JPH05181407A - Automatic playing device with singing ability grading function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily evaluate and grade the ability to sing at low cost by comparing the distance between a microphone and the mouth of a singing person with the sound volume value of melody data as a good example of singing. CONSTITUTION:At places(a)-(c) where the sound volume of the melody data on music to be sung is larger than a reference value V0, the singing person should sing nearby the microphone so that a loud voice is outputted from a speaker. Therefore, proper singing is evaluated when the distance L between a proximity switch and the mouth of the singing person is less than the reference value L0 at the places (a)-(c), but improper singing is decided when the distance is larger than the L0 is decided and points are deduced. At places (d) and (e) where the sound volume V of the music to be sung is smaller than the reference value V0, on the other hand, the singing person should sing at a distance from the microphone so that a small voice is outputted from the speaker or should not sing. Therefore, proper singing is decided when the distance L is larger than the reference distance L0 at the places (d) and (e), but improper singing is decided when smaller than L0 and points are deduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a simple automatic singing performance device with a singing scoring function, which is capable of evaluating and singing voices sung according to accompaniment and suitable for intellectual education of infants.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an automatic performance device having a so-called karaoke function, which enables a song to be sung in accordance with an accompaniment sound, has been put into practical use and has become widespread. Some of such automatic performance devices with a karaoke function have a function of evaluating and scoring singing ability. The singer's voice input from the microphone as having a strict scoring function is converted into an electric signal, and the signal is stored in a recording medium in advance as melody data (in order to produce a melody sound) Information), the pitch and volume are compared, and the larger the deviation, the more points are deducted.

On the other hand, as a toy for intellectual education of infants, an automatic performance device incorporating a simple and inexpensive song scoring device has been developed. For example, there is known a device (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 20520/1988) that judges whether or not there is an input larger than a preset voltage from a microphone at a scoring point set at a place to be sung. ing.

[0004]

However, according to this method, it is necessary to convert the voice into an electric signal, and it is necessary to compare the two signals one by one, which makes the circuit very complicated. Therefore, the automatic performance device provided with this scoring function tends to be expensive. Therefore, there is a demand for an automatic performance device with a scoring function that is as inexpensive as possible. In particular, there is a great demand for the automatic performance device for educational purposes for infants, where the price of the main body of the automatic performance device is low. In addition, such a strict scoring standard is not suitable for infants who do not have sufficiently developed pitch. However, with the above-mentioned device, even if a large voice is continuously inputted regardless of the melody of the singing song, the score is perfect, and it is not possible to feel that the singing ability is properly evaluated. Therefore, there is a demand for a simple and inexpensive automatic performance device with a singing scoring function for infants, in which the singing ability is scored according to the feeling of the singer or listener to some extent.

[0005]

In the present invention, as a means for scoring the singing ability for infants, the pitch, tone color, etc. should be taken into consideration, rather than being strictly compared with the melody data as a model stored in advance. Instead, only the volume is used as a reference for scoring. In other words, if you should sing at a certain volume or more at a predetermined score point that is predetermined for the song to be sung (when the volume value of the melody sound that serves as a model for the song is greater than or equal to the reference volume value), a certain level or more If the song is sung from the speaker at the volume of, the score will be passed, otherwise it will be deducted.

[0006] When singing at a certain volume or higher in karaoke, a person usually brings a microphone close to his mouth without changing the loudness of his voice rather than raising his voice. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to realize the scoring based on the above-mentioned scoring standard, a method of determining whether or not the microphone is close to the singer's mouth for a certain distance or more at a place where singing should be performed at a certain volume or more. By such a method, it is possible to indirectly judge whether or not the singer is singing at a place where the singer should sing above a certain volume. Therefore, the singing ability can be evaluated and scored on the basis of the volume of the melody sound as a model for singing, which changes throughout the song.

