JPH0582954B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention uses an audio signal reproducing device such as a ``karaoke device'' to convert the user's singing voice into a reproduced audio signal from a reference magnetic tape or disk. The present invention relates to a scoring device that compares and automatically scores a user's singing ability.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, as a field of audio equipment, music signals played by musical instruments recorded on recording media such as magnetic tapes or disks are reproduced and amplified, and when a user sings along with the music signals, the played music signals are What is commonly called a ``karaoke device'' that mixes and amplifies the sound is widely used for general home and business use.

By singing using the above-mentioned "karaoke device," the user can gain joy and satisfaction, but in recent years, the number of people who want to improve their singing ability has increased, and the number of people who want to improve their singing ability has increased. Some people receive guidance from a singing teacher, but this is not possible for everyone, and one way to study singing on your own is to use audio multiplexing such as magnetic tape, which is called a ``complete audio-rich tape.'' Type recording media are rapidly becoming popular. As an example of this audio multiplexing recording medium, in the case of a magnetic tape, as shown in FIG.
02, musical signals played by musical instruments, etc. are recorded. When using this magnetic tape, an audio multiplexing type "karaoke apparatus" having a configuration as shown in FIG.
1 and an amplifier 202, and a second tape reproducing means 3 consisting of a magnetic head 301 and an amplifier 302, these two outputs are input to a microphone input consisting of a microphone 401 and an amplifier 402. The mixing amplifier 5 along with the output of the means
The signals are mixed and power amplified and output as an acoustic signal from the speaker 6.

It is said that you can improve your singing ability by listening to audio signals recorded on a recording medium using the device mentioned above and practicing singing along with the audio signals yourself, but no matter how much you practice, I also use my singing as a role model. The disadvantage is that users themselves cannot tell how close they are to the way they sing according to the audio signal, that is, how much their own singing ability has improved, and even if they are singing in the wrong way. The disadvantage is that the users themselves may not be aware of this, and when practicing individually, they naturally reach their limits and often lose interest and lose the desire to practice. In order to objectively evaluate singing ability, a scoring device using a complete audio multiplex tape has been developed.

Hereinafter, a conventional scoring device will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 11 is a main part block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional scoring device. 4 is a microphone input means that converts the user's singing voice into an electrical signal and amplifies it;
1 is a microphone, and 402 is an amplifier. 2 is a first magnetic tape reproducing means for reproducing audio signals recorded on an audio multiplexing type recording medium; 201 is a magnetic head; and 202 is an amplifier. Reference numeral 7 denotes a second waveform converting means, which converts the audio signal sung by the user into a pulse signal. Reference numeral 8 denotes a first waveform converting means, which converts the audio signal on the magnetic tape into a pulse signal. Then, input each pulse signal to the microcomputer 15,
The microcomputer 15 converts each pulse signal into a frequency (pitch), compares and counts,
The score was calculated and output and displayed on the score display means 16.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above configuration, it is not possible to use a fully audio multiplexed tape (the track on which the audio signal of the magnetic tape is recorded contains purely audio signals). When singing, although scoring is done accurately, there are multiple audio sources where the audio signal is recorded with other music signals (accompaniment, etc.) superimposed on it, or where the audio signal is recorded with the center localization and the music is superimposed on the left and right sides. When singing using a stereo sound source, etc., the audio signal is modulated by the accompaniment signal (especially the bass signal), and the frequency (pitch) cannot be detected accurately, unlike when using a fully multiplexed sound source. The problem was that even if the song was sung properly, the final score would be low.

In addition to complete audio multiplex sound sources (complete audio multiplex tapes, etc.), audio multiplex sound sources with accompaniment superimposed (tapes, VHD, LD, etc.) and stereo sound sources (tapes, CDs, VHD, LD, etc.) available on the general market. etc.), and there has been an increasing demand for accurate scoring even when using sound sources other than these complete audio multiplex sound sources.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a scoring system that accurately evaluates a user's singing ability, regardless of whether the user sings using a fully multiplexed sound source, a multiplexed sound source with accompaniment, or a stereo sound source. It provides equipment.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the scoring device of the present invention includes: an addition signal output means for a first signal and a second signal; and a subtraction signal for the first and second signals. an output means; a signal switching means for selecting one of the output signal of the addition signal output means as the output signal of the subtraction signal or the second signal itself; and a signal switching means of the signal switching means. The system is equipped with a scoring means that uses an output signal as a first audio signal and a signal input from another system as a second audio signal and scores the degree of matching between the first and second audio signals. be.

