Music playback device and music playback program

Abstract

To easily perform various operations related to music playback. [Solution] The music playback device displays on its screen a first tab of a first settings screen for changing the tempo of the music being played, a second tab of a second settings screen for setting a playback start point indicating the position where the music should start playing, and a third tab of a third settings screen for setting a loop for the music being played. When the device accepts a selection of the first tab, the second tab, or the third tab, it has a display control unit that switches the setting screen displayed on the screen to one of the first, second, or third settings screens.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a music playback device and a music playback program.

Background Art

[0002] Various application software (hereinafter referred to as apps) that enable a mobile terminal such as a smartphone to function as a music playback device have been provided. Also, assuming a scene where a dancer practices dancing, apps that enable not only simple music playback but also operations such as changing the tempo of the music and repeat playback have been provided.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, on an operation screen that enables various operations related to music playback, the amount of information is large and it is not easy for the user to operate.

[0005] One aspect is to provide a music playback device and a music playback program that can easily perform various operations related to music playback.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A music playback device on one side displays on its screen: a first tab of a first settings screen for changing the tempo of the music being played; a second tab of a second settings screen for setting the playback start point, which indicates where the music should begin playing; and a third tab of a third settings screen for setting a loop for the music being played. When a selection of the first tab, second tab, or third tab is received, the display control unit switches the setting screen displayed on the screen to one of the first, second, or third settings screens. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment, various operations related to music playback can be easily performed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an example of the basic mode screen (Figure (1)). [Figure 2] Figure 2 is an example of the basic mode screen (Figure (2)). [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an example of the basic mode screen (Figure (3)). [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of a music editing screen. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram (1) that provides supplementary explanation of the music editing screen. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a supplementary diagram (2) for explaining the music editing screen. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a diagram (3) that provides supplementary explanation of the music editing screen. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a diagram (4) that provides supplementary explanation of the music editing screen. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a diagram (5) used to provide supplementary explanation of the music editing screen. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the music playback device according to this embodiment 1. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of a shooting screen. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the music playback device according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the music playback device according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of hardware configuration.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") for implementing the music playback device and music playback program according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that this embodiment only shows one example and one aspect, and the structure, operation, function, property, characteristic, method, use, etc. according to the present disclosure are not limited by the following description.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> As in the prior art, when trying to provide an operation screen that enables various operations related to music playback and editing despite the limited area of the operation screen, there is a problem that the amount of information on the operation screen increases and it is not easy for the user to operate.

[0011] On the other hand, in the music playback device of Embodiment 1, a plurality of setting screens are switched and displayed according to the selection of tabs. This makes it possible to suppress the amount of information displayed on the operation screen at one time and improve the operability.

[0012] <Example of Screen> An example of the screen displayed by the music playback device of Embodiment 1 will be described. The music playback device of Embodiment 1 is denoted as "music playback device 100". The music playback device 100 displays tabs corresponding to the setting screens on the operation screen and switches and displays the setting screens according to the selection of the tabs. In Embodiment 1, the operation screen having tabs is denoted as the "basic mode screen".

[0013] Figures 1, 2, and 3 are diagrams showing an example of the basic mode screen. First, Figure 1 will be described. As shown in Figure 1, on the basic mode screen 50 displayed by the music playback device 100, a switching control 51, a menu button 52, tabs 10, 20, 30, a seek bar 55a, and operation buttons 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 are set.

[0014] The switching control 51 has "Player" and "Edit" displayed and is selectable. When the "Player" is tapped by the user on the music playback device 100, the basic mode screen 50 is displayed. When "Edit" is selected by the user on the music playback device 100, a music editing screen is displayed. The music editing screen is a screen for the user to perform various editing processes on the music.

[0015] The menu button 52 is a button for displaying a menu screen. When the menu button 52 is tapped by the user on the music playback device 100, the menu screen 52a is displayed. The menu screen 52a includes a write button 52-1 and a switching button 52-2. When the write button 52-1 is tapped on the music playback device 100, the music being edited on the music editing screen is converted into a predetermined music file format and written out.

[0016] The switching button 52-2 is a button for switching the current operation screen to another operation screen. For example, when the current operation screen is the basic mode screen on the music playback device 100 and the switching button 52-2 is tapped, it switches to another operation screen (for example, the advanced mode screen).

[0017] The timeline 55 is indicated by the seek bar 55a for the current playback position of the music. The music playback device 100 moves the position of the seek bar 55a in response to the playback of the music.

