GB2370405A

GB2370405A - Computer aided music mixing system

Info

Publication number: GB2370405A
Application number: GB0119992A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Alfred Chamings
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-10-31
Filing date: 2001-08-16
Publication date: 2002-06-26
Anticipated expiration: 2021-08-16
Also published as: GB0119992D0; GB2370405B

Abstract

A method of preparing a first piece of music for mixing with a second piece of music comprises the steps of identifying a section of music in the first piece of music, determining the tempo of the first piece of music, and recording on a computer system the position of the section within the first piece before a mix is produced. A method for semi-automatically mixing two pieces of music. Each track is assessed once to find sections suitable for mixing. A computer system later uses this information to align the pieces of music according to the length and position of each section used in the mix. The tempo and volume envelopes of the tracks are automatically adjusted accordingly. This provides a system whereby a user can select a number of songs, and the computer system will mix the songs chosen by the user, in the order the user prefers.

Description

Computer Aided Music Mixing System Field of Invention This inventions relates to the field of mixing music.

More specifically, this invention relates to mixing two pieces of beat oriented music using an automated system.

Discussion of Prior Art It is well known in the art to mix pieces of beat oriented music together. For example, a dance club DJ would assess the speed of a piece of music they are about to mix. The DJ would also find a section in the piece of music to be played which is suitable for mixing. The routine of matching the tempo of the pieces of music (by altering the speed of one of the pieces of music) and finding a suitable mix point is required for each mix. However the DJ typically would not know the positions of the mixable sections in both songs prior to the mix and may use less suitable sections.

It is also known in the art software which allows a user to enter information about a first and second piece of music, and the system uses this information to alter the speed of at least one of the pieces of music to be the same as the other piece of music. However, the user then has to provide input as to how the pieces of music are to be overlapped.

It is further known in the art software which automatically sense the tempo of pieces of music. An example of this is Cool Edit Pro by Syntrillium Software. However, these systems can be unreliable.

It is still further known in the art systems which

allow pieces of sound to be sequenced and then played.

An example of such a system is Cool Edit Pro by Syntrillium Software. Such systems can be used to compile mix albums. This is done by chronologically aligning the songs and altering their speed, and there volume envelopes in the mixing sections accordingly.

A disadvantage of all of the above systems is that for one piece of music to be mixed into another, human interaction is required for each mix, either to assess the tempo of the music, or the length of time which the pieces of music have to overlap, or both.

An automated mixing system is also known which is capable of mixing two pieces of music. EP 0932157 provides a system whereby a signal is detected at a point shortly before the end of the first piece of music. This has the disadvantage that both the start point of the crossover and length of the crossover are set by the signal in the first song and its relative position from the end of the first song, and hence the mix is in now way influenced by the second song. This process therefore cannot produce consistently good mixes, and only provides such mixes when the length of the introductory section of the first song is the same length, in terms of number of bars, as the length of the first song from signal to end.

The present invention seeks to provide a system whereby a customer can log on to a website which includes lists of dance music tracks, and selects the tracks they want to buy, and the system will mix the tracks together and send them to the customer. Each track will have been previously reviewed by a skilled person and information relating to each track will have been stored on the system. Once the tracks are

selected, the'system overlays each track according to the size and position of the beat-orientated sections of each track. Additionally, the playing speed of each track is altered such that the tempo of the tracks to be mixed, while being mixed, are identical. This allows any reviewed track to be mixed with any other reviewed track, and only one review, typically of around 10 minutes, is needed for each track, so no further human interaction is required when the track is mixed, regardless of the number of times, or the number of different tracks, it is mixed with.

Statement of the Invention A method of preparing a piece of music for mixing with at least one other piece of music, comprising the steps of identifying in the piece of music a first section of music to be used in a first mix identifying in the piece of music a second section of music to be used in a second mix, and determining the tempo of the first piece of music characterised in that once the first and second sections of music have been identified their positions within the piece of music are recorded on a computer system before the first mix is produced.

In a preferred embodiment the size of the first and second sections are also recorded to the computer system.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of mixing at least two pieces of music together comprising the steps of locating a first section of music in the second piece of music, locating a second section of music in the first piece of music, and determining the tempo of each piece of music, characterised in that the method further includes the steps of recording the size and position of the first section and the second section in a computer system before the mix is performed, and mixing the first piece of music and the second piece of music in accordance with the size and position of the first section of the second piece of music, the size and position of the second section of the first piece of music,

and the tempo of each piece of music, using the computer system.

Preferably each section is made up of complete bars, and begin at the start of the first beat of the bar, and end just before the beginning of the first beat of the bar following the last bar in the section.

It is also preferable that each section provides a high level of percussion and a relatively low level of melody, and as such is suitable for mixing, typical of the prior art.