Effect The present invention has the above-described configuration, and in the case of a stereo sound source, selects the output signal of the addition signal output means,
The output of the center localized audio signal is doubled, while the accompaniment signal is multiplied by √2, which improves the accuracy of extracting the frequency (pitch) of the audio signal, and in the case of multiple audio ranges, the subtraction signal The output signal of the output means is selected, and if the level and phase relationship of each input signal are approximately equal, the output becomes only an audio signal, and the frequency (pitch) extraction accuracy is improved. By using these signals and, in the case of a complete audio multiplex sound source, the audio signal as the first audio signal and the user's singing audio signal as the second audio signal, highly accurate scoring and evaluation can be performed and it can be applied to many sound sources. This will be possible.

Embodiment Hereinafter, a scoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a scoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 4 is a microphone input means, 401 is a microphone,
402 is an amplifier, 2 is a first magnetic tape reproducing means, 201 is a magnetic head, 202 is an amplifier, 3 is a second magnetic tape reproducing means, 301 is a magnetic head, 302 is an amplifier, 9 is an addition signal output means, 1
0 is a subtraction signal output means, 11 is a signal switching means, 7
1 is a second waveform conversion means, 8 is a first waveform conversion means, 15 is a microcomputer, and 16 is a score display means.

FIG. 2 shows an actual circuit example of the second waveform converting means 7. Normally, the second waveform converting means 7
Since the same circuit is often used for the first waveform converting means 7 and the second waveform converting means 7, the circuit of the second waveform converting means 7 will be representatively explained with reference to the operational diagram of FIG.

701 is an input terminal, 702, 704, 705,
708, 710, 711 are resistors, 703, 70
6 and 709 are capacitors, 707 is an operational amplifier (hereinafter abbreviated as OP amplifier), 712 is a transistor, and 713 is an output terminal.

OP amplifier 707 and resistors 702, 704, 7
05 and capacitors 703 and 706 constitute a low-pass active filter, which removes the high-frequency components of the audio electrical signal as shown in Figure 3a input to the input terminal 701, and at the same time outputs the OP amplifier. Necessary signal amplification is performed by the amplifying action of 707, and a time constant circuit composed of a resistor 708 and a capacitor 709 supplementally removes high-frequency components that are not sufficiently removed by the active filter. The audio electrical signal shown in FIG.
12, the pulse waveform is converted into a pulse waveform as shown in FIG. 3c. In this way, the second waveform converting means 7 converts the user's singing voice signal, which is the output of the microphone input means 4, into a pulse waveform, and similarly, the first waveform converting means 8 converts the audio signal sung by the user into a pulse waveform, which is the output of the signal switching means 11. A certain audio signal will also be converted into a pulse waveform.

FIG. 4 shows an actual circuit example of the addition signal output means 9. This will be explained below along with diagrams for explaining the operation.

901 is a signal input terminal from the second magnetic tape reproducing means 3; 902 is a signal input terminal from the first magnetic tape reproducing means 2; 903, 904, 905
is a resistor, 906 is an operational amplifier (hereinafter abbreviated as OP amplifier), and 907 is an output terminal.

Since the connection points of the resistors 903, 904, and 905 are virtually grounded, the signals input from the input terminals 901 and 902 are mixed (added) and amplified, and then output from the output terminal 907. here,
When a signal as shown in FIG. 5a is inputted to the input terminal 901 and a signal as shown in FIG. 5b is inputted to the input terminal 902, a signal as shown in _FIG . , t ₂ , and t ₃ are added and their levels become high, and the levels of waveforms at other timings do not become very high. That is, since the center-localized audio signal of the stereo-recorded sound source is in phase with the left channel and the right channel, the signal level is approximately doubled as shown in FIG. 5c. Since the accompaniment signal is out of phase, the signal is multiplied by approximately √2, and the level of the audio signal is relatively enhanced by approximately 3 dB.

FIG. 6 shows an actual circuit example of the subtraction signal output means 10. This will be explained below along with diagrams for explaining the operation.

1001 is a signal input terminal from the first magnetic tape reproducing means 2; 1002 is a signal input terminal from the second magnetic tape reproducing means 3; 1003, 100
4, 1005, 1006 are resistors, 1007 is
OP amplifier, 1008 is an output terminal.

Since the signals input from the input terminals 1001 and 1002 are input to the normal input and the inversion input of the OP amplifier 1007, the difference component between the respective inputs is output to the output terminal 1008.

