JP7638604B2 - Karaoke equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a karaoke device.

Conventionally, karaoke devices are equipped with a singing scoring function that scores the skill of a user's singing, and users can enjoy karaoke by competing with each other to see who has the best singing ability based on the scoring results. The singing scoring function mainly scores based on the accuracy of the singing pitch, which trains the user's sense of pitch, but to further improve singing ability, it is necessary to train the user's sense of rhythm. For example, a device has been proposed that, when the rhythm of the singing voice and the singing melody track become too far apart, transmits a stimulus corresponding to the rhythm to the user's skin, allowing the user to recognize the difference in rhythm (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-308650 A

However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 only allows the user to recognize the discrepancy between the rhythm of the singing voice and the rhythm of the singing melody track, and does not inform the user of whether or not they have a sense of rhythm, making the content uninteresting.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a karaoke device that evaluates the user's sense of rhythm and is capable of executing karaoke content with a high level of game element and a tense atmosphere.

The main invention for achieving the above object is a karaoke device capable of setting a content mode for executing content capable of evaluating a sense of rhythm, the karaoke device being provided with: a section setting unit that, when playing a song in the content mode, sets the performance section of the song, a silent section included in the performance section, and a singing section included in the silent section; a performance section control unit that performs the song during the performance section and displays lyrics and changes the color of the lyrics; a silent section control unit that silences the performance volume of the song being played during the silent section and stops changing the color of the lyrics; a singing section presentation unit that highlights the lyrics to be sung during the silent section and presents the singing section in which singing voice is input; a timer unit that measures the elapsed time from the start of the performance section to the first input of singing voice during the silent section; and a notification unit that notifies the evaluation result based on the difference between the progress of the performance from the start of the performance section to the start of the singing section and the elapsed time measured by the timer unit.

According to the present invention, since the performance section includes a silent section, the performance volume becomes silent and the color change of the lyrics stops during the performance of the song. Since only the lyrics are displayed during the silent section, the user must predict the progress of the performance while keeping a certain tempo in his/her head, relying on the lyrics and the user's own sense of rhythm. The silent section includes a singing section, and the lyrics to be sung are highlighted when the color change is stopped due to silence. With the progress of the performance predicted, the user inputs a singing voice at the timing when he/she judges that the singing section has been reached. Then, the difference between the elapsed time from the start of the performance section until the singing voice is input and the progress of the performance from the start of the performance section to the lyrics to be sung is calculated. As a result, the user's sense of rhythm is evaluated from the difference between the timing when the user judges that the singing section has been reached and the timing when the performance actually reaches the singing section, and karaoke content with a high level of game elements and a tense atmosphere is provided.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a karaoke device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of a karaoke device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a section setting process according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evaluation table according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing operation of the karaoke device according to the embodiment.

The karaoke device of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the karaoke device of this embodiment. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the karaoke device of this embodiment. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the section setting process of this embodiment. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the evaluation table of this embodiment. Note that, for the sake of convenience, the functional block diagram of Figure 2 shows functional blocks for realizing specific processes, but it is assumed that the configuration that a karaoke device normally has is included.

As shown in FIG. 1, a monitor 11, a speaker 12, a microphone 13, and a remote control device 14 are connected to the karaoke device 10. The monitor 11 displays lyrics captions along with a background video based on a video signal from the karaoke device 10. The microphone 13 converts singing voice into a singing voice signal and inputs it to the karaoke device 10. The speaker 12 emits singing voice along with a performance sound based on a performance sound signal from the karaoke device 10 and a singing voice signal from the microphone 13. The remote control device 14 accepts various operations for the karaoke device 10, such as reserving songs.

When the karaoke performance is started by the karaoke device 10, lyrics captions and background images are displayed on the monitor 11 in sync with the karaoke performance. In the karaoke device 10, the karaoke performance sound signal and the singing voice signal input from the microphone 13 are mixed by the mixer, and this mixed signal is amplified by the amplifier and output from the speaker 12. In this way, when the user sings along with the karaoke performance, the singing voice is output from the speaker 12 together with the performance sound. The karaoke device 10 also scores the user's singing ability and the score result is displayed on the monitor 11.

