JPH0981165A - Karaoke device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to enhance a singer's fun in accordance with the singing ability during singing by successively changing the contents of the images displayed on a display device according to successive evaluation results of a singing evaluation means. SOLUTION: A music information extraction device 3 extracts pitch information from the voice signals of vocal tracks. Similarly, a music information extraction device 7 extracts the pitch information which is the same music information as the music information of the music information extraction device 3 from the voice signals of the singer inputted from a microphone 8. A music information comparator 6 compares the music information respectively inputted from the music information extraction devices 3, 7 and rates the singing ability of the singer by evaluating at what degree the pitches in the voice signals inputted by the singer deviate from the voice signals of the vocal tracks. This rating is executed successively plural times according to the progression of the KARAOKE playing. The rating results are successively supplied as image changeover signals to a video monitor 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a karaoke device for displaying an image on a display device while playing a musical piece.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional karaoke apparatus, like a LD (laser disk) player, a performance song and a background image are stored as a unit, and a background image including lyrics is displayed on a display device along with the karaoke performance. It is known that the lyrics are superposed and displayed while playing an image, or playing an image unrelated to the karaoke performance.

As a karaoke scoring device, there is known a karaoke scoring device which compares the voice of a vocal track in a karaoke song with the voice sung by a singer and scores the skill.

[0004]

In the conventional karaoke,
As in the case of the LD player, the background image has its contents uniquely determined in association with the karaoke piece, so that if the same karaoke piece is selected, only the same image appears,
It was monotonous for what I saw.

The scoring device devised as a conventional karaoke scoring device only displays the scoring result at the end of the singing, and does not inform the singer of the state during singing, There were few things that stimulated the singer's aspirations to sing well.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a karaoke device capable of further encouraging a singer to have amusement based on his or her skill in singing during singing. Especially.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the karaoke apparatus of the present invention is a singing evaluation means for sequentially evaluating the singing by a singer according to the performance of a music piece, and an evaluation result of the singing evaluation means. Image control means for sequentially changing the content of the image displayed on the display device in accordance with the above.

In this karaoke apparatus, although the karaoke apparatus has conventionally been able to enjoy karaoke only with a single image, the images are sequentially changed according to the singing content of the singer according to the singing content, and a plurality of singing songs are combined. Will be able to create images. That is, while enjoying karaoke, the content of the image displayed on the display device changes momentarily according to the singer's proficiency level of the singing skill, etc., so where did the singer not sing? You can enjoy the change of the story of the image as if you are an adventure game and you can make you want to sing the same song over and over again until you become more proficient.

The above-mentioned image control means reads out those image signals so that a series of a plurality of images proceed in parallel with the performance of the music, and the song evaluation means of the song evaluation means which are sequentially generated. One of the plurality of images according to the evaluation result
A book image or an image in which two or more of the plurality of images are combined can be selected and displayed on the display device.

Alternatively, the image control means has a storage means for holding images of a plurality of scenes, and responds to the evaluation result from the storage means in accordance with the evaluation result of the song evaluation means which is sequentially generated. It can be configured to read and display an image of the scene.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block configuration of a karaoke apparatus as one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
Karaoke software 1 is an LD (laser disk) player,
It is supplied as data using a CD (compact disc) player, a VTR (video tape recorder) or a communication line. The karaoke software 1 is composed of performance information for karaoke performance and image information for displaying a background image and the like. The performance information includes a musical tone signal of a karaoke accompaniment and a voice signal (singing voice signal) of a vocal track. In this example, the image information is composed of image signals for four channels, and the content of the image signal of each channel is a series of images composed of a plurality of scenes in which the story changes differently as the performance music progresses. The story of each channel is
For example, if channel chaning is good at channel ch1, channel c
It is a story in which h2 is a normal case, channel ch3 is a bad case, and channel ch4 is a bad case.

The image reproducing device 2 is a device for reading out the image information of the karaoke software 1. Since the image information is composed of image signals of four channels, the image signals of these four channels are simultaneously read out in parallel as the karaoke piece progresses, and are supplied to the video monitor 5 in parallel.

The performance reproducing device 4 is a device for reproducing a desired music performance from the karaoke software 1 when receiving a music selection and a start signal. The reproduced music performance signal is composed of a karaoke accompaniment music signal and an audio signal, of which the accompaniment music signal is input to the mixer 9, and the audio signal of the vocal track is input to the music information extracting device 3. The audio signal is also input to the mixer 9 when necessary.

