Abstract: A music station is connected through a communication network to another music station, and pieces of music data expressing an exhibition performance on a automatic player piano and pieces of voice data expressing tutor's explanation are transmitted from the music station to the other music station through different communication channels; and a close-talking microphone and a bone conduction microphone are incorporated in a sound collector on the music station, and a vibration signal from the bone conduction microphone is examined to see whether or not the cord of tutor vibrates; when the answer is given affirmative, a voice signal from the close-talking microphone is relayed to a transmitter module so that the sound collector does not permit the transmitter module to transmit the voice signal expressing noises such as the tones; whereby the music performance system prevents the trainee from tones reproduced from a headphone.

Abstract: A keyboard musical instrument supports lessons in practicing musical performance on a keyboard to allow users to learn musical performance expressions. In accordance with a teacher's model performance, performance data representing operations of keys of the keyboard, pedal depression data representing operations of pedals, and damper position data representing positions of dampers in action mechanisms are created and recorded on recording media such as flexible disks. When a student plays the keyboard musical instrument, the performance data, pedal depression data, and damper position data are reproduced by means of the recording media, so that they are displayed on the screen of a display, wherein the prescribed keys to be depressed are sequentially displayed in a piano roll form based on the performance data, and wherein depression values of the pedals and positions of the dampers are displayed based on the pedal depression data and damper position data.

Abstract: A performance control apparatus which can actually reproduce performance information without a long sounding blank time period being produced even if the performance information includes information indicative of a long sounding blank time period. Performance data md-A including at least key-on event data KON and time data TIME that defines sounding timing is read out and output. When the time data TIME in the readout performance data md-A is indicative of a longer sounding blank time period than a predetermined time period, the sounding blank time period is reduced or eliminated in outputting the performance data md-A.

Abstract: A performance control apparatus which can actually reproduce performance information without a long sounding blank time period being produced even if the performance information includes information indicative of a long sounding blank time period. Performance data md-A including at least key-on event data KON and time data TIME that defines sounding timing is read out and output. When the time data TIME in the readout performance data md-A is indicative of a longer sounding blank time period than a predetermined time period, the sounding blank time period is reduced or eliminated in outputting the performance data md-A.

Abstract: A multimedia platform records a performance on a keyboard synchronously with a picture by periodically regulating an internal clock, which is indicative of the lapse of time, with time codes inserted into the set of video data codes representative of the picture, and reproduces the performance through an automatic player piano also synchronously with the picture by periodically regulating the internal clock with the time codes, whereby the user enjoys himself or herself in the performance as if he or she feels himself or herself performing in a convert hall.

Abstract: A musical tune playback apparatus is basically constituted by a controller (CPU), a digital media drive (e.g., a CD drive), a hard disk drive, and a sound system. Musical tune data recorded on a digital storage media (e.g., CD) are played back and are transferred to the hard disk drive together with relative information and/or image data. When a user inputs retrieval conditions, the controller retrieves musical tune data related to relative information (or image), which substantially matches retrieval conditions. Specifically, a relative information retrieval database is stored in a data area of the hard disk drive, wherein an auto-input area automatically describes an index ID, TOC information, and history information while a manual-input area describes other data and information with regard to each musical tune that is played back. Thus, desired musical tune data are automatically retrieved from the hard disk drive with reference to the database.

Abstract: In order to make a tutor give a remote music lesson to a trainee, the audio-visual station transmits MIDI music data codes/time stamp data codes and click time data codes through a packet switching network and an audio-visual signal, which expresses real images of tutor's hands on the keyboard, and click signal through a teleconference system to another audio-visual station; the controller for the trainee makes the internal clock synchronous with the internal clock for the tutor through the pairing work between the click time data codes and the click signals so that the images of note bars and real images are synchronously produced on a display unit in front of the trainee's keyboard; moreover, while the tutor's exhibition is being carried out, any oral direction does not reach the trainee so that the trainee concentrate himself to the exhibition.

Abstract: A music performance system includes plural music stations communicable through a communication network and a server computer, and music data codes, which express a performance on one of the music stations, are transmitted to another music station through a packet switching: in order to make the original performance synchronized with the performance on another music station, the time stamp indicative of a time to produce a music data code is impressed on the music data code, and the time intervals between the tones are maintained by using internal clocks for the time stamp; however, time difference is unavoidable between the internal clocks; the time setting work is carried out during any packet is not transmitted for a predetermined time period so that the music stations are well synchronized without disturbance of the performance.

Abstract: A recording and reproducing system is broken down into a recording unit for producing a digital audio data signal from MIDI music data words asynchronously produced at irregular intervals and a playback unit for reproducing the MIDI music data codes from the digital audio data signal, wherein synchronous data nibbles are supplemented in the irregular intervals among the MIDI music data words for producing a data stream, and the digital audio data signal is produced from the data stream through a differential phase shift keying and a phase code modulation so as to record the MIDI messages in a digital versatile disk at high dense.

Abstract: At least one musical instrument, a server computer, a mobile telephone and a communication network form a music performance system; the owner has registered the musical instrument with a client database in the server computer, and a user transmits a request for music data distribution service to the server computer through the mobile telephone; upon reception of the request, the server computer searches the client database to see whether or not the owner has contracted the provider for the music data distribution service; when the server computer finds the owner in the client database, the server computer transmits a set of music data codes directly to the musical instrument so that the mobile telephone is shareable between the musical instrument and another musical instrument.

Abstract: A hybrid musical instrument and a PDA form a musical performance system, and a user controls the hybrid musical instrument by means of the PDA; when the user pairs the hybrid musical instrument with the PDA, the musical instrument converts an identification code to a machine-recognizable image such as an image of a QR code on a monitor display, and the PDA takes in the image of QR code through an image pickup device; the PDA restores the image of QR code to the identification code, and stores it in a memory; and the identification code is directly transmitted from the hybrid musical instrument to the PDA without any keying-in so that the user feels the pairing work easy and speedy.

