Karaoke program and karaoke device

Abstract

To allow a user to hear voice that has been voice change-processed and music sound to be reproduced without discomfort.SOLUTION: A Karaoke program executable by an information processing device performs reproduction processing for reproducing music sound based on music information, first input processing for inputting voice that has been voice change-processed, first output processing for outputting the reproduced music sound to a singer, and second output processing for pitch-correcting and outputting the reproduced music sound based on a pitch difference between the voice that has been voice change-processed and the voice before being voice change-processed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a karaoke machine for singing along with a piece of music being played back, and a karaoke program for realizing the functions of the karaoke machine in an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Karaoke, in which people enjoy singing along to musical accompaniment, has traditionally been practiced at social gatherings, etc. Some karaoke machines have a function of converting the singing voice into a voice with a different voice quality from that of the singer.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a karaoke device that converts a singer's singing voice into the singing style of the original singer and outputs the converted voice. The karaoke device in Patent Document 1 stores objects that model the original singer's vocal quality and singing style as singing parameters, and when performing karaoke, reads out the singing parameters and converts the singing voice. With this configuration, the karaoke device in Patent Document 1 adds singing techniques such as flicking and growling to match the original singer's singing style, even if the singer's singing is flat, making it sound better. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-338480 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The karaoke device in Patent Document 1 performs voice changes with the aim of adapting flat singing to the singing style of the original singer, and is not intended to significantly change the pitch of the singer's singing voice.

[0006] In addition to the voice change technique described in Cited Document 1, there are other types of voice changers that significantly change the pitch of the singer's singing voice to produce a singing voice that is significantly different from the singer's original singing voice. Such types of voice changers could also be applied to karaoke.

[0007] However, if the pitch of the singing voice is changed by voice change, it will no longer match the pitch of the music sound being played back, causing a sense of incongruity to the listener. The present invention has been made in consideration of this situation, and one of its objectives is to allow the listener to listen to the voice that has been voice-changed and the music sound being played back without feeling any incongruity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Therefore, the karaoke program according to the present invention employs the following configuration. A karaoke program executable on an information processing device, a playback process for playing back music sounds based on the music information; a first input process in which voice that has been subjected to voice change processing is input; a first output process for outputting the reproduced musical sound to a singer; A second output process is executed to correct the pitch of the reproduced music sound and output it based on the pitch difference between the voice that has been subjected to the voice change process and the voice that has not been subjected to the voice change process.

[0009] Furthermore, the karaoke program according to the present invention includes: a first pitch of the voice that has been subjected to the voice change processing and a second pitch of the voice that has not been subjected to the voice change processing are detected, and a pitch difference detection process is performed to detect a pitch difference based on the first pitch and the second pitch; The second output process corrects the pitch based on the pitch difference detected in the pitch detection process.

[0010] Furthermore, in the karaoke program according to the present invention, The pitch difference detection process is executed before the music information is played back. The second output process corrects the pitch of the music sound in response to start of playback of the music sound and outputs the corrected pitch.

[0011] Furthermore, the karaoke program according to the present invention includes: When the pitch difference detection process is performed, a display process is executed in which a message prompting voice input is displayed on the display unit.

[0012] Furthermore, the karaoke program according to the present invention includes: Execute an acquisition process to acquire conversion-related information regarding the conversion performed on the voice input in the input process; The second output process corrects the pitch based on the conversion-related information acquired in the acquisition process.

[0013] Furthermore, in the karaoke program according to the present invention, The second output process is Conversion-related information obtained in the acquisition process; The pitch is corrected based on correspondence information stored in a storage unit, which associates one or more pieces of conversion-related information with a pitch difference.

[0014] Furthermore, in the karaoke program according to the present invention, The second output process is When the reproduction of the music sound starts, the music sound is pitch corrected and output.

[0015] Furthermore, in the karaoke program according to the present invention, A transmission process is executed to transmit the pitch-corrected musical sound output in the second output process and the voice-changed audio to a network.

[0016] Furthermore, in the karaoke program according to the present invention, a second input process in which the voice before being subjected to the voice change process is input; A voice change process is executed on the voice input in the first input process.

[0017] The karaoke device according to the present invention also includes: a playback process for playing back music sounds based on the music information; a first input process in which voice that has been subjected to voice change processing is input; a first output process for outputting the reproduced musical sound to a singer; A second output process is executed to correct the pitch of the reproduced music sound and output it based on the pitch difference between the voice that has been subjected to the voice change process and the voice that has not been subjected to the voice change process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the karaoke program and the karaoke device of the present invention, it is possible to listen to the voice that has been subjected to voice change processing and the music sound being reproduced without any sense of incongruity. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the present embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is an external view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing room processing according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 5] Flow diagram showing reservation processing according to this embodiment [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 shows a voice change table according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart showing processing between mobile terminals according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing various screens on the mobile terminal of the present embodiment; [Figure 10] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing various screens on the mobile terminal of the present embodiment; [Figure 11] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing various screens on the mobile terminal of the present embodiment; [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of another embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing between mobile terminals according to another embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the system allows karaoke to be performed between mobile terminals 6, and therefore communication is performed between the mobile terminals 6. Fig. 1 shows various examples of communication modes between the mobile terminals 6. For example, in the case of a private home, a router 12a connected to the Internet is provided, and a wireless router 12b is connected to the router 12a. The mobile terminal 6 can be connected to the Internet via the wireless router 12b.

