JP2013041091A - Electronic music system, master device, slave device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic music system free of inconsistency of data among files for session of respective electronic music devices even if playing operation is done on one of the electronic music devices while the respective electronic music devices are introducing the files for session.SOLUTION: When a user of a master device makes an instruction to load song data, the master device starts file transfer of the song data. Each slave device when receiving a notice of "load start" enters a reception mode and stops receiving operation input by a user. Then each slave device when completing reception of all the song data transmits notice of "load OK" to the master device. After waiting for all notices of "load OK" to be delivered, the master device instructs the respective slave devices to time sound generation and then start reproducing the song data. The master device and the respective slave devices restart accepting user's input while timing sound generation and reproducing the sound data.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic music system that performs a music session between at least two electronic music devices connected via a communication network, a master device and a slave device that constitute the electronic music system, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic music system that performs a music session between at least two electronic music devices connected via a communication network is known.

  As such an electronic music system, a performance operation element and a display device are provided, and a musical sound corresponding to the content operated by the performance operation element is pronounced, and the operated performance operation element is displayed on the display device. The electronic music device configured to be connected to another electronic music device configured similarly to the electronic music device with a MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) cable so that the two devices can perform synchronously There is a thing (for example, refer nonpatent literature 1). If one of the two electronic music devices connected by a MIDI cable is the master and the other is the slave, a start command and MIDI clock can be sent from the master to the slave, enabling a completely synchronized performance. It becomes.

  However, in the above-described conventional electronic music system, both electronic music devices are connected by a MIDI cable. Therefore, when both electronic music devices are so far apart that they cannot be connected by a MIDI cable, it was not possible to perform synchronized performance. Further, in the synchronized performance in the above-described conventional electronic music system, only the start, stop, tempo, etc. of the automatic performance data stored in each electronic music device are synchronized, and the performance content of one electronic music device itself is the other. It was not reflected in the electronic music device, and was not interesting.

  In order to deal with this problem, the applicant of the present application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-293528) can hold an interesting music session with another electronic music device located at a distant position. Proposed electronic music system. Specifically, four electronic music devices and one server are connected via the Internet, one block common to each electronic music device is selected, and electronic music is composed of a plurality of layers constituting the block. A network session between electronic music devices is performed by exchanging performance operations (corresponding to on / off data) performed by the user with respect to the layer selected by each user for each device. Like to do.

  In this electronic music system, the initialization process at the start of the net session clears all the pronunciation points in the layers selected in each electronic music device, and starts playing from a clean state. However, as a modified example, song data created in advance (consisting of a plurality of blocks, each block consisting of a plurality of layers) is distributed to each electronic music device, and each electronic music device uses this song data. It is described that a net session may be performed while playing back.

TENORI-ON (registered trademark) instruction manual, 2007, Yamaha Corporation (pages 7-8)

  However, in the electronic music system in the above-mentioned previous application, when each electronic music device introduces song data (including a session file), if any electronic music device performs a performance operation, Depending on the performance operation, there may be a discrepancy between the result reflected in the song data of the electronic music device and the result reflected in the song data of the other electronic music device. I do not see it as a problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to this point, and even when a performance operation is performed on any of the electronic music apparatuses while each electronic music apparatus is introducing a session file, An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic music system capable of preventing data inconsistency between session files of a music device, a master device and a slave device constituting the electronic music system, and a program. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic music system according to claim 1 is an electronic music system for conducting a music session between at least two electronic music devices connected via a communication network, wherein the at least two electronic music systems are connected to each other. One of the electronic music devices is a master device, and the rest is a slave device. The master device includes an operator including at least a performance operator and a session serving as a basis for a new music session during the music session. A file introduction unit that introduces a file for use, a first instruction unit that instructs the slave device to introduce the same file as the session file when the file introduction unit introduces a session file; In response to the instruction from the instruction means, the slave device that has completely introduced the session file Receiving means for receiving a completion notification transmitted by the device, and when the receiving means receives the completion notification, the slave device starts reproduction of the session file whose introduction has been completed at a predetermined timing. A second instruction means for instructing, a reproduction means for starting reproduction of the session file introduced by the file introduction means at the predetermined timing, and the instruction after the instruction by the first instruction means is made. Stop means for stopping user input using the operation element until a predetermined timing, and the slave device includes an operation element including at least a performance operation element, and an instruction by the first instruction means of the master device In response to receiving the file, the file introduction means for introducing the session file, and the file introduction means When the introduction of the application file is completed, the file introduction unit transmits the completion notification to the master device and the file introduction unit at the predetermined timing instructed by the second instruction unit of the master device. Reproducing means for starting reproduction of the session file that has been introduced, and stopping means for stopping user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction by the first instruction means is received until the predetermined timing It is characterized by that.

  In order to achieve the above object, the master device according to claim 2 is an electronic music device (master device) that performs a music session with at least one electronic music device (slave device) connected via a communication network. At the time of introducing a session file by means of an operator including at least a performance operator, a file introduction means for introducing a session file as a basis for a new music session during a music session, and the file introduction means. The first instruction means for instructing the slave apparatus to introduce the same file as the session file, and the slave apparatus that has completed the introduction of the session file in response to an instruction by the first instruction means Receiving means for receiving a completion notification, and when the receiving means receives the completion notification Second instruction means for instructing the slave device to start playback of the file for the session for which the introduction has been completed at a predetermined timing, and the file introduction means introduced by itself at the predetermined timing And a playback unit that starts playback of a session file, and a stop unit that stops user input using the operation element from the time when an instruction is given by the first instruction unit to the predetermined timing. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the slave device according to claim 3 is at least one electronic music device (slave device) that performs a music session with an electronic music device (master device) connected via a communication network. When the master device introduces the session file to itself, the operator including at least the performance operator and the same file as the session file that the master device performs to the slave device are introduced. A file introduction unit that introduces the session file in response to receiving the instruction, and a transmission unit that transmits a completion notification to the master device when the introduction of the session file is completed by the file introduction unit; In response to receiving the completion notification by the transmission means, the master device Reproduction means for starting reproduction of the session file that has been introduced by the file introduction means at the predetermined timing in the instruction to start reproduction of the introduced session file at a predetermined timing, which is performed on the slave device And stop means for stopping user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction for introduction of the session file is received until the predetermined timing.

  In order to achieve the above object, the program according to claim 4 can be realized by the same technical idea as claim 2.

  In order to achieve the above object, the program according to claim 5 can be realized by a technical idea similar to that of claim 3.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the master device side introduces a session file that is the basis of a new music session during the music session, the slave device introduces the same file as the session file. When the master device receives the completion notification of the introduction of the session file transmitted from the slave device after instructing the device, the master device performs the reproduction of the session file that has been introduced to the slave device. The user input using the operation element is stopped until the predetermined timing in the instruction to start at the predetermined timing, and the slave device side also receives the instruction for introducing the session file until the predetermined timing. User input using the control is stopped, so the session file Even if there is a performance operation on any of the electronic music devices while the electronic music device is being installed, it is possible to prevent data inconsistencies between the session files of each electronic music device. It becomes.

