JP2010231053A - Performance assisting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a performance assisting system capable of easily performing a setup change in the performance assisting system including a performance assisting function in which a plurality of electronic musical instruments participate. <P>SOLUTION: The performance assisting system includes a chord information-generating device and a plurality of performance assisting devices. The chord information-generating device includes: a storage means for storing a chord progression data; a reproduction means for reproducing chord information by reading the chord progression data; and a chord information-transmitting means for transmitting the reproduced chord information by wireless communication. Each of the plurality of performance assisting devices includes: a chord information-receiving means for receiving chord information transmitted by a wireless transmitting means; a note information-receiving means for receiving note information from the electronic musical instrument; a note converting means for converting a pitch of the received note information to a pitch suitable for the received chord information; a conversion characteristics-setting means for setting conversion characteristics in the note conversion means; and a note information-transmitting means for transmitting the converted note information to the electronic musical instrument. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a performance assist system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a performance assist device that performs unified performance support for operations of a plurality of performers, and particularly enables beginner session performance (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this system, a performance assist device and a plurality of performance devices (electronic musical instruments) are connected by wire using a USB interface. The performance assist device reproduces the chord information recording the chord progression of the music, receives performance information (note information) from each performance device connected by wire, converts the performance information based on the reproduced chord information, The converted performance information is returned to each performance device. Various musical instrument parts are prepared for conversion by the performance assisting device, and a conversion engine suitable for each part is set. The conversion engine adapts the pitch of the performance information to the chord information supplied, but note-on timing, tone length, strength, etc. reflect the performance of the performer.

JP 2006-243102 A

  In the conventional apparatus, the performance assisting device that supplies chord information and converts the note information based on the chord information is connected to the performance equipment by wire. It is necessary to directly operate the auxiliary device, and it is difficult to change the setting during the performance.

  For example, in order to join or leave a session, it is necessary to go directly to the performance assisting device to start / stop the performance assisting function, or to connect / disconnect the cable. Also, when disconnecting the cable, there is a risk of accidentally disconnecting the cable connected to another performance device.

  In addition, for example, in order to perform appropriate performance assistance, it is necessary to set which performance part the performance device is responsible for on the performance assistance device side, but it is difficult to change the performance part during the performance. .

  Furthermore, because of the wired connection, there are restrictions on moving around while playing instruments such as guitars. Specifically, there is a problem that the range of movement is limited to the length of the cable or entangled with a cable connected to another performance device.

  In the conventional performance assist device, when the performance assist function is executed in the performance equipment connected to the performance assist device, when the user performs a performance operation, the user is not set unless local off is set in advance. And the pronunciation by the note information converted by the performance assisting device are mixed and output.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a performance assist system capable of easily changing settings in a performance assist system having a performance assist function in which a plurality of electronic musical instruments participate.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a performance assisting system including a chord information generating device and a plurality of performance assisting devices, wherein the chord information generating device stores storage means for storing chord progression data, and the chord progression. Reproducing means for reading out chord information by reading data and chord information transmitting means for transmitting the reproduced chord information by wireless communication, each of the plurality of performance assisting devices being transmitted by the wireless transmitting means. Chord information receiving means for receiving received chord information, note information receiving means for receiving note information from an electronic musical instrument, and a note for converting the pitch of the received note information into a pitch suitable for the received chord information. Conversion means, conversion characteristic setting means for setting conversion characteristics in the note conversion means, and note information transmission for transmitting the converted note information to the electronic musical instrument. Musical performance assistance system, characterized in that it comprises a means.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the performance assistance system which can perform a setting change simply can be provided in the performance assistance system with the performance assistance function in which several electronic musical instruments participate.

