computer! Most use software like FL Studio- a music creation software with realistic sounding instruments! It also makes for a good collaboration with others that would make most jump for joy! Hmm… Nicki Minaj and Slipknot- now that would be weird!
Is Vocaloid A Genre?
Nope, Vocaloid can be put behind any genre of music- just take a glance at my singles list, I’ve got the songs on the review to listen! Most of the more famous songs are pop, dubstep, alternative, and such- but there is also a metal scene that I’m currently writing a book about! Although, there is a new type of music created by the poster girls Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin- who sound young! When you have those girls behind the microphone screaming metal and expletives you can definitely be sure it has a unique sound to it!
Expletives? Is This Safe For Kids?
It depends! Would you let your kids listen to something as brutal as Slayer- a big name metal band back in the day- or would you prefer them to listen to something less gory like Imagine Dragons- a more recent pop rock group? Vocaloid is more of an extension of the producer! A very hardcore name like Utsu-P or Shiromeshi that has F-Bombs flying everywhere and really has some grotesque lyrics would not suit a child! But if you had a good producer like Yucha-P, one of my favorites, you would be content in knowing it’s safe! That’s if you want your kid listening to something in Japanese! If you don’t, then Circus-P, Empath-P, Crusher-P, and many others are good English producers that are pretty famous with millions of views!
Vocaloid Demo Download Free
There is also the notion of maturity like every form of media! Some songs contain, not graphic material, but ideas and knowledge that comes with understanding, that a kid wouldn’t understand a bit! One of my favorites is a song called “Suicide Prevention Bunnies” by Komiya-chan-P, that talks about putting baby rabbits near depressed kids homes so they can feel better! It’s a sweet and thoughtful thing, but a kid probably doesn’t even know what suicide is! It can strike up a serious conversation- which I personally think you shouldn’t avoid! Japan has the highest suicide rate in the world- and they even have a forest nicknamed Suicide Forest at the edge of Mt. Fuji, where hundreds of lives are lost each year by their own hands!
So… Vocaloid Is Basically Like Any Other Music?
Yep, even ones with bad things in it have that “Parental Advisory” thing on it! It is all run by an aware group of Labels that take note of who they want to market to! Vocallective is an English Vocaloid Label! KarenT is a big name that is for teens with slightly more mature stuff like heartache and sometimes historical stories! Rice Records is more Adult oriented, with many of their albums containing the “Parental Advisory” mark! EXIT TUNES is far more family friendly with its award winning albums! All of these lets you listen on their site for free! SEGA and Sony have even made a rhythm game for Vocaloid- mainly Hatsune Miku- that has many great songs! So instead of researching the Vocaloids themselves, research the artists instead, better yet, research the circle they have- it is more open to a more accurate interpretation. Most have the single suffix “P” which stand for Producer! They get this from a number of ways, but go here to find some of them!
How Do They Get A Vocaloid?
Simple, but expensive! You need to buy the Vocaloid Software which is this:
A whopping amount of cabbage, right?
Then, you must pick your individual Vocaloid that cost nearly the same!
This is Luka that has both Japanese and English Phonetics installed as well as a free upgrade for later updates! For that price, I’d better have free updates!
Now, this is going to be an investment if you want to be a Producer, or get it for someone! So there is a free version called “VF4” which just means, “Vocaloid Free 4”! This is not a trial, but an allowed torrent download of sorts! It has some things disabled, but YAMAHA doesn’t endorse it, but they do allow it! It is a way to get more business, like free marketing- while if you legally produce a song and sell it- you are required to show your ownership of the product! This is how they forego DMCA Copyright Infringements! Go Google It! I’m not giving you the link!
Note: “Go Google It” is a funny Vocaloid song you can find on YouTube!
Yamaha Vocaloid Demo Piano
Do I Have Any More Questions?
I don’t know, you tell me! Shoot to the comments or email me for more information you’d want to know! I’ll edit this page to put up your question! Oh wait… there is no comments on here! Okay, just comment on another post or email like I said!