Surely, it cannot be said that such a technique can accurately evaluate and score the singing ability. However, such a method is enough to evaluate the singing ability for infants.
The determination as to whether or not the microphone and the singer's mouth are closer than a certain distance can be realized with a very simple and inexpensive circuit configuration by using a non-contact type sensor. Therefore, the present invention is to provide an automatic performance device for infants having a singing ability scoring function, which is extremely inexpensive and which can be evaluated and scored with a certain degree of singing ability.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention has a microphone equipped with a proximity switch (a switch that turns on when an object comes close to the switch for a certain distance or more) or its terminal, and when singing, the distance between the singer's mouth and the microphone, and the hand. The singing ability is scored by comparing the volume values of the melody data that are the books. The following (1) a method of attaching a proximity switch to a microphone (2) a scoring method (3) a block diagram of this embodiment (4) an operation of the first embodiment (5) an operation of the second embodiment will be described separately To do.

(1) Method of Attaching Proximity Switch to Microphone There are various possible methods of attaching the proximity switch to the microphone. As an example, the terminal 26 is shown in FIG.
An example is shown in which the proximity switch 25 integrated with is attached to the outside of the microphone. Since the present invention detects the distance between the singer's mouth and the microphone,
The proximity switch 25 is preferably mounted as close to the tip of the microphone as possible as shown in FIG. 1 at a position where voice input to the microphone is not disturbed. In addition, the terminal 26 and the proximity switch 25 main body are separated, and the proximity switch terminal 26
Attached to the outside of the microphone, the proximity switch 25
The main body may be installed inside the microphone or inside the main body of the automatic performance device.

Next, the proximity switch will be described. The proximity switch is a switch that turns on when the distance between the switch terminal and the object becomes smaller than a certain limit, and is a kind of non-contact sensor. Non-contact type sensors that detect the approach of an object include those that use light, infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, and electromagnetic waves, and those that detect changes in capacitance.

In this embodiment, a differential electrostatic capacitance type sensor (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-36246) is used as a proximity switch in that the object is not selected and the detector and the circuit can be separated. .. FIG. 2 shows how ON / OFF of the proximity switch 25 changes when an object approaches the proximity switch terminal 26. The object-in this embodiment, the proximity switch is turned on when the singer's mouth-enters the ON area in the figure, and is turned OFF when there is no object in the ON area. The range of the ON region can be changed by changing the variable resistance of the proximity switch circuit unit.

(2) Scoring method FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the scoring method.
Is. FIG. 3 shows a state of singing by using a microphone. L in the figure indicates the distance between the proximity switch terminal 26 and the singer's mouth. FIG. 4 shows the "score" of the song to be sung, the "volume of the melody data", the "distance L" between the proximity switch 25 and the singer's mouth when actually sung, and the "proximity changed depending on the distance. Switch on / off signal ". When a song is sung using a microphone with a proximity switch, the singing ability is scored as follows.

At the points a, b, and c where the volume of the song to be sung is higher than the reference value V0, the microphones should be brought closer to sing so that a loud voice is output from the speaker. Therefore, if the distance L between the proximity switch 25 and the singer's mouth is less than the reference distance L0 at this point, the song is appropriate. However, if the distance L is L0 or more, it is an improper singing and the points are deducted. On the other hand, at the points of d and e where the volume of the song to be sung is smaller than the reference value V0, the microphone should be released and the speaker should sing so that a small voice is produced or should not be sung. Therefore, if the distance L is greater than or equal to the reference distance L0 at this point, the song is appropriate, and if it is less than L0, the song is inappropriate. Whether the distance L between the singer's mouth and the proximity switch 25 is equal to or greater than the reference value L0 is determined by turning on / off the proximity switch. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a should be sung loud,
The proximity switch is turned on at points b and c, and turned off at points d and e where small singing is required, which is an appropriate singing method and no deduction is made.