  According to the invention described in claim 2 or 4, when a session file as a basis of a new music session is introduced during a music session, the slave device is instructed to introduce the same file as the session file. And when the master device receives the completion notification of the introduction of the session file transmitted by the slave device, the master device performs the reproduction of the session file that has been introduced to the slave device at a predetermined timing. Since the user input using the operation element is stopped until the predetermined timing in the instruction to start with, an effect similar to that of the invention according to claim 1 is obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 3 or 5, when the master device introduces the session file to itself, the master device receives an instruction to introduce the same file as the session file to the slave device. Until the predetermined timing in the instruction to start reproduction of the introduced session file at a predetermined timing, which the master device that has received the notification of completion of the introduction of the session file performs to the slave device, Since the user input using the operation element is stopped, the same effect as that of the first aspect of the invention can be obtained.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the electronic music apparatus which comprises the electronic music system which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure ((a)) which shows an example of the performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel of FIG. 1, and a figure ((b)) for demonstrating the concept of a layer and a block. It is a conceptual diagram of the music session via a communication network performed between the electronic music apparatus of FIG. 1 and another electronic music apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the control processing which each of the electronic music apparatus of FIG. 1, another electronic music apparatus, and a session other party selection server performs. 5 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of each net session process during the control process of FIG. 4. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of control processing for each layer during the net session processing of FIG. 5. It is a figure for demonstrating the specific method of pronunciation timing alignment. It is a figure for demonstrating a pronunciation point synchronization process. It is a time chart which shows an example of the control processing which the electronic music system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention performs.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic music apparatus 100 constituting an electronic music system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the electronic music apparatus 100 is used to select and set a setting operator 1 composed of a plurality of switches for inputting various information, a plurality of performance operators, various musical tone parameters, and various operation modes. A touch panel display (hereinafter referred to as a touch panel display) that displays a plurality of controls and various information and selects and sets a corresponding performance state, musical tone parameter, and operation mode by touching each displayed control and information. (Abbreviated as “touch panel”) 2, a detection circuit 3 for detecting an operation state of the setting operator 1, a detection circuit 4 for detecting a touch operation on the touch panel 2 by the user, a performance state, various musical tone parameters, and various types A GUI (graphical user interface) for selecting and setting various states and information related to music including the operation mode is displayed on the touch panel. 2 temporarily displays a display circuit 5, a CPU 6 that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 7 that stores a control program executed by the CPU 6, various table data, and the like, and performance information, various input information, and calculation results. RAM 8 to be stored, storage device 9 to store various application programs including the control program, various music data, various data, and the like, and other electronic music devices 100b to 100d and session partner selection server 200 via communication network 300. A performance obtained by reproducing performance information input using a communication interface (I / F) 10 for transmitting and receiving data and a performance operator, and any music data stored in the storage device 9 A sound source / effect circuit for converting information into musical sound signals and adding various effects to the musical sound signals 1, converts the tone signal from the tone generator and effect circuit 11 to the sound, for example, DAC (digital-to-analog converter), amplifiers is constituted by the sound system 12, such as a speaker.

  The above components 3 to 11 are connected to each other via a bus 13, a communication network 300 is connected to the communication I / F 10, and a sound system 12 is connected to the sound source / effect circuit 11.

  The storage device 9 is, for example, a storage medium such as a flexible disk (FD), a hard disk (HD), a CD-ROM, a DVD (digital versatile disc), a magneto-optical disk (MO), and a semiconductor memory, and a driving device thereof. The storage medium may be detachable from the drive device, or the storage device 9 itself may be detachable from the electronic music device 100. Alternatively, neither the storage medium nor the storage device 9 may be detachable. As described above, the storage device 9 (the storage medium) can also store the control program executed by the CPU 6. If the control program is not stored in the ROM 7, the control program is stored in the storage device 9. By reading it into the RAM 8, it is possible to cause the CPU 6 to perform the same operation as when the control program is stored in the ROM 7. In this way, control programs can be easily added and upgraded.

  As the communication I / F 10, for example, a music dedicated wired I / F that exclusively transmits and receives a music signal such as a MIDI signal, a general-purpose short-distance wired I / F such as USB (universal serial bus) and IEEE 1394, and Ethernet (registered trademark) And general-purpose network I / F such as wireless LAN (local area network) and Bluetooth (registered trademark), and communication I / F for digital telephone network. In the present embodiment, a general-purpose network I / F is employed as the communication I / F 10, the Internet is employed as the communication network 300, and communication is performed with other electronic music devices 100 b to 100 d and the session partner selection server 200 at remote locations. Assumes that

  In the present embodiment, the electronic music apparatus 100 is assumed to be a general-purpose slate PC (slate PC) or smartphone (smartphone) provided with the touch panel 2 as described above. A hardware configuration dedicated to music including a (liquid crystal display) or LED (light emitting diode) and a physical operator may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the other electronic music devices 100b to 100d perform the same operation as the operation of the electronic music device 100. Therefore, the hardware of the other electronic music devices 100b to 100d is that of the electronic music device 100. That is, it is configured similarly to the hardware of FIG. The number of other electronic music devices 100b to 100d is three in this embodiment, but it may be more or less. However, since the feature of the present invention is to perform a music session with another electronic music apparatus, at least one other electronic music apparatus needs to be connected.

  The session partner selection server 200 is a general server computer, specifically, the setting operator 1, the touch panel 2, the detection circuits 3 and 4, and the display circuit 5 from the hardware configuration of the electronic music apparatus 100 shown in FIG. Instead of a keyboard, a mouse and a large display. However, the CPU, ROM, RAM, and storage device of the session partner selection server 200 are significantly different in capacity and capacity compared to the CPU 6, ROM 7, RAM 8, and storage device 9 of the electronic music device 100.

  Note that the session partner selection server 200 is configured as a single device in the present embodiment, but is not limited thereto, and may be appropriately configured in a distributed configuration or a cloud configuration.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of the performance operator screen 2a displayed on the touch panel 2. As shown in FIG. 2A, the performance operator screen 2a includes a plurality of display devices. There are provided a first display area 2a1 for displaying a performance operator and a second display area 2a2 for displaying a plurality of setting / control operators and the current setting / control state.

  In the first display area 2a1, 16 circular buttons × 16 horizontal pixels = total 256 circular buttons are arranged and displayed as a display and performance operator in a matrix. In the vertical direction (Y), pitch is assigned (the pitch increases as the number increases), and in the horizontal direction (X), time (the time advances as the number increases). Assigned. The numbers “01” to “16” attached in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are for convenience of explanation and are not actually attached. In addition, since the circular button is similar to an LED button which is a physical operation element (therefore, each display / performance operation element may be configured with this physical LED button), Hereinafter, the displayed circular buttons are also referred to as “LED buttons”.

  Each LED button can be displayed in a plurality of display forms, for example, with different colors and brightnesses. In the illustrated example, the difference in display form (for example, color) is expressed by the difference in the shaded pattern.

  The electronic music apparatus 100 has six performance modes that differ in the operation method of each LED button and the manner of sounding / light emission, specifically, a score mode, a random mode, a draw mode, and a bounce mode. (Bounce) mode, Push (Push) mode and Solo (Solo) mode.

  The score mode is the most basic mode among the six performance modes. After setting the pronunciation point on the LED button so that a note is written in one measure of the score, the loop indicator described later is changed from left to right. It is a mode that repeats sound by moving while looping.

  In the random mode, when a plurality of sound generation points are set on the LED button, sound generation / light emission is repeated between the LED buttons to which the sound generation points are set.

  The draw mode is a mode in which the operation of tracing the LED button is stored for a certain period of time and the sound generation / light emission is repeatedly reproduced as stored.

  The bounce mode is a mode in which light is emitted each time the light hits the bottom so that the light falls from the position of the LED button that is turned on and the ball bounces.

  In the push mode, when the LED button is held down, a ring of light gradually spreads around the pressed LED button, and the sound also changes.

  The solo mode is a mode in which sound is repeatedly generated while the LED button is pressed, and the sound is stopped when released.

  Of these six types of performance modes, the most basic score mode is taken as an example to describe a method for setting a sounding point, a sounding method, a light emitting method, and the like.

  When an arbitrary LED button is pressed for a short time and then released (hereinafter referred to as “short press”), a tone having a pitch assigned to the LED button is generated. At the same time, the display mode of the LED button becomes the first display mode (for example, shines in the first color), and the first display mode propagates to the surrounding LED buttons so that ripples spread. At this time, the propagated LED button of the display mode is not sounded. And a 1st display mode returns to the original state (light extinction state) immediately.