[0021] In addition to these communication modes, it is also possible to communicate with the Internet using a mobile communication network. The mobile communication network is a communication mode in which the mobile terminal 6 is connected to the Internet by wireless communication between the mobile terminal 6 and a wireless base station 13.

[0022] By using these various communication methods, the mobile terminal 6 can be connected to the Internet. A management server 11 for managing the karaoke system is also connected to the Internet. A karaoke program is installed on the mobile terminal 6, which is connected to the Internet, and by communicating with the management server 11, it becomes possible to perform karaoke between the mobile terminals 6.

[0023] In the present embodiment, the description has been given of an embodiment in which karaoke is performed using the mobile terminal 6 as the terminal device. Note that the terminal device may be a home game machine, a personal computer, or a dedicated karaoke device, in addition to the mobile terminal 6. Furthermore, a terminal device in which a karaoke program is installed will function as a karaoke device.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance (front view) of a mobile terminal 6 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile terminal 6 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This mobile terminal 6 can be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, or the like. By installing a karaoke program in this mobile terminal 6, it becomes possible to perform karaoke between the mobile terminals 6.

[0025] The mobile terminal 6 of this embodiment has a control means configured to include a CPU 61, a RAM 62, a storage unit 63, an image processing unit 64, and an audio processing unit 66. A non-volatile storage means such as a NAND flash memory can be used for the storage unit 63. The storage unit 63 stores the program of this embodiment and various data used by the program.

[0026] The CPU 61 is a means for controlling the entire mobile terminal 6, and executes various controls based on programs and data stored in the storage unit 63. The RAM 62 temporarily stores data generated under the control of the CPU 61.

[0027] The sound processing unit 66 is a means for inputting and outputting sound related to the portable terminal 6. It is a means for emitting sound from the speaker 67a under the control of the CPU 61. The sound processing unit 66 is also connected to the microphone 67b, and is capable of picking up call voice and surrounding sounds from the microphone 67b. External devices such as a headset may be used for the speaker 67a and the microphone 67b.

[0028] The touch panel display unit 68 is configured to have a display unit 68m that displays an image and a touch panel 68n disposed on the front or rear surface of the display unit 68m. The touch panel 68n can be of various types that can recognize the position of a user's touch, such as a capacitance type. The CPU 61 displays on the display unit 68m and can determine, based on a touch input from the touch panel 68n, which part of the displayed image has been touched.

[0029] The image processing unit 64 is a means for inputting and outputting images related to the mobile terminal 6. The image processing unit 64 displays and outputs images formed by the CPU 61 on the display unit 68m. The image processing unit 64 also has a function of capturing images, or video if video, from the front camera 65F arranged on the front surface (the touch panel display unit 68 side) of the mobile terminal 6 or the rear camera 65R arranged on the rear surface of the mobile terminal 6, and storing the captured images or video in the storage unit 63 as image or video information.

[0030] The mobile terminal 6 of this embodiment includes a first communication unit 69a and a second communication unit 69b as communication means for communicating with the outside world. The first communication unit 69a is a communication means for connecting to a mobile communication network, and by wirelessly connecting to a mobile base station 140, it is possible to perform various communications via the Internet network using the communication lines of the mobile communication network. The second communication unit 69b is a communication means for connecting via Wi-Fi. The mobile terminal 6 can use the second communication unit 69b to wirelessly connect to an access point 110 and communicatively connect to a local area network in which the access point 110 participates. Note that, in addition to the first communication unit 69a and the second communication unit 69b, the mobile terminal 6 may also be provided with a short-range communication means such as an infrared communication unit or Bluetooth (registered trademark) as communication means.

[0031] The mobile terminal 6 of this embodiment is configured to include, as input means, an input switch 70 in addition to the touch panel 68n. This input switch 70 (input switches 70a, 70b, etc. in FIG. 2) can be provided with various switches such as a power switch, a volume adjustment switch, and a switch whose input purpose is changed depending on the program.

[0032] Furthermore, the mobile terminal 6 of this embodiment has a vibration unit 72 and an LED 73 to provide various notifications to the user who owns the mobile terminal 6. The vibration unit 72 is a member configured by attaching an eccentric weight to the shaft of a motor. By driving the motor to rotate, it is possible to transmit vibrations that can notify the user. The LED 73 is located above the front of the mobile terminal 6 as shown in FIG. 2, and can provide various notifications to the user by blinking.

[0033] In this embodiment, karaoke can be performed between the mobile terminals 6 by installing a karaoke program in such mobile terminals 6. Next, various processes when performing karaoke using the mobile terminals 6 will be described in detail.