It is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware constitutions of each apparatus which comprises the performance assistance system by the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the function of the performance assistance system by the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the chord progress reproduction process in the master radio | wireless communication terminal (chord information generator) by the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the performance assistance process in the slave radio | wireless communication terminal (performance assistance apparatus) by the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart showing the note conversion process in the slave radio | wireless communication terminal (performance auxiliary | assistance apparatus) by the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the function of the performance assistance system by the 1st modification of the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the function of the performance assistance system by the 2nd modification of the Example of this invention.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of each device constituting the performance assist system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The performance assist system 1 includes one or more slave radio communication terminals (performance assist devices) 101 connected to one master radio communication terminal (chord information generating device) 100 by radio communication and the one or more slave radio communications. The electronic musical instrument 102 is connected to each terminal 101 by wired communication.

  The master wireless communication terminal 100 may be configured by a dedicated device, or may be configured by installing software for realizing the present embodiment in a personal computer.

  A RAM 7, ROM 8, CPU 9, detection circuit 11, display circuit 13, storage device 15, sound source / effect circuit 18, and wireless communication interface (I / F) 21 a are connected to the bus 6 of the master wireless communication terminal 100.

  The RAM 7 has a buffer area such as a reproduction buffer, a working area of the CPU 9 that stores flags, registers, various parameters, and the like.

  The ROM 8 can store various data files, various parameters and a control program, or a program for realizing the present embodiment. In this case, it is not necessary to store programs or the like in the storage device 15 in an overlapping manner.

  The CPU 9 performs calculation or device control according to a control program stored in the ROM 8 or the storage device 15 or a program for realizing the present embodiment. A timer is connected to the CPU 9, and a basic clock signal, interrupt processing timing, and the like are supplied to the CPU 9.

  The user can perform various inputs, settings, and selections using the panel operator 12 connected to the detection circuit 11. The panel operator 12 may be any device that can output a signal corresponding to a user input, such as a switch, pad, fader, slider, rotary encoder, joystick, jog shuttle, character input keyboard, mouse, and the like. . Further, the panel operator 12 may be a soft switch or the like displayed on the display device 14 operated using another operator such as a cursor switch.

  The display circuit 13 is connected to the display 14 and can display various information on the display 14. The display 14 can display various information for setting the performance assist system 1.

  The storage device 15 is a combination of a storage medium such as a hard disk, an FD (flexible disk or floppy disk (registered trademark)), a CD (compact disk), a DVD (digital multipurpose disk), or a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, and a driving device thereof. It is composed of at least one. The storage medium may be detachable or built in. The storage device 15 and / or the ROM 8 can store automatic performance data including chord progression information (chord information), a program for realizing each embodiment of the present invention, and other control programs. In addition, when storing the program for implement | achieving each Example of this invention, and another control program in the memory | storage device 15, it is not necessary to memorize | store these according to ROM8. Alternatively, only some programs may be stored in the storage device 15 and other programs may be stored in the ROM 8.

  The sound source / effect circuit 18 generates a musical sound signal in accordance with automatic performance data recorded in the storage device 15, ROM 8 or RAM 7, or a performance signal supplied from an external device connected to the wireless communication interface 21a, a MIDI signal, or the like. It is generated, provided with various musical effects, and supplied to the sound system 19. The sound system 19 includes a D / A converter and a speaker, converts a digital musical tone signal supplied to an analog format and generates a sound.

  The wireless communication interface 21a is composed of at least one of a communication interface such as a general-purpose short-range wireless I / F such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark) and a music dedicated wireless communication interface, and can communicate simultaneously with a plurality of devices. It is.

  The slave wireless communication terminal 101 is configured with dedicated hardware, and is preferably provided in a size that can be carried along with the electronic musical instrument 102 by the performer. For example, a size that can be attached to a strap or the like of a guitar or a bass-type electronic musical instrument 102 is used. The hardware configuration of the slave radio communication terminal 101 is the same as that of the master radio communication terminal 100 described above, and substantially the same configuration is given the same reference number. Hereinafter, only differences from the master wireless communication terminal 100 will be described.