The karaoke device 10 is configured to be able to evaluate the user's sense of rhythm as well as the user's sense of pitch. The memory of the karaoke device 10 stores various data related to karaoke singing, such as song data for each song ID, as well as content data for executing a specific content for each content ID. The song data includes performance data that is the source of the performance sounds, reference data that is the scoring standard for the singing voice, and lyric data that is the source of the lyric captions. The content data includes various data that allows the karaoke device 10 to operate in a content mode.

The song ID and content ID are identified by a character string with the same number of digits. The song ID is input from the touch panel of the remote control device 14, and the reservation button is pressed, causing the song ID to be sent from the remote control device 14 to the karaoke device 10. Similarly, the content ID is input from the touch panel of the remote control device 14, and the reservation button is pressed, causing the content ID to be sent from the remote control device 14 to the karaoke device 10. When the karaoke device 10 receives the song ID or content ID from the remote control device 14, the karaoke device 10 registers the song ID or content ID at the end of the reservation list.

Song IDs or content IDs are read out in order from the top of the reservation list; when a song ID is read out, karaoke performance is started based on the song data; when a content ID is read out, the content mode is set based on the content data. For example, when content ID "C1**01" indicating content C1 is read out from the reservation list, the start and setting processes for the content mode "Rhythm Sense Challenge" are carried out. When a new song is reserved in this content mode, the rhythm sense challenge is started using the reserved song.

As shown in FIG. 2, the karaoke device 10 is provided with a section setting unit 21 that functions in the content mode, a performance section control unit 22, a silent section control unit 23, a singing section presentation unit 24, a timer unit 25, and an alarm unit 26. When playing a song with the content mode set, the section setting unit 21 sets the performance section of the song, the silent section included in the performance section, and the singing section included in the silent section. The performance section is the section in which the song is played during the rhythm sense challenge, the silent section is the section that becomes silent during the performance of the song, and the singing section is the section in which singing input is accepted in a silent state.

The performance section, silent section, and singing section are set based on section information such as an introduction section and a chorus section included in the performance data of the song. The section setting unit 21 may set a performance section including at least one chorus section of the song so that the user's sense of rhythm is evaluated using the chorus section, which is the most exciting section in the song. In this case, the section setting unit 21 sets the start point of the silent section in the chorus section, and sets the singing section in the chorus section. Furthermore, the section setting unit 21 may set the start point of the performance section just before the chorus section so that the song is skipped from the start of performance to just before the chorus section.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3(A), when song X2 is reserved by a user to enjoy the "rhythm sense challenge" and song ID "ID**X2" is read from the reservation list, preparation processing for the song performance is carried out on the performance data and lyric data of song X2. The section setting unit 21 extracts section information for the introductory section, first A verse section, first B verse section, first chorus section, interlude section, second A verse section, second B verse section, second chorus section, and postlude section from the performance data of song X2. The section setting unit 21 then sets the performance section to include the first chorus section.

The start point of the performance section is set immediately before the end of the first B melody section, i.e., immediately before the first chorus section. The end point of the performance section is set immediately after the start of the interlude section, i.e., immediately after the first chorus section. Note that, when there are multiple chorus sections, such as in song X2, the performance section may be automatically set to include the first chorus section, or the performance section may be automatically set to include the last chorus section. Also, a chorus section may be randomly selected from the multiple chorus sections, and the performance section may be automatically set by the section setting unit 21 to include the selected chorus section.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(B), a silent section is set so as to be included in the performance section. The start point of the silent section is set to the midpoint of the first chorus section, and the end point of the silent section is set immediately after the first chorus section to coincide with the performance section. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3(C), a singing section is set so as to be included in the silent section and the first chorus section. The start point of the singing section is set to the midpoint of the silent section, and the end point of the singing section is set to the end point of the first chorus section. In this way, in this embodiment, the rhythm sense challenge is carried out mainly using the first chorus section of song X2.

