JP6492754B2 - Musical instruments and musical instrument systems - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a musical instrument and a musical instrument system.

  A musical instrument having a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) sound source is known. For example, performance data of a channel played by a musical instrument other than the musical instrument is reproduced and output by the MIDI sound source. Thus, the musical instrument can be automatically played in synchronization with the music played by the MIDI sound source, or the player can play the musical instrument by himself (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3567527

  The MIDI sound source is implemented by hardware alone or by a combination of software and hardware, but the technology related to the MIDI sound source is improving day by day. Even when the same MIDI file is played back with the latest MIDI sound source, it is often played back with a better sound at each stage than when played with an old MIDI sound source. For this reason, pianos and other musical instruments themselves are often based on mature technology, and although their lifetime is generally long, the entire musical instrument becomes obsolete earlier than the lifetime of the musical instrument itself due to the obsolescence of the MIDI sound source. There was a possibility. Further, there has been a demand for reproducing and outputting various performance data with high sound quality even for musical instruments not equipped with a MIDI sound source.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a musical instrument and a musical instrument system that can reproduce performance data of channels played by musical instruments other than the musical instrument with high sound quality.

  The musical instrument according to the present invention includes channel specifying information acquisition means for acquiring channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from a server among a plurality of performance data channels, and the channel specifying information. Transmitting means for transmitting to the server; receiving means for receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information; and output means for outputting the music sound data. Including.

  The instrument control method according to the present invention includes a channel specification information acquisition step of acquiring channel specification information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from a server among a plurality of performance data channels; A transmitting step of transmitting specific information to the server, a receiving step of receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information from the server, and an output step of outputting the music sound data And including.

  In addition, the program according to the present invention includes a channel specifying information acquiring unit that acquires channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from a server among a plurality of performance data channels, and the channel specifying information. A computer as transmission means for transmitting to the server, reception means for receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information, and output means for outputting the music sound data. It is a program to make it function. This program may be stored in a computer-readable information storage medium.

  The musical instrument system according to the present invention includes a musical instrument and a server, and the musical instrument acquires channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from the server among a plurality of performance data channels. Channel specifying information acquisition means for transmitting, transmitting means for transmitting the channel specifying information to the server, and receiving means for receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information from the server; Output means for outputting the music sound data, the channel specifying information is information for specifying the type of the musical instrument, and the server is configured to output the music sound based on the information for specifying the type of the musical instrument. A channel for generating data in the server is determined.

  The musical instrument system according to the present invention includes a musical instrument and a musical instrument system, and the musical instrument includes channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from a server among a plurality of performance data channels. Channel specifying information acquisition means for acquiring, transmitting means for transmitting the channel specifying information to the server, and receiving means for receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information from the server. And output means for outputting the music sound data, wherein the performance data includes performance data of the first music and performance data of the second music, and the transmission means includes the first and second transmission data. Music performance data or data specifying the music performance data is transmitted to the server, and the server transmits the first music. Before the output end of the music sound data, it starts generating the music sound data of the second song.

  In the musical instrument system control method according to the present invention, in the musical instrument, channel specifying information for acquiring channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from a server among a plurality of performance data channels. An acquisition step; in the musical instrument, a transmission step of transmitting the channel identification information to the server; and in the musical instrument, the music sound data corresponding to performance data of a channel identified by the channel identification information is received from the server. And receiving means for outputting the music sound data in the musical instrument, wherein the channel specifying information is information for specifying the type of the musical instrument, and the server specifies the type of the musical instrument. The music sound data is generated by the server based on the information to be generated. To determine Lumpur.

  In the musical instrument system control method according to the present invention, in the musical instrument, channel specifying information for acquiring channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating a music sound from a server among a plurality of performance data channels. An acquisition step; in the musical instrument, a transmission step of transmitting the channel identification information to the server; and in the musical instrument, the music sound data corresponding to performance data of a channel identified by the channel identification information is received from the server. A receiving step, and an output step of outputting the music sound data in the musical instrument, wherein the performance data includes performance data of the first music and performance data of the second music, and the transmitting step includes , Specify the performance data of the first and second music, or the performance data of those music That transmits data to the server, before the output end of the music sound data of the first music starts generating the music sound data of the second song.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the musical instrument which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of a controller. It is a figure which shows an example of a performance file. It is a functional block diagram of a server. It is an operation | movement sequence diagram of the musical instrument which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the musical instrument 10 includes an automatic performance piano 12, a controller 14 connected to the automatic performance piano 12, and an external speaker 16 connected to the controller 14. The musical instrument system is constituted by the musical instrument 10 and the server 20. Note that at least one of the controller 14 and the external speaker 16 may be built in the automatic performance piano 12. The controller 14 may be built in the external speaker 16.