[0034] 4 is a flow diagram showing the room processing of this embodiment. Here, a case where karaoke is performed using the mobile terminals 6a and 6b will be described. In this embodiment, by gathering in a virtually created room, users gathered in the same room can perform karaoke by sharing audio (which may include video).

[0035] Here, a case will be described in which a user using mobile terminal 6a creates a room and a user using mobile terminal 6b participates in the room. It is assumed that the users using mobile terminals 6a and 6b already have accounts on management server 11. Note that a user who does not have an account can access management server 11 and create a new account.

[0036] First, the mobile terminal 6a issues a login instruction (S11) to the management server 11. The login instruction is issued by inputting account information (user ID, password, etc.). Upon receiving the login instruction (S11), the management server 11 executes a login process (S21). In the login process, authentication is performed based on the account information, and if the authentication is correct, the user is allowed to use various functions of the karaoke program.

[0037] FIG. 9(A) shows the room selection screen that is displayed after logging in. The room selection screen displays a room selection field 68a and a new room creation button 68b. The room selection field 68a shows rooms that have already been created, and displays the status of the rooms. The room selection field displays the room name, icons of users participating in the room, the room's opening status ("OPEN" or "In preparation"), the date the room will be held, and so on. Furthermore, a lock mark displayed in the upper left corner of the room selection field 68a indicates a room that requires a password or a room that only users who have been invited in advance can participate in.

[0038] A user can participate in a room by operating the room selection field 68a. Furthermore, the create new room button 68b is a button for creating a new room. By operating the create new room button 68b, the mobile terminal 6a can issue a room creation instruction (S12) to the management server 11. The management server 11 executes a room creation process (S22) based on the room creation instruction (S12). When the room creation process (S22) is completed, the room selection field 68a shown in FIG. 7(A) is displayed.

[0039] On the other hand, mobile terminal 6b participating in the room first issues a login instruction (S11) by inputting account information to management server 11. As in the case of mobile terminal 6a, management server 11 performs authentication based on the account information, and if the authentication is correct, allows mobile terminal 6b to log in.

[0040] The user refers to the room selection screen shown in Fig. 9(A) and issues a room participation instruction by selecting the room selection field 68a that the user wants to enter (S13). In the example of Fig. 4, when the user of the mobile terminal 6a is participating in a room created by the user, the management server 11 executes a user addition process (S23) that allows the user of the mobile terminal 6b to participate in the room created by the user of the mobile terminal 6a.

[0041] When the users of the mobile terminals 6a and 6b enter the same room, the karaoke process (S12) can be executed between the mobile terminals 6a and 6b. The karaoke process (S12) mainly includes a reservation process and a song playback process. The reservation process is a process for reserving a song to be sung, and the song playback process is a process for playing songs registered in the reservation list in order based on the reservation process.

[0042] Fig. 5 is a flow diagram showing the reservation process of this embodiment. In the reservation process, a song is searched for and a song to be sung is selected, which allows the song to be added to a reservation list managed by the management server 11. A user who wants to reserve a song searches for the song using the song search screen shown in Fig. 9(B) (S101). The song search screen in Fig. 9(B) can be displayed by operating the song search button 68k shown in Fig. 9(D) or Fig. 10(E), which will be described later.

[0043] The song search screen has a search category selection field 68c and a song selection field 68d. The search category selection field has search categories such as "Favorites," "Songs," "Artists," and "Albums," and by selecting one of these search categories, the user can perform a song search according to the selected search category. In the state shown in Figure 9(B), "Songs" has been selected as the search category, and the song selection field 68d is displayed in alphabetical order.

[0044] The song selection field 68d displays an icon (such as album art), song title, and artist name for each song. When the user selects the song selection field 68d they want (S102: Yes), a song confirmation screen for that song is displayed (S103).

[0045] FIG. 10(C) is a diagram showing a song confirmation screen of this embodiment. A song confirmation field 68e is displayed on the song confirmation screen. In the song confirmation field 68e, for the selected song, an icon (such as album art), song title, artist name, a reserve button 68g, and a cancel button 68f are displayed. The user checks the information displayed on this song confirmation screen, and if making a reservation, operates the reserve button 68g (S104: Yes) to reserve the song. Once the reservation is made, reservation information is sent to the management server 11. The reservation information includes a user ID indicating the user who made the reservation and a song ID indicating the song. The management server 11 registers the received reservation information in a reservation list.

[0046] Here, the problem of the present invention and a configuration for solving the problem will be described. In karaoke, a voice change process is known that changes the singing voice to be enjoyed. For example, voice change processes can be used to convert a male voice into a female voice by raising the pitch of the voice, or vice versa, to convert a female voice into a male voice. Alternatively, various types of filtering can be performed, such as distorting the voice in addition to changing the pitch, to enjoy a variety of voice types.