(3) Block diagram of the present embodiment FIG. 5 shows an outline of the entire configuration of the present embodiment. First, the outline of parts other than the song scoring function will be described. There are various modes for generating a musical sound from the speaker 21. The most basic one is the one that operates the keyboard 10, the performance data stored in the ROM (read only memory) 13 is read out, and the one that automatically plays the accompaniment data of the ROM 13 (in order to generate the accompaniment sound) in the karaoke performance mode. Information) is read out, and a voice from the microphone 24 is simultaneously generated while producing an accompaniment sound.
Here, the performance data is data necessary for performing automatic performance and karaoke performance, and includes musical tone data such as melody data and accompaniment data, as well as non-musical tone data such as "bar information" described later. The process of operating the keyboard 10 to generate a musical sound is well known and is not related to the present invention, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Switching of each mode is performed by switches SW1 to SW4 on the operation panel 11. SW1 is a performance start switch. When this switch is pressed, in the automatic performance mode (when not in the karaoke performance mode), automatic performance (a performance in which a melody sound and an accompaniment sound are generated) starts, and in the karaoke performance mode, the karaoke performance (accompaniment performance). The sound and the voice of the singer are played) begins. SW2 is a singing ability score display switch.
SW3 is a karaoke switch. After this switch is pressed and the karaoke performance mode is set, when the performance start switch SW1 is pressed, the karaoke performance starts, and at the same time, the scoring automatically starts. SW4 represents the other switches as a representative.

In the automatic performance mode, when the performance start switch SW1 is pressed, the program stored in the ROM 13 is executed and the read control unit 15 causes the ROM to operate.
Performance data is read from 13 and transmitted to the tone generation circuit 18. In the musical tone generation path 18, the musical tone waveform data and envelope data corresponding to the tone color designated by the performance data are read from the waveform memory 19, the envelope is added to the read musical tone waveform data, and the musical tone signal is transmitted to the amplifier 20. .. The tone signal is amplified by the amplifier 20 and transmitted to the speaker 21 to be sounded.

In the karaoke performance mode, the program is executed as in the automatic performance mode, and the accompaniment data is read from the ROM 13 by the read control unit 15.
It is transmitted to the tone generation circuit 18. The process until the sound is produced from the speaker 21 is the same as that in the case of automatic performance. In the karaoke playing mode, the melody sound is usually not pronounced, but the melody sound may be pronounced so that the singer can easily sing. The voice input from the microphone 24 is transmitted to the amplifier 20 as an analog signal, is amplified, and is emitted from the speaker 21.

When the karaoke performance mode is entered, scoring starts automatically. First, the input determination unit 23 determines whether the proximity switch 25 is on or off. The comparison scoring unit 16 compares the ON / OFF signal of the proximity switch with the sound volume value of the melody data read from the ROM 13 to make a score. The result is sent to the evaluation result control unit 17, and when the score display switch SW2 is pressed, the final score is calculated and the score is displayed on the display 12 as described later. Then, the fanfare data is read from the ROM 13 according to the score, and the speaker 21 produces a sound.

Next, two embodiments having different scoring timings will be described. In the first embodiment, on / off of the proximity switch and the volume value of the melody data are compared and scored at every timing when one bar is divided into 96 equal parts, whereas the second embodiment
The embodiment is characterized in that the melody sound that serves as a model for singing is scored at every first sounding timing.

(4) Operation of the First Embodiment The operation of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in the flow charts of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. In the figure, the numerical value prefixed with S is the number of the processing procedure. In the first embodiment, (4-1) initialization processing, (4-2) key processing, (4-3) panel scan processing, (4-4) panel processing, (4-5) performance processing, (4
-6) The scoring process is performed.

Among these processes, the process peculiar to the present invention is (4-4) the process of the score display switch during the panel process,
(4-6) The scoring process, and the other processes belong to the related art. In FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, (4-
4) panel processing, (4-5) performance processing, and (4-6) scoring processing are mainly shown. The operation of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart.

(4-1) Initialization process First, when the power is turned on, the initialization process is performed (S1).
0). By this processing, the internal state of the tone generation circuit 18 is initialized so that no tone is produced when the power is turned on. In addition, the contents of a RAM (random access memory) not shown are cleared.

