Karaoke equipment

Abstract

To evaluate Karaoke singing in a duet singing section in which two singers take turns singing in different melodies.SOLUTION: A Karaoke device 1 for performing Karaoke performance of duet song having duet singing sections in which two singers sing Karaoke songs alternately comprises: a storage part 11 for storing first reference data used for evaluation of singing voices of two singers and second reference data indicating information on early start singing and delay start singing of two original song singers in the duet singing section in accordance with the duet song; an acquisition part 20 for acquiring information on early start singing and delay start singing of the two singers in the duet singing section on the basis of singing voices of the two singers in the duet singing section and the first reference data; and an evaluation part 21 for comparing the information on early start singing and delay start singing of the two singers in the duet singing section and the second reference data and evaluating Karaoke singing of the duet song by the two singers on the basis of the comparison result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a karaoke device. [Background technology]

[0002] Among the songs that the karaoke device plays are duet songs each having a singing section (singing part) for two singers. 2. Description of the Related Art In karaoke devices, a technique is known in which singing voice data of two singers singing karaoke along with a karaoke performance of a duet piece is input and analyzed individually, and the harmony singing is evaluated based on the analysis results.

[0003] For example, according to Patent Document 1, a karaoke scoring device is provided with a storage means for storing melody part reference data for evaluating the singing of the melody part and chorus part reference data for evaluating the singing of the chorus part, an extraction means for extracting singing pitches independently from the singing voice signals of the melody part and the chorus part, and a chorus part scoring means for calculating a singing harmony pitch, which is the pitch difference between the singing pitch of the chorus part and the singing pitch of the melody part, calculating a reference harmony pitch, which is the pitch difference between the pitch of the chorus part reference data and the pitch of the melody part reference data, and scoring the singing of the chorus part based on the degree of agreement between the singing harmony pitch and the reference harmony pitch, and scores the singing of the chorus part based on the degree of agreement between the singing harmony pitch and the reference harmony pitch.

[0004] According to Patent Document 2, the karaoke scoring device compares the volume and pitch transitions of the singing signal from the first microphone (e.g., the male part) with the volume and pitch transitions of the singing signal from the second microphone (e.g., the female part), and outputs scoring data that correlates with the temporal similarity of the volume transitions and the temporal similarity of the pitch transitions, thereby scoring synchronicity when the same melody is sung in singing sections of the male and female parts that do not overlap in time (i.e., singing sections where two singers take turns singing). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-085393 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-259237 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when singing a duet song using a karaoke machine, the two singers do not necessarily alternate in singing the same melody, but may alternate in singing different melodies in the dialogue section. However, conventional karaoke machines cannot evaluate the karaoke singing in the dialogue section where the singers alternate in different melodies. For example, even if the two singers perform karaoke well in the dialogue section, they cannot receive a score that takes that into account, which can cause dissatisfaction.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a karaoke apparatus capable of evaluating karaoke singing in a call-and-response singing section in which different melodies are sung alternately. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the karaoke device of the present invention is a karaoke device that performs karaoke of a duet song having a dialogue section in which two singers take turns singing karaoke, and is characterized in having a memory unit that stores, in correspondence with the duet song, first reference data used to evaluate each of the singing voices of the two singers singing the duet song and second reference data indicating information on the introductory and building up singing of the two original singers in the dialogue section of the duet song, an acquisition unit that acquires information on the introductory and building up singing of the two singers in the dialogue section based on a comparison of the singing voices of the two singers in the dialogue section with the first reference data, and an evaluation unit that compares the information on the introductory and building up singing of the two singers in the dialogue section with the second reference data and evaluates the karaoke singing of the duet song by the two singers based on the comparison result. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, karaoke singing in a call-and-response singing section in which different melodies are sung alternately can be evaluated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a karaoke device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 is a table showing an example of a configuration of a duet song to be played by the karaoke device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 5 is a table showing an example of second reference data in the karaoke apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of evaluating karaoke singing of a duet song in the karaoke apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is a table showing an example of evaluation results of karaoke singing of duet songs in the karaoke device of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6]4 is a table showing an example of evaluation results of karaoke singing of duet songs in the karaoke device of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a karaoke device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the karaoke device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a karaoke device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the karaoke device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] [First embodiment] The karaoke device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[0012] [Karaoke equipment] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a karaoke device 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the karaoke device 1 includes a karaoke main unit 2, a first microphone 3, a second microphone 4, a speaker 5, a display device 6 such as a monitor, and a remote control device 7. The karaoke device 1 is installed in an installation location such as a karaoke room.

[0013] The karaoke main unit 2 is connected by wire or wirelessly to a first microphone 3, a second microphone 4, a speaker 5, a display device 6, and a remote control device 7. The first microphone 3 and the second microphone 4 convert the user's singing voice into an audio signal and input it to the karaoke main unit 2. The speaker 5 emits the user's voice and the karaoke performance of a song based on the sound emission signal from the karaoke main unit 2. The display device 6 displays various screens based on the video signal etc. from the karaoke main unit 2, and for example displays lyrics captions together with a background image in time with the karaoke performance.

[0014] The remote control device 7 is mainly composed of a touch panel. The remote control device 7 displays various screens and various operation buttons on the touch panel, and also accepts login operations and song selection (reservation) operations via the touch panel. The remote control device 7 and the karaoke main unit 2 are paired via wireless communication, allowing various information to be transmitted and received between them.

[0015] The remote control device 7 transmits user identification information (user ID) and the like input in response to the user's login operation to the karaoke main unit 2. The remote control device 7 accepts song searches and song selections (reservations), and transmits song identification information (song ID) of the song selected in response to the user's song selection operation to the karaoke main unit 2 as reserved song information.

[0016] The karaoke unit 2 has a function of evaluating the singing voice of the singer in addition to a function of performing karaoke of the selected song.

[0017] The karaoke main unit 2 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 11, a sound source 12, and an audio input / output unit 13. The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and controls the karaoke main unit 2. The storage unit 11 includes storage media such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a HDD (Hard Disc Drive), and stores programs and data for controlling each unit and function of the karaoke device 1.

[0018] For example, the storage unit 11 stores the user ID of each user of the karaoke device 1 to identify each user. The storage unit 11 also stores basic information such as the song ID, song title, singer name, and genre for each song that the karaoke device 1 can perform as karaoke. The storage unit 11 also stores song data for each song, which includes accompaniment data, reference data, and lyric data. The song data also includes performance section information that identifies non-singing sections such as an introduction section, an interlude section, and an end section in a song, and singing sections. The accompaniment data is data in MIDI format that is the source of accompaniment sounds for karaoke performance. The reference data is pitch information that is used as a standard for evaluating a singer's karaoke singing. The lyric data is data that is the source of lyric telops displayed on the display device 6.