  The difference from the master wireless communication terminal 100 is that the slave wireless communication terminal 101 has a wired communication interface 21b used for communication with the electronic musical instrument 102 in addition to the wireless communication interface 21a used for communication with the master wireless communication terminal 100. It is in the point.

  The wired communication interface 21b is configured by at least one of a communication interface such as a general-purpose short-distance wired I / F such as USB or IEEE1394, or a general-purpose network I / F such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

  The electronic musical instrument 102 is composed of an electronic musical instrument provided with performance operators such as a keyboard, for example. The hardware configuration of the electronic musical instrument 102 is the same as that of the master radio communication terminal 100 and the slave radio communication terminal 101 described above, and substantially the same configuration is given the same reference number. Hereinafter, only differences from the master wireless communication terminal 100 and the slave wireless communication terminal 101 will be described.

  The difference between the master wireless communication terminal 100 and the slave wireless communication terminal 101 is that the electronic musical instrument 102 has the wireless communication interface 21a omitted, and has only a wired communication interface 21b used for communication with the slave wireless communication terminal 101. In the point. Also, a performance operator 22 is provided.

  The performance operator 22 is connected to the detection circuit 11 and supplies performance information according to a user's performance operation. As the performance operator 22, a string instrument type performance operator, a keyboard instrument type performance operator, a pad by combining a string, a pickup, and a circuit capable of converting an electrical signal generated by the pickup into a performance signal (for example, MIDI signal) For example, a percussion instrument type performance operator, a wind instrument type performance operator, and other operators capable of generating performance signals can be used. Note that the performance operator 22 is not limited to these, and any performance operator may be used as long as the user can input performance information. A performance operator (keyboard, pad, etc.) 22 is an operator for inputting a user's performance, and the operation start timing for the user's operator with the pitch and percussion instrument type corresponding to the operator operated by the user. And the end timing are input as key-on and key-off signals, respectively (however, in the case of a percussion instrument type, the key-off signal is not input). Further, operation intensity information may be input.

  In this embodiment, an example in which the slave wireless communication terminal 101 and the electronic musical instrument 102 are separately configured will be described. However, the slave wireless communication terminal 101 and the electronic musical instrument 102 may be configured integrally. good. For example, the electronic musical instrument 102 may be configured to incorporate a slave wireless communication terminal. Also, the performance assisting system 1 is constructed by mixing a configuration in which the slave radio communication terminal 101 and the electronic musical instrument 102 are configured separately and a configuration in which the electronic musical instrument 102 is configured to incorporate the slave radio communication terminal. You may do it.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of the performance assist system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The master radio communication terminal 100 includes a chord progression data storage unit 115, a chord progression reproduction unit 109, and a radio transmission / reception unit 121a.

  The slave wireless communication terminal 101 includes a wireless transmission / reception unit 121a, a wired transmission / reception unit 121b, a note conversion unit 110, and a conversion characteristic setting unit 112, and is connected to the master wireless communication terminal 100 via the wireless transmission / reception unit 121a. The electronic musical instrument 102 is connected via the transmission / reception unit 121b.

  The electronic musical instrument 102 includes a wired transmission / reception unit 121b, a performance operator 22, a performance information generation unit 111, and a musical sound generation unit 118. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 4, when the performance assist function is ON, note information generated by the performance information generation unit 111 is automatically prevented from being directly supplied to the musical sound generation unit 118. Will be turned off locally. Also, the user may manually turn off the local manually in advance.

  The chord progression data storage unit 115 includes, for example, the storage device 15 of FIG. 1, stores chord progression data for a plurality of music pieces, and supplies the chord progression data selected by the user to the chord progression reproduction unit 109. The chord progression data may be automatic performance data in which only the chord progression is stored along with the progress of the music, or it is automatic performance data in which automatic performance data and audio data of melody and other parts are stored together. May be.