  The automatic performance piano 12 is a stringed musical instrument including a key, a hammer linked to the key, a string generated by the hammer, and a pedal for controlling vibration of the string, and particularly includes an automatic performance unit 12a. The automatic performance unit 12a includes an actuator such as a solenoid, and drives the hammer by the actuator in accordance with a control signal transmitted from the controller 14. Keys and pedals may also be driven. As a result, the automatic performance piano 12 autonomously plays the music regardless of human hands.

  As an example, the controller 14 includes a microprocessor, a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, a communication interface connected to the communication network 18, a MIDI sound source circuit that interprets MIDI data (performance data) and generates music sound data. This is a computer system that includes a sound IC that generates an analog audio signal based on music sound data to be generated and causes the speaker 16 to generate sound.

  Here, the MIDI sound source is implemented by dedicated hardware, but of course, it may be implemented by a combination of general-purpose hardware such as a microprocessor, volatile memory, and nonvolatile memory, and software.

  The controller 14 stores a plurality of MIDI files (SMF (Standard MIDI File)) including MIDI data of a plurality of channels. Each MIDI file corresponds to a different music piece. Each channel of the MIDI file is associated with a musical instrument, and the MIDI data of each channel describes the performance procedure of the corresponding musical instrument. The music sound data indicating the music sound when the corresponding musical instrument is played according to the procedure described by the MIDI data of each channel is generated by the MIDI sound source circuit. Here, the music sound data indicates the waveform of the music sound in a digital format.

  A speaker 16 is connected to the controller 14. For a desired music piece, music sound data corresponding to MIDI data of a channel of an instrument other than the piano is generated by a MIDI sound source circuit, and the sound IC outputs it from the speaker 16. . In addition, the controller 14 transmits a control signal to the automatic performance unit 12a of the automatic performance piano 12 according to the MIDI data of the piano channel, and synchronizes with the music sound generated from the speaker 16 to synchronize with the automatic performance piano 12. Let's play the piano part. As a result, an ensemble of a piano and other instruments such as a piano ensemble can be reproduced.

  Here, the controller 14 according to the present embodiment can cause the server 20 to generate music sound data corresponding to the MIDI data of the channel of the instrument other than the piano. The controller 14 receives music sound data generated by the server 20 in a streaming format, and the sound IC outputs it from the speaker 16. Further, the controller 14 causes the automatic performance piano 12 to play the piano part of the same musical piece in synchronization with the musical tone of another musical instrument output from the speaker 16 in accordance with the MIDI data of the piano channel. This makes it possible to reproduce the musical tone of other musical instruments with higher sound quality than using the built-in MIDI tone generator circuit.

  That is, the server 20 is connected to the controller 14 via a communication network 18 such as the Internet, and receives from the controller 14 channel specification information for specifying a MIDI file and a channel in which a piano performance procedure is described. Then, among the multiple channels of MIDI data included in the received MIDI file, the MIDI data of channels other than the channel specified by the channel specifying information is rendered. That is, music sound data is generated based on the MIDI data of these channels. This music sound data is received by the controller 14 in a streaming format. The server 20 is composed of a computer having a higher performance than the controller 14, and the software can be easily updated. Further, the latest MIDI tone generator circuit can be connected as required. Therefore, in general, it is possible to generate music sound data with higher sound quality by rendering the MIDI data by the server 20 than by rendering the MIDI data by the controller 14.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the controller 14. As shown in the figure, the controller 14 functionally includes a MIDI file storage unit 14a, a channel audition unit 14b, a user interface (UI) unit 14c, a transmission unit 14d, a reception unit 14e, and a synchronization output unit 14f. . These functions are realized by executing the program according to the embodiment of the present invention in the controller 14 which is a computer system. This program may be downloaded to the controller 14 via the communication network 18 or may be installed from various computer-readable storage media.

  The MIDI file storage unit 14a is mainly configured by a nonvolatile memory, and stores a plurality of MIDI files. These MIDI files may be downloaded from a separate computer such as the server 20 via the communication network 18. Further, it may be read from an SD card or other portable computer-readable storage medium. The MIDI file may be created by various business operators and purchased by the user of the musical instrument 10. Alternatively, it may be made by the user of the musical instrument 10.

