Vocal Harmony

[dgsmithnovl]

Hello,

I received my new CVP-207 saturday. It sounds so nice although I'm a bit overwhelmed. Our old CVP-65 was much simpler (aka - limited functionality!).

I read a section of the manual about vocal harmony and mic setup. Some of the terminology is alien to me so I thought I'd ask here. If possible, my wife would like to use this feature to generate various voices for use in puppet shows. I have experimented with the various preset selections but the lead vocal is always predominate, even when I alter the mic balance to favor the harmony voices. Can this feature be used (without keyboard input) to transpose the lead voice and record it? Can the lead voice be supressed so only the harmony voices are exported/recorded?

I saw the above features demonstrated on a Roland KR7 before I decided to stay with a Clavinova. One dealer said the 207 would 'do the voice harmonies of a Roland and more'. I'm hoping that dealer was right and the real problem here is the newbie behind the CVP - me! This isn't critical for my use but my wife would really enjoy it. If she enjoys it, I won't get 'that look' for spending 5K on another piano!

Thanks for any suggestions,

Dave

[fredsmith99]

I haven't tried it, but the manual agrees with your salesperson.

Look on page 131. Under BALANCE, it says:

"When this is set to L<H63 ... only the Vocal Harmony is output"

To get to this point on your Clavinova, the steps are:

1. MIC Setting button
2. J button (to highlight Vocal Harmony Control title bar)
3. 4up button until it displays L<H63.

Hope this works.

[dgsmithnovl]

Hi Fred,

Yes, I tried the mic balance as mentioned in my original post but that didn't provide the output I was expecting. I should have been more clear in that part of my description.

When adjusting the balance to 'all harmony side' it does truncate the lead vocal but the harmony vocals are very faint. With some of the preset vocal harmony selections, adjusting the mic balance to this extreme sounded as though you had turned the mic off - no harmony vocals could be heard. The only harmony that sounded strong was something called SpdMous (not sure of the spelling).

I'm still experimenting with it. It's probably another setting I overlooked!

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate any suggestions as I am very 'green' at the CVP-207.

Dave

[fredsmith99]

If the sound is faint, it sounds like you have problems with the recording setup.

You should be recording in stereo through LineOut. Is this your setup?

[dgsmithnovl]

Hi Fred,

Actually, my wife was just experimenting with the vocal harmonies. The results were not being recorded. Should recording the vocals make a difference in the way they sound? I assume the sound should be the same at the external speaker (during production) as it would be during playback.

I may have missed your point or misunderstood. Sorry, naive user here! To reinterate - my wife would like to be able to speak/sing in to the mic and have the Clavinova transpose her voice. ie. a womans voice goes in to the machine and a mans voice is returned or vice versa.

I also purchased the training DVDs someone mentioned but they have nothing (I've found so far) on Vocal Harmony. The DVDs have been great for other things we are learning!

Thank You,

Dave

[cowpast]

Try contacting your dealer for a copy of the free Vocal Harmony demo disk. It's the best demo of this feature. One of the demos changes the users voice to sound like Barry White. The disk is actually a compendium of vocal harmony setting tweaks which can be copied and saved for use on your Clav.
Phil

Originally posted by dgsmithnovl
Hi Fred,

Actually, my wife was just experimenting with the vocal harmonies. The results were not being recorded. Should recording the vocals make a difference in the way they sound? I assume the sound should be the same at the external speaker (during production) as it would be during playback.

I may have missed your point or misunderstood. Sorry, naive user here! To reinterate - my wife would like to be able to speak/sing in to the mic and have the Clavinova transpose her voice. ie. a womans voice goes in to the machine and a mans voice is returned or vice versa.

I also purchased the training DVDs someone mentioned but they have nothing (I've found so far) on Vocal Harmony. The DVDs have been great for other things we are learning!

