Music station for producing visual images synchronously with music data codes

• US 7,288,712 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2005
• Issued: 10/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Uehara, Haruki
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan; Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): Russell; Christina
• Application Number:
  US11/031,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20050150362A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 84/645
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/00 Teaching music metronomes G04F5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/08 Practice keyboards for teaching typing G09B13/02
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0016 Means for indicating which keys, frets or strings are to be actuated, e.g. using lights or leds
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/041 Remote key fingering indicator, i.e. fingering shown on a display separate from the instrument itself or substantially disjoint from the keys
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/325 Synchronizing two or more audio tracks or files according to musical features or musical timings synchronised lyrics, e.g. for karaoke G10H2220/011
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

In order to make a tutor give a remote music lesson to a trainee, the audio-visual station transmits MIDI music data codes/time stamp data codes and click time data codes through a packet switching network and an audio-visual signal, which expresses real images of tutor'"'"'s hands on the keyboard, and click signal through a teleconference system to another audio-visual station; the controller for the trainee makes the internal clock synchronous with the internal clock for the tutor through the pairing work between the click time data codes and the click signals so that the images of note bars and real images are synchronously produced on a display unit in front of the trainee'"'"'s keyboard; moreover, while the tutor'"'"'s exhibition is being carried out, any oral direction does not reach the trainee so that the trainee concentrate himself to the exhibition.

Claims

1. A music station for producing visual images of tones to be produced together with visual images of a performance, comprising:

a receiver connected to a communication channel, and receiving pieces of music data representative of said tones to be produced and pieces of first timing data mixed with said pieces of music data;

another receiver connected to another communication channel independent of said communication channel, and receiving pieces of video data representative of said performance carried out in synchronism with said tones produced at another station remote from said music station and pieces of second timing data mixed with said pieces of video data and delivered to said another communication channel concurrently with the delivery of said pieces of first timing data to said communication channel, respectively;

a timing adjuster connected to said receiver and said another receiver, and eliminating a time lag from between each of said pieces of first timing data and associated one of said pieces of second timing data so as to establish said pieces of video data and said pieces of music data in synchronization with one another;

a display unit having plural image producing areas at least two of which are assigned to visual images of said performance and visual images of said tones, respectively; and

a display driver connected to said receiver, said another receiver and said display unit, producing an image-carrying signal representative of said visual images of said performance and another image-carrying signal representative of said visual images of said tones, and supplying said image-carrying signal and said another image-carrying signal to said display unit so that said visual images of said performance and said visual images of said tones are produced in the at least two areas, respectively, in correlation with one another.

2. The music station as set forth in claim 1, in which said communication channel and said another communication channel introduce another time lag and yet another time lag into a transmission of said pieces of music data and said pieces of first timing data and a transmission of said pieces of video data and said pieces of second timing data, respectively, and said another time lag is different from said yet another time lag so that said timing adjuster eliminates the difference between said another time lag and said yet another time lag from between the reception of said pieces of music data and said pieces of first timing data and the reception of said pieces of video data and said pieces of second timing data as said time lag.

3. The music station as set forth in claim 2, in which said timing adjuster includes

an internal clock measuring a lapse of time, and

a clock setter for setting said internal clock with a proper time determined on the basis of a time indicated by each piece of first timing data and said time lag.

4. The music station as set forth in claim 1, in which said pieces of video data are representative of visual images of hands over visual images of manipulators selectively manipulated with visual images of the fingers of said hands in a similar manner to the fingers of a human player, and said visual images produced on the basis of said pieces of said music data are indicative of pitches of said tones to be produced through the manipulation on said manipulators.

5. The music station as set forth in claim 4, in which said visual images of said tones appear in the image producing area before associated manipulators of a musical instrument are manipulated, and are moved toward the visual images of said associated manipulators assigned the pitches identical with said pitches represented by said pieces of music data so as to indicate said pitches of said tones to be produced.

6. The music station as set forth in claim 4, in which said visual images of said tones are further indicative of time periods over which said associated manipulators of said musical instrument are to be manipulated.

7. The music station as set forth in claim 6, in which said visual images of said tones become smaller with time, and disappear from the image producing area when said associated manipulators of said musical instrument are to be released.

