Instant musician, recording artist and composer

• US 6,740,802 B1
• Filed: 09/06/2000
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bernard H. Browne Jr
• Original Assignee: Bernard H. Browne Jr
• Inventors: Browne, Bernard H. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nappi, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): WARREN, DAVID S
• Application Number:
  US09/655,792
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: 846/09--14, 846/22--25, 844/77.R, 844/78
• 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 1/0041 in coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/056 MIDI or other note-oriented file format
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/061 MP3, i.e. MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, lossy audio compression
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/071 Wave, i.e. Waveform Audio File Format, coding, e.g. uncompressed PCM audio according to the RIFF bitstream format method

Abstract

“The Instant Musician, Recording Artist and Composer” permits ordinary computer users to select an instrument and music number from their computer screen and immediately start playing the selected instrument by simply typing letters displayed on their computer screens. It also may serve as a learning tool for learning how to play classical instruments by depicting the physical parts of the instrument to be activated with each note entered into the keyboard. Additional features allow personal computer user to make recordings of multiple instruments (and voice) numbers with altered sound spectrum, if desired, as well as composing their own music by simply clicking a mouse, modifying other music scores, humming, whistling or any other sound input.

Claims

1. An integrated music system for use on a personal computer by users without any music background or knowledge comprising sub-systems consisting of a music playing sub-system, music recording/altering sub-system and music composing sub-system where the personal computer based music playing sub-system provides users a means to select and play numerous different musical numbers by means of typing letters displayed on the computer'"'"'s display using the computer'"'"'s standard computer keyboard and have the letters typed generate musical note sounds from the computer'"'"'s sound system correspond to one of many different musical instrument sounds offered to the user for playing selected music numbers with said system apparatus comprising:

computer readable program instructions for executing the functions of the personal computer music playing sub-system including presenting on the computer display the sequence of standard computer keyboard keys to be pressed on the standard computer keyboard to activate the sounding of correct seguence of stored musical note sounds corresponding to the instrument and music number selected by the computer user; and

storage means readable by computer readable media for storing a plurality of data sets or databases having all single musical note computer keyboard designations from an all inclusive sample music score covering each possible musical note tied in the database to recorded single musical notes from the actual sounds of a plurality of all known musical instruments including all musical note sounds of accordions, bugles, clarinets, cymbals, drums, flutes, guitars, harps, organs, pianos, saxophones, trumpets, tubas as well as other known musical instruments; and

storage means readable by computer readable media for storing a plurality of data sets or databases for a plurality of musical numbers or songs in which classical representations of musical notes and other musical score symbols are related in the database to keys on standard computer keyboards; and

display means and computer pointing device activation means and/or computer keyboard means for allowing users to select a particular stored musical number to play by pressing the standard computer keyboard key sequences displayed on the screen from a plurality of stored music numbers in addition to the display of the traditional music score of the selected music number; and

display means and computer pointing device activation means and/or computer keyboard means for allowing users to select which musical instruments sounds are to be sounded when standard computer keyboard keys are actuated in addition to the display of the musical instrument selected; and

display means for highlighting the particular part (key, button, slide, etc.) of the music instrument selected that corresponds to the current note of the music score displayed; and

sound generation means for having personal computers generating sounds of stored musical note sounds of musical instruments when directed by the system software program in response to user personal computer keyboard key actions; and

sound pickup means for picking up and recording sounds detected by a microphone or other sound pickup device connected to the system personal computer.

4. The personal computer music playing sub-system as in claim 1, wherein the computer readable program instructions allow displaying words or lyrics of musical numbers selected from databases of music numbers along with standard computer keyboard key sequences displayed that produce the sounds of the selected musical instrument sounds for the selected musical number chosen when these standard computer keyboard keys are actuated by the user in the order presented on the computer display.

