Cover image created with Google Gemini and finished in Canva.

There is a particular moment in music production that I really look forward to: the moment when I turn the notes I've written into a voice.

And, honestly, I'm sometimes so excited that I can hardly wait to hear the result!

But I didn't always have this experience. My journey with virtual singers started quite a few years ago, and it took some time before I found what I was looking for.

The voice that changed everything

My real turning point came when I discovered Natalie, one of the voices available for Synthesizer V.

Before that, I had watched videos of Hatsune Miku and discovered that there were software programs allowing you to make this kind of virtual voice sing over music. I was curious. I wanted to use these voices to sing my own compositions, rather than simply use them as another synthesizer.

So I tried Vocaloid. I experimented with several voices, including Meiko, Clara, Maika and Kokone.

Unfortunately, the results didn't really convince me. The singing sounded too choppy and mechanical for what I wanted to create. I wasn't looking to make Vocaloid-style music. I wanted to write songs, with melodies and vocal performances that felt more natural.

I eventually stopped using it.

Later, I discovered Alys, a French-Japanese virtual singer. I was particularly interested because I wanted to be able to make my songs sing in French too. I gave it a try, but once again, the result wasn't quite what I was looking for.

Then, one day, I came across a YouTube video featuring Solaria.

My reaction was pretty much: "Wow! That's impossible! She's a real singer, isn't she? That's not a synthesizer!"

I started watching more videos from Dreamtonics, and that's when I discovered Natalie.

I heard her singing over a jazz-style arrangement. What immediately caught my attention was her voice colour, her timbre. I absolutely loved it. I was almost falling in love with that voice!

When I eventually heard Natalie singing on one of my own compositions, the feeling was incredible. I had finally found a way to put a voice to the music I had been writing for so long.

That was the beginning of a new chapter for me.

More than just pressing a button

Of course, having a virtual singer doesn't mean that the job is done.

At first, I didn't even know that Synthesizer V had a breathing function! My first song didn't contain any programmed breaths at all. I've learned quite a bit since then.

Nowadays, I pay much more attention to breathing. I sometimes sing the lyrics myself to work out where a singer would naturally need to take a breath. I'm also beginning to use the function that allows me to extend a syllable over several notes.

And there is a lot of fine-tuning involved.

I can spend a considerable amount of time adjusting a vocal line. Sometimes I even rewrite a sentence because I can't get the rhythm of the words to work properly.

I usually start with a natural interpretation and then experiment with effects. I can change the voice timbre, vocal power, intonation and other parameters until I get closer to what I imagined.

On one of my current projects, for example, I changed the vocal power at the end of a phrase to give it a little more impact. It's a small adjustment, but it can make a real difference to the way a line is delivered.

I don't forget that these are synthesised voices, built from phonemes recorded by real singers. But my aim is to give each voice its own life and character.

Finding the right voice for the right song

Over time, I've started to develop preferences.

I used to try several different voices on my songs. Today, I usually know which voice I want for the lead vocal. I still experiment quite a bit with backing vocals, though!

The choice also depends on the song itself. I wouldn't ask Mai to sing in exactly the same register or style as Natalie. Each voice has its own identity, and I think giving each one a distinct personality is something Dreamtonics has worked hard on.

One song that represents an important step in my learning process is Party Time.

I wanted to try something inspired by J-pop. I listen to groups such as Momoland, BlackPink, Red Velvet and Twice. J-pop and K-pop aren't necessarily my usual styles when I compose, but I thought: why not give it a try?

The result turned out to be more of a summer dance-club track. However, I really wanted to keep an Asian touch, so I decided to include Japanese lyrics alongside English.

It was also the first song where I started using breathing and extended syllables more deliberately. If I had to choose one track to introduce someone to what I enjoy about virtual singers, it would probably be this one.

Another important moment was Disco Wonderland. I had imagined a female voice from the very beginning. For me, disco is closely associated with Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor and Diana Ross. I simply couldn't imagine writing a disco song with anything other than a female voice!

Hearing Natalie on that track was a wonderful experience. It gave me so much satisfaction and joy that it made me want to keep exploring what I could do with her voice.

And I'm still discovering new possibilities.

Building my own virtual band

More recently, I started working on a song called You're My Girl.

I wanted to create something with the sound of the boy bands from the 1990s and early 2000s. While looking for suitable voices, I received an offer from Dreamtonics to try D-Lin and Ritchy for free.

The versions I have are limited to 30 seconds of singing. So I've found a workaround: I create short vocal phrases, export them as WAV files, and then place them into my song.

At the same time, I had just purchased Synthesizer V 2 Pro, which included Liam's voice. That gave me an idea: why not put together my own virtual boy band?

Liam became the lead singer, with D-Lin and Ritchy providing the harmonies.

It's a different way of working, and I really enjoy experimenting with it.

Virtual singers, real creativity

I sometimes meet people who are surprised when they discover that the singers on my tracks aren't physical performers. Others are more reluctant, and immediately associate virtual voices with AI-generated music.

I understand the confusion, but I see things differently.

For me, Synthesizer V is a musical instrument. It's a synthesizer, much like the good old Yamaha DX7, except that instead of generating traditional sounds, it uses phonemes to build vocal performances.

I choose the notes, the lyrics, the tone, the intonation, the vocal power and the way the voice delivers each phrase. The technology gives me the tools, but it is my musical creativity that guides the result.

I'm also quite happy to be transparent about how I work. I don't want to pretend that a physical singer performed something when that isn't the case. I'm proud to use Synthesizer V, and I have no reason to hide it.

Without virtual singers, I would have to sing my own songs or find physical singers to perform them. Neither possibility is impossible, and I would certainly welcome the opportunity to collaborate with real singers one day.

In fact, I see both possibilities: virtual singers allow me to explore a musical world that was previously inaccessible to me, but they can also be useful for creating vocal demos before a song is performed by a human singer.

They have also opened the door to styles I didn't explore much before. I used to compose mainly electronic music. Now I can move between disco, dance, pop, rock, J-pop and K-pop, depending on the ideas that come to me.

And that's probably what I appreciate most.

Technology doesn't limit my creativity. It gives me new ways to develop it.

What's next?

I believe virtual singing software will continue to improve, offering even more control over vocal expression and performance. Dreamtonics regularly releases updates, and I'm always curious to see what's coming next.

I would also love to see more French-speaking virtual singers become available. That's still something I feel is missing.

As for me, I already have a couple of ideas for future duets: one called In the Streets of Dublin, and another one featuring a male and a female voice singing in Tahitian.

So there are still plenty of possibilities to explore.

And every time I open Synthesizer V, I get that same feeling: the excitement of wondering what will happen when I turn my notes into a voice.

For me, that's the real magic of virtual singers.

Have you ever experimented with virtual singers? Do you see them as musical instruments, creative tools, or something else entirely? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!