JP4342965B2 - Online karaoke application system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication Karaoke application system that enables a singer to know his or her change in voice register without being aware of it. <P>SOLUTION: The communication Karaoke application system includes a karaoke device 1 having a means of acquiring an individual ID of a person who requests music, a means of inputting a voice register code together with the request music, a means of adjusting a playing key based upon melody register information and the received voice register code when the request music is played, a means of analyzing a voice register of correct singing based upon singing input and the melody while the request music is played, a means of storing register information of the analysis result while making it correspond to the individual ID of the person who requested the music, and a means of transmitting a set of the individual ID and register information to a host device, and a host device 90 having a means of receiving the individual ID and register information to aggregate register information by individual IDs, a means of storing voice register codes while making them correspond to the individual IDs according to register information by the individual IDs, and a means of outputting voice register codes by individual IDs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication karaoke application system in which a host device and a karaoke performance terminal perform data communication in a timely manner via a communication line. Specifically, the present invention relates to a communication karaoke application system having a function of adjusting a performance key to be set in a karaoke performance terminal based on a vocal range of a singer and a function of analyzing and outputting the vocal range of the singer.

  The karaoke device comes with a key control function that can adjust the performance keys according to the vocal range of the singer. According to this function, the actual performance key can be raised or lowered in semitones relative to the default key setting. “+1” is displayed when the semitone is raised, and “+2” is displayed when the semitone is raised further. Similarly, “-1” is displayed when a semitone is lowered. Using this, the singer can slide the range of the accompaniment music to his liking.

  However, this function cannot be set to an accurate key unless the singer correctly grasps his / her vocal range. Even if the range is known, it is difficult to know the correlation between the range and the performance key. Of course, the operation itself of adjusting the performance key according to the vocal range is troublesome. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-230879 (Patent Document 1) discloses a karaoke apparatus that analyzes a vocal range of a singer and automatically adjusts performance keys.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-344463 (Patent Document 2) describes a number that is easy to remember about 1 to 2 digits, called a vocal range code, of vocal range information analyzed by a karaoke apparatus without the singer grasping his / her own vocal range. The chord is presented to the singer, and the karaoke apparatus plays the music with the performance key corresponding to the input vocal chord code.

  An example of a method for identifying a vocal range of a singer by analyzing a singer's voice signal input through a microphone is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-222784 (Patent Document 3).

  It is known that the human voice range varies greatly from person to person, and becomes wider by practicing vocalization and repeating singing. Moreover, it may become narrow by aging etc. Therefore, when singing karaoke, you can sing comfortably when played with the key that matches your voice range. Also, if the vocal range has changed from before, even if you sing the same song, you can sing more comfortably by re-adjusting to a different key. In the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the singer needs an operation and time for analyzing his / her voice every time in order to know whether his / her voice range has changed.

  The present invention has been created in view of the above problems. The purpose is to provide a communication karaoke application system in which a singer can know his / her vocal range changes without being conscious of it.

The basis of the present invention is a communication karaoke application system in which a host device and many karaoke performance devices perform data communication in a timely manner via a communication line,
The karaoke apparatus includes a means for acquiring a personal ID of a person who requests a song, a means for receiving an input of a vocal cord code together with a request for the song, a main melody range information of the song when performing the requested song, and a voice range received at the time of the request. The means for adjusting the performance key based on the comparison with the chord, the means for analyzing the range that is correctly sung based on the comparison between the singing voice input and the main melody during the performance of the requested song, and the range information of the analysis result Means for storing the song in association with the personal ID of the person who requested the song, and means for transmitting a set of personal ID and range information to the host device,
The host device receives a set of personal ID and range information from the karaoke device and aggregates the range information for each individual ID, and corresponds the range code to each individual ID based on the range information collected for each individual ID. Means for adding and storing, and means for outputting a vocal range code for each stored personal ID.

  Further, the host device is provided with means for storing an electronic mail address in association with a personal ID, and is a communication karaoke application system for sending an electronic mail in which a voice range code is described to an electronic mail address corresponding to the personal ID. You can also.

