JP2005215493A - Karaoke machine and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more properly score singing by a karaoke machine. <P>SOLUTION: Pitch data of a singing voice inputted through a microphone and pitch data extracted from a guide melody are compared with each other to find difference data. Further, a total singing rate is found from the singing rate= an actually sung part/a part which should be sung (=length of notes of a score) and based upon the total singing rate, subtracted points are found. The subtraction is carried out by using a subtracted point table showing the correspondence relation between total singing rates and subtracted points (meaning a value to be subtracted). The subtracted points (value) which are thus calculated are subtracted from points scored based upon normal pitch differences to calculate final points. Weighting is performed along the time base according to the rate of singing (singing rate) to prevent an inadequate case such that high points are obtained by, for example, singing well for a short time and not singing thereafter. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to singing scoring in a karaoke apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for obtaining a more appropriate scoring result.

  Conventionally, a scoring function is well known as an incidental function of a karaoke apparatus. This scoring function generates singing data indicating the singing state such as pitch, volume or tempo uttered by the singer by sampling the singer's voice signal input from the microphone. The singing data is compared with scoring reference data such as main melody data in karaoke data, and a predetermined score is given based on the comparison result to generate scoring data. When the singing part ends, the scores in the scoring data are totaled to calculate a total score. The total score is displayed as it is on the scoreboard or the display, or a video reflecting the total score such as a video including a predetermined message or predetermined expression content is output to the display. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

There are various modes for scoring. For example, a normal scoring mode and a challenge mode are known. Of these, the normal scoring mode is to give a total score when singing a chorus portion of a set type such as 1 chorus, 2 chorus, and full chorus, for example. The challenge mode is a mode with a high game characteristic in which scoring is performed at any time, and when the cumulative score at that time falls below a predetermined score (for example, 75 points), the performance of the song is interrupted and forcibly terminated. .
Japanese Patent No. 3261990

Such conventional methods have the following problems.
(1) In the conventional singing scoring system, only the time zone in which both the scoring reference data (reference) and the singing voice data are available is the valid data section, so only the sung part will be scored. The scoring process will be performed accurately. However, even if, for example, only a small part is sung accurately and not sung after that, there is a problem that the score is high and it cannot be said that the score is appropriate.

  (2) Since the amount of voice varies greatly depending on the vocabulary, gender, age, etc., the score may be different from the skill of actual singing. Also, it is very difficult to create a voice volume reference for the above reasons.

  (3) In the challenge mode, there is a problem that even if the singing is stopped at all after singing normally for a while, it is difficult to fall below the predetermined score. Even if there is a section that has not been sung for a while, if the song is long, the total score so far will not be so low, so the score will not deteriorate.

Singing rate = actually sung part / part to be sung The part to be sung represents the length of the notes on the score.
(4) In the challenge mode, there was a problem that even if singing normally after singing normally for a while, it was difficult to fall below the predetermined score. This is because when the song is long, even if it is sung for a short time, the cumulative score tends not to drop suddenly in the conventional method of taking the average.

  Then, this invention relates to the singing score in a karaoke apparatus, It aims at enabling it to obtain a more suitable scoring result.

  In the karaoke apparatus of the present invention made to solve the above-described problems, the music data stored in the music data storage means includes karaoke performance data and pitch data of the singing melody of the karaoke music. The performance reproduction means reads the music data of the designated karaoke song from the music data storage means and performs karaoke performance reproduction. When a voice signal of karaoke singing is input via the voice signal input means, the pitch extraction means samples the voice signal and extracts pitch data of the karaoke singing. The scoring means reads out pitch data corresponding to the performance music from the music data storage means in synchronization with the karaoke performance by the karaoke performance playback means, and the pitch data read by the pitch extraction means and the sound extracted by the pitch extraction means. Although the scoring is based on the high data, the following scoring is performed in more detail.

  That is, the pitch difference calculating means calculates the difference between the pitch data extracted by the pitch extracting means and the pitch data read from the music data storage means. Further, the singing rate calculating means is a ratio of the period in which the pitch data extracted by the pitch extracting means is present during the period in which the read pitch data is being reproduced by the karaoke performance reproducing means. Find the rate. Then, scoring is performed based on the pitch difference calculated by the pitch difference calculating means and the singing rate calculated by the singing rate calculating means.

  Here, with regard to scoring taking into account the singing rate, the following ideas can be made. For example, the singing rate calculating means calculates at least one of the singing rate of the entire singing melody or the singing rate for each predetermined section obtained by dividing the entire singing melody into a plurality. Then, scoring is performed based on at least one of the singing rate of the entire singing melody calculated by the singing rate calculating means and the singing rate for each predetermined section.

