Music – Accessories – Teaching devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-26
2001-04-03
Witkowski, Stanley J. (Department: 2837)
Music
Accessories
Teaching devices
C084S47700R, C434S323000, C434S336000, C434S365000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06211451
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a music lesson system that supports, through a network, lessons of musical instruments having performance controls such as a keyboard, and relates to a machine readable medium storing a music training program.
Conventionally, people learn music by commuting to music schools or music lesson rooms providing music lesson facilities such as musical instruments, or by taking correspondence courses in which a student sends a recording medium such as a magnetic tape recorded with his or her musical performance and the corrected performance is fed back to the student for exercise, or by self-learning with using textbooks and with listening model performance.
In the conventional music lesson systems, no network is used for lesson or, even if a network is used, it is limited to a certain space such as lesson rooms. Another problem is that, because music performance heavily depends on human sensibilities, standalone use of a music lesson apparatus does not help students learn music.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a music lesson system and a music training apparatus that brings about lessons at home or other places through a network such as the Internet, and to provide a machine readable medium storing a music training program.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a music lesson system and a music training apparatus that creates music lessons mainly dealing with human sensibilities, and to provide a machine readable medium storing a music teaching program.
In carrying out the invention and according to one aspect thereof, there is provided a music lesson system comprising a trainer terminal (teacher terminal) and at least one trainee terminal (student terminal), which is communicable with the trainer terminal through a network. The trainee terminal comprises an instrument device that is manually operable by a trainee (student) to generate a sample performance, a processor device that analyzes a training level of the trainee and formulates a curriculum corresponding to the training level, and a display device that is controlled by the processor device to display a lesson score according to the curriculum so that the lesson score can be rendered by operating the instrument device to generate the sample performance. The trainer terminal comprises a receiver device that receives data representative of the sample performance from the trainee terminal through the network, a processor device that is operated by a trainer (teacher) to evaluate the sample performance according to the received data so as to arrange advice information, which could not be arranged by the trainee terminal, and a transmitter device that transmits back the advice information to the trainee terminal. Characterizingly, the trainee terminal, upon receiving the advice information from the trainer terminal through the network, controls the display device to display an exercise part of the lesson score and a comment on the exercise part based on the advice information, thereby prompting the trainee to play the exercise part according to the comment.
In carrying out the invention and according to another aspect thereof, there is provided a music lesson apparatus or local training apparatus communicable with a training center through a network. The local training apparatus comprises an instrument device that is manually operable by a trainee to generate a sample performance, a processor device that analyzes a training level of the trainee and formulates a curriculum corresponding to the training level, a display device that is controlled by the processor device to display a lesson score according to the curriculum so that the lesson score can be rendered by operating the instrument device to generate the sample performance, a transmitter device that transmits data representative of the sample performance to the training center through the network so that the training center evaluates the sample performance according to the data to arrange advice information, which could not be arranged by the local training apparatus, and a receiver device that receives the advice information from the training center through the network. Characterizingly, the processor device operates upon receiving the advice information for controlling the display device to display an exercise part of the lesson score and a comment on the exercise part based on the advice information, thereby prompting the trainee to play the exercise part according to the comment.
Preferably, the processor device compares the data representative of the sample performance generated by the instrument device with data representative of the lesson score displayed on the display device, and operates if a difference between the sample performance and the lesson score exceeds a musically acceptable degree for arranging an exercise part of the lesson score such that the exercise part is rhythmically emphasized to facilitate practicing of the instrument device.
Preferably, the local training apparatus further comprises a sound source device that is controlled by the processor device according to the advice information for generating a model performance corresponding to the exercise part of the lesson score such that the model performance is modified according to the comment to audibly teach the trainee.
In carrying out the invention and according to still another aspect thereof, there is provided a machine readable medium for use in a music training apparatus having a CPU, a display and an instrument manually operable by a user to generate a performance and being communicable with a supervisory computer of a training center through a network for remotely training the user in matching with a skill level. The medium contains a program executable by the CPU for causing the music training apparatus to perform the method comprising the steps of displaying a lesson score on the display in matching with the skill level so that the user is prompted to render the displayed lesson score by operating the instrument for generating a sample performance, comparing event data representative of the sample performance with note data representative of the lesson score to execute a quantitative evaluation of the sample performance, transmitting the event data representative of the sample performance to the supervisory computer through the network so that the supervisory computer can work to provide a qualitative evaluation of the sample performance according to the event data to thereby arrange instruction data, the qualitative evaluation being different from the quantitative evaluation and being unavailable by the music training apparatus, receiving the instruction data from the supervisory computer through the network, and modifying the lesson score in order to improve the skill level of the user based on either of the quantitative evaluation and the qualitative evaluation represented by the received instruction data.
According to the present invention, the trainee terminal or student terminal is connected as a client computer to the trainer terminal or teacher terminal which is a server computer or supervisory computer through a wide-area network such as the Internet. The music training program is downloaded from the teacher terminal through the network and installed on the student terminal. Otherwise, the music training program is installed by setting the machine readable medium or recording medium storing such a program to the student terminal. Then, on the student terminal, music lessons such as fingering of the instrument on tempo are practiced, and the results of these lessons are sent to the teacher terminal from time to time. This allows the lesson results to be audibly evaluated at the teacher terminal with professional sensibilities. Based on the evaluation, the teacher gives advice information or instruction data associated with delicate rendition and expression to the student. The present invention therefore allows the student terminal to be s
Hara Masaki
Hirose Tomoyuki
Iyatomi Akane
Tohgi Yutaka
Morrison & Foerster
Witkowski Stanley J.
Yamaha Corporation
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