[0019] The songs that the karaoke device 1 plays include duet songs having respective singing sections (singing parts) for two singers. The duet song includes a first singing part (e.g., a female part) sung by one of the two singers and a second singing part (e.g., a male part) sung by the other singer, and includes, for example, a solo section in which each singer sings solo and a choral section in which the two singers sing together.

[0020] In a duet song, the solo section includes a call-and-response section where two singers alternate (for example, a male and female singing section that do not overlap in time), and in this embodiment, for example, refers to a section where one singer sings a first part alone followed by the other singer's second part alone, and these singing parts have a corresponding relationship like a call-and-response. The chorus section includes a harmony singing section where the first and second singing parts of the two singers have a pitch difference. The song data of a duet song includes, as performance section information, information on the first and second singing parts of each call-and-response section and information on each harmony singing section.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows an example of a duet song X1 consisting of 48 bars with a male part (male voice) and a female part (female voice), and the breakdown of each bar will be explained below. Bars 01-04 are an introductory section (non-singing section). Bars 05-08 are a first dialogue section, with bars 05-06 being the female part and bars 07-08 being the male part. Bars 09-12 are a second dialogue section, with bars 09-10 being the female part and bars 11-12 being the male part. Bars 13-17 are an interlude section (non-singing section). Bars 18-25 are a third dialogue section, with bars 18-21 being the female part and bars 22-25 being the male part. Measures 26-27 are the fourth call and sing section, with measure 26 being the female part and measure 27 being the male part. Measures 28-29 are the fifth call and sing section, with measure 28 being the female part and measure 29 being the male part. Measures 30-31 are the first harmony singing section, which has both male and female parts. Measures 32-35 are the sixth call and sing section, with measures 32-33 being the female part and measures 34-35 being the male part. Measures 36-39 are the seventh call and sing section, with measure 36 being the female part and measures 37-39 being the male part. Measures 40-43 are the second harmony singing section, which has both male and female parts. Measures 44-48 are the postlude section (non-singing section).

[0022] Particularly in this embodiment, the reference data for a duet song includes first reference data used for evaluating the singing voices of two singers who sing the duet song karaoke, and second reference data indicating information on the opening and closing vocals of the two original singers in the exchange singing section of the duet song. The storage unit 11 stores the first reference data and the second reference data for a given duet song in association with the duet song (e.g., its song identification information).

[0023] The first reference data includes reference data corresponding to a first singing part sung by one of two singers and reference data corresponding to a second singing part sung by the other singer, and is created so that, for example, the vocal timing of each phrase matches the musical score of the original song.

[0024] The second reference data indicates the relationship between the vocal timing of each original singer in the voice-over singing section and the vocal timing based on the first reference data. For example, if the vocal timing of the original singer in the singing part that constitutes the voice-over singing section (for example, the vocal timing of the first sound of each phrase) is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold (for example, 50 msec) or more, the second reference data of the singing part is set to "running singing", and if it is later than the first reference data by a predetermined delay time threshold (for example, 50 msec) or more, the second reference data of the singing part is set to "holding singing", and if it does not fall under either of the above (for example, if the difference from the vocal timing based on the first reference data is less than 50 msec), the second reference data of the singing part is set to "neither".

[0025] The second reference data may be created by determining the vocal timing of each original singer in the call-and-response section based on the result of listening to the original singer singing the duet song (e.g., CD). Alternatively, the second reference data may be created by analyzing the singing voice of the duet song by each original singer using any of various analysis means such as frequency analysis using a computer to detect the vocal timing of each original singer in the call-and-response section and comparing it with the first reference data.

[0026] In the second reference data, information on the quick singing and build-up singing of each dialogue section by the two original singers A1 and A2 is available in nine patterns, such as "A1: quick singing, A2: build-up singing", "A1: build-up singing, A2: build-up singing", "A1: neither, A2: quick singing", etc., and each pattern is closely related to the atmosphere of the song and the content of the lyrics.

[0027] For example, duet songs with male and female parts often sing about the feelings of men and women, and in the dialogue section, if the leading female part sings "fast singing" and the following male part sings "build-up singing", karaoke singing with an adult atmosphere is expressed. Also, if both singers sing "build-up singing" in the dialogue section, karaoke singing with a heavy atmosphere is expressed, and for example, it is karaoke singing suitable for a song that wants to express sadness. On the other hand, if both singers sing "fast singing" in the dialogue section, karaoke singing with a light atmosphere is expressed, and for example, it is karaoke singing suitable for a song with comical lyrics. Since professional artists (original singers) are skilled in singing techniques that allow for various expressions, the karaoke device 1 configures the second reference data based on information on the original singer's "fast singing" and "build-up singing".

[0028] FIG. 3 shows an example of the second reference data based on the singing of a duet song X1 by two original singers A1 and A2, and the details of each singing section will be described below.

[0029] In the first exchange singing section, if the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "fast singing" and "build-up singing", the second reference data is set as "first exchange singing section, original singer A1: fast singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", in this case, it is original singer A1 who is singing relatively fast. In the second exchange singing section, if the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "fast singing" and "build-up singing", the second reference data is set as "second exchange singing section, original singer A1: fast singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", in this case too, it is original singer A1 who is singing relatively fast.

[0030] In the third call-and-song section, if the information on the early and late singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "late singing" and "neither", the second reference data is set as "third call-and-song section, original singer A1: late singing, original singer A2: neither", in this case, it is original singer A2 who sings relatively faster. In the fourth call-and-song section, if the information on the early and late singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "neither" and "fast singing", the second reference data is set as "fourth call-and-song section, original singer A1: neither, original singer A2: fast singing", in this case too, it is original singer A2 who sings relatively faster. In the fifth dialogue section, when the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "neither" and "fast singing", the second reference data is set as "fifth dialogue section, original singer A1: neither, original singer A2: fast singing", and in this case too, it is original singer A2 who is singing relatively faster.

[0031] In the sixth inter-singing section, if the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "quick singing" and "build-up singing", the second reference data is set as "sixth inter-singing section, original singer A1: quick singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", in which case original singer A1 is the one singing relatively quicker. In the seventh inter-singing section, if the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of original singers A1 and A2 is "build-up singing" and "build-up singing", the second reference data is set as "seventh inter-singing section, original singer A1: build-up singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", in which case both original singers A1 and A2 are "build-up singing", so there is no original singer singing relatively quicker (A1=A2).

