Abstract: An automatic accompaniment apparatus includes: a storage unit for storing accompaniment style data including basic accompaniment data for automatic accompaniment and replacement accompaniment data to be reproduced in place of the basic accompaniment data; and a reproducing unit for reading the stored accompaniment style data and reproducing the read accompaniment style data, the reproducing unit reproducing the read accompaniment style data by replacing a portion thereof with the replacement accompaniment data. The automatic accompaniment apparatus can generate derivative accompaniment style data from original accompaniment data with ease.

Abstract: An initial note series is collected from a real-time source of musical input material such as a keyboard or a sequencer playing back musical data, or extracted from musical data stored in memory. The initial note series may be altered to create variations of the initial note series using various mathematical operations. The resulting altered note series, or other data stored in memory is read out according to one or more patterns. The patterns may have steps containing pools of independently selectable items from which random selections are made. A pseudo-random number generator is employed to perform the random selections during processing, where the random sequences thereby generated have the ability to be repeated at specific musical intervals. The resulting musical effect may additionally incorporate a repeated effect, or a repeated effect can be independently performed from input notes in the musical input material.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument which has a fallboard unit whose dimension in the longitudinal direction of the instrument is not increased even when the fallboard unit contains a functional component part including electrical wiring. A cover unit has a front cover and a rear cover disposed such that they are arranged in forward and rearward directions when the cover unit is closed. A hinge device pivotally connects the front cover and the rear cover such that the cover unit lays open upward a keyboard when it is open with the front cover and the rear cover being folded. An instrument body accommodates the keyboard and a musical tone generator, and includes a pivotal support member fixed therein, left and right lateral side panels, and a topboard. A guide mechanism is provided on the left and right lateral side panels, and supports the rear cover such that the rear cover is movable in the forward and rearward directions.

Abstract: A musical tone generating apparatus, which is capable of effectively utilizing the access timing for an unused slave sound source, is provided. The musical tone generating apparatus is composed of a master sound source 1000, which comprises a mode switching means 101, an accumulator 102, an upper-address processing means 103, an address memory for a second sound source 104, an address-switching output means 105, a waveform data register 106, a sample buffer 107, an interpolation coefficient memory 108, an interpolation coefficient extracting means 109, a sample interpolation means 110 and a selection means 111.

Abstract: The present invention provides a user configurable computer interface for managing inventory. The interface provides a list, generated according to a user-defined organization. The list includes both owned and un-owned items and provides a means for sampling and purchasing the un-owned items directly from the list. The present invention contemplates a user interface for managing an entertainment play lists such as music play lists, video play lists etc. In addition the present invention contemplates management of vehicle maintenance and goods such as groceries, toys, or books.

Abstract: A bobbin for a pickup including a base and a top or cover spaced and connected by a post structure integral thereto. The post structure has one or more cavities for receiving one or more pole pieces. The post structure includes a plurality of lateral windows so that the one or more pole pieces in the one or more cavities would be immediately adjacent windings of one or more coils to be wound on the bobbin.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for classification of information and using the classification information in search and retrieval of information. In one embodiment, musical compositions having various highly subjective characteristics and features are classified according to a schema of objective attributes that are associated with the characteristics and features. Categorizers carry out the classification and create and store attribute information in a database. A search and retrieval system can receive information that characterizes the features of a desired composition and can locate a matching composition. As a result, information having subjective characteristics, such as musical compositions, may be compared and similar musical compositions can be located.

Abstract: A method for music analysis. The method includes the steps of acquiring a music soundtrack, re-sampling an audio stream of the music soundtrack so that the re-sampled audio stream is composed of blocks, applying FFT to each block, deriving a vector from each transformed block, wherein the vector components are energy summations of the block within different sub-bands, applying auto-correlation to each sequence composed of the vector components of all the blocks in the same sub-band using different tempo values, wherein, for each sequence, a largest correlation result is identified as a confidence value and the tempo value generating the largest correlation result is identified as an estimated tempo, and comparing the confidence values of all the sequences to identify the estimated tempo having the largest confidence value as a final estimated tempo.

Abstract: An exemplary retainer ring for a head of an acoustic drum can produce a visual display that allows an observer to visualize timing associated with percussive sound. An exemplary retainer ring includes a vertical wall disposed at a radius about a central axis and a laser diode module that includes a lens to emit visible radiation as a fan-beam. In such an exemplary retainer ring, the lens is positioned such that the fan-beam crosses the central axis and terminates as an arc in a groove in the vertical wall. When an object interrupts the fan-beam, the object reflects visible radiation of the fan-beam to thereby produce a visual display that allows an observer to visualize timing associated with percussive sound (e.g., sound produced by the object contacting a head of an acoustic drum). Various other exemplary arrangements, devices, systems, methods, etc., are also disclosed.

Abstract: Methods for assisting a technician in tuning a musical instrument exhibiting inharmonicity, such as a piano. If one aspect, a plurality of target frequencies are calculated using a table of preferred stretch values. In another aspect, target frequencies are calculated from multiple inharmonicity measurements during the time a tone generator is sounding.