  Alternatively, the karaoke device transmits the personal ID received at the time of the request to the host device, the host device returns a vocal tract code corresponding to the personal ID to the karaoke device, and the karaoke device transmits the returned vocal tract code. May be configured to display and output so that a person corresponding to the personal ID can recognize.

  According to the communication karaoke application system of the present invention, it is possible to recognize that the vocal range of the singer has changed through daily karaoke singing without performing special measurement.

=== Karaoke system ===
FIG. 1 shows a network configuration of a communication karaoke application system (hereinafter referred to as a karaoke system) in an embodiment of the present invention. A wide area intranet is constructed by connecting a VPN 110 (Virtual Private Network) 70 using the Internet to a LAN 110 and a host device 90 installed in karaoke stores 100 at various locations of karaoke businesses. A plurality of karaoke performance terminals (hereinafter referred to as karaoke devices) 1 are installed in karaoke stores 100 in various places, and the karaoke device 1 communicates with the host device 90 via the VPN 70.

=== Basic configuration and operation of karaoke apparatus ===
FIG. 2 is a functional block configuration of the karaoke apparatus 1. The karaoke apparatus 1 has almost the same hardware configuration as a performance terminal of a known communication karaoke system. The central control unit 11 controls the peripheral components to control the karaoke device 1, and the hard disk device 12 is the origin of generation of accompaniment music data mainly composed of MIDI data and lyrics images for many karaoke songs. Karaoke data including lyrics rendering data is stored. Also stored are moving image data for a long time in a predetermined format, script data defining a processing sequence of moving image data (storage location and processing order of moving image data to be processed, and the like). And the central control part 11 identifies the karaoke data and script data of each music by a music number, and manages this as a karaoke database.

  The host device 90 distributes karaoke data, script data, table of contents information, etc., about new music to the karaoke device 1 in a timely manner, or collects operation logs collected at any time by the karaoke device 1. The central control unit 11 is connected to the store LAN 110 and the VPN 70 via the network interface 22 and communicates with the host device 90. The karaoke data sent from the host device 90 is received to update the contents of the karaoke database, and various information such as an operation log collected on the karaoke device 1 side is transmitted to the host device 90.

  When the operation control unit 13 receives a music number input to the remote control transmitter 23 or the operation panel 14 provided in the karaoke apparatus main body, the operation control unit 13 transfers the number to the central control unit 11. The central control unit 11 stores the music number in an internal RAM and manages it in a performance processing queue. The music numbers are sequentially extracted from the queue, the corresponding karaoke data is read from the hard disk device 12, and the accompaniment music data in the karaoke data is transferred to the synthesizer 19 to generate accompaniment music.

  On the other hand, with regard to the lyric rendering data, the lyric image in which the portion to be sung is changed in color in synchronization with the accompaniment music is sequentially developed in the video RAM 16 as a bitmap. Also, predetermined moving image data is sequentially transferred to the video controller 17 in a predetermined order based on the script data, and the background moving image of the lyrics image is decoded.

  The mixing amplifier 20 mixes and amplifies the accompaniment music and the singing voice input to the microphone 22 and outputs the sound from the speaker 21. The video control unit 17 superimposes the lyric image on the decoded moving image and outputs it on the display 18.

  The karaoke apparatus 1 has a key control function in addition to the basic functions described above. In this embodiment, when a vocal range code for specifying the vocal range of the singer is input to the karaoke apparatus, the performance key corresponding to the chord is automatically set. As a result, the singer simply remembers the chord representing his / her vocal range, and sets the key adjustment values (+1, −2 etc.) to the karaoke apparatus 1 while taking into account his / her vocal range and default key for each song. No need to enter.

=== Regarding the vocal code ===
The vocal tract code as a parameter for setting the performance key is a number or code assigned to each of various vocal categorization models representing the human vocal tract model. However, there are a wide variety of human voice ranges, and if codes are assigned to all of them, the number of digits of codes and the description method become complicated. For example, if an area of 3 octaves for each semitone is a sound range that a person can utter, there are 36 pitches. Then, for the 36 pitches, a certain person's voice range is represented by the highest pitch and the lowest pitch. In that case, the person's range classification model is one of 36 × 36, and the same number of chords as 36 × 36 is required. Even with one note at a time, an 18 × 18 chord is required. This makes it difficult to remember the chord itself when specifying the performance key.