[0032] In particular, in this embodiment, the lyric data of the duet song is stored by identifying the respective singing parts of the two singers who sing the duet song at karaoke. For example, the lyric data of the duet song is stored so as to identify the first and second singing parts of the two singers in the dialogue singing section and the harmony singing section.

[0033] The sound source 12 is, for example, a MIDI sound source, and serves as karaoke performance means for generating accompaniment sound signals for karaoke performance based on accompaniment data of music piece data.

[0034] The audio input / output unit 13 is composed of a mixer (digital mixer), an amplifier, etc., and mixes the accompaniment sound signals of the karaoke performance and the audio signals of the karaoke singing, and amplifies this mixed signal so that it can be emitted from the speaker 5. For example, the audio input / output unit 13 is communicably connected to the first microphone 3 and the second microphone 4, and inputs audio signals from each of the first microphone 3 and the second microphone 4.

[0035] The control unit 10 controls each unit and each function of the karaoke device 1 by executing calculations based on the programs and data stored in the storage unit 11. For example, the control unit 10 of the present embodiment executes the programs stored in the storage unit 11 to operate as an acquisition unit 20, an evaluation unit 21, and a presentation unit 22, and has a function of evaluating the karaoke singing of a duet song.

[0036] The acquiring unit 20 is configured to acquire information on the early singing and the late singing of the two singers in the exchange singing section based on a comparison between the singing voices of the two singers in the exchange singing section and the first reference data when the karaoke device 1 performs karaoke of a duet song. To acquire the information on the early singing and the late singing, known techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-072316 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-107330 can be used.

[0037] The acquisition unit 20 receives the first and second audio signals, which are input from the first and second microphones 3 and 4 and indicate the singing voices of the two singers, respectively, via the audio input / output unit 13. The acquisition unit 20 determines the call-and-response section based on performance section information of the music data of the duet song, and acquires the singing voices of the two singers corresponding to the call-and-response section from the first and second audio signals to obtain the first call-and-response section and the second call-and-response section. The acquisition unit 20 also compares the first call-and-response section and the second call-and-response section with first reference data to acquire information on the opening and closing singing of the two singers in the call-and-response section.

[0038] For example, a case will be described in which a duet song is composed of a first singing part and a second singing part, and singing using the first microphone 3 corresponds to the first singing part, and singing using the second microphone 4 corresponds to the second singing part. The acquisition unit 20 acquires a first vocalization standard and a second vocalization standard as the vocalization timings of the first and second singing parts in the corresponding exchange singing section in the first reference data, and also acquires a first vocalization timing and a second vocalization timing as the vocalization timings of the first exchange singing and the second exchange singing of the two singers in the corresponding exchange singing section.

[0039] Then, the acquisition unit 20 compares the first vocalization standard of the first singing part with the first vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing, and if the first vocalization timing is earlier than the first vocalization standard by a predetermined running time threshold or more, it judges the first call-and-response singing to be "running singing", if the first vocalization timing is later than the first vocalization standard by a predetermined build-up time threshold or more, it judges the first call-and-response singing to be "build-up singing", and if neither of these apply (if the first vocalization timing is later than the predetermined running time threshold and earlier than the predetermined build-up time threshold), it judges the first call-and-response singing to be "neither".

[0040] Similarly, the acquisition unit 20 compares the second vocalization standard of the second singing part with the second vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing, and if the second vocalization timing is earlier than the second vocalization standard by a predetermined running time threshold or more, it judges the second call-and-response singing to be "running singing", if the second vocalization timing is later than the second vocalization standard by a predetermined build-up time threshold or more, it judges the second call-and-response singing to be "build-up singing", and if neither of these apply (if the second vocalization timing is later than the predetermined running time threshold and earlier than the predetermined build-up time threshold), it judges the second call-and-response singing to be "neither".

[0041] When determining which of the first and second audio signals obtained from the first and second microphones 3 and 4 corresponds to which of the first and second singing parts of the duet song, the acquisition unit 20 may make the determination based on the utterance timings of the first and second audio signals and the utterance timings of the first and second singing parts. That is, of the first and second audio signals, the audio signal closer to the utterance timing of the first singing part may be determined to correspond to the first singing part, and the audio signal closer to the utterance timing of the second singing part may be determined to correspond to the second singing part.

[0042] The evaluation unit 21 is basically configured to evaluate the singing voice sung by the singer along with the karaoke performance of the song, and calculate score information as the evaluation result. Specifically, the evaluation unit 21 acquires the first and second audio signals input from the first and second microphones 3 and 4 by the karaoke main unit 2 via the audio input / output unit 13, and evaluates the singing voice by comparing them with reference data of the song stored in the storage unit 11.

[0043] Particularly in this embodiment, the evaluation unit 21 is configured to evaluate the karaoke singing of a duet song by two singers when the karaoke device 1 performs a karaoke performance of the duet song. At this time, the evaluation unit 21 compares the first and second audio signals input from the first and second microphones 3 and 4 with reference data corresponding to the first and second singing parts in the first reference data, and evaluates and scores the singing voices of the first and second audio signals based on the comparison result.

[0044] For example, the evaluation unit 21 evaluates the pitch accuracy and singing technique of the singing voice indicated by the first audio signal, and scores the first singing part based on the first audio signal on a scale of 40 points, and also evaluates the pitch accuracy and singing technique of the singing voice indicated by the second audio signal, and scores the second singing part based on the second audio signal on a scale of 40 points, and further scores the harmony singing section including both the first singing part and the second singing part on a scale of 10 points.

[0045] Furthermore, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the early singing and the late singing of the two singers in the exchange singing section acquired by the acquisition unit 20 with the second reference data, and evaluates and scores the singing voices of the exchange singing section based on the comparison result. For example, the evaluation unit 21 scores the exchange singing section including both the first singing part and the second singing part on a scale of 10 points.

[0046] Then, the evaluation unit 21 calculates overall scoring information for the karaoke singing of the duet song based on the scoring information for the first audio signal (first singing part), the scoring information for the second audio signal (second singing part), the scoring information for the harmony singing section, and the scoring information for the call-and-response singing section, and scores the karaoke singing of the duet song, for example, out of a maximum of 100 points.