[0018] Operation button 61 is used to start playback of a song edited on the song editing screen or to stop playback of a song that is currently playing. The song playback device 100 plays or stops the song in response to a tap of operation button 61.

[0019] Operation button 62 is a button for returning the playback position to the beginning of the song. When operation button 62 is tapped, the music playback device 100 returns the playback position of the song to the beginning.

[0020] Operation button 63 is a button for returning the playback position of the song to a predetermined time earlier. When operation button 63 is tapped, the music playback device 100 returns the playback position of the song to a predetermined time earlier.

[0021] Operation button 64 is a button for advancing the playback position of the song by a predetermined time. When operation button 64 is tapped, the music playback device 100 advances the playback position of the song by a predetermined time.

[0022] Operation button 65 is for recording video. Video recording will be explained later.

[0023] Tab 10 is the tab corresponding to the first settings screen. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on Tab 10 by the user, it displays the first settings screen in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50. The example shown in Figure 1 shows the case where the first settings screen 10a is displayed in area 70.

[0024] Tab 20 is the tab corresponding to the second settings screen. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on Tab 20 by the user, it displays the second settings screen in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50.

[0025] Tab 30 is the tab corresponding to the third settings screen. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on Tab 30 by the user, it displays the third settings screen in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50.

[0026] Here, we will explain the first settings screen 10a using Figure 1. The first settings screen 10a is a settings screen for changing the tempo of the currently playing song. For example, the tempo is indicated by a value in BPM (Beats Per Minute). The first settings screen 10a includes a tempo down button 11, a tempo up button 12, and a slider bar 13.

[0027] The tempo down button 11 is a button used to slow down the tempo of the song. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the tempo down button 11, it adjusts the song's BPM by a predetermined amount.

[0028] The tempo up button 12 is a button used to increase the tempo of the song. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the tempo up button 12, it adjusts the song's BPM by a predetermined amount.

[0029] The slider bar 13 is used to adjust the tempo of the music according to the position of the slider 13a on the slider bar 13. When the music playback device 100 receives a swipe of the slider 13a, it adjusts the BPM of the music according to the position of the slider 13a. For example, the music playback device 100 decreases the BPM value as the position of the slider 13a moves to the left, and increases the BPM value as it moves to the right.

[0030] Next, we will move on to the explanation of Figure 2 and describe the second settings screen 20a. The second settings screen 20a is a settings screen for setting the starting position for music playback. The starting position for music playback is referred to as the "playback start point". For example, the second settings screen 20a includes markers 21, 22, 23, and 24, and a trash can button 25.

[0031] Markers 21-24 are buttons used to set the playback start point. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 21, it sets the "first playback start point 21a" corresponding to marker 21 at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 21 with the first playback start point 21a set, it starts playing the music from the first playback start point 21a.

[0032] When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 22, it sets a "second playback start point" corresponding to marker 22 at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. The illustration of the second playback start point is omitted. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 22 with the second playback start point set, it starts playing the music from the second playback start point.

[0033] When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 23, it sets a "third playback start point" corresponding to marker 23 at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. The illustration of the third playback start point is omitted. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 23 with the third playback start point set, it starts playing the music from the third playback start point.

[0034] When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 24, it sets the "fourth playback start point" corresponding to marker 24 at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. The illustration of the fourth playback start point is omitted. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on marker 24 with the fourth playback start point set, it starts playing the music from the fourth playback start point.

[0035] The trash can button 25 is used to delete each playback start point set on the timeline 55. Here, we will explain the case where the first playback start point 21a is set on the timeline 55 as an example.

[0036] When the trash can button 25 on the second settings screen 20a is tapped, the music playback device 100 displays the delete screen 20b. The delete screen 20b includes delete buttons 21-1, 22-1, 23-1, and 24-1.

[0037] The delete button 21-1 is displayed as tappable when the first playback start point 21a is set on the timeline 55. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the delete button 21-1, it deletes the first playback start point 21a from the timeline 55. After this, the music playback device 100 returns the delete screen 20b to the second settings screen 20a.

[0038] The delete button 22-1 becomes tappable when the second playback start pointer is set on timeline 55. The delete button 23-1 becomes tappable when the third playback start pointer is set on timeline 55. The delete button 24-1 becomes tappable when the fourth playback start pointer is set on timeline 55.

[0039] Next, we will move on to the explanation of Figure 3 and describe the third settings screen 30a. The third settings screen 30a is a settings screen for setting loop settings for the currently playing song. The third settings screen 30a has a start position button 31, an end position button 32, a loop button 33, and a trash can button 34.