Abstract: Various systems and methods described above permit a user's content experience (e.g. music playing experience) to be monitored and for metadata describing this experience to be collected. This metadata can be dynamically updated as a user experiences media content and then used to impart to the user a personalized experience that is tailored to that specific user. A user's metadata can, in some instances, provided across a wide variety of computing devices on which the user may experience the media content, thus standardizing the user's personalized media experience. In addition, intelligent or “smart” playlists can be provided which, in some instances, can be dynamically and automatically updated to reflect current user experiences, thus providing a highly personalized and enjoyable content experience.

Abstract: A portable voice studio apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a microphone, a music generation device, a processing unit, and a headphone. The processing unit is contained in a single housing. The processing unit is electrically coupled with the microphone and the music generation device for receiving a first input signal from the microphone and a second input signal from the music generation device. The processing unit is configured to amplify and add an intended effect to at least one of the first and second input signals to generate an output signal. The headphone receives the output signal from the processing unit to enable a user to hear the output.

Abstract: An effect system stored a specified segment of an audio signal and repeats the segment during a specified interval. The segment length may be defined in advance as a musical time interval and the interval in which it is repeated may be defined in advance as a musical time interval or as a number of repetitions. The beginning of the segment may be defined in advance as a location in musical time within the audio signal, or may be indicated manually during performance.

Abstract: Various systems and methods described above permit a user's content experience (e.g. music playing experience) to be monitored and for metadata describing this experience to be collected. This metadata can be dynamically updated as a user experiences media content and then used to impart to the user a personalized experience that is tailored to that specific user. A user's metadata can, in some instances, provided across a wide variety of computing devices on which the user may experience the media content, thus standardizing the user's personalized media experience. In addition, intelligent or “smart” playlists can be provided which, in some instances, can be dynamically and automatically updated to reflect current user experiences, thus providing a highly personalized and enjoyable content experience.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for evaluating and correcting rhythm of audio data. Embodiments of the invention are capable of obtaining preferred rhythm in audio data, and strategically correcting the portions of audio data resulting an enhancing rhythm. A system embodying the invention may detect each transient in audio data, compute an ideal time for the transient and determine the time deviation from the expected ideal time. The system may correct for the time of the transient by altering the audio data before or after the transient. The system utilizes one or more methods to correct for the timing while preserving the audio quality of the signal.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument is composed of a main body portion and parts such as an upper keyboard, a lower keyboard, and so on that are selected from among parts of a high-grade and low-grade in accordance with the model thereof and placed in the main body portion, in which a ROM stores control programs necessary for control of the electronic musical instrument of the high-grade model and low-grade model so that a CPU selects any of these and executes it. The selection is performed in accordance with an ON/OFF state of a limit switch provided to correspond to one of the parts. A portion of the part is made to have a different shape depending on the grade, so that when the part is placed in the main body portion, the limit switch comes into an ON/OFF state in accordance with the grade of the part.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument which has a fallboard unit whose dimension in the longitudinal direction of the instrument is not increased even when the fallboard unit contains a functional component part including electrical wiring. A cover unit has a front cover and a rear cover disposed such that they are arranged in forward and rearward directions when the cover unit is closed. A hinge device pivotally connects the front cover and the rear cover such that the cover unit lays open upward a keyboard when it is open with the front cover and the rear cover being folded. An instrument body accommodates the keyboard and a musical tone generator, and includes a pivotal support member fixed therein, left and right lateral side panels, and a topboard. A guide mechanism is provided on the left and right lateral side panels, and supports the rear cover such that the rear cover is movable in the forward and rearward directions.

Abstract: A singing voice synthesizing method and a singing voice synthesizing apparatus in which the singing voice is synthesized using performance data such as MIDI data. The performance data entered is analyzed as the musical information of the sound pitch, sound duration and the lyric (S2, S3). From the analyzed music information, the lyric is accorded to a string of sounds to form singing voice data (S5). Before delivering the singing voice data to a speech synthesizer, the sound range of the singing voice data is compared to the sound range of the speech synthesizer, and the key of the signing voice data and the performance data is changed so that the singing voice will be comprised within the sound range of the speech synthesizer (S9 to S12 and S14). A program, a recording medium and a robot apparatus, in which the singing voice is synthesized from performance data, are also disclosed.

Abstract: There is provided an electronic musical instrument which is capable of muting by a simple operation. A plurality of fret operating elements are provided on a fingerboard, for determining the pitch. Six stringed operating elements for determining sounding timing are provided on a string input section of the body of the electronic musical instrument. A tone generator and a sound system generate musical tones according to operations of the fret operating elements and the stringed operating elements. A mute fingerboard larger in transverse size than the transverse region over which the six stringed operating elements are arranged is disposed on an operating element holder protecting section engaged with latches of the operating elements. The mute fingerboard is located in the vicinity of operated ends of the stringed operating elements within the range where the stringed operating elements can be operated, and is exposed on a surface of the body.

Abstract: A disc for use in an apparatus for signal processing, wherein the disc during its use is placed on the turntable and is provided with a groove which can be followed by the pick-up element, and which comprises a time-code signal wherein during use of the disc the said time-code signal controls the digital audio source.