(4-2) Key Processing Next, key processing is performed (S11). In this key processing, sounding / silence processing is performed along with the key depression / key release of the keyboard 10.

(4-3) Panel Scan Processing Next, panel scan processing is performed (S12). That is, the on / off state of each switch detected by the panel scan circuit inside the operation panel 11 of FIG. 5 is read by the CPU 14 and stored in a RAM (not shown).

(4-4) Panel Processing Next, the state of each switch of the operation panel 11 is checked, and the processing (panel processing) according to the state is performed. A concrete example of this processing is from S13 to S26 in FIG.

(4-4-1) On Event Judgment Processing First, the current on / off state of each panel switch,
The on / off states of the panel switches checked in the previous panel scan processing are compared, and it is checked whether or not at least one panel switch is newly turned on (whether or not it is an on event) (S13).

If it is not an on event in S13, the on / off state of the panel switch does not change.
It is not necessary to perform panel processing, and the process branches to S27 in FIG.
Perform performance processing.

(4-4-2) Processing for Karaoke Switch On the other hand, if it is an on event, it is checked which switch is pressed. First, it is checked whether or not the newly pressed switch is the karaoke switch SW3 (S14).

If the karaoke switch SW3 is pressed, the process of setting the karaoke performance mode (S15 to S1)
Perform 7). If it has not been pressed, the process branches to S18.

Since the karaoke switch SW3 is a non-locking type switch (a switch in which the state of the switch which has been pressed once is not retained), the function which releases the karaoke performance mode when pressed once again and the karaoke performance mode is released when pressed again is realized by software. Must be realized. The process for that is S
15 to S17. Here, a process of setting a flag is performed. A "flag" is generally an indicator for identifying and displaying the usage conditions and status of a program or memory. Here, the state of the RAM (not shown) indicating whether or not the karaoke performance mode is set is referred to as a flag (KFLG). If the flag (KFLG) is "1", it means that it is the karaoke performance mode, and if it is "0", it means that it is not the karaoke performance mode.

When the karaoke switch is pressed, it is first determined whether or not the karaoke performance mode was set before the karaoke switch was pressed (S15). If the karaoke performance mode is not set (KFLG = 0), the karaoke performance mode (KFLG = 1) is set (S1).
6). When in karaoke performance mode (KFLG = 1
In the case of), the karaoke performance mode is canceled (S1).
7). In this way, the karaoke performance mode can be set by the non-lock type switch.

(4-4-3) Processing for score display switch Next, processing for score display switch (S18 to S2)
0) is done. These processes are peculiar to the present invention.

First, it is determined whether or not the score display switch SW2 is pressed. If the score display switch SW2 is pressed, the processes of S19 and S20 are performed, and if not, S2.
The process branches to step 1 (S18).

When the score display switch is pressed, the scoring result scored by the comparative scoring unit 16 shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted to the evaluation result control unit 17 to calculate the final score (S19). .. For example, the maximum score is 100 points, and the score is calculated by reducing the ratio of the number of deductions to the number of scoring.

Next, the score is displayed on the display 1 of the operation panel 11.
2, the fanfare data stored in advance in the ROM 13 according to the score is read out, and the speaker 21 is made to sound (S20). For example, if the score is high, the fanfare is pronounced, and if the score is low, "Boo"
The sound is pronounced.

(4-4-4) Processing for performance start switch Next, it is determined whether or not the performance start switch SW1 is pressed. If the switch SW1 is pressed, the processing from S22 is performed, and if not pressed, the processing branches to S26 (S21).

Since the performance start switch SW1 is also a non-locking type switch, if the switch SW1 is pressed in S21, a flag (P
FLG) is set up (S22 to S24).
PFLG = "1" means a performance start mode (instruction to "start playing"), and PFLG = "0" means cancellation of the performance start mode. If PFLG = "1", the process returns to the beginning of the performance. Therefore, a process of clearing the number of steps (“step” in FIG. 6) and the tone generation timing (“nstep” in FIG. 6) described later is performed (S25).