[0047] When voice change processing is performed, the pitch of the voice changes, which can cause the pitch to differ from that of the music sound being played back, which can cause the listener to feel uncomfortable. Therefore, this embodiment makes it possible to listen to the voice that has been subjected to voice change processing and the music sound being played back without any sense of incongruity.

[0048] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of this embodiment. The management server 11 of this embodiment includes a music transmitting unit 11a. The music transmitting unit 11a transmits music by streaming playback to the mobile terminals 6a and 6b that are in the same room. Note that the music playback method is not limited to this type of streaming playback, and a storage-type playback method in which music data pre-stored in the mobile terminals 6a and 6b is played back may also be used. Also, although the description here is given using the singer's mobile terminal 6a and the listener's mobile terminal 6b, it is possible for there to be multiple singer's mobile terminal 6a and multiple listener's mobile terminals 6b.

[0049] The music transmitting unit 11a transmits music to the singer's portable terminal 6a and the listener's portable terminal 6b. The music reproducing unit 61a of the singer's portable terminal 6a reproduces music based on the set key. In this embodiment, the karaoke program installed on the portable terminal 6a includes a voice changer 61b.

[0050] The voice changer 61b processes the input singing voice based on the set voice change type (corresponding to "conversion-related information") and outputs the processed singing voice. The singing voice output from the voice changer 61b is transmitted to the portable terminal 6b of the listener via the management server 11. The voice-changed singing voice is played back by the audio playback unit 61c of the portable terminal 6b of the listener, added to the played music by the adder 61e, and output to the listener.

[0051] In this embodiment, the set voice change type is transmitted to the listener's mobile terminal 6b via the management server 11. The listener's mobile terminal 6b stores a voice change table 61d (corresponding to "correspondence information"), and is able to determine the pitch difference for the voice change type based on the received voice change type.

[0052] 7 is a diagram showing the voice change table of this embodiment. The voice change table stores voice change types and pitch differences in association with each other. The pitch difference is the difference between the pitch of the singing voice before the voice change and the pitch of the singing voice after the voice change. The listener's portable terminal 6b plays a song corrected by the pitch difference determined by referring to the voice change table 61d for the set key set on the singer's portable terminal 6a.

[0053] For example, when anime (female voice) is selected and the set key is standard, the song is played in the standard key on the singer's mobile terminal 6a. On the other hand, on the listener's mobile terminal 6b, the song is played in the key of +4, corrected by the pitch difference corresponding to anime (female voice). Also, when anime (male voice) is selected and the set key is +1, the song is played in the key of +1 on the singer's mobile terminal 6a. On the other hand, on the listener's mobile terminal 6b, the song is played in the key of +1-4=-3, corrected by the pitch difference corresponding to anime (male voice).

[0054] In the above example, when anime (female voice) is selected, the voice-changed singing voice is output with a pitch difference of +4 from the original singing voice. Therefore, on the listener's mobile terminal 6b, both the music and the voice-changed singing voice are in a key of +4, so the pitches of both are matched. Therefore, the listener can listen to the music and the voice-changed singing voice with their pitches matched.

[0055] Next, a description will be given of the time-series processing carried out between the mobile terminals 6a and 6b. Fig. 8 is a flow diagram showing the processing between the mobile terminals of this embodiment. For ease of explanation, as in Fig. 6, the description will be given taking as an example two mobile terminals 6a and 6b entering the same room. In practice, the number of mobile terminals 6 entering a room can be two or more.

[0056] First, the mobile terminal 6a executes the reservation process (S100) to reserve a desired song. The reservation process (S100) is as described in Fig. 5, and the mobile terminal 6a transmits reservation information to the management server 11. The management server 11, having received the reservation information, registers the reservation information in a reservation list (S201). At this time, in this embodiment, in conjunction with the reservation operation, a system comment is displayed on all mobile terminals 6a and 6b that have entered the room (S101, S151).

[0057] The management server 11 that receives the reservation information transmits a system comment to all mobile terminals 6a, 6b in the room where the user who made the reservation is currently located (S202), and the mobile terminals 6a, 6b that receive the system comment display the system comment (S101, S151). Based on this configuration, it becomes possible for users who sing karaoke at a distance to be notified of operations related to music playback processing (in this case, reservation processing). Therefore, each user can know who is performing what operation, enabling smooth communication.

[0058] The management server 11 checks the reservation list (S203), and if there is a song to be played next (S204), executes a song playback process for that song. In the song playback process, the management server 11 first identifies the user who made the reservation as the singer based on the user ID included in the reservation information (S205). Then, the management server 11 issues an instruction to change to singer mode to the mobile terminal 6a used by the user identified as the singer (S206). Upon receiving the instruction, the mobile terminal 6a changes to singer mode (S102).

[0059] On the other hand, the management server 11 identifies users other than the singer who are in the same room as the listener, and instructs the mobile terminal 6b used by the user identified as the singer to change to listener mode (S207). The mobile terminal 6a that has received the change instruction changes to singer mode (S152).