8. The music station as set forth in claim 4, in which said visual images of said tones are further indicative of timings at which the associated manipulators of said musical instrument are to be manipulated.

9. The music station as set forth in claim 8, in which said visual images of said tones are moved toward the visual images of the associated manipulators, and reach said visual images of said associated manipulators when said associated manipulators of said musical instrument are to be manipulated.

10. The music station as set forth in claim 8, in which said visual images of said tones are further indicative of time periods over which the associated manipulators of said musical instrument are to be manipulated, and disappear at said visual images of said associated manipulators when said associated manipulators of said musical instrument are to be released.

11. The music station as set forth in claim 1, in which said display driver periodically renews a scene where said images of said tones are produced so that said visual images of said tones are moved toward visual images of manipulators assigned pitches identical with pitches represented by said pieces of music data as if said scene is scrolled.

12. The music station as set forth in claim 11, in which said display driver successively changes the size of said visual images of said tones while the associated manipulators of said musical instrument are being manipulated.

13. A music station for producing visual images of tones, comprising:

a receiver connected to a communication channel, and receiving pieces of music data representative of said tones to be produced and pieces of time data each representative of a time at which associated one of said tones is to be produced;

a display unit having an image producing area where said visual images of said tones are to be produced;

a timing generator connected to said receiver, and analyzing said pieces of time data so as to determine timings at which said visual images of said tones appear in said image producing area on said display unit;

a memory storing pieces of visual data expressing said visual images; and

a display driver connected to said receiver, said timing generator, said memory and said display unit, producing an image-carrying signal representative of said visual images of said tones on the basis of said pieces of visual data corresponding to said pieces of music data, and supplying said image-carrying signal to said display unit so as to produce said visual images of said tones in said image producing area on said display unit as if said visual images of said tone are produced at said timings

another receiver connected to another communication channel independent of said communication channel and receiving pieces of video data representative of other visual images of hands over other visual images of manipulators selectively manipulated with other visual images of the fingers of said hands; and

a timing adjuster connected to said receiver and said another receiver and eliminating a time lag between each of pieces of first timing data mixed with said pieces of music data and associated one of pieces of second timing data mixed with said pieces of video data so as to establish said pieces of video data and said pieces of music data in synchronization with one another,

wherein said display driver further produces another image-carrying signal representative of said other visual images of said hands over said manipulators in another image producing area contiguous to said image producing area.

14. The music station as set forth in claim 13, in which said pieces of music data and said pieces of time data are serially transmitted through said communication channel to said receiver, and said display driver serially processes said pieces of music data in such a manner that said visual images of said tones are produced in a certain size in so far as said time data indicates that the corresponding tones are to be concurrently produced.

15. The music station as set forth in claim 14, in which said pieces of music data are respectively accompanied with said pieces of time data.

16. The music station as set forth in claim 14, in which one of said pieces of time data is shared among the pieces of music data to be concurrently produced.

17. The music station as set forth in claim 13, in which said visual images of tones are moved toward the other visual images of the associated manipulators assigned pitches identical with pitches of said tones represented by said pieces of music data.

18. A music station for producing a music passage of tones and voice, comprising:

a receiver connected to a communication system, and receiving pieces of music data representative of said tones;

a tone generating system connected to said receiver so as to produce said music passage of said tones;

another receiver connected to said communication system, and receiving pieces of audio data representative of said voice for producing an audio signal;

a signal-to-sound converter for converting said audio signal to said voice;

a controller connected between said receiver and said tone generating system, and analyzing said tones to be produced to see whether or not a loudness of said tones exceeds a threshold for producing a control signal; and

a switch connected between said another receiver and said signal-to-sound converter, and responsive to said control signal so as to interrupt said audio signal while said loudness is keeping over said threshold.

19. The music station as set forth in claim 18, in which said pieces of music data are representative of pitches of said tones and loudness of said tones, and said controller produces an audio signal on the basis of said pieces of music data for the analysis.

20. The music station as set forth in claim 18, in which said tone generating system is a musical instrument responsive to said pieces of music data for producing said tones, and said signal-to-sound converter includes a loud speaker system for producing said voice.