[0040] The start position button 31 is a button used to specify the starting position of loop playback. The starting position of loop playback is referred to as the "loop start point". When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the start position button 31, it sets the loop start point 31a at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55.

[0041] The end position button 32 is a button used to specify the end position of loop playback. The end position of loop playback is referred to as the "loop end point". When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the end position button 32, it sets the loop end point 32a at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55.

[0042] The loop button 33 is a button for enabling or disabling loop playback from the loop start point to the loop end point. For example, each time the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the loop button 33, it switches between enabling and disabling loop playback. For example, if loop playback of the music is enabled, the music playback device 100 highlights the section from the loop start point 31a to the loop end point 32a. On the other hand, if loop playback of the music is disabled, the music playback device 100 removes the highlighting of the section from the loop start point 31a to the loop end point 32a.

[0043] For example, in the example shown in Figure 3, the section from the loop start point 31a to the loop end point 32a is highlighted, indicating that loop playback is enabled. In this case, the music playback device 100 loops the music from the loop start point 31a to the loop end point 32a.

[0044] The trash can button 34 is a button for deleting the loop start point 31a and loop end point 32a set on the timeline 55. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the trash can button 34, it deletes the loop start point 31a and loop end point 32a set on the timeline 55.

[0045] The above describes the basic mode screen displayed by the music playback device 100 and the first, second, and third setting screens that can be switched by selecting tabs. For example, the music playback device 100 displays various operations related to music playback, divided into the first to third setting screens according to the type of operation. This reduces the amount of information on the basic mode screen (operation screen) and improves usability.

[0046] <Music Editing Screen> Next, we will describe the music editing screen displayed by the music playback device 100. For example, when "Edit" is selected in the switching control 51 described in Figure 1, the music playback device 100 displays the music editing screen shown in Figure 4.

[0047] Figure 4 shows an example of a music editing screen. As shown in Figure 4, the music editing screen 90 has a switching control 51, a timeline 91, and operation buttons 93a, 93b, 93c, 93d, and 93e. The explanation of the switching control 51 is the same as the explanation above.

[0048] The axis of the timeline 91 is the time axis, and the position of the seek bar 91a is the playback position of the music. The position of the seek bar 91a also corresponds to the playback position 91b of the music track set in area 90a. When the music playback device 100 receives a swipe on the seek bar 91a, it adjusts the positional relationship between the playback position 91b and the music track according to the position of the seek bar 91a. The music playback device 100 can also change the relationship between the music position and the playback position 91b by swiping on area 90a, and change the position of the seek bar 91a in accordance with this change.

[0049] Operation button 93a is a button for adding a track to area 90a of the music editing screen 90. When operation button 93a is tapped, the music playback device 100 displays a music selection screen (not shown) and accepts the selection of a music track. Upon accepting the selection of a music track, the music playback device 100 sets the track corresponding to the selected music track in area 90a.

[0050] For example, when "Song A" is selected on the song selection screen, the music playback device 100 sets track 92a, which corresponds to Song A, to area 90a. Track 92a displays the waveform of Song A. Although not explained in Figure 6, if another song is selected on the song selection screen, the music playback device 100 adds tracks corresponding to the other songs to area 90a.

[0051] The effect button 92a-1 is displayed on track 92a. The effect button 92a-1 is a button used to set an effect on song A. When the effect button 92a-1 is tapped, the music playback device 100 displays a screen to select an effect such as "echo" or "reverb," ​​and sets the icon of the selected effect to track 92a.

[0052] Figure 5 is a diagram (1) to supplement the explanation of the music editing screen. In the example shown in Figure 5, the effect (echo) icon 92a-3 is set on track 92a. When the music playback device 100 plays music A on track 92a, it adds the echo effect to music A during the time period in which icon 92a-3 is placed. The user can change the position and width of icon 92a-3 by swiping or other operations on the icon 92a-3. In Figure 5, echo is explained as an effect, but the same applies to reverb.

[0053] In Figure 5, for the sake of explanation, we have described track 92a, which corresponds to song A. However, if a track for another song is set in area 90a, it is possible to set effects in the same way.

[0054] Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, when the music playback device 100 receives a tap in the region 92a-2 where the waveform of music A on track 92a is displayed, it displays the music editing screen 90 as shown in Figure 6 and accepts various edits to music A.

[0055] Figure 6 is a diagram (2) that provides supplementary explanation of the music editing screen. For example, when the music playback device 100 receives a tap in area 92a-2, it displays the edit buttons 94a, 94b, 94c, and 94d on the music editing screen 90.