  As mentioned above, various problems occur when performing the same scoring without considering the singing rate, but if the singing rate is taken into account as in the present invention, a more appropriate scoring result is obtained with respect to the singing scoring. be able to. For example, if you sing exactly a small part and do not sing after that, the overall singing rate will decrease, so if you lower the score when the singing rate is low, more appropriate scoring will be realized The In this case, even if it is based on the singing rate for each predetermined section, the section where the singing rate is zero (0) continues, and if the score is lowered when the singing rate is low, it is still more Appropriate scoring is achieved. In addition, as mentioned above, the amount of voice varies greatly depending on the vocabulary, gender, age, etc., so there may be a score that is far from the skill of actual singing, and it is very difficult to create reference data for the amount of voice. However, in the case of the present invention, not only the pitch difference but also the singing rate is calculated using the pitch data, and since it is used for scoring, the influence of variation due to vocabulary, gender, age, etc. In this respect, appropriate scoring is realized.

  In addition, taking into account the singing rate for each predetermined section is particularly effective for appropriate scoring in the challenge mode. In other words, in the challenge mode, there is a problem that even if the singing is stopped after being sung normally for a while or the situation is sung quite badly, the conventional method does not easily fall below the predetermined score. On the other hand, if the singing rate in each predetermined section is taken into account, for example, if the singing rate in a certain predetermined section is zero (0), the performance can be interrupted and forcibly terminated at that point. Is in line with the spirit of challenge mode.

  In addition, the scoring method can be considered for scoring, for example, and it can be considered that the score is greatly reduced as the singing rate is lower. In this case, the degree of deduction may be increased linearly as the singing rate is lowered, or the slope deduction may be such that the degree of deduction increases as the singing rate is lowered. In addition, when the singing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the deduction point may be set to zero. That is, a dead zone for deduction points is provided.

  Further, the relationship between the singing rate and the degree of deduction may be changed between the normal mode and the challenge mode, for example. In other words, in the case of the challenge mode, considering the game characteristics etc., if the singing content gets worse, it is better to finish it earlier, apart from the circumstances until then, so it will be a relatively severe deduction To. On the other hand, in the normal mode, it may be relatively loose. Specifically, when the singing rate in a predetermined section is zero (0), in the challenge mode, the grading is forcibly terminated as being impossible to score, but in the normal mode, for example, 20 points are deducted. In this way, it is conceivable to devise so that the scoring itself is continued although it is the greatest deduction.

  By the way, it is preferable that the pitch data used for scoring is actually narrowed down to a certain level. This is because it is unclear whether or not the singer is actually singing the input sound whose volume is too low and may not be appropriate for scoring. Therefore, the pitch extraction means samples the voice signal input through the voice signal input means to extract the pitch data of the karaoke song, and also calculates the average volume by averaging the sampled voice signal for a predetermined period. The pitch difference calculating means corresponds to the pitch data extracted by the pitch extracting means and the scoring reference data only when the average volume calculated by the pitch extracting means is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value. What is necessary is just to calculate the difference with the pitch data to be performed.

  However, when the pitch data used for scoring is averaged at such an average volume, when the reference value for the reduction is relatively high and, for example, the input volume is sung using a relatively small microphone, In spite of actually singing, the average volume does not exceed the reference value, and as a result, there is a possibility of deduction. In this case, it is conceivable to perform scoring with zero deduction when the above-described singing rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If such a dead zone is provided, the above inconvenience can be solved.

  Further, as shown in claim 6, when the scoring means in the karaoke apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is realized by a computer, for example, it can be provided as a program executed by the computer. Such a program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a ROM, or a RAM, and is loaded into a computer for execution as necessary. A function as a scoring means can be realized by loading and executing the program.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following examples, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[Composition of karaoke equipment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration centering on the function of the karaoke apparatus of the present embodiment. The karaoke apparatus according to the present embodiment has a scoring function. The karaoke singing voice signal is digitized and captured, and the accuracy of the singing is determined by comparing it with the pitch of the guide melody, which is a singing melody. Since the volume varies greatly depending on the vocabulary, gender, age, etc., the score may be different from the actual skill of singing. Moreover, it is very difficult to create volume reference data for the above reasons. Furthermore, by not using the volume for determination, the algorithm can be simplified and the accuracy of singing can be determined in a short time. Therefore, the accuracy of singing is determined by comparing the pitches.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a microphone M2 for a singer to input karaoke singing voice is connected to an amplifier M18 and to an A / D converter M4. Further, music data including karaoke performance data and guide melody data (as pitch data) is stored in the data storage unit M10. Of the song data, one song selected by the karaoke singer is read to the execution memory M12, and is sequentially read by the sequencer M14 during performance. The karaoke performance data read by the sequencer M14 is input to the music generation unit M16. Further, the guide melody data sequentially read by the sequencer M14 is input to the comparison unit M8. The musical sound generator M16 generates a performance sound of a karaoke song based on the input karaoke performance data, and this performance sound is input to the amplifier M18. The amplifier M18 amplifies the karaoke performance sound and the singing voice signal input from the microphone M2, and outputs the amplified signal to the speaker M20. This is the basic function of karaoke equipment. Since this guide melody data corresponds to the singing melody of a karaoke song, it is also used as a so-called guide melody function when realizing a function that is output from the speaker M20 with an accompaniment music sound at a relatively low volume. It is done. The guide melody function can be switched on / off by the user (karaoke singer), and the user who thinks that the function is necessary can be turned on by operating an operation panel or a remote control (not shown). Then, not only the karaoke accompaniment but also the singing melody is output from the speaker M20 as a guide melody, and it is possible to sing with reference to it. On the other hand, if the function is turned off, the guide melody is not output from the speaker M20, and the guide melody data is used only for scoring.