[0060] Here, the singer mode and listener mode will be explained. When the portable terminal 6 is set to the singer mode, the volume of the microphone 67b is increased sufficiently to make it easier to capture the user's singing voice. In the singer mode, a communication mode with lower delay than the communication processing in the listener mode is set. By using such a communication mode, the singing voice in the singer mode is transmitted to other portable terminals 6 with reduced delay.

[0061] On the other hand, in the portable terminal 6 set to the listener mode, the microphone 67b is turned off or the volume of the microphone 67b is lowered so as not to interfere with the singing. In this way, by adjusting the volume in the singer mode and the listener mode, it is possible to create an environment that is easy to listen to.

[0062] The voice change setting is confirmed on the singer's mobile terminal 6a, which has been set to singer mode (S103). The voice change setting can be set in the voice change setting field 694 of the remote control tab 688 shown in FIG. 11. In the example shown in FIG. 11, anime (female voice) is selected. The voice change setting confirmed on the singer's mobile terminal 6a is notified (transmitted) to the management server 11 as one piece of singing setting information (S104).

[0063] The singing settings include not only the voice change settings but also the key (pitch) settings made by the singer. Furthermore, the portable terminal 6a can be used to set the key to make singing easier. The key setting can be changed using the key (pitch) setting button 693 on the remote control tab 688 shown in Fig. 11. The management server 11 transfers the received singing settings to the portable terminal 6b on the listener's side (S208).

[0064] Next, the management server 11 starts transmitting music to each of the mobile terminals 6a and 6b (S208). In this embodiment, music is transmitted by streaming playback, but it is also possible to use a storage type in which music information is stored in advance in the mobile terminals 6a and 6b and played back. In either case, music playback is synchronized between the mobile terminals 6a and 6b.

[0065] The singer's portable terminal 6a plays the music in the key set by the key (pitch) setting button 693 (S105). Meanwhile, the listener's portable terminal 6b corrects the key of the music received from the management server 11 (S153) based on the voice change setting and key setting included in the singing settings, and plays the music (S154).

[0066] The singing voice collected by the singer's portable terminal 6a (S106) is subjected to voice change processing (S107) by a voice changer and transmitted to the management server 11. The management server 11 transfers the voice-changed singing voice to the listener's portable terminal 6b (S210). The listener's portable terminal 6b plays back the received singing voice (S156), adds it to the played music, and outputs it.

[0067] Fig. 10(D) shows a music playback screen displayed during music playback on the mobile terminal 6 of this embodiment. The room name and a music search button 68k are displayed at the top of the music playback screen. By operating the music search button 68k, the music search screen described in Fig. 9(B) is displayed, and music can be reserved.

[0068] In addition, the music playback screen is broadly divided into a music-related display field 68h, an upper display field 68i, and a lower display field 68j. The music-related display field 68h includes a lyrics display field 681 and a progress bar 682. The lyrics display field 681 displays the lyrics to be sung for the music being played. Note that the lyrics display field 681 may also display a background image. The progress bar 682 indicates the progress of music playback.

[0069] The area occupied by the upper display column 68i and the lower display column 68j can be changed. Normally, the state shown in FIG. 10(D) is displayed, that is, both the upper display column 68i and the lower display column 68j are displayed. When the comment tab 686, reservation confirmation tab 687, or remote control tab 688 provided in the lower display column 68j is operated, the lower display column 68j is displayed using the area where the upper display column 68i was displayed, as shown in FIG. 11(E). The state shown in FIG. 11(E) is shown. Operating the comment tab 686, reservation confirmation tab 687, or remote control tab 688 again returns to the state shown in FIG. 10(D).

[0070] The upper display field 68i displays a status display / selection button 683, a microphone selection button 684, and a participating user icon 685. The status display / selection button 683 is a button that indicates the status of the mobile terminal 6, and when the mobile terminal 6 is set to the singer mode described above, "singing" is marked, and when the mobile terminal 6 is set to the listener mode, "listening" is marked.

[0071] In the state shown in Figure 10(D), "Singing" is marked. The user can manually switch between "Singing," "Listening," and "Away." When switching to "Singing," the setting changes to singer mode, and when switching to "Listening" or "Away," the setting changes to listener mode.

[0072] The microphone selection button 684 can be manually operated by the user to switch the microphone 67b on and off. In this embodiment, it is automatically set to on when the singer mode is set, and automatically set to off when the listener mode is set. The participating user icons indicate all users participating in the room.

[0073] In the example of Fig. 10(D), four users have participated. The user whose icon is shown with a thick line ("JOY" in the example of Fig. 10(D)) is currently singing (set to singer mode). The icon with a speaker and a cross ("Monkichi" in the example of Fig. 10(D)) indicates that the user is away.

[0074] The lower display field 68j has three tabs (a comment tab 686, a reservation confirmation tab 687, and a remote control tab 688). In the state shown in Fig. 10(D), the comment tab 686 is selected, and the lower display field 68j displays a comment display field 689 and a comment input field 690. The comment display field 689 displays user comments entered by the user using the comment input field 690, as well as system comments associated with operations related to music playback processing.