[0047] The presentation unit 22 is configured to display the scoring information of the karaoke singing evaluated by the evaluation unit 21 on the display device 6 or the remote control device 7 to present it to the user. At this time, the presentation unit 22 may display not only the overall scoring information of the karaoke singing of the duet song, but also the scoring information of the first audio signal (first singing part), the scoring information of the second audio signal (second singing part), the scoring information of the harmony singing section, and the scoring information of the call-and-response singing section individually, and may also display the scoring results of a plurality of scoring items (e.g., pitch accuracy, rhythm, vibrato, etc.) for the scoring information of the first audio signal (first singing part), the scoring information of the second audio signal (second singing part), and the scoring information of the harmony singing section.

[0048] [Evaluation Operation of the First Embodiment] Next, in the first embodiment, when two singers U1 and U2 sing karaoke of the duet piece X1 shown in Fig. 2, the evaluation operation of the karaoke device 1 that evaluates the karaoke singing using the second reference data shown in Fig. 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the evaluation operation of the karaoke device 1 of the first embodiment.

[0049] First, when one of the two singers U1 and U2 operates the remote control device 7 to reserve the duet song X1, the control unit 10 of the karaoke main unit 2 registers the reserved song information of the duet song X1 received from the remote control device 7 in the reservation management table of the storage unit 11. The control unit 10 reads out the reserved song information of the duet song X1 from the reservation management table, and reads out from the storage unit 11 the song data of the duet song X1 that corresponds to the song ID of the reserved song information.

[0050] The karaoke main unit 2 starts karaoke performance of the duet song X1 (step S1), reads out the song data of the duet song X1 from the storage unit 11, performs karaoke performance of the duet song X1 using the sound source 12 and the audio input / output unit 13, and emits the accompaniment sound of the duet song X1 from the speaker 5. When the singers U1 and U2 sing karaoke in time with the karaoke performance using the first microphone 3 and the second microphone 4, respectively, the singing voice is emitted from the speaker 5 together with the accompaniment sound of the duet song X1.

[0051] The karaoke main unit 2 also displays lyrics telop on the display device 6 based on the lyrics data of the duet song X1, changes the display mode (e.g., color, etc.) of the lyrics telop according to the performance section information of the song data, and further displays the lyrics telop of the first singing part (e.g., female part) and the lyrics telop of the second singing part (e.g., male part) of the duet song X1 in a manner that makes them distinguishable by color, etc. For example, the display mode of the lyrics telop displays the sung part and the unsung part in a manner that makes them distinguishable by color, etc., and determines in real time the timing when the lyrics have been sung according to the performance section information, and changes the lyrics telop of the unsung part to the sung part based on this timing. In other words, the display switching timing (e.g., color change timing) at which the unsung part of the lyrics telop is switched to the sung part is based on the song data.

[0052] In the karaoke performance of the duet song X1, first, the introductory section (measures 01 to 04) is performed (step S2: NO).

[0053] Next, when the first call-and-response singing section (measures 05-08) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires a first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measures 05-06) of the first call-and-response singing section from the first voice signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U1. The acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of the singer U1 with the first reference data in the first singing part (measures 05-06) of the first call-and-response singing section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the difference in vocalization timing between the singer U1 and the first reference data is less than a predetermined running time threshold and less than a predetermined accumulation time threshold, the acquisition unit 20 determines the first singing part (measures 05-06) of the first call-and-response singing section by the singer U1 as "neither".

[0054] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (bars 07-08) of the first call-and-response section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (bars 07-08) of the first call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U2 is slower than the first reference data by a predetermined hold time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the second singing part (bars 07-08) of the first call-and-response section by the singer U2 to be "hold-and-response singing". Then, the acquisition unit 20 acquires information on the early singing and the build-up singing in the first exchange singing section, as shown in FIG. 5, such as "first exchange singing section, singer U1: neither, singer U2: build-up singing, relatively early: U1" (step S3).

[0055] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the opening and closing vocals of the first exchange section of the two singers U1 and U2 with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the first exchange section based on the comparison result (step S4). For example, in the first interlocution singing section, the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the two singers U1 and U2 is "first interlocution singing section, singer U1: neither, singer U2: build-up singing, relatively quick: U1" and the second reference data is "first interlocution singing section, original singer A1: early singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", i.e., "relatively quick: A1", the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the first singing part of both singers is inconsistent, but the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the second singing part of both singers is consistent, and the relative relationship that the singing of the first singing part is relatively quick and the singing of the second singing part is relatively quick is consistent. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the evaluation of the first interlocution singing section as 5.0 points and stores it in the storage unit 11.

[0056] Next, when the second call-and-response section (measures 09-12) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires a first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measures 09-10) of the second call-and-response section from the first voice signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U1. The acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of the singer U1 with the first reference data in the first singing part (measures 09-10) of the second call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U1 is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the first singing part (measures 09-10) of the second call-and-response section by the singer U1 as "running singing".

[0057] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (bars 11-12) of the second call-and-response section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (bars 11-12) of the second call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U2 is slower than the first reference data by a predetermined hold time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the second singing part (bars 11-12) of the second call-and-response section by the singer U2 to be "hold-and-response singing". Then, the acquisition unit 20 acquires information on the accelerated singing and build-up singing of the second call-and-response singing section, such as "second call-and-response singing section, singer U1: accelerated singing, singer U2: build-up singing, relatively accelerated: U1," as shown in FIG. 5 (step S3).

[0058] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the opening and closing vocals of the second exchange section of the two singers U1 and U2 with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the second exchange section based on the comparison result (step S4). For example, in the second inter-singing section, when the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the two singers U1 and U2 is "second inter-singing section, singer U1: quick singing, singer U2: build-up singing, relatively quick: U1" and the second reference data is "second inter-singing section, original singer A1: quick singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", that is, "relatively quick: A1", the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the first singing part of both singers is the same, and the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the second singing part of both singers is the same, and the relative relationship in which the singing of the first singing part is relatively quick and the singing of the second singing part is relatively quick is also the same. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the evaluation of the second inter-singing section as 10.0 points and stores it in the storage unit 11.

[0059] Next, after the interlude section (measures 13-17) is performed (step S2: NO), when the third call-and-response section (measures 18-25) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires a first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measures 18-21) of the third call-and-response section from the first voice signal indicating the singing voice of singer U1. In the first singing part (measures 18-21) of the third call-and-response section, the acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of singer U1 with the first reference data, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the difference in vocalization timing between singer U1 and the first reference data is less than a predetermined running time threshold and less than a predetermined accumulation time threshold, the acquisition unit 20 judges the first singing part (measures 18 to 21) of the third call-and-response singing section by singer U1 to be "neither."