Abstract: A separate-type music performance system has a master audio-visual station and a slave audio-visual station remote from the mater audio-visual station and connected through two communication channel independently of each other; MIDI music data codes and click time data codes are transmitted through one of the communication channels to the slave audio-visual station, and audio-visual data codes and a click signal are transmitted through the other communication channel; when the click signal and click time data code arrive the slave audio-visual station, the clock setter 21e sets an internal clock with the click time data code paired with the click signal, and the MIDI music data code are transferred to an automatic player piano in comparison with the time data and the internal clock, whereby the tones are produced synchronously with the visual images.

Abstract: A performance control apparatus which can actually reproduce performance information without a long sounding blank time period being produced even if the performance information includes information indicative of a long sounding blank time period. Performance data md-A including at least key-on event data KON and time data TIME that defines sounding timing is read out and output. When the time data TIME in the readout performance data md-A is indicative of a longer sounding blank time period than a predetermined time period, the sounding blank time period is reduced or eliminated in outputting the performance data md-A.

Abstract: A real-play sound provider is connected with a communication terminal via a network. The user operates the communication terminal to transmit musical tone files, which include tone pitches and tone-generation timings of designated musical tones, to the real-play sound provider, so that the real-play sound provider controls a prescribed musical instrument to play automatic performance based on musical tone files, thus creating real-play sound files. The real-play sound files are created in accordance with prescribed conditions suiting user's preferences and are stored in a storage device of the real-play sound provider. Then, the real-play sound files are transmitted to the communication terminal upon user's designation of an address (e.g., URL) as necessary. Thus, the communication terminal controls a sound reproduction unit to reproduce sounds of the prescribed musical instrument, which is not possessed and played by the user.

Abstract: A keyboard musical instrument supports lessons in practicing musical performance on a keyboard to allow users to learn musical performance expressions. In accordance with a teacher's model performance, performance data representing operations of keys of the keyboard, pedal depression data representing operations of pedals, and damper position data representing positions of dampers in action mechanisms are created and recorded on recording media such as flexible disks. When a student plays the keyboard musical instrument, the performance data, pedal depression data, and damper position data are reproduced by means of the recording media, so that they are displayed on the screen of a display, wherein the prescribed keys to be depressed are sequentially displayed in a piano roll form based on the performance data, and wherein depression values of the pedals and positions of the dampers are displayed based on the pedal depression data and damper position data.

Abstract: In order to make a tutor give a remote music lesson to a trainee, the audio-visual station transmits MIDI music data codes/time stamp data codes and click time data codes through a packet switching network and an audio-visual signal, which expresses real images of tutor's hands on the keyboard, and click signal through a teleconference system to another audio-visual station; the controller for the trainee makes the internal clock synchronous with the internal clock for the tutor through the pairing work between the click time data codes and the click signals so that the images of note bars and real images are synchronously produced on a display unit in front of the trainee's keyboard; moreover, while the tutor's exhibition is being carried out, any oral direction does not reach the trainee so that the trainee concentrate himself to the exhibition.

Abstract: A silent piano is available for a performance through electronic tones, and a player can give a timbre different from that of an acoustic piano to the electronic tones; when the player specifies a timbre of another acoustic musical instrument having a compass narrower than the compass of the acoustic piano, the key levers outside of the compass are never depressed in the performance, and several musical performance styles such as mute, glissando, tremolo and so fourth are assigned to the idle key levers; while the player is fingering on the keyboard, the player depresses one of the idle key levers and, thereafter, the black and white key levers in the compass, then, the electronic tones are produced in the selected musical performance style; the idle key levers are not mixed in the compass so that the player is less liable to be mistakenly depress the idle key levers.

Abstract: A recording and reproducing system is broken down into a recording unit for producing a digital audio data signal from MIDI music data words asynchronously produced at irregular intervals and a playback unit for reproducing the MIDI music data codes from the digital audio data signal, wherein synchronous data nibbles are supplemented in the irregular intervals among the MIDI music data words for producing a data stream, and the digital audio data signal is produced from the data stream through a differential phase shift keying and a phase code modulation so as to record the MIDI messages in a digital versatile disk at high dense.

Abstract: A silent piano is available for a performance through electronic tones, and a player can give a timbre different from that of an acoustic piano to the electronic tones; when the player specifies a timbre of another acoustic musical instrument having a compass narrower than the compass of the acoustic piano, the key levers outside of the compass are never depressed in the performance, and several musical performance styles such as mute, glissando, tremolo and so fourth are assigned to the idle key levers; while the player is fingering on the keyboard, the player depresses one of the idle key levers and, thereafter, the black and white key levers in the compass, then, the electronic tones are produced in the selected musical performance style; the idle key levers are not mixed in the compass so that the player is less liable to be mistakenly depress the idle key levers.

Abstract: A real-play sound provider is connected with a communication terminal via a network. The user operates the communication terminal to transmit musical tone files, which include tone pitches and tone-generation timings of designated musical tones, to the real-play sound provider, so that the real-play sound provider controls a prescribed musical instrument to play automatic performance based on musical tone files, thus creating real-play sound files. The real-play sound files are created in accordance with prescribed conditions suiting user's preferences and are stored in a storage device of the real-play sound provider. Then, the real-play sound files are transmitted to the communication terminal upon user's designation of an address (e.g., URL) as necessary. Thus, the communication terminal controls a sound reproduction unit to reproduce sounds of the prescribed musical instrument, which is not possessed and played by the user.