Storage medium storing music playing program, and music playing apparatus

• US 7,781,664 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2007
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Osada, Junya, Totaka, Kazumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher; Marlon T
• Application Number:
  US12/000,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20090090234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 84/615
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6081 generating an output signal, e.g. under timing constraints, for spatialization
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/091 for performance evaluation, i.e. judging, grading or scoring the musical qualities or faithfulness of a performance, e.g. with respect to pitch, tempo or other timings of a reference performance
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/171 Ad-lib effects, i.e. adding a musical phrase or improvisation automatically or on player's request, e.g. one-finger triggering of a note sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/135 Musical aspects of games or videogames; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces

Abstract

The game apparatus stores music data which indicates at least a pitch of each of sounds which form a melody of a predetermined piece of music and an output timing to output each of the sounds. The game apparatus sequentially detects, among the sounds included in the music data, a target sound which is a sound an output timing of which comes after start of playing by the music data. In the case where a first input is performed when or after the output timing of the target sound comes, the game apparatus outputs the target sound. On the other hand, in the case where a second or later input is performed after the output timing of the target sound comes, the game apparatus determines a pitch of an ad-lib sound, and outputs the ad-lib sound at the determined pitch.

Claims

1. A computer readable storage medium which stores a music playing program executed by a computer of a music playing apparatus for making a player play a melody of a predetermined piece of music, the music playing apparatus storing music data which indicates at least a pitch of each of sounds which form the melody of the predetermined piece of music and an output timing to output each of the sounds, the music playing program causing the computer to execute:

a detection step for sequentially detecting, among the sounds included in the music data, a target sound which is a sound an output timing of which comes after start of playing by the music data;

an input acceptance step for accepting an input from an input device of the music playing apparatus;

a first sound output step for outputting the target sound in the case where the input accepted at the input acceptance step is a first input when or after the output timing of the target sound detected at the detection step comes;

an ad-lib sound determination step for determining a pitch of an ad-lib sound as an arbitrary sound in the case where the input accepted at the input acceptance step is a second or later input after the output timing of the target sound detected at the detection step comes; and

a second sound output step for outputting the ad-lib sound at the pitch which is determined at the ad-lib sound determination step.

2. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein at the ad-lib sound determination step, the computer determines the pitch of the ad-lib sound based on at least one of a pitch of the target sound and a pitch of a next target sound an output timing of which comes after the target sound.

3. The storage medium according to claim 2, wherein the ad-lib sound determination step includes:

a nominee setting step for setting at least a nominee for the pitch of the ad-lib sound based on at least one of the pitch of the target sound and the pitch of the next target sound; and

a selection step for selecting a pitch, from the nominee which is set at the nominee setting step, as the pitch of the ad-lib sound.

4. The storage medium according to claim 3, wherein

the nominee setting step includes a nomination range setting step for setting a nomination range based on a first pitch which is the pitch of the target sound and a second pitch which is the pitch of the next target sound, and

the nominee for the pitch of the ad-lib sound is set within the nomination range which is set at the nomination range setting step.

5. The storage medium according to claim 4, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer changes the nomination range from a range including the first pitch to a range including the second pitch as time proceeds during a target period from a time when the output timing of the target sound comes to a time when the output timing of the next target sound comes.

6. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein the nominee setting step includes:

a center pitch calculation step for calculating a center pitch which is a center of the nomination range such that the center pitch changes from the first pitch to the second pitch as time proceeds during the target period; and

a width setting step for setting a width of the nomination range, and

at the nomination range setting step, the computer determines the nomination range from the center pitch and the width of the nomination range.

7. The storage medium according to claim 4, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets the nomination range such that the width of the nomination range is gradually decreased as time proceeds during a target period from a time when the output timing of the target sound comes to a time when the output timing of the next target sound comes.

8. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer keeps the width of the nomination range constant during a predetermined time period from the time when the output timing of the target sound comes.

9. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer changes the nomination range such that the width of the nomination range is decreased by a constant amount or at a constant rate with respect to elapse of time.