  When the automatic performance data includes automatic performance data or audio data of a melody or other parts, the automatic performance data or audio data of the melody or other parts may be reproduced by the master wireless communication terminal 100. The electronic musical instrument 102 may be transmitted via the slave wireless communication terminal 101 and reproduced by the electronic musical instrument 102.

  The chord progression is composed of timing data and chord information representing the chord at the timing. The timing data is, for example, data represented by Tick (also referred to as Clock) obtained by dividing a predetermined note length by a predetermined number (resolution). As an example, it is assumed that a quarter note is divided by 1920. In this case, “resolution = 1920” is used, and 1920 Tick corresponds to the length of one quarter note. Since Tick is a quarter note divided by resolution, the time length of Tick varies depending on the tempo. The timing data may be expressed as an absolute timing (number of ticks) from a predetermined position such as the head of the music (chord progression data) or may be expressed as a relative timing (number of ticks) from the previous timing.

  Note that the chord progression data is not limited to data stored in advance, and may be acquired via a communication network. For example, the data may be downloaded from a performance data distribution service on a network such as the Internet by pseudo streaming (downloading method in which MIDI data or the like is downloaded at once and automatically deleted after the reproduction is finished). In this case, the chord progression data is stored in the storage device 15 in FIG. 1 and is also stored in a reproduction buffer such as the RAM 7 during reproduction. The chord progression data temporarily downloaded by pseudo streaming or the like is stored in a reproduction buffer such as the RAM 7 and is erased after the reproduction is completed.

  The chord progression reproduction unit 109 reproduces the chord progression data supplied from the chord progression data storage unit 115 according to the clock, and supplies the chord information at the current timing to the wireless transmission unit 121a. When the chord progression data includes automatic performance data such as a melody or audio data, the automatic performance data or audio data may be supplied together.

  The wireless transmission unit 121a of the master wireless communication terminal 100 is connected to the wireless transmission unit 121a of the slave wireless communication terminal 101 by wireless communication. The wireless communication used here is, for example, any one of broadcast, multicast, and unicast communication.

  The note conversion unit 110 converts the note information supplied from the electronic musical instrument 102 based on the chord information supplied from the master wireless communication terminal 100. Note that details of the note conversion processing are described in “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention” in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-206073 (particularly, paragraphs [0052] to [0086]) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-243102. Reference is made to the section “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention”. For example, for each chord supplied as chord information, a conversion table in which the pitch of the input note information and the chord constituent sound to which the note information of the pitch is to be converted is associated is prepared in advance. Based on the conversion table, the note information is converted into note information having a pitch that matches the chord information. This conversion mode is referred to as a performance assist (PAT) mode in this specification. Here, the pitch suitable for the chord information is a musically compatible pitch, for example, the same pitch as the constituent sound of the chord. Note that the note conversion is performed by a different algorithm or conversion table for each performance part (or timbre).

  If the chord progression data includes automatic performance data such as a melody, and the automatic performance data is supplied together, all pitches input by the performer using the performance operator 22 are all automatic performance data such as a melody. It may be possible to select a melody assist (MAT) mode to be converted into a pitch of.

  The conversion characteristic setting unit 112 sets the conversion characteristic of the note conversion unit 112. Here, the conversion characteristics of the note conversion unit 112 include selection of the note conversion mode (PAT, MAT), ON / OFF of the note conversion (or wireless communication), and change of the performance part (or timbre) as described above (that is, , Which corresponds to a change of a note conversion algorithm or a conversion table). Since the slave wireless communication terminal 101 wired to the electronic musical instrument 102 side has the conversion characteristic setting unit 112, the performer can set the conversion characteristic at hand without having to approach the master wireless communication terminal 100. . Also, a music selection operation, music playback start and stop instructions may be performed.

  The wired transmission / reception unit 121b of the slave wireless communication terminal 101 is wired to the wired transmission / reception unit 121b of the electronic musical instrument 102 via a cable or the like, receives note information from the electronic musical instrument 102 based on a performance operation, and is transmitted by the note conversion unit 110. Send the converted note information. If the note conversion function is OFF, the transmitted note information is the same as that received from the electronic musical instrument 102. Further, as described later, a local off command / local on command is transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102.

