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Hey everyone.

I understand that making (good) harmonies takes some effort. Groups like Modern Talking or Queen inspire me to play around a bit with vocal harmonies.
Now, I tried doing it the manual way, but I was not too successful.
Are there any plugins that will take a vocal track and make harmonies out of it?

Thanks in advance

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Comments

kmetal Tue, 11/05/2013 - 06:01

a real rough around the edges way to do it is to use pitch correction software, like the one built in to digital performer, or made by melodyne, antares. once you create the harmonies which will have varying degrees of artifacts depending on how much higher/lower than the original, you can use that as a reference track to sing along to.

mberry593 Thu, 11/07/2013 - 09:07

Auto Tune is not appropriate for this.

There is another Antares product that is intended to make harmony.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.antarest…"]Antares Vocal Processing > Products > Harmony Engine Evo[/]="http://www.antarest…"]Antares Vocal Processing > Products > Harmony Engine Evo[/]

I have owned this as part of the bigger Antares bundle for years but I rarely use it. It worked fine the few times I used it but I seldom need to do it so I can't really discuss it in detail.

The good news is that a demo version is available so you can try it for free to see if you like it before you buy.

Leopoldo Lopes Tue, 11/19/2013 - 14:50

We have successfully used the Antares Harmony Engine Evo a couple of times, in order to obtain harmonic layers in some vocal and instrument tracks, and we also use sometimes this one MMULTIBANDHARMONIZER and it gave us in some occasions some very good results as well, mainly in vocal tracks. I think that there is a free trial version which you may try-out... maybe it will suit your needs... good luck!

anonymous Mon, 12/01/2014 - 04:41

I'm sure there are a plethora of different vocal processors out there, some better than others, some a lot worse...

Personally, I've yet to find a harmony processor that truly equals that of real, great vocalists, singing real harmony.

The problem with so many of these processors, is that the intervals are set to move in equal increments with the tonic vocal ... where true harmonies don't always track evenly that way in their intervals.

With many harmony plugs, using standard intervals, (3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7's or 9's).... any "standard" harmonizer plug I've ever worked with tracks evenly, so that when one note - say the tonic/root - moves, the other intervals always move as well, in precise, preset intervals with the root .... the problem is that this isn't always the way that real harmonies work tonally... in fact, it hardly ever does work that way.

In real time harmony, on a certain melodic line or chord progression, the third may not go up in an even interval... it might instead go to a 4th, or even down to a 2 (suspended), or, even flat the third - in the case of minor intervals. In true harmony, that third ( or 5th or 7th, or whatever) might not even move at all as the root vocal does - it might stay on the 3 or 5, or, it may move to a 4th, or a 6 or 9... it all depends on the key sig, major or min, the melodic line, scale mode, etc.

I've heard a few "smart" harmonizers - where a certain key sig, maj or min, and scale is programmed in - and the resultant harmonies are "smarter", knowing where to move, as well as when to move, built on the key sig and modal scale selected - but the few times I've heard these work, while they do hit the 'correct" notes, they've always sound very "synthetic" and fake to me - slightly warbly, sibilant, even sounding as if the resolution (of the audio) has been altered or skewed, leaving behind unpleasant artifacts .... (at least to my ears, anyway).

I'm sure technology will improve over time, but I don't believe that any processor will ever take the place of a group of professional singers, on great mics, through great pre's, actually singing the harmony intervals.... because it's more than just hitting the correct note(s) that matters; it's also the timbre of each individual's voice - and those esoteric nuances that make us all different - nuances like individual resonance, breath, rasp, air, edge, etc. - which ( to me) is essential in lending to the magic of real vocals.

IMHO of course.

anonymous Mon, 12/01/2014 - 05:31

I've heard the TC in action. I would agree that it's probably the best out of the bunch; but, as we've both stated, nowhere near actual live vocals.

I personally don't use any harmonizing plug ins on my own projects at all - because I'm a singer first and foremost - and the two main session cats whom I always call in to work on my songs (also my very close friends for over 25 years) are - along with being fantastic players on their instrument(s) - also incredible, bad-ass vocalists as well. Both of them are great singers on their own, and along with being able to sing great lead vocals, they also have the ability to always pick the perfect vocal intervals/harmonies over my lead vocal, out of thin air.

I've been lucky in that regard, working with such talented cats. It really does make quite a bit of difference when you get to work with pro's. ;)

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