Welcome to the world of formant shifting! It’s a cool trick that can change how voices and sounds sound. In this guide, we’ll explain what formant shifting is, how it works, and show you tools that can help you do it. Whether you’re into making music, like singing, or just want to learn something new, you’re in the right place.
We’ll start by talking about the basics of formants, then we’ll show you how to use them. We’ll also introduce you to some easy-to-use tools.
By the end, you’ll understand formant shifting and be able to use it to make your music or sound more interesting. Let’s get started on this fun journey!
What are formants?
Formants are special peaks in the sounds our voices make.
They usually happen when we say vowels, and it’s because of how our mouths and throats work with sound.
These peaks make some parts of our words louder and give each person’s voice its own unique sound.
Formants help us tell one voice from another and recognize how people sound when they sing.
In short, formants are important for understanding and recognizing voices and singing.
What is formant shifting?
Formant shifting is a trick to change how a voice sounds without making it higher or lower.
Here’s how it works: First, the computer looks at the voice and finds some special parts. Then, it moves these parts up or down.
People usually use this to make voices sound like they belong to someone else, like changing a boy’s voice to sound like a girl’s or making a voice sound very strange.
This works because boys and girls have different shapes inside their throats and mouths. When you move the special parts, it’s like changing the shape inside, and that changes how the voice sounds.
For example, you can make a girl’s voice sound like a boy’s by moving the parts down, or make a boy’s voice sound like a girl’s by moving the parts up.
And you can make the voice sound strange, like nothing you’ve heard before, by moving the parts a lot.
The best formant shifting plugins
Now that we understand the basics, let’s check out some good choices for plugins that can change how voices sound in your music mix.
1. Soundtoys Little AlterBoy
Little AlterBoy is a popular vocal effect you can find in SoundToys’ special effects package.
It’s like having a magic tool for making voices sound different. You can adjust the pitch and how it sounds, and make voices sound like a robot or super-tuned, all with one easy tool.
2. Synchro Arts RePitch
Synchro Arts RePitch is a new tool for fixing and changing how voices sound.
It can make voices sound better and also let you have some fun with how they sound.
If you like to see what you’re doing while you change the voice, this tool can help. It gives you a clear way to control how the voice sounds when you change the special parts. Give it a try if you need that kind of control!
3. Antares Throat
Antares has a special bundle of voice effects, and in it, there’s a cool tool called Throat.
The throat works like it’s pretending to be a real person’s throat to change how voices sound.
4. Your DAW’s built-in formant tools
Most music software, like DAWs, already has useful tools built in for different music tasks.
You might find a formant shifting tool included with your DAW.
For instance, Logic has something called Vocal Transformer, Pro Tools has AIR Talkbox, and Ableton includes a Formant tool as part of the Complex Pro warp mode in the clip editor.
So, you don’t usually have to download another tool from a different company to try formant shifting because it might already be in your DAW!
5. Auburn Sounds Graillon
Auburn Sounds Graillon is a free tool for fixing your singing voice.
People like it, and we often suggest it when talking about the best free tools for singing.
It’s also good if you want to change how your voice sounds a little bit.
6. Waves Vocal Bender
Waves Vocal Bender is another handy tool for adjusting pitch and formant, making it simple to change how voices sound.
It’s made to help you get popular vocal styles without being too expensive or complicated.
Formant informant
Formant shifting is a kind of sound change that researchers found while studying how voices work.
It might seem like a sound you’ve heard a lot, but you can do interesting things with it if you like to try new stuff.
You can test out any of the formant shifters on this list to see how they can make your music sound different and exciting.