[0060] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (measures 22-25) of the third call-and-response section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (measures 22-25) of the third call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U2 is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the second singing part (measures 22-25) of the third call-and-response section by the singer U2 to be a "running singing". Then, the acquisition unit 20 acquires information on the early singing and the build-up singing in the third call-and-response singing section, as shown in FIG. 5, "third call-and-response singing section, singer U1: neither, singer U2: early singing, relatively early: U2" (step S3).

[0061] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the opening and closing vocals of the two singers U1 and U2 in the third exchange section with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the third exchange section based on the comparison result (step S4). For example, in the third interlocution singing section, when the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the two singers U1 and U2 is "third interlocution singing section, singer U1: neither, singer U2: early singing, relatively early: U2", and the second reference data is "third interlocution singing section, original singer A1: build-up singing, original singer A2: neither", that is, "relatively early: A2", the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the first singing part of both singers is inconsistent, and the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the second singing part of both singers is inconsistent, but the relative relationship that the singing of the first singing part is relatively early and the singing of the second singing part is relatively early is consistent. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the evaluation of the third interlocution singing section as 5.0 points and stores it in the storage unit 11.

[0062] Next, when the fourth call-and-response section (measures 26-27) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires a first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measure 26) of the fourth call-and-response section from the first audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U1. The acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of the singer U1 with the first reference data in the first singing part (measure 26) of the fourth call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U1 is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the first singing part (measure 26) of the fourth call-and-response section by the singer U1 to be a "running singing".

[0063] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (measure 27) of the fourth call-and-response singing section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (measure 27) of the fourth call-and-response singing section to acquire the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the difference in vocalization timing between the singer U2 and the first reference data is less than a predetermined running time threshold and less than a predetermined accumulation time threshold, the acquisition unit 20 determines the second singing part (measure 27) of the fourth call-and-response singing section by the singer U2 to be "neither." Then, the acquisition unit 20 acquires information on the accelerated singing and build-up singing in the fourth call-and-response singing section, as shown in FIG. 5, as "fourth call-and-response singing section, singer U1: accelerated singing, singer U2: neither, relatively accelerated: U1" (step S3).

[0064] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the early and late singing of the two singers U1 and U2 in the fourth exchange singing section with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the fourth exchange singing section based on the comparison result (step S4). As an example, if the information on the early and late singing of the two singers U1 and U2 in the fourth exchange singing section is "fourth exchange singing section, singer U1: early singing, singer U2: neither, relatively quick: U1" and the second reference data is "fourth exchange singing section, original singer A1: neither, original singer A2: early singing", i.e., "relatively quick: A2", then The information on the early singing and the late singing of the first singing part is not consistent, and the information on the early singing and the late singing of the second singing parts of both singers is not consistent, and in the singing of the two singers U1 and U2, singer U1 (first singing part) is relatively quick, while in the singing of the two original singers A1 and A2 (second reference data), original singer A2 (second singing part) is relatively quick, and the relative relationship between the two singers is reversed. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the evaluation of the fourth exchange singing section as 0.0 points and stores it in the memory unit 11.

[0065] Next, when the fifth call-and-response section (measures 28-29) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires a first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measure 28) of the fifth call-and-response section from the first audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U1. The acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of the singer U1 with the first reference data in the first singing part (measure 28) of the fifth call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U1 is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the first singing part (measure 28) of the fifth call-and-response section by the singer U1 as "running singing".

[0066] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (measure 29) of the fifth call-and-response section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (measure 29) of the fifth call-and-response section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U2 is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the second singing part (measure 29) of the fifth call-and-response section by the singer U2 to be a "running singing". The acquisition unit 20 then acquires "5th call-and-response section, singer U1: rushing singing, singer U2: rushing singing, relatively rushing: U1=U2" as information on the rushing and building up singing in the 5th call-and-response section, as shown in Fig. 5 (step S3). In this case, since both singers U1 and U2 are "rushing singing", there is no singer who is singing relatively rushing as described above.

[0067] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the opening and closing vocals of the fifth exchange section of the two singers U1 and U2 with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the fifth exchange section based on the comparison result (step S4). As an example, in the fifth dialogue section, the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of the two singers U1 and U2 is "Fifth dialogue section, singer U1: fast singing, singer U2: fast singing, relatively fast: U1=U2", and the second reference data is "Fifth dialogue section, original singer A1: neither, original singer A2: fast singing", i.e., "relatively fast: A2", then the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of the first singing parts of both singers is inconsistent, but the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of the second singing parts of both singers is inconsistent, and while neither of the singers U1 and U2 is in a fast manner, the singing of the two original singers A1 and A2 (second reference data) shows that original singer A2 (second singing part) is relatively fast, and although the relative relationship between the two is not reversed, they are inconsistent. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the fifth exchange singing section at 2.5 points and stores the score in the storage unit 11.

[0068] Next, after the first harmony singing section (measures 30-31) is performed (step S2: NO), when the sixth call-and-response singing section (measures 32-35) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires the first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measures 32-33) of the sixth call-and-response singing section from the first voice signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U1. The acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of the singer U1 with the first reference data in the first singing part (measures 32-33) of the sixth call-and-response singing section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U1 is earlier than the first reference data by a predetermined running time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the first singing part (measures 32-33) of the sixth call-and-response singing section by the singer U1 as "running singing".

[0069] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (bars 34-35) of the sixth call-and-response singing section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (bars 34-35) of the sixth call-and-response singing section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the vocalization timing of the singer U2 is slower than the first reference data by a predetermined hold time threshold or more, the acquisition unit 20 judges the second singing part (bars 34-35) of the sixth call-and-response singing section by the singer U2 to be a "hold-and-response singing". Then, the acquisition unit 20 acquires information on the early singing and the build-up singing in the sixth call-and-response singing section, as shown in FIG. 5, as "sixth call-and-response singing section, singer U1: early singing, singer U2: build-up singing, relatively early: U1" (step S3).