10. The storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the music data includes data which indicates a tone color of each sound forming the melody of the predetermined piece of music,

the music playing apparatus further stores output possible range data in which an output possible range is associated with each tone color of sounds to be outputted, and

at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets the nomination range so as to be within an output possible range of an output possible range data which is associated with a tone color of the target sound.

11. The storage medium according to claim 3, wherein

the nominee setting step includes a nomination range setting step for setting as a nomination range a range which includes a first pitch which is the pitch of the target sound, and

the nominee for the pitch of the ad-lib sound is set within the nomination range which is set at the nomination range setting step.

12. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets as the nomination range a range which has a predetermined width with the first pitch as a center thereof.

13. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets the nomination range such that the width of the nomination range is gradually decreased as time proceeds during a target period from a time when the output timing of the target sound comes to a time when the output timing of the next target sound comes.

14. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer keeps the width of the nomination range constant during a predetermined time period from the time when the output timing of the target sound comes.

15. The storage medium according to claim 13, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer changes the nomination range such that the width of the nomination range is decreased by a constant amount or at a constant rate with respect to elapse of time.

16. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein

the music data includes data which indicates a tone color of each sound forming the melody of the predetermined piece of music,

the music playing apparatus further stores output possible range data in which an output possible range is associated with each tone color of sounds to be outputted, and

at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets the nomination range so as to be within an output possible range of an output possible range data which is associated with a tone color of the target sound.

17. The storage medium according to claim 3, wherein

the nominee setting step includes a nomination range setting step for setting as a nomination range a range which includes a second pitch which is the pitch of the next target sound, and

the nominee for the pitch of the ad-lib sound is set within the nomination range which is set at the nomination range setting step.

18. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets as the nomination range a range which has a predetermined width with the second pitch set as a center thereof.

19. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets the nomination range such that the width of the nomination range is gradually decreased as time proceeds during a target period from a time when the output timing of the target sound comes to a time when the output timing of the next target sound comes.

20. The storage medium according to claim 19, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer keeps the width of the nomination range constant during a predetermined time period from the time when the output timing of the target sound comes.

21. The storage medium according to claim 19, wherein at the nomination range setting step, the computer changes the nomination range such that the width of the nomination range is decreased by a constant amount or at a constant rate with respect to elapse of time.

22. The storage medium according to claim 17, wherein

the music data includes data which indicates a tone color of each sound forming the melody of the predetermined piece of music,

the music playing apparatus further stores output possible range data in which an output possible range is associated with each tone color of sounds to be outputted, and

at the nomination range setting step, the computer sets the nomination range so as to be within an output possible range of an output possible range data which is associated with a tone color of the target sound.

23. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the music playing apparatus further stores chord data which indicates a chord sound used in the predetermined piece of music, and

at the ad-lib sound determination step, the computer determines the pitch of the ad-lib sound by selecting a sound from the chord sound of the predetermined piece of music which is defined in the chord data.

24. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the music playing apparatus further stores scale data which indicates a scale sound of the predetermined piece of music, and

at the ad-lib sound determination step, the computer determines the pitch of the ad-lib sound by selecting a sound from the scale sound of the predetermined piece of music which is defined in the scale data.

25. A music playing apparatus for making a player play a melody of a predetermined piece of music, the music playing apparatus comprising:

music data storage memory for storing music data which indicates at least a pitch of each of sounds which form the melody of the predetermined piece of music and an output timing to output each of the sounds;

a detector for sequentially detecting, among the sounds included in the music data, a target sound which is a sound an output timing of which comes after start of playing by the music data;

input acceptance programmed logic circuitry for accepting an input from an input device of the music playing apparatus;

first sound output programmed logic circuitry for outputting the target sound in the case where the input accepted by the input acceptance programmed logic circuitry is a first input when or after the output timing of the target sound detected by the detector comes,

ad-lib sound determination programmed logic circuitry for determining a pitch of an ad-lib sound as an arbitrary sound in the case where the input accepted by the input acceptance programmed logic circuitry is a second or later input after the output timing of the target sound detected by the detector comes; and

second sound output programmed logic circuitry for outputting the ad-lib sound at the pitch which is determined by the ad-lib sound determination programmed logic circuitry.