Method and apparatus for facilitating group musical interaction over a network

• US 6,353,174 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1999
• Issued: 03/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Harmonix Music Systems Incorporated (Epic Games, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Harmonix Music Systems Incorporated (Epic Games, Inc.)
• Inventors: James, Michael, Rigopulos, Alexander, LoPiccolo, Greg, Schmidt, Dan, Egozy, Eran, Bell, Jonathon
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher, Marlon T.
• Application Number:
  US09/459,737
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 846/00--02, 846/09--12, 846/22--25, 846/34--36, 846/45, 707/205, 709/200-207, 709/213, 709/217-219, 709/223-226, 709/230-232, 709/241, 370/413
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0058 Transmission between separate instruments or between individual components of a musical system G10H1/0083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/391 Automatic tempo adjustment, correction or control
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 MIDI or other note-oriented file format
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/175 for jam sessions or musical collaboration through a network, e.g. for composition, ensemble playing or repeating; Compensation of network or internet delays therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/305 Internet or TCP/IP protocol use for any electrophonic musical instrument data or musical parameter transmission purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Described are a system and method for achieving near real-time musical collaboration by a group of users using computers connected by a network. Each computer system plays a stream of musical data to each user. The musical data stream played to each user corresponds to the musical collaboration produced by the users. The playing of the musical data streams is staggered such that each user is located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other user. This staggering separates any two users by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum time required to transmit musical data from one user to another user over the network. Each user is allowed to modify the portion of the musical data stream that is currently being played to that user. Such musical data modifications are transmitted to other users over the network to become incorporated into the musical data streams played to those other users. Because the musical data streams are staggered by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum latency of the network, those other users to receive the musical data modifications with sufficient time to incorporate them into the locally played musical data streams.

Claims

1. A method for achieving musical collaboration by a plurality of users, each user operating a computer system that is connected to a network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) playing to the user of a computer system a stream of musical data representing a musical collaboration of the users;

(b) allowing the user of the computer system to modify the musical data of the musical collaboration as those musical data are played to the user; and

(c) while t he musical data are being played to the user and while the user is modifying the musical data being played, automatically and continually transmit ting by the computer system musical data modifications made by the user to another computer system over the network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of staggering said playing includes separating any two users by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum time required to transmit musical data modifications from one user to another user over the network.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of playing said musical data stream occurs repetitiously.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of playing said musical data stream occurs automatically.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of dividing the musical data stream into a sequence of temporally ordered musical data segments.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein each musical data segment is equal in temporal length as every other musical data segment in the musical data stream.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of allowing each user to modify the musical data includes adding musical data by that user.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of allowing each user to modify the musical data includes deleting musical data by that user.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting includes transmitting the musical data modifications made by the user to every other user.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting includes transmitting the musical data modifications made by the user to another computer system through a server.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of synchronizing the users to maintain the staggered playing throughout the musical collaboration.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising playing a stream of musical data representing the musical collaboration to each other user and staggering said playing of the musical data streams such that each user is located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other user.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein each user is allowed to modify any portion of the musical data of the musical data stream representing the musical collaboration as that portion of the musical data is played to that user.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein each user is allowed to modify the musical data contributed to the musical collaboration by another user.

15. The Method of claim 1 wherein the automatic transmission of the musical data modifications occur at predetermined intervals.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the musical data modifications transmitted over the network are associated with a segment of the musical data stream.

18. The method of claim 12 further comprising staggering said outputting of the data streams such that each user is located at a different time in the collaboration than every other user.

30. The system of claim 13 wherein the computers stagger the playing of the musical data streams such that each computer plays musical data located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other computer.

17. A method for achieving collaboration on a task by a plurality of users connected by a network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) outputting a stream of data representing the collaboration to each user;

(b) allowing each user to modify the data of the data stream as that data are output to that user; and

(c) while the stream of data is being output to each of the users and while one of the users is modifying the stream of data being output to that user, automatically and continually transmitting data modifications made by that one of the users to another user over the network.

24. The system of claim 17 wherein each musical data segment is equal in temporal length to every other musical data segment in the musical data stream.

19. A system for achieving musical collaboration by a plurality of users connected by a network, comprising:

a plurality of computers connected by a network, each computer being operated by one of the users and including;

an output system playing a stream of musical data representing the musical collaboration to a user of that computer,

an input system by which the user of that computer modifies the musical data as the output system plays that musical data, and

a transmitter automatically and continually transmitting the musical data modifications to another computer over the network while the musical data are being played to the user and while the user is modifying the musical data being played.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the musical data streams are staggered by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum time required to transmit musical data from one user to another user over the network.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein each musical data stream is repetitiously output by the respective output system.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein each musical data stream is automatically output by the respective output system.

23. The system of claim 19 each computer further comprises a divider subdividing the respective musical data stream into a sequence of temporally ordered musical data segments.

25. The system of claim 19 further comprising a server in communication with each computer, the server receiving musical data modifications from each user and forwarding such modifications to at least one other user.

26. The system of claim 19 wherein the input system includes a MIDI instrument.

27. The system of claim 19 wherein the musical data modifications are delta signals.

28. The system of claim 19 wherein the output system includes a MIDI synthesizer.

29. The system of claim 19 further comprising a synchronizer synchronizing the users to maintain the staggered playing throughout the musical collaboration.

31. A method for achieving musical collaboration by a plurality of users connected by a network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) playing a stream of musical data representing the musical collaboration to each user;

(b) staggering said playing of the musical data streams to any two users by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum time required to transmit musical data modifications from one user to another user over the network, such that each user is located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other user;

(c) allowing each user to modify the musical data of the musical data stream as those musical data are played to that user; and

(d) transmitting musical data modifications made by one of the users to another user over the network.

32. A method for achieving musical collaboration by a plurality of users connected by a network, the method comprising the steps of:

playing a stream of musical data representing the musical collaboration to each user;

dividing each musical data stream into a sequence of temporally ordered musical data segments that are each equal in temporal length as every other musical data segment in the musical data stream;

staggering said playing of the musical data streams such that each user is located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other user;

allowing each user to modify the musical data of the musical data stream as those musical data are played to that user; and

transmitting musical data modifications made by one of the users to another user over the network.

33. A system for achieving musical collaboration by a plurality of users connected by a network, comprising:

a plurality of computers connected by a network, each computer including;

an output system playing a stream of musical data representing the musical collaboration to a user of that computer,

an input system by which the user of that computer modifies the musical data as the output system plays that musical data, and

a transmitter transmitting the musical data modifications to another computer over the network, wherein

the computers stagger the playing of the musical data streams by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum time required to transmit musical data from one user to another user over the network such that each computer plays musical data located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other computer.

34. A system for achieving musical collaboration by a plurality of users connected by a network, comprising:

a plurality of computers connected by a network, each computer including;

an out put system playing a stream of musical data representing the musical collaboration to a user of that computer,

a divider subdividing the respective musical data stream into a sequence of temporally ordered musical data segments that are equal in temporal length to every other musical data segment in the musical data stream,

an input system by which the user of that computer modifies the musical data as the output system plays that musical data, and

a transmitter transmitting the musical data modifications to another computer over the network, wherein

the computers stagger the playing of the musical data streams such that each computer plays musical data located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other computer.