  The channel audition unit 14b performs a performance of at least one channel specified by the user using the UI unit 14c among a plurality of channels included in the MIDI file for the MIDI file specified by the user using the UI unit 14c. Play the data. Specifically, when the user inputs one or a plurality of channel numbers considered by the user and the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12 using the UI unit 14c, the MIDI data of the channel specified by these numbers is reproduced. . At this time, MIDI data is not reproduced for a channel having a number other than the number input by the user. Note that the channel viewing unit 14b determines the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12 from the channel information included in the MIDI file (information such as which musical instrument each channel is performance data), regardless of the user input. You can judge. That is, when the channel information indicates a piano, the channel number of the channel information may be determined as the channel number of the automatic performance piano 12. The channel audition section 14b generates a control signal for the automatic performance unit 12a based on the MIDI data of the channel related to the number input by the user, and transmits it to the automatic performance unit 12a.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B both illustrate the contents of a MIDI file indicating a piano trio music. In the MIDI file shown in FIG. 3A, channels 1 and 2 correspond to the performance part of the automatic piano 12, channel 3 corresponds to the violin performance part, and channel 4 corresponds to the cello performance part. doing. On the other hand, in the MIDI file shown in FIG. 3 (b), channel 3 corresponds to the performance part of the automatic piano 12, channel 1 corresponds to the performance part of the violin, and channel 2 corresponds to the performance part of the cello. doing. As described above, the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12 may differ depending on the MIDI file. However, according to the channel audition section 14b, the MIDI data specified by the user is automatically generated by the automatic performance piano 12. The user is able to confirm whether or not he / she has correctly designated the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12 by being reproduced and listening to the performance of the automatic performance piano 12. In the present embodiment, the MIDI data processing is performed by the server 20 for channels other than the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12. For this reason, it is possible to prevent useless communication between the controller 14 and the server 20 and useless processing in the server 20 by checking the correctness specified by the user in advance by the channel listening section 14b of the controller 14.

  Note that the channel listening section 14b may generate music sound data from the MIDI data of the channel specified by the user by the MIDI sound source circuit built in the controller 14 and output the musical sound from the speaker 16. In this way, the MIDI data of the channel specified by the user can be auditioned without using the automatic performance piano 12, and the user can confirm whether he / she has correctly specified the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12.

  Also, the channel trial listening unit 14b may generate music sound data (accompaniment) from MIDI data of a channel other than the channel designated by the user by the built-in MIDI sound source circuit, and output the music sound from the speaker 16. Even in this way, the user can confirm whether he / she has correctly designated the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12.

  If the MIDI data of the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12 is auditioned by the automatic performance of the automatic performance piano 12 as described above, there is an advantage that the built-in MIDI tone generator circuit can be eliminated.

  The UI unit 14c includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device and other display devices and buttons, and the user designates a MIDI file or designates one or more channels related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12. Used for

  The transmission unit 14d generates channel specifying information for specifying a channel other than the channel specified by the UI unit 14c among the channels included in the MIDI file specified by the UI unit 14c. The channel specifying information is information for specifying a channel for generating music sound data in the server 20, and may be, for example, a channel number specified by the UI unit 14c, or other than a channel specified by the UI unit 14c. It may be a channel number. The channel specifying information is generated based on the channel designation performed by the user using the UI unit 14c. When the channel viewing unit 14b determines the channel number of the automatic performance piano 12 based on the channel information of the MIDI file, the channel viewing unit 14b specifies the channel corresponding to the instrument other than the automatic performance piano 12 based on the channel number. Channel identification information may be generated.

  The transmission unit 14d reads the MIDI file specified by the UI unit 14c from the MIDI file storage unit 14a, and transmits the read MIDI file and the channel specifying information generated as described above to the server 20. Note that the channel specifying information may be described in a MIDI file stored in the MIDI file storage unit 14a. By doing so, the channel specifying information can be read from the MIDI file and transmitted to the server 20 without the user specifying the channel using the UI unit 14c.

  The server 20 extracts the MIDI data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information received from the controller 14 from the MIDI file also received from the controller 14 and generates music sound data therefrom. Then, the generated music sound data is transmitted to the controller 14 in a streaming format.

  The receiving unit 14 e receives music sound data transmitted from the server 20 in a streaming format via the communication network 18. The receiving unit 14e may receive music sound data from the server in a download format.

