Vocaloid 6 Parameters

[Patrizia Leones]

Shiftsthe overall formant structure of the voice over a large range. Raising the Gender Factor will produce a thicker masculine tone while lowering it will give a more feminine, or even "chipmunk-like", sound to the voice.

The Harmonics parameter controls the level of harmonic content in the voice, thus affecting the phonation. Vowels and other sonorants are always voiced, so they're the most affected by this parameter.

This is one of the parameters that are no longer available in later versions of the software. Although it was removed from VOCALOID3 onwards, it's possible to achieve devoicing of the sonorants with the addition of a '_0' suffix to the intended phoneme.

Opposite to Harmonics, the Noise parameter controls the level of the unvoiced content in the voice. For this reason, it mostly affects the consonants, especially the unvoiced ones. This also affects the "breathiness" of the voice. This is one of the parameters that are no longer available in later versions of the software.

Note Velocity determines the individual volume of each note (similar to the Velocity measurement of the MIDI format) and it's automatically created when a note is drawn. Unlike any other parameter used in V1, the pencil tool cannot be used with it, and instead uses individual bars for modify it's value.

As the Note Velocity was replaced with the Velocity (VEL) parameter from VOCALOID2 onwards, it's important to take note of this if the user ever attempts to export a VSQ file into a VOCALOID MIDI file.

The Resonances were a group of parameters that allowed users to edit the formants of the singing samples individually. Each parameter controlled a specific formant, changing the pronunciation of vowels and the timbre of the singing voice. This is one of the parameters that are no longer available in later versions of the software.

The Singer Parameter is used to change voices in the control track. There can be multiple singers per track. A thing to note is when importing VSQs into V1, the Singer Icon will appear twice instead of once.

The Pitch Bend Parameter goes from -8192 to 8191 with 0 as its default. It can allow the voice to go up to 2 octaves from the original note. However, it needs to be used with the Pitch Bend Sensitivity to unlock its full range.

Pitch Bend Sensitivity is used to decrease or increase the range of the Pitch Bend Parameter. The default at 12 allows for a pitch variation of 1 octave, and at 24 it allows for a pitch variation of 2 octaves.

Portamento Timing is used to change the timing of the notes. However, it should be mentioned that Portamento is generally affected more by the singing style, rather than the Portamento Timing Parameter itself after the 1.1 update. The higher the value is, the later the timing is; the lower the value, the sooner the note is sung.

From VOCALOID2 onwards, there have been a series of parameters that have become common in all the succeeding versions of YAMAHA's singing software. A selection of them were available in V1, though some possess new functions or work in a different way. Despite the changes between each version, the basic functionality of these parameters hasn't suffered drastic modification since then.

Velocity determines how quickly the singer pronounces the note/word, thus influencing consonant trailing and consonant duration. Higher velocities result in shorter consonants and subjectively affects the attack of the lyric.[1][2] This parameter strongly affects the fricatives and affricates, like the "s" and "f" sounds. Unlike the other parameters, its value is adjusted through a series of individual bars per note instead of a continuous curve; a trait carried from the old 'Note Velocity' parameter.

In VOCALOID2, large adjustments produced insignificant changes, so users usually didn't adjust this value very much. However, from VOCALOID3 onwards, this parameter indeed significantly affects the consonant length, making it critical to adjust it for achieving a correct pronunciation, emphasis or attack.

As it affects the consonant length, it can move the beginning of a note closer to, and sometimes even so that it overlaps, the preceding note. In the case of plosives, this can sometimes result in an almost silent preparatory interval prior to sounding of the actual consonant.

The Velocity parameters work differently across VOCALOID and VOCALOID2 (in V1, it manipulated the volume of the note), so it's important to take note of this if the user ever attempts to export a VSQ file into a VOCALOID MIDI file.

Dynamics basically adjust the singer's volume across the track, allowing users to create effects like crescendo or diminuendo, and when it's used effectively adds expressiveness. Also allows users to manually do the attacks and accents in the song. The default "curve" is a straight line at the medium dynamic value.

