Most people think of speech synthesis as having your computer
speak to you. Proofing data entry, reading files and speaking
prompts have been typical applications for speech synthesizers.
Although synthesis technology is well suited for these
traditional operations, here at Microsoft Research we are
continually exploring new and exciting applications of our base
technologies. In addition to speaking, another popular use of
human speech is singing. During the past 50 years, music
synthesizers have developed to where they can imitate almost any
acoustic instrument. Any acoustic instrument, that is, except
for the most popular instrument - human vocals. "And there's a
good reason for this, singing is the most complex and dynamic of
all musical instruments", says Mark Cecys, the researcher who
worked on this project. With the recent advances in computing
and speech technology, we are finally moving beyond this
limitation. Besides playing the instrumental parts, music
synthesizers can now begin to sing the lyrics.