[0056] The edit button 94a is used to copy the music in area 92a-2. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the edit button 94a, it copies the music in area 92a-2.

[0057] The edit button 94b is used to paste the song copied by the edit button 94a. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the edit button 94b, it pastes the copied song to the specified position on the track.

[0058] The edit button 94c is used to split the music in area 92a-2 at a specified position. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the edit button 94b, it splits the music.

[0059] The edit button 94d is used to delete a song in area 92a-2. When the music playback device 100 receives a tap on the edit button 94d, it deletes the song in area 92a-2.

[0060] Figure 7 is a diagram (3) to supplement the explanation of the music editing screen. Here, as an example, This shows an example of the process of editing song A by tapping edit button 94c (split), edit button 94d (delete), edit button 94a (copy), and edit button 94b (paste).

[0061] When the edit button 94c (split) is tapped while song A in area 92a-2 is selected, the music playback device 100 splits song A in area 92a-2 into clips C1 and C2 at playback position 91b.

[0062] When clip C2 is selected, the music playback device 100 deletes clip C2 when the edit button 94d (delete) is tapped.

[0063] When clip C1 is selected, the music playback device 100 copies clip C1 when the edit button 94a (copy) is tapped.

[0064] After copying clip C1, the music playback device 100 pastes a clip C3 identical to clip C1 at the location specified by the user when the edit button 94b (paste) is tapped.

[0065] When the music playback device 100 receives a swipe on clips C1 and C3, it changes the positions of clips C1 and C3 in accordance with the swipe.

[0066] In Figures 5 to 7, for the sake of explanation, we have described track 92a, which corresponds to song A. However, if tracks for other songs are set in area 90a, you can similarly perform copy, paste, split, and delete edits using the edit buttons 94a to 94d.

[0067] Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, the operation button 93b is a button that instructs the user to cancel the previous operation performed on the music editing screen 90 and return to the state before the previous operation. When the operation button 93b is tapped, the music playback device 100 cancels the previous operation performed and returns to the state before the previous operation.

[0068] The operation button 93c is a button that instructs the playback and stopping of the music set on the track (for example, song A, or a split clip). When the operation button 93c is tapped, the music playback device 100 starts playing the music, and when the operation button 93c is tapped again, it stops playing the music.

[0069] Operation button 93d is a button that instructs the user to redo the operation that was canceled by operation button 93b. When operation button 93d is tapped, the music playback device 100 redoes the operation that was canceled by operation button 93b.

[0070] Operation button 93e is a button for adding a fade effect when playing and ending a song. If a fade effect has been added to song A on track 92a, the music playback device 100 will gradually increase or decrease the volume when playing song A.

[0071] Figure 8 is a supplementary diagram (4) illustrating the music editing screen. In the example shown in Figure 8, track 92a corresponding to song A and track 92a corresponding to song B are shown. Additionally, clips C4 and C5, generated by the above editing operations, are set to tracks 92a and 92.

[0072] For example, when the operation button 93e is tapped, the music playback device 100 sets fade icons at the start and end points of clip C4. In the example shown in Figure 8, a fade-in icon 95a is set at the start points of clips C4 and C5. When the music (clip) is played, the music playback device 100 adjusts the volume of the music to gradually increase at the position where the fade-in icon 95a is set.

[0073] A fade-out icon 95b is set at the end point of clips C4 and C5. When the music (clip) is played, the music playback device 100 adjusts the volume of the music to gradually decrease at the position set by the fade-out icon 95b.

[0074] Furthermore, users can adjust the slope of the fade-in icon 95a and fade-out icon 95b by swiping. As the slope of the fade-in icon 95a and fade-out icon 95b becomes steeper, the volume change over time also increases. This makes it easy to adjust the volume change over time without having to use complicated setting parameters or dedicated controls for fade-in and fade-out, as was done in the past. In other words, since volume control settings can be made using a triangular shape, fade-in and fade-out of music can be easily set even on a mobile device.

[0075] Figure 9 is a supplementary diagram (5) for explaining the music editing screen. For example, users can edit different songs together by operating the music editing screen 90. An example of editing different songs together will be explained using Figure 9.

[0076] In the example shown in Figure 9, it is assumed that track 92a is set to clip C1-1 of song A, and track 92a is set to clip C2-1 of song B. For example, if the user swaps the position of clip C1-1 to the left and the position of clip C2-1 to the right, the music playback device 100 adjusts the positions of clips C1-1 and C2-1 to match the swap. At this point, if the user taps the operation button 93c, the music playback device 100 plays clip C1-1, and then plays clip C2-1. In other words, it is possible to generate a song by combining clip C1-1 of song A and clip C2-1 of song B.

