Music – Instruments – Electrical musical tone generation
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-18
2001-11-20
Fletcher, Marlon T. (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Electrical musical tone generation
C084S600000, C084S618000, C084S653000, C084S656000, C084S47700R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06320112
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a procedure for the automatic selection of musical and/or tonal compositions to be replayed from a collection of musical and/or tonal compositions. In addition, the invention relates to a device for the automatic selection of musical and/or tonal compositions from a collection of musical and/or tonal compositions by means of a computing device.
2. The Prior Art
Known in the art are programs that permit a manual sequencing of musical compositions to be played. Additionally known are programs that arbitrarily select musical compositions at random.
DE 44 32 632 A1 discloses a system for the automatic output of voice responses in response to input voice signals. In particular, it describes an automatic information system, with which individuals can receive information through inquiries, without another operator being necessary.
Known from DE 195 23 515 C2 are a procedure and a device for the transmitter-based detection of responses by a specific listener to a transmitter message sent by a radio or television transmitted with the broadcast program. In this case, the listener responds to the transmitted message by entering data in a data input device on the listener side.
At functions, e.g., celebrations or in discotheques, a disk jockey is normally present to manually select the musical and/or tonal compositions. The selection and sequence of musical and/or tonal compositions to be played greatly influences the mood of the audience. Development of a positive mood increases the popularity of a discotheque, for example, and hence sales. For this reason, disk jockeys become very important in the highly sales oriented catering industry. Therefore, a good disk jockey combines long years of experience on the job, good knowledge of music and a keen sense of empathy. He must be perfectly versed in as wide a selection of music as possible. The musical compositions usually involve various forms of popular music, in particular rock or hit music, arranged in numerous style categories, e.g., rock ‘n’ roll, heavy metal or disco. The tonal compositions, e.g., jingles or background sounds, can include any conceivable types.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to create a procedure and a device to enable an automatic and target-oriented selection of musical and/or tonal compositions to be replayed.
According to the invention, each musical and/or tonal composition is assigned evaluation data that describe its characteristics. Setting parameters are set up to describe a target describing a selected or desired behavior of an audience. Status data are acquired or generated while evaluating the behavior of an audience. The setting parameters and status data are compared, and requirement data are generated or acquired from that. The requirement data are compared with the evaluation data of the musical and/or tonal compositions, and a suitable musical or tonal composition is selected. In this way, a musical composition best suited to the respective situation can be selected entirely automatically.
The procedure according to the invention preferably assigns or allocates several evaluation data to each musical and/or tonal composition in a collection. This allocation encompasses the automatic allocation of evaluation data relating to constant criteria, e.g. instrument arrangement, volume fluctuation or beat, of a musical or tonal composition newly incorporated into the musical collection. It also encompasses the interactive allocation of evaluation data for variable criteria, e.g., popularity of the composition or its tendency to inspire dancing. DE 197 24 376 C2 describes one possibility with respect to the allocation of evaluation data with constant criteria.
It makes sense to acquire as high a number of evaluation data from as many criteria as possible. For example, the evaluation data can be arranged by their criteria. criteria for musical compositions can include style of music, type of beat, beat, instruments, popularity, year of release, dancing inspiration or song repeats, while those for tonal compositions can included play duration, sound sources or achievable listener emotions. Evaluation data, e.g., for the type of beat criterion, are 4/4 beat or 3/4 beat.
The setting parameters are preferably in the same form as the evaluation data, and in particular of the status data, since this effectively enables a comparison between a setting parameter that describes dance behavior, and status data, e.g., those acquired about a camera view of the dance floor. To describe a specific target concept in a target stipulation, setting parameters are established or selected. The number of established or selected setting parameters here depends on the scope of the envisaged target.
The status data acquired from evaluating the behavior of an audience reflect the current status of the audience and/or its environment at any given time.
The requirement data acquired from the setting parameters and status data here correspond to the result of a continuously ongoing actual/set interrogation. Preferably, the comparison between the requirement data and the evaluation data for the musical and/or tonal compositions results in the selection of the musical or tonal composition in which the correlation between evaluation data and requirement data is as great as possible.
Given identical or comparable correlation values for several musical or tonal compositions, a musical or tonal composition may be selected randomly or by some other method.
In addition, the behavior of an audience is used to reevaluate the evaluation data allocated to the musical and/or tonal compositions. Since the behavior of an audience observed over any period of time yields a behavioral progression, the evaluation data acquired from the behavior of an audience represent certain evaluation levels. The composition of these evaluation levels constantly changes during a reevaluation.
The requirement data acquired from the setting parameters and status data are also used to establish a sequence of musical and/or tonal compositions to be replayed, and also to automatically control the volume. It is also possible to control all other parameters in this way, e.g., balance or individual frequency amplifications, in particular base and amplitude frequencies.
The requirement data acquired from audience behavior are preferably also used for automatically controlling a special effects system, e.g., a light or fog generating system.
The musical and sound compositions and their evaluation data preferably comprise an evaluation matrix. The advantage to a matrix is that all data can be compared and evaluated by a computing device in the form of lines and columns.
According to the invention the device consists of a device for observing an audience and a computing device, in particular a computer. The computer has the task of evaluating the information obtained from the audience observing device, compare it with setting parameters, and select a musical or tonal composition. Memory areas are allocated for storing the evaluation data, which are linked with memory areas for storing the musical and/or tonal compositions in such a way as to enable an allocation. In addition, memory areas are provided for storing the setting parameters for a predeterminable period. The status data and requirement data can also be stored over the chronological progression. The computing device of the computer evaluates the correlation between status data and setting parameters to generate requirement data, and evaluates the correlation between requirement data and evaluation data to select a musical or tonal composition, and to control various systems.
The listener-observing device preferably has at least one camera. Depending on how large the area to be observed and number of required camera settings, several cameras may become necessary, For example, the camera can be aimed at an area of the dance floor, wherein the images it supplies are evaluated by the computer for movement. The
Collard & Roe P.C.
Fletcher Marlon T.
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