Method for automatically transcribing music and apparatus therefore

Abstract

An automatic music transcription method and system for generating a muscial score from an input acoustic signal. The acoustic signal may include vocal songs, vocal humming, and music from musical instruments. The system comprises means for extracting pitch information and power information from the input acoustic signal, for correcting the pitch information based on the deviation of the acoustic signal relative to an absolute musical scale, for dividing the acoustic signal into a set of single-sound segments using the corrected pitch information, dividing the acoustic signal into a second set of single-sound segments this time using changes in the power information, for dividing the acoustic signal in still greater detail using information contained in both previous segmentations, for associating each segment with a musical interval of an absolute musical scale, and for determining single-sounds segments depending on whether or not the musical intervals of adjacent segments are identical, for determining the key of the acoustic signal, for correcting the placement of the segments on the musical scale of the determined key using the pitch information, for determining the time and tempo of the acoustic signal using this placement, and for compiling musical score data using the determined musical scale, sound length, key, time, and tempo of the acoustic signal.