[0070] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the opening and closing vocals of the six exchange singing section of the two singers U1 and U2 with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the sixth exchange singing section based on the comparison result (step S4). For example, in the sixth inter-singing section, when the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the two singers U1 and U2 is "sixth inter-singing section, singer U1: quick singing, singer U2: build-up singing, relatively quick: U1" and the second reference data is "sixth inter-singing section, original singer A1: quick singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", that is, "relatively quick: A1", the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the first singing part of both singers is the same, and the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the second singing part of both singers is the same, and the relative relationship in which the singing of the first singing part is relatively quick and the singing of the second singing part is relatively quick is also the same. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the evaluation of the sixth inter-singing section as 10.0 points and stores it in the storage unit 11.

[0071] Next, when the seventh call-and-response singing section (measures 36-39) is performed (step S2: YES), the acquisition unit 20 acquires a first call-and-response singing corresponding to the first singing part (measure 36) of the seventh call-and-response singing section from the first voice signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U1. The acquisition unit 20 compares the first call-and-response singing of the singer U1 with the first reference data in the first singing part (measure 36) of the seventh call-and-response singing section, and acquires the vocalization timing of the first call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the difference in vocalization timing between the singer U1 and the first reference data is less than a predetermined running time threshold and less than a predetermined accumulation time threshold, the acquisition unit 20 determines the first singing part (measure 36) of the seventh call-and-response singing section by the singer U1 as "neither".

[0072] The acquisition unit 20 also acquires a second call-and-response singing corresponding to the second singing part (bars 37-39) of the seventh call-and-response singing section from the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of the singer U2. The acquisition unit 20 compares the second call-and-response singing of the singer U2 with the first reference data in the second singing part (bars 37-39) of the seventh call-and-response singing section to acquire the vocalization timing of the second call-and-response singing relative to the first reference data. As an example, if the difference in vocalization timing between the singer U2 and the first reference data is less than a predetermined running time threshold and less than a predetermined accumulation time threshold, the acquisition unit 20 determines the second singing part (bars 37-39) of the seventh call-and-response singing section by the singer U2 as "neither". The acquisition unit 20 then acquires "7th call-and-response section, singer U1: neither, singer U2: neither, relatively quick: U1=U2" as information on the quick singing and the build-up singing in the 7th call-and-response section, as shown in Fig. 5 (step S3). In this case, since both singers U1 and U2 are "neither," there is no singer singing relatively quick, as described above.

[0073] Next, the evaluation unit 21 compares the information on the opening and closing vocals of the seventh exchange section of the two singers U1 and U2 with the second reference data, and evaluates the singing of the seventh exchange section based on the comparison result (step S4). For example, in the seventh call-and-response section, when the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the two singers U1 and U2 is "seventh call-and-response section, singer U1: neither, singer U2: neither, relatively quick: U1=U2" and the second reference data is "seventh call-and-response section, original singer A1: build-up singing, original singer A2: build-up singing", that is, "relatively quick: A1=A2", the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the first singing part of both singers is inconsistent, and the information on the quick singing and the build-up singing of the second singing part of both singers is inconsistent, but the relative relationship that neither of the singing in the first singing part and the second singing part is quick is consistent. In this case, the evaluation unit 21 scores the evaluation of the seventh call-and-response section as 5.0 points and stores it in the storage unit 11.

[0074] Next, after the second harmony singing section (measures 40-43) is performed (step S2: NO), the postlude section (measures 44-48) is performed (step S2: NO), and the karaoke performance of the duet song X1 ends (step S5: YES).

[0075] When the karaoke performance of the duet song X1 is completed, the evaluation unit 21 compares the first audio signal indicating the singing voice of singer U1 with the first reference data to evaluate the singing voice of singer U1, scoring it as 35.0 points, for example, as shown in Fig. 6, and compares the second audio signal indicating the singing voice of singer U2 with the first reference data to evaluate the singing voice of singer U2, scoring it as 37.5 points, for example. The evaluation unit 21 also compares the first and second audio signals of the first and second harmony singing sections with the first reference data to evaluate the singing voice of the harmony singing sections, scoring it as 7.2 points, for example.

[0076] Furthermore, the evaluation unit 21 evaluates the singing voice of the call-and-response section based on the evaluation results of the first call-and-response section to the seventh call-and-response section, and as an example, averages the scores for the first call-and-response section to the seventh call-and-response section to give a score of 5.4 points as shown in Fig. 6. The evaluation unit 21 then evaluates the karaoke singing of the duet song X1 based on the evaluation results of the singing voice of singer U1, the evaluation results of the singing voice of singer U2, the evaluation results of the harmony singing section, and the evaluation results of the call-and-response section, and as an example, gives a score of 85.1 points by summing the scores.

[0077] The presentation unit 22 then displays and presents the evaluation result of the karaoke singing of the duet song X1 made by the evaluation unit 21 on the display device 6 and the remote control device 7 (step S6).

[0078] As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the karaoke device 1 is a karaoke device for performing karaoke of a duet song having a call-and-response section in which two singers alternately sing karaoke, and includes a memory unit 11 for storing, in association with the duet song, first reference data used for evaluating each of the singing voices of the two singers singing the duet song and second reference data indicating information on the introductory and building up singing of the two original singers in the call-and-response section of the duet song, an acquisition unit 20 for acquiring information on the introductory and building up singing of the two singers in the call-and-response section based on a comparison of the singing voices of the two singers in the call-and-response section with the first reference data, and an evaluation unit 21 for comparing the information on the introductory and building up singing of the two singers in the call-and-response section with the second reference data, and evaluating the karaoke singing of the duet song by the two singers based on the comparison result.

[0079] This allows, when a duet song is sung using the karaoke device 1, to evaluate not only the karaoke singing of each singing part, but also the karaoke singing in the back-and-forth singing section where the singers alternately sing different melodies. Therefore, for example, if two singers perform karaoke well in the back-and-forth singing section, the score will take that into consideration, which can liven up the atmosphere and encourage the singing of duet songs. [Variations]

[0080] Furthermore, in the karaoke device 1 of the first embodiment, as a modified example, the presentation unit 22 may be configured to present advice regarding fast singing and building up singing in the exchange singing section of the duet song to at least one of the two singers who sang the duet song based on the evaluation result of the karaoke singing of the duet song by the evaluation unit 21.

[0081] The presentation unit 22 may present, as advice, that the opening and closing parts of the singer's karaoke singing in the call-and-response section are different from those of the original singer, and may present recommended opening and closing parts. The presentation unit 22 may also present, as advice, that the opening and closing parts of the singer's karaoke singing in the call-and-response section are the same as those of the original singer and therefore are highly evaluated. The presentation unit 22 may present the advice by displaying a message on the display device 6 or the remote control device 7, or may present the advice by creating a sound and emitting it through the speaker 5.