[0077] This concludes the explanation of the music editing screen.

[0078] <Configuration of music playback device 100> Next, an example of the configuration of the music playback device 100 according to this embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 10 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the music playback device according to this embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 10, the music playback device 100 has a display unit 110, an input unit 120, a communication unit 130, a camera unit 140a, an output unit 140b, a storage unit 150, and a control unit 160.

[0079] The display unit 110 displays various types of information. For example, the display unit 110 can be implemented using a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

[0080] The input unit 120 receives various operations. When the music playback device 100 is implemented using a mobile terminal, the display unit 110 and the input unit 120 are integrated to function as a touch panel. For example, the input unit 120 receives various inputs for various operation screens displayed on the display unit 110.

[0081] The communication unit 130 is connected to the network by wire or wireless connection and transmits and receives information with other devices via the network. For example, the communication unit 130 can be implemented by a communication module or a NIC (Network Interface Card).

[0082] The camera unit 140a is a camera that takes images. For example, the camera unit 140a has a built-in image sensor, which takes video footage and outputs the captured video data to the control unit 160, etc.

[0083] The output unit 140b is a speaker or similar component for playing music.

[0084] The storage unit 150 stores various types of data. For example, the storage unit 150 is implemented using semiconductor memory elements or storage such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or flash memory. For example, the storage unit 150 stores a music table 151, edited music data 152, and music files 153.

[0085] The song table 151 is a table that stores information about multiple songs. The song to be played or edited is selected from the song table 151.

[0086] Edited song data 152 is data related to the song being edited on the song editing screen 90. This data includes information about clips on the track, effect information, etc.

[0087] The music file 153 is music data in a predetermined music file format. For example, when the export button 52-1, as described in Figure 1, is tapped, the music playback device 100 converts the edited music data 152 into a predetermined music file format and generates the music file 153.

[0088] The control unit 160 performs overall control of the music playback device 100. For example, the control unit 160 can be implemented by a hardware processor. As shown in Figure 4, the control unit 160 includes a display control unit 161, a first setting unit 162, a second setting unit 163, a third setting unit 164, an editing processing unit 165, a music playback unit 166, and a video recording unit 167.

[0089] The display control unit 161 outputs the basic mode screen 50 shown in Figure 1 to the display unit 110 for display. In the following description, the act of the display control unit 161 outputting various screens to the display unit 110 for display will simply be referred to as "displaying". When the display control unit 161 displays the basic mode screen 50, it prompts the user to select the song to be played from the song table 151.

[0090] As explained in Figure 1, when the display control unit 161 receives a tap on tab 10 of the basic mode screen 50, it displays the first setting screen 10a in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50.

[0091] As explained in Figure 2, when the display control unit 161 receives a tap on the tab 20 of the basic mode screen 50, it displays the second setting screen 20a in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50.

[0092] As explained in Figure 3, when the display control unit 161 receives a tap on the tab 30 of the basic mode screen 50, it displays the third setting screen 30a in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50.

[0093] The first setting unit 162 performs various processes in response to operations on the first setting screen 10a. For example, when the first setting unit 162 receives a tap on the tempo down button 11, it adjusts the BPM of the song by lowering it by a predetermined value. When the first setting unit 162 receives a tap on the tempo up button 12, it adjusts the BPM of the song by lowering it by a predetermined value. When the first setting unit 162 receives a swipe on the slider 13a, it adjusts the BPM of the song according to the position of the slider 13a.

[0094] Other processing related to the first setting unit 162 is the same as the processing described in Figure 1.

[0095] The second setting unit 163 performs various operations in response to the operations performed on the second setting screen 20a. For example, when the second setting unit 163 receives a tap on a marker, it sets the playback start point corresponding to the marker at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. When the second setting unit 163 receives a tap on a marker with the playback start point set, it starts playing the music from the playback start point.

[0096] The second setting unit 163 deletes each playback start point set on the timeline 55 when the trash can button 25 is tapped.

[0097] Other processing related to the second setting unit 163 is the same as the processing described in Figure 2.

