singing
Latest
Twitch's karaoke competition returns with a record deal prize
Twitch's $20,000 karaoke contest is returning for a second season. The online singing competition for karaoke-style title Twitch Sings is open from today until Monday 5th August. Contestants can submit their audition videos here, and an internal team at Twitch will select the top 15 entrants to compete live over the course of five weeks.
'Guitar Hero Live' is a karaoke simulator
This October, prepare to bring the house down with wild guitar riffs and your mad karaoke skills in Guitar Hero Live. That's right, it's official: Guitar Hero Live brings singing back to the franchise, alongside the new guitar and all of the fresh online features, challenges and songs available in Guitar Hero TV. A behind-the-scenes video posted just before Gamescom kicks off this week in Cologne, Germany, provides an overview of online features in Guitar Hero Live and drops the mic on singing in the game.
Google's Android Chorus is 300 devices together in tinny harmony
In the hope of drawing attention to its Androidify app (and the fact that you've been able to make your own for almost four years now), Google programmed 300 devices (and their Android character) to 'sing' (and flail the limbs around, roughly in time, in the middle of a classy shopping center in upscale Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan. Like a bonafide real chorus, the devices were separated out into parts, though we could also pick out a smattering of beatboxing droids too. If you have entirely not enough pride, you could even take a turn as a conductor, with a gesture sensor conveying your hand movements to your Google singing group. For such overtly public shaming, you were rewarded with a free Android t-shirt. The performances will continue through this Valentine Day weekend, and it will all sound a little something like this:
Wii U Karaoke adds warning about @!#$ing swears
To prevent Tupac from posthumously teaching modern kids the Thug Life vocabulary, Nintendo will add "explicit language" warnings to Wii Karaoke U. As its name suggests, Wii Karaoke U allows players to sing along to their favorite songs. Unlike Rock Band or Guitar Hero however, Wii Karaoke U does not alter or censor the music it features. This becomes a problem for parents the moment somebody's kid develops a taste for old NOFX albums, so in response Nintendo is adding a warning to the game's eShop page. "Wii Karaoke U by Joysound is intended to provide users with access to a large catalogue of songs from a broad range of music labels across a variety of musical genres - designed to appeal to all music tastes," reads Nintendo's official statement on the matter. "As such Nintendo does not restrict which songs are included in the catalogue of songs featured within the Wii Karaoke U by Joysound application." "It is however very important to us that all users of Wii Karaoke U by Joysound understand that some lyrics contained within songs may not be suitable for all audiences and as such we will immediately be implementing an additional message within the Nintendo eShop (prior to downloading the application and ticket purchase) as well as on the Wii Karaoke U by Joysound website pages."
Seen@E3: Capcom's DuckTales singing booth
Capcom sure seems to enjoy when people sing the DuckTales theme song, as its E3 section features an enclosed glass booth for that sole purpose. We took a quick video when passing by of one gentleman exercising his vocal chords to the enjoyment of viewers behind him. Listen closely for the "woo-oo" part of the song; he totally nailed it.
Daily iPhone App: Sing! shares music and voices around the world
Smule has released another musical app called Sing!. It's a Karaoke app that leverages Smule's technological know-how to make the act of singing a social activity on a global scale. As with Smule's other offerings, you can buy various songs with in-app purchase, and there are a few standards included for free. You can sing along solo, or open up your session for others to listen to and join. That's fun, but the social aspect of Sing! sets it apart. You can browse other people's performances on a global map, listen to karaoke sessions from around the world and comment on your favorites. You can even add your own track to someone else's recording (with songs you haven't yet purchased). For example, you can sing backup on someone else's tune, or just the verses of a rap song, leaving the chorus open for someone else. It's a fun time, and thanks to Smule's hard work on music sharing technology, it all works amazingly smoothly. Uploading and downloading songs and performances all happens in a snap. Smule has been at this for a few years now, and they've mastered this kind of sharing. Even if you're not interested in performing any karaoke, it's fun to hear what others are sharing. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
You could sing the Assassin's Creed: Revelations theme (seriously)
Upon hearing about Ubisoft's singing contest for this November's Assassin's Creed: Revelations launch, we've been furiously putting ink to paper in an effort to cage all of our wild lyrical genius. Apparently, that is all for naught, as the contest doesn't actually seek lyrics to go with our symphonic collective voice, but rather one especially melodious vocalist for non-lyrical singing. Rats! AC: R composer Lorne Balfe and general composer dude Hans Zimmer explain the contest in the video. They are looking for folks to put vocals to the game's theme song (available here), and to then get on Facebook for some Marketing 2.0. After reaching the top 20 "Liked" versions of the theme on Facebook, you'll enter the second round, where a handful of musicians (including Zimmer and Balfe, among others) will pick the creme de la creme. Finally, if you're chosen, you get to record your version of the theme, get credits in the game and the soundtrack, and you'll be "awarded" a prize of $1,000. The only question we have now is this: How much would it cost to pay a professional vocalist to record the theme? Regardless, potential entrants have until 8:00PM PST on September 19 to enter, giving you just under two weeks to get crackin'. So, uh, get crackin'!