  When an arbitrary LED button is pressed for a long time and released (hereinafter referred to as “long press”), a sounding point is set to the LED button, and the display mode becomes the first display mode. When the LED button set as the pronunciation point is pressed and held again, the setting of the pronunciation point is canceled and the display mode is restored. The pronunciation point may be set before the performance starts, but can be set / released in real time during the performance.

  The loop indicator is composed of a plurality of LED buttons displayed in a second display mode (for example, shines in the second color). On the performance operator screen 2a in FIG. 2A, (01, 01), (01 , 06), (01, 11), (01, 16) (however, parentheses indicate (horizontal direction number, vertical direction number)). When the automatic performance starts, the loop indicator is in the initial position, that is, (01, *) (where “*” means any integer value from “01” to “16”, so (01, *) , Starting from the top (the leftmost column)) and moving to the right according to a predetermined tempo. When the row including the loop indicator overlaps the LED button to which the sound generation point is set, a sound having a pitch assigned to the LED button is generated. At this time, the first display mode of the LED button may be temporarily changed to another display mode (for example, flashing brightly for a moment). When the loop indicator reaches the end (rightmost end) of the movable range, the loop indicator returns to the initial position, and the movement in the right direction is repeated again from that position. In this way, the loop indicator passes through the sound points set in advance or during automatic performance, so that the automatic performance is performed, and the desired LED button is pressed in real time according to the automatic performance. Performing is a typical performance form in the score mode.

  Note that the performance modes are not limited to the six types illustrated, and may be more or less than the six types.

  In the second display area 2a2, as described above, a plurality of setting / control operators and the current setting / control state are displayed. Setting / control operators include, for example, automatic performance start / stop buttons, mode switching buttons, layer switching buttons, block switching buttons, and other operations for making various settings such as tempo, tone, octave, volume, and gate time. There is a child (not only a button shape but also a slider shape or a dial shape). These operators are not displayed all at once, but necessary ones are selected and displayed according to the selection of the operation mode.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining the concept of layers and blocks.

  A layer is one performance series, and a specific image is a multitrack recorder capable of recording and reproducing one “performance part” or performance data of a plurality of parts in a music composed of a plurality of real-time performance parts. One “recording track” can be mentioned. The display state of the 16 × 16 LED buttons displayed in the first display area 2a1 of the performance operator screen 2a is displayed based on a certain layer. The electronic music apparatus 100 can automatically perform a plurality of layers (in this embodiment, 16 layers) simultaneously, and automatically perform the performance by changing the tone, volume and performance mode for each layer. can do. Thereby, various performances can be expressed.

  A block is a set of layers that can be played simultaneously. In this embodiment, a layer can be played with a maximum of 16 layers as described above, so one block is composed of a maximum of 16 layers. Is done. The electronic music apparatus 100 can register a plurality (16 in the present embodiment) of blocks on the RAM 8 and perform a complicated progress by playing each block while switching the blocks one after another. Can do.

  A control process executed by the electronic music apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described first with reference to FIG. 3 and then in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a music session (hereinafter referred to as “net session”) that is performed between the electronic music apparatus 100 and another electronic music apparatus via the communication network 300.

  Now, it is assumed that the electronic music apparatus 100 is connected to the other three electronic music apparatuses via the communication network 300 and performs a net session. The four electronic music devices participating in the net session are hereinafter referred to as electronic music devices A100a to D100d, and the electronic music device 100 corresponds to the electronic music device A100a. Of the electronic music devices A100a to D100d participating in the net session, any one of them becomes an invitation device (“Inviter”), and the remaining three devices become invitees (“Invite”). For example, the electronic music device that first requested that a net session be desired may be used as the invitation device. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an electronic music device A 100a (electronic music device 100) is an invitation device. When a user (hereinafter simply referred to as “user” is referred to as a user of the electronic music apparatus A 100a) instructs the electronic music apparatus A 100a of the invitation apparatus to start a net session, the other electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d Net session with will start.

  Each electronic music apparatus A100a to D100d can select and play an arbitrary layer (however, only one block common to each electronic music apparatus A100a to D100d can be selected). FIG. 3 shows an example in which the electronic music apparatus A 100a selects layer 01, the electronic music apparatus B 100b selects layer 05, the electronic music apparatus C 100c selects layer 02, and the electronic music apparatus D 100d selects layer 06. When a certain LED button is pressed in a certain electronic music device (any one of the electronic music devices A100a to D100d, but for convenience of explanation, the electronic music device A100a), the operation information is The same sound as the sound generated by the electronic music apparatus A100a is transmitted to the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d in real time (of course, a slight communication delay occurs) and is also generated by the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d. . If the same layer is selected in the electronic music apparatus A100a and the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d, the display states in both apparatuses are the same. Further, in each of the electronic music devices A100a to D100d, the volume and tone color, the block being played, the tempo, etc. can be changed, but such change information is also transmitted from one electronic music device to another electronic music device, The same operation state after the change is maintained over all the electronic music apparatuses A100a to D100d.

In the present embodiment, the electronic music apparatuses A100a to D100d can perform such a net session without any problem.
(1) Processing for matching sound generation timing (hereinafter referred to as “sound generation timing alignment”)
(2) On / off state inconsistency elimination processing of sounding points (hereinafter referred to as “sounding point synchronization processing”)
It is characterized by performing.

  As described above, when the user instructs the electronic music device A100a of the invitation device to start a net session, a start command is transmitted from the electronic music device A100a to the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d, and the electronic music device A100a. And other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d start a net session. At this time, simply transmitting the start command to the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d causes a communication delay that occurs until the start command reaches the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d from the electronic music device A100a. There is a difference in the start time of the net session between the electronic music apparatus A100a and the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d. In order to deal with this problem, the above (1) sound generation timing alignment is performed.

  When the same layer is selected between the electronic music apparatus A100a and the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d and the LED button is displayed based on this layer, the user of each electronic music apparatus However, if the operation to change the on / off state of the sounding point is performed at the same time on the same LED button, the on / off state of the sounding point may differ between the electronic music devices (this specific example Will be described later in detail of the control process). In order to deal with this problem, the above (2) sound generation point synchronization processing is performed.

  Next, this control process will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of control processing executed by the electronic music apparatus A 100a, the other electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d, and the session partner selection server 200. In addition, although the process of each step which comprises each control process is actually performed by each CPU of electronic music apparatus A100a, other electronic music apparatus B100b-D100d, and session other party selection server 200, in the following description, The execution subject is assumed to be each of the devices A100a to D100d and 200, and the CPU is not explicitly indicated. In FIG. 4, the electronic music apparatus A 100 a serves as an invitation apparatus (“Inviter”) and host, but “host” means that it leads the (2) pronunciation point synchronization process. . Details of the process led as “host” will be described in (2) Sound generation point synchronization process. In addition, only one control process is described that is executed by the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d, because the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d execute the same control process.

  First, when a user displays a login screen (not shown) on the touch panel 2 of the electronic music apparatus A100a and touches, for example, a “login” button in the login screen, the electronic music apparatus A100a stores the ROM 7 (or storage). The server name (or IP address) of the server 200 stored in the device 9) is read, the server 200 is accessed based on the read server name, and login information is transmitted to the server 200 (step S101). The login information includes, for example, a login ID (identification) and a login password. The server 200 receives the login information and performs an authentication procedure based on the received login information (step S201). As a result, when the authentication procedure is completed, the electronic music apparatus A 100 a enters a login state to the server 200 and displays a login screen (not shown) on the touch panel 2.

  Next, when the user touches, for example, a “net session offer” button on the login screen, the electronic music device A 100a transmits a net session offer (information indicating) to the server 200 (step S102). The server 200 accepts this net session offer (step S202) and waits for the next instruction from the electronic music apparatus A 100a.