[0098] The third setting unit 164 performs various operations in accordance with the operation corresponding to the third setting screen 30a. For example, when the third setting unit 164 receives a tap of the start position button 31, it sets the loop start point 31a at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. When the third setting unit 164 receives a tap of the end position button 32, it sets the loop end point 32a at the current seek bar position on the timeline 55. Each time the third setting unit 164 receives a tap of the loop button 33, it switches loop playback on or off. When the third setting unit 164 receives a tap of the trash can button 34, it deletes the loop start point 31a and loop end point 32a that were set on the timeline 55.

[0099] Further explanation regarding the third setting unit 164 is the same as the process described in Figure 3.

[0100] The editing processing unit 165 accepts various edits to the music using the music editing screen 90. For example, as explained in Figure 5, the editing processing unit 165 accepts edits to apply effects to the music and edits the music's information.

[0101] As explained in Figures 6 and 7, the editing processing unit 165 accepts edits related to copying, pasting, splitting, and deleting for the music, and edits the information of the music.

[0102] As explained in Figure 8, the editing processing unit 165 accepts edits related to fades in the music and edits the music information.

[0103] As explained in Figure 9, the editing processing unit 165 accepts an edit request to combine different songs and edits the song.

[0104] The editing processing unit 165 stores the information of the song being edited as edited song data 152 in the storage unit 150.

[0105] Other descriptions of edits accepted by the editing processing unit 165 are the same as those for each edit described in Figures 6 to 11.

[0106] The music playback unit 166 plays music using the output unit 140b. For example, the music playback unit 166 controls music playback in response to taps on the operation buttons 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65 on the basic mode screen 50. In addition, the music playback unit 166 plays the music being edited using the edited music data 152 in response to a tap on the operation button 93b on the music editing screen 90.

[0107] Further explanations regarding the playback control of the music playback unit 166 are the same as those explained in Figures 1 to 9.

[0108] The video recording unit 167 controls the camera unit 14 in response to a recording instruction and records a video. For example, when the operation button 65 on the basic mode screen 50 is tapped, the video recording unit 167 displays a recording screen on the display unit 110 as shown in Figure 11.

[0109] Figure 11 shows an example of a shooting screen. As shown in Figure 11, the shooting screen 300 has a video display area 301 and a shooting button 310. When the video shooting unit 167 receives a tap on the shooting button 310, it starts recording a video, and when it receives another tap on the shooting button 310, it stops recording a video. The video shooting unit 167 displays the recorded video in the video display area 301.

[0110] <Processing flow> Next, the processing flow of the music playback device 100 according to this embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for the music playback device according to this embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 12, the display control unit 161 of the music playback device 100 displays the basic mode screen 50 (step S101).

[0111] The display control unit 161 displays the first setting screen 10a on the basic mode screen 50 (step S102). The first setting unit 162 of the music playback device 100 adjusts the tempo of the music when it receives an operation on the first setting screen 10a (step S103).

[0112] When a tab on the second setting screen is selected, the display control unit 161 switches the current setting screen to the second setting screen 20a and displays it (step S104). When the second setting unit 163 of the music playback device 100 receives an operation on the second setting screen 20a, it adjusts the playback position of the music (step S105).

[0113] When a tab on the third setting screen is selected, the display control unit 161 switches the current setting screen to the third setting screen 30a and displays it (step S106). When the third setting unit 164 of the music playback device 100 receives an operation on the third setting screen 30a, it adjusts the loop playback of the music (step S107).

[0114] The music playback unit 166 of the music playback device 100 controls music playback in response to the tapping of the operation buttons (step S108).

[0115] In Figure 12, as an example, the first setting screen 10a is shown first in area 70 of the basic mode screen 50, but the second setting screen 20a or the third setting screen 30a may be shown first. The display control unit 161 switches between displaying the first setting screen 10a, the second setting screen 20a, and the third setting screen 30a depending on the tab selection.

[0116] <Summary> As described above, the music playback device 100 of this embodiment 1 displays tabs 10, 20, and 30 on the basic mode screen 50. When tab 10 is tapped, the first setting screen 10a is displayed; when tab 20 is tapped, the second setting screen 20a is displayed; and when tab 30 is tapped, the third setting screen 30a is displayed. This reduces the amount of information displayed on the basic mode screen 50 (operation screen) and improves usability.

[0117] <Embodiment 2> Now, although Embodiment 1 of this disclosure has been described, various applications are possible, and furthermore, it may be implemented in various different forms other than Embodiment 1 described above.