The music information extracting device 3 is a device for extracting pitch information from a voice signal of a vocal track. Similarly, the music information extraction device 7 is a device that extracts pitch information, which is the same music information as the music information extraction device 3, from the voice signal of the singer input from the microphone 8. The music information comparison device 6 compares the music information input from the music information extraction devices 3 and 7, respectively, and compares the pitch of the voice signal input by the singer with respect to the voice signal of the vocal track. However, it is a device that scores the skill of the singer. This scoring is sequentially performed a plurality of times as the karaoke performance progresses. Specifically, the process is performed for each length of the boundary of the scene of the background image, corresponding to the length of the boundary. The scoring result is sequentially supplied to the video monitor 5 as an image switching signal.

The video monitor 5 selects one image signal from the image signals for four channels supplied in parallel from the image reproducing device 2 in accordance with the image switching signal, and outputs an image based on this image signal. .

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described below.
Karaoke software 1 is LD player, CD player, VT
It is supplied as data using R or a communication line. When the performance reproducing device 4 receives the music selection and the start signal, it reproduces the target music performance in the karaoke software 1.
The accompaniment music signal is input to the mixer 9, mixed with the voice signal of the singer input from the microphone 8 in the mixer 9, and output through the amplifier 10 and the speaker 11.

The voice signal of the vocal track reproduced by the performance reproducing device 4 is input to the music information extracting device 3 to extract pitch information. On the other hand, the voice signal of the singer input from the microphone 8 is input to the mixer 9 and also input to the music information extraction device 7 to extract pitch information which is the same music information as the music information extraction device 3. The pitch information extracted by the music information extracting devices 3 and 7 is compared by the music information comparing device 6.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a series of processes performed by the music information comparison device 6. In FIG. 4, when a karaoke song is selected and playback is started (step S
1) Initialize the parameters of the music information comparison device 6 and the image reproduction device 2 (step S2). Then, it is monitored whether or not the background image being image-reproduced has reached the branch point of the image data (break point of one image scene) (step S3). When the branch point is reached, the absolute value of the pitch comparison difference (difference in pitch of the singer's input voice signal with respect to the vocal track voice signal) compared by the music information comparison device 6 is accumulated over the length of one image scene. Yes (step S4).

According to the magnitude of this cumulative value, the singers' songs are divided into four classes: good, normal, bad, and badly bad,
It is checked which class the cumulative value obtained for the current scene belongs to, and it is determined whether the class to which the cumulative value belongs is the same as the class of the cumulative value of the previous scene (step S5). If they are not the same, a switch signal for instructing which channel the image input channel should be switched to is sent to the video monitor 5 based on the class. If it is the same as the previous time, it is judged whether the karaoke performance is the reproduction end (step S6), and if it is not the reproduction end, the same operation is repeated until the branch point of the next image scene (steps S3 to S6).
If the reproduction is completed (step S6), it is determined whether or not the next karaoke piece is reserved, and if it is reserved, the above operation is repeated, and if not reserved, the performance is ended (step S9).

FIG. 7 shows an example of an image output to the video monitor 5. Here, the images of channels ch1 to ch4 correspond to the images of good, normal, bad, and badly bad, respectively.
These correspond directly to the cumulative value class. The image on the video monitor 5 is channel ch1 when the karaoke performance starts.
It starts from the first scene of. At the break point of the first scene, it is determined which class the cumulative value accumulated by the music information comparison device 6 while the first scene is being projected belongs to. If it is the same as the class (which will be started from the good class at the beginning), the video monitor 5 continues to display the image of the same channel. If the accumulated result is different from the class of the previous scene, a switch signal for switching the input image of the video monitor 5 is output according to the class to change the image. This switching can be performed in various modes, for example, when a class falls in a poor direction, the class is changed to the corresponding class, and when the singing is improved, the class is changed from the previous class to the class just above. .

In the example of FIG. 7, the scene A-1 of the image in which the marathon runner runs is initially projected as the background image, and when the singing is performed well from beginning to end, the final winning cup is given as in the scene E-1. The received image is displayed, and if the pitch is wrong during the performance, the scene B-
2. Transition to scene D-2 where the course was wrong, etc., and finally the scene E described above depending on whether the song was successful or not.
-1, In addition to the scene E-2 where you fall just before the goal, the scene E- where you accidentally fall into the manhole under construction
3. Make a mistake in the course and reach one of scenes E-4, which is caught by the police as a suspicious person.