The start point and/or the end point and/or the length of both the second section of the first piece of music and the first section of the second piece of music may be used by the computer system to position the pieces of music relative to each other.

In a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention there is provided a method of providing a"short mix"wherein the pieces of music are chronologically aligned to provide a short mix while still providing a viable mix taking into account the sections of the pieces of music to me mixed.

In this first embodiment, if the second section of the first piece of music is longer than the first section of the second piece of music, then the start point of the first section of the second piece of music is aligned with the start point of the second section of the first piece of music. Preferably in this case the volume of the first piece of music is substantially zero directly after the end point of the first section of the second piece of music.

However, in this first embodiment if the second

section of the first piece of music is shorter than the first section of the second piece of music, the end point of the first section of the second piece of music is aligned with the end point of the second section of the first piece of music. Preferably in this case, the volume of the second piece of music is substantially zero directly before the start point of the second section of the first piece of music.

In a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a"long mix"wherein the pieces of music are chronologically aligned to provide a long mix wherein the pieces of music are chronologically aligned to provide a long mix while still providing a viable mix taking into account the sections of the pieces of music to me mixed.

In this second embodiment, if the second section of the first piece of music is longer than the first section of the second piece of music, the end point of the first section of the second piece of music is "aligned with"the end point of the second section of the first piece of music. Preferably in this case the first piece of music is at substantially full volume directly before the start point of the first section of the second piece of music However, in this second embodiment, if the second section of the first piece of music is shorter than the first section of the second piece of music, the start point of the first section of the second piece of music is"aligned with"the start point of the second section of the first piece of music. Preferably in this case the second piece of music is at substantially full volume directly after the end point of the first

section of the second piece of music.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure la shows a graphical representation of a sound wave typical of a portion of dance music.

Figure lb shows a magnified section of the wave of Figure la.

Figure 2a illustrates an example of a simple dance song layout.

Figure 2b illustrates a second example of a dance song layout.

Figure 3 illustrates a third example of a dance song layout.

Figure 4 illustrates two songs (partly shown) chronologically arranged for a mix in accordance with a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 5 provides a second example of two songs (partly shown) arranged chronologically for a mix in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 shows a third example of two songs arranged chronologically for a mix in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 shows two songs (partly shown) arranged chronologically for a mix in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 shows a second example of two songs (partly shown) arranged chronologically for a mix in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure la shows a sound wave of two seconds of a

dance music track which includes the beginning of a section in the song suitable for mixing. This section has been selected from the entire song wave of about 6 minutes (not shown). The song is normally played from left to right. Images of waves such as this are easily generated using professional wave editing software, such as Cool Edit Pro by Syntrillium Software. There is illustrated a section unsuitable for mixing 3 followed by the section suitable for mixing 4. Between these sections is the startpoint 15 of the section suitable for mixing 4. The peak P directly after the startpoint 15 represents the first beat in the first musical bar of the section suitable for mixing 4. The wave shown in Figure la is easily selected by someone skilled in the art. One method is to select and play a section which includes this startpoint 15, listen to the song as the crosshair (indicating which part of the wave is being played at that instant) which moves from left to right.

The required beat is heard and located, and a smaller section is located, narrowing around the startpoint. It is recommended that the whole song is listened to beforehand, during which the user can note the locations in the song (as approximate times) where he considers the startpoints and endpoints to be. Once this beat peak P is found, this is then magnified and viewed in detail, as shown in Figure lb.

Figure Ib shows the portion b shown in Figure la in greater detail. It can be seen that the differences between the end of the section unsuitable for mixing 3 is visibly different in comparison to the section suitable for mixing 4. The startpoint 15 of the section 4 is'located exactly by magnifying the beats where these sections 3 and 4 meet, and selecting the last quiet point 94 before the peak P representing the first beat in the next section 4. In some cases it may be difficult to determine the exact point for the

startpoint 15,'and for example, the user may choose to anywhere within the section T. However, the length of this section is in this case 0.002 seconds, and this error is perfectly acceptable and does not diminish the quality of the mix. In this case if a similar error occurred at the endpoint 19 (Figure 2a) of the section suitable for mixing 4, then this results in a maximum error of 0.004 seconds, which is not noticeable. If the error becomes greater than around 0.05 seconds then this may be noticeable.

In the method described above the endpoints and in similar fashion, the startpoints of each required section in each song can be located to an accuracy of at least +/-0.05 seconds, and typically +/-0.005 seconds.

Substantially all popular dance music such as "House", "Trance", "Garage"etc. is in 4/4 timing. That is to say there are 4 beats in every bar. Therefore it is common, and preferable, for each section suitable for mixing to have a number of beats divisible by 4. It is common for first sections suitable for mixing 2 in dance tracks 1 to be 64 beats long, and this would be between 27 to 35 seconds long typically.

