Voice Control is a work-in-progress live performance software that allows a performer to control electronic sounds with the sounds of their voice.

Plug in a microphone, sing, laugh, scream, whisper, jabber and yelp, and the program generates sound in reaction to what you do. You have an immediate and hands-free way of performing electronic sound. You can choose which samples you want to use, and manipulate them with your voice.

This software has so far been used for Nick Janaway's piece "Discreet".

This is a recording of a live improvisation for voice and voice-controlled computer, using the work-in-progress software. The computer listens to the vocalist and generates sounds in response, in this case made out of chopped-up and manipulated cello sounds. Over the course of the piece the program's 'freedom' to generate more complex sounds gradually increases. Other than that, everything is up to the performer.

The software is still in development, and is written in the sound programming language MaxMSP. The current version is free to download (at the bottom of this page).

developments / limitations

This software is at a very early stage, and has a few ways in which it can be improved:

• any voices -
  it's currently optimised for Nick's voice, and there's no easy way of changing settings to suit other voices. We're working on how it can instantly react to any human voice, as well as options for making it react to the bits of your voice you want to use.
  
  
• any sounds -
  the latest system will work with any sounds, but they take some pre-editing and analysis before they'll work. This pre-analysis is essential, but we're redesigning the program to do it automatically when you 'drop in' a sound, instead of you doing the legwork.
  
  
• user interface -
  at the moment it's difficult to get any sound out of it if you don't know any MaxMSP! A well-designed and intuitive interface would make this program a lot simpler to use and personalise.
  
  
• compatibility / MIDI -
  the current program is it's "own thing" - we're working on how it can be integrated with other sound software, possibly as a VST instrument, and/or by giving it MIDI output capabilities, so you can control whatever you want with your voice.

For even more information about this project,
click here to download Nick's essay on voice control, (which was part of his MSc).

Click here to download the current version of the Voice Control MaxMSP patches, plus the sound files that were used in the performance "Discreet". These are replaceable with other samples if you wish. For this version you will need MaxMSP to view/use/edit these files. Please let us know if you come up with anything or have any ideas!