[0075] 10(D), the system comment accompanying the reservation process, which includes the user name and the reserved song / artist name, is displayed in comment display field 689. System comments and user comments are displayed in chronological order in comment display field 689, allowing users to communicate smoothly by viewing these system comments and user comments.

[0076] 10(E) shows the state when the remote control tab 688 is operated. As mentioned above, the lower display field 68j is displayed by expanding it to the area where the upper display field 68i is displayed. When the remote control tab 788 is selected, the lower display field 68j displays a singer volume 691, a speaker volume 692, a key (pitch) setting button 693, a voice change setting field 694, a playback position adjustment button 695, a resing button 696, a pause button 697, and a performance stop button 698.

[0077] In this embodiment, the various controls and buttons displayed on the remote control tab 688 can be operated only by the mobile terminal 6 set to the singer mode. Therefore, the mobile terminal 6 set to the listener mode is prohibited from performing operations related to music playback, making it possible to prevent incorrect input by the listener.

[0078] The singer volume volume 691 is an operator that adjusts the volume of the singing voice input from the microphone 67b of the portable terminal 6 that is set to the singer mode. The speaker volume volume 692 is an operator that adjusts the volume of the singing voice input from the microphone 67b of the portable terminal 6 that is set to the listener mode. When the portable terminal 6 is set to the singer mode or the listener mode, the singer volume volume 691 and the speaker volume volume 692 are set to the default state of each mode, but can only be operated from the portable terminal 6 that is set to the singer mode.

[0079] The key (pitch) setting button 693 is a button for setting the key (pitch) for the music to be played. When a key (pitch) setting button 693 displaying a sharp is operated, it is possible to raise the key of the music to be played. When a key (pitch) setting button 693 displaying a flat is operated, it is possible to lower the key of the music to be played. When a key (pitch) setting button 693 displaying "Original Song" is operated, it is set to the original key of the music. The set key is displayed as a number as "Key" displayed to the left of the key (pitch) setting button 693 (in the example of FIG. 11(E) it is set to "0").

[0080] The voice change setting field 694 is a field where the type of voice change can be selected. The user can select the desired voice change type from the voice change types shown in the voice change table of Fig. 7 by selecting the controls displayed to the right of the voice change setting field 694. Note that the voice change setting field 694 can also be used to set a setting where no voice change is performed.

[0081] The playback position adjustment button 695 is a control for changing the playback position. The current playback time and total playback time are displayed to the left of the control. The sing again button 696 can be operated to play the currently playing song from the beginning. The pause button 697 is a button for temporarily stopping the song currently being played. The stop performance button 698 is a button for stopping the song currently being played, and when the stop performance button 698 is operated, the playback process moves to the next reserved song.

[0082] During playback of a song, a user set to singer mode can perform various setting operations related to song playback by using various controls and buttons displayed on the remote control tab 688 in Fig. 11(E). When a setting operation is performed during song playback, the mobile terminal 6a transmits a setting change instruction to the management server 11. The management server 11 executes the setting change in accordance with the received setting change instruction.

[0083] Setting changes, such as changing the key of a song, can be made not only by the management server 11, but also by various mobile terminals 6a, 6b. For example, when changing the key (pitch) setting from the mobile terminal 6a set to singer mode, the mobile terminal 6a set to singer mode transmits setting information related to the key (pitch) change to the management server 11. The management server 11, having received the setting information, transfers the setting information to another mobile terminal 6b. The mobile terminal 6b, having received the setting information, changes the key (pitch) of the music to be played based on the received setting information. In this embodiment, as described above, not only is the set key (pitch) changed, but the key (pitch) is also changed based on a voice change.

[0084] When the music transmission is completed (S211: Yes), the management server 11 checks the reservation list to play the next music (S203). Furthermore, with the completion of the music playback transmission, the mobile terminals 6a and 6b end the music playback (S108, S157: Yes).

[0085] The system using the mobile terminals 6a and 6b has been described above, but the system of this embodiment makes it possible for the listener to hear the voice that has been voice-changed and the music sound that is being played back without feeling unnatural. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modified examples can be adopted. Various modified examples will be described below.

[0086] [First Modification] Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of an embodiment of the first modified example, and Fig. 13 is a flow diagram showing processing between mobile terminals of the embodiment of the first modified example. In the above-mentioned embodiment, as explained using Figs. 6 and 7, the pitch difference corresponding to the voice change type is used to correct the key of the music played back on the listener's side. In the first embodiment, the pitch difference is detected in a different manner.

[0087] As shown in Fig. 12, the singer's portable terminal 6a plays music using a setting key, just like the previous embodiment. In the first modification, the singer's portable terminal 6a is provided with a pitch difference detector 61f. The pitch difference detector 61f detects the pitch difference based on the singing voice before and after voice change processing. The pitch difference detected by the pitch difference detector 61f is transmitted to the listener's portable terminal via the management server 11.