Here, the number of steps means time points which are evenly subdivided in one bar which is a standard for controlling the pronunciation of performance data. That is, one bar is divided into 96 equal parts, and 1 is called one step, but the number of steps is "0" at the beginning of one bar and is incremented by 1 for each step, and is usually displayed in hexadecimal.

In the process of S25, the state of the number of steps until then is returned to "0 step" which is the first time point of one bar, and "0" is set to the tone generation timing (nsstep).

(4-4-5) Processing for other panel switches After the processing of S22 is finished, it is next determined whether or not the other panel switch SW4 is pressed, and if the switch is pressed, Predetermined processing is performed (S26).

(4-5) Performance processing After the panel processing described above is performed, the performance data of the musical composition is read from the ROM 13 and performance processing is performed to generate musical tones according to the automatic performance mode or karaoke performance mode. .. This performance process is shown in FIG. Before explaining specific performance processing, a storage mode of performance data will be described.

(4-5-1) Performance Data Storage Format The ROM 13 stores performance data in the format shown in the following table.

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, the performance data has four pieces of information: "key information", "sounding timing", "gate time", and "volume value". There are types of performance data such as melody data and accompaniment data, and although not shown in Table 1, the performance data also includes information for discriminating them.

The "key information" means "pronunciation information" (000H to 07FH) indicating the key number (pitch) and other "nonpronunciation information" indicating tone color change, the beginning of a bar, the end of a musical composition, and the like.
It represents (080H to 0FFH). Here, H represents a hexadecimal number.

The "tone generation timing" is the number of steps at which the musical tone is first generated.

The "gate time" is the number of steps representing the time interval during which a musical tone is produced. This "gate time" is read from the ROM 13 immediately before the tone is first sounded in the sound generation processing of S43 and S44 of FIG. 7, and is stored in the RAM (not shown) corresponding to each sound generation channel. There are 14 pronunciation channels, and 14 musical tones can be pronounced at the same time. Therefore, 14 gate times (Gi) are not shown in RA
Stored in M. This gate time (Gi) will be set later in S3.
As described in the processing of 0, unlike the "gate time" of the fixed performance data, it decreases by 1 as the number of steps increases by 1.

The "volume value" represents the strength of each musical sound.

In the example of Table 1, no. Performance data 1 is non-tone data. The "key information" is "bar information" (information indicating the beginning of each bar; "0F1H").

Next, three pieces of performance data (tone data) are stored. no. 2 is “do”, no. 3 is "mi", n
o. Reference numeral 4 is tone data of "so". FIG. 9 shows the pronunciation status of Table 1. When the number of steps is 005H to 007H, no. The musical sound of No. 2 is from channel 1. The 3 musical tones are sounded simultaneously from 2 channels. Next, a specific performance process will be described with reference to FIG.

(4-5-2) Description of Performance Processing First, in S27, it is determined whether or not the performance start mode is set. If it is not the performance start mode, neither the automatic performance nor the karaoke performance is started, and the process returns to the key processing of S11 of FIG.

In the case of the performance start mode in the processing of S27, since the performance is started, the processing of S28 and thereafter is performed.

As shown in FIG. 9, the trigger signal is read by the read control unit 15 from the timer 22 every step. When there is a trigger signal, the performance process from S29 is performed. When there is no trigger signal, the process returns to the key processing (S11 of FIG. 6) (S28).

If there is a trigger signal in S28,
Mute processing of 14 sound generation channels is performed (S29-).
S33). When the performance start mode is entered and the processing of S29 and thereafter is first performed, since all the gate times (Gi) are "0" by the initialization processing (S10), the mute processing is not performed for all channels. (S29).