DYN are not advisable to be too high across the song. While they raise the volume, also it raises the overall loudness and emphasizes the sound artifacts and noise found in the voicebank's samples. Besides, on lower grade computers, it will increase the "crackling" effect if one adjusts VOCALOID's mixer. This is particularly true if the user has more than one vocalist in several tracks.

Breathiness controls the weight of the voices' breathing. Higher values add more breath to the voice, while lower ones remove the air sounds by reducing the high frequencies. In earlier versions of the software, this was one of the parameters the users preferred keep at minimal, due the inherent "metallic" sound of the breaths, and because it also may affect the speech clarity.

Brightness is one of the parameters retained from V1. It keeps its original functionality intact, boosting or cutting the voices' high-frequency content. Higher values produce a brighter, or more "present" sound, while lower values produce a more mellow effect. Lower values can effectively simulate gently delivered or even whispered phrases. Also affects the overall volume, along a lower brightness there's a lower volume and vice-versa.

Clearness is one of the parameters retained from V1, keeping its original functionality intact, sharpening the voice. Higher values produce a sharper, clearer sound, while lower values produce a more muted sound. It is the VOCALOID softwares' equivalent of treble.[citation needed]

It affects consonant phonemes' pronunciation, those ones become harsher and more notorious. Also the synthesizers' artifacts and samples' noise are increased if users raise this parameter too much, resulting in a robotic sound. Also affects the overall volume, along a lower clearness there's a lower volume and vice-versa.

The Opening parameter reproduces the variation of pronunciation through adjustments of the opening of the mouth. Higher opening values can produce a clear, open tone, while reducing the opening value can produce a less distinct tone or pronunciation. It also affects the overall pronunciation, the open vowels are the most affected by this parameter. In the editor, the default value is set at max.

In VOCALOID2, it's one of the parameters that users can edit through the 'Singer Editor' to create custom voice configurations for singers. This is no longer available in the 'Singer Editor' for VOCALOID3 onwards, as the parameter was modified to work in a similar fashion to the VEL, through individual control bars for each note, instead of an editable curve as it happens with the other parameters. This parameter has been replaced by "Mouth" in VOCALOID5.

Gender Factor is one of the parameters retained from V1, up until VOCALOID5. It keeps its original functionality intact, modifying the overall formant structure of the voice, effectively altering the timbre and its inherent "masculinity" or "femininity", without break the original foundation of the voice. Higher values produces a thicker masculine tone while lowering it will give a more feminine or even a "chipmunk-like" sound tone to the voice. This parameter has been replaced by "Character" in VOCALOID5.

It's noteworthy to consider as this parameter modifies the formants, it can alter the pronunciation of the vowels and other phonemes to a certain degree. This may be useful, considering the removal of the Resonances parameters in the succeeding versions of the software.

Portamento Timing is one of the parameters retained from V1, however it function is slightly different in comparison with its V1 counterpart. This parameter adjusts the starting position of the Portamento (in other words, the pitch sliding between two notes).

POR should be used in moderation as it could unsynchronize the pitch variation if used haphazardly, creating the impression of "drunken singing", especially when there are short notes with drastic changes of pitch. However, if it's used effectively, it gives a more human feel as it allows users to effectively control the legato and pitch transition.

The Pitch Bend is one of the parameters retained from V1. It keeps its original functionality intact, allowing adjustments of the Pitch through an editable curve, granting the ability to create hand-drawn pitch bends. How much it affects the pitch, is determined by the PBS.[3]

This parameter is useful for the correction of certain pitch nuances and for adding more expressiveness. Sometimes it may be preferable to use this parameter instead of POR to create a specific kind of pitch bend.

In VOCALOID4, this parameter acquires new uses and a better control with the addition of the 'Pitch Rendering', which allows users to see graphically the changes or adjustments of pitch, and the 'Convert Vibrato to Pitch Bend' options, which respectively converts the vibratos and legatos/portamento normally edited through the 'Note Expression Property' window into equivalent curves of the PIT parameter.

The Pitch Bend Sensitivity is one of the parameters retained from V1. It keeps its original functionality intact, determining the semitones range of PIT parameter. For example, for a D3 note, if the PBS is set on 3, and the PIT is set at its highest value, the note will sound like an F3 note (3 semitones higher than the original note pitch).

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