Yamaha Corporation

Tom Jen Tsai

Masahiko Wakita

Shigehiko Mizuno

Kanehisa Tsurumi

Satoshi Tachibana

Display device displays a character string of lyrics and accompaniment information. Characters or unit words of the lyrics corresponding to a current performance position and a next performance position are displayed in different display styles, in accordance with progression of the performance. Pieces of the accompaniment information corresponding to the current performance position and the next performance position may be displayed in different display styles, in accordance with the progression of the performance. Thus, even when the characters or unit words of the lyrics corresponding to the current and next performance position are displayed in an overlapping condition, a user is allowed to readily distinguish between the overlapping characters or unit words.

Method and apparatus for displaying music piece data such as lyrics and chord data

A computer system includes storage device for storing a plurality of object files, each file including a program and information on the genre of music, and said computur system selecting an object file from the storage device and executing a program stored in the selected object file.

Computer system and karaoke system

A chord performance training system is realized on a personal computer having a display and a keyboard in accordance with music application software. The display provides a user with three types of windows on a screen, namely a main window for displaying chord progression, a select window for displaying a list of genre names for selection and a score window for displaying a score. On the select window, the user selects a specific single genre name to activate model performance information containing chord parts, a percussion part, a chord text and a song text, so that the main window shows chord progression representing chord names and generation timings of chords which are to be sequentially played by the user. Multiple sets of model performance information are provided to suit to different levels, namely a beginners' level and an expert level, which are set to the user in playing chord performance on the keyboard. Incidentally, the select window shows histograms each of which shows a score being marked for user's chord performance out of ten grades with respect to each of the genre names, while the score window shows a highest point of score being marked for the user in the past out of a hundred. The user's chord performance is evaluated in comparison with the model performance information suited to a desired level in consideration of a degree of match being detected between a key-depression pattern and a chord pattern within an allowable time range (e.g., 300 msec).

Apparatus and method for practice and evaluation of musical performance of chords

A tune data reproduction system is designed to operate differently in a reproduction mode and a quick reverse mode by using tune data and quick reverse sound data. Herein, the tune data represent progression of notes of musical performance, while the quick reverse sound data represent repetition of a prescribed sound indicating a quick reverse operation or reverse reproduction sounds being made from the tune data. In the reproduction mode, the system performs reproduction on the tune data to produce musical tones of the notes at a desired tempo in accordance with the progression of the musical performance. In the quick reverse mode, the system produces the quick reverse sound or the reverse reproduction sounds representing the musical tones of the notes which are reversely reproduced in a reverse direction reverse to the progression of the musical performance at a high speed. In order to prevent sound duration from becoming excessively short in the quick reverse mode, each of the musical tones is generated in response to note-off information being read from the tune data, then, it is muted after a lapse of a prescribed time (e.g., 100 ms). This allows a user of the system to clearly recognize passage of the quick reverse operation. Thus, the user is able to certainly listen to the musical tones being reversely reproduced and is capable of tracing back the tune data in the reverse direction at a high speed.

Apparatus and method for reproduction of tune data

A karaoke apparatus is provided in which a plurality of singers can sing at a time and superiority/inferiority of singing voices can be matched. One karaoke music piece is performed, and two persons sing the music piece at a time by using different microphones. Singing voice signals input through the two microphones are respectively scored, and characters displayed on a screen are caused to fight based on the score results. If the point of the singer having microphone is higher, an animation in which character attacks character is displayed. If the singing point of microphone is higher, animation in which character attacks character is displayed.

Karaoke apparatus

An improved karaoke network system that allows a user to select and obtain desired information through an interface while a message is displayed between intermissions of karaoke performances. Data files for karaoke performance, displaying messages, and displaying data selection menus are written in a common structure. Each of the data files includes an action region that contains link data. The data files are associated with one another by the link data contained in the action regions of the data files. A chain of related data files are executed by a menu selection operation or a key input operation by the user for performing karaoke performance and displaying messages and data selection menus.

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Hamamatsu, Japan

Tom Jen Tsai