[0082] For example, in the first singing section of duet song X1, the second reference data for the first singing part is "fast singing", whereas the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of singer U1 is "neither". On the other hand, in the first singing section, the second reference data for the second singing part is "build-up singing", whereas the information on the fast singing and build-up singing of singer U2 is "build-up singing".

[0083] In this case, the presentation unit 22 creates and presents advice such as, "U1 is singing '(the first singing part of the first dialogue section)' in accordance with the timing of the music score. Singer A1 is singing quickly. By singing quickly, you can better match the atmosphere of song X1," or, "U2 is singing '(the second singing part of the first dialogue section)' with a build-up. Singer A2 is singing with a build-up. The atmosphere of song X1 is well conveyed."

[0084] Thus, based on the evaluation result of the karaoke singing in the singing-along section of the duet song, the presentation unit 22 not only presents the evaluation result of the karaoke singing, but also gives advice on fast singing and building up singing in the singing-along section, thereby supporting the singer in singing duets and encouraging duet singing.

[0085] In the above first embodiment, an example has been described in which the second reference data indicating information on the early singing and build-up singing of the call-and-response section by the original singer of the duet song, and information on the early singing and build-up singing of the call-and-response section acquired by the acquisition unit 20 from the singer's karaoke singing, are classified into three levels, namely "early singing," "build-up singing," and "neither," with respect to vocalization standards based on the first reference data; however, the present invention is not limited to this example.

[0086] In another example, with regard to information on early singing and delayed singing in the call-and-response section set as the second reference data, or information on early singing and delayed singing in the call-and-response section obtained from the singer singing karaoke, ``early singing'', which is early compared to the vocal standard based on the first reference data, may be further classified into multiple stages, and ``delayed singing'' may be further classified into multiple stages.

[0087] In this case, a plurality of different running time thresholds are preset with the vocalization timing of the call-and-response section of the first reference data as the vocalization standard, and a plurality of different accumulation time thresholds are preset. Then, the vocalization timing of the call-and-response section by the original singer's singing or the singer's karaoke singing is expressed as a time amount relative to the vocalization standard, and the degree of "rushing singing" or "accumulating singing" is quantified by comparing this time amount with the running time threshold or the accumulation time threshold. As an example, the information on the rushing singing and accumulation singing in the call-and-response section is classified as one of "rushing singing 5", "rushing singing 4", "rushing singing 3", "rushing singing 2", "rushing singing 1", "0 (neither)", "accumulating singing 1", "accumulating singing 2", "accumulating singing 3", "accumulating singing 4", and "accumulating singing 5". In addition, by setting upper limits for the running time threshold and the holding time threshold, if the vocalization timing exceeds the upper limits relative to the vocalization standard, the singing will not be judged or evaluated as "running singing" or "holding singing", and points will be deducted as a singing error in the scoring information for each singing part.

[0088] [Second embodiment] A karaoke device 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the karaoke device 1 according to the second embodiment. In the description of the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0089] In addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the karaoke device 1 of the second embodiment is configured to store an evaluation result of karaoke singing of a duet song, and correct the timing of switching the display of lyric subtitles based on the evaluation result during the next karaoke performance of the duet song.

[0090] In the second embodiment, the control unit 10, similar to the first embodiment, operates as an acquisition unit 20, an evaluation unit 21, and a presentation unit 22 by executing a program stored in the memory unit 11, and further operates as a first correction unit 30.

[0091] In the second embodiment, after the karaoke performance of a duet song sung by two singers is completed, the storage unit 11 stores the evaluation result of the karaoke singing of the duet song evaluated by the evaluation unit 21 in association with the two singers (user identification information) and the duet song (song identification information). The user identification information of the two singers is information inputted when logging in to the karaoke device 1, and the song identification information of the duet song is information inputted when selecting (reserving) the duet song.

[0092] The first correction section 30 is configured to correct the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop between the unsung and sung parts (for example, the timing of changing the color) based on the evaluation result of the karaoke singing of the duet song.

[0093] 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of the karaoke device 1 of the second embodiment. First, when two singers are logged in to the karaoke device 1 and one of the two singers selects (reserves) a duet song (step S11), the first correction unit 30 checks whether an evaluation result of a previous karaoke performance of the duet song by the two singers is stored in the storage unit 11 based on the user identification information of the two singers and the song identification information of the duet song (step S12).

[0094] If such an evaluation result is stored in the storage unit 11 (step S12: YES), the first correction unit 30 corrects the display switching timing of the unsung and sung parts of the lyrics caption in the current karaoke performance of the duet song based on the evaluation result (step S13). At this time, if the early singing and the build-up singing information of the past evaluation result in a given singing exchange section differs from the early singing and the build-up singing information indicated by the second reference data, the first correction unit 30 corrects the display switching timing of the lyrics caption so that the vocal timing of the singer in the singing exchange section approaches the second reference data.

[0095] As a result, when the karaoke device 1 performs the karaoke of the selected (reserved) duet song (step S14), when displaying lyrics captions on the display device 6 based on the lyrics data of the duet song, the karaoke device 1 can display the lyrics captions at a display switching timing corrected based on the past evaluation results (step S15).

[0096] Specifically, when past evaluation results of karaoke singing of duet song X1 as shown in FIG. 5 are stored in memory unit 11 for second reference data as shown in FIG. 2, first correction unit 30 refers to these evaluation results.

[0097] At this time, in the first singing part of the first interlocution singing section, the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "running singing", whereas the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing of the singer U1 is "neither". Therefore, in order to encourage the singer U1 to sing in a relatively rushing manner, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the first singing part of the first interlocution singing section to be earlier by a predetermined time (for example, 50 msec). Also, in the second singing part of the first interlocution singing section, the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "build-up singing", and the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing of the singer U2 is also "build-up singing". In this way, when the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing of both singers matches, the first correction unit 30 does not correct the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the second singing part of the first interlocution singing section.

[0098] In the second call-and-response singing section, the information on the early singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data matches the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of singers U1 and U2 in both the first singing part and the second singing part, so the first correction unit 30 does not correct the timing of switching the display of the lyric captions for the first singing part and the second singing part in the second call-and-response singing section.

[0099] In the first singing part of the third inter-singing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "building up singing", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of the singer U1 is "neither". In order to encourage the singer U1 to sing with a relatively building up tone, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the first singing part of the third inter-singing section to be delayed by a predetermined time. In addition, in the second singing part of the third inter-singing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "neither", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of the singer U2 is "running up singing". In order to encourage the singer U2 to sing with a relatively building up tone, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the second singing part of the third inter-singing section to be delayed by a predetermined time.

