Transposing vocals like an instrument?

[Rhett]

So I really have a thing for vocal chops and vocal melodies. I'm pretty decent at it to but I can't seem to get down this technique. I want to be able to transpose a part of a vocal without time stretching (so no a sampler wouldn't work). At the same time I also want to be able to use other parts of the acapella like a vowel or something so im not stuck with one repetitive sample. Kinda hard to describe in words but here's basically what I'm getting at:


@ 0:11 and throughout

AND

Soundcloud @ 4:14 - as you can see this doesn't sound like just a normal transposition of vocals. It's sounds as if he is "playing" the vocals like an instrument for lack of a better word.

Yes, I posted a skrillex song, don't shoot me. If you're going to say something along the lines "Stop trying to sound like skrillex." I'm not. Vocal chopping has been around way longer than skrillex. Vocal chopping is a technique, it's not like it's been patented by skrillex.

I have Melodyne which could be a good way to do this method, but the work flow is very touchy and overall annoying. My DAW is Ableton Live so please keep the techniques limited to that.

Thanks guys looking forward to the help <3b

[OfficialDAPT]

Ok here's how I would do it using Ableton 8 or 9. Right click the clip you want to chop up and select "Slice to new MIDI track." A dialogue box should pop up and select either 1/4 notes or 1/8 (That's what I suggest). Now you should have a new MIDI track which a bunch of vocal chops. Rearrange them until you have a cool vocal pattern going. Now go into the envelope mode of the MIDI clip with the chopped vocals in it. From here you can select pitch bend (SEE PICTURE)



Now select the pencil tool and draw in the note changes that you want to make. IMO this doesn't sound as good as Melodyne but it still sounds alright.

Another think you can do is chop the vocals in Ableton using the slicing method I mentioned above, thus getting a vocal chopped pattern that you like. After that freeze and flatten the track and then throw it into melodyne. Now you can change the pitch of the already chopped vocals.

[Rhett]

Ok here's how I would do it using Ableton 8 or 9.....

Thank you so very much for the HQ post!

Yeah I think bouncing it to melodyne would be a better choice because I don't believe ableton lets you see what semitone you are at.
Thank you very much and I'm going to try that melodyne trick out

[Rhett]

oops double posted D:

[GangstaFish]

Check out ARTFX's video. It helped me a lot.



Also try:

[mthrfnk]

Edited... Ignore my previous post in light of ElectricHeads comment.

I use Slicex/ Pitcher for chopping/repitching vocals, will explain further if needed

[Electric_Head]

All Image-line products are available as individual vsts.
Slicex is currently going for $79

[Augment]

If you want to do it like skrillex then this is hoow

"I use Melodyne for formant stuff and basic pitch, but then I'll print a whole line of audio. To be honest, for all my detailed cuts, chops and actual lines I'll just basically take my vocal or someone else's and process it through Melodyne in a certain way. All the stylistic treatments I do then all come from audio slicing and transposing in Live.

"Melodyne is crazy - with DNA you can actually take the individual sounds in a chord, isolate them and then change any of them."

I've heard that he uses Ableton's transpose wheel with this, I'm not on ableton though, and don't use melodyne, so I have no idea how it works

EDIT: Here's another quote with more info

How do you record vocals and cut them up? Generally, how do you effect your vocals to create those unusual dips and bends?
It’s a combination of things. When I’m recording in, sometimes I pre-record [vocals] with an SM58 into whatever soundcard is in my computer. When I’m tracking, I’m using different vocal compressors: [PSP] VintageWarmer with multi-band compressor/limiter, [iZotope] Ozone; I do most everything in Ozone. There is so much shit you can do with it: multi-band, compression, everything. I’ll take [Celemony] Melodyne and detune it for vocals. From there, I render it to audio, and start manually chopping it up in Ableton Live, using the pitch envelopes and the transpose wheel right in Live and doing manual pitching of the melody for all that crazy editing. I even use that Chris Lord-Alge [CLA Vocals] plug-in from Waves for vocal effects. - See more at: http://www.emusician.com/artists/0767/s ... xOO8R.dpuf

[bouncingfish]

Melodyne, or Flex Pitch for me becquerel I'm in logic.

[mthrfnk]

Melodyne, or Flex Pitch for me becquerel I'm in logic.

becquerel all day long

[bouncingfish]

Melodyne, or Flex Pitch for me becquerel I'm in logic.

becquerel all day long

Hahaahahahah, Worthless iPad autocorrect. *because

[Koanos]

I have made a sample pack here for Skrillex style vocal chops

[Koanos]

I have made a sample pack here for Skrillex style vocal chops

[Koanos]

I have made a sample pack here for Skrillex style vocal chops

[karmacazee]

If you don't have/can't afford melodyne, then go and buy a copy of Computer Music and install the Mharmonizer plugin.

It's a MIDI controlled harmonizer. I.e you stick the effect on the track and send a MIDI pattern to it from a different track to control the pitch bends. This gives you detailed control over the pitch and even lets you create chords by writing the notes into the MIDI pattern. It comes with formant controls and a few different operating functions - I prefer the HQ vocoder for this sort of thing. You can even control it in real time with your keyboard like a vocoder, so it's good for live performance too.

So all you'd need to do is chop the vocals into the rhythmic pattern you want and use this plugin to control the pitch/formant etc.

There's also a paid for version that goes a lot further.



Also great on drums.