  Therefore, a vocal tract classification model is set based on a large number of human vocal tract patterns obtained by statistically investigating the highest and lowest pitches that can be uttered by ordinary people (without gender distinction). For example, when expressing a vocal tract classification model with the highest pitch and the lowest pitch, for a voice range where many people are concentrated, a large number of models are set by finely dividing the pitch. For the other vocal ranges, the maximum pitches and the lowest pitches are roughly divided to reduce the number of vocal range classification models. Note that the vocal range classification model may be represented by data of either the highest pitch or the lowest pitch and data of the voice range. Alternatively, data of the central pitch of the vocal range and data of the vocal range can be used. In this embodiment, the vocal tract division model set in this way is expressed by a two-digit code.

  FIG. 3 illustrates the correspondence between the vocal tract classification model and the vocal tract code. In this example, the vocal tract classification model is expressed by the highest pitch and the lowest pitch. FIGS. 4 and 5 show examples in which the vocal segment model is simplified by expressing the maximum pitch and the vocal range. In this case, the maximum pitch was one octave. Therefore, the maximum pitch can be simplified to 12 ways. This is enough for the singer because the octave slide can be done unconsciously. If the vocal range is fixed, for example, one octave and a half, the vocal range code can be simplified to 12 ways (FIG. 4). Even if the vocal range is subdivided into 8 ways, it falls within 12 × 8 ways (2-digit code). FIG. 5 shows 12 × 10 examples. Further, FIG. 6 illustrates the correspondence relationship between the vocal tract division model and the vocal tract codes when the vocal tract division model is simplified and the number of digits of the vocal tract code is further reduced.

=== Voice code notification service ===
In the karaoke system of the present embodiment, even if the vocal range of the singer is expanded by practice or narrowed by aging, and the vocal range code to be input to the karaoke apparatus 1 changes from before, a special vocal range analysis opportunity is provided. Even if it is not provided, it is possible to recognize the change in the vocal range, update the vocal range code, and output the code appropriately. A karaoke company provides a vocal tract code notification service for notifying a vocal tract code to each singer using this karaoke system.

  Schematically, the karaoke device 1 analyzes whether or not the singer has correctly uttered the high range or the low range based on the singing state during the performance of the music and the main melody of the performance music, and the analysis result corresponds to the range information. Are transmitted to the host device 90 in association with individual singers. The host device 90 aggregates the range information for each singer sent from the karaoke apparatus 1 and identifies the vocal range model based on the aggregated range information. Then, the range code corresponding to the identified range model is stored in association with the corresponding singer, and the range code is notified to the singer in a timely manner. In this embodiment, the voice range code is notified by e-mail.

=== About the identification of the singer ===
The vocal code notification service is intended for individual singers, and those who wish to receive the vocal code notification service will be notified in advance, such as by mail or online, to the karaoke company about their personal information, including their email address. Notify by the method of and complete the membership registration. The karaoke company issues a personal ID with the person who has notified the personal information as a member, and notifies the member of the ID appropriately. When a member performs a music selection operation on the karaoke device 1, his / her personal ID is input to the karaoke device 1 together with the music number, and the karaoke device 1 associates the music number with the personal ID and manages it in a queue. It is said.

  As a user interface for inputting the personal ID to the karaoke apparatus 1, the personal ID is entered using the numeric keypad at the remote control transmitter 23 following the music number, and the remote control transmitter 23 is accompanied by the personal ID. What is necessary is just to comprise so that a music number may be transmitted to a karaoke apparatus. Alternatively, a method may be considered in which performance reservations are made using a remote control transmitter (personal remote control) in a form possessed by each member. Each personal remote controller stores a different ID (remote controller ID) for each unit and includes the remote controller ID in the output radio signal. By managing the correspondence between the ID number itself or the remote control ID and the personal ID with a host device or the like, the remote control ID can be used as the personal ID. That is, in a karaoke apparatus 1 of a certain karaoke store, when a member who enters the store performs a music selection operation with his / her personal remote controller, the central control unit 11 or the operation control unit 13 of the karaoke apparatus 1 analyzes the remote control input signal. To recognize the remote control ID. If the correspondence relationship between the remote control ID and the personal ID is managed on the host device 90 side, the karaoke device 1 sends the previous range information and the remote control ID to the host device 90, and the remote control ID on the host device 90 side. May be converted into a corresponding personal ID. When the remote control ID itself is used as a personal ID, this ID conversion process is not necessary.