5. The system as in claim 1, wherein in the correlations between user typed keys on a standard computer keyboard and the musical notes interpreted by the system may be changed by the user to make sounds generated by the computer sound system from user keyboard entries represent other musical instrument sounds for any musical numbers selected.

6. The system as in claim 1, wherein the musical instrument sounds generated by user keyboard input actions may be changed by the user to the sounds of different musical instruments, like changing the sounds of the computer keys being played from that of the sounds of a piano to the sounds of a flute.

7. The system as in claim 1, wherein the sounds created by the user from playing a music number from the computer keyboard keys are recorded on computer writeable portable storage devices.

8. The system as in claim 1, wherein a method of communication with the Internet is included for the purpose of downloading into the computer'"'"'s memory or storage devices additional musical numbers complete with the correlations between standard keyboard keys and the notes of displayed music scores.

9. Computer readable program instructions containing executable instructions, in accordance with claim 1, for executing:

a process of selecting a music number to be played by the user via a mouse, other pointing device or from standard computer keyboard key pressing from a database of stored musical numbers where music numbers may be played or sounded from the computer sound system by simply typing standard computer keyboard letters presented on the computer display; and

a process of selecting a set of specific musical instrument note sounds to be sounded from standard computer keys when depressed from a database of many musical instrument sounds stored in the database; and

a process for accepting user preference inputs on display options pertaining to whether the user prefers having a current musical note window to move over the current musical note to be displayed or whether the user prefers the music score to move on the display with the current music note window fixed in place on the display; and

a process for allowing the user to elect whether a background music rhythm or accompaniment with a regular systematic beat is to be added to music sounds created by the user'"'"'s typing letters displayed on the computer screen and a process for selecting the relative volume and instrument sound of a background rhythm or accompaniment, if chosen.

10. Computer readable program instructions containing executable instructions, in accordance with claim 1, for executing a process of accepting user preference on whether the music number to be played by depressing computer keyboard keys shall be accompanied by the sounds of a second instrument that provides a periodic musical sound, and preferences related to the round level and pitch of the second musical instrument sounds.

2. An integrated music system for use on a personal computer by a user without any music background comprising sub-systems consisting of a music playing sub-system, music recording/altering sub-system and music composing sub-system where the music record/altering sub-system provides users a means to record, modify and combine music numbers with modifications including both music sound amplitude and frequency transformation modifications in selected frequency bands of selected previously recorded music numbers where the frequency transformation operations permit the generation of new sounds in frequency bands not generated in the original recordings and/or previously combined recordings with such sub-system comprising:

a process of generating combined displays of both the frequency spectrum analyzer and equalizer input functions in addition to frequency transformation screen-based input sections where users may depict desired frequency transformation desired previously recorded music files in addition to amplitude modifications in user inputted music frequency bands; and

a process of selecting and combining one or more music numbers previously recorded for combining with user inputted relative volume modifications, user inputted equalizer actions and frequency transformations; and

a process for generating displays simultaneously for each selected music number showing frequency spectrums of previously recorded music, superimposed equalizer settings selected by the user, user selection of frequency transformation settings, music frequency spectrum amplitudes as a result of equalizer and frequency transformation inputs by the user, relative volume control settings, file names for music being combined, other descriptive labeling, including file names, and the depiction of the instrument or other sound generation source used to generate each selected music source; and

a process for saving altered or combined music files in file formats selected by the user.

11. The music recording/altering sub-system as in claim 2, said sub-system comprising:

computer readable program instructions for executing the functions of the music recording/altering sub-system that includes a frequency spectrum analyzer for computing the real-time frequency spectrum of previously recorded music numbers played by the system; and

display means for displaying the frequency spectrum analyzer functions of single or multiple previously recorded music numbers chosen to be combined and the function of transmitting on screen frequency transformation information entered by mouse or pointing device movement on of music recordings being played to the computer frequency transformation algorithms; and

storage means for storing music numbers being combined and the music number produced by combining and/or modifying music files; and

sound generation means for generating sounds on a personal computer sound system produced by combining previously recorded and/or modified music files; and

sound pickup means for picking up and recording sounds detected by a microphone or other sound pickup device connected to the system computer.

