SELECTING AUDIO SAMPLES OF VARYING VELOCITY LEVEL

• US 20150013531A1
• Filed: 08/13/2013
• Published: 01/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Buskies, Christoph, Gros, Matthias
• Granted Patent: US 9,330,649 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/633
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0033 Recording/reproducing or transmission of music for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/04 by additional modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/361 Recording/reproducing of accompaniment for use with an external source, e.g. karaoke systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/46 Volume control
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/106 using icons, e.g. selecting, moving or linking icons, on-screen symbols, screen regions or segments representing musical elements or parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/126 for graphical editing of individual notes, parts or phrases represented as variable length segments on a 2D or 3D representation, e.g. graphical edition of musical collage, remix files or pianoroll representations of MIDI-like files
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/641 Waveform sampler, i.e. music samplers; Sampled music loop processing, wherein a loop is a sample of a performance that has been edited to repeat seamlessly without clicks or artifacts
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/02 in which amplitudes at successive sample points of a tone waveform are stored in one or more memories

Abstract

Systems and methods for selecting audio samples in response to musical stimuli are provided. In some embodiments, an audio sample can be selected based on the excitation state of an instrument. A musical stimulus can be received, and a current excitation level associated with previously received musical stimuli calculated. An audio sample can be selected for playback using the current excitation level. In some embodiments, audio samples having different velocity levels can be selected in response to repeated musical stimuli. A first instance of a musical stimulus having a first velocity level can be received, and a first audio sample corresponding to the first velocity level played back. A second instance of the musical stimulus having the first velocity level can be received, and a second audio sample corresponding to a second velocity level can be selected for playback. The first and second audio samples can have different audio characteristics.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a first instance of a musical stimulus having a first velocity level;

playing back a first audio sample corresponding to the first velocity level of the received musical stimulus, wherein the first audio sample is one of a plurality of audio samples that correspond to different velocity levels of the musical stimulus;

receiving a second instance of the musical stimulus having the first velocity level;

selecting, from the plurality of audio samples, a second audio sample corresponding to a second velocity level of the received musical stimulus, wherein the second audio sample includes different audio characteristics than the first audio sample; and

playing back the second audio sample.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first velocity level corresponds to a first volume level, wherein the second velocity level corresponds to a second volume level, and wherein playing back the second audio sample includes modifying the second volume level.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the second volume level includes scaling the second volume level in accordance with the first volume level.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the first and second instances of the musical stimulus are received consecutively.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a time interval between the first and second instances of the musical stimulus;

comparing the measured time interval to a threshold time interval; and

determining that the measured time interval is within the threshold time interval.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second velocity levels are adjacent velocity levels.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the different audio characteristics include different tonal characteristics.

8. A computer-implemented system, comprising:

one or more data processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media containing instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations including;

receiving a first instance of a musical stimulus having a first velocity level;

playing back a first audio sample corresponding to the first velocity level of the received musical stimulus, wherein the first audio sample is one of a plurality of audio samples that correspond to different velocity levels of the musical stimulus;

receiving a second instance of the musical stimulus having the first velocity level;

selecting, from the plurality of audio samples, a second audio sample corresponding to a second velocity level of the received musical stimulus, wherein the second audio sample includes different audio characteristics than the first audio sample; and

playing back the second audio sample.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first velocity level corresponds to a first volume level, wherein the second velocity level corresponds to a second volume level, and wherein playing back the second audio sample includes modifying the second volume level.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein modifying the second volume level includes scaling the second volume level in accordance with the first volume level.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further include:

determining that the first and second instances of the musical stimulus are received consecutively.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further include:

measuring a time interval between the first and second instances of the musical stimulus;

comparing the measured time interval to a threshold time interval; and

determining that the measured time interval is within the threshold time interval.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the first and second velocity levels are adjacent velocity levels.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the different audio characteristics include different tonal characteristics.

15. A computer-program product, tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a first instance of a musical stimulus having a first velocity level;

playback a first audio sample corresponding to the first velocity level of the received musical stimulus, wherein the first audio sample is one of a plurality of audio samples that correspond to different velocity levels of the musical stimulus;

receive a second instance of the musical stimulus having the first velocity level;

select, from the plurality of audio samples, a second audio sample corresponding to a second velocity level of the received musical stimulus, wherein the second audio sample includes different audio characteristics than the first audio sample; and

playback the second audio sample.

16. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the first velocity level corresponds to a first volume level, wherein the second velocity level corresponds to a second volume level, and wherein playing back the second audio sample includes modifying the second volume level.

17. The computer-program product of claim 16, wherein modifying the second volume level includes scaling the second volume level in accordance with the first volume level.

18. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the data processing apparatus to:

determine that the first and second instances of the musical stimulus are received consecutively.

19. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the data processing apparatus to:

measure a time interval between the first and second instances of the musical stimulus;

compare the measured time interval to a threshold time interval; and

determine that the measured time interval is within the threshold time interval.

20. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the first and second velocity levels are adjacent velocity levels.

21. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the different audio characteristics include different tonal characteristics.