  At present, by installing a dedicated JAVA program on a mobile phone having an Internet communication function, an infrared communication function, and a JAVA execution environment, the mobile phone can be used as a remote control transmitter for a karaoke apparatus. Therefore, if this mobile phone sends the serial number of the program, its own phone number, individual identification information, etc. to the karaoke apparatus together with the music number as a remote control ID by the JAVA program, this mobile phone substantially Functions as a personal remote control.

  Another method is to issue an ID card such as a magnetic card in which a personal ID is recorded to each member, and use the reader's ID card to recognize the personal ID by using a reader to recognize the personal ID. There are various other user interfaces that can be used for input.

  Furthermore, the Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2003-333478, 2003-152990, and 2003-283127 include a multi-function karaoke remote control device (hereinafter referred to as a multi-function karaoke remote control device) that has a touch panel and a music search function and is configured to communicate bidirectionally with a karaoke device. Karaoke utilization terminal). This utilization terminal can be shared by a plurality of members, and each member inputs his / her personal ID into the karaoke utilization terminal prior to using the karaoke apparatus. The karaoke device sends the personal ID input to the utilization terminal to the host device, obtains a facial photo as the personal information of the corresponding member, and manages the facial photo and the personal ID in association with each other. Also, the face photo is transferred to the karaoke utilization terminal, and the utilization terminal displays a button in which the face photograph is converted into an icon on the touch panel. When the member designates his / her icon and performs a music selection operation, the ID of the icon is transferred to the karaoke device together with the song number of the requested song, and the karaoke device is configured to recognize a personal ID corresponding to the icon ID. ing. If a karaoke system including this karaoke utilization terminal is constructed, the karaoke device sends the range information about the member who requested the song to the corresponding personal ID and sends it to the host device, or is associated with the personal ID. It is possible to display the voice code when it is returned. If the voice range code is associated with the icon ID and transferred to the karaoke utilization terminal, the voice range code of each member can be displayed on the touch panel of the utilization terminal. Note that Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-152990 also describes a technique relating to a mobile phone that functions as a personal remote controller.

=== Singing analysis and identification of vocal cords ===
When the user inputs the personal ID together with the music number to the karaoke apparatus 1, the central control unit 11 associates the personal ID with the music number registered in the queue. Then, when the personal ID is associated with the music number extracted from the queue, the voice analysis unit 21 is activated when the music is played. The voice analysis unit 21 sequentially acquires the pitch of the singing pitch and the pitch of the main melody based on the singing voice input to the microphone 22 during the music performance and the main melody of the performance music, and the pitches of both are predetermined. If the pitch is within the pitch, it is output that the pitch is correct and that the pitch is correct. The central control unit 11 acquires the utterable information from the voice analysis unit 21 through the performance of one song, and creates range information representing the singer's range based on the acquired utterable information.

  Specifically, the central control unit 11 transfers the accompaniment music data of the performance music together with the synthesizer 19 to the voice analysis unit 21, and the voice analysis unit 21 transmits each musical tone of the part corresponding to the main melody in the accompaniment music data. The pitch is acquired sequentially. Further, the singing voice input to the microphone 21 during the performance is sampled, and the sampling data is analyzed to obtain the pitch of the singing sound. Then, the pitch of the musical tone of the main melody part is compared with the pitch of the singing sound, and if both pitches are within a predetermined range, the utterable information is transferred to the central control unit 11.

  The central control unit 11 counts the frequency 1 with respect to the pitch of the main melody at the time of acquiring the utterable information from the voice analyzing unit 21 for each opportunity. Then, at an appropriate time such as when the music performance is finished, the frequency for each pitch included in the main melody is used as the range information, and this range information is transmitted to the host device 90 together with the corresponding personal ID.

