Music – Accessories – Teaching devices
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-25
2003-02-04
Witkowski, Stanley J. (Department: 2837)
Music
Accessories
Teaching devices
C084S48500R, C084SDIG002
Reexamination Certificate
active
06515211
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a music performance assistance apparatus for visually indicating, on a display screen, an appropriate or model manner of performing a chord on a predetermined musical instrument, and a computer program therefor. For example, the present invention concerns an improved music performance assistance apparatus which can visually indicate an appropriate manner of playing or manipulating a musical instrument to perform a particular chord in response to user designation of any one of chord names displayed on the display screen in progression order of a music piece, and which can visually indicate respective appropriate manners of playing the musical instrument for a plurality of chords.
For beginners, it is often very difficult to master step by step how to play a musical instrument by actually manipulating the musical instrument while merely viewing a textbook having music scores and the like written thereon. Thus, with the widespread use of personal computers, there have recently emerged so-called music performance assistance systems, each of which allows any interested user to master how to play an electronic musical instrument by the aide of a computer connected with the musical instrument. Each of the conventionally-known music performance assistance apparatus employed in such systems displays, on a predetermined display device, a “chord selecting screen” indicating chord roots (e.g., pitch names like “C”, “E”, “G#”, “F” and “A”) and chord types (e.g., “major”, “minor”, “seventh”, “augmented” and “diminished”) so that a user can select desired ones of the chord roots and chord types indicated on the chord selecting screen. The music performance assistance apparatus identifies one particular chord on the basis of the combination of the user-selected chord root and type; for example, when the user-selected chord root and type are “C” and “major”, respectively, the assistance apparatus identifies the chord as a “C major chord”. Then, the music performance assistance apparatus displays, on the display device, an appropriate manner of playing or manipulating the musical instrument to perform the identified chord, i.e. a model instrument-playing manner for the identified chord; for example, in the case of a string instrument such as a guitar, the apparatus displays fingers to be used to depress strings for the chord performance. Namely, every time a need arises, the user executes input operation for selecting both the root and type of a particular chord for which he or she wants to learn the appropriate manner of manipulating the musical instrument so that the corresponding model instrument-playing manner is displayed on the display device. Then, by visually ascertaining the displayed model instrument-playing manner, the user can learn how to perform the particular chord on the musical instrument. Namely, the conventional performance assistance apparatus are designed to display only one model instrument-playing manner for a single chord at a time in response to designation by the user, so as to provide visual music performance assistance or guide to the user.
As set forth above, with the conventionally-known music performance assistance apparatus, it is necessary for the user to ascertain what kinds of chords are used in a desired music piece and then perform predetermined chord-selecting input operation so as to cause the display device to display a model instrument-playing manner for a particular one of the chords whenever the user wants to refer to the model instrument-playing manner for visual performance assistance; besides, the model instrument-playing manner only for one chord, not for a plurality of different chords, can be displayed at a time. Thus, if the user wants to refer to respective model instrument-playing manners for two or more chords, the user has to interrupt the performance to execute the chord-selecting input operation for each of the chords, which would unavoidably result in poor usability of the assistance apparatus. Namely, the user must execute the chord-selecting input operation as many times as the number of chords for which the model instrument-playing manners are to be displayed on the display device; for example, in case the user wants to see the model instrument-playing manners for all the chords used in a music piece, the chord-selecting input operation must be executed a great many times correspondingly, which would thus disadvantageously become extremely time-consuming, troublesome and complex tasks on the part of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a technique of allowing a user to refer to a model instrument-playing manner for any desired chord with only simple operation or instruction.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a technique of simultaneously displaying respective model instrument-playing manners for a plurality of chords to thereby allow a user to promptly ascertain appropriate manners of performing the individual chords on a musical instrument.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a music performance assistance apparatus which comprises: a display device; a supply device that supplies the display device with basic screen display data for displaying a basic screen including a plurality of chord names to be indicated on the basic screen, the display device displaying the basic screen indicating the plurality of chord names on the basis of the basic screen display data supplied by the supply device; a storage device that stores, for each chord, playing-manner screen display data for displaying a playing manner screen indicative of a model playing manner corresponding to the chord; and a processor coupled with the display device and the storage device. The processor is adapted to: select a chord name from among the plurality of chord names indicated on the basic screen displayed on the display device, on the basis of an instruction by a user; and read out, from the storage device, the playing-manner screen display data corresponding to the selected chord name. In this music performance apparatus, the display device displays, along with the basic screen, a playing manner screen indicative of an appropriate or model playing manner corresponding to the selected chord name on the basis of the playing-manner screen display data read out by the processor from the storage device.
Thus, by the user only giving an instruction for selecting a chord mane, a playing manner screen indicative of a model playing manner corresponding to the selected chord name (i.e., an appropriate manner of performing the chord on a predetermined musical instrument, such as an appropriate manner of operating strings of a guitar) is displayed on the display device along with the basic screen. In this way, a model playing manner for any user-desired chord can be referred to on the display device with simple user operation. As an example, the basic screen may be one listing names of chords used in a selected music piece in accordance with progression of the selected music piece. Therefore, with only simple user operation of selecting a desired one of the chord names indicated on the basic screen, the playing manner screens indicative of the model playing manners for any desired chords can be displayed in accordance with progression of the music piece, which is very useful. The display device may simultaneously display the playing manner screens for a plurality of different chords. Further, the playing manner screen may be displayed in a highlighted fashion for improved viewability.
The present invention may be implemented as a music performance assistance system comprising a server apparatus and client terminal interconnected via a communication network.
Namely, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server apparatus connectable with a client terminal, which comprises: a first storage section that stores basic screen display data for allowing the client terminal to
Hori Mitsuo
Umezawa Satoru
Rossi & Associates
Witkowski Stanley J.
Yamaha Corporation
LandOfFree
Music performance assistance apparatus for indicating how to... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Music performance assistance apparatus for indicating how to..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Music performance assistance apparatus for indicating how to... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3156643