Here, when a signal as shown in FIG. 7a is input to the input terminal 1001 and a signal as shown in FIG. 7b is input to the input terminal 1002, the signals a and b as shown in FIG. The difference component will be output. That is, when using an audio multiplex sound source in which an accompaniment signal is recorded in one channel and an accompaniment signal superimposed on an audio signal in the other channel, the accompaniment signal + audio signal shown in FIG. b becomes the accompaniment signal, and only the audio signal is output as shown in FIG. 7c.

Next, the output signals of the addition signal output means 9 and the subtraction signal output means 10 and the first magnetic tape reproduction means 2 are
The output signal is selected by the signal switching means 11, and the signal corresponding to the sound source is supplied to the first waveform converting means. The pulse signals output from the first and second waveform conversion means 8 and 7 are then supplied to the microcomputer 15 and scored.

The operation will be explained below based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 showing the main part of the processing operation of the microcomputer.

First, depending on whether the audio signal recorded in the sound source is a stereo sound source, an audio multiplex sound source, or a complete audio multiplex sound source, the output of the addition signal output means 9 is the output of the subtraction signal output means 10, or the output of the first magnetic The signal switching means 11 selects which output from the tape reproducing means 2 is to be used, and the first waveform converting means 2 converts it into a pulse signal and inputs it to the microcomputer 15.

First, in step 17, it is determined whether or not there is a pulse in the audio signal recorded in the sound source (hereinafter referred to as the original audio signal). This is a judgment process to improve the accuracy of pitch comparison by comparing only when there is a source audio signal that serves as a scoring standard. Here, if there is no pulse of the sound source audio signal, the process branches to step 25, and if YES is determined in step 17, the process proceeds to step 18.

Here, the user's singing voice signal is turned into an electric voice signal by the microphone input means 4, and is amplified.
The second waveform converting means 7 converts the signal into a pulse signal and inputs it, and in step 19 the input pulse is converted into a pitch (frequency).

Next, magnetic tape 1, which is an audio multiplexing recording medium,
The sound source audio signal recorded on the magnetic tape is reproduced by the first magnetic tape reproducing means 2, converted into a pulse signal by the first waveform converting means 8, and input to the microcomputer 15 in step 20.
Converts the input pulse to a pitch (frequency).

Next, in step 22, it is determined whether the pitch of the user's audio signal matches the pitch of the sound source audio signal on the magnetic tape, and if they match, the step
Proceed to step 23 and count up the number of times the _pitch is in tune. If the determination in step 22 is NO, the process passes step 23 and proceeds to step 24. In step 24, a counter is counted up for the number of times N _T that the pitch of the user's voice signal and the pitch of the sound source voice signal on the magnetic tape have been compared. That is,
Each time the process of step 24 is passed, the count is incremented.

Next, in step 25, it is determined whether it is time to start scoring. The decision to start scoring may be based on push button switch information that designates the start of scoring, or by detecting the presence or absence of performance music signals recorded on the magnetic tape 1. Scoring may begin when the signal disappears.

If it is not yet time to start grading, proceed to step 25.
The process then proceeds to step 17, where the pulses of the user's audio signal and the pulses of the sound source audio signal on the magnetic tape are captured and processed.

Then, when it comes time to start scoring, the process proceeds from step 25 to step 26. In step 26, a first score P is calculated based on the number of times N _pk that the pitch of the user's audio signal matches the pitch of the source audio signal on the magnetic tape, and the total number of pitch comparisons N _T . As an example of the calculation formula, the first score P may be defined as P=(N _pk /N _T )×100 (1) and the calculation may be performed.

The score based on the above formula (1) will be 100 points, which is the full score, when N _pk = N _T. Furthermore, when N _pk =0, the score P is 0 points. Between 0 and 100 points, the score P is proportional to the number of pitch matches N _pk .
is determined.

Then, in step 27, the obtained score P is displayed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the sound source used by the user is not a complete audio multiplex sound source, it can be a normal audio multiplex sound source (one in which an accompaniment signal is superimposed on audio), or a stereo sound source with audio. but,
Since the audio signal of the sound source can be extracted accurately, it is possible to provide a highly accurate scoring method using any sound source.

In addition, in this example, the sound source sound signal of a magnetic tape, which is an audio multiplexing type recording medium, was used as the basis for scoring the sound signal sung by the user. Any audio signal such as a wave signal or a person's voice may be used.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a waveform conversion means using a low-pass active filter and a transistor was used to convert an audio signal into a pulse signal.
This may be accomplished by using a circuit that directly converts the audio signal waveform into a digital pulse signal using an analog-to-digital converter.