Soulo karaoke mic for iPad coming to a thin partition wall near you
We've just seen First Act's wireless karaoke kit for the iPad passing through the FCC, suggesting it may be on track for a fall launch. The hardware will count for nothing if the accompanying app from sister company Seven45 Studios hits a dud note, but we guess it looks functional enough. The receiver makes up for its dock-hogging ways by providing a video output so you can check your lyrics on a bigger screen. It should also register your wails, screeches and caterwauls at a distance of up to 20 feet from the AA-powered mic. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but you can warble your interest at the second source link below.
TUAW's Daily App: Songatron
You may remember Jonathan Mann as "that guy who wrote that song Steve played at the Apple event," but of course Mr. Mann is a talented and extremely experienced musician and songwriter who's been churning out a song every single day over on his Songatron website. He's released an app with the same name, and of course, he's written a song and made a video, which you can hear and see above, about the app. The app (surprise) also makes songs -- the idea is that it works like Mad Libs, where you put a word in, and then each song in the app plays, inserting your word where it's meant to go. It's kind of kooky, but just like all of Mann's work, there's enough joy and fun put into it that it works -- even if your words don't line up exactly, hearing it all put together is bound to elicit a laugh or two. You can Facebook, Twitter or email songs that get made, and while there are ten songs to choose from right now, the app's description promises five new songs every month (some of those may end up being in-app purchases). Songatron is available as a universal app for US$1.99. And if you're a Mann fan, stay tuned -- we're told that Mr. Mann will be at Macworld, and we're planning to chat with him there. Should be fun.
TUAW's Daily App: Glee Karaoke
Smule has reinvented its official Glee app as Glee Karaoke, specially for the new season of the musical show. Our own Mike Rose enjoyed the first app earlier this year, but this release adds a little competition to the mix -- you can now compete on high score boards for every song, and complete missions in the game to unlock new content and move up the charts. You can also improve your singing by playing with the app -- there's "a touch of pitch correction" in there, and you can get feedback as you sing on just how well you're doing. The app is cheaper than before, too (just US $0.99 for the original purchase). Songs still have to be purchased separately, but every week, Smule is adding new songs into the mix, so you can keep up with the show during the season. I have to admit, Smule has been pretty innovative with music on the App Store, and this latest app revamp is no exception. For Glee fans, it's a must, but anyone who enjoys belting out their favorite lyrics should definitely check this one out.
Singing Sunflower companion pet voiced by Laura Shigihara
If you're a Plants vs. Zombies fan, you are quite familiar with Laura Shigihara, the composer for the PopCap Games plant-a-thon. She is also the voice behind the Plants vs. Zombies theme song. On her blog today, Shigihara confirmed that her voice will be used for the companion pet, the Singing Sunflower, which players receive after completing the Peacebloom versus Ghouls minigame in Hillsbrad. How awesome is that? Besides being fun and kind of novel if you're into PvZ, you get a pretty cool reward for finishing the quest: a "singing sunflower" pet! I actually had no idea this information was public until Hashimoto linked me to TotalHalibut's video earlier tonight... incidentally, I was right in the middle of recording the sunflower's voice when I watched it. ^_^ I am so excited about voicing a WoW-pet because what can I say ... I'm a big nerd. Peacebloom versus Ghouls is a minigame/quest in Hillsbrad that puts the player in charge of Brazie the Botanist's garden of ghoul-destroying plants. If you've played Plants vs. Zombies, you'll feel right at home. Defeat wave after wave of ghouls and you will claim your very own Singing Sunflower companion. These new facts continue to illustrate the intimate and awesome relationship between Blizzard and PopCap, bringing good tidings to gamers who are fans of both excellent companies. Hopefully, more collaborations like this are in store for the future.