[0088] When the portable terminal 6b on the listener side plays back the music received from the management server 11 on the music playback unit 61a, the key of the music to be played back is corrected based on the pitch difference received from the portable terminal 6a on the singer side. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, the listener using the portable terminal 6b can listen to the music and the voice-changed singing voice with the pitches of both the music and the voice-changed singing voice matched.

[0089] Next, the chronological processing performed between the mobile terminals 6a and 6b in the first modified example will be described. Figure 8 is a flow diagram showing the processing between the mobile terminals in the first modified example. Since the part surrounded by the dashed line differs from the embodiment described above, only the processing within the dashed line will be described here.

[0090] Unlike the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, the pitch difference detection unit 61f performs pitch difference detection processing (S110) on the singer's portable terminal 6a before playing back music. The portable terminal 6a, which has been set to singer mode, executes display processing to prompt the user to set up a voice change. Once the voice change is set up, the pitch difference detection processing (S110) executes display processing in synchronization with the pitch difference detection by the pitch difference detection unit 61f. In the display processing, a message prompting the singer to sing is displayed on the touch panel display unit 68 of the portable terminal 6a. The pitch difference detection unit 61f detects the pitch difference between the singing voice uttered in accordance with the displayed message (the singing voice before the voice change processing) and the singing voice after the voice change processing.

[0091] When the pitch difference detection process (S110) is completed, the mobile terminal 6a notifies (transmits) the management server 11 of the singing settings, including the detected pitch difference. The singing settings include not only the pitch difference but also the key (interval) setting made by the singer. The management server 11, which has received the singing settings from the singer's mobile terminal 6a, transfers the singing settings to the listener's mobile terminal 6b (S208).

[0092] The listener's mobile terminal 6b receives the singing settings (S158), and for the song received (S159), plays the song based on the pitch difference and key setting included in the singing settings (S160). In this way, in the first modified example as in the above-described embodiment, the voice-changed voice and the played song sound can be heard without any sense of incongruity.

[0093] [Second Modification] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the second modified embodiment. In the above-described embodiment and first modified embodiment, a system using mobile terminals 6a and 6b connected to each other via a network has been described. The present invention can be applied not only to such a system using a network, but also to a standalone karaoke device 2. The embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is configured with a karaoke device 2 and a voice changer 3 connected thereto. Note that the voice changer 3 may be built into the karaoke device 2.

[0094] The second modified example uses a voice change table 61d, as in the previous embodiment. The music playback unit 21 plays music for the singer using a set key. In the second modified example, since the singer and the listener are in the same place, for example, the singer uses headphones to sing while listening to the music sounds. Meanwhile, the listener listens to the music being emitted from a speaker. The music listening manner of the singer and the listener may be reversed as described above.

[0095] Recording may also be performed on the karaoke device 2. In this case, by recording the pitch-corrected music and the voice-changed singing voice, the pitches of the music and the voice-changed singing voice are matched when played back. When recording, the pitch-corrected music and the voice-changed singing voice can be recorded together, or only the voice-changed singing voice can be stored in association with a music ID (identification information that can identify the music). In the latter case, by storing the singing settings (key setting and voice change type or pitch difference) described in the above-mentioned embodiment in association with the voice-changed singing voice, pitch correction can be performed during playback.

[0096] The voice changer 3 outputs the voice-changed singing voice and the voice change type set in the voice changer 3 to the karaoke device 2. The karaoke device 2 references the voice change table and outputs the pitch difference corresponding to the input voice change type to the correction unit 22. The correction unit 22 corrects the music sound played by the music playback unit 21 with the pitch difference output from the voice change table 24, thereby outputting music sound of the corrected key. The adder 23 adds the voice-changed singing voice input from the voice changer 3 and the key-corrected music sound, and outputs the result to the listener.

[0097] In this way, in the second modification, even in a karaoke machine 2 installed in a karaoke booth or the like, it is possible to allow the user to listen to the voice that has been voice-changed and the music sound that is being played back without any sense of incongruity, just as in the above-described embodiment and the first modification. Note that the second modification employs a configuration in which the voice change table 24 is used to detect the pitch difference, but as in the first modification, the pitch difference may also be detected using the pitch difference detection unit 61f.

[0098] [Third Modification] In the first and second modifications, the voice changer 61b is provided as one function of the karaoke program executed on the mobile terminal 6a. Alternatively, the voice changer 61b may be provided as a program separate from the karaoke program, or as an external device attached to the mobile terminal 6a.

[0099] [Fourth Modification] In the embodiment described using Fig. 6, the voice change table 61d is provided in the portable terminal 6b of the listener, and the pitch difference is detected. Alternatively, the pitch difference may be detected in the portable terminal 6a of the singer, or in the management server 11. In the first modified example described using Fig. 12, the pitch difference detector 61f may also be provided in the portable terminal 6b of the listener, or in the management server 11.

[0100] [Fifth Modification] In the above-described embodiment, the management server 11 transmits the music to the singer's mobile terminal 6a and the listener's mobile terminal 6b. However, the music may be transmitted from the singer's mobile terminal 6a to the listener's mobile terminal 6b, or to an application that generates data for distribution, or to a distribution server that provides a distribution service. The distribution service provided by the distribution server may be at least one of live distribution and archive distribution.