  When the range information is sent from the karaoke device 1, the host device 90 updates the frequency for each pitch that has been associated with the corresponding personal ID so that the pitch is equal to or higher than the predetermined frequency. Then, the highest and lowest pitches are specified, and the highest and lowest pitches are compared with the above-mentioned range classification model to identify the most approximate range classification model. Then, a range code corresponding to the model is acquired. Here, if the acquired range code is different from the previous range code associated with the corresponding personal ID, the range code associated with the personal ID is updated, and the updated range code is The described e-mail is sent to the Internet 70 to the e-mail address corresponding to the personal ID.

  In addition, when updating the vocal tract code, the previous vocal tract code may be updated only when the newly acquired vocal tract code corresponds to a vocal tract code corresponding to a wider vocal categorization model than before. Alternatively, it is not notified every time a vocal tract code is updated, for example, the latest vocal tract code is notified every predetermined period or every performance opportunity, for example, once a month or every time the gamut information for five songs is aggregated. You may do it.

  The range information may be a normalized correspondence between the pitch and the frequency, that is, a probability of correctly speaking. In this case, the normalized information may be created on the karaoke device 1 side, or the correspondence relationship between the pitch and the frequency is transmitted from the karaoke device 1 to the host device 90, and is normalized each time on the host device 90 side. May be updated and stored.

=== Input of vocal cords ===
When a member who has received an electronic mail in which a vocal tract code is written and knows his / her vocal tract code requests a song from the karaoke apparatus 1, the member inputs his / her vocal tract code together with the tune number to the karaoke apparatus. As a user interface for inputting a voice range code, a key for setting a voice range is arranged on the remote control transmitter 23 or the operation panel 14, and after inputting a music number, a personal ID is input (personal remote control). In this case, an appropriate method is conceivable, such as pressing the vocal range setting key and then inputting his own vocal range code. In this embodiment, even if a member is not a member, as long as he / she knows his / her vocal range code, only the music number and its code can be input without inputting the personal ID. When the music number, personal ID (or remote control ID), and vocal range code are transferred via the operation control unit 13, the central control unit 11 associates the musical number with the vocal range code and queues for performance processing. Manage with. When a request is received from a non-member, the music number is associated with a musical range code and managed.

=== Automatic setting of performance keys ===
When the vocal code is associated with the music number extracted from the queue, the central control unit 11 specifies the main melody part included in the accompaniment music data of the music prior to the music performance, and the range of the main melody part. And the user's vocal range based on the vocal range code are compared, and a performance key suitable for the user's vocal range is set when playing the music.

  If the range of the user's vocal range is wider than the change range of the main melody range of the song, the performance key is not changed unless the user's vocal range is out of the main melody range. Play accompaniment music at pitch. On the other hand, if the user's voice range is out of the main melody range, the performance key is set so that the user's voice range covers the range of the main melody range. In these cases, the performance keys may be set so that the central pitch of the main melody range is near the central pitch of the user's voice range so that the user can easily sing.

  When the range of the user's voice range is narrower than the change range of the main melody range, the performance key is set so that the user's range can cover the main melody range as much as possible. In this case, to make it easier for the user to sing, set the performance key so that the central pitch of the main melody range is near the central pitch of the user's vocal range, or create a pronunciation distribution histogram by pitch of the main melody. It is better to set a performance key that excludes the highest pitch and the lowest pitch that rarely appear.

=== Notification of voice classification code ===
In the above embodiment, when a voice classification code of a member is updated, the updated code is sent to the e-mail address of the corresponding member. For example, when the karaoke device 1 accepts a request from a member, the member's personal ID is sent to the host device 90, and the host device 90 returns a vocal range code corresponding to the personal ID to the karaoke device 1. . Then, the karaoke apparatus 1 may display and output the returned voice range code so that the corresponding member can understand. The timing of displaying the vocal cords may be displayed immediately when the request is received by sending the personal ID and returning the vocal cord code promptly when the request is received, When the contents of the matrix are displayed on the display 18 as a list, a vocal tract code may be displayed along with a song name or a song number. It may be displayed prior to the performance of the singing part prior to the start of the music performance or during the prelude.

