The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #452: Experimenting with AI Vocals to See If I Can Turn My Male Voice Female

Originally aired on April 8, 2024.This week, I'm experimenting with artificial intelligence for music.  There's this one track that's been holding up the final stages of the latest Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP - it's written, the backing track was made ages ago ... but it's meant to be sung by a woman (Aurora, the female protagonist in The Thirteenth Hour).  Of course, the obvious thing would be just to find a woman to sing it, but I have a very specific idea in mind for what I wanted Aurora's voice to sound like.  I was thinking about saying the hell with all that in the interest of just getting it done, but then all this AI business started popping up in the last year or so.  I got to thinking - is there technology that could turn my vocals into female ones?  As it turns out, yes, there is.  Kind of.  It may be more trouble than it's worth.  But I'm discussed two software programs (Voice.ai and ACE Studio) that allow you to create AI vocals that I used to try to turn my voice into that of a woman's.  I had the most success in trying to sing super high first (I basically sounded like Mickey Mouse) and then using the programs to turn that into something sounding more feminine.  This is the very definition of a work in progress, as I'm still in the learning/experimenting phases, but I thought it would be interesting to document here, as I'm sure the landscape surrounding this topic will change dramatically in the future.If you haven't gotten the chance to check out last week's episode with fantasy author and podcaster Melinda Kucsera, it's a good one!  Here's a highlight that Melinda featured on her show:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8KMR0DV22gYou can find more about her books on her website or on her podcasts. You can find our first conversation on Youtube, which is episode 100 of her podcast, Fantasy, Lore, and More (discussing Empty Hands).   https://melindakucsera.com/2024/01/28/fantasy-lore-more-empty-hands/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpv-rLwfRM&t=206shttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/melinda-kucsera/episodes/Fantasy--Lore---More-Empty-Hands-e2f1cvq/a-aat8dd0Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/04/08/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-452-experimenting-with-ai-vocals-to-see-if-i-can-turn-my-male-voice-female/