On the other hand, when the musical tone is sounded in the processes of S43 and S44 which will be described later, and the processes of S29 and thereafter are performed again, the gate time (Gi ) Decreases by 1 (S
30), when the gate time (Gi) becomes "0", the muffling process is performed and the generation of the musical sound is stopped (S31, S3).
2).

When the processing of S29 to S33 is completed,
The number of steps (step) is compared with the tone generation timing (nsstep) of the next performance data. If they are equal, the process from S35 onward is performed, and if they are not equal, there is no musical sound to be sounded at that step, so the process branches to S46 shown in FIG. 8 (S34).

Since the first performance data needs to indicate that it is the beginning of a bar, its "key information" is always non-musical sound data which is "bar information" as shown in Table 1.
Therefore, the processing procedure is different between the first performance data and the second and subsequent performance data. Therefore, the processing from S34 to S45 will be described separately for these two processing procedures.

(Processing of the first performance data) When the performance start mode is entered and the process of S34 is performed first, the number of steps is "0", and as shown in Table 1, the first performance data (measures) is processed. (Information indicating the beginning of) is sounding timing "0". Therefore, in this case, after the processing of S34, the "key information" of the first performance data is stored in the ROM1.
3 is read by the read control unit 15 (S3
5).

Following the process of S35, it is determined whether or not the "key information" is "pronunciation information" (S36). Since the "key information" of the first performance data is "bar information", not "pronunciation information", the pronouncing process is not performed and the process of S37 is performed.

When the "key information" is "bar information", S
The process of 37 becomes "yes", and the process of initializing the number of steps (S38) is performed. Following this, the tone generation timing (nstep) of the next performance data is read from the ROM 13 (S45). After that, the processing from S34 onward is performed again.

(Processing of second and subsequent performance data) That is, when the process of S34 is "yes", there is performance data to be sounded for the first time in that step. Therefore, if the performance data is the musical tone data by performing the processing of S35 and S36 described above, the musical performance data is transmitted to the musical tone generating circuit 18 and is sounded by the speaker 21 according to whether the performance data is the karaoke performance mode or not (S34-). S36, S42 ~
S44). After that, the process of S45 described above is performed, and S
The processing of 34 is performed.

On the other hand, if the performance data is not musical sound data, the process of S36 becomes "no", and it is determined whether or not it is the first step of one bar (S3).
7).

If it is the first step of the measure in S37, the number of steps is initialized to prepare for the input of the performance data of the measure (S38), and the process of the next S45 is performed.

On the other hand, if it is not the first step of one bar in S37, it is determined whether or not the key information is the "end mark" indicating the end of the music (S39).

If the key information is the end mark in S39, stop processing is performed, the flag (PFLG) is set to "0" to cancel the performance start mode, and the performance start switch SW1 is pressed next time. (S4
0). Then, the scoring process of S46 and thereafter shown in FIG. 8 is performed.

If the key information is not the end mark in the above S39, other key information processing such as whether or not it is the tone color change information is performed (S41), and subsequently the sound generation processing of S45 and thereafter is performed.

(4-6) Scoring Processing The above-mentioned (4-1) to (4-5) are explanations of signal processing of a general automatic performance device having a normal karaoke performance function. The signal processing for scoring the singing ability, which is processing unique to the present invention, will be described below.

The flow from S50 to S56 shown in FIG. 8 is a series of scoring of singing ability by comparing the volume level of the melody data and the distance between the microphone and the singer's mouth in the karaoke playing mode. The processing is shown.

The feature of the first embodiment is that a score is scored at every step of dividing one bar into 96 equal parts. If there is "pronounced" melody data that serves as a model for singing at each step (the melody data is not actually pronounced in the karaoke playing mode, it is expressed as "pronounced") S50 Scoring is performed by the process of S54. If there is no melody data to be sounded in that step, the score is scored by the processing of S55 to S56. Each processing procedure will be described below.