The performance section control unit 22 performs the music during the performance section, and also displays lyrics and changes the color of the lyrics. The performance section control unit 22 controls a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) sound source 27, which starts performance from the performance section of the performance data. The performance section control unit 22 also controls a display processor 28, which displays lyrics captions for the performance section on the monitor 11. At this time, the color of the lyrics caption is changed in synchronization with the playback of the performance data based on the tempo clock signal. Note that performance may start from the beginning of the performance section, or may start from the beginning of the music and skip to the beginning of the performance section midway.

The silent section control unit 23 silences the volume of the music being played during the silent section and stops changing the color of the lyrics. The silent section control unit 23 controls the MIDI sound source 27, which continues playing the music in silence. The silent section control unit 23 also controls the display processor 28, which displays the lyrics caption on the monitor 11 without changing the color. Since only the lyrics caption is displayed during the silent section, the user must predict the progress of the performance based on the rhythm they have grasped during the performance section, relying on the lyrics caption and their own sense of rhythm.

The singing section presentation unit 24 highlights the lyrics to be sung during silent sections to present the singing section to the user in which singing voice is to be input. The singing section presentation unit 24 controls the display processor 28, which displays the lyrics caption for the singing section in a text color different from the lyrics caption for performance sections other than the singing section. The text color allows the user to recognize the display of the lyrics caption to be sung. The user predicts the progress of the performance, predicts the arrival of the singing section, and sings the lyrics caption to be sung, and the singing voice is input from the microphone 13. Note that information on the text color different from the lyrics caption is an example of content data and is stored in the memory of the karaoke device 10.

The timing unit 25 measures the elapsed time from when the performance of the performance section starts until the first singing voice is input during the silent section. The timing unit 25 starts timing as soon as the performance of the performance section starts, and stops timing when the singing voice is input from the microphone 13 during the silent section. For example, if the singing voice is input 52.40 seconds after the performance of the performance section starts, the timing unit 25 stores 52.40 seconds in memory as the elapsed time. In this way, the timing at which the user starts singing when the user judges that the singing section has been reached, while predicting the progress of the performance in his or her head, is obtained as the elapsed time.

The notification unit 26 notifies the evaluation result based on the time difference between the performance progress time from the start of the performance section to the start of the singing section and the elapsed time measured by the timing unit 25. The notification unit 26 calculates the performance progress time from the interval from the start point of the performance section to the start point of the singing section, and calculates the difference between this performance progress time and the elapsed time obtained from the timing unit 25. In other words, the difference between the timing of the start of singing when the user judges that the start point of the singing section has been reached and the actual timing of the start of singing when the performance has progressed to the start point of the singing section is calculated, and the user's sense of rhythm is evaluated.

For example, if the duration of the performance from the start of the performance section to the start of the singing section is 54.20 seconds, and the elapsed time measured by the timing unit 25 is 52.40 seconds, then the time difference is 1.40 seconds. This time difference of 1.40 seconds is displayed on the monitor 11 by the notification unit 26 as a deviation in rhythm after the singing section is completed. In this way, by notifying the user of a deviation in his/her own sense of rhythm as an evaluation result, karaoke content with a high level of game element accompanied by a tense atmosphere can be provided. Note that instead of displaying the time difference as the evaluation result, the evaluation result may be displayed as a comment.

For example, the evaluation table shown in FIG. 4 may be referenced and a comment according to the time difference may be displayed on the monitor 11. When the time difference is "±4 seconds or more", the comment "Forget about your sense of rhythm" is displayed, and when the time difference is "±2 seconds or more but less than ±4 seconds", the comment "You need to practice your sense of rhythm" is displayed. When the time difference is "0.5 seconds or more but less than ±2 seconds", the comment "Your sense of rhythm is a little off" is displayed, and when the time difference is "less than ±0.5 seconds", the comment "Your sense of rhythm is perfect" is displayed. The evaluation result may be notified by display but by voice. The evaluation table is an example of content data and is stored in the memory of the karaoke device 10.

The processes of the karaoke device 10 may be realized by software using a processor, or by logic circuits (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit or the like. When a processor is used, the processor reads and executes programs stored in memory to perform various processes. For example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used as the processor. The memory is composed of one or more storage media such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory) depending on the application.

