Some have even been featured on stage via projection. The avatars from the sample packs, also called Vocaloids, are sold as ‘real’ characters. Moe is a Japanese slang term for feelings of affection or adoration - often used by fans to describe characters in anime or manga. These virtual singers have a moe anthropomorphism (a term derived from Japanese manga and anime in which inanimate objects are given a face and personality). You can think of these like sample packs. Each is sold as “a singer in a box” - a replacement for an actual singer. Over the years, many different voice banks have been released for use with the Vocaloid synthesizer.

You can then change a whole slew of parameters, like the emphasis on syllables, the dynamics and tone of the ‘voice,’ and you can add other effects like vibrato. You’d first add the note, then type the lyric onto the note itself. To make a vocal passage, the user inputs the melody and lyrics on a piano roll. It uses a specialized form of synthesis with vocals recorded by voice actors/singers. Essentially, it’s software that lets users create faux ‘vocals’ by typing in lyrics and a melody.

Vocaloid text to speech free