  In addition, as shown by the dashed-dotted arrows in the figure, when the performance part (or timbre) setting is changed by the conversion characteristic setting unit 112, the timbre to be used or the selected timbre to be used in the selected performance part A command for changing to (for example, a program change in the MIDI standard) may be transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102 via the wired transmission / reception unit 121b.

  The performance information generating unit 111 generates note information (note number (pitch) information, norton event or note-off event including velocity information) based on the performance signal input from the performance operator 22, and generates the generated note information. The data is transmitted to the slave wireless communication terminal 101 via the wired transmission / reception unit 121b. When the local on is set, the generated note information is supplied to the musical sound generating unit 118. When the local off is set, the generated note information is not supplied to the musical sound generating unit 118.

  For example, the tone generator 118 includes the tone generator / effect circuit 18 of FIG. 1 and generates tone information based on the note information received by the wired transmission / reception unit 121b or the note information generated by the performance information generator 111.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a chord progression playback process executed by the CPU 9 of the master wireless communication terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. This process is activated by a user instruction. Note that wireless communication with the slave wireless communication terminal 101 is established in advance by another process (not shown).

  In step SA1, the chord progression reproduction process is started. In step SA2, a music selection operation by the user is accepted, and the selected chord progression data (automatic performance data) is received from, for example, the chord progression data storage unit 115 (storage device 15). Read to the playback buffer in RAM7. The music selection operation by the user is performed using the setting operator 12 of the master wireless communication terminal 100 or the slave wireless communication terminal 101 in FIG.

  In step SA3, it is determined whether or not a reproduction start instruction by the user has been detected for the chord progression data (automatic performance data) selected in step SA2. The reproduction start operation by the user is performed using the setting operator 12 of the master wireless communication terminal 100 or the slave wireless communication terminal 101 in FIG. If a reproduction start instruction is detected, the process proceeds to step SA4 indicated by a YES arrow, and if not detected, the process proceeds to step SA8 indicated by a NO arrow.

  In step SA4, the chord information (event) of the chord progression data (automatic performance data) is read from the reproduction buffer as the music progresses. That is, if there is an event such as chord information to be reproduced at the current timing, the event is read from the reproduction buffer.

  In step SA5, the chord information (event) read in step SA4 is supplied to the wireless transmission unit 121a (wireless communication I / F 21a) and transmitted to the slave wireless communication terminal 101 as a chord information packet. The chord information packet is transmitted from time to time regardless of whether the slave wireless communication terminal 101 has received it.

  When the slave wireless communication terminal 101 receives a chord information packet distributed wirelessly, in the case of a multicast packet, if the packet matches the multicast address set in advance in the slave wireless communication terminal 101, the packet is taken in, and does not match If so, discard the packet. In the case of a broadcast packet, the packet is always captured. In either case, the master wireless communication terminal 100 is not notified that it has been successfully captured. On the other hand, in the case of a unicast packet, only the packet addressed to itself is captured and the master wireless communication terminal 100 is notified that the packet has been captured normally.

  In step SA6, it is determined whether or not a reproduction end instruction by the user has been detected or the end of the music has been reached. The reproduction end operation by the user is performed using, for example, the setting operator 12 of the master wireless communication terminal 100 or the slave wireless communication terminal 101 in FIG. If a playback end instruction is detected, the process proceeds to step SA7 indicated by a YES arrow, and if not detected, the process returns to step SA4 indicated by a NO arrow.

  In step SA7, a code cancellation is transmitted to the slave wireless communication terminal 101 via the wireless transmission unit 121a (wireless communication I / F 21a). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step SA8, and the chord progression playback process is terminated.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a performance assist process executed by the CPU 9 of the slave wireless communication terminal 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  At step SB1, performance assist processing is started, and initialization processing is performed at step SB2. In this initialization process, the current chord information is initialized (code cancellation).