The processing operation of the karaoke device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an example of the processing operation of the karaoke device of this embodiment. Note that the symbols in FIG. 2 will be used as appropriate for the explanation. Also, the following flow is merely an example and can be modified as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 5, when a content ID is read from the reservation list, the karaoke device 10 is set to the "rhythm sense challenge" content mode based on the content data (step S01). When the user reserves a song using the remote control device 14 in the content mode (step S02), the performance section, silent section, and singing section are set by the section setting unit 21 based on the performance data of the song (step S03). The performance section is set to include the chorus section of the song, a silent section is set within the performance section, and a singing section is set within the silent section (see FIGS. 3(A)-(C)).

The performance section control unit 22 controls the MIDI sound source 27 to start playing the music from the start point of the performance section, and the performance section control unit 22 controls the display processor 28 to start displaying and changing the color of the lyric caption (step S04). At this time, the timing unit 25 measures the elapsed time from the start point of the performance section. When the performance progresses from the start point of the performance section to the start point of the silent section, the silent section control unit 23 controls the MIDI sound source 27 to make the performance volume silent, and the performance section control unit 22 controls the display processor 28 to stop changing the color of the lyric caption (step S05).

During the silent sections, lyrics captions are displayed on the monitor 11, but the user cannot hear the performance sound and cannot see the color change of the lyrics captions. Therefore, the user gets a grasp of the rhythm of the music from the start of the performance section to the start of the silent section, and from the start of the silent section, the user predicts the progress of the music by relying on the lyrics captions and their own sense of rhythm. Furthermore, when the performance progresses in silence from the start of the silent section, the singing section presentation unit 24 displays lyrics captions indicating the singing section (singing target) (step S06). Different display colors are used for lyrics captions during the singing section and lyrics captions before the singing section.

When the user predicts that the performance has progressed to the start of the singing section based on their sense of rhythm, the user sings the lyrics of the singing section and the singing voice is input from the microphone 13 (Yes in step S07). At this time, timing by the timing unit 25 is stopped and the elapsed time from the start of the performance section to the input of the singing voice is calculated. The notification unit 26 also calculates the progress of the performance from the start of the performance section to the start of the singing section. The deviation in the user's sense of rhythm is then calculated from the time difference between the elapsed time measured by the timing unit 25 and the progress of the performance, and the evaluation result is notified (step S08).

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the performance section includes a silent section, the performance volume becomes silent and the color change of the lyrics stops during the performance of the song. Since only the lyrics are displayed during the silent section, the user needs to predict the progress of the performance while keeping a certain tempo in his/her head, relying on the lyrics and the user's own sense of rhythm. The silent section includes a singing section, and the lyrics to be sung are highlighted when the color change is stopped due to silence. With the progress of the performance predicted, the user determines that the singing section has been reached and inputs a singing voice. Then, the difference between the elapsed time from the start of the performance section until the singing voice is input and the progress of the performance from the start of the performance section to the lyrics to be sung is calculated. As a result, the user's sense of rhythm is evaluated from the difference between the timing when the user determines that the singing section has been reached and the timing when the performance actually reaches the singing section, and karaoke content with a high level of game elements and a tense atmosphere is provided.

In this embodiment, the length of the silent section is set automatically, but the silent section may be set according to the difficulty level selected by the user. In this case, the karaoke device is provided with a difficulty level acquisition unit that functions in the content mode. In the "rhythm sense challenge" content mode, the difficulty level of the challenge is selected at the same time as reserving a song from the content screen on the touch panel of the remote control device. When the difficulty level is selected by the remote control device, the difficulty level is transmitted from the remote control device to the karaoke device, and the difficulty level of the content is acquired by the difficulty level acquisition unit.