Voice Tutor puts vocal exercises in your pocket
Whether you fancy yourself the second coming of Pavarotti or just the best vocalist in your own shower, the truth isn't always pleasant to the ear: not everyone can sing. Everyone, however, can learn to sing better -- and that's the point of Voice Tutor, a sharp app from the experienced vocal coaches at IMPACK and Kimad Productions. For US$4.99, it lets your iPhone or iPod touch provide a full menu of workouts, fixes, and expert tools for polishing your voice and fixing the issues that may hamper your rock and roll nights. There's one important point about this app that may not be immediately obvious, and it's the source of some sour notes in the App Store reviews: it does not record your singing performances or do any direct analysis. This misperception isn't helped by the microphone-themed graphics in the app, unfortunately. The initial diagnostic pass on your personal vocal issues is done by manually comparing your sung scales by ear to four sample recordings from the app; it may help to have a trusted friend or straight-faced spouse listen to you and the samples to give an objective assessment. You self-assign a category of practice to your specific situation; whether you sing with tension, breathiness, cracking, or with a connected and smooth tone, there's a full set of exercises for you. A screencast of the app in action is watchable here. I consider myself a reasonably solid amateur singer, with musical improv training and performance experience (not to mention plenty of karaoke), so I was pleased to come up as "connected" on the diagnostic pass in Voice Tutor -- I had my children help classify me. The training philosophy of the app centers around mastering the "break," the transition between chest voice and head voice that tends to divide vocalists into the traditional SATB parts. In Voice Tutor's world, you work toward a "connected" voice to maintain a smooth and relaxed vocal style regardless of whether you're singing from your chest or head voice. Each vocal challenge area includes special workouts to help address the problems or issues you may have when singing, with almost 200 individual program segments in the Vocal Focus part of the tool. Once you graduate from your training session, you can head into the Give Me a Workout section anytime you need to warm up or "clear the pipes" before an audition or performance. The app's final section, Riff n' Run, is designed to give more experienced vocalists the tools they need to handle more complex phrasing and develop an individual style fingerprint. Even in a relatively brief pass with Voice Tutor, I can already feel the exercises and instructional content gently nudging my voice in a better direction; the workouts made me stretch without straining, and I noticed some rough spots starting to come around. It's not pretending to be a substitute for a qualified vocal coach and a tireless accompanist, but consider how much musical instruction is squeezed into the app and how often you might need a warm-up or workout on the go -- at five bucks, you can have it for a song.
TUAW's Daily App: LaDiDa
LaDiDa is a strange little app that came out a while back. It's basically a "reverse karaoke app," in that, instead of playing music that you can sing along with, you sing, and it'll play the music back to you. The technology seems based on the same idea as Microsoft's MySong -- you hit record on the app and then sing whatever melody you want (or rap, or just play a tune on another musical instrument), and then the app quickly builds up the rest of the band around you. It works surprisingly well. I'll spare you the trauma of hearing me sing, but even when I just threw in a few nonsensical bars of an improv song, the app did an admirable job of backing up my tune with drums and chords. If you do hit on a worthwhile tune, you can save it on your iPhone, and there's even a "Discover" section in the app where you can hear what other users are recording and rating. The app allows you to create a full song without any musical talent at all. While it doesn't guarantee that you'll create anything worth listening to, if you've ever wanted to write a song but don't know your sharp from your flat, LaDiDa can help. The app is $2.99 for the iPhone in the App Store.
Smule's Glee app puts a song in your heart and on your phone
Enthusiastic fans of Fox's hit teen angst 'n jazz hands show Glee refer to themselves as 'gleeks,' a portmanteau of glee and geek. It's a sure bet that the gleeks will be beside themselves when they hit the App Store today and see the new US$2.99 Glee app, which brings the show's musical numbers to life with your voice in the starring role. Developed by Smule, the new app joins the company's suite of music makers (Ocarina, Leaf Trombone, I Am T-Pain, Magic Piano, etc.) as a social-vocal mashup that puts some serious geek power behind the simple act of singing. Add in the show's iTunes-dominating songs and what will undoubtedly be a nice promotional push from the network, and it's bound to be heading for the top of the paid charts. Glee for iPhone is straightforward enough to use, although as is sometimes the case with memory-intensive apps in their first version, you may experience a bit of instability if you haven't restarted your phone in the past few weeks. With headphones on and device in hand, you can select a song and go into karaoke/recording mode to lay it down. The app plays the backing track, displays the lyrics and shows you the pitch line for the melody and harmony parts. Read on for more, including an interview with Smule's founder Dr. Ge Wang. %Gallery-90913%
Found Footage: Singing with a quartet of iPhones
Happy weekend! Here's a girl from Korea, named applegirl002 over on YouTube, playing Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" with a quartet of iPhones as accompaniment. Sure, the song's not that great, but look at those iPhones go! She's using I am T-Pain for autotuning the singing, Beatmaker for laying out the beats, and ... she says "Analog" in the video. However, I think it's miniSynth that she's actually got running on the last iPhone. You might not be gaga over Gaga (I'm definitely not), but running a whole choir of iPhones like that is quite impressive. It's also worth noting that she accomplished this feat without pulling in some of the more popular music apps like Bebot and Ocarina. It turns out that the iPhone is an excellent way to turn out some pretty complicated music.
Creepy robotic heads serenade your wallet from deep inside the uncanny valley
No, it's not the Boyz II Men reunion tour, these are three other singing robots manufactured into a performing trio. The animatronic heads from artist Nathaniel Mellor are part of a $75,000 art piece on sale at Art Basel Miami Beach 2009. The artificial faces are controlled by servos which in turn are controlled by a computer. The uncontrolled fear you'll feel when watching the video is, however, completely natural.
Yamaha's singing robot quietly trolls, slyly frightens at CEATEC (video)
As with most robots that sing, Yamaha's demonstration at CEATEC was nothing short of terrifying. Oh sure, it's sort of impressive that the modified HRP-4C could take requests from a pre-selected list of jams on an iPhone, but after witnessing actual artists perform at Club Quattro in Shibuya, we'd say this chick has aways to go before she's accepted into the blossoming Japan music circuit. Judge for yourself after the break, Simon.
Smule turns you into T-Pain
God bless Smule. I panned their Ocarina app way back, but since then they've pushed right along without me, releasing idea after idea on Apple's App Store. And I think that, though the Leaf Trombone didn't really capture my attention, this one might finally be the big winner in my book: they've released I am T-Pain, an app that will automatically Auto-tune you into the style of some of the rapper's top songs, with more purchaseable within the app. There's even a "freestyle" mode, complete with a few unreleased background tracks to jam with -- as you can see above, all you do is talk into the iPhone's mic, and you can autotune the news or whatever else you want. Shawwwwty! Silly? Maybe, but they're going to sell a million of these, and given that Smule's apps tend to be easy to pick up and fun to play with, even people who aren't familiar with T-Pain's work will probably get the app just to sing a few bars to see what it sounds like (you can also send those messages off to Facebook or email as well). And Smule is moving right up into the iPhone 3.0 era: the app comes with four songs, and there are four more available to purchase in-app, along with even more (and more popular: Kanye's "Good Life" and the Lonely Island's "On a Boat" track are due out soon) songs coming, complete with lyrics and auto-tune settings and timings in the future. Maybe you're laughing. Maybe you think this is dumb, and you've already had enough of auto-tune on pop radio, and don't really want it in your iPhone, too. But trust me on this one: Smule is a company that's made silly music experiences on the iPhone extremely popular, and having T-Pain's tunes and auto-tuning abilities (officially from the company behind the pro version, too) available in this app is going to make it big, no question. The app's available right now for $2.99, so pick it up if you're feeling the beat and want to sing, even if you can't. Yeahhh-eeeyeaahh-yeah.
Tone-deaf robots teach each other to sing, passionately butcher a Happy Birthday rendition
After what must've been a few painful minutes of rehearsal, a few robots built by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research have performed what we assume to be their first and last paid gig: a rendition of Happy Birthday to celebrate the 100th of the Science Museum in the UK. What's interesting about these bots -- outside of their horrible ear for music and laughable singing voices is the fact that they've actually been programmed to communicate and teach each other to sing through the process of singing to each other. Videos of both painful acts are after the break, and while we wouldn't call it art, we shouldn't throw stones: we've been in plenty of garage bands that sounded quite a bit worse.[Via robots.net]
It's all about the music: tunes from Apple's keynote presentations
I hope this post gets filed in the "I knew I wasn't the only one!" mental filing cabinets of many. Because if it doesn't, then it makes me the only one who really looks forward to the music Apple uses in its keynotes. Whether it's a song that leads up to Steve Jobs' entrance on stage, or one used in software or hardware demos, there's no denying that music is very much a part of Apple's DNA. Heck, the company's namesake reflects Steve's love for the Beatles. Apple occasionally invites some of music's biggest names to perform at its events because, as Steve says, "it's all about the music." And this post is all about the music. It's all about the music that Apple has used in one way, shape, or form at its keynote events. Although by no means a definitive list, it's certainly a fair sample.