Thank You,

Dave

[wesrahn2002]

I just took advantage of the local store's policy of giving full price to upgade from one model to a higher model within the first year. Now I'm the owner of a CVP207, which is quite an upgrade to my 203. However, I now have to learn how to use the Vocal Harmony feature. Talk about a subject for one of Wally's tutorials, the "book" might as well be in a foreign language. Is there another place which explains the operation of the VH?

Thanks,
Wes Rahn

[cowpast]

Wes,
See message #5013 in the message archives for a brief explanation.
Phil

[wesrahn2002]

Good news for those of you who, like I, want more information about the Vocal Harmony feature on the CVP 200 series. Graig Knudsen has indicated that the company who made the learning tapes/DVDs about using the 200 are going to make one on the VH. For those of you who don't know about the tapes/DVDs, look in the Web Links section of the main menu. Graig is one of the "stars" in the learning tapes and one of the members of the Yamaha team.

[r_d_wilson_47714]

When trying to balance your own voice with the vocal harmony sounds you are hearing, it is important to experiment with moving in close to your vocal mike and singing strongly, as well as singing softer from farther away. As I recall, moving into the mike and making your voice much louder will also increase the amount of vocal harmonies that you hear considerably. In fact, you can use this technique for "balancing" your voice with the other voices to your liking while performing.

Richard Wilson
Evansville, IN

[wesrahn2002]

I just received an e-mail response from Tom Folenta, the other "star" in the CVP Learning Videos put out by www.miditainment.com. Tom indicated "Vocal Harmony" video production will begin in May and would be finished by July 1, 2003. This should be of great benefit to those mere mortals, like I, who don't have a clue about the operation of the karaoke and the VH feature on the 200 series.

Since the owner's manual is not of much benefit, I've been "playing" with the VH and have learned something that may be of benefit to other mere mortals. When you play chords inconjunction with using the VH, the harmony will dropout when you remove your hand from the chord in order to play the next chord. To solve this problem, enable (turn on) the "Left Hold" button. This will allow the harmony to continue (as long as you're singing) until the next chord is played.

Since we're on the VH subject, has anyone found a site that has karaoke files which have the chord information enbeded in the file, so I don't have to play the chords in order to sing the song with harmony? I have access to over two thousand karaoke files, but can't seem to find any with chord information which activates the CVP-207 VH. I can't play well enough to chord to the song, and my wife is a piano player. She is now learning how to play chords to take advantage of the wonderful features the CVP has to offer, but for now it sure would be nice to only have to worry about singing the song.

Wes

[r_d_wilson_47714]

Neither the Vocal Harmony Video nor the Clavinova-Computer Video has yet been listed on the www.miditainment.com web site. Does anyone know when either of these two videos/DVDs will be out?

I am aware that the introduction of the new even-numbered Clavinova series with the USB connections has delayed and altered the Computer video, which was due out this past January, but delayed for this reason.

As I alluded to some time ago, anyone who does not have the two videos out already for the CVP-200 series should definitely buy them. I still have my hands full understanding these for the moment!

Richard Wilson

[wesrahn2002]

Richard Wilson,

Last week Craig Knudson was here in Sarasota, Florida to help the Yamaha store set-up a new program titled The Clavinova Cennection. The program is based on the theory that music can make you well, or at least feel better. They tie a group of CVPs together and use the guide light feature and one master CVP with a modified program to conduct an eight week class.

When I asked Craig about the Vocal Harmony video/DVD which was supposed to be out in July, he indicated that he's been tied up for the last six months with this new program. The program has high level Yamaha interest and Craig is the Executive Administrator. Therefore the Vocal Harmony program has taken a back seat.

I did express the interest in the Vocal Harmony feature and the difficulty in understanding the CVP manual in general. In fact, I suggested that it would be great for some bright person to write the "Complete Guide to Using the CVP for The Complete Idiot". I would buy a copy.

I believe Craig has an interest in making some more video and DVD programs including the Vocal Harmony: it's just a matter of priorities.

Wes Rahn
:(