  Next, when the user touches, for example, a “select net session partner” button on the login screen, the electronic music device A 100a requests the server 200 to select a net session partner (step S103). At this time, the user can request to select a net session partner with or without nomination. When nominating a net session partner and making a selection request, if the user knows the nomination partner, the user can be nominated (specifically) and requested to be selected. A possible partner (list) may be acquired from the server 200, and one of them may be designated and requested for selection. On the other hand, even when entrusting the selection to the server 200 without designating a net session partner, it may be possible to specify the number, nationality, place of residence, etc. of the partner, without specifying any of these conditions, You may make it leave the selection of the other party to the server 200 completely.

  In response to a selection request from the electronic music apparatus A 100a, the server 200 automatically selects a net session partner or selects a designated partner, and selects the electronic music apparatus of the selected partner (in this embodiment, the electronic music apparatus). B100b to D100d) are sent invitation notices (step S203). Here, it is needless to say that “automatic selection” is selected from another electronic music apparatus logged in the server 200 (step S301). As described above, the number of persons, nationality, place of residence, etc. are designated. If so, the partner that matches the specified condition is selected.

  The electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d receive the invitation notification from the server 200, and inquire the user (in this case, each user of the electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d) whether or not they participate in the net session (step S302). When the user instructs “participation” to the electronic music devices B100b to D100d, the electronic music devices B100b to D100d reply that they will participate in the server 200 (step S303).

  When the server 200 receives an answer indicating participation from the electronic music devices B100b to D100d, the server 200 notifies each electronic music device of the IP address and communication port of each electronic music device (step S204). Specifically, the electronic music apparatus A 100a is notified of the IP addresses and communication ports of the electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d, and the electronic music apparatus B 100b to D100d is notified of the IP address and communication port of the electronic music apparatus A 100a.

  The electronic music apparatus A 100a receives each IP address and each communication port of the electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d from the server 200, stores them in a predetermined area of the RAM 8, and then enters a net session standby state (step S104). Here, the net session standby state includes setting each received IP address and each communication port in the communication I / F 10 so as to be ready for a net session with the electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d. Each of the electronic music devices B100b to D100d also performs the same processing as the above processing of the electronic music device A100a (step S304).

  Next, the electronic music apparatus A100a displays a performance operator screen on the touch panel 2 (step S105). The performance operator screen displayed at this time is based on the currently selected block and layer, and an example thereof is the performance operator screen 2a shown in FIG. The reason why the processing frame in step S105 (also in step S306 described later) is drawn with a broken line is that this processing may be omitted. That is, as described above, the performance operator can be constituted by a physical operator instead of an image, and in this case, the process of step S105 is not necessary.

  Next, when the user touches, for example, a “net session start” button in the performance operator screen, the electronic music apparatus A 100a performs initialization processing and sound generation timing alignment (step S106). The initialization processing includes all sound generation point clear processing, loop indicator position reset processing, timer (for example, built in the CPU 6) reset / start processing, and RAM 8 clear processing. The sound generation timing alignment is the above (1) sound generation timing alignment.

  In general, the magnitude of communication delay (delay time) between the electronic music apparatuses A100a to D100d varies from apparatus to apparatus. Also, between the same devices, for example, between the electronic music device A 100a and the electronic music device B 100b, the magnitude of communication delay fluctuates due to various factors and is constantly changing. Furthermore, even at the time managed by each of the electronic music devices A100a to D100d, even if each timer is reset / started, or even if the timer is reset / started at the same timing, Deviation occurs. However, in one round-trip communication, the delay time is substantially the same for the forward path and the backward path (the difference is negligible). Therefore, the sound generation timing can be adjusted by assuming that the delay times of the forward path and the backward path are the same.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a specific method of sound generation timing alignment. Hereinafter, sound generation timing alignment will be described with reference to FIG. The sound generation timing alignment is performed for all of the electronic music devices A100a to B100b to D100d, but the processing content is the same for all of the electronic music devices B100b to D100d. The electronic music device B100b is selected as a representative of the music devices B100b to D100d, and only “sound generation timing alignment” performed between the electronic music device A100a and the electronic music device B100b will be described.

First, the electronic music apparatus A100a transmits a current time request command to the electronic music apparatus B100b. This transmission time is stored as a time Ta1 in a time storage area (not shown) secured at a predetermined position in the RAM 8. Receiving the current time request command, the electronic music device B 100b returns the current time (referred to as time Tb) measured by the clock function in the own device to the electronic music device A 100a. The time Tb may be the time when the current time request command is received or the time when the current time is returned to the electronic music apparatus A 100a. If the processing speed of the CPU of the electronic music apparatus B100b is sufficiently high, both times can be regarded as substantially the same. When the electronic music device A 100a receives the time Tb returned from the electronic music device B 100b, the electronic music device A 100a measures the time using the clock function in the own device. The time is stored as time Ta2 in the time storage area. Further, the time Tb is also stored in the time storage area. From these times Ta1 and Ta2,
One-way delay time = (Ta2-Ta1) / 2
Is calculated.

At the time Ta3 advanced from the time Ta2, the electronic music apparatus A100a determines to align the sound generation timing at the time when the time Td has elapsed from the time Ta3, and actually adjusts the sound generation timing at that time (set the reference time for automatic performance) )I do. This time Td is larger than the one-way delay time. The electronic music apparatus A100a is different from the electronic music apparatus B100b.
Tb + Td + (Ta3-Ta1)-(Ta2-Ta1) / 2
Or Tb + Td + (Ta3-Ta2) + (Ta2-Ta1) / 2
A sound generation timing alignment instruction command for instructing the sound generation timing to be aligned at this time is transmitted. The electronic music apparatus B 100b that has received the pronunciation timing alignment instruction command performs pronunciation timing alignment (automatic performance reference time setting) at the instructed time.

  In this way, the factors for determining the time for arranging the sound generation timing are related to the communication delay so that only the communication delay at the time of measuring the one-way delay time is determined, and further, the time for adjusting the sound generation timing is determined. The reference time (starting point) is matched between the electronic music apparatus A 100a side (time Ta1 + (Ta2-Ta1) / 2) and the electronic music apparatus B 100b side (time Tb). Even if it differs from the communication delay at the time of measuring the one-way delay time, the sound generation timings of the electronic music apparatus A 100a and the electronic music apparatus B 100b are exactly the same.

  Returning to FIG. 4, next, the electronic music apparatus A 100a executes a net session process (step S107). In the net session process, information related to various operations performed by the user on the electronic music apparatus A100a is transmitted to the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d and reflected, thereby reflecting the electronic music apparatus A100a and the other electronic music apparatus B100b. A network session is realized with D100d. On the other hand, information related to various operations performed on the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d is also transmitted from the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d to the electronic music device A100a and reflected. That is, information regarding various operations is transmitted and received bidirectionally between the electronic music device A 100a and the other electronic music devices B 100b to D100d. Therefore, a net session process is also provided and executed on the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d (step S307).

  The net session process is repeatedly executed until the user instructs the end of the net session (steps S107 → S108 → S107). When the user instructs the end of the net session, the electronic music device A 100a executes the end process (step S109), and then ends the control process. The termination process includes a logoff process from the server 200. Details of this logoff process are omitted. The other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d are provided with the same processes as the processes of steps S108 and S109 on the electronic music apparatus A100a side and executed (steps S308 and S309).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of each net session process in steps S107 and S307.

