Media system and method of progressive musical instruction

• US 8,119,896 B1
• Filed: 10/12/2010
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guitar Apprentice Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Guitar Apprentice Incorporated
• Inventors: Smith, L. Gabriel
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US12/902,577
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: 844/70.R, 846/09
• US Class Current: 84/470.R
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/00 Teaching music metronomes G04F5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/02 Boards or like means for providing an indication of notes
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/04 with sound emitters

Abstract

A method is provided for progressive musical instruction using a media system with processor-executable software modules storing musical performances each having a plurality of segments. A first set of audiovisual signals is generated to simulate a predetermined musical instrument from a selected performance during host segments. The audiovisual signals are adjusted to mute the predetermined instrument during user segments (non-host segments) of the performance. During the host segments a second set of audiovisual signals is generated for demonstration of a preferred user operation of the instrument. The number of user segments may be maintained or increased for successive iterations of the performance, as the user becomes more proficient. The determination to maintain or increase user segments, and which segments are added to the user segments, may be user selectable or programmable by the system based on various criteria.

Claims

1. A system for progressive musical instruction comprising:

a processor-readable memory medium having software residing thereon, the software executable by a processor to direct the performance of

generating audio signals corresponding to a predetermined musical performance, the audio signals in a first operating mode including prerecorded sounds from each of one or more musical instruments associated with the musical performance, the audio signals in a second operating mode including sounds from said instruments with the exception of a predetermined musical instrument;

generating display signals corresponding to the musical performance, the display signals arranged to provide musical instruction to a user relating to playing of the predetermined musical instrument during at least the second operating mode; and

in association with successive iterations of the musical performance, incrementing a duration of the second mode and decrementing a duration of the first mode.

2. The system of claim 1, the predetermined musical instrument selectable by the user from among a plurality of musical instruments associated with the musical performance.

3. The system of claim 1, the predetermined musical performance selectable by the user from among a plurality of musical performances associated with the memory media.

4. The system of claim 1, the predetermined musical performance comprising a plurality of predetermined segments, wherein the software is further executable by the processor to determine an operating mode for each of the segments in a particular iteration of the performance based on predetermined criteria.

5. The system of claim 4, the criteria comprising one or more of a difficulty level of the segment, a proficiency level of the user, a distinctiveness rating for the segment, and a type of musical instrument.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the proficiency level of the user is user-selectable.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the proficiency level of the user is determinable by the system in accordance with signals received from an instrument played by the user during a previous iteration of the performance.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein an operating mode for one or more of the segments in a particular iteration of the performance is user-selectable.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the durations of the first and second operating modes in a particular iteration are user selectable.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein generating display signals arranged to provide musical instruction to a user relating to playing of the predetermined musical instrument during at least the second operating mode further comprises:

generating a visual representation of the instrument and graphically populating the visual representation with instruction tools associated with the instrument and in accordance with the musical performance.

11. A system for progressive musical instruction comprising:

a display device;

a processor operatively coupled to the display device; and

a processor-readable memory medium having program modules embodied thereon, said program modules executable by the processor and further comprising

a storage module effective to store one or more musical performances, each performance further comprising a plurality of musical segments;

an audio control module effective to generate sounds in accordance with a selected musical performance, the generated sounds in a first mode corresponding to those produced by each musical instrument associated with the performance, the generated sounds in a second mode corresponding to the associated instruments except for a predetermined musical instrument;

a display control module effective to generate upon the display device a visual representation of the predetermined instrument and graphically populate the visual representation with instruction tools associated with the instrument and in accordance with the musical performance; and

a mode control module effective to determine the number of segments in the selected performance to be associated with each mode, wherein the number of segments associated with the first mode and the number of segments associated with the second mode collectively include all of the segments associated with the performance, the determination further based upon one or more criteria including a performance iteration, wherein in successive iterations the amount of segments associated with the first mode decreases and the amount of segments associated with the second mode increases.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the criteria further comprise one or more of a difficulty level of the segment, a proficiency level of the user, a distinctiveness rating for the segment, and a type of musical instrument.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the proficiency level of the user is user-selectable.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising an electronic coupling between the system and the predetermined musical instrument, the program modules further comprising

a proficiency sensing module effective to receive signals from the musical instrument played by the user, compare the received signals to expected signals associated with the relevant performance, and determine the proficiency level of the user based on the comparison.

15. A method of progressive musical instruction comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a media system having one or more processor-executable program modules and storing one or more predetermined musical performances each further comprising a plurality of segments;

(b) generating a first set of audiovisual signals effective to simulate a predetermined musical instrument associated with a selected musical performance from the one or more predetermined performances stored in the media system during one or more host segments of the performance;

(c) adjusting the first set of audiovisual signals to mute the predetermined instrument during user segments further comprising the one or more non-host segments of the performance;

(d) generating a second set of audiovisual signals associated with demonstration of a preferred user operation of the instrument;

(e) determining whether to maintain or increase the number of user segments for a successive iteration of the performance;

(f1) in accordance with a first determination, maintaining the number of user and host segments and repeating steps (b) to (e); and

(f2) in accordance with a second determination, adding one or more segments of the musical performance to the one or more user segments, removing said segments added to the user segments from the one or more host segments, and repeating steps (b) to (e).

16. The method of claim 15, the predetermined instrument selectable by the user from one or more musical instruments associated with the selected musical performance.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein user segments are initially selectable from among the total segments of the performance.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein host segments are initially determined from among the total segments of the performance in accordance with criteria further comprising the predetermined instrument, the proficiency level of the user, the difficulty level of the segments, and distinctiveness of the segments.