As described above, since the plurality of images read out by the image reproducing device 2 are synchronized with the music performance reproduction by the performance reproducing device 4, the music information comparing device 6 determines whether the plurality of images are reproduced. A series of images will be displayed with the story changing for each scene. Therefore, a series of images output to the video monitor 5 are present in the number of the scenes of the channels ch1 to ch4 combined at each time point one after another, and since there are a very large number of combinations, the singing is performed. You will be able to enjoy many story changes depending on your skill. On the video monitor 5, as shown in FIG. 6, a series of these images is displayed with lyrics display.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the karaoke apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, a karaoke piece is given as MIDI data. In the figure, devices having the same functions as those of FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.
The difference is that the karaoke software is divided into MIDI data song data 12 and image data 13, and image signals are given by an LD player, a CD player, a VTR, etc., and the image reproducing device 2 reads a plurality of image signals. It is output and input to the video monitor 5. Also song data 1
2 is once stored in the memory 14,
The sequencer 15 sequentially reads out music data (MIDI data) from the memory 14 and outputs the music data to the sound source 16 and the music information comparison device 6, respectively. This music data includes the tone signal for performing the accompaniment music and the pitch information of the vocal part.

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment is as follows. When the sequencer 15 receives the music selection and start signal, it reproduces the target music from the memory 14. Sound source 16
When the MIDI signal output from the sequencer 15 is given, the signal is generated according to the analog accompaniment music signal, and the accompaniment music signal is input to the mixer 9. The mixer 9 mixes the accompaniment music signal from the sound source 16 and the audio signal input from the microphone 8, and outputs the sound through the amplifier 10 and the speaker 11.

The audio signal input from the microphone 8 is input to the mixer 9 and also to the music information extraction device 7 to extract music information, in this example, pitch information. The music data (MIDI data) output from the sequencer 15 is compared by the music information comparison device 6 with the pitch information of the voice signal of the singer extracted by the music information extraction device 7.
The flow of a series of processing performed by the music information comparison device 6 is the same as the flowchart of FIG.

The music information comparison device 6 accumulates the compared values for each scene. Then, as described above, the switch signal for controlling the image input of the video monitor 5 is output according to the class of the cumulative result, and the image displayed on the video monitor 5 is changed.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the karaoke apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, the karaoke song is MIDI
The data is given as data and the image data can be randomly accessed. As before, devices having the same functions as the devices of FIGS. 1 and 2 are given the same reference numbers. The difference is that the image data 17 is not sequentially reproduced by an LD player, a CD player, a VTR, or the like in synchronization with the karaoke performance, and each image data previously reproduced for each scene by these devices is stored in the memory 18. Remembered. These image data are different from the four-channel series of images in the above-described embodiment, and the image data is stored under address management for each scene. Further, for each scene, a candidate of a scene to be continued next is determined in advance, and a reproduction address of image data corresponding to each candidate of a scene to be continued next is stored for each scene. The image reproduction device 19 sequentially specifies the reproduction address while the memory 1
The image data is read from the image data for each scene from 8 to reproduce the image signal, which is supplied to the video monitor 20. This reproduction address is obtained by selecting and extracting one from each reproduction address of the image data corresponding to the candidate of the next succeeding scene for each scene in response to the address selection signal from the music information comparing device 6. .

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be described below.
When the sequencer 15 receives the music selection and start signal, it reproduces the target music from the memory 14. The image signal is stored in the memory 18 in advance and is reproduced by the image reproducing device 19 in synchronization with the sequencer 15.

The MIDI signal output from the sequencer 15 is applied to the sound source 16, and this MIDI signal is input to the mixer 9 as accompaniment music. The mixer 9 mixes the accompaniment music signal from the sound source 16 and the audio signal input from the microphone 8, and outputs the sound through the amplifier 10 and the speaker 11.

The voice signal input from the microphone 8 is input to the mixer 9 and also to the music information extracting device 7 to extract music information, in this example, pitch information. The vocal part data in the MIDI data output from the sequencer 15 and the pitch information extracted by the music information extracting means 8 are compared by the music information comparing device 6.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a series of processes performed by the music information comparison device 6. The process of FIG. 5 is partially different from the process of FIG. 4 described above. The difference is that the processes in steps S5 and S10 in the process of FIG. 4 are different. That is, in the process of FIG. 4, it is determined in step S5 whether or not the class of the cumulative value is the same as the previous class, and if different, a switch signal for switching the image input is output to the video monitor 5 in step S10. In the process of 5, instead of these, the class of the cumulative value is obtained in step S11, and the next step S
At 12, an address selection signal for instructing the image reproducing device 19 to select and acquire the reproduction address of the memory 18 according to the class is output.