At this time, the user may select a desired difficulty level from five difficulty levels when reserving a song, or a difficulty level may be selected randomly from the five difficulty levels. In addition, the evaluation results of the rhythmic sense challenge are stored as singing history for each user, and the current difficulty level of the rhythmic sense challenge for a song may be selected based on the evaluation results of the rhythmic sense challenge for the song at the previous difficulty level. Then, the length of the silent section is set by the section setting section based on the difficulty level acquired by the difficulty level acquisition section. In this case, the start point of the silent section is changed without changing the end point.

The longer the silent section, the longer the time the user has to keep a constant tempo with his/her own sense of rhythm, and the higher the difficulty level. Conversely, the shorter the silent section, the shorter the time the user has to keep a constant tempo with his/her own sense of rhythm, and the lower the difficulty level. For example, if the chorus section is 20 seconds and the longest silent section is 50% of the chorus section, the silent section is set to 2 seconds, 4 seconds, 6 seconds, 8 seconds, and 10 seconds in ascending order of difficulty level. In this way, by adjusting the length of the silent section according to the difficulty level, it is possible to provide content with a higher level of game element. Note that the length (start point) of the silent section is not set according to the difficulty level selected by the user, but the start point and end point of the silent section may be set according to the difficulty level. For example, when the difficulty level is high, a section with a large change in tempo information included in the performance data can be set as the silent section. More specifically, if the tempo slows down during the performance and a pause is required for singing, it becomes difficult for the user to keep a constant tempo with his/her own sense of rhythm.

In addition, in this embodiment, the singing section presentation unit displays the lyrics captions for the singing section in a different color from those for the lyrics captions before the singing section, but it is sufficient that the singing section presentation unit highlights the lyrics captions for the singing section. For example, the singing section presentation unit may display the lyrics captions for the singing section in bold, underline the lyrics captions for the singing section, or change the font type for the lyrics captions for the singing section.

In addition, in this embodiment, the section setting unit sets the performance section to include the chorus section, but the section setting unit may set the performance section to include a section in which lyrics exist. For example, the section setting unit may set the performance section to include an A-melody section and a B-melody section.

In addition, in the embodiment and modified examples, a rhythmic sense evaluation function may be added to the karaoke device by installing a program in the karaoke device. This program is stored in a storage medium. The storage medium is not particularly limited, but may be a non-transitory storage medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a flash memory.

Although this embodiment has been described, other embodiments may be combinations of the above embodiments and variations in whole or in part.

The technology of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be modified, substituted, or altered in various ways without departing from the spirit of the technical idea. Furthermore, if the technical idea can be realized in a different way due to technological advances or other derived technologies, it may be implemented using that method. Therefore, the claims cover all embodiments that may fall within the scope of the technical idea.

10: Karaoke device 21: Section setting section 22: Performance section control section 23: Silence section control section 24: Singing section presentation section 25: Time measurement section 26: Notification section

Claims (5)

A karaoke device capable of setting a content mode for executing content that allows a rhythmic sense to be evaluated,
a section setting unit that, when playing a piece of music in a content mode, sets a performance section of the piece of music, a silent section included in the performance section, and a singing section included in the silent section;
a performance section control unit that performs performance of the music piece during the performance section and also displays lyrics and changes the color of the lyrics;
a silent section control unit that silences the volume of the music piece being played during the silent section and stops changing the color of lyrics;
a singing section presenting unit presenting the singing section in which a singing voice is to be input by highlighting lyrics to be sung during the silent section;
a timer unit that measures an elapsed time from the start of the performance section to the first input of a singing voice during the silent section;
and a notification unit that notifies an evaluation result based on a time difference between the progress of the performance from the start of the performance section to the start of the singing section and the elapsed time measured by the timing unit. The karaoke device according to claim 1, characterized in that the section setting unit sets the performance section to include at least one chorus section of the song, sets the start point of the silent section in the chorus section, and sets the singing section in the chorus section. 3. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the section setting unit sets a start point of the performance section immediately before the chorus section. The karaoke device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the singing section presentation unit displays the lyrics of the singing section in a text color different from the lyrics of the performance section other than the singing section. A difficulty level acquisition unit that acquires a difficulty level of a content,
5. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the section setting unit sets the silent section based on the difficulty level acquired by the difficulty level acquisition unit.

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