  The synchronization output unit 14 f converts the music sound data received from the server 20 into an analog audio signal by the sound IC and outputs the analog sound signal from the speaker 16. Further, based on the MIDI data of the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12, a control signal for the automatic performance unit 12a is generated, and the control signal is synchronized with the output of the music sound data from the speaker 16 and is sent to the automatic performance unit 12a. Supply. Thereby, the automatic performance piano 12 can be made to perform in synchronization with the musical sound of the accompaniment output from the speaker 16. As a result, an ensemble composed of a piano and another musical instrument can be reproduced.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the server 20. As shown in the figure, the server 20 functionally includes a sound source processing unit 20a and a streaming unit 20b. These functions are realized by executing the program according to the embodiment of the present invention in the server 20 which is a computer system.

  The sound source processing unit 20a extracts MIDI data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information received from the controller 14 from the MIDI file also received from the controller 14, and generates music sound data therefrom. The sound source processing unit 20a may be realized by a combination of a sound source processing program and general-purpose computer hardware, or may include a dedicated MIDI sound source circuit. The sound source processing unit 20 a stores the generated music sound data in the streaming unit 20 b and transmits information (URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) indicating the storage location to the controller 14.

  The channel specifying information transmitted from the controller 14 to the server 20 may be information specifying the type of musical instrument (here, piano) connected to the controller 14. In this case, the sound source processing unit 20a determines a channel to be processed in the MIDI file based on information specifying the type of instrument. For example, if the MIDI file describes the type of instrument corresponding to each channel as metadata, the channel to be rendered may be determined based on the metadata. Alternatively, if the MIDI file includes information on the creator or company of the MIDI file as metadata, the creator or company is determined from the metadata, and the MIDI data of the instrument identified by the channel identification information However, the same creator or company may determine which channel is usually stored.

  The streaming unit 20b stores the music sound data generated by the sound source processing unit 20a, and the music sound data is streamed in response to a request from the controller 14 with information (URL) indicating the storage location of the music sound data. To the controller 14.

  FIG. 5 is an operation sequence diagram of the musical instrument 10 and the server 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the user first designates a song using the UI unit 14c of the controller 14 (S101). Further, the user designates the channel number related to the performance part of the automatic piano 12 using the UI unit 14c (S102). Thereafter, in response to a trial listening instruction from the UI unit 14c, the channel trial listening unit 14b reproduces the MIDI data of the designated channel in the MIDI file of the designated music (S103). Listening to the music of the reproduced MIDI data, if it is found that the channel number related to the performance part of the automatic piano 12 is not correctly specified (S104), the user again specifies the channel number using the UI unit 14c. (S102). On the other hand, if the sound of the reproduced MIDI data is heard and if the channel number related to the performance part of the automatic piano 12 is correctly specified (S104), the music and the The above processing is repeated until the channel designation is completed (S105). When the designation of the music and the channel is finished for all the music, the transmission unit 14d of the controller 14 sends the MIDI files of all the designated music and their channel specifying information to the server 20 (S106).

  The tone generator 20a of the server 20 extracts MIDI data of the channel specified by the corresponding channel specifying information from the MIDI file of the first song, and generates song sound data from the MIDI data (S107). Then, the generated music sound data is stored in the streaming unit 20b, and a URL indicating the storage location is transmitted to the controller 14 (S108).

  The synchronous output unit 14f of the controller 14 starts outputting the first music piece (S109). That is, the streaming unit 20b of the server 20 is accessed using the URL received from the server 20, and the music sound data specified by the URL is received in a streaming format (S111). The received music sound data is output from the speaker 16, and the piano part of the first music is automatically played on the automatic performance piano 12 in synchronization with the musical sound output from the speaker 16.

  Note that the sound source processing unit 20a of the server 20 starts generation of music sound data of the second music piece (S110) before the end of outputting the music sound data of the first music piece (S113). Specifically, after generating music sound data of the first music, generation of music sound data of the second music is started immediately. In this case, there is a possibility that the URL of the music sound data of the two music pieces can be transmitted to the controller 14 by the time when the output of the music sound data of the first music is finished (S113) (S112). As a result, the output of the second song sound data can be started immediately after the end of the output of the first song sound data (S113) (S114, S115).