  In addition, when a member sings a certain piece of music, the karaoke device 1 sends the range information to the host device, and as a result, when the member's voice range code is updated, the host device 90 includes the updated range code and The member's name is immediately returned to the karaoke device 1, and the karaoke device 1 displays a message such as “the voice range code of Mr. XX has been changed to XX” on the display 18. The change of the vocal range code may be notified during use of 1.

=== About the main melody information ===
In the above embodiment, the main melody part in the MIDI accompaniment music data is used to specify the reference range when setting the performance key based on the range code or when comparing with the pitch of the singing voice. Was. Not limited to this example, information directly describing the main melody range for each piece of music may be prepared in the karaoke database.

  In addition, when the data from which the accompaniment music is generated is recorded data obtained by recording an actual musical performance such as MP3 format, the recorded data does not have information describing the reference main melody range, I cannot obtain voicing information or range information. In order to cope with such a case, information for synchronizing with the progress of the accompaniment music based on the recording data and information describing the pitch of the main melody may be included as karaoke data together with the recording data. For example, the karaoke data may include MIDI data of the main melody part described at the same tempo as the accompaniment music obtained by reproducing the recorded data. Accordingly, the voice analysis unit can compare the pitch of the main melody and the pitch of the singing voice in synchronization with the progress of the music performance.

  The main melody information is used to analyze the vocal range of the singer, and is not a standard for analyzing the skill of the singing. Therefore, the voice analysis section does not need to compare the pitch of the main melody with a singing pitch for every note shorter than a predetermined length in the main melody (for example, a half note or less). On the other hand, if the singing is not performed following subtle pitch changes, it is determined that the sound cannot be uttered correctly even if it is within the range of the vocal range.

  Therefore, the singing voice analysis unit may adopt only a note having a length of a predetermined length or more (for example, a half note or more) as the main melody sound to be compared with the singing pitch. Thereby, the load applied to the analysis process is reduced, and the pitch of the singing voice can be analyzed more accurately. When the accompaniment music data is recorded data, the main melody information may be simplified MIDI data in which sounds of a predetermined length or more in the main melody are listed on the performance time series.

It is a network block diagram of the communication karaoke application system in the Example of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the karaoke apparatus which comprises the said application system. It is the schematic which shows the correspondence of the vocal tract division | segmentation model which the said application system memorize | stores, and a vocal tract code. It is the schematic of the other example in the said correspondence. It is the schematic of the other example in the said correspondence. It is the schematic of the other example in the said correspondence.

Explanation of symbols

1 Karaoke device 11 Central control unit 12 Hard disk device 19 Synthesizer 21 Voice analysis unit 23 Remote control transmitter 70 Internet 90 Host device

Claims (1)

A communication karaoke application system in which a host device and a number of karaoke performance devices perform data communication in a timely manner via a communication line,
Karaoke performance equipment
Means for obtaining the personal ID of the person who requested the song;
Means for comparing the singing voice input with the pitch of the main melody during the performance of the requested song, and generating range information indicating the frequency of singing each pitch correctly;
Means for storing the generated range information in association with the personal ID of the person who requested the song;
Means for transmitting a set of personal ID and range information to the host device,
The host device
Means (a) for storing the personal ID and the vocal cord code in association with each other;
Means for storing a personal ID and an email address in association with each other;
Means for associating and storing a plurality of vocal tract classification models representing ranges that can be uttered and a vocal tract code;
Means for receiving a set of personal ID and range information from the karaoke performance device, and collecting the range information for a plurality of songs in the most recent predetermined period for each individual ID;
When the range information (c) of the personal ID (a) is re-aggregated, the model that most closely approximates the range information (c) is identified according to the range classification model, and the range code (d) corresponding to the model is identified. Means for updating the stored contents of the means (a) by associating the personal ID (b) with the vocal cord code (d);
A communication means for creating an e-mail notifying the vocal cord code (d) and sending it to the mail address of the personal ID (d) when the vocal cord code (d) of the personal ID (b) is updated. Karaoke application system.

Images