Further, in this embodiment, pitch detection, comparison counting, etc. are realized by a microcomputer, but it goes without saying that these may be realized and used by conventional general-purpose logic circuits.

In addition, in this embodiment, separate waveform conversion means are provided for processing the user's audio signal and for processing the sound source audio signal, but these are only one system, and the processing of the user's audio signal and the source audio are performed in a time-sharing manner. The signal may also be processed.

Further, in this embodiment, the frequencies of the pulse signals that are the outputs of the waveform conversion means are determined and compared, but one period or one-half period of the pulse signals may be determined and compared. Also, in Fig. 3c, the frequencies may be detected one by one, such as the frequencies from t ₁ to t ₃ are followed by the frequencies from t ₅ to t ₇ , or the pulses which are the output of the waveform conversion means may be detected one by one. The frequency may be checked for all pulses or a portion of the pulses for a period sufficiently long compared to one period of the signal, and the average frequency within that period may be determined and compared.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the matching of the frequency of the user's audio signal and the frequency of the sound source audio signal on the magnetic tape is compared using an equal sign, but the tolerance range for tape speed deviation and pitch (frequency) deviation is Taking into consideration, for example, if it is within ±5%, it can be determined that it matches, or it can be evaluated in stages (for example, if it is within ±5%, it is completely matched,
If it is within ±7%, it is considered to be 1/2 correct)
It goes without saying that it is okay to do so.

In addition, in this embodiment, the signal switching means is used to select whether to use the signal of the addition signal output means, the signal of the subtraction signal output means, or the output of the first magnetic tape reproduction means, corresponding to various sound sources. Although the user is allowed to select the sound source, whether it is a complete audio multiplex sound source, a normal audio multiplex sound source, or a stereo sound source is automatically determined based on the presence or absence of signals, degree of phase matching, etc. , it goes without saying that it would be a good idea to switch automatically.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides an addition signal output means for a first signal and a second signal, a subtraction signal output means for the first and second signals, and an output signal of the addition signal output means. , a signal switching means for selecting one of the output signal of the subtraction signal output means, or the second signal itself; and the output signal of the signal switching means is set as a first audio signal; By providing a scoring means for scoring the degree of agreement between the first and second audio signals by using a signal input from another system as the second audio signal, it is possible to obtain the degree of agreement between the two audio signals as a score. At the same time, it is possible to accurately detect and comparatively evaluate audio signals, regardless of whether the sound source used by the user is a fully audio multiplexed sound source, a normal audio multiplexed sound source, or a stereo sound source with audio. Therefore, it is possible to provide a scoring means for evaluating a user's singing ability with high accuracy. This means that when a user purchases a karaoke device with a scoring function, they can practice singing using the stereo recording tapes, CDs, etc. they already have, without having to purchase new fully multiplexed tapes. In addition, it has become possible to perform scoring and evaluation using new sound sources such as video discs, and the effects obtained are extremely large.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a specific configuration of a second waveform conversion means of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a specific configuration of the addition signal output means; FIG. 5 is an operation explanation diagram for explaining the operation of the addition signal output means; FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a specific configuration of the subtraction signal output means, FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the subtraction signal output means,
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the main part of the processing operation of the microcomputer of this embodiment, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an audio multiplex track on a magnetic tape, which is one of the audio multiplex recording media, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a so-called audio multiplexing type ``karaoke apparatus'' using magnetic tape, which is one type of audio multiplexing recording medium. 7... Second waveform conversion means, 8... First waveform conversion means, 9... Addition signal output means, 10... Subtraction signal output means, 11... Signal switching means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 addition signal output means for producing an addition signal of a first signal and a second signal, subtraction signal output means for producing a subtraction signal of the first and second signals, and an output signal of the addition signal output means; a signal switching means for selecting either one of the output signal of the subtraction signal output means or the second signal itself; scoring means for scoring the degree of matching between the first and second audio signals by using a signal input from the system as a second audio signal; In the case of a so-called stereo sound source that can be listened to by localizing the signal in the center, the output signal of the addition signal output means is such that the first signal is an accompaniment signal and the second signal is a superimposition of the accompaniment signal and the music signal. In the case of a so-called audio multiplex sound source, the output signal of the subtraction signal output means is
In the case of a so-called complete audio multiplex sound source in which the first signal is an accompaniment signal and the second signal is an audio signal, each of the second signals is selected and used by the switching means. Scoring device.