[0100] In the first singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section, the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "neither", whereas the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing of the singer U1 is "running singing". In order to encourage the singer U1 to sing in a relatively build-up style, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the first singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section to be delayed by a predetermined time. In addition, in the second singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section, the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "running singing", whereas the information on the rushing singing and the build-up singing of the singer U2 is "neither". In order to encourage the singer U2 to sing in a relatively build-up style, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the second singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section to be advanced by a predetermined time.

[0101] In the first singing part of the fifth inter-singing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "neither", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of the singer U1 is "running singing". Therefore, in order to encourage the singer U1 to sing with a relatively building up tone, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the first singing part of the fifth inter-singing section to be delayed by a predetermined time. In addition, in the second singing part of the fifth inter-singing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "running singing", and the information on the rushing and building up singing of the singer U2 is also "running singing". In this way, when the information on the rushing and building up singing of both singers matches, the first correction unit 30 does not correct the timing of switching the display of the lyrics telop of the second singing part of the fifth inter-singing section.

[0102] In the sixth exchange singing section, since the information on the early singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data matches the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of singers U1 and U2 in both the first singing part and the second singing part, the first correction unit 30 does not correct the timing of switching the display of the lyric captions for the first singing part and the second singing part in the sixth exchange singing section.

[0103] In the first singing part of the seventh singing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "building up singing", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of singer U1 is "neither". Therefore, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics caption of the first singing part of the seventh singing section to delay it by a predetermined time in order to encourage singer U1 to sing with a relatively building up tone. Also, in the second singing part of the seventh singing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "building up singing", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of singer U2 is "neither". Therefore, in order to encourage singer U2 to sing with a relatively long pause, the first correction unit 30 corrects the timing of switching the display of the lyrics caption for the second singing part in the seventh singing exchange section by delaying it by a predetermined time.

[0104] According to the second embodiment, the karaoke device 1 reflects the evaluation result of the duet song's previous singing of the duet song in the timing of switching the display of the lyrics caption when the duet song is performed karaoke this time. This allows the singer's tendency of quick singing and slow singing when singing the duet song karaoke to be closer to that of the second reference data (i.e., the original singer).

[0105] In the second embodiment, the memory unit 11 that stores the evaluation results of karaoke singing of duet songs may always store the most recent evaluation results, or may update and store the evaluation results each time a higher evaluation result is obtained, or may allow the singer to choose whether or not to store the evaluation result when it is obtained.

[0106] [Third embodiment] Hereinafter, a karaoke device 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the karaoke device 1 according to the third embodiment. In the description of the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0107] The karaoke device 1 of the third embodiment is configured to store singing voices of duet songs sung in karaoke, and to correct the vocal timing of the stored singing voices in the call-and-response singing sections based on the second reference data, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment.

[0108] In the third embodiment, the control unit 10, similar to the first embodiment, operates as an acquisition unit 20, an evaluation unit 21, and a presentation unit 22 by executing a program stored in the memory unit 11, and further operates as a second correction unit 40.

[0109] In the third embodiment, the storage unit 11 acquires, via the audio input / output unit 13, a first audio signal and a second audio signal, each of which indicates the singing voices of two singers singing a duet song as karaoke, records the signals as recorded voices, and stores the signals in association with the two singers (user identification information) and the duet song (song identification information). The user identification information of the two singers is information inputted when logging in to the karaoke device 1, and the song identification information of the duet song is information inputted when the duet song is selected (reserved).

[0110] The second correction section 40 is configured to correct the opening and closing vocals of a call-and-response section in a recorded voice obtained by recording karaoke singing of a duet song by two singers, based on the evaluation result of the karaoke singing of the duet song and the second reference data.

[0111] 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the karaoke device 1 of the third embodiment. First, when one of the two singers U1 and U2 operates the remote control device 7 to set the recording mode with correction and reserve the duet piece X1, the karaoke main unit 2 starts playing the duet piece X1 (step S21) and emits the accompaniment sound of the duet piece X1 from the speaker 5 via the audio input / output unit 13.

[0112] When the karaoke performance of the duet song X1 begins, the karaoke main unit 2, being in the correction recording mode, starts recording the karaoke singing of the two singers U1 and U2 (step S22), acquires the first audio signal and the second audio signal representing the singing voices of the two singers U1 and U2 input from the first microphone 3 and the second microphone 4 respectively via the audio input / output unit 13, records them as recorded audio, and stores them in the memory unit 11.

[0113] The karaoke main unit 2 proceeds with the karaoke performance of the duet song X1 in the same manner as the evaluation operation (steps S2 to S6) of the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and when the karaoke performance of the duet song X1 is completed, the karaoke singing of the duet song X1 by the two singers U1 and U2 is evaluated by the evaluation unit 21 and the evaluation result is presented by the presentation unit 22 (steps S23 to S27).

[0114] Next, when one of the two singers U1 and U2 operates the remote control device 7 to instruct playback of the recorded voice of the karaoke singing of the duet song X1, the second correction unit 40 acquires the recorded voice corresponding to the karaoke singing of the duet song X1 by the two singers U1 and U2 from the storage unit 11. Since the second correction unit 40 is in the correction recording mode, it corrects the initial singing and the build-up singing in the call-and-response section of the acquired recorded voice based on the evaluation result of the karaoke singing that is the basis of the recorded voice and the second reference data (step S28). The karaoke device 1 outputs the recorded voice, the utterance timing of which has been corrected by the second correction unit 40, to the speaker 5 via the audio input / output unit 13 to emit the sound (step S29).

[0115] In addition, the second correction unit 40 may correct the recorded audio and store it in the memory unit 11 when the karaoke singing of the duet song is completed, or may store the recorded audio as it is in the memory unit 11 when the karaoke singing of the duet song is completed and correct the recorded audio when it is played back.

[0116] Specifically, the second correction unit 40 corrects the recorded voice in the case where the karaoke singing of the duet song X1 is evaluated as shown in FIG. 5, by using the second reference data as shown in FIG.

[0117] At this time, in the first singing part of the first call singing section, the information on the rush singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "running singing", whereas the information on the rush singing and the build-up singing of the singer U1 is "neither". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of vocalization to be earlier so that the recorded voice of the singer U1 in the first singing part of the first call singing section becomes