However, this is true for an extended version of the song, and if a radio edit was being reviewed then a much smaller section may be used, eg of 8 or 16 beats length. Additionally, it may be useful to record a section length of an extended version as less than is available, ie, the first half of a first section 2 suitable for mixing may be disregarded. This may be done, but it should still be noted that a section with a number of beats divisible by 4, and preferably by 16, provide the best results when mixing.

Using a silent part of the wave as the point at

the end and beginning of the sections suitable for mixing has the advantage that it prevents any"popping" which could otherwise could be heard at these points.

It should also be appreciated that this system of providing preset points for each track may be automated without falling outside the scope of the present invention. For example, systems capable of determining these points automatically may be used.

In Figure 2a simplified chronological plan of a typical dance song 1 is shown. The song 1 has its beginning at its far left and end at its far right. The song 1 consists of an introductory section 2, a main section 3 and a concluding section 4. The introductory section 2 comprises mainly beats and features other parts of music less prominently. In other words, the drums-for example a hi-hat symbol and the bass drumare more prominent than more melodic parts of music, for example chords, bass tones, or vocals.

The main section 3 comprises a mixture of all parts of the music. The main section 3 may have in itself smaller sections consisting of, for example, pure chords, or chords and vocals, and will also have sections where chords, vocals, beats etc feature.

The concluding section 4 is of a similar musical make up to the introductory section 2, i. e. mainly percussion.

Figure 2b shows another dance song 5 which differs from the first dance song 1 in that a further section 6 has been identified. This section is similar in make up to the introductory section 2 and the concluding section 4 as it features percussion more prominently than-other parts of music. This section 6 may be a breakdown.

Figure 3 shows another dance song 7 similar to the previous dance song 5 but with another identified section 8 situated chronologically before the

introductory section 2. This section is not mainly percussion, and is not suitable for being played simultaneously in a beat matched mix of two dance songs 1, 5,7.

It should be noted that other permutations of dance song layouts are used, for example a section unsuitable for mixing may be provided after the concluding section 4. The present invention can be used on any dance song where two sections of music suitable for mixing can be identified.

Figure 4 shows two dances songs 11,12 chronologically aligned in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this first embodiment the songs are aligned to provide the shortest possible playing time taking into account the length of the sections to be mixed. Both songs are similar to the song 1 shown in Figure 1. The first dance song 11 has a section unsuitable for mixing 3 and a section suitable for mixing 4 situated at the end of the song 11. This section suitable for mixing 4 is the second section suitable for mixing in the first song 11. The first section suitable for mixing (not shown) is situated earlier in the song 11. A first section suitable for mixing 2 of the second song 12 is shown.

The second song may have a second section suitable for mixing (not shown) later in the song 12. For each song, the first section suitable for mixing 2 can be used to mix the song in, and the second section suitable for mixing can be used to mix the song out. The dotted line 9 in the first song 11 illustrates the volume at which the song 11 is played during the mix. The dotted line 9 illustrates full suitable playing volume at the highest point 13 and zero playing volume at the lowest point 14. Similarly the dotted line 10 of the second song 12 illustrates the playing volume of the second song 12.

In this example the length of the second section 4 of

the first song 11 is longer than the first section 2 of the second song 12. The start point 15 of the second section 4 of the first song 11 is aligned with the start point 16 of the first section 2 of the second song 12. The mix, i. e. the time when the first song 11 and the second song 12 are audible begins at the start points 15,16 and ends at the end point 17 of the first section 2 of the second song 12. The volume 9 of the first song 11 decreases from the start of the mix to the end of the mix. Inversely, the volume 10 of the second song 12 increases from the start to the end of the mix.

Figure 5 shows a second example of a mix in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. The first song 18 is similar to the songs 5, 7 shown in Figures 2 and 3 in that it contains a section suitable for mixing 6, such as a breakdown.

This breakdown appears between sections of music unsuitable for mixing 3 and may be near the middle of the track. It is this section 6 that is used in this mix, together with the first section 2 of the second song 12. In this example the breakdown section 6 of the first song 18 is longer than the first section 2 of the second song 12. The chronological alignment and volume envelope of the songs are similar to the example of Figure 4. The songs are aligned such that the start points 15,16 of the mixing sections 6,2 are aligned.

The use of the breakdown 6 near the middle of the track is useful if the user does not want a full extended version of a track, which usually lasts for around 7 minutes. This way the user can have a shorter track, similar in length and content to a radio edit. It should be realised that in this example the breakdown section 6 is used as the"out"section, ie the last section of the first song to be played. However, it may be desirable to use this as the first section of the

song to be heard. In this instance the user would listen to this section first, then the section following it which would normally be unsuitable for mixing, then the last section of the song suitable for mixing 4, which would be used in the next mix in to the next song.