  In step SB3, it is determined whether wireless communication is currently being performed. This determination is made based on whether or not wireless communication is established through the master wireless communication terminal 100 and the wireless transmission / reception unit 121a (wireless communication I / F 21a). If wireless communication is in progress, the process proceeds to step SB5 indicated by an arrow of YES, and if not wireless communication, the process proceeds to step SB4 indicated by an arrow of NO.

  In step SB4, wireless communication via the master wireless communication terminal 100 and the wireless transmission / reception unit 121a (wireless communication I / F 21a) is established according to a user instruction. At this time, if connection authentication is required in the master wireless communication terminal 100, an input of a password or the like is accepted. Establishment of wireless communication is according to a well-known example. After the wireless communication is established, the process proceeds to step SB5.

  In step SB5, the conversion characteristics of the note conversion unit 112 (FIG. 2) are set in accordance with a user instruction. Here, the conversion characteristics of the note conversion unit 112 include selection of a note conversion mode (PAT, MAT), ON / OFF of note conversion (or wireless communication), change of a performance part (or timbre), etc. as described above. is there. Also, a music selection operation, music playback start and stop instructions may be performed.

  In step SB6, it is determined whether or not the performance assist function is off and reception of the chord information wirelessly transmitted from the master wireless communication terminal 100 is started. If the performance assist function is off and reception of chord information is started, the process proceeds to step SB7 indicated by a YES arrow, and otherwise the process proceeds to step SB9 indicated by a NO arrow.

  In step SB7, the performance assist function of the note conversion unit 112 (FIG. 2) is turned on. In step SB8, a local off command is transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102 via the wired transmission / reception unit 121b (wired communication I / F 21b). When the electronic musical instrument 102 receives the local off command, the note information generated by the performance information generation unit 111 is not directly supplied to the musical sound generation unit 118.

  As described above, the local off command is automatically transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102 at the same time as the reception of the chord information, so that the note information before conversion (based on the performance of the performance operator 22) is converted by the note conversion unit 110. It is possible to prevent the mixed note information from being output in a mixed manner.

  In step SB9, it is determined whether or not the chord information (or other event) wirelessly transmitted from the master wireless communication terminal 100 is received. If received, the process proceeds to step SB10 indicated by the YES arrow, and the received chord information (or other event) is supplied to the note conversion unit 112, and the process proceeds to step SB11. When not receiving, it progresses to step SB11 shown by the arrow of NO. In addition, also when the code cancellation wirelessly transmitted from the master radio | wireless communication terminal 100 is received by step SA7 of FIG. When the chord cancel is supplied to the note converting unit 112, the note converting unit 112 returns the note information received from the electronic musical instrument 102 without converting it.

  In step SB11, it is determined whether or not the notebook information wired from the electronic musical instrument 102 has been received. If received, the process proceeds to step SB12 indicated by a YES arrow. When not receiving, it progresses to step SB13 shown by the arrow of NO.

  In step SB12, note conversion processing is performed based on the conversion characteristics set by the user's operation in step SB5. The note conversion process is performed by, for example, the note conversion unit 110 in FIG. 2, and mainly converts the note information supplied from the electronic musical instrument 102 based on the chord information supplied from the master wireless communication terminal 100. If automatic performance data such as a melody is supplied in addition to the chord information, the note information can be converted based on the automatic performance data such as the melody.

  In step SB13, it is determined whether or not wireless communication with master wireless communication terminal 100 has been interrupted. Here, it is assumed that both wireless communication interruption due to user operation and wireless communication interruption due to some trouble other than the user operation are included. If the wireless communication is interrupted, the process proceeds to step SB14 indicated by the YES arrow. If not interrupted, the process proceeds to step SB17 indicated by the NO arrow. Note that even when the reception of the chord information is interrupted for a certain period (for example, 1 minute) or longer, it may be handled that the wireless communication is interrupted.