[0118] <Advanced Mode Screen> As described above, when the toggle button 52-2 in Figure 1 is tapped, the music playback device 100 displays the advanced mode screen. Although the advanced mode screen is not shown in the diagram, the advanced mode screen displays at least the first setting screen 10a shown in Figure 1, the second setting screen 20a shown in Figure 2, and the third setting screen 30a described in Figure 3 on the same screen. This allows users to perform operations corresponding to the first setting screen 10a, the second setting screen 20a, and the third setting screen 30a on the same screen without switching between tabs 10 to 30. In addition, the advanced mode screen displays a waveform display screen for the currently playing music and a playback control screen for controlling the playback of the currently playing music. It is also possible to switch the waveform of the music displayed on the waveform display screen between the overall waveform and the detailed waveform.

[0119] <Exhibiting creative abilities> The details described in Embodiment 1 above, such as the screen configurations of the basic mode screen 50, the music editing screen 90, and the shooting screen 300, are merely examples and can be changed. Similarly, the content of music editing on the music editing screen 90 is also merely an example and can be changed. Furthermore, the playback conditions that can be set on the basic mode screen 50 are also merely examples and can be changed. Additionally, the flowchart described in Embodiment 1 above can be modified in order of processing, provided it is consistent with the original design.

[0120] <Application to other usage scenarios> In the above embodiment 1, the music playback device 100 was described as a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, but the editing function, playback control function, and video recording function of the music playback device 100 may be provided by a cloud service such as a web service.

[0121] Figure 13 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a music playback device according to this second embodiment. For example, Figure 13 shows a music playback device 400 that provides cloud services.

[0122] The music playback device 400 may be implemented by a server device. For example, the music playback device 400 can provide editing functions, playback control functions, and video recording functions as a cloud service by running a PaaS (Platform as a Service) type middleware or a SaaS (Software as a Service) type application.

[0123] As shown in Figure 13, the music playback device 400 may be connected to a user terminal 420 via a network NW in a communicative manner. For example, the network NW may be any type of communication network, such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network), whether wired or wireless.

[0124] The user terminal 420 is a terminal device used by a user receiving cloud services. The user terminal 420 may be implemented using any computer, such as a smartphone, tablet, wearable device, or personal computer.

[0125] Under this overall configuration, the music playback device 400 shown in Figure 13 differs from the music playback device 100 shown in Figure 10 in that various requests are received via the network NW, and the results of processing are output via the network NW.

[0126] For example, the music playback device 400 transmits screen information of operation screens, including the music editing screen and the playback control screen, to the user terminal 420 via the communication unit 410 to display the operation screen on the user terminal 420, and receives operation information for the operation screen from the user terminal 420 via the communication unit 410. In addition, the music playback device 400 controls the camera of the user terminal 420 via the communication unit 410 to record video, and receives the recorded video data from the user terminal 420 via the communication unit 410.

[0127] The music playback device 400 provides editing functions, playback control functions, and video recording functions to the user terminal 420. For example, the display control unit 461, first setting unit 462, second setting unit 463, third setting unit 464, editing processing unit 465, music playback unit 466, and video recording unit 467 of the control unit 460 of the music playback device 400 have the same functions as the display control unit 161, first setting unit 162, second setting unit 163, third setting unit 164, editing processing unit 165, music playback unit 166, and video recording unit 167 of the control unit 160 of the music playback device 100. Also, the music table 451, edited music data 452, and music file 453 of the storage unit 450 of the music playback device 400 are the same as the music table 151, edited music data 152, and music file 153 of the storage unit 150 of the music playback device 100.

[0128] Even with the music playback device 400 described above, the amount of information on the basic mode screen 50 (operation screen) can be reduced, thereby improving operability.

[0129] <System> The processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, and various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed at will unless otherwise specified. For example, one or more of the functions of the music playback device 100, such as the display control unit 161, the first setting unit 162, the second setting unit 163, the third setting unit 164, the editing processing unit 165, the music playback unit 166, and the video recording unit 167, may be composed of separate devices.

[0130] Furthermore, the components of each illustrated device are functionally conceptual and do not necessarily need to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the specific forms of distribution and integration of each device are not limited to those shown. That is, all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any units according to various loads and usage conditions. Note that each configuration may also be a physical configuration.

[0131] Furthermore, the processing performed by the illustrated device can be implemented, in whole or in part, by programs executed by hardware processors such as MPUs (Micro-Processing Units) or CPUs (Central Processing Units), or by hardware using wired logic.

[0132] <Hardware> Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the music playback device described in the above embodiment will be explained. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration. As shown in Figure 14, the music playback device 100 has a communication device 5a, a storage device 5b, memory 5c, and a processor 5d. Note that the parts shown in Figure 14 may be interconnected by a bus or the like.