  According to the musical instrument 10 described above, MIDI data of channels other than the channel related to the performance part of the automatic performance piano 12 can be reproduced with high sound quality by using high-performance software resources and hardware resources of the server 20. become.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above description, the present invention is applied to the automatic performance piano 12, but the present invention can also be applied to other musical instruments. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to musical instruments that do not have an automatic performance function. That is, the present invention can be similarly applied to a musical instrument in which music sound data received from the server 20 is output from the speaker 16 and the user plays the musical instrument manually.

  Further, as described above, when the channel audition section 14b reproduces the MIDI data of the channel specified by the user by the automatic performance of the automatic performance piano 12, all the MIDI data is rendered by the server 20 and is sent to the controller 14. The MIDI sound source circuit is not necessarily provided.

  If the server 20 stores a large number of MIDI files in advance, the transmission unit 14 d of the controller 14 may not transmit the MIDI file to the server 20. If the transmission unit 14d transmits information specifying a MIDI file specified by the user, such as a file name or a song name, to the server 20, the server 20 can specify a MIDI file to be processed according to the information.

  Further, the server 20 does not have to perform the rendering process of the MIDI data after waiting for receiving the channel specifying information from the controller 14. That is, with respect to the MIDI file of each music piece, the MIDI sound data of a channel that may require music sound data may be rendered in advance, and the music sound data that is the result of the rendering may be stored. In this way, when the channel specifying information is received from the controller 14, the already stored music sound data can be transmitted to the controller 14.

  Furthermore, the server 20 receives the MIDI data from a musical instrument that generates MIDI data in real time in response to a key input, such as a mute piano and a MIDI keyboard, and converts it into music sound data by the sound source processing unit 20a. You can return it. By doing so, it is possible to reproduce musical sounds using the MIDI sound source of the server 20 in musical instruments such as a mute piano and a MIDI keyboard.

  10 musical instruments, 12 automatic performance piano, 12a automatic performance unit, 14 controller, 14a MIDI file storage section, 14b channel audition section, 14c user interface section, 14d transmission section, 14e reception section, 14f synchronization output section, 16 speaker, 18 communication Network, 20 server, 20a sound source processing unit, 20b streaming unit.

Claims (6)

An instrument including an automatic performance unit,
Channel specifying information acquisition means for acquiring channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating the music sound from the server among the channels of the plurality of performance data;
Transmitting means for transmitting the channel specifying information to the server;
Receiving means for receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information from the server;
Output means for outputting the music sound data ,
The channel specifying information includes information for specifying the type of the instrument including the automatic performance unit,
The receiving means receives the music sound data corresponding to a musical instrument other than the musical instrument including the automatic performance unit from the server,
The automatic performance unit includes an actuator;
The output means outputs the music sound data, and the automatic performance unit performs an automatic performance using the actuator based on the performance data of the musical instrument including the automatic performance unit.
An instrument characterized by that . The instrument according to claim 1,
The performance data includes at least one of metadata in which the type of musical instrument corresponding to the channel is described and metadata in which information on a creator or a company of the performance data is described.
An instrument characterized by that. The instrument according to claim 1,
Channel preview means for reproducing performance data of at least one channel specified by a user among the plurality of performance data channels;
The channel identification information acquisition means acquires the channel identification information based on the designation;
An instrument characterized by that. The musical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further comprising performance data storage means for storing performance data of the plurality of channels,
The transmission means further transmits performance data of the plurality of channels to the server.
An instrument characterized by that. Including musical instruments and servers,
The instrument is
An instrument including an automatic performance unit,
Channel specifying information acquisition means for acquiring channel specifying information for specifying a channel for acquiring music sound data indicating the music sound from the server among the channels of the plurality of performance data;
Transmitting means for transmitting the channel specifying information to the server;
Receiving means for receiving the music sound data corresponding to the performance data of the channel specified by the channel specifying information from the server;
Output means for outputting the music sound data,
The channel specifying information includes information for specifying the type of the instrument including the automatic performance unit,
The receiving means receives the music sound data corresponding to a musical instrument other than the musical instrument including the automatic performance unit from the server,
The automatic performance unit includes an actuator;
The output means outputs the music sound data, and the automatic performance unit performs an automatic performance using the actuator based on the performance data of the musical instrument including the automatic performance unit,
The server generates the music sound data corresponding to a musical instrument other than the musical instrument including the automatic performance unit;
A musical instrument system characterized by that. In the musical instrument system according to claim 5,
The performance data includes at least one of metadata in which the type of musical instrument corresponding to the channel is described and metadata in which information on a creator or a company of the performance data is described.
A musical instrument system characterized by that.

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