Song accompaniment system

• US 6,252,153 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2000
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Corporation (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Toyama, Motoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Witkowski, Stanley J.
• Application Number:
  US09/649,502
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• Field of Search: 846/09--34, 846/45, 844/77.R, 844/78, 84D/IG.6, 434/307.A
• US Class Current: 84/634
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• 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 1/361 Recording/reproducing of accompaniment for use with an external source, e.g. karaoke systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/141 Games on or about music, i.e. based on musical knowledge, e.g. musical multimedia quizzes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/06 Cathode-ray tube

Abstract

A song accompaniment system includes a karaoke machine and a simulated guitar machine, and the karaoke machine downloads accompanying music in the form of MIDI data from a source data storage. Of the MIDI data downloaded from the source data storage, a simulative instrument part of the accompanying music is transferred to the simulated guitar machine. In the simulated guitar machine, an allocation processor allocates individual sounds of the simulative instrument part to three scroll bars in a guidance picture which is presented on a monitor of the simulated guitar machine, and operating timing for producing the individual sounds is indicated by note marks which are scrolled along the scroll bars. When a player plays a simulated guitar, tone waveforms contained in the MIDI data received from the source data storage are modulated and an audio signal thus generated is output from speakers. If the simulated guitar is correctly operated, the accompanying music is reproduced in proper fashion.

Claims

1. A song accompaniment system comprising:

a singing support apparatus including a first sound output device which outputs accompanying music played by a plurality of musical instruments with a capability to mix and output vocal sounds entered from a microphone with the accompanying music; and

an instrumental accompaniment apparatus including a simulative instrument having a timing indicating operation device, a first monitor which presents on-screen guidance indicating operating timing of the simulative instrument for playing a simulative instrument part of the accompanying music selectively taken in from the singing support apparatus, and a second sound output device which outputs sounds of the simulative instrument part when the instrumental accompaniment apparatus senses that the timing indicating operation device is operated in accordance with the on-screen guidance;

wherein the singing support apparatus stores the simulative instrument part of the accompanying music and remaining part of the accompanying music, and delivers the accompanying music excluding the simulative instrument part to the first sound output device.

2. A song accompaniment system according to claim 1, wherein the singing support apparatus further includes:

a second monitor; and

a second display controller which presents song text of the music to be performed on the second monitor in synchronism with the progress of performance of the accompanying music.

3. A song accompaniment system according to claim 1, wherein the singing support apparatus further includes:

a data memory; and

a memory controller which receives the accompanying music and the simulative instrument part together with music title and song text from a source data storage via a communications line and causes the data memory to store the accompanying music, the simulative instrument part, the music title and the song text in a manner that they can be read out from the data memory.

4. A song accompaniment system according to claim 1, wherein the singing support apparatus is capable of selectively executing karaoke mode in which the accompanying music is delivered to the first sound output device and simulative instrument accompaniment mode in which the accompanying music excluding the simulative instrument part is delivered to the first sound output device, and the singing support apparatus executes the simulative instrument accompaniment mode upon receiving a mode signal which is output when the instrumental accompaniment apparatus is activated.

5. A song accompaniment system according to claim 1, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus further includes:

a plurality of selective operating parts which are selectively operable;

an allocation processor which takes in the simulative instrument part of the accompanying music and allocates the individual sounds of the simulative instrument part to the selective operating parts;

a first display controller which presents note marks representative of the individual sounds allocated along a direction of performing the accompanying music on the first monitor in a manner that allows recognition of allocation of the individual sounds with respect to the selective operating parts, while causing the note marks to scroll relative to timing marks which indicate the timing of operating the timing indicating operation device; and

a sound controller which causes the second sound output device to output a sound corresponding to a note mark if its corresponding selective operating part and the timing indicating operation device are operated together when the note mark matches up with its corresponding timing mark.

6. A song accompaniment system according to claim 5, wherein the singing support apparatus further includes:

a data memory; and

a memory controller which receives the accompanying music and the simulative instrument part together with music title and song text from a source data storage via a communications line and causes the data memory to store the accompanying music, the simulative instrument part, the music title and the song text in a manner that they can be read out from the data memory.

7. A song accompaniment system according to claim 5, wherein the singing support apparatus is capable of selectively executing karaoke mode in which the accompanying music is delivered to the first sound output device and simulative instrument accompaniment mode in which the accompanying music excluding the simulative instrument part is delivered to the first sound output device, and the singing support apparatus executes the simulative instrument accompaniment mode upon receiving a mode signal which is output when the instrumental accompaniment apparatus is activated.

8. A song accompaniment system according to claim 7, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus takes in song text of the music to be performed and presents it on the first monitor.

9. A song accompaniment system according to claim 5, wherein the singing support apparatus further includes:

a second monitor; and

a second display controller which presents song text of the music to be performed on the second monitor in synchronism with the progress of performance of the accompanying music.

10. A song accompaniment system according to claim 9, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus takes in song text of the music to be performed and presents it on the first monitor.

11. A song accompaniment system according to claim 9, wherein the singing support apparatus further includes:

a data memory; and

a memory controller which receives the accompanying music and the simulative instrument part together with music title and song text from a source data storage via a communications line and causes the data memory to store the accompanying music, the simulative instrument part, the music title and the song text in a manner that they can be read out from the data memory.

12. A song accompaniment system according to claim 11, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus takes in song text of the music to be performed and presents it on the first monitor.

13. A song accompaniment system according to claim 11, wherein the singing support apparatus is capable of selectively executing karaoke mode in which the accompanying music is delivered to the first sound output device and simulative instrument accompaniment mode in which the accompanying music excluding the simulative instrument part is delivered to the first sound output device, and the singing support apparatus executes the simulative instrument accompaniment mode upon receiving a mode signal which is output when the instrumental accompaniment apparatus is activated.

14. A song accompaniment system according to claim 13, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus takes in song text of the music to be performed and presents it on the first monitor.

15. A song accompaniment system according to claim 9, wherein the singing support apparatus is capable of selectively executing karaoke mode in which the accompanying music is delivered to the first sound output device and simulative instrument accompaniment mode in which the accompanying music excluding the simulative instrument part is delivered to the first sound output device, and the singing support apparatus executes the simulative instrument accompaniment mode upon receiving a mode signal which is output when the instrumental accompaniment apparatus is activated.

16. A song accompaniment system according to claim 15, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus takes in song text of the music to be performed and presents it on the first monitor.

17. A song accompaniment system according to claim 9, wherein the instrumental accompaniment apparatus takes in song text of the music to be performed and presents it on the first monitor.