Database constructing apparatus and method

• US 8,161,056 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masahiko, Makino, Toru, Adachi, Hiroshi, Takenaga, Shinichi, Maeda, Tetsuya, Makita, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, HUNG D
• Application Number:
  US12/052,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20080229910A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,489 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/632 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/085 Mood, i.e. generation, detection or selection of a particular emotional content or atmosphere in a musical piece
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/135 Library retrieval index, i.e. using an indexing scheme to efficiently retrieve a music piece

Abstract

In a music information database, music information where music pieces and impression words representing impressions of the music pieces and usable as search words when any of the music pieces is to be searched for is registered for a plurality of music pieces. Information collection section collects, from among various information being provided by information source sites, information usable as music-piece-related search words. Registration section registers the words usable as music-piece-related search words, collected by the information collection section, into the database in association with particular music pieces. In this way, it is possible to construct a music information database which permits a music information search therethrough using impression words representing impressions of a music piece, at low cost without taking much time and labor.

Claims

1. A database constructing apparatus comprising:

a storage device storing a database that registers names of a plurality of music pieces, each name in association with at least one word representing an impression of the associated name of the respective music piece, the words being used as search words when any of the names of the music pieces is to be searched for; and

a processor programmed to;

connect to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collect, from among text information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a name of a particular music piece, without collecting the particular music piece; and

register the collected word in association with the name of the particular music piece, into the database.

2. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the list in the database has a plurality of search items for classifying genre by genre words representing impressions of music pieces, and

wherein the storage device further stores a dictionary where the plurality of search items and words corresponding to the search items are stored in association with each other, and, with reference to the dictionary, the processor is programmed to collect, from among the information being provided by the accessed site, a word corresponding to any one of the plurality of search words.

3. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the list registered in the database has a plurality of search items for classifying genre by genre words representing impressions of music pieces, and

the processor is programmed to collect words of particular types, conditioned by the plurality of search words, as words usable as search words.

4. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sites are Web sites having music-related information published thereon.

5. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to connect to the communication network at predetermined intervals to access any of the plurality of sites on the communication network and thereby collect the word usable as a music-piece-related search word.

6. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the storage device also stores a music title database having a multiplicity of music titles stored therein, and

the processor is programmed to refer to the music title database to not only extract the word usable as a music-piece-related search word from among information being provided by the accessed site but also extract a music title from among the music titles stored in the music title database, to thereby collect the extracted word, usable as a music-piece-related search word, in association with the extracted music title.

7. The database constructing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

if the extracted music title is already registered in the list of the database, the processor is programmed to additionally register, into the list of the database, the word collected in association with the extracted music title, and

if the extracted music title is not yet registered in the list of the database, the processor is programmed to newly register the extracted music title into the list of the database and register the word, collected in association with the extracted music title, into the list of the database.

8. The database according to claim 1, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the processor is programmed to analyze the sentence structure and extract an impression word, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

9. The database according to claim 1, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the processor is programmed to analyze the sentence structure and extract an impression word and the name of the respective music piece, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

10. A computer-implemented method for constructing a database, the method comprising:

a step of providing a storage device storing a database that registers names of a plurality of music pieces, each name in association with at least one word representing an impression of the associated name of the respective music piece, the words being used as search words when any of names of the music pieces is to be searched for;

a collection step of connecting to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collecting, from among text information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a name of a particular music piece, without collecting the particular music piece; and

a step of registering the word, collected in the collection step, in association with the name of the particular music piece, into the database.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the collecting step includes analyzing the sentence structure and extracting an impression word, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the collecting step includes analyzing the sentence structure and extracting an impression word and the name of the respective music piece, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a group of instructions executable by a computer to:

construct a database that registers names of a plurality of music pieces, each name in association with at least one word representing an impression of the associated name of the respective music piece, the words being used as search words when any of the names of the music pieces is to be searched for;

connect to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collecting, from among text information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a name of a particular music piece, without collecting the particular music piece; and

register the collected word in association with the name of the particular music piece, into the database.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the collecting step includes analyzing the sentence structure and extracting an impression word, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the collecting step includes analyzing the sentence structure and extracting an impression word and the name of the respective music piece, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

16. A music information search apparatus comprising:

a storage device storing a database that registers names of a plurality of music pieces, each name in association with at least one word representing an impression of the associated name of the respective music piece, the words being used as search words when any of the names of the music pieces is to be searched for; and

a processor programmed to;

connect to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collect, from among text information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a name of a particular music piece, without collecting the particular music piece;

register the collected word in association with the name of the particular music piece, into the database; and

searches through the database on the basis of a search word entered via a user terminal and returns a search result, corresponding to the entered search word, to the user terminal.

17. The music information search apparatus according to claim 16, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the processor is programmed to analyze the sentence structure and extract an impression word, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

18. The music information search apparatus according to claim 16, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the processor is programmed to analyze the sentence structure and extract an impression word and the name of the respective music piece, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a group of instructions executable by a computer to:

construct a database that registers names of a plurality of music pieces, each name in association with at least one word representing an impression of the associated name of the respective music piece, the words being used as search words when any of the names of the music pieces is to be searched for;

connect to a communication network to access any one of a plurality of sites on the communication network and collecting, from among text information being provided by the accessed site, a word usable as a music-piece-related search word in association with a name of a particular music piece, without collecting the particular music piece;

register the collected word in association with the name of the particular music piece, into the database; and

search through the database on the basis of a search word entered via a user terminal and returning a search result, corresponding to the entered search word, to the user terminal.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 19, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the collecting step includes analyzing the sentence structure and extracting an impression word, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 19, wherein:

the text information comprises a sentence structure of text,

the collecting step includes analyzing the sentence structure and extracting an impression word and the name of the respective music piece, and

the collected word comprises the impression word.