[0133] The communication device 5a is a network interface card, etc. The storage device 5b is a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive). For example, the storage device 5b stores programs and databases that operate the functions shown in Figure 10.

[0134] The processor 5d reads a program that performs the same processing as the processing unit shown in Figure 1 from the storage device 5b, etc., and loads it into memory 5c, thereby operating the process that performs the function described in Figure 10.

[0135] Such a process achieves the same functionality as the processing unit of the music playback device 100. For example, the processor 5d reads a program having the same functionality as the display control unit 161, first setting unit 162, second setting unit 163, third setting unit 164, editing processing unit 165, music playback unit 166, video recording unit 167, etc., from the storage device 5b or the like. Then, the processor 5d executes a process that performs the same processing as the display control unit 161, first setting unit 162, second setting unit 163, third setting unit 164, editing processing unit 165, music playback unit 166, and video recording unit 167.

[0136] Thus, the music playback device 100 operates as a music playback device that performs a music playback method by reading and executing a program. Furthermore, the music playback device 100 can also achieve the same functionality as the embodiment described above by reading the program from a recording medium using a media reader and executing the read program. It should be noted that the program referred to in this other embodiment is not limited to being executed by the music playback device 100. For example, the functions of this disclosure can be similarly applied when another computer or server executes the program, or when they collaborate to execute the program.

[0137] The above program can be distributed via a network such as the Internet. Furthermore, the program can be recorded on any storage medium and executed by reading it from the medium by a computer. For example, the storage medium can be a hard disk, flexible disk (FD), CD-ROM, MO (Magneto-Optical disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0138] 100 Music Playback Devices 110 Display section 120 Input section 130,410 Communications Department 140a Camera Section 140b output section 150 Storage section 151,451 Song Table 152,452 edited music data 153,453 music files 160,460 Control Unit 161,461 Display Control Unit 162,462 First setting section 163,463 Second setting section 164,464 Third Setting Section 165,465 Editing Processing Unit 166,466 Music Playback Section 167,467 Video Production Department

Claims

1. The first tab of the first settings screen for changing the tempo of the currently playing song, The second tab of the second settings screen is used to set the playback start point, which indicates the position where playback of the aforementioned song should begin. The third tab of the third settings screen, which sets the aforementioned song currently playing to loop, The display control unit displays the following on the screen, and when it receives a selection of the first tab, the second tab, or the third tab, it switches the setting screen displayed on the screen to one of the first setting screen, the second setting screen, or the third setting screen. A music playback device characterized by having the following features.

2. The music playback device according to claim 1, further comprising a first setting unit that changes the tempo of the currently playing music in response to the position of the slider on the swiped slider or the tap on the tempo change button, wherein the first setting screen includes a slider or tempo change button for changing the tempo.

3. The music playback device according to claim 1, further comprising a second setting screen which includes a playback start point button for setting the playback start point, and a second setting unit which sets the current position where the music is playing when the playback start point button is tapped as the playback start point.

4. The music playback device according to claim 3, wherein the second setting screen includes a plurality of playback start point buttons, and the second setting unit sets the playback start point for each playback start point button based on the tap of each playback start point button.

5. The music playback device according to claim 3, wherein the second setting screen includes a first trash can button for resetting the playback start point, and the second setting unit resets the playback start point in response to a tap on the first trash can button.

6. The music playback device according to claim 5, characterized in that the second setting unit displays delete buttons corresponding to the plurality of playback start point buttons when the first trash can button is tapped, and resets the playback start point set by the playback start button corresponding to the tapped delete button.

7. The music playback device according to claim 1, further comprising a third setting unit that includes a loop start button and a loop end button in the third setting screen, sets the current position where the music is playing when the loop start button is tapped as the loop start position, and sets the current position where the music is playing when the loop end button is tapped as the loop end position.

8. The music playback device according to claim 7, wherein the third setting screen includes a second trash can button for resetting the loop start position and the loop end position, and the third setting unit resets the loop start position and the loop end position in response to a tap on the second trash can button.

9. The first tab of the first settings screen for changing the tempo of the currently playing song, The second tab of the second settings screen is used to set the playback start point, which indicates the position where playback of the aforementioned song should begin. The third tab of the third settings screen, which sets the aforementioned song currently playing to loop, Display this on the screen, When a selection of the first tab, the second tab, or the third tab is received, the settings screen displayed on the screen is switched to one of the first settings screen, the second settings screen, or the third settings screen. A music playback program characterized by having a computer perform the processing.

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