GET GREAT VOCALS (WITHOUT BEING A GREAT VOCALIST)

Behind pretty much every great song, hit record or memorable performance lies a great vocal. But what do you do if you, like us, can't sing for toffee? Luckily, this is what Computer Music is all about: using technology to boost a lack of skill! And there's plenty we can do to make a bad vocal great...

If you are anything like us, you have taken the music technology route simply because it makes music production a lot easier. (Almost to the point that it's embarrassingly easy, but *whisper* don't tell anyone else!) We first started using and abusing computers for music because we couldn't play anything, or afford the gear to try and play. But also, we assumed at the time, that it would eventually help with one other distinct skill we lacked: singing!

The human voice is probably the most distinctive, memorable, recognisable, flexible and any other word you can think of ending in 'ble' instrument ever. But in the wrong hands - usually ours - it can also be the most awful. So we've decided to take the voice by the microphones and use technology to do something about it!

We've covered vocal recording before in Computer Music, but this feature is a little different. We've enlisted music technology journalist - and actually pretty good vocalist - Andy Price to approach 'getting a great vocal' from another perspective: that of employing your own tones (or lack of them) and making them great. Essentially we said to him: "write a feature about turning our bad vocal into a great one."

And with that, over the next 18 pages he covers everything you need to make your - or someone else's - vocal sound better. He's essentially breaking it down into pitch-shifting, using other vocal effects and mixing vocals, but there's a lot of other vocal ground covered along the way.