  On the other hand, the singing voice signal input to the A / D converter (ADC) M4 is converted into a digital signal and then input to the data extraction unit M6. The data extraction unit M6 calculates the pitch from this digitized singing voice signal every 50 ms, for example, and inputs it as pitch data to the comparison unit M8. In the comparison unit M8, pitch data of the singing voice signal of the karaoke singer input from the data extraction unit M6 (hereinafter also simply referred to as singing voice) and pitch data of the guide melody input from the sequencer M14 (hereinafter simply referred to as “single voice”). (Also referred to as a reference) in real time. Note that 50 ms corresponds to a thirty-second note with a metronome tempo of 120, and has a sufficient resolution for extracting the characteristics of singing.

  The comparison unit M8 calculates the difference between the singing voice and the reference every 50 ms in accordance with the timing at which the singing voice is input. This is output to the scoring unit M24 as real-time difference data (pitch difference data). In the scoring unit M24, the pitch difference data is totaled for each section of the karaoke music and stored in the data storage unit M10. And in the scoring part M24, the difference data of each section is totaled and a total score is calculated | required.

  The score is displayed on the display unit M26. This display is performed according to the scoring mode. In the present embodiment, there are a normal scoring mode and a challenge mode, and the normal scoring mode gives an overall score when each chorus (1 chorus, 2 chorus, full chorus, etc.) can be sung. . In addition, the challenge mode is a mode with high game characteristics in which the performance of the music is interrupted and forcibly terminated when the score falls below a predetermined score (for example, 75 points). In this challenge mode, a message such as “Congratulations, Congratulations” is displayed on the display unit M26 if it is above the reference point, and “Still sorry” or “One step after the end” if the reference point is not reached. Display the total score.

  Next, the singing voice, reference, and difference data will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A shows a guide melody converted to pitch data, and general guide melody data is mechanically very accurate. In contrast, FIG. 2B shows an example of the singing voice of a karaoke singer. The pitch fluctuates up and down from the value indicated by the reference, and the rising timing of the volume data of each sound is slightly shifted from the rising timing of the reference pitch data.

  In addition, when it is time to utter in the reference (note-on status: T1) but no singing voice is input (not uttered), or when it is not uttered in the reference (note-off status: T2) Singing voice may be input. Since the note-on status T1 and the note-off status T2 are the time zones in which one of the pitch data and volume data of the singing voice to be compared is missing, it is not adopted as the pitch difference data in that time zone. Only the time zone in which both data are available is adopted as the pitch difference data of the valid section (T3).

  Although FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration centering on the function of the karaoke apparatus, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific hardware configuration of the karaoke apparatus. In this karaoke apparatus, the functional unit shown in FIG. 1 is realized mainly by a CPU and software.

  A CPU 30 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus is connected to a ROM 32, a RAM 34, a hard disk storage device (HDD) 44, a communication control unit 42, a remote control receiving unit 36, a display panel 38, a panel switch 40, a sound source device 46, an audio via a bus. A data processing unit 48, an effect DSP 50, a network interface 56, a character display unit 57, a display control unit 58, and an audio processing DSP 68 are connected.

  The ROM 32 stores a start program necessary for starting the apparatus. System programs, application programs, and the like for controlling the operation of the apparatus are stored in the HDD 44. When the apparatus is turned on, it is read into the RAM 34 by the activation program.

  In addition to the program storage area, various storage areas are set in the RAM 34 as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the RAM 34 has a program storage area 328 for storing programs, an execution data storage area 326 for storing song data for karaoke performance, and a MIDI buffer for temporarily storing read guide melodies. 320, a reference data register 322 for storing a reference extracted from the guide melody (that is, pitch data of the guide melody), and a difference data storage area 324 for storing difference data between the reference and the singing voice are set. The reference data register 322 is a pitch data register, and the difference data storage area 324 is a pitch difference data storage area.

