Automatic musical composition apparatus and method

• US 6,384,310 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2001
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Aoki, Eiichiro, Fukushima, Yoshiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US09/907,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20020007720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 293 Days
• Field of Search: 846/09--12, 846/34--36, 846/49--52
• US Class Current: 84/609
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0025 Automatic or semi-automatic music composition, e.g. producing random music, applying rules from music theory or modifying a musical piece automatically producing a series of tones G10H1/26
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/40 Rhythm
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/241 Telephone transmission, i.e. using twisted pair telephone lines or any type of telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/271 Serial transmission according to any one of RS-232 standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals between a DTE and a DCE
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/285 USB, i.e. either using a USB plug as power supply or using the USB protocol to exchange data
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/311 MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/315 Firewire, i.e. transmission according to IEEE1394

Abstract

Through an operation by a user, a setting is made, for each partial musical section in a music piece, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated. In accordance with the setting, a discrimination is made between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where music piece data should not be generated. In automatically composing a music piece on the basis of given musical conditions, music piece data based on the given musical conditions is generated only for the data-generating musical section, and generation of music piece data based on the given musical conditions is inhibited for the non-data-generating musical section. With this arrangement, music piece data for each partial musical section in an already-composed or existing music piece can be re-created with greatly increased ease.

Claims

1. An automatic musical composition apparatus comprising:

a processing section that automatically composes a music piece on the basis of a given musical condition; and

a setting section that, for each partial musical section in a music piece, makes a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section,

wherein said processing section discriminates, in accordance with the setting made by said setting section, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated and generates music piece data based on the given musical condition for the data-generating musical section without generating music piece data based on the given musical condition for the non-data-generating musical section.

2. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each partial musical section in an already-composed music piece, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein music piece data for the data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is re-generated by said processing section while music piece data for the non-data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is left unchanged, and thereby the already-composed music piece is modified.

3. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each partial musical section in a music piece to be newly composed, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein said processing section generates music piece data for the data-generating musical section in the music piece to be newly composed but inhibits generation of music piece data for the non-data-generating musical section in the music piece to be newly composed, so as to partially generate music piece data for the music piece by applying the given musical condition only to particular one or more said data-generating musical sections.

4. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said setting section makes a setting, in correspondence with each partial musical section, as to whether or not only note-generation timing data should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein said processing section discriminates, in accordance with the setting made by said setting section, between a data-generating musical section where note-generation timing data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no note-generation timing data should be generated, and wherein said processing section generates note-generation timing data for the data-generating musical section on the basis of the given musical condition but inhibits generation of note-generation timing data for the non-data-generating musical section.

5. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each partial musical section in an already-composed music piece, as to whether or not note-generation timing data should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein note-generation timing data for the data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is re-generated by said processing section so that the note-generation timing data for the data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is changed, while note-generation timing data for the non-data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is left unchanged.

6. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said setting section makes a setting, in correspondence with each partial musical section, as to whether or not only pitch data of each note to be generated should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein said processing section discriminates, in accordance with the setting made by said setting section, between a data-generating musical section where pitch data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no pitch data should be generated, and wherein said processing section generates pitch data based on the given musical condition only for the data-generating musical section but inhibits generation of pitch data for the non-data-generating musical section.

7. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each partial musical section in an already-composed music piece, as to whether or not pitch data should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein pitch data for the data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is re-generated by said processing section so that note pitches are changed for the data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece but note pitches are left unchanged for the non-data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece.

8. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said setting section is capable of making a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for a desired one of a plurality of partial musical sections divided from a music piece in different manners of dividing,

which further comprises a priority control section that, when said setting section has made mutually-contradictory settings for two partial musical sections partly overlapping with each other, performs control such that either one of the settings has priority over other of the settings, and

wherein said processing section discriminates between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, in accordance with the setting made by said setting section for the partial musical section that has been given the priority by said priority control section.

9. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises an instruction section that instructs whether or not the setting made by said setting section should have priority over a musical composition process based on period marks, and

wherein when said instruction section has instructed that the setting made by said setting section should not have the priority over the musical composition process based on the period marks, said processing section ignores the setting made by said setting section for the partial musical section within at least one of at least two periods that are indicated by the period marks as identical or similar to each other.

10. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said processing section copies, music piece data of other of the at least two periods that are indicated by the period marks as identical or similar to each other, and said processing section generates, for the period of which the setting made by said setting section has been ignored, music piece data identical or similar to the music piece data of the other of the at least two periods on the basis of the copied music piece data.

11. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein even when said instruction section has instructed that the setting made by said setting section should not have the priority over the musical composition process based on the period marks, said processing section, for other of the at least two periods that are indicated by the period marks as identical or similar to each other, discriminates between the data-generating musical section and the non-data-generating musical section in accordance with the setting made by said setting section for the partial musical section within the other period and generates music piece data based on the given musical condition for each discriminated data-generating musical section.

12. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein when said instruction section has instructed that the setting made by said setting section should have the priority over the musical composition process based on the period marks, said processing section, for each one of the at least two periods that are indicated by the period marks as identical or similar to each other, discriminates between the data-generating musical section and the non-data-generating musical section in accordance with the setting made by said setting section and generates music piece data based on the given musical condition for each said discriminated data-generating musical section.

13. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the music piece comprises a plurality of hierarchical brackets divided in different manners of dividing, and said setting section is capable of making a setting, for each partial musical section in each of the hierarchical brackets, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section.

14. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said setting section is capable of making a setting, for each partial musical section in a predetermined one of the hierarchical brackets, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, in such a manner that the predetermined hierarchical bracket is given priority over any other of the plurality of hierarchical brackets.

15. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which further comprises a display device, and wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each said partial musical section, as to whether music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, by means of a software switch displayed on said display device.

16. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said processing section further performs a music-piece-data modification process so as to provide consistency in music progression between a particular data-generating musical section of the music piece where music piece data based on the given musical condition has been generated and another partial musical section of the music piece adjoining the particular data-generating musical section.

17. An automatic musical composition apparatus comprising:

a processing section that automatically composes a music piece on the basis of a given musical condition; and

a setting section that, for each partial musical section in a music piece, sakes a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section,

wherein said processing section is cable of performing;

a first process for discriminating, in accordance with the setting made by said setting section, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, and generating music piece data based on the given musical condition for the data-generating musical section without generating music piece data based on the given musical condition for the non-data-generating musical section; and

a second process for generating music piece data in accordance with a period mark imparted to each period constituting the music piece, and

which further comprises an instruction section that instructs said processing section to perform either one of said first and second processes with priority over other of said first and second processes.

18. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein the music piece comprises a plurality of hierarchical brackets divided in different manners of dividing, and said setting section is capable of making a setting, for each partial musical section in each of the hierarchical brackets, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section.

19. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 18 wherein said setting section is capable of making a setting, for each partial musical section in a predetermined one of the hierarchical brackets, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, in such a manner that the predetermined hierarchical bracket is given priority over any other of the plurality of hierarchical brackets.

20. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 17 which further comprises a display device, and wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each said partial musical section, as to whether music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, by means of a software switch displayed on said display device.

21. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein said processing section further performs a music-piece-data modification process so as to provide consistency in music progression between a particular data-generating musical section of the music piece where music piece data based on the given musical condition has been generated and another partial musical section of the music piece adjoining the particular data-generating musical section.

22. An automatic musical composition apparatus comprising:

a supply device that supplies a musical condition parameter;

a setting device that, for each partial musical section in a music piece, makes a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section;

a first generator device that discriminates, in accordance with the setting made by said setting device, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, and generates, only for the data-generating musical section, music piece data based on the musical condition parameter supplied by said supply device;

a second generator device that generates music piece data in accordance with a period mark imparted to each period constituting the music piece; and

a control device that performs a control to give priority to music piece data generation by said second generator device over music piece data generation by said first generator device.

23. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein the music piece comprises a plurality of hierarchical brackets divided in different manners of dividing, and said setting device is capable of making a setting, for each partial musical section in each of the hierarchical brackets, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section.

24. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 23 wherein said setting device is capable of making a setting, for each partial musical section in a predetermined one of the hierarchical brackets, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, in such a manner that the predetermined hierarchical bracket is given priority over any other of the plurality of hierarchical brackets.

25. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 22 which further comprises a display device, and wherein said setting section makes a setting, for each said partial musical section, as to whether music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, by means of a software switch displayed on said display device.

26. An automatic musical composition apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein said first generator device further performs a music-piece-data modification process so as to provide consistency in music progression between a particular data-generating musical section of the music piece where music piece data based on the supplied musical condition parameter has been generated and another partial musical section of the music piece adjoining the particular data-generating musical section.

27. An automatic musical composition method comprising:

a supply step of supplying a musical condition;

a setting step of, for each partial musical section in a music piece, making a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section; and

a processing step of discriminating, in accordance with the setting made by said setting step, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and la non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, and generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the data-generating musical section without generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the non-data-generating musical section.

28. An automatic musical composition method as claimed in claim 27 wherein said setting step makes a setting, for each partial musical section in an already-composed music piece, as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section, and

wherein music piece data for the data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is re-generated by said processing step while music piece data for the non-data-generating musical section in the already-composed music piece is left unchanged, and thereby the already-composed music piece is modified.

29. An automatic musical composition method as claimed in claim 27 which further comprises an instruction step of instructing whether or not the setting made by said setting step should have priority over a musical composition process based on period marks, and

wherein when said instruction step has instructed that the setting made by said setting step should not have the priority, said processing step ignores the setting made by said setting step for the partial musical sections within at least one of at least two periods that are indicated by the period marks as identical or similar to each other.

30. An automatic musical composition method comprising:

a supply step of supplying a musical condition;

a setting step of, for each partial musical section in a music piece, making a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section;

a processing step capable of performing;

a first process for discriminating, in accordance with the setting made by said setting step, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, and generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the data-generating musical section without generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the non-data-generating musical section; and

a second process for generating music piece data in accordance with a period mark imparted to each period constituting the music piece; and

an instruction step of instructing said processing step to perform either one of said first and second processes with priority over other of said first and second processes.

31. A machine-readable storage medium containing a group of instructions to cause said machine to perform an automatic musical composition method, said automatic musical composition method comprising:

a supply step of supplying a musical condition;

a setting step of, for each partial musical section in a music piece, making a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section; and

a processing step of discriminating, in accordance with the setting made by said setting step, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, and generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the data-generating musical section without generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the non-data-generating musical section.

32. A machine-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31 which further comprises an instruction step of instructing whether or not the setting made by said setting step should have priority over a musical composition process based on period marks, and

wherein when said instruction step has instructed that the setting made by said setting step should not have the priority, said processing step ignores the setting made by said setting step for the partial musical sections within at least one of at least two periods that are indicated by the period marks as identical or similar to each other.

33. A machine-readable storage medium containing a group of instructions to cause said machine to perform an automatic musical composition method, said automatic musical composition method comprising:

a supply step of supplying a musical condition;

a setting step of, for each partial musical section in a music piece, making a setting as to whether or not music piece data should be generated for the partial musical section;

a processing step capable of performing;

a first process for discriminating, in accordance with the setting made by said setting step, between a data-generating musical section where music piece data should be generated and a non-data-generating musical section where no music piece data should be generated, and generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the data-generating musical section without generating music piece data based on the supplied musical condition for the non-data-generating musical section; and

a second process for generating music piece data in accordance with a period mark imparted to each period constituting the music piece; and

an instruction step of instructing said processing step to perform either one of said first and second process with priority over other of said first and second processes.