(4-5-2) As described in the explanation of the performance process, when the tone generation process is not performed (S34 shown in FIG. 7).
If the processing of No. is "no", or if the stop processing of S40 shown in FIG. 7 is completed), it is first determined whether KFLG is "1" or "0" to determine whether it is the karaoke performance mode. If KFLG is "1", it is a karaoke performance mode, and if it is "0", it is not a karaoke performance mode (S46).

If the karaoke performance mode is not set in S46, the process branches to S57. In the karaoke playing mode, it is necessary to score. Since the scoring method differs depending on whether or not to sing, it is first determined whether or not to sing (S47 to S49).

(4-6-1) Scoring Processing When Singing Singing If even one gate time (Gi) is not "0" in the above S47, it is the case that a melody sound should be sounded or the accompaniment sound is generated. It is either pronounced or not. If this tone is a melody tone (the process of S48 is "yes"
s ”), the melody sound is a musical sound that should serve as a model for singing. Therefore, it is determined whether the volume level of this melody sound is less than the reference value V0 (S50).

(4-6-1-1) Scoring process when small singing is required When the volume level is less than the reference value V0 in S50, it is a case where small singing should be performed. First, the input determination unit 2 shown in FIG.
From 3, the ON / OFF signal of the proximity switch 25 is transmitted to the comparison scoring unit 16, and it is determined whether the proximity switch is ON or OFF (S51).

If the proximity switch is turned on in S51, it means that the microphone is too close to the singer's mouth even though it is a small area to be sung. Done (S52).

Specifically, the deduction processing is performed as follows, for example. When the performance start switch SW1 is pressed to start the karaoke performance, the RAM memory (not shown) is cleared, and the RA is rewritten every time the deduction process is performed.
The memory of M is added one by one. In this way, the number of points deduction processing is stored in the RAM until the karaoke performance is finished and the performance start switch SW1 is pressed next time. When the score display switch SW2 is pressed during this time, the number of points deduction processing stored in the RAM is transmitted to the evaluation result control unit 17 shown in FIG.
As described above, the maximum score is 100 points and the score obtained by subtracting the ratio of the number of points deduction processing to the number of scoring is calculated by the evaluation result control unit 17 and displayed on the display 12 of the operation panel 11.

If the proximity switch is off in S51, the distance between the microphone and the singer's mouth is a certain distance or more at a small singing point, and since the singing is appropriate, no deduction processing is performed and the next processing is performed. It branches to (S57).

(4-6-1-2) Scoring Processing When Singing Largely On the other hand, when the sound volume level is equal to or higher than the reference value V0 in S50, it is a case where singing is large. Therefore, S51, S
The reverse process of 52 is performed. That is, it is determined whether the proximity switch is on or off (S53), and when the proximity switch is on, the distance between the microphone and the singer's mouth is closer than a certain distance at a position where a large sing is to be performed, and the singing is appropriate. Therefore, the deduction processing is not performed, and the processing branches to the next step S57.

When the proximity switch is off, the distance between the microphone and the mouth of the singer is too large, even though it is a large singing area, and it cannot be said that the singing is appropriate, so deduction processing is performed ( S54).

(4-6-2) Scoring processing when singing should not be performed On the other hand, all gate times (Gi) in S47 to S49.
If is "0", or if only the accompaniment sound is produced and there is no model melody sound, singing should not be performed. Therefore, if the microphone is more than a certain distance away from the singer's mouth, it is an appropriate song. Therefore, first, it is determined whether the proximity switch is on or off (S55).

If the proximity switch is turned off in S55, the microphone is located at a certain distance or more from the singer's mouth, so that the singing is appropriate. Therefore, the deduction processing is not performed, and the process branches to S57.

On the other hand, if the proximity switch is turned on in S55, the microphone is brought closer than a certain amount to the mouth even though it is not the place to be sung, and it cannot be said that the singing is appropriate, so a deduction process is performed (S56).

(4-6-3) End of Scoring Process and Setting of Next Step Number When the scoring process is completed, the current step number is incremented by 1 to obtain the next step number (S57). This process is a process in which the next step number is set in advance, in case that one step has elapsed from the current step (when a new trigger signal is generated in the process of S28 shown in FIG. 7). ..