  On the other hand, in the HDD 44, as shown in FIG. 4B, in addition to the program storage area 376, a music data file 370 for storing music data (for about 40,000 songs), pitch data extracted from a song, A song data storage area 374 for storing difference data and a background moving image storage area 372 for storing background moving images are provided.

  The communication control unit 42 downloads music data and the like from the host station via the ISDN line, and writes the music data directly to the HDD 44 (without going through the CPU 30) using a built-in DMA circuit. Although the ISDN line has been described as an example of the communication line with the host station, it may be a general telephone line or a broadband line such as ADSL and optical communication.

  The remote control receiving unit 36 receives the infrared signal sent from the remote control 70 and restores the data. The remote controller 70 includes a command switch such as a music selection switch, a numeric keypad switch, and the like. When a user operates these switches, the remote controller 70 transmits an infrared signal modulated with a code corresponding to the operation. The display panel 38 is provided on the front side of the karaoke apparatus, and displays the currently playing song code, the number of reserved songs, and the like.

  The panel switch 40 is provided in the front operation unit of the karaoke apparatus, and includes a song code input switch, a key change switch, and the like. The scoring function may be turned on / off using the remote controller 70.

  The tone generator 46 forms a tone signal based on the tone track data of the music data. The music data is read by the CPU 30 during the karaoke performance, and the guide melody track, which is comparison data, is read in parallel with the musical sound track. The tone track is composed of a plurality of tracks, and the tone generator 46 simultaneously forms a plurality of parts of tone signals based on this data.

  The audio data processing unit 48 forms an audio signal having a specified length and a specified pitch based on the audio data included in the music data. The audio data is a signal waveform that is difficult to be generated electronically by the sound source device 46 such as a back chorus or a model singing sound as ADPCM data and stored as it is. The musical tone signal formed by the tone generator 46 and the voice signal formed by the voice data processing unit 48 are karaoke performance sounds, which are input to the effect DSP 50.

  The effect DSP 50 imparts effects such as reverb and echo to the karaoke performance sound. The karaoke performance sound to which the effect is applied is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 52 and then output to the amplifier speaker 54 which is an external device. The amplifier speaker 54 amplifies the input karaoke performance sound and a later-described singing voice signal, and adds sound effects such as echo to the singing voice signal, and then emits the sound from the speaker.

  On the other hand, the singing voice signal input from the singing microphone 62 is amplified by the preamplifier 64 and then output to the amplifier speaker 54 and the A / D converter 66. The signal output to the amplifier speaker 54 is amplified and output as a karaoke song sound. On the other hand, the A / D converter 66 digitizes the input singing voice signal and outputs it to the voice processing DSP 68. The voice processing DSP 68 divides the input singing voice signal into 50 ms frames, counts the frequency for each frame and calculates the average volume. The frequency count value and average volume value for each frame are read by the CPU 30 every 50 ms. The CPU 30 determines the above-described pitch data and volume data based on the frequency count value and the average volume value.

  The character display unit 57 generates a character pattern such as a song title and lyrics based on the input character data. Further, based on the video selection data (chapter number), the corresponding background video data is input from the background moving image storage area 372 of the HDD 44 to the display control unit 58. The video selection data is determined based on the genre data of the karaoke song. The genre data is written in the header of the music data, and is read out by the CPU 30 when the karaoke performance is started. The display control unit 58 synthesizes these data by superimposing and displays them on the monitor 60.

The network interface 56 is for connecting to a LAN, and is connected to another communication karaoke apparatus (not shown) via the LAN.
In this embodiment, the HDD 44 corresponds to “music data storage means”, and the CPU 30 and the sound source device 46 correspond to “karaoke performance reproducing means”. The microphone 62 corresponds to “audio signal input means”. The CPU 30 also corresponds to “pitch extraction means” and “scoring means”.
[Scoring example 1]
Next, the scoring operation performed by the karaoke apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. The scoring operation program is executed in parallel with the sequence program for performing karaoke performance, and data exchange with the sequence program is also performed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the data fetching operation.
First, FIG. 5A shows operations executed by the A / D converter 66 and the audio processing DSP 68. When a singing voice signal is input from the microphone 62 (S2), the A / D converter (ADC) 66 converts this voice signal into digital data (S4). The audio processing DSP 68 uses this digital data to count the frequency (S6) in units of 50 ms frames and calculate the average volume (S8). The calculated frequency count value and average sound volume value are read by the CPU 30 every 50 ms. This point will be described later with reference to the flowchart showing the comparison operation 1 in FIG.

  FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing music data input processing. This operation is executed by the CPU 30 when the event data of the guide melody track and the event data of the control track are transferred from the sequence program for executing the karaoke performance. First, the MIDI data passed from the sequence program is taken into the MIDI buffer 320 (S10). Since the MIDI data includes both karaoke performance data and guide melody data, if the imported MIDI data is guide melody data, pitch data (that is, a reference) is extracted from the MIDI data (S12). . Then, the reference data register 322 of the RAM 34 is updated with the pitch data thus extracted (S14). Therefore, the reference data register 322 is updated each time new guide melody data is input.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the comparison operation 1. This operation is obtained by the CPU 30 taking in the frequency count value and average volume value of the singing voice signal from the voice processing DSP 68 and converting them into pitch data and frequency data of the singing voice, and obtaining the reference data in FIG. 5B. This is an operation for obtaining difference data by comparing with the pitch data of the obtained reference data. The comparison operation 1 is executed every 50 ms, which is one frame time of the singing voice signal.
First, it is determined whether or not the reference is updated (S20). If the reference is not updated, the process returns. If the reference is updated, the reference counter (entire) is incremented (S22). Then, the average sound volume value is read from the audio processing DSP 68 (S24), and it is determined whether the value is equal to or greater than a threshold value (S26). If it is not equal to or greater than the threshold (S26: NO), the process of the comparison operation 1 is terminated without executing the subsequent processes, and the process returns.

  On the other hand, if it is equal to or greater than the threshold (S26: YES), the sound generation counter (whole) is incremented. Next, a frequency count value is read from the audio processing DSP 68 (S30), and pitch data is generated based on the frequency count value (S32). Next, the pitch data of the singing voice and the reference are compared and the difference is calculated (S34), and the calculated difference is stored in the storage area corresponding to the current section of the difference data storage area 324 as the pitch difference data. Store (S36).

Next, the scoring operation in the challenge mode including the comparison operation 1 in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS. 7 and 8.
First, the reference counter (whole) and the sound generation counter (whole) are initialized (S40). In the challenge mode, it is necessary to score regularly at regular intervals in order to forcibly end when it falls below a predetermined score. Therefore, the timer is initialized (S42).

  Next, the comparison operation 1 every 50 ms described with reference to FIG. 6 is performed (S44). For example, if scoring is performed every 15 seconds, it is determined whether the timer is 15 seconds or more (S46). If the timer is less than a predetermined time (15 seconds) (S46: NO), the comparison operation is repeated (S44). ) If the timer is 15 seconds or longer (S46: YES), the overall singing rate is calculated (S48).

  Note that the singing rate = the part that is actually sung / the part that should be sung. The part to be sung represents the length of a musical note. The length of the actually sung portion can be obtained from the pronunciation counter value × 50 ms. Further, the length of the part to be sung can be obtained from the reference counter value × 50 ms. Therefore, the singing rate is obtained by the pronunciation counter / reference counter.

  In subsequent S50, a deduction is calculated based on the overall singing rate obtained in S48. For this deduction calculation, a deduction table shown in FIG. 9 is used. This deduction table shows the correspondence between the overall singing rate and the deduction (meaning of the value to be deducted). For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when it is less than 30%, scoring is not possible, 30% or more 40% In the case of less than 20 points, 20 points are deducted, in the case of 40% or more and less than 50%, 15 points are deducted, in the case of 50% or more and less than 60%, 10 points are deducted.

  In general, the actual singing part with respect to the note length of a musical score varies greatly depending on the loudness of the voice (affecting vocabulary, gender and age), and the experimental results range from 50% to 90%. I know that it varies with the degree. For this reason, if the singing rate is not 100%, if the point is deducted immediately, even if it should not be deducted at the level felt by humans, it will be deducted, which is not appropriate. Therefore, here, in the case of a singing rate of 60% or more, “no deduction” is set because the content is not particularly low.

  The singing rate and the deduction value in the deduction table shown in FIG. 9 are examples, and the correspondence relationship between the singing rate and the deduction may be set so that stricter scoring, or conversely, sweet scoring. Further, the setting of the singing rate and the deduction point value is not fixed, but a configuration in which an installation worker or an operator of the apparatus (for example, the owner of a karaoke box) can arbitrarily set it may be adopted.

  Next, the pitch difference data stored in the difference data storage area 324 is scored and tabulated (S52 to S58), and the total score is calculated using the deduction points calculated in S50 (S58). Here, a supplementary explanation will be given of the processing of S52 to S58. The entire pitch difference data is extracted from the difference data storage area 324 (S52), and the total pitch difference data is divided by the pronunciation counter value to average the pitch difference data (S54). Then, the average value of the pitch difference data is scored using the score table shown in FIG. 10 (S56). The score table in FIG. 10 shows the correspondence between the average value of the pitch difference data and the score. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the average value 0, 1, 2, 3 of the pitch difference data is shown. , 4, 5 and 6 (unit is semitone), the score is 100, 80, 60, 40, 20, 10, 0 (unit is point), respectively. Then, the total score is totaled by subtracting the deduction of the overall singing rate from the score value of the pitch (S58).

  By calculating the total score in this way, for example, when the pitch difference data is scored and aggregated, for example, 80 points, there is no deduction when the singing rate is 60% or more, but the singing rate is 58%. In this case, the deduction is 10 points, and the total score is subtracted from 80 points to 70 points.

  Next, it is determined whether the total score is equal to or higher than the reference score (S62). If the value is below the reference point (62: NO), “sorry” (or “still unfortunate”, “one step after another”, etc.) is displayed on the monitor 60 and forcibly terminated in the middle of the song (S64). In the case of the previous example, since the total score is 70 points, it is below the reference point of 75 points and is forcibly terminated. On the other hand, if it is equal to or higher than the reference point, it is determined whether or not the song is finished (S66). If the song is finished (S66: YES), for example, “congratulations done” (or “congratulations for completion”) is monitored. After the display at 60, the scoring operation is terminated. If the music has not ended (S66: NO), the process returns to S42 to initialize the timer, and the comparison operation 1 of S44 is performed.

  In this way, by performing weighting in the time axis direction according to the ratio of singing (singing rate), for example, when singing well for a short time and not singing afterwards, it is inappropriate to get a high score Can be prevented.

  Moreover, the skill of singing is judged by comparing the pitch data. That is, the volume level is not reflected in the score. This is because the sound volume varies widely depending on the vocabulary, gender, age, etc., so that it may take a point far from the skill of actual singing. Also, by not using the volume for scoring, the algorithm can be simplified and the accuracy of singing can be determined in a short time.

  According to the scoring operation example 1 described above, by performing weighting in the time axis direction according to the overall singing rate, even if there is a part that is not sung in the middle of the song, You can prevent the inappropriate situation of high scores. However, in the challenge mode, after singing most of the songs, there was a problem that even if they did not sing at all or sung poorly, the score did not drop easily and it was difficult to forcibly terminate. This is because the scores are averaged, so if you have sung most of the song, you will not sing at all for a short time, or if you sing poorly, the score will not drop much. In addition, with respect to the weighting based on the overall singing rate, there is a problem that the singing rate is not reduced so much when it is mostly sung, so that it is not weighted.

  Therefore, it was considered to solve the above-mentioned problem by not only weighting by the overall singing rate but also weighting by the score obtained from the singing rate of the interval and the pitch data difference in the interval. Two examples of scoring operations in that case will be described.

[Scoring operation example 2]
A scoring operation example 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. Only the differences from the above-described scoring operation example 1 will be described.

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the comparison operation 2 in which the increment of the section reference counter (S70) and the increment of the section pronunciation counter (S72) are added to the comparison operation 1 of FIG. 6 in the scoring operation example 1. It is. The other processes indicated by step numbers S20 to S36 are the same as the processes shown in FIG. The increment of the section reference counter in S70 is executed after the process of S22, and the increment of the section pronunciation counter in S72 is executed after the process of S28. These section reference counter and section pronunciation counter are used to calculate the singing rate of the section, and are obtained by section singing rate = section pronunciation counter / section reference counter.

  The flowchart of FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 shows the scoring operation in the challenge mode including the comparison operation 2 of FIG. The difference from the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 showing the scoring operation in the challenge mode in the scoring operation example 1 will be mainly described.

  In FIG. 7, the reference counter (whole) and the sound generation counter (whole) are initialized (S40), and then the timer is initialized (S42). In FIG. 12, between these S40 and S42, Section counter initialization (S80) has been added.

Further, instead of the comparison operation 1 in S44 of FIG. 7, a comparison operation 2 (S81) is executed in FIG. In this comparison operation 2, the above-described processing shown in FIG. 11 is performed.
In FIG. 7, if the timer is 15 seconds or longer (S46: YES), the overall singing rate is calculated (S48), but in FIG. 12, before the overall singing rate is calculated in S48, the interval is calculated. The calculation of the singing rate (S82) and the deduction calculation based on the section singing rate (S84) are executed. In calculating the deduction based on the section singing rate, a deduction table shown in FIG. 14 is used. This deduction table shows the correspondence between the interval singing rate and deduction (meaning of the value to be deducted). For example, as shown in FIG. 14, when it is less than 30%, 20 points deduction, 30% or more 40 If it is less than%, 15 points are deducted, if it is 40% or more and less than 50%, 10 points are deducted, if it is 50% or more and less than 60%, 5 points are deducted, and if it is 60% or more, there is no deduction. .

  Further, instead of the total score aggregation in S58 of FIG. 8, the total score aggregation of S158 is executed in FIG. That is, in S58, the total score was totaled by subtracting the deduction of the overall singing rate from the score value of the pitch, but in S158 of FIG. 13, the deduction of the section singing rate and the overall singing from the score value of the pitch. Total score is calculated by subtracting the rate deduction.

  The processes of steps other than S80, S81, S82, S84, and S158 are the same as the processes of the same step numbers shown in FIGS. If the determination is negative in S66 of FIG. 13, the process returns to S80 of FIG.

  As described above, in the scoring operation example 2, not only weighting based on the overall singing rate but also weighting based on the singing rate in each section, the local low score that is difficult to be reflected when the whole is averaged (for example, partly) It can be reflected in the total score even in the case of a situation where no singing is performed.

[Scoring example 3]
With reference to FIGS. 15-17, the scoring operation example 3 is demonstrated. In addition, it demonstrates centering on the difference with the flowchart of FIG.7 and FIG.8 which shows scoring operation | movement of the challenge mode in the scoring operation example 1 mentioned above.

  In FIG. 7, the reference counter (whole) and the sound generation counter (whole) are initialized (S40), and then the timer is initialized (S42). In FIG. 15, between these S40 and S42, Section counter initialization (S80) has been added.

  Further, instead of the comparison operation 1 in S44 of FIG. 7, a comparison operation 2 (S81) is executed in FIG. In this comparison operation 2, the processing shown in FIG. 11 described in the second scoring operation example 2 is performed.

  In FIG. 7, if the timer is 15 seconds or longer (S46: YES), the overall singing rate is calculated (S48), but in FIG. 15, before calculating the overall singing rate in S48, S202 is performed. , S204, S206, S208 are executed. That is, the pitch difference data of the section is extracted from the difference data storage area 324 (S202), and the sum of the pitch difference data of the section is divided by the section pronunciation counter value to average the pitch difference data (S204). And the average value of the pitch difference data of a section is scored using the score table shown in FIG. 10 (S206). Further, a deduction is calculated from the section score using the section deduction table of FIG. 17 (S208). This section deduction table shows the correspondence between the section score and deduction (meaning of the value to be deducted). For example, as shown in FIG. 17, when it is less than 50 points, it is 20 points deduction, 50 points or more 60 If the score is less than 10 points, 10 points are deducted. If the score is 60 or more and less than 70 points, 5 points are deducted.

  Thereafter, calculation of the overall singing rate (S48), deduction calculation from the overall singing rate (S50), extraction of the entire pitch difference data from the difference data storage area 324 (S52), and the sum of the entire pitch difference data as a pronunciation counter Each processing of averaging pitch difference data by dividing by value (S54) and scoring the average value of pitch difference data using the score table shown in FIG. 10 (S56) is the same as scoring operation example 1. However, the contents of the total score calculation after that are different. That is, in this scoring operation example 3, in S258 of FIG. 13, the total score is totaled by subtracting the deduction of the pitch of the section and the deduction of the overall singing rate from the score value of the entire pitch.

  The processes of steps other than S80, S81, S202, S204, S206, and S258 are the same as the processes of the same step numbers shown in FIGS. If the determination is negative in S66 of FIG. 16, the process returns to S80 of FIG.

  Thus, in the scoring operation example 3, not only weighting by the overall singing rate but also weighting by the score obtained from the pitch difference data in each section, it is difficult to be reflected when the whole is averaged. Even in the case of a very low score (for example, a situation where a part is sung poorly), the total score can be reflected.

  Note that the scoring operation example 2 and the scoring operation example 3 described above may be performed separately, but by performing both, the skill of the song is more appropriately reflected in the score.

  In the scoring operation example described above, in S26 in the comparison operation 1 shown in FIG. 6 or the comparison operation 2 shown in FIG. 11, if the average volume value of the singing voice is not equal to or greater than the threshold value (S26: NO), the subsequent processing The process of the comparison operation 1 (or 2) is terminated without executing the above. In other words, the pitch data used for scoring is actually narrowed down to a certain level. This is because it is unclear whether the singer is actually singing the input sound whose volume is too low, and it may not be appropriate to use it for scoring. However, when the pitch data used for scoring at the average volume is narrowed in this way, when the singing is performed using the microphone 62 having a relatively high reference value and a relatively small input volume, for example. In spite of actually singing, the average volume does not exceed the reference value, and as a result, there is a possibility that points will be deducted. However, in the above-described embodiment, for example, when the overall singing rate is 60% or more in the deduction table of FIG. 9, there is no deduction, and when the section singing rate is 60% or more in the deduction table of FIG. There is a dead zone. Therefore, even if the average volume does not exceed the reference value even though the song is actually sung, this does not lead to a deduction and contributes to more appropriate scoring.

  Note that the interval for averaging the pitch difference data may not be every 50 ms. For example, an average value of pitch difference data from the start of karaoke performance to the time of scoring may be used. In this way, since no section counter is used, there is no need for counter measurement processing, and there is an advantage that software design is simplified.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure centering on the function of the karaoke apparatus of an Example. It is explanatory drawing about a song voice, a reference, and difference data. It is a block diagram which shows the specific hardware constitutions of the karaoke apparatus of an Example. It is explanatory drawing of the storage area in RAM and HDD of the karaoke apparatus of an Example. It is a flowchart which shows the data taking-in operation implemented in the karaoke apparatus of an Example. It is a flowchart explaining the algorithm of the comparison operation | movement 1 among the processes regarding the scoring operation example 1 performed in the karaoke apparatus of an Example. It is a flowchart which shows the first half of the process regarding the scoring operation example 1 containing the comparison operation 1 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the second half of the process regarding the scoring operation example 1 containing the comparison operation 1 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the deduction table which shows the correspondence of the whole singing rate and deduction. It is explanatory drawing of the score table which shows the correspondence of the average value of pitch difference data, and a score. It is a flowchart explaining the algorithm of the comparison operation | movement 2 among the processes regarding the example 2 of scoring operation | movement. 12 is a flowchart showing the first half of processing related to scoring operation example 2 including comparison operation 2 in FIG. 11. It is a flowchart which shows the second half of the process regarding the example 2 of scoring operation | movement containing the comparison operation 2 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the deduction table which shows the correspondence of a section singing rate and deduction. It is a flowchart which shows the first half of the process regarding the example 3 of scoring operation | movement. It is a flowchart which shows the second half of the process regarding the example 3 of scoring operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing of the deduction table which shows the correspondence of a segment score and deductions used by the process regarding the scoring operation example # 3.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... CPU, 32 ... ROM, 34 ... RAM, 36 ... Remote control receiving part, 38 ... Display panel, 40 ... Panel switch, 42 ... Communication control part, 44 ... HDD, 46 ... Sound source device, 48 ... Audio data processing part, 50 ... DSP for effects, 52 ... D / A converter, 54 ... amplifier speaker, 56 ... network interface, 57 ... character display section, 58 ... display control section, 60 ... monitor, 62 ... microphone, 64 ... preamplifier, 66 ... A / D converter, 68 ... DSP for voice processing, 70 ... remote control, 320 ... MIDI buffer, 322 ... reference data register, 324 ... differential data storage area, 326 ... execution data storage area, 328 ... program storage area, 370 ... music data File, 372 ... background video storage area, 374 ... song data storage area, 37 ... program storage area

Claims (6)

Music data storage means for storing music data including data for karaoke performance and pitch data of singing melody of karaoke music;
Karaoke performance reproduction means for reading out music data of the designated karaoke song from the music data storage means and reproducing the karaoke performance;
An audio signal input means for inputting an audio signal of karaoke singing;
A pitch extraction means for sampling the voice signal input through the voice signal input means and extracting pitch data of the karaoke song;
The pitch data corresponding to the performance song is read from the song data storage means in synchronization with the karaoke performance by the karaoke performance reproduction means, and the read pitch data and the pitch extracted by the pitch extraction means are read out. Scoring means for scoring based on the data;
A karaoke device comprising:
The scoring means is
A pitch difference calculating means for calculating a difference between the pitch data extracted by the pitch extracting means and the pitch data read from the music data storage means;
Singing rate calculation for obtaining a singing rate, which is a ratio of a period in which the pitch data extracted by the pitch extracting unit exists during a period in which the pitch data read by the karaoke performance reproducing unit is being played back Means,
The karaoke apparatus characterized by scoring based on the pitch difference calculated by the pitch difference calculating means and the singing rate calculated by the singing rate calculating means. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1,
The singing rate calculating means is:
Calculate at least one of the singing rate of the entire singing melody or the singing rate for each predetermined section obtained by dividing the entire singing melody into a plurality of sections,
The scoring unit performs scoring based on at least one of the singing rate of the entire singing melody calculated by the singing rate calculating unit or the singing rate for each predetermined section. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The scoring device performs scoring with a greater degree of deduction as the singing rate is lower when scoring is performed with a deduction depending on the singing rate. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 3,
The scoring means sets the deduction to zero when the singing rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value when scoring with a deduction according to the singing rate. In the karaoke apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4,
The pitch extraction means samples the voice signal input through the voice signal input means to extract the pitch data of the karaoke song, and calculates the average volume by averaging the sampled voice signal for a predetermined period. And
The pitch difference calculating means and the pitch data extracted by the pitch extracting means and the read pitch only when the average volume calculated by the pitch extracting means is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value. A karaoke machine characterized by calculating a difference from data.   The program for functioning a computer as said scoring means in the karaoke apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5.

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