12. The system as in claim 2 or 11, wherein frequency spectrums of music previously recorded are altered to different frequencies by user settings on the display.

13. The system as in claim 2 or 11, wherein the transformed frequency spectrum of previously recorded music is shown on the display along with the user'"'"'s input of frequency transformations.

3. An integrated music system for use on a personal computer by a user without any music background comprising sub-systems consisting of a music playing sub-system, music recording/altering sub-system and music composing sub-system where the music composing sub-system provides users a means to automatically compose or create new music numbers having music scores, words and recorded music sounds automatically with such composed music pieces being able to be generated by several different personal computer input means including:

generating new music scores by inserting notes into blank music scores with a computer mouse pointing device and having the inserted note create a corresponding musical note sound for the last note or set of notes entered into the music score using the sound of a chosen musical instrument, and

generating new music score notes on music scores automatically by using a mouse pointing device to in effect actuate the keys, buttons, slides, drums, symbols or other musical instrument input devices displayed on a personal computer screen depiction of a selected musical instrument where each mouse or other computer pointing device pointing action on the computer screen depiction of the chosen musical instrument creates a corresponding note on the computer screen depicted musical score along with the corresponding computer sound system created musical instrument sound, and by

generating music notes on a score by processing sounds inputted from a microphone or other sound pick up device to the personal computer including sounds made by the user by humming, whistling, singing, musical instrument playing, and by

composing new music numbers by modifying music scores of previously recorded music numbers by mouse pointing device actions on the displayed music scores of these previously recorded music numbers, and

with such music composing sub-system comprising;

a storage means readable by computer readable media for storing a plurality of data sets or databases having all single musical note designations from an all inclusive sample music score covering each possible musical note tied in the database to recorded single musical notes from the actual sounds of a plurality of musical instruments including all musical note sounds of accordions, bugles, clarinets, oymbals, drums, flutes, guitars, harps, organs, pianos, saxophones, trumpets, tubas as well as other known musical instruments; and

a display means for displaying music scores generated by a variety of computer input means including;

typing keys on a standard computer keyboard, pointing and clicking on displayed music scores using a mouse or other pointing device, or generating music scores from sounds picked up via a computer microphone or other computer sound input device produced by the system user who may produce sounds by humming, singing, whistling, musical instrument playing or by modification of previously recorded music scores via mouse dragging or other mouse operations or other pointing devices on music scores displayed; and

a sound generation means using a personal computer sound system for generating sounds of notes generated for music scores using sounds of instruments selected by user; and

a sound pickup means for picking up and recording sounds detected by a microphone or other sound pickup device connected to the system computer.

14. Computer readable program instructions containing instructions, in accordance with claim 3, for executing:

a process of selecting the manner in which music is to be composed from choices of computer keyboard input and/or mouse or other pointing device input, microphone input of humming, singing, whistling, musical instrument input or other sound input, or music composing by modification of a previously recorded music score; and

a process of generating blank music scores for display and a process for inserting selected music time signatures on the display; and

a process of generating user preferences for the manner in which music is to be composed and the computer keyboard to music note relationships desired by the user; and

a process for enabling the user to select the instrument sounds to be played upon entering notes into a music score displayed or when the user elects to play back segments of the music composed; and

a process for generating a display depicting the music instrument selected corresponding to sounds generated during play back time segments; and

a process enabling the user to save composed music in file formats of choice; and

a process enabling users to select, open and process previously recorded music files complete with the automatic generation of music score displays for the purposes of composing new music numbers by modification of previously recorded music numbers; and

a process of enabling users to enter words to music being composed by use of the computer keyboard or with the assistance of voice recognition software; and

a process for the user to play back several different time durations of music composed.