  First, the electronic music apparatus A100a receives LED button on / off data from other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d and stores them in an on / off data storage area (not shown) secured at a predetermined position in the RAM 8 (see FIG. Step S111). The LED button on / off data has a format of (Layer, X, Y, ON / OFF). “Layer” indicates a layer number (any one of “01” to “16”) used when displaying the LED button, and “X” indicates a horizontal number of the LED button (“01”). "Y" indicates the vertical number of the LED button (any of "01" to "16"), and "ON / OFF" indicates the LED button Indicates whether it is on or off. When the received on / off data is stored in the on / off data storage area, the reception time is also stored along with the on / off data. The stored reception time is used when determining whether the LED button has been pressed for a short time or for a long time, as will be described later. In addition, when the process proceeds to step S111, there may naturally be a case where the LED button on / off data is not transmitted from the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d. In this case, the process of step S111 is as follows. The process is skipped and the process proceeds to the next step S112 (this is the same for the following processes of steps S112 to S120 (except for the process of step S113)).

  Next, the electronic music apparatus A 100 a detects the on / off operation of each LED button from the touch panel 2, generates on / off operation information based on the detected on / off operation, and stores the on / off operation information in the RAM 8. The information is stored in an on / off operation information storage area (not shown) secured at a predetermined position (step S112). Here, the on / off operation information is a format (X, Y, ON / OFF, and ON / OFF operation time) in which the on / off operation time (on / off operation time) is added, excluding “Layer” from the on / off data. T) (where “T” is the on / off operation time). In addition, you may make it take the format which added the on / off operation time simply, without removing "Layer".

  Next, the electronic music apparatus A 100a executes a control process for each layer (step S113).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of control processing for each layer.

The control processing for each layer is as follows:
(11) A variable N taking an integer value is set to an initial value “1” (step S131);
(12) A performance operator screen of any of the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d is displayed based on the layer N, and any LED button in the performance operator screen is turned on / off. Whether or not (step S132);
(12a) If the determination result is “YES”: execute a first reflection process for reflecting the on / off operation to the sound generation and sound point setting of the electronic music apparatus A 100a (step S133);
(12b) When the determination result is “NO”: Skip the first reflection process;
(13) It is determined whether or not the layer N is selected in the electronic music apparatus A 100a, that is, whether or not the performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel 2 is based on the layer N (step S134);
(13a) If the determination result is “YES”: Proceed to the determination of (14);
(13b) If the determination result is “NO”: Proceed to the determination of (16);
(14) It is determined whether or not any LED button in the performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel 2 is turned on / off (step S135);
(14a) If the determination result is “YES”: execute a second reflection process for reflecting the on / off operation on the sound generation and sound point setting of the electronic music apparatus A 100a (step S136);
(14b) When the determination result is “NO”: Skip the second reflection process;
(15) On / off operation in (12a) (on / off operation for any of other electronic music devices B100b to D100d) and on / off operation in (14a) (on / off operation for own electronic music device A100a) Off-operation) is reflected on the display mode of the corresponding LED button in the performance operator sub-screen (based on layer N) displayed on the touch panel 2 (step S137);
(16) It is determined whether or not the variable N is the maximum number of layers registered in the selected block (step S138);
(16a) When the determination result is “YES”: The control process for each layer is terminated;
(16b) If the determination result is “NO”: The variable N is incremented by “1” and the attention layer is advanced to the next layer (step S139). 12) to (16) are repeated;
It is configured by the process.

  In the determination of (12), in practice, it is first determined whether or not one or more LED button ON / OFF data is stored in the ON / OFF data storage area. If more than one is stored, it is next determined whether the ON / OFF data is for layer N or not. When the on / off data of the LED button is stored in the on / off data storage area, any one of the other electronic music devices B100b to D100d is at that time (that is, the on / off data is generated). This is a case where any one of the LED buttons in the performance operator screen displayed based on the selected layer is turned on / off. Then, the number of the layer selected at that time can be known by checking the layer number included in the on / off data.

  In the first reflection process in (12a), the electronic music apparatus A 100a performs a sound generation process and a sound generation point setting process based on the received on / off data of the LED button according to the performance mode set for the layer N. Execute (Step S133). The sound generation process and the sound generation point setting process are performed in the above (14a) when the user short-presses or long-presses any one of the LED buttons in the performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel 2 of the electronic music apparatus A100a. The LED button ON / OFF data (ON) transmitted from any one or more of the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d is processed in the same manner as the sound generation process and sound generation point setting process performed in the second reflection process. / Off operation). Therefore, before or during the first reflection process, it is determined whether the on / off data corresponds to “short press” or “long press”. There is a need. It is assumed that the on / off data is indicated by (N, X1, Y1, ON / OFF), for example. As described above, since the reception time is attached to any on / off data, the on / off data is “short pressed” or “long pressed” based on the reception time as follows. It is possible to determine which corresponds to “.” That is, the time interval I (= t2−t1) between the reception time t1 of (N, X1, Y1, ON) and the reception time t2 of (N, X1, Y1, OFF) is calculated, and the time interval I <predetermined If it is a threshold, it is determined as “short press”, and if time interval I ≧ a predetermined threshold, it is determined as “long press”. If it is determined whether it is “short press” or “long press”, the processing contents of the sound generation process and the sound generation point setting process are uniquely determined according to the determination result and the performance mode of layer N. The processing content is executed.

  For example, in a state where the “score mode” is set as the performance mode of the layer N, when it is determined that the on / off data corresponds to “short press”, the position ( The pitches assigned to the LED buttons X1 and Y1) are generated with the tone color set in the layer N. In the case of “short press”, the pronunciation point is not set. In this case, the pronunciation point setting process is not performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the on / off data corresponds to “long press” in the state where the “score mode” is set, the tone of the pitch assigned to the LED button is Since it is not pronounced, no pronunciation process is performed. However, a sounding point is set at the position (X1, Y1) of the LED button of layer N by the sounding point setting process.

  In the determination of (14), it is actually determined whether or not one or more LED button ON / OFF operation information is stored in the ON / OFF operation information storage area. When LED button on / off operation information is stored in the on / off operation information storage area, a performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel 2 (displayed based on the currently selected layer) This is because it is limited to the case where any one of the LED buttons is turned on / off. When the currently selected layer is layer N, the determination of (14) is made, and at this determination, one or more on / off operation information is stored in the on / off operation information storage area. If so, the on / off operation information is nothing but the information generated and stored when the user turns on / off any LED button on the touch panel 2.

  In the second reflection process in (14a), the electronic music apparatus A 100a turns on the LED button detected (stored in the on / off operation information storage area) according to the performance mode set for the layer N. The sound generation process and the sound generation point setting process based on the off operation information are executed (step S136). The on / off operation information used in the second reflection process includes no layer number and on / off operation time with respect to the on / off data used in the first reflection process. However, the second reflection process can be easily realized by applying the first reflection process by analogy, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the third reflection process of (15), as described above, the on / off operation of the LED button received and / or detected is displayed on the LED operation button on the performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel 2. Although the third reflection process is not included in the first reflection process and is performed independently, the layer N is not reflected in the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d. When any LED button of the electronic music apparatus B100b is “short-pressed” when it is selected in any one (for example, the electronic music apparatus B100b) but not selected in the electronic music apparatus A100a Although the pitch sound assigned to the LED button in layer N is generated, the performance operator screen displayed on the touch panel 2 is defined as layer N. Since is based since the layer, the display mode of the corresponding LED button for the performance operator screen is because not changed.

  Returning to FIG. 5, the electronic music apparatus A100a transmits the detected on / off data of the LED button to the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d (step S114). When the on / off operation of the LED button is detected, the on / off operation information in the format (X, Y, ON / OFF, T) is stored in the on / off operation information storage area as described above. Therefore, in step S114, the electronic music apparatus A 100a converts this format into an on / off data format (Layer, X, Y, ON / OFF) and transmits it to the other electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d. However, the number of the layer currently selected in the electronic music apparatus A 100a is input to “Layer”. When a format including “Layer” is used as the on / off operation information, “T” is only excluded from (Layer, X, Y, ON / OFF, T).