  In step SB14, the wireless communication is canceled, and in step SB15, a local on command is transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102. Here, by transmitting the local on command, the electronic musical instrument 102 directly supplies the note information generated by the performance information generating unit 111 to the musical sound generating unit 118. Thereafter, in step SB16, the performance assist function of the note conversion unit 112 is turned off.

  In step SB17, an instruction to end the performance assist process by the user is detected. When the end instruction is detected, the process proceeds to step SB18 indicated by an arrow of YES, and the performance assist process is ended. Otherwise, the process returns to step SB3 indicated by the NO arrow and the subsequent processing is repeated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the note conversion process executed in step SB12 of FIG.

  In step SC1, note conversion processing is started, and in step SC2, it is determined whether or not the performance assist function is on. If it is on, the process proceeds to step SC3 indicated by a YES arrow, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step SC5 indicated by a NO arrow. The performance assist function is basically automatically turned on at step SB7 in FIG. 4 and turned off at step SB16, but can be manually turned on / off by the user at step SB5. .

  In step SC3, the pitch of the note information received in step SB11 is converted by the note conversion unit 110 in FIG. However, when chord cancellation is supplied, pitch conversion is not performed. For the drum part, predetermined performance assist processing other than pitch conversion is performed.

  In step SC4, the note information converted (or not converted) in step SC3 is transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102 by wired communication. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step SC6, the note conversion process is terminated, and the process proceeds to step SB13 in FIG.

  In step SC5, the note information received in step SB11 is transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102 by wire communication without converting the notes. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step SC6, the note conversion process is terminated, and the process proceeds to step SB13 in FIG.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the master wireless communication terminal (chord information generating device) 100 and the slave wireless communication terminal (performance assisting device) 101 are connected by wireless communication, and the slave wireless communication terminal (performance assisting device). 101 and the electronic musical instrument 102 are connected by wired communication. Therefore, it is not necessary to connect or disconnect the cable to the master wireless communication terminal 100, and the work associated with this operation can be eliminated. It can prevent unintentional disconnection of the cable. In addition, the performer can move around freely within a range where wireless communication is possible.

  Furthermore, since the conversion characteristic can be set on the side of the electronic musical instrument 102 (wired to the slave wireless communication terminal 101), the conversion characteristic can be set at hand even during the performance.

  When the master wireless communication terminal (chord information generating device) 100 and the slave wireless communication terminal (performance assisting device) 101 are connected by wireless communication, the performance assist function is automatically enabled. Therefore, the performer does not need to confirm on / off of the performance assist function by himself / herself.

  Also, after the master wireless communication terminal (chord information generating device) 100 and the slave wireless communication terminal (performance assisting device) 101 are connected by wireless communication, the performance assist function is automatically enabled when the supply of chord information starts. At the same time, since the local off command is automatically transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102, the performance information from the performance operator 22 is not directly supplied to the musical tone generator 118, so that the original pitch and the converted pitch can be obtained. Mixing can be prevented. Further, when the wireless communication is disconnected or when the performance assist function is off, the local on command is automatically transmitted to the electronic musical instrument 102, so that the user can freely enjoy the performance. The performance assist function may be turned on and the local off command may be transmitted when wireless communication is established.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, improvements, combinations, and the like can be made. Below, a modification is shown in the Example of this invention.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing functions of the performance assist system according to the first modification of the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, since members having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 have the same configuration, description thereof is omitted.

  In the first modification, the chord progression data stored in the chord progression data storage unit 115 includes operation timing information indicating the timing at which the electronic musical instrument 102 should be operated. The operation timing information is given identification information indicating which instrument part the operation timing information is for.