When the processing of S57 is completed, the processing returns to the key processing of S11 shown in FIG. 6 and the same processing is repeated.

(5) Operation of the Second Embodiment Next, the second embodiment will be described. The flowchart of the second embodiment consists of FIGS. 6, 10 and 11. FIG. 6 is common to the first embodiment. The second embodiment is characterized in that, unlike the first embodiment, in which a scoring point is provided for each step, a scoring point is provided for each first pronunciation timing of a melody sound that serves as a model for singing. is there. In the second embodiment, scoring points are provided for each step as in the first embodiment while no melody sound is present, but scoring may not be performed while no melody sound is present. The differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described below.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, S5
The difference from the first embodiment is that the scoring process from 0 to S54 is performed before the sounding process from S42 to S45.

When a new melody sound is to be pronounced at a certain step, this is the point at which vocalization of the singing should be started in accordance with this melody sound, which is the scoring point of the second embodiment. Therefore, in this case, S34 shown in FIG.
The processes of S35, S36, and S58 are continuously performed, and subsequently, the scoring process of S50 to S54 is performed. The scoring method is the same as the method described in the first embodiment.

When the scoring process of S50 to S54 is completed, the sounding process is performed (S42 to S44). After that, a process (S45) of reading the tone generation timing (nsstep) of the next performance data is performed, and the processes from S34 onward are repeated.

On the other hand, unless a new melody sound is to be produced in a certain step, the scoring process of S50 to S54 is not performed. In this case, the processing of S46 and subsequent steps shown in FIG. 11 is performed in order to score at a portion where the song should not be sung (when there is no melody sound).

In the second embodiment, if there is no melody sound after S46, it is scored in the same manner as in the first embodiment (S55, S56). This is different from the first embodiment in that the gate time (Gi) of the melody sound is not "0" in S53 and S54, and when singing, the process branches to S57 and the scoring is not performed.

[0089]

As described above, the present invention uses a simple method of comparing the distance between the microphone and the mouth of the singer with the magnitude of the volume value of the melody data that serves as a model for singing. Is to be evaluated and scored. The distance between the microphone and the mouth of the singer can be detected by using a non-contact sensor, and the scoring function can be realized with a simple circuit configuration. Therefore, it becomes possible to evaluate the singing ability with an inexpensive device. Moreover, in spite of such a simple method, by using the automatic performance device according to the present invention, it is possible to make an evaluation more suitable for the singer and listener than the conventional simple singing ability evaluation device. This is because the present invention adopts a scoring standard based on a certain empirical rule regarding the relationship between the loudness of the sound emitted from the speaker and the position of the microphone when singing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a microphone phone to which a proximity switch is attached.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a reaction state of a proximity switch.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of singing by using a microphone.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the volume of musical score and melody data, the distance between the proximity switch and the mouth of the singer when singing, and the on / off signal of the proximity switch.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an outline of an overall configuration of a first embodiment and a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing how tones a musical sound is produced.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of operation of the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an outline of operation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 keyboard 11 operation panel 12 display 13 ROM 14 CPU 15 read control section 16 comparison scoring section 17 evaluation result control section 18 tone generation circuit 19 waveform memory 20 amplifier 21 speaker 22 timer 23 input determination section 24 microphone 25 proximity switch 26 proximity switch Terminal

Claims (1)

[Claims] When the singer sings, at each predetermined time point set in advance, "the distance between the microphone and the mouth of the singer" and "the volume value of the melody data that is a pre-stored example of the singing song" are set. If the detected "melody data volume value" is equal to or higher than the reference value, the microphone is brought closer to the singer's mouth, and if the "melody data volume value" is less than the reference value, the microphone is moved from the singer's mouth. An automatic performance device equipped with singing ability scoring means characterized in that a high score can be obtained by moving it away, and in the opposite case, a high score can be obtained.