  Next, the electronic music apparatus A100a executes the sound generation point synchronization process (steps S115 and S116).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the sound generation point synchronization processing. In the figure, the electronic music apparatus A 100a and the electronic music apparatus B 100b (represented as representatives of the other electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d are not limited to the electronic music apparatus B 100b, and the electronic music apparatus C 100c and the electronic music apparatus D 100d are also illustrated. When the same layer is selected and the same performance control screen is displayed based on this layer, the user of each electronic music device turns on the pronunciation point for the same LED button. When the operation for changing the / off state is performed substantially simultaneously, the case where the on / off state of the pronunciation point differs between the electronic music devices is illustrated.

  When a certain LED button is turned on in the electronic music apparatus A100a (state C1), the state C1 reaches the electronic music apparatus B100b after the communication delay time (usually about several tens of ms) has elapsed (state). C1 ′). Actually, not the state C1, but the on / off data of the LED button reaches the electronic music device B 100b from the electronic music device A 100a. In order to simplify the description, the state Ck (k It is assumed that (integer value) is transmitted and received between the two electronic music devices. After the state C1, the sounding point is set because the LED button is pressed for the predetermined threshold value (long press determination time) or longer (state C5; “◎” in the figure indicates a state where the sounding point is set) Is shown).

  In the electronic music apparatus B100b, the process of determining whether it is “short press” or “long press” starts from the time when the state C1 ′ is reached. During this determination process, the LED button is less than the long press determination time. Are turned on and off (states C2 and C3), the states C2 and C3 reach the electronic music apparatus A100a after the communication delay time has elapsed (states C2 'and C3'). At this time, if the time from the state C1 ′ to the state C2 is less than the long press determination time, the sounding point is not set.

  In the electronic music apparatus A100a, when the LED button is turned off (state C4) before the state C2 ′ (on operation) is entered, the state C4 reaches the electronic music apparatus B100b after the communication delay time has elapsed. (State C4 ′).

  In this way, when the ON operation and the OFF operation for the same LED button occur at substantially the same time on different electronic music devices, there may occur a situation in which the sounding point setting state differs (in the illustrated example, the sounding for the LED button is different). The point is in the set state in the electronic music apparatus A100a, but is not set in the electronic music apparatus B100b).

  In order to cope with this problem, in this embodiment, one of a plurality of electronic music devices (in this embodiment, electronic music devices A100a to D100d) performing a net session (in this embodiment, in this embodiment). The electronic music apparatus A100a) is the host, and any one of the LED buttons in the performance operator screen displayed on the host is turned on / off by any user among all the electronic music apparatuses including the host. When an operation is performed, an on / off operation log for the LED button (the format is, for example, (Layer, X, Y, current time)) is taken, and a log storage area secured at a predetermined position in the RAM 8 ( If there is a log that has been stored for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second) since it was saved (step S115), its position (Layer, X The current on / off state of the LED button Y) is checked and transmitted to an electronic music device other than the host (in this embodiment, the electronic music devices B100b to D100d), and then the log is deleted (step S116). I am doing so.

  Specifically, in FIG. 8, the current on / off state of the LED button is checked when a predetermined time Tα has elapsed since the log of the state C1 is stored. At this time, since the sound generation point is set for the LED button as described above, information indicating that the sound generation point is set is transmitted to the electronic music apparatus B100b (state C1 ″). The device B 100b reflects this state C1 ″ on its own LED button (step S315). Thereby, the on / off states of the LED buttons are the same between the two electronic music devices. Similarly, when the logs of the states C4, C2 ′ and C3 ′ are stored for a predetermined time Tα, the current on / off state of the LED button is checked, and the on / off state is determined as the electronic music apparatus B100b. Sent to. However, in this case, since the on / off state continues the same state (state in which the sound generation point is set), there is no need to dare to notify the electronic music apparatus B 100b of the on / off state. Only the state C1 ″ may be transmitted, and the states C4 ″, C2 ′ ″ and C3 ′ ″ may not be transmitted.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when an on / off operation is performed on the LED button of the host, the log is taken, and then the on / off state of the LED button corresponding to the log is changed to electronic music other than the host. Since each electronic music device reflects the received on / off state on its own LED button in response to this, all the electronic music devices including the host have a time lag. The on / off state of each LED button can be set to the same state.

  In the present embodiment, the same electronic music device (electronic music device A 100a) is in charge of the host and the invitation device ("Inviter"). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the host and the invitation device are separate electronic music devices. May be in charge.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when the user sets various parameters on the electronic music apparatus A100a, the setting state is transmitted from the electronic music apparatus A100a to the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d. Conversely, when various parameters are set in any of the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d, the setting state is transmitted from the other electronic music apparatus to the electronic music apparatus A100a. The A 100a receives this and reflects it in the various parameter settings of its own device (step S117). Similarly, when the block is changed from the currently selected block to another block, the block number after the change is similarly transmitted from the electronic music apparatus A100a to the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d. Conversely, if the block is changed in any of the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d, the changed block number is transmitted from the other electronic music apparatus to the electronic music apparatus A100a. The device A 100a receives this and reflects it in the block change of the own device (step S119). Thereby, the performance of the same block is performed in all the electronic music apparatuses in the net session. However, even if another layer is selected, the change is reflected only in the electronic music apparatus A 100a and is not transmitted to the other electronic music apparatuses B 100b to D100d (step S118). This is because each electronic music device can play different layers. Similarly, even if other settings are made, the setting state is not transmitted to the other electronic music apparatuses B100b to D100d (step S120).

  The above is a description of the net session process on the electronic music apparatus A 100a side. Steps S311 to S111 corresponding to the processes of steps S111 to S114 and S117 to S120, respectively, included in the net session process on the electronic music apparatus A 100a side. Each process of S314 and S317 to S320 is included in the net session process on the other electronic music apparatus B100b to D100d side. The processes in steps S311 to S314 and S317 to S320 can be easily realized by applying the corresponding processes in steps S111 to S114 and S117 to S120 by analogy, and thus description of each process will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the (1) sound generation timing alignment is performed only once before starting the net session, but in addition, it may be performed at an arbitrary timing during the net session. Good.

  In the present embodiment, the electronic music apparatuses A100a to D100d are premised on those capable of performing a net session, and in addition to this, no mention is made as to whether or not a solo performance is possible. But you can.

  Further, in the present embodiment, all of the pronunciation points in the selected layer are cleared by the initialization process (see steps S106 and S306 in FIG. 4) when starting the net session, and the performance starts from a clean state. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Song data created in advance (consisting of a plurality of blocks, each block consisting of a plurality of layers) is distributed to each of the electronic music apparatuses A100a to D100d, and each electronic music apparatus A100a is distributed. A net session may be performed while reproducing this song data at D100d. In addition, performance data created in a net session may be saved as song data.

  The (1) sound generation timing alignment and (2) sound generation point synchronization processing are generated by operating each of a plurality of LED buttons arranged in a matrix, such as the electronic music devices A100a to D100d. The present invention is not limited to a so-called “matrix sequencer” that enjoys light and display (display), and can be applied to any performance form as long as it performs synchronized performance with a plurality of electronic music devices.

  In addition, the matrix sequencer can play back multiple layers at the same time, and is not limited to the one that can be played while arbitrarily switching multiple blocks consisting of multiple layers. Although it has the concept of layers and can reproduce a plurality of layers simultaneously, it may not have the concept of blocks and can reproduce only a single block.

  In the present embodiment, each of the electronic music devices A100a to D100d uses the sound source / effect circuit 11, particularly the sound source circuit, in response to an operation on a performance operator including an LED button or a loop indicator overlapping a set sounding point. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and audio waveform data prepared in advance may be read out and the corresponding sound may be generated based on this. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the tone generator circuit is configured by hardware. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the tone generator circuit may be configured by a software tone generator that generates a musical sound waveform using the CPU 6. Furthermore, the sound source / effect circuit 11 may be omitted, and a sound generation / mute command may be supplied to an external sound source device so that a corresponding sound is generated from the external sound source.

  In the (2) sound generation point synchronization process, one of the plurality of electronic music devices performs log management and synchronization instruction (inconsistency resolution instruction) to other devices. A device that is not involved in the operation may receive operation data from each electronic music device and log the operation data, and may also issue an inconsistency resolution instruction to each electronic music device.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the operation log takes the format of (Layer, X, Y, current time), records the position of the layer, the LED button, and the time. When the time has elapsed, the latest on / off state of the LED button for the layer and position is transmitted to the other device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation content (on / off) is recorded as a log. Instead of the latest on / off state, the recorded operation content may be transmitted to the apparatus.

  Regarding the display of the LED button based on the ON / OFF data of the LED button received from another device, in the present embodiment, the layer number included in the ON / OFF data corresponds to the number of the currently selected layer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the display mode may be changed even if both layer numbers do not match. However, if the display mode of the LED button set as the pronunciation point is changed in the same way for multiple layers, the display will be messy, and it will not be clear which is the display for the currently selected layer. End up. Therefore, it is desirable to make the display mode different between the display for the currently selected layer and the display for the layer not currently selected. For example, the display of a layer that is not currently selected is reduced in brightness, the display mode of only the LED button related to pronunciation according to real-time performance is changed, and the display mode of the LED button related to pronunciation point setting is not changed. Conceivable.

  Moreover, you may make it differ the display mode of the LED button based on operation of an own machine, and the display mode of the LED button based on the ON / OFF data of the LED button received from another apparatus. For example, the device ID is included in the on / off data so that the on / off data of the LED button transmitted from which device can be identified. Depending on the display mode (for example, different colors) may be displayed. The display mode for each device ID may be set on the device side that transmits LED button on / off data, or may be set on the device side that receives the LED button. When setting is performed on the transmitting device side, the display mode setting information is transmitted to another device.

  In the present embodiment, among a plurality of electronic music devices, one device that firstly requests that a net session is desired is an invitation device (“Invite”), and all other devices are invited devices (“Invite”). In other words, each device is always determined to be either an invitee device or an invitee device, but this is not restrictive, and each device is invited only when a net session partner is designated from a certain device. When the server 200 automatically determines a network session partner when the server 200 is determined as either the device or the invited device, all the devices operate as the invited device without being distinguished from the invited device. It may be.

  In the present embodiment, the LED button on / off data is in the format (Layer, X, Y, ON / OFF), and whether the on / off data corresponds to “short press”. The determination of whether or not it corresponds to “long press” is performed by the device on the on / off data receiving side. However, the determination is not limited to this, and the determination is performed by the device on the on / off data transmitting side. Then, the determination result, that is, “pressed state information” indicating whether it is “short press” or “long press” is included in the ON / OFF data, and the receiving side device receives the ON / OFF received. By checking “pressed state information” in the data, it may be determined whether the on / off data corresponds to “short press” or “long press”.

  Next, an electronic music system according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The electronic music system according to the present embodiment is the same as the above-described embodiment, that is, “previously created song data (consisting of a plurality of blocks, each block including a plurality of layers) is stored in each of the electronic music apparatuses A100a˜ It is distributed to D100d, and the electronic music apparatus A100a to D100d may make a net session while reproducing this song data. " If only the function of simply distributing song data to each of the electronic music apparatuses A100a to D100d is added to the electronic music system of the above embodiment, the following problems arise. That is, since the file transfer of the song data usually takes time, it is one of the electronic music devices (electronic music devices A100a to D100d on the transmitting side of the song data). In the present embodiment, the electronic music device A 100a is assumed as the “master device”. For example, when song data to be loaded is stored in the storage device 9, Even if the song data is read from the storage device 9 and loaded into a load area (not shown) secured in a predetermined position of the RAM 8), the electronic music device (electronic music) on the song data receiving side is completed. Among the devices A100a to D100d, these are devices other than the “master device”, and these devices are hereinafter referred to as “slave devices”. In this embodiment, The “slave device” is the electronic music device B100b to D100d). The load processing (song data transmitted from the master device is still received), and the received song data is secured at a predetermined position in the RAM of the electronic music device. Even a load area (not shown) may not be included. At this time, even if the user of the master device performs or does not perform the performance operation, the on / off state of the sound generation point may be inconsistent between the master device and the slave device. The following two examples can be given as typical examples.
(E1) If the user of the master device performs a performance operation immediately after the completion of the loading process and sets the sounding point to the on state for a certain LED button, the sounding point on state is also transmitted to the slave device. Then, the sound generation point is turned on at the position of the corresponding LED button of the corresponding layer. After that, when the slave device performs the load process based on the song data sent from the master device, the sounding point that was set to ON before the load process is rewritten to the setting state corresponding to the song data after the load process. It is done. Therefore,
On / off state of sound point on master device side: state based on song data + state corresponding to performance operation by user of master device;
On / off state of the sound point on the slave device side: State based on song data;
Thus, the two states are usually different.
(E2) When the slave device is not performing the load process, the user of the slave device does not know that the master device is transmitting the song data even if the master device has completed the load process. The performance operation is performed for the display state. At this time, if the user of the slave device sets the sound generation point to the ON state for a certain LED button, the ON state of the sound generation point is also transmitted to the master device, and the corresponding LED button of the corresponding layer The pronunciation point is set to ON at the position. After that, when the slave device performs the load process based on the song data sent from the master device, the sounding point that was set to ON before the load process is rewritten to the setting state corresponding to the song data after the load process. It is done. Therefore,
On / off state of sound point on master device side: state based on song data + state corresponding to performance operation by user of slave device;
On / off state of the sound point on the slave device side: State based on song data;
Thus, the two states are usually different.

  The electronic music system according to the present embodiment solves such a problem.

  FIG. 9 is a time chart showing an example of a control process executed by the electronic music system of the present embodiment.

  At time t1, when the user of the master device instructs to load the song data to be loaded from the master device, the song data is loaded into its own load area as described above, and the slave devices (1 to 3). After the “load start” is notified, the acceptance of the user's operation input (at least the performance operation input) to the master device is stopped. Then, the master device sequentially reads the song data in the load area and starts file transfer in parallel with each slave device (time t2).

  When each slave device receives the “load start” notification from the master device, it shifts its own operation mode to the file reception mode, and stops accepting user operation inputs (at least performance operation inputs) to each slave device. . At this time, since each reception is suddenly stopped for each slave device, the user of each slave device does not know why the reception of the operation input is suddenly stopped, and feels a little uncomfortable. For this reason, it is preferable to notify the user in some manner (display, audio, etc.) that file loading has started or, as a result, acceptance of operation input is stopped.

  On the other hand, if there is at least one slave device that cannot shift to the file reception mode for some reason, the slave device notifies other slave devices and the master device that it cannot shift to the file reception mode, for example, “Error” Send a notification. Since the slave device cannot enter the file reception mode, the user's operation input is still accepted, but the other slave devices and the master device enter the file reception mode and the user's operation input is stopped. Therefore, when an “error” notification is received from the slave device, the file reception mode is canceled and acceptance of the user's operation input is resumed. At this time, since the master device and the slave device that have received the “error” notification suddenly switch the user's operation input from the stopped state to the accepted state, the user does not know why the acceptance of the operation input has been suddenly resumed. You will feel uncomfortable. For this reason, the user is informed that the file reception mode has been canceled or that the acceptance of the operation input has been resumed because one of the other slave devices cannot enter the file reception mode. It is preferable to make it.

  Next, each slave device sequentially receives the song data transmitted from the master device as a file and writes it in a file system (not shown). When this writing is completed, each slave device reads the song data from the file system and loads it into its own load area. In the slave device of the present embodiment, the process from receiving song data, writing it to the file system, and loading the written song data into the load area is called load processing. Note that the timing of receiving song data and the time taken to complete the loading process differ depending on the communication state of each slave device. In the illustrated example, reception of song data starts in the order of slave devices 2, 1, 3 (time t3, t4, t5), and loads in the order of slave devices 1, 2, 3 (time t6, t7, t10). Processing has been completed.

  Then, the slave device that has completed the load processing transmits a notification that the load processing is complete, for example, a “load OK” notification to the master device (time t6, t7, t10).

  The master device waits for “load OK” notifications from all the slave devices (time t8, t9, t11), and then issues a sound generation timing alignment instruction to each slave device (time t12). Specifically, the sound generation timing alignment (1) in the above embodiment is performed. Since the sound generation timing alignment has been described in detail in the above embodiment, the description thereof will not be repeated here. However, in the above embodiment, the sound generation timing is aligned according to the net session start instruction (see step S106 in FIG. 4). That is, after the sound generation timing is aligned, the start of the net session is not instructed. Then, even if each slave device loads new song data, the reproduction of the song data cannot be started in synchronization. Therefore, for example, a song data start instruction command is transmitted together with the sound generation timing alignment instruction command transmitted to each slave device in the sound generation timing alignment, and each slave device transmits the time designated by the sound generation timing alignment instruction command. When the sound generation timings are aligned at the same time, the reproduction of the song data may be started at the same time (time t13). Then, at the same time as or immediately after the sound generation timing alignment, the master device and each slave device cancel the user's operation input stop state and resume its acceptance.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the master device transfers the song data to the slave device during a net session, the preparation of the performance using the song data after the notification of the start of the loading of the song data (this In the embodiment, the acceptance of the user's operation input to the master device and the slave device is stopped until the sound generation timing alignment or the start of song data reproduction) is completed, so between the master device and the slave device, The problem that the on / off states of the pronunciation points are inconsistent can be solved.

  In this embodiment, the song data stored in the master device is read by the master device itself and transmitted to the slave device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the song data is stored in the session partner selection server. 200, the master device requests the session partner selection server 200 to distribute the song data to the master device and the slave device, and in response to this request, the session partner selection server 200 The song data may be transmitted as a file after transmitting the load start notification to the master device and the slave device. Processing performed by the master device and each slave device after that, that is, “load OK” notification and sound generation timing alignment may be performed by the method described above in the present embodiment.

  Alternatively, song data is stored in a song data distribution server (not shown) other than the session partner selection server 200, and the master device and the slave device respond to reception of a “load start” instruction or a “load start” notification. The song data distribution server may be requested to distribute the song data, and the song data distributed by the song data distribution server may be received accordingly.

  Alternatively, only the file name and file number of song data stored in advance in the master device and the slave device may be exchanged between the devices. If the session uses a preset song, you only need to load the specified file. Alternatively, it is possible to inquire whether each device has the same song file, and if so, the file transfer is omitted, and if not, the file may be transferred only to the device that does not have it.

  A storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic A tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used. Further, the program code may be supplied from a server computer via a communication network.

  Further, by executing the program code read out by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code is actually used. It goes without saying that the case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by performing part or all of the processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Setting operation element (operation element), 2 ... Touch panel display (performance operation element, operation element), 4 ... Detection circuit (performance operation element), 6 ... CPU (file introduction means, 1st instruction means, reception means) (Second instruction means, reproduction means, stop means, transmission means), 8... RAM (file introduction means), 10... Communication I / F (reception means, first instruction means, second instruction means, transmission means)

Claims (5)

An electronic music system for performing a music session between at least two electronic music devices connected via a communication network,
One of the at least two electronic music devices is a master device, the rest is a slave device,
The master device is
An operator including at least a performance operator, and
During a music session, a file introduction means for introducing a file for a session that is the basis of a new music session,
A first instruction means for instructing the slave device to introduce the same file as the session file when the file for session is introduced by the file introduction means;
Receiving means for receiving a completion notification transmitted by the slave device that has completed introduction of the session file in response to an instruction by the first instruction means;
Second instruction means for instructing the slave device to start reproduction of the file for a session for which introduction has been completed at a predetermined timing when the reception means receives the completion notification;
Playback means for starting playback of the session file introduced by the file introduction means at the predetermined timing;
Stop means for stopping user input using the operation element from the time when an instruction is given by the first instruction means until the predetermined timing;
The slave device is
An operator including at least a performance operator, and
In response to receiving an instruction from the first instruction unit of the master device, a file introduction unit that introduces the session file;
A transmission unit that transmits the completion notification to the master device when the introduction of the file for the session is completed by the file introduction unit;
Reproduction means for starting reproduction of the session file that has been introduced by the file introduction means at the predetermined timing instructed by the second instruction means of the master device;
An electronic music system comprising stop means for stopping user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction by the first instruction means is received until the predetermined timing. An electronic music device (master device) for performing a music session with at least one electronic music device (slave device) connected via a communication network,
An operator including at least a performance operator, and
During a music session, a file introduction means for introducing a file for a session that is the basis of a new music session,
A first instruction means for instructing the slave device to introduce the same file as the session file when the file for session is introduced by the file introduction means;
Receiving means for receiving a completion notification transmitted by the slave device that has completed introduction of the session file in response to an instruction by the first instruction means;
Second instruction means for instructing the slave device to start reproduction of the file for a session for which introduction has been completed at a predetermined timing when the reception means receives the completion notification;
Playback means for starting playback of the session file introduced by the file introduction means at the predetermined timing;
A master device, comprising: a stop unit that stops user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction by the first instruction unit is given to the predetermined timing. At least one electronic music device (slave device) that performs a music session with an electronic music device (master device) connected via a communication network,
An operator including at least a performance operator, and
When the master device introduces the session file to itself, the master device receives the instruction to introduce the same file as the session file that the master device performs to the slave device. File introduction means to be introduced;
A transmission unit that transmits a completion notification to the master device when the introduction of the file for the session is completed by the file introduction unit;
In response to receiving the completion notification by the transmission means, the master device performs the introduction of the session file introduced to the slave device at a predetermined timing at the predetermined timing. , Reproduction means for starting reproduction of the session file that has been introduced by the file introduction means,
A slave device comprising stop means for stopping user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction for introducing the session file is received until the predetermined timing. An electronic music device (master device) for performing a music session with at least one electronic music device (slave device) connected via a communication network, the master device having an operator including at least a performance operator A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling,
The control method is:
During the music session, a file introduction step for introducing a file for the session that is the basis of the new music session,
A first instruction step for instructing the slave device to introduce the same file as the session file upon introduction of the session file in the file introduction step;
A receiving step of receiving a completion notification transmitted by the slave device in which the introduction of the file for the session has been completed in response to an instruction in the first instruction step;
A second instruction step for instructing the slave device to start reproduction of the file for the session whose introduction is completed at a predetermined timing when the completion notification is received by the reception step;
A reproduction step of starting reproduction of the session file introduced to the file by the file introduction step at the predetermined timing;
And a stop step of stopping user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction is given in the first instruction step until the predetermined timing. At least one electronic music device (slave device) that performs a music session with an electronic music device (master device) connected via a communication network, the slave device having at least an operator including a performance operator A program for causing a computer to execute a control method for controlling
The control method is:
When the master device introduces the session file to itself, the master device receives the instruction to introduce the same file as the session file that the master device performs to the slave device. A file introduction step to be introduced;
A transmission step of transmitting a completion notification to the master device when the introduction of the file for the session is completed by the file introduction step;
In response to receiving the completion notification in the transmission step, the master device performs the introduction of the introduced session file at a predetermined timing to the slave device at the predetermined timing. A reproduction step for starting reproduction of the session file that has been introduced by the file introduction step;
And a stop step for stopping user input using the operation element from the time when the instruction for introducing the session file is received until the predetermined timing.

Images