  In the first modification, the slave wireless communication terminal 103 includes an operation timing filter unit 116 and an operation timing display unit 114 in addition to the configuration of the slave wireless communication terminal 101 of the above-described embodiment. As shown in the figure, one or a plurality of slave wireless communication terminals 101 and slave wireless communication terminals 103 can be mixed.

  The operation timing information is broadcast (broadcast or multicast) together with the chord information by the wireless transmission / reception unit 121a. Only the operation timing information (with an identifier indicating a part) is filtered by the operation timing filter unit 116 and displayed on the operation timing display unit 114. Note that in this case, the slave wireless communication terminal 103 may automatically determine the type of the electronic musical instrument 102 that is connected by wire, or by specifying a performance part or tone by the conversion characteristic setting unit 112. The performance part of the electronic musical instrument 102 may be specified.

  The operation timing display unit 114 displays the operation timing by turning on a display unit or the like at the operation timing or a predetermined time ahead. Other than this, for example, a display method such as displaying operation timings for a predetermined section (for example, two bars) at a time and moving the current timing on the operation timing or scrolling the timing display is used. May be.

  Note that the operation timing is not limited to broadcast, but may be individually transmitted to each slave wireless communication terminal 103 by unicast.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing functions of the performance assist system according to the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, since members having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 have the same configuration, description thereof is omitted.

  In the second modified example, the slave wireless communication terminal 104 includes a note conversion unit 110b instead of the note conversion unit 110 in the configuration of the slave wireless communication terminal 101 of the above-described embodiment. As shown in the figure, one or a plurality of slave wireless communication terminals 101, 103, and 104 can be mixed.

  The note conversion unit 110b also supplies the converted note information to the wireless transmission / reception unit 121a. The wireless transmission / reception unit 121a transmits the converted note information to the master wireless communication terminal 100. The master wireless communication terminal 100 transmits the received note information after conversion to the robot 106, for example.

  The robot 106 is, for example, a humanoid or pet-type robot, and performs an exercise such as dancing according to the received note information after conversion. As a technique for making a robot jump according to music, for example, a known technique as disclosed in JP-A-2002-307350 is used.

  Note that the converted notebook information may be directly wirelessly transmitted from the slave wireless communication terminal 104 to the robot 106 without using the master wireless communication terminal 100.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Performance assist system, 6 ... Bus, 7 ... RAM, 8 ... ROM, 9 ... CPU, 10 ... Timer, 11 ... Detection circuit, 12 ... Panel operator, 13 ... Display circuit, 14 ... Display, 15 ... External memory Device: 18 ... Sound source / effect circuit, 19: Sound system, 21 ... Communication I / F, 22 ... Performance operator, 100 ... Master wireless communication terminal (chord information generating device), 101, 103, 104 ... Slave wireless communication terminal (Performance assisting device) 102 ... electronic musical instrument 106 ... robot 109 ... chord progression playback unit 110 ... note converting unit 111 ... performance information generating unit 112 ... conversion characteristic setting unit 115 ... chord progression data storage unit 118: Music generation unit, 121: Transmission / reception unit

Claims (2)

A performance assist system comprising a chord information generating device and a plurality of performance assist devices,
The chord information generator
Storage means for storing chord progression data;
Playback means for reading the chord progression data and playing chord information;
Wireless transmission means for transmitting the reproduced chord information by wireless communication;
Each of the plurality of performance assisting devices includes:
Wireless receiving means for receiving chord information transmitted by the wireless transmitting means;
Note information receiving means for receiving note information from an electronic musical instrument;
Note conversion means for converting the pitch of the received note information into a pitch suitable for the received chord information;
Conversion characteristic setting means for setting a conversion characteristic in the note conversion means;
A performance assisting system comprising note information transmitting means for transmitting the converted note information to the electronic musical instrument. The storage means further stores timing information indicating performance operation timing,
The wireless transmission means further transmits the timing information,
The wireless reception means further receives the timing information,
2. The performance assist system according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying performance operation timing based on the received timing information.

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