Figure 6 illustrates a third example of a mix in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. This mix is similar to the mix shown in Figure 4, however in this example the section to be mixed 4 of the first song 11 is shorter than the section to be mixed 4 of the second song. In this case, the songs 11, 12 are chronologically aligned so that the end point 19 of the mixing section 4 of the first song 11 is aligned with the end point 17 of the mixing section 2 of the second song 12. In this case the first song 11 is substantially at full volume until the first point of the mixing section 4 of the first song as shown by the dotted line 9. Inversely, the second song 12 is substantially at zero volume before the first point of the mixing section 4 of the first song. The volumes of the two songs are altered during the mix so that at the end of the mix the volume of the first song 11 is zero after the end point of the mixing section 4 of the first song. In this instance the song has finished, and so will automatically be zero, however, if the song were to continue, like after the breakdown 6 of the songs shown in Figures 2 and 3, then it would be muted. Conversely, the second song 12 is at full volume after the endpoint 19 of the mixing section 4 of the first song 11.

. Figure 7 shows a first example of a mix in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment the songs are aligned such that the longest viable playing time is produced, taking into account the length of the sections to be

mixed. In this example the length of the mixing section 4 of the first song 11 is longer than the mixing section 2 of the second song 12. The songs are aligned such that the endpoints 19,17 of the mixing sections 4,2 are aligned.

Figure 8 shows a second example of a mix in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. In this example the length of the mixing section 4 of the first song 11 is shorter than the mixing section 2 of the second song 12. The songs are aligned such that the start points 15,16 of the mixing sections 6,2 are aligned.

It should be seen that the dance songs only have to be of similar tempo during the mix. In some cases the sound waves of the songs may cancel each other out, termed"phase shift". This can be corrected by momentarily changing the tempo of one of the songs, and it would be judged by those skilled in the art that the songs were still substantially in time.

The shape of the volume enveloped are suggested embodiments only, and other envelopes may be used in accordance with the invention. For example the volume of the songs may be kept substantially high throughout the mix.

The volume envelopes may be controlled by using preset patterns, as shown in the drawings (9 and 10), which the computer would stretch across the mix.

In some cases the sections to be mixed of the two songs will be of the same length. In these cases the startpoints and endpoints of the two songs would be aligned.

Claims

Claims 1. A method of preparing a piece of music for mixing with at least one other piece of music, comprising the steps of identifying in the piece of music a first section of music to be used in a first mix identifying in the piece of music a second section of music to be used in a second mix, and determining the tempo of the first piece of music characterised in that once the first and second sections of music have been identified their positions within the piece of music are recorded on a computer system before the first mix is produced.
2. A method of preparing a piece of music for mixing with at least one other piece of music as claimed on claim 1, characterised in that the method further includes the step of recording the size of the first section to the computer system.
3. A method of preparing a piece of music for mixing with at least one other piece of music as claimed on claim 1, characterised in that the method further includes the step of recording the size of the second section to the computer system.
4. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music together comprising the steps of preparing a first piece of music and a second piece of music as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, further including the steps of mixing the first piece of music and the second piece of music in accordance with

the size, and position of the first section of the second piece of music, the size and position of the second section of the first piece of music, and the tempo of each piece of music, using the computer system.
5. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in claim 4, wherein the start point of the second section of the first piece of music is recorded.
6. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the end point of the second section of the first piece of music is recorded.
7. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the start point of the first section of the second piece of music is recorded.
8. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the end point of the first section of the second piece of music is recorded.
9. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the second section of the first piece of music is longer than the first section of the second piece of music, and the start point of the first section of the second piece of music is aligned with the start point of the second section of the first piece of music.
10. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in any of claims 4 to 8, wherein the second section of the first piece of music is shorter than the

first section, of the second piece of music, and the end point of the first section of the second piece of music is aligned with the end point of the second section of the first piece of music.
11. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in any of claims 4 to 8, wherein the second section of the first piece of music is longer than the first section of the second piece of music, and the end point of the first section of the second piece of music is aligned with the end point of the second section of the first piece of music.
12. A method of mixing at least two pieces of music as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the second section of the first piece of music is shorter than the first section of the second piece of music, and the start point of the first section of the second piece of music is aligned with the start point of the second section of the first piece of music.
13. A method of playing pieces of music simultaneously comprising the steps of: recording each piece of music in tot a computer system; analysing each piece of music to identify the tempo and recording this information to a computer system; analysing each piece of music to determine the size of at least one of the introductory section and the concluding section and recording this information on the computer system; using the computer system to automatically play pieces of music so that they overlap in a manner to provide continuous music by adjusting the playing speed of each piece and the amount which the piece overlap accordingly sing the information provided.
14. A method of mixing two pieces of music substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, Figures 4 to 6, or 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings