JP2015138040A - Music session system, method and terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress delay as possible, and increase a number of participants of a music session.SOLUTION: A music session system is configured so that: plural terminals 110a-110f can connect other terminals up to a predetermined limit numbers of terminals (3 terminals). To the respective terminals 110a-110f, the terminals 110a, 110b, 110c are directly coupled and a first chamber 200a is formed. The terminals 110d, 110e, 110f are directly coupled for forming a second chamber 200b. According to a request for coupling the chambers 200a, 200b, the terminal 110a in the first chamber 200a and the terminal 110d in the second chamber 200b are coupled. The coupled terminals 110a, 110d transmit and receive pieces of musical performance information in their chambers each other, and transmit the received musical performance information received from the other chamber to other terminals in their chambers.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for performing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network such as the Internet, and more particularly to a technology for connecting a plurality of terminal devices to each other.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a music session system is known in which a plurality of participants at remote locations perform a music session via a wide area communication network such as the Internet. In this specification, a plurality of participants perform performances (for example, musical instrument performances, singing, etc.) substantially simultaneously, and each performance is mixed to realize one music performance (for example, performance of a piece of music). Is called a “music session”. The music session system is configured by connecting terminal devices installed at the bases of the participants to each other via a communication network. By transmitting and receiving performance information of each player between the terminal devices, 1 Realize one music session. That is, one terminal device transmits performance information that has been input to another terminal device via a communication network, while receiving performance information of one or more other terminal devices via a communication network, and The music session is realized by causing the performance information input to itself to be pronounced in accordance with the sounding (reproduction) of the performance information received by another terminal device. When performance information is transmitted / received between a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, there is a communication delay. As countermeasures for this communication delay, each terminal device delays the timing of sounding performance information input to itself, thereby delaying the sound of performance information received from other terminal devices and the performance information input to itself. Synchronizing pronunciation has been conventionally performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

  As a connection form (network connection form) of a plurality of terminal devices constituting the music session system described above, for example, a full mesh type connection form in which each terminal device participating in a session is directly connected to all other terminal devices. There is. In the case of the full mesh type, a server is unnecessary, and communication delay between terminal devices can be minimized. However, the data transfer rate (communication data per unit time) used by each terminal device for communication with each connection partner is equal to the number of other terminal devices connected to each terminal device (hereinafter also referred to as “connection partner”). Amount), and the data transfer rate used by each terminal apparatus reaches the upper limit of the data transfer rate of the communication network. In that case, the data transfer rate used in each terminal device may be insufficient, and problems such as connection failure and noise may occur. For this reason, the number of connection partners per terminal device, that is, the number of participants in the music session is limited.

  As another example of the network connection form, there is a star-type connection form in which all terminal devices participating in a session are connected to each other via a mixing server. In this case, since communication between the terminal devices is performed via the mixing server, the number of connection partners per terminal device is not limited. However, since it goes through the mixing server, the communication delay increases. Further, the mixing server needs to be a high-performance server capable of performing a large number of performance information processing.

  In this music session system, as a device for expanding the number of participants in a music session, Patent Document 2 receives a plurality of terminal devices connected in series in a daisy chain and received from the immediately preceding terminal device according to the connection order. It is disclosed that the performance information input by the own device is mixed with the performance information and transmitted to the next terminal device. However, since the communication direction is one direction, the terminal device on the upstream side of the communication cannot listen to the performance information of the terminal device on the downstream side in real time. In order for the participant to obtain the performance of the entire music session system, it is necessary to wait for the result of mixing at the terminal device with the last connection order. Therefore, as the number of participants increases, the real-time nature of the music session is lost.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a mechanism for expanding the number of participants in a music session, in which performance information is bidirectionally communicated between two terminal devices connected directly to each other among a plurality of terminal devices. It is described that the performance information of a terminal device not directly connected is received by relaying the terminal device. According to this, in theory, performance information can be transmitted and received bidirectionally with any number of terminal devices. However, as the number of participants increases, the delay in communication increases. As a method for avoiding musical failure due to this delay, Patent Document 3 proposes transmitting performance information at every musical delimiter (for example, every measure) of performance information. However, this method loses the real-time nature of the music session.

JP 2011-242560 A JP 2002-207492 A JP 2003-323173 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points. In a music session system that realizes a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, the number of participants in the music session is expanded while minimizing the delay as much as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a music session system and method that can be used.

  The present invention is a method for connecting the plurality of terminal devices in a music session system for realizing a music session or the like using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, wherein the plurality of terminal devices are respectively Input means for inputting performance information, other terminal devices can be connected up to a predetermined limit number, communication means for transmitting and receiving performance information to and from the other connected terminal devices, and own input by the input means Performance information and playback means for mixing and playing each performance information received from the communication means, and forming a plurality of groups of two or more terminal devices among the plurality of terminal devices, The terminal device transmits / receives the performance information to / from each other via the communication means, and the method includes a plurality of the terminal devices belonging to a certain first group, Number of connected terminal devices among at least one terminal device whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number and a plurality of terminal devices belonging to a second group different from the first group Is connected to at least one terminal device that has not reached the limit number, and a connection procedure for setting the communication means, and to the connected terminal device of the first group and the terminal device of the second group And a communication control procedure for transmitting and receiving performance information of the entire group to which each belongs.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of terminal devices are interconnected within a limit of a predetermined limit number to form one group, and among the terminal devices belonging to a certain first group, the number of connected terminal devices is The at least one terminal device that has not reached the limit number is connected to at least one terminal device that does not reach the limit number among the terminal devices belonging to another second group. Thus, the first group and the second group are connected. Although communication between any terminal devices can be performed in one hop within one group, the number of terminal devices that can be connected thereto is limited to within the limit. By connecting a plurality of groups, the number of terminal devices participating in the music system can be expanded beyond the limitation of the limited number without impairing as much as possible the advantage of small delay related to communication within one group.

  In one embodiment, the connection procedure includes: one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group; and the second group. Among the plurality of terminal devices to which the terminal device belongs, the communication means is set so as to connect to one terminal device whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, and the communication control procedure includes: Further, each of the connected terminal devices of the first group and the second group of terminal devices receives the performance information of the entire group received from the other, and all the other terminal devices in the group to which the group belongs. To be transmitted. In this case, a plurality of groups can be connected with a simple connection form in which one terminal device in the first group and one terminal device in the second group are connected. In addition, a terminal device directly connected to another group transmits performance information of the entire other group to other terminal devices in its own group. The performance information of the entire group can be transmitted.

  In another embodiment, the connection procedure includes: a plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group, the number of connected terminal devices not reaching the limit number; and the second group The communication means is set so that, among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the group, the terminal devices whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number are connected in a one-to-one correspondence. Composed. In this case, since each terminal device of the first group and each terminal device in the second group are connected in association with each other, performance information of another entire group is transmitted to all terminal devices in one hop. it can.

  As an embodiment, the method may be configured to further include a connection request procedure for requesting any one of the terminal devices to connect the first group and the second group. Moreover, as another embodiment, the connection procedure includes the group owner authority that approves the connection request and the connection among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group and the second group. It can be configured to connect preferentially from the terminal device having.

  The present invention is also a music session system for realizing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, wherein each of the plurality of terminal devices includes an input means for inputting performance information, and a predetermined restriction. Up to the number of other terminal devices can be connected, communication means for transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices, own performance information input by the input means, and each performance received from the communication means Reproducing means for mixing and reproducing information, forming a plurality of groups of two or more terminal devices among the plurality of terminal devices, and the terminal devices in each group via the communication means Performance information is transmitted and received mutually, and among a plurality of the terminal devices belonging to a certain first group, the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number. And at least one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to a second group different from the first group. Connection means for setting the communication means so as to be connected, and communication control means for causing the connected terminal devices of the first group and the terminal devices of the second group to transmit and receive performance information of the entire group to which each belongs. And a music session system.

  The present invention is also the terminal device in a music session system that realizes a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, wherein the terminal device includes input means for inputting performance information, and a predetermined restriction. Up to the number of other terminal devices can be connected, communication means for transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices, own performance information input by the input means, and each performance received from the communication means Reproduction means for mixing and reproducing information, forming a first group with at least one other terminal device, and performing the performance via the other terminal device and the communication means in the first group When the number of the other terminal devices connected to itself does not reach the limit number, the second group different from the first group is used to transmit / receive information to / from each other. Communication for transmitting / receiving performance information of the entire group between the connection means for setting the communication means so as to connect to at least one terminal device belonging to and the connected terminal device of the second group And a control signal means. In this terminal device, the communication control means further transmits performance information of the entire second group received from the connected terminal device of the second group to all other terminal devices in the first group. Can be configured to forward.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides the terminal device in a music session system that realizes a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, wherein the terminal device includes an input unit for inputting performance information, and a predetermined restriction. Up to the number of other terminal devices can be connected, communication means for transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices, own performance information input by the input means, and each performance received from the communication means Reproduction means for mixing and reproducing information, forming a group with at least one other terminal device, and playing the performance information via the communication device with the other terminal device in the first group When a second group different from the first group is connected via the other terminal device belonging to the first group, and the other From the terminal device, a terminal device, characterized in that it comprises a receiving means for receiving the performance information of the whole said another second group.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, in a music session system that realizes a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, there is an excellent effect that the number of participants in the music session can be expanded while minimizing delay. .

The block diagram which shows the structural example of the music session system which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows the electrical hardware constitutions of the terminal device of FIG. The conceptual diagram explaining the room which consists of a some terminal device. It is a figure explaining the connection form of the room which concerns on 1st Embodiment, Comprising: (a) The figure explaining communication until it connects two rooms, (b) Transmission / reception of the performance information after the rooms connect. Illustration to explain. The sequence diagram explaining the procedure of the connection method of the room which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the connection form of the room which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, Comprising: (a) The figure explaining communication until two rooms are connected, (b) Transmission / reception of the performance information after the rooms connect. Illustration to explain. The sequence diagram explaining the procedure of the connection method of the room which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure explaining the connection form when it is a modification of the connection form of the room which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, and the number of terminal devices of two rooms differs. The figure explaining the connection form which is a modification of the connection form of the room which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, and connects two or more rooms. The figure explaining another example of the connection form which connects two or more several rooms. The figure explaining another example of the connection form which connects two or more several rooms.

  Hereinafter, a method for connecting a plurality of terminal devices in a music session system for realizing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a music session system. The music session system 100 includes a management server 105 and a plurality of terminal devices 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, and 110f that are communicably connected via a communication network 115. The communication network 115 is a well-known wide-area communication network such as the Internet, and can transmit various types of data including a plurality of performance information in substantially real time using a well-known Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP). . The management server 105 is a server for managing the terminal devices 110a to 110f, and performs connection support (for example, identification of a connection partner or connection procedure) for the terminal device 110 described later.

  The plurality of terminal devices 110 a, 110 b, 110 c, 110 d, 110 e and 110 f are computer devices having at least a performance information processing function including input / output of performance information and a communication function for communicating various information via the communication network 115. For example, it includes a personal computer (hereinafter also referred to as “PC”), an electronic musical instrument having a network communication function, and the like. The terminal devices 110a to 110f are installed at the bases of the corresponding participants A, B, C, D, E, and F, and each of the participants A to F performs performances at the respective bases and sends the performance information to the terminal devices. Input to 110a to 110f. Hereinafter, the terminal device 110a is “terminal A”, the terminal device 110b is “terminal B”, the terminal device 110c is “terminal C”, the terminal device 110d is “terminal D”, the terminal device 110e is “terminal E”, and the terminal device 110f. Is also referred to as “terminal F”. The performance performed by each participant may be any form of musical action such as playing musical instruments or duet singing. Further, the performance information is typically audio waveform data obtained by sampling (collecting) musical instrument performance or human singing voice, but is not limited thereto, and is not limited to this, for example, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard. Data in any format may be used as long as it represents data such as performance data. In FIG. 1, alphabetic characters “a”, “b”... Are added to the reference numeral 110. However, when it is not necessary to distinguish the individual terminal device, the reference numeral “110” without the alphabetic suffix is used as the reference numeral. Is used.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrical hardware configuration of the terminal device 110. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 1, a read only memory (ROM) 2, a random access memory (RAM) 3, a storage device 4, a setting operation detection circuit 5, and a performance operation detection circuit 6. , An analog-digital conversion (A / D conversion) circuit 7, a display control circuit 8, a sound source / effect circuit 9, and a communication interface (communication I / F) 10, which are connected via a bus 11.

  The CPU 1 executes various control programs stored in the ROM 2 or RAM 3 to control the overall operation of the control device. A memory including the ROM 2, the RAM 3, and the storage device 4 stores various programs including the control program, various data, and the like. The storage device 4 can be configured by appropriately combining storage means such as flash memory and HDD. An application program for causing the terminal device 110 to execute a method for connecting a plurality of terminal devices according to the present invention is stored in the memory including the ROM 2, the RAM 3, and the storage device 4.

  The setting operation detection circuit 5 is connected to a setting operator 12 such as a switch or a mouse, detects a user operation on the setting operator 12, and transmits setting operation information corresponding to the operation to the bus 11. The CPU 1 performs processing according to the setting operation information. The performance operation detection circuit 6 is connected to a performance operator 13 for inputting a music performance corresponding to the user's manual performance operation, detects the user's operation on the performance operator 13, and performs the performance operation corresponding to the operation. Information is transmitted to the bus 11. The form of the performance operator 13 may be any form such as a keyboard type, a guitar type, a wind instrument type, and a percussion instrument type.

  The A / D conversion circuit 7 is connected to a microphone 14, converts an analog audio signal collected by the microphone 14 into a digital signal, and transmits it to the bus 11. The display control circuit 8 is connected to a display 15 such as an LCD and various indicators (not shown), and controls display on the display 15 and the like in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 1. The performance operator 13 and the microphone 14 described above function as input means for inputting performance information to the terminal device 110.

  The terminal device 110 is connected to the communication network 115 via the communication I / F 10. The communication I / F 10 includes a general-purpose network I / F conforming to, for example, the Ethernet (registered trademark) standard, and transmits / receives various data including performance information to / from other terminal devices 110 and the management server 105 on the communication network 115. As will be described in detail later, the number of other terminal devices 110 that can be connected to one terminal device 110 via the communication I / F 10 is limited to a predetermined limit number corresponding to the upper limit of the data transfer rate of the communication network 115. The The communication I / F 10 can connect other terminal devices up to a predetermined limit number, and functions as a communication unit that transmits / receives performance information to / from the connected other terminal devices.

  In this embodiment, the communication I / F 10 monitors the status of the reception buffer 18 for buffering performance information received from the communication network 115 and the reception buffer 18 and automatically adjusts the buffer size ( A buffer management unit 19 that increases or decreases). The reception buffer 18 and the buffer management unit 19 absorb the fluctuations in the communication of the communication network 115, so that the performance information received from the communication network 115 can be reproduced as much as possible without being broken down musically. The communication I / F 10 also includes a transmission buffer (not shown) for buffering its performance information and transmitting it to the communication network 115. In addition, for example, a plurality of peripheral device connection I / Fs such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface and a MIDI interface may be provided as the communication I / F 10.

  The sound source / effect circuit 9 includes a sound source unit that generates audio waveform data based on MIDI performance data, and an effect unit that appropriately applies and mixes one or a plurality of audio waveform data. The sound system 16 includes a digital / analog conversion unit and an analog output unit (for example, a speaker or a headphone terminal). The sound source / effect circuit 9 acquires the performance information of the terminal device itself input from the performance operator 13 or the microphone 14 and the performance information of the other terminal device received from the communication I / F 10 from the bus 11, and An effect is appropriately applied to the performance information, mixed with one system of audio waveform data (for example, audio waveform data in a 2-channel stereo format), and output from the sound system 16. Thereby, the terminal device 110 can reproduce | regenerate the monitor sound of own performance information, and the performance information received from the other terminal device together. The sound source / effect circuit 9 and the sound system 16 function as reproduction means for mixing and reproducing the performance information input by the input means and the performance information received from the communication means.

  In FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 includes the microphone 14 and the performance operator 13, but may be configured to include only one of them. Also, among the elements shown in FIG. 2, the performance operation detection circuit 6 and the performance operator 13, the A / D conversion circuit 7 and the microphone 14, and the sound source / effect circuit 9 and the sound system 16 function, that is, performance information. The input means and the playback means may be configured by a peripheral device (audio interface device) externally connected to the terminal device 110. For example, an audio interface device may be connected to the terminal device 110, and the microphone 14 and the performance operator 13 (for example, an electronic musical instrument) may be connected via the audio interface device. Alternatively, an electronic musical instrument having input means such as the performance operator 13 may be connected to the communication I / F 10 (peripheral device connection I / F) of the terminal device 110.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a logical (or virtual) connection form of a plurality of terminal devices 110 in the music session system 100 of FIG. Two or more terminal devices 110 among the plurality of terminal devices 110 form a group 200 in which they are logically (or virtually) directly connected to each other. Performance information is transmitted and received between a plurality of terminal devices 110 belonging to one group 200. In this specification, the group 200 is referred to as a “room”. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, among the six terminals A110a to F110f illustrated in FIG. 1, three of the terminal A110a, the terminal B110b, and the terminal C110c form one group (“first room”) 200a, and the terminal D110d, Three groups of terminals E110e and F110f (a “second room”) 200b are formed. In this specification, it is referred to as “logic” to set a communication I / F 10 so that a terminal device 110 establishes communication with another terminal device 110 and transmits / receives data to / from the other terminal device 110. Connection "or" virtual connection "or simply" connection ".

  A procedure for a certain terminal device 110 to belong to a certain room 200 will be briefly described. A certain terminal device 110 transmits a request to belong to a desired room 200 to the management server 105 (see FIG. 1). The management server 105 identifies all the terminal devices 110 belonging to the room 200 in response to the received membership request, and supports the connection between each identified terminal device 110 and the certain terminal device 110. Each terminal device 110 and each terminal device 110 belonging to the room 200 establish communication with each other in accordance with connection support from the management server 105, and transmit / receive performance information to / from each other. Set F10. Thereafter, each terminal device 110 in the room 200 can directly transmit / receive performance information to / from other terminal devices in the room 200 without using the management server 105 or the like. Also, the terminal device 110 can create a new room 200 by itself. In this embodiment, any one terminal device (for example, the terminal device of the participant who created the room) 110 in the room 200 becomes an owner terminal device having the owner authority of the room. The owner authority includes, for example, authority to make a request for connecting rooms to be described later, and authority to make an approval for a connection request between rooms. For example, the terminal A110a is the owner of the first room 200a, and the terminal D110d) is the owner of the second room 200b. Note that the owner authority need not be set.

  As shown in FIG. 3, one room 200a (or 200b) has a full-mesh network connection form in which the terminal devices 110a, 110b and 110c (or 110d, 110e and 110f) are connected to each other. Therefore, since communication between the terminal devices 110 in one room can be performed in one hop, the delay for the communication is minimal. In this specification, the number of terminal devices that pass through the performance information transmitted from a certain transmission source terminal device 110 to a certain destination terminal device 110 via the communication network 115 is referred to as a “hop number”. For example, when two terminal devices connected directly transmit / receive performance information to / from each other, the number of hops is one hop. In the full-mesh network connection mode, as the number of terminal devices belonging to one room (that is, the number of other terminal devices connected to each terminal device 110 (“connection partner”)) increases, each terminal device 110 is connected. The data transfer rate (communication data amount per unit time) used for communication with each of the other parties is accumulated, so that the data transfer rate used by each terminal device reaches the upper limit of the data transfer rate of the communication network 115. The data transfer rate used by each terminal device 110 is insufficient. For this reason, the number of other terminal devices that can be connected to one terminal device 110 via the communication I / F 10 is limited to a predetermined limited number. In this embodiment, the limit number per terminal device 110 is limited to three, in other words, the number of terminal devices 110 that can be connected to one room is limited to four. The limitation on the number of connected devices is to prevent connection failure and noise generation due to insufficient data transfer rate, and ensures that high-quality performance information is transmitted and received in the room 200 in substantially real time. On the other hand, when a music session is performed using only one room 200, the number of participants in the music session is limited due to the limited number of connected rooms in one room.

  The present invention has a plurality of rooms 200 as a mechanism for extending the number of participants in the entire music session beyond the limit number per terminal device 110 (that is, the number of terminal devices that can be connected to one room 200). By connecting, one music session is realized in a plurality of rooms 200 as a whole.

  First, the connection method according to the first embodiment will be described. The connection method according to the first embodiment belongs to one terminal device 110 that has not reached the limit on the number of connections among a plurality of terminal devices 110a to 110c belonging to the first room 200a, and belongs to another second room 200b. Among the plurality of terminal devices 110d to 110f, one terminal device 110 that has not reached the limit of the number of connections is connected. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a connection mode for connecting the first room 200a and the second room 200b shown in FIG. 3 in accordance with the connection method according to the first embodiment, wherein FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the exchange until it connects 200a and the 2nd room 200b. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a time-series procedure of the connection method according to the first embodiment. In the following description, as an example, it is assumed that the owner terminal A 110a of the first room 200a and the owner terminal D 110d of the second room 200b exchange room connection requests and approvals.

  First, the owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a designates a room (second room 200b) to be a connection partner, and sends a connection request to the designated second room 200b to the management server 105 (see FIG. 1). Transmit (step S1). The room is specified by manually inputting information for identifying a room (for example, a room name or the like) or by acquiring list information of existing rooms from the management server 105 and selecting one from the list information. To do.

  The management server 105 receives the connection request from the terminal A 110a in the first room 200a and transmits the connection request to the owner terminal D110d in the second room 200b (step S2).

  The terminal D110d in the second room 200b receives the connection request from the first room 200a, and returns a response to the request to the management server 105. The terminal D110d may automatically determine whether or not the request is accepted or may confirm with the participant. When approving the connection request, the terminal D110d transmits approval of the connection request to the management server 105 (step S3). The management server 105 notifies the approval of the received connection request to the terminal A110a of the owner of the first room 200a (step S4). 3 and 4, since the number of terminal devices connected to each of the rooms 200a and 200b is three, only one of the terminal devices 110a to 110f in each of the first room 200a and the first room 200b is used. Other terminal devices can be connected. On the other hand, for example, when the number of connected devices is full, the terminal D110dg rejects the connection request. In this case, the terminal D110d notifies the terminal A110a that the connection request is rejected via the management server 105, and then ends the process.

  After performing the connection request approval notification in step S4, the management server 105 selects one of the plurality of terminal devices 110a to 110c belonging to the first room 200a that has not reached the limit number. The terminal device 110 and one terminal device 110 in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the plurality of terminal devices 110d to 110f belonging to the second room 200b are specified, and the two specified A connection start instruction is transmitted to each of the terminal devices 110 (step S5). In this embodiment, the management server 105 checks whether or not the limit number has been reached preferentially from the owner's terminal A 110a and terminal D 110d. As a result, the owner's terminal A 110a and terminal D 110d are preferentially connected to each other. When the number of connections of the owner terminal A 110a and / or the terminal D 110d is full, the number of connected terminal devices among the terminal devices 110 other than the owner terminal A 110a and / or the terminal D 110d has not reached the limit number. Terminal devices 110 are connected to each other. If the number of connections of all the terminal devices 110 is full, the process is terminated. In addition, before the process is ended, the participant may be warned that the room cannot be connected due to the limitation of the number of connections. As another example, when the number of terminal devices connected to the owner terminal A 110a and the terminal D 110d is full, the processing may be terminated at that point.

  The terminal A110a that is the owner of the first room 200a and the terminal D110d that is the owner of the second room 200b establish a connection with each other based on the connection start instruction (step S6). That is, the terminal A 110a in the first room 200a establishes communication with the terminal D110d and sets its own communication I / F 10 to transmit / receive performance information to / from the terminal D110d, while the terminal A in the second room 200b. The D 110d establishes communication with the terminal A 110a and sets its own communication I / F 10 so as to transmit / receive performance information to / from the terminal A 110a. Thereby, the terminal A110a of the owner of the first room 200a and the terminal D110d of the owner of the second room 200b are directly connected to each other.

  After the terminal A110a, which is the owner of the first room 200a, and the terminal D110d, which is the owner of the second room 200b, are connected to the management server 105, the other terminals B110b and C110c in the first room 200a and the second room The other terminal E110e and terminal F110f in 200b are notified that the first room 200a and the second room 200b are connected (step S7).

  The terminal A 110a in the first room 200a and the terminal D 110d in the second room 200b connected in step S6 start transmission / reception of performance information to each other as indicated by a double arrow 210 in FIG. 4B. Specifically, the owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a receives performance information from the other terminals B110b and C110c in the first room 200a (step S8), and each performance information of the received terminal B and terminal C is received. And the performance information of the entire first room 200a mixed with the performance information input to the terminal A itself is transmitted to the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b (step S9). Thereby, the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b can receive the performance information of the entire first room 200a. Then, the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b mixes the performance information input to the terminal D itself with the received performance information of the entire first room 200a, and thereby transmits the other terminal E110e in the second room 200b. And transmitted to the terminal F110f (step S10). Accordingly, the other terminals E110e and F110f in the second room 200b can receive performance information of the entire first room 200a via the owner terminal D110d directly connected to the first room 200a.

  On the other hand, the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b receives performance information from the other terminals E110e and F110f in the second room 200b (step S11), and receives the performance information of the terminal E and the terminal F110f received, The performance information of the entire second room 200b mixed with the performance information input to the terminal D itself is transmitted to the owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a (step S12). Thereby, owner terminal A110a of the 1st room 200a can receive performance information on the 2nd room 200b whole. The owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a mixes the performance information input to the terminal A itself with the received performance information of the entire second room 200b, and the other terminals B110b and terminals in the first room 200a. It transmits to C110c (step S13). Therefore, the other terminals B110b and C110c in the first room 200a can receive performance information of the entire second room 200b via the owner terminal device 110a directly connected to the second room 200b.

  According to this configuration, the owner terminals A and D can receive performance information of other terminals in their own room and performance information of another room in one hop. Further, terminals B, C, E, and F other than the owner can receive performance information of other terminals in the room in one hop, and can receive performance information of another different room in two hops. . Therefore, each of the participants A to F performs the performance according to the performance information of the entire first room 200a and the second room 200b in substantially real time, that is, all of the first room 200a and the second room 200b. One music session can be realized by the terminal devices 110a to 110f.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the first room 200a and the second room 200b are simply connected via one terminal A110a in the first room 200a and one terminal D110d in the second room 200b. With an easy-to-understand connection form, the number of participants in a music session can be expanded to a maximum of 6 people, exceeding the limit for participants in a room (4 people). Also, the performance information of the other room is transferred from the terminal device (110a or 110d) that serves as an intermediary for connection between the rooms to the other terminal devices (110b and 110c or 110e and 110f) in the room. Therefore, any of the terminal devices 110a to 110f can receive all performance information with a maximum of two hops. Accordingly, the number of participants in the music session can be increased while suppressing an increase in communication delay as much as possible. In addition, the owner terminals A and D connecting the two rooms 200a and 200b can each adjust the level at which the performance information input to itself and the performance information of other rooms are mixed to an arbitrary value.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the connection method according to the second embodiment, each terminal device 110 that has not reached the limit on the number of connections in the first room 200a and each terminal device 110 that has not reached the limit on the number of connections in the second room 200b. , At least one-to-one correspondence and connection.

  FIG. 6A is a conceptual diagram showing a connection form between rooms according to the second embodiment, and is a diagram for explaining exchanges until the first room 200a and the second room 200b are connected. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a time sequence procedure of the connection method according to the second embodiment. The owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a makes a connection request to the management server 105 to the second room 200b (step S14), and the management server 105 sends the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b to the owner terminal D110d from the first room 200a. Is transmitted (step S15), the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b transmits a connection request approval to the management server 105 (step S16), and the management server 105 approves the received connection request. The owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a is notified (step S17). Up to this point, the processing is the same as steps S1 to S4 in FIG. 5 described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In step S18, the management server 105 includes, among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first room 200a, each terminal A 110a, terminal B 110b, and terminal C 110c in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, Among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the two rooms 200b, each terminal A 110d, terminal B 110e, and terminal F 110f, in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, are associated one-to-one (“matching of terminal devices”). ). As an example of the matching process, the owner terminal devices 110a and 110d are preferentially associated with each other. The terminal devices other than the owner are associated with each other in an appropriate combination. For example, the terminal B110b in the first room 200a is associated with the terminal E110e in the second room 200b, and the terminal C110c in the first room 200a is associated with the terminal F110f in the second room 200b. When the number of connected terminal devices in the room 200a or 200b is full, the management server 105 determines that the rooms 200a and 200b cannot be connected and ends the process.

  The management server 105 issues a connection start instruction to each terminal A110a, terminal B110b, and terminal C110c in the first room 200a and each terminal D110d, terminal E110e, and terminal F110f in the second room 200b in accordance with the matching result in step S18. Transmit (step S19). Then, each terminal A 110a, terminal B 110b, and terminal C 110c in the first room 200a, and each terminal D 110d, terminal E 110e, and terminal F 110f in the second room 200b establish communication with the associated connection counterparts, respectively, The communication I / F 10 is set to transmit / receive performance information to / from the connection partner (step S20).

  Through the step S20, the terminal A110a in the first room 200a and the terminal d110d in the second room 200b are directly connected, and transmission / reception of performance information is started (double arrow 220 in FIG. 6B). That is, the terminal A 110a of the first room 200a receives performance information from each of the other terminals B 110b and C 110c of the first room 200a (step S21), and mixes the performance information with the received performance information. The performance information of the entire first room 200a is transmitted to the terminal D110d in the second room 200b (step S22). On the other hand, the terminal D110d in the second room 200b receives performance information from each of the other terminals E110e and F110f of the second room 200b (step S23), and mixes the performance information with the received performance information. The performance information of the entire second room 200b is transmitted to the terminal A 110a of the first room 200a (step S24).

  Also, the terminal B110b in the first room 200a and the terminal E110e in the second room 200b are directly connected to start transmission / reception of performance information (a double-headed arrow 222 in FIG. 6B), and at the same time, the terminal C110c in the first room 200a The terminal F110f in the second room 200b is directly connected to start transmission / reception of performance information (a double-headed arrow 224 in FIG. 6B). That is, the terminal B 110b and the terminal C 110c receive performance information from the other terminal A 110a in the first room 200a and the terminal B 110b or the terminal C 110c, respectively (step S25), and the performance information is received in the received performance information. The performance information of the entire first room 200a mixed with the information is transmitted to the connection partner (terminal E110e or terminal F110f) of the second room 200b (step S26). On the other hand, the terminal E110e and the terminal F110f in the second room 200b receive performance information from other terminals D (110d and the terminal E110e or the terminal F110f in the second room 200b, respectively) (Step S27). The performance information of the entire second room 200b in which the performance information is mixed with each performance information is transmitted to the connection partner (terminal B110b or terminal C110c) of the first room 200a (step S28).

  In this case, each of the terminal devices 110a to 110f can receive performance information of another whole room from each connection partner in one hop. Accordingly, each of the participants A to F performs the performance according to the performance information of the entire first room 200a and the second room 200b in substantially real time, that is, all the members belonging to the first room 200a and the second room 200b. One music session can be realized by the terminal devices 110a to 110f.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the terminal devices 110a to 110c in the first room 200a and the terminal devices 110d to 110f in the second room 200b are connected in a one-to-one correspondence, in other words, For example, each terminal device 110 in each of the two rooms 200a and 200b is connected to each terminal device 110 in another room one by one. The performance information of another room can be transmitted by hop. Accordingly, the number of participants in a music session can be expanded to a maximum of six people while exceeding the limit of participants in one room (four people) while suppressing an increase in delay to a minimum. Further, since each terminal device 110a to 110f receives performance information for the entire other room, the terminal devices 110a to 110f can adjust the mixing level of the performance information for the entire other room. Moreover, in the connection method of 2nd Embodiment, each terminal device 110a-110f does not need to transfer the performance information of another whole room to the other terminal device in the room to which it belongs.

  In the second embodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B described above, the number of the terminal devices 110 belonging to the rooms 200a and 200b is the same, and the terminal devices 110a, 110b, and 110c belonging to the first room 200a are Each terminal device 110d, 110e, 110f belonging to the second room 200b is configured to be associated one by one, but the number of terminal devices 110 belonging to the two rooms 200a, 200b to be connected may be different. Good.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a connection configuration when the number of terminal devices 110 belonging to two rooms 200a and 200b is different. The first room 200a includes three terminals A110a, a terminal B110b, and a terminal C110c, An example in which the two rooms 200b include two terminals D110d and E110e is shown. In this case, since the terminal devices in the two rooms 200a and 200b cannot be associated one-to-one, one or more terminal devices in another room are associated with one terminal device 110 in a certain room. In the example of FIG. 8, the two terminals A110a and B110b in the first room 200a are connected in association with the terminal D110d in the second room 200b, and the terminal C110c in the first room 200a and the terminal in the second room 200b. E110e is associated and connected. This one-to-multiple association may be any combination as long as the number of connections per terminal device is less than the limit number (three or less in this example).

  Then, the terminal D110d in the second room 200b, the terminal A110a and the terminal B110b in the first room 200a transmit and receive the performance information of the entire room (arrows 230 and 232), and the terminal E110e in the second room 200b. The terminal C110c in the first room 200a transmits / receives performance information of the entire room (arrow 234). In FIG. 8, the terminal D110d in the second room 200b is depicted so as to transmit / receive performance information of the entire room to both the terminal A and the terminal B (arrows 230 and 232). About reception of the performance information of 200a, you may comprise so that it may receive only from either the terminal A or the terminal B.

  As described above, even when the numbers of the terminal devices 110 belonging to the two rooms 200a and 200b are different, each of the terminal devices 110a to 110e can receive performance information of another room in one hop from each connection partner. Can receive. Accordingly, even when the number of terminal devices in the two rooms 200a and 200b is different, the increase in delay is minimized by directly connecting the terminal devices in the two rooms 200a and 200b to the terminal devices in different rooms. The number of participants in a music session can be expanded beyond the upper limit of participants in one room. Also in this case, each terminal device 110a-110e can adjust the mixing level of the performance information of another whole room by itself, and forwards the performance information of the whole other room to other terminal devices of the room to which it belongs. You don't have to.

  Steps S1, S2, S14, and S15 correspond to a connection request procedure for requesting any one of the terminal devices to connect the first group and the second group. In addition, the number of connected terminal devices among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group does not reach the limit number in response to the request in steps S5, S6, S18, S19, and S20. The communication is performed such that at least one terminal device is connected to at least one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the second group. This corresponds to a connection procedure (or connection means) for setting means. Particularly, in steps S5 and S6, among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group, one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, and a plurality belonging to the second group This corresponds to connecting one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, and S18, S19, and S20 are a plurality belonging to the first group. Of the terminal devices, the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, and the number of connected terminal devices among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the second group is This corresponds to setting the communication means so that each terminal device that has not reached the limit number is associated with at least one to one. Further, the steps S9, S12, S22, S24, S26, and S28 allow the connected terminal devices of the first group and the terminal devices of the second group to transmit and receive performance information of the entire group to which they belong. This corresponds to a control procedure (or communication control means). In addition, in steps S10 and S13, the performance information of the entire group received from the other side is transmitted to each of the connected terminal device of the first group and the terminal device of the second group. This corresponds to transmission to all other terminal devices.

  The connection method according to the second embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 can be applied to a case where two or more rooms 200 are connected. For example, FIG. 9 shows the first room 200a composed of the terminal devices 110a and 110b of the participants A and B, the second room 200b composed of the terminal devices 110d and 110e of the participants D and E, and the participants G and H. An example is shown in which a third room 200c including terminal devices 110g (also referred to as “terminal G”) and 110h (also referred to as “terminal H”) is connected. In FIG. 9, each of the rooms 200 a to 200 c is composed of two terminal devices, and there are still two vacancies up to the limit number (three in this example) per terminal device.

  In this case, the management server 105 responds to the connection request by the terminals A110a and B110b in the first room 200a, the terminals D110d and E110e in the second room 200b, and the terminals G110g and G110g in the third room 200c. The terminal H110h is associated with each one-to-one. For example, the terminal A 110a, the terminal D 110d, and the terminal G 110g are directly connected to each other and transmit / receive performance information of the entire group to which the terminal A 110a, terminal D 110d, and terminal G 110g belong (double arrows 240, 242, 244). The terminal B 110b, the terminal E 110e, and the terminal H 110h are directly connected to each other and transmit / receive performance information of the entire group to which the terminal B 110b belongs (double arrows 241, 243, 245).

  In this case, each of the terminal devices 110 to 110h in each of the rooms 200a, 200b, and 200c is directly connected to one terminal device in another two rooms. The entire performance information can be received. Therefore, two or more rooms can be connected while minimizing communication delay. In this method, if the maximum number n of connections per terminal device 110 is n, up to n rooms (up to 3 rooms in the example of FIG. 9) can be connected.

  According to a method of connecting two or more rooms 200 to each other, a method of connecting two rooms 200 via one terminal device (the method of the first embodiment), two or more rooms 200 are connected. The rooms 200 are directly connected to each other. FIG. 10 shows an example of this. A first room 200a composed of terminal A110a, terminal B110b, and terminal C110c, a second room 200b composed of terminal D110d and terminal E110e, and a third room 200c composed of terminal G110g and terminal H110h. The figure explaining an example of the connection form which connects the 4th room 200d which consists of the terminal device (it is also called "the terminal J") 110j of the participant J and the terminal device (it is also called "the terminal K") 110k of the participant K. It is. Terminal A is the owner of the first room 200a, terminal D is the owner of the second room 200b, terminal G is the owner of the third room 200c, and terminal J is the owner of the fourth room 200d.

  In this case, the management server 105 connects the first room 200a and the second room 200b, connects the second room 200b and the third room 200c, connects the third room 200c and the fourth room 200d, and connects the first room 200a and the first room 200b. Regarding the connection of the three rooms 200c, the connection of the first room 200a and the fourth room 200d, and the connection of the second room 200b and the fourth room 200d, one of the terminals 110 in each room that has not reached the limit number Connection support is performed so that the terminal devices 110 are connected to each other. Also in this case, as an example, connection can be performed according to a procedure of preferentially connecting from the owner terminal A, terminal D, terminal G, and terminal J of each room 200a, 200b, 200c, and 200d.

  For example, by connecting the owner terminal A110a of the first room 200a and the owner terminal D110d of the second room 200b, the first room 200a and the second room 200b are connected (double arrow 250), and the owner of the second room 200b By connecting the terminal D110d and the owner terminal G110g of the third room 200c, the second room 200b and the third room 200c are connected (double arrow 251), and the owner terminal G110g of the third room 200c and the owner of the fourth room 200d By connecting the terminal J110j, the third room 200c and the fourth room 200d are connected (double arrow 252). For example, the first room 200a and the third room 200c are connected by connecting the terminal B110b of the first room 200a and the terminal H110h of the third room 200c (double arrow 253). Further, for example, by connecting the terminal E110e of the second room 200b and the owner terminal J110j of the fourth room 200d, a double arrow 254 connecting the second room 200b and the fourth room 200d). Further, the first room 200a and the fourth room 200d are connected by connecting the terminal C110c of the first room 200a and the terminal K110k of the fourth room 200d (double arrow 255).

  In this case, for example, the terminal A 110a in the first room 200a receives the performance information of the entire second room 200b and transfers it to the other terminals B 110b and C 110c in the first room 200a. The terminal device 110 directly connected to the room 200 transfers performance information of the whole other directly connected room to another terminal device in the room to which the terminal device 110 belongs. Therefore, any of the terminal devices 110a to 110k can receive performance information of a room different from the room to which the terminal device 110a to 110k belongs with a maximum of two hops. Therefore, it is possible to extend the number of participants in one music session (up to nine in FIG. 10) exceeding the limit of participants in one room (four people) while suppressing an increase in communication delay as much as possible.

  A further modification of the method of connecting two or more rooms 200 is to connect two or more rooms in a daisy chain. FIG. 11 is an example of a connection form in which two or more rooms are connected in a daisy chain, and the first room 200a, the second room 200b, the third room 200c, and the fourth room 200d shown in FIG. The connection form which connects in a shape is shown. In this case, by connecting the terminal A110a in the first room 200a and the terminal D110d in the second room 200b, the first room 200a and the second room 200b are connected (double arrow 260), and the terminal E110e in the second room 200b. And the terminal G110g in the third room 200c are connected to each other so that the second room 200b and the third room 200c are connected (double arrow 261), and the terminal H110h in the third room 200c and the terminal J110j in the fourth room 200d are connected. By connecting, the third room 200c and the fourth room 200d are connected (double arrow 262). In this connection form, a certain room 200 receives performance information of the entire directly connected room and also receives performance information of the entire room not directly connected to the room 200 via the directly connected room. To do. For example, the first room 200a receives performance information of the entire second room 200b directly from the terminal D110d, while receiving performance information of the entire third room 200c via the second room 200b. The performance information of the entire fourth room 200d is received via the room 200c and the second room 200b. In this case, the number of participants in the music session can be expanded as much as possible by repeating the connection of the rooms 200 in theory, but the delay increases as the number of rooms connected in a daisy chain increases.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the owner terminal of each room (for example, the terminal A 110a and the terminal D 110d) transmits / receives a connection request (steps S2, S3, S14, S15) and accepts the connection request (steps S4, S5, S5). Although the configuration for performing S16 and S17) is shown, a terminal device other than the owner transmits and receives connection requests (steps S2, S3, S14, and S15) and accepts the connection requests (steps S4, S5, S16, and S17). It may be configured to do.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the management server 105 performs connection support processing in response to a connection request from a certain terminal device 110 (in the above example, an owner terminal of a certain room) (steps S1 to S1 in FIG. 5). S5, steps S14 to S19 in FIG. 7 have been described, but the management server 105 may not exist. In that case, the connection request (steps S2, S3, S14, and S15) and the acceptance of the connection request (steps S4, S5, S16, and S17) are at least one of two or more rooms without mediating the management server 105. 1 terminals (for example, owner terminals) directly send and receive connection requests and consents, and then any terminal device in any room replaces the management server 105 with step S5 in FIG. The connection support process including the connection start instruction in step S19 in FIG. 7 and the matching process in step S18 in FIG. 7 is performed.

  In addition, in each Example mentioned above, although the structure connected preferentially from the owner terminal device 110 of each room 200 (S5, S6, S19, S20) was shown, it connects so that it may connect from the terminal devices 110 other than an owner. Alternatively, the owner terminal device 110 and the other terminal devices 110 may be connected without being distinguished.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the configuration in which one of the plurality of terminal devices 110 belonging to the room 200 is the owner has been described, but the owner authority may not be set. In this case, the connection between two or more rooms is performed so that at least one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the terminal devices in each room is connected.

  Note that the number of the terminal devices 110 forming the plurality of rooms 200 is not limited to the examples illustrated in FIGS. 3, 8, 9, and 10 described above, and the number of terminal devices 110 per terminal device 110 (3 It is sufficient that the number is not more than the upper limit number (4 units) according to the number of units. Further, the limited number of devices per terminal device 110 is not limited to the three illustrated, and may be an appropriate number according to the upper limit of the data transfer rate of the communication network 115.

  In the second embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 8, the method of directly connecting all the terminal devices in the rooms 200 a and 200 b to each other one by one has been described. However, one terminal in each room 200 a (and 200 b). The terminal devices connected at least one to each other are directly connected to each other, and the terminal devices that are not directly connected receive performance information of another room from the directly connected terminal devices, that is, the second embodiment and the first embodiment. You may combine the connection method which combined the form.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is configured and implemented as a method for connecting a plurality of terminal devices in a music session system that realizes a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network. However, the present invention can be configured and implemented as an invention of a music session system to which the method is applied, and can be configured and implemented as an invention of a terminal apparatus that constitutes a music session system to which the method is applied. it can.

100 music session system, 105 management server, 110 terminal device, 115 communication network, 200 rooms, 1 CPU, 2 ROM, 3 RAM, 4 storage device, 5 setting operation detection circuit, 6 performance operation detection circuit, 7 A / D conversion Circuit, 8 Display control circuit, 9 Sound source / effect circuit, 10 Communication interface, 11 Bus, 12 Setting operator, 13 Performance operator, 14 Microphone, 15 Display, 16 Sound system

Claims (9)

In a music session system for realizing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network, a method for connecting the plurality of terminal devices,
Each of the plurality of terminal devices includes an input means for inputting performance information, a communication means for connecting other terminal devices up to a predetermined limit number, and transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices. And playing means for mixing and playing the performance information input by the input means and each piece of performance information received from the communication means, and comprising two or more terminal devices among the plurality of terminal devices. A plurality of groups are formed, and the terminal devices in each group transmit and receive the performance information to and from each other via the communication means,
The method
Of the plurality of terminal devices belonging to a certain first group, at least one terminal device whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number and a second group different from the first group A connection procedure for setting the communication means so as to connect at least one terminal device of which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the plurality of terminal devices;
A communication control procedure for causing the connected terminal devices of the first group and the second group of terminal devices to transmit / receive performance information of the entire group to which they belong to each other. The connection procedure includes: one terminal device in which the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group; and the plurality of terminals belonging to the second group Setting the communication means so as to connect one terminal device among the devices whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number;
In the communication control procedure, the performance information of the entire group received from the other is transmitted to each of the connected terminal device of the first group and the terminal device of the second group. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: causing all terminal devices to transmit.   In the connection procedure, among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group, the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number, and the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the second group 2. The communication means is set so that each of the terminal devices whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number is connected in one-to-one correspondence. The method described.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a connection request procedure for requesting any one of the terminal devices to connect the first group and the second group.   In the connection procedure, among the plurality of terminal devices belonging to the first group and the second group, the connection request and the approval of the connection are performed preferentially from the terminal device having the owner authority of the group. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed. A music session system for realizing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network,
Each of the plurality of terminal devices includes an input means for inputting performance information, a communication means for connecting other terminal devices up to a predetermined limit number, and transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices. And playing means for mixing and playing the performance information input by the input means and each piece of performance information received from the communication means, and comprising two or more terminal devices among the plurality of terminal devices. A plurality of groups are formed, and the terminal devices in each group transmit and receive the performance information to and from each other via the communication means,
Of the plurality of terminal devices belonging to a certain first group, at least one terminal device whose number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number and a second group different from the first group Connection means for setting the communication means so as to connect at least one terminal device among the plurality of terminal devices, the number of connected terminal devices does not reach the limit number;
A music session system comprising: communication control means for transmitting and receiving performance information of the entire group to which each of the connected terminal device of the first group and the terminal device of the second group is connected. The terminal device in the music session system for realizing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network,
The terminal device includes input means for inputting performance information, communication means for connecting other terminal devices up to a predetermined limit number, and transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices, and the input means. And playing means for mixing and playing the performance information received from the communication means, forming a first group with at least one other terminal device, and The performance information is transmitted / received to / from other terminal devices in the group via the communication means, and
When the number of the other terminal devices connected to itself does not reach the limit number, the communication means is connected to connect to at least one terminal device belonging to a second group different from the first group. Connection means to be set;
A terminal device comprising communication control means for transmitting / receiving performance information of the entire group to / from the connected second group terminal device.   The communication control means further transfers performance information of the entire second group received from the connected terminal device of the second group to all other terminal devices in the first group. The terminal device according to claim 7. The terminal device in the music session system for realizing a music session using a plurality of terminal devices over a communication network,
The terminal device includes input means for inputting performance information, communication means for connecting other terminal devices up to a predetermined limit number, and transmitting / receiving performance information to / from the other connected terminal devices, and the input means. And playing means for mixing and playing the performance information received from the communication means, forming a first group with at least one other terminal device, and The performance information is transmitted and received between the other terminal devices in the group and the communication means, and
When a second group different from the first group is connected via the other terminal device belonging to the first group, the performance information of the other second group as a whole is transmitted from the other terminal device. A terminal device comprising receiving means for receiving

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