The music information comparison device 6 accumulates the compared values for each scene. An address selection signal is output to the image reproducing device 19 according to the class of the accumulation result, and the image reproducing device 19 selects and acquires the reproducing address of the next succeeding scene, and this time is designated by this reproducing address. Play image data. That is, the next scene of the scene being reproduced is selected from the candidates according to the class, and this time, the selected scene is reproduced. By repeating this, scenes are selected one after another and a series of images are reproduced. On the video monitor 7, a series of images changed for each scene according to the result of comparison by the music information comparison device 6 is displayed with lyrics display.

In this embodiment, the image reproduction device 19
Since the images reproduced in step S1 are not the same as the images of the above-described embodiments in that the images of the respective channels are read in parallel at the same time, as shown in FIG.
The images of one scene read from 8 are sequentially connected.

In carrying out the present invention, various modifications other than the above-described embodiment are possible. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the pitch is given as the music information for evaluating the singing of the singer, but other than that, volume, lyrics, pronunciation timing, etc. can be used, and even if these are combined and evaluated. Good.

Further, in this evaluation, since the music information such as the pitch cannot be correctly determined if the key or tempo is changed, it is advisable to perform the comparative evaluation in consideration of these changes. For example, when a key is changed, the key information is sent to the sound source so that it is sounded at a pitch according to the key. However, this key information is also sent to the music information comparison means, and the music information comparison means uses this key information. Therefore, the key should be taken into consideration for evaluation.

Further, when repeatedly playing or reproducing the next song, the keys and tempo are normally reset. At this time, the key information sent to the sound source in the above example is initialized and
The key information sent to the music information comparison device will also be initialized. However, there may be a case where the user does not want to reset the key at this time, so it suffices to be able to set whether to reset or not. In the case of setting not to reset, for example, the key information is held, and after the reset is performed, the held key information is used as a sound source,
It is better to send it again to the music information comparison device.

As for the background image, in addition to a moving image such as a television image, a picture-story-like still image or a combination thereof may be used. Further, the images of a plurality of channels may be overlapped to form one image. Further, when the scene is switched from one scene to another using not only a simple switch but also a smooth switch such as wipe or fade-in, further effects can be expected. Further, adding the audio information to the image data so that the SE (sound effect) sound can be inserted according to the change of the image also enhances the effect.

Further, the algorithm for switching images according to the evaluation of the singing does not independently evaluate the singing for each scene as in the above-described embodiment, but weights the evaluation in the previous scene and presently It may be reflected in the evaluation of.

It is desirable that the image is reproduced in synchronism with the performance as in the embodiment, but in the case of a simple apparatus, it is easier to realize when the image is not synchronized with the performance. For example, the image input is a normal TV broadcast, and if the scene is for a certain period of time, a higher staging effect will be obtained than simply displaying BGV (background image).

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a karaoke apparatus capable of further increasing the enthusiastic interest of the singer based on the evaluation of the skill of the singer during singing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a karaoke apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the karaoke apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing yet another embodiment of the karaoke apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

5 is a flowchart showing a process of the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a display device in the embodiment device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an image of each channel reproduced by the image reproducing apparatus in the embodiment apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an image reproduced by the image reproducing apparatus in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Karaoke software 2, 19 Image reproducing device 3, 7 Music information extracting device 4 Performance reproducing device 5 Video monitor 6 Music information comparing device 8 Microphone 9 Mixer 10 Amplifier 11 Speaker 12 Music data (MIDI data) 13 Image data 14, 18 Memory 15 Sequencer 16 Sound source

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A karaoke device for displaying an image on a display device together with the performance of a song, which comprises a song evaluation means for sequentially evaluating songs input by a singer according to the performance of the song, and an evaluation result of the song evaluation means. A karaoke device provided with image control means for sequentially changing the contents of the image displayed on the display device. 2. The image control means reads out image signals of a plurality of series of images so that the series of images progress in parallel with the performance of music, and the song evaluation means is sequentially generated. 1 of the plurality of images according to the evaluation result of
The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the karaoke apparatus is configured to select an image of a book or an image in which two or more of the plurality of images are combined and display the selected image on the display device. 3. The image control means has a storage means for holding images of a plurality of scenes, and scenes corresponding to the evaluation results from the storage means are sequentially generated in accordance with the evaluation results of the song evaluation means. The karaoke device according to claim 1, wherein the karaoke device is configured to read and display the image of.