DATABASE CONSTRUCTING APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20080229910A1
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: KOBAYASHI, Masahiko, MAEDA, Tetsuya, ADACHI, Hiroshi, MAKINO, Toru, TAKENAGA, Shinichi, MAKITA, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,161,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/601
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/632 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/085 Mood, i.e. generation, detection or selection of a particular emotional content or atmosphere in a musical piece
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/135 Library retrieval index, i.e. using an indexing scheme to efficiently retrieve a music piece

Abstract

In a music information database, music information where music pieces and impression words representing impressions of the music pieces and usable as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for is registered for a plurality of music pieces. Information collection section collects, from among various information being provided by information source sites, information usable as music-piece-related search words. Registration section registers the words usable as music-piece-related search words, collected by the information collection section, into the database in association with particular music pieces. In this way, it is possible to construct a music information database which permits a music information search therethrough using impression words representing impressions of a music piece, at low cost without taking much time and labor.

Claims

1. A database constructing apparatus comprising:

a database that registers, for a plurality of music pieces, a list where the music pieces and words representing impressions of the music pieces are associated with each other, the words being used as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for;

an information collection section that connects to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collect, from among information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a particular music piece; and

a registration section that registers the word, collected by said information collection section in association with the particular music piece, into said database in association with the particular music piece.

2. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the list in said database has a plurality of search items for classifying genre by genre words representing impressions of music pieces, and

wherein said information collection section has a dictionary where the plurality of search items and words corresponding to the search items are stored in association with each other, and, with reference to the dictionary, said information collection section collects, from among the information being provided by the accessed site, a word corresponding to any one of the plurality of search words.

3. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the list registered in said database has a plurality of search items for classifying genre by genre words representing impressions of music pieces, and

wherein said information collection section collects words of particular types, conditioned by the plurality of search words, as words usable as search words.

4. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sites are Web sites having music-related information published thereon.

5. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said information collection section connects to the communication network at predetermined intervals to access any of the plurality of sites on the communication network and thereby collect the word usable as a music-piece-related search word.

6. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a music title database having a multiplicity of music titles stored therein, and

wherein said information collection section refers to said music title database to not only extract the word usable as a music-piece-related search word from among information being provided by the accessed site but also extract a music title from among the music titles stored in said music title database, to thereby collect the extracted word, usable as a music-piece-related search word, in association with the extracted music title.

7. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein, if the music title extracted by said information collection section is already registered in the list of said database, said registration section additionally registers, into the list of said database, the word collected in association with the extracted music title, but, if the music title extracted by said information collection section is not yet registered in the list of said database, said registration section newly registers the extracted music title into the list of said database and registers the word, collected in association with the extracted music title, into the list of said database.

8. A computer-implemented method for constructing a database, said method comprising:

a step of providing a database that registers, for a plurality of music pieces, a list where the music pieces and words representing impressions of the music pieces are associated with each other, the words being used as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for;

a collection step of connecting to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collecting, from among information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a particular music piece; and

a step of registering the word, collected by said collection step in association with the particular music piece, into said database in association with the particular music piece.

9. A computer-readable storage medium containing a group of instructions for causing a computer to perform a procedure for constructing a database that registers, for a plurality of music pieces, a list where the music pieces and words representing impressions of the music pieces are associated with each other, the words being used as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for, said procedure comprising:

a collection step of connecting to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collecting, from among information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a particular music piece; and

a step of registering the word, collected by said collection step in association with the particular music piece, into said database in association with the particular music piece.

10. A music information search apparatus comprising:

a database that registers, for a plurality of music pieces, a list where the music pieces and words representing impressions of the music pieces are associated with each other, the words being used as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for;

an information collection section that connects to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collect, from among information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a particular music piece;

a registration section that registers the word, collected by said information collection section in association with the particular music piece, into said database in association with the particular music piece; and

a search section that performs an operation for searching through said database on the basis of a search word entered via a user terminal and returning a search result, corresponding to the entered search word, to the user terminal.

11. A computer-readable storage medium containing a group of instructions for causing a computer to perform a procedure for constructing a database that registers, for a plurality of music pieces, a list where the music pieces and words representing impressions of the music pieces are associated with each other, the words being used as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for and searching through the database, said procedure comprising:

a collection step of connecting to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collecting, from among information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a particular music piece;

a step of registering the word, collected by said collection step in association with the particular music piece, into the list of the database in association with the particular music piece; and

a step of performing an operation for searching through the database on the basis of a search word entered via a user terminal and returning a search result, corresponding to the entered search word, to the user terminal.