[0101] In this case, the pitch of a song can be corrected in the following two ways. The singer's portable terminal 6a performs pitch correction on the song and then transmits it to the listener's portable terminal 6b, an application that generates data for distribution, or a distribution server. The singer's portable terminal 6a transmits the song and singing settings (key setting, voice change type, or pitch difference) to the listener's portable terminal 6b, an application that generates data for distribution, or a distribution server, and the listener's portable terminal 6b, an application that generates data for distribution, or a distribution server performs pitch correction based on the singing settings. In the above-mentioned configuration, the singer's portable terminal 6a also transmits the voice-changed singing voice to the listener's portable terminal 6b, an application that generates data for distribution, or a distribution server.

[0102] Various embodiments have been described above using the karaoke program executed on the mobile terminal 6 and the karaoke device 2 as examples, but the scope of the present invention does not only include the karaoke program executed on the mobile terminal 6 and the karaoke device 2, but also includes karaoke programs executed on various information processing devices such as personal computers and game devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 2: Karaoke device 68g: Reservation button 3: Voice changer 68h: Song related display column 6(6a, 6b): Mobile terminal 68i: Upper display column 11: Management server 68j: Bottom display column 11a: Song sending section 68k: Song search button 12a: Router 68m: Display 12b: Wireless router 68n: Touch panel 13: Radio base station 69a: First communication unit 21: Music playback unit 69b: Second communication unit 22: Correction unit 70 (70a, 70b): Input switch 23: Addition section 72: Vibration section 61:CPU 73:LED 61a: Music playback unit 110: Access point 61b: Voice changer 140: Mobile base station 61c: Audio playback section 681: Lyrics display section 61d: Voice change table 682: Progress bar 61e: Addition section 683: Selection button 61f: Pitch difference detector 684: Microphone selection button 62:RAM 685:Participating user icon 63: Memory section 686: Comment tab 64: Image processing unit 687: Reservation confirmation tab 65F: Front camera 688: Remote control tab 65R: Rear camera 689: Comment display column 66: Sound processing section 690: Comment input field 67a: Speaker 691: Singer volume 67b: Microphone 692: Speaker volume 68: Touch panel display 693: Key (pitch) setting button 68a: Room selection field 694: Voice change setting field 68b: New room creation button 695: Playback position adjustment button 68c: Search category selection field 696: Button 68d: Song selection field 697: Pause button 68e: Song confirmation field 698: Stop playing button 68f: Cancel button 788: Remote control tab

Claims

1. A karaoke program executable on an information processing device, a playback process for playing back music sounds based on the music information; a first input process in which voice that has been subjected to voice change processing is input; a first output process for outputting the reproduced musical piece sound to a singer; and a second output process of correcting the pitch of the reproduced music sound based on the pitch difference between the voice that has been subjected to the voice change process and the voice that has not been subjected to the voice change process and outputting the corrected pitch. Karaoke program.

2. detecting a first pitch of the voice that has been subjected to the voice change processing and a second pitch of the voice that has not been subjected to the voice change processing, and performing a pitch difference detection process that detects a pitch difference based on the first pitch and the second pitch; The second output process performs pitch correction based on the pitch difference detected in the pitch detection process.

2. The karaoke program according to claim 1.

3. The pitch difference detection process is executed before the music information is played back. The second output process corrects the pitch of the music sound and outputs it in response to the start of playback of the music sound.

3. The karaoke program according to claim 2.

4. When performing pitch difference detection processing, a display process is performed to display a message on the display prompting voice input.

4. The karaoke program according to claim 3.

5. Execute an acquisition process to acquire conversion-related information regarding the conversion performed on the voice input in the input process; The second output process performs pitch correction based on the conversion-related information acquired in the acquisition process.

2. The karaoke program according to claim 1.

6. The second output process is Conversion-related information obtained in the acquisition process; The pitch is corrected based on correspondence information stored in a storage unit, the correspondence information associating each of one or more pieces of conversion-related information with a pitch difference.

6. The karaoke program according to claim 5.

7. The second output process is When the music starts to play, the music is pitch corrected and output.

6. The karaoke program according to claim 5.

8. A transmission process is executed to transmit the pitch-corrected musical sound and the voice-changed audio outputted in the second output process to a network.

2. The karaoke program according to claim 1.

9. a second input process in which the voice before being subjected to the voice change process is input; and performing a voice change process on the voice input in the first input process.

2. The karaoke program according to claim 1

10. a playback process for playing back music sounds based on the music information; a first input process in which voice that has been subjected to voice change processing is input; a first output process for outputting the reproduced musical piece sound to a singer; and a second output process of correcting the pitch of the reproduced music sound based on the pitch difference between the voice that has been subjected to the voice change process and the voice that has not been subjected to the voice change process and outputting the corrected pitch. Karaoke equipment.

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