METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRESENTING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

• US 20100282044A1
• Filed: 05/05/2009
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: DELORME, DAVID BRUX
• Granted Patent: US 7,906,720 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/091 for performance evaluation, i.e. judging, grading or scoring the musical qualities or faithfulness of a performance, e.g. with respect to pitch, tempo or other timings of a reference performance
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/015 Musical staff, tablature or score displays, e.g. for score reading during a performance. graphical musical score editing G10H2220/121; musical score displays resulting from a transcription G10H2210/086
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/096 using a touch screen touch screen note input, e.g. using a displayed keyboard G10H2220/241; personal digital assistant [PDA] G10H2230/015
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/135 Musical aspects of games or videogames; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces game background music G10H2210/026; musical game scoring or performance evaluation G10H2210/091
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/131 Library retrieval, i.e. searching a database or selecting a specific musical piece, segment, pattern, rule or parameter set
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound beam G10H2220/405
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/251 Mobile telephone transmission, i.e. transmitting, accessing or controlling music data wirelessly via a wireless or mobile telephone receiver, analog or digital, e.g. DECT GSM, UMTS smartphone, PDA or palmtop used for musical purposes G10H2230/015; mobile ringtone G10H2230/021

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a set-top box (STB) having a controller to present a first portion of a stringed musical instrument at a presentation device, present a second portion of the stringed musical instrument on a display of a communication device communicatively coupled to the STB, present at the presentation device a musical score and a demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion according to a portion of the musical score, receive from the communication device a stimulus applied to the second portion of the stringed musical instrument, and present an audible sound corresponding to a combination of the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A set-top box (STB), comprising a controller to:

present a first portion of a stringed musical instrument at a presentation device;

present a second portion of the stringed musical instrument on a display of a communication device communicatively coupled to the STB,

wherein the first and second portions of the stringed musical instrument are stimulated singly or in combination to produce audible music, and

wherein the musical instrument is not presented in its entirety at either the presentation device or the display of the communication device;

present at the presentation device a musical score and a demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion according to a portion of the musical score;

receive from the communication device a stimulus applied to the second portion of the stringed musical instrument;

present an audible sound corresponding to a combination of the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion;

present at the presentation device a pointer that transitions between notes on the musical score each time a new stimulus is received from the communication device; and

update the demonstrative stimulus presented at the presentation device according to a location of the pointer on the musical score.

2. The STB of claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to retrieve the audible sound from a library of sounds indexed according to the combination of the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion.

3. The STB of claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to transmit the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion to a tone generator to generate the audible sound.

4. The STB of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the stringed musical instrument corresponds to a fret board, and wherein the second portion of the stringed musical instrument corresponds to a sound hole.

5. The STB of claim 1, wherein the stringed musical instrument corresponds to one of a classical guitar, an electric guitar, a violin, a cello, a viola, a bass, a mandolin, and a banjo.

6. The STB of claim 1, wherein the musical score is described in an extensible markup language (XML).

7. The STB of claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to establish a transmission control protocol (TCP) session with the communication device over a wireline or wireless interface.

8. The STB of claim 7, wherein the controller is operable to establish an open socket connection in the TCP session to communicate with the communication device.

10. The STB of claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to:

detect that the stimulus received from the communication device does not conform with an expected stimulus associated with the location of the pointer on the musical score; and

present at one of the presentation device and the display of the communication device a mitigation instruction to assist a user of the communication device to correct the detected non-conformity.

11. The STB of claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to present an audible beat representative of a tempo of the musical score.

9. (canceled)

12. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer instructions to:

present a first portion of a stringed musical instrument on a presentation device with a demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion;

present a second portion of the stringed musical instrument on a display of a communication device;

receive from the communication device a stimulus applied to the second portion of the stringed musical instrument;

present an audible sound responsive to a combination of the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion;

present an audible beat representative of a tempo of the musical score;

present at the presentation device a pointer that transitions between notes on the musical score each time a new stimulus is received from the communication device;

update the demonstrative stimulus presented at the presentation device according to a location of the pointer on the musical score.

detect that the stimulus received from the communication device does not conform with an expected stimulus associated with the location of the pointer on the musical score; and

present at one of the presentation device and the display of the communication device a mitigation instruction to assist the user of the communication device to correct the non-conformity.

13. The storage medium of claim 12, comprising computer instructions to retrieve the audible sound from a library of sounds indexed according to the combination of the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion.

14. The storage medium of claim 12, comprising computer instructions to transmit the demonstrative stimulus applied to the first portion and the stimulus applied to the second portion to a tone generator to generate the audible sound.

15. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the storage medium operates in a media processor, and wherein the first portion of the stringed musical instrument corresponds to a fret board, and wherein the second portion of the stringed musical instrument corresponds to a sound hole.

16. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the media processor operates in an interactive television (iTV) network, and wherein the stringed musical instrument corresponds to one of a classical guitar, an electric guitar, a violin, a cello, a viola, a bass, a mandolin, and a banjo.

17. The storage medium of claim 16, wherein the iTV network corresponds to one of an Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) network, an interactive cable TV network, and an interactive satellite network, and wherein the musical score is described in an extensible markup language (XML).

18. The storage medium of claim 12, comprising computer instructions to establish an open socket connection in a transmission control protocol (TCP) session with the communication device over a wireline or wireless interface.

19. -25. (canceled)