Is karaoke being used?

[wally]

Are CVPUG members using the karaoke and vocal harmony features of the CVP? If so, how so?

[jeffjob]

... I find I use the vocal harmony feature around the holidays. Christmass is perfect for a party with friends over and sing along to some X-Mass songs...

[fredsmith99]

I've had a karaoke night which went over very well.

We played around with vocal harmony, but it wasn't as popular. It's tough to get people to sing into a microphone. Most amateurs are intimidated by it. However, when I turned on the 'correct the pitch' setting, that was better received.

My experience is that vocal harmony is more for professionals.

[Pgoetke]

I was reading your post and saw you mention vocal pitch correction mode. What exactly is this? Where is it in the manual and how do I set it up?

Many Thanks!
Paul

[fredsmith99]

You correct the pitch on vocal harmony as follows:

1. Choose VH Type Select
2. Pick the harmony type you want (eg, CountryQuar)
3. Press Edit (9:UP: key)
4. Choose the Lead Pitch parameter
5. Change the Value to Correct

[ClavinovaGuy]

I don't use it at all. There are city ordinances prohibiting me from singing anywhere within earshot of humans, pets or inanimate objects.

[ericho]

Used the VH ones when I had my 208 a few days.
Now you mention it I realise that I never used it again.
But to be honnest I think I only use half the things that my cvp can do !
Who can say, he uses all off the cvp capabilities?
They dazzle us in our quest to find our next instrument and ones we have it at home we ignore most of them :-)

Eric

[wally]

Fred, I'd like to hear more about your experience with the "correct the pitch" feature. Does the CVP correct your pitch in relation to a specific track in the midi file? Or does the CVP correct the pitch to harmonize with the music? How does it work, and how well does it work?

[fredsmith99]

I found that correcting the pitch worked quite well as long as you gave the Clavinova enough to go on. As background, my forte is faking it (ie, chord with the left hand, play the melody note with the right -- the Clavinova can do the rest).

Vocal Harmony will harmonize to the chord the the instrument recognizes (ie, the one listed in the main display). "Correct pitch" will change the vocal to the melody note being played by the right hand.

My biggest problem is getting people to sing into the mic. Most aren't very comfortable with this.

[guileak]

I use the VH feature all the time, tend to play most days, and am slowly building up a large number of pieces. I tend to use VH to provide backing to key pieces of the song rather than to keep my singing in pitch, or to provide effects through out the song. So sing along & flick the VH on during the chorus etc

I remeber reading about a feature on the CVP3xx that seemed useful, it would take the human voice & turn the notes you sing into a midi track. Never managed to find ref to this on my CVP303, but it would be very useful as a basis for creating new arangemet.

It also kicks for sing alongs................

[urbans]

I don't know whether this question belongs here. I understand that (at least for the 307) there is a guide-type function to have the accompaniement wait until the singer delivers the correct melody note. This sounds exciting, but there's a similar practicing function I'd like to have;

I would like to be able to play a guitar track on my electric guitar (let's say a lead or solo track) and have backing from the CVP, in a way that the accompaniement waits until I pluck the correct note on the guitar. Would this be possible in any way? If I mount a microphone near my amp, could I set the singing guide function to listen for the guitar sounds?

[dancaputi]

Theoretically, yes, it's possible. Practically: no, I don't believe you'll have much success. I would say you should definitely give it a go and let us know. If anything, it will be a fun thing to try.

There's lots of threads here on getting guide mode to work with particular tracks (left/right hand, etc...) but before you go crazy with that, I'd suggest you try it out with a simple CueTime or Follow-the-Lights piece just to see if it's going to be at all practical.

If you've ever played around with vocal CueTime, you'd know it's not so great. It's more a gimmick than anything useful.

Now, having said that, I suppose if the CVP were interpreting a more pure wave form, such as that from a guitar, it may actually be smarter at recognizing the pitch.

The other thing at play is the amount of time you may need to get the performance to go smooth may be longer than if you were to practice in a more traditional way.

- Dan C.

[pianogirl]

I use the karaoke features a lot. I love the way when you bring the score up that you know just where to start singing.

The Vocal Cue time is wonderful. I use it to stay on pitch. You just don't know when you are off unless you use it. I has made my singing so much better. I would recommed using the demo piece to get started, because it gives you something you don't already know and makes you sing it correctly. I had a few, well tons of embarrising moments getting used to it.

I haven't really had a party yet, but when friends would come over we used the karaoke feature. Everyone was thrilled. You couldn't get them away from it.

Vocal Harmony, I haven't quite figured how to use it. I mean when I turn it on, it doesn't seem to be on. That is I can't tell any difference.

I also had a question. When you use the sing-a-long songs on the Clavinova, some pieces change Vocal Harmony types in the middle of the song. How did they do that? And is that something I have the ability to change in the song?

[dancaputi]

So, pianogirl, what you’re saying is that vocal CueTime can work well if you sing on key? ... I guess I just suck then :(

The trick to getting VH to "go" is that the CVP needs a chord to work with. You can simultaneously play a chord with Accomp On or load and play a song that has embedded chord data. Either way, make sure the main display shows a chord or you won't hear any difference.

Those sing-along demos are fantastic. They have embedded midi data (in the form of System Exclusive messages) that tell the CVP to change VH Type. Yes, you can do that. You can insert the raw SysEx messages but there may be an easier way via "step record". I can't try it (at the office) so I'm not sure, but, try editing the song in the digital song recorder and enter step record mode at the desired insertion point. If you hit the VH-Type select button and a desired type, the editor should insert the appropriate SysEx command. If it doesn't, well, there's one for the wish list.

Have fun!

- Dan C.

[ds_1910]

With the accomp on does the type of chord played affect the pitch or tone of the your voice that is heard with a Vocal Harmony type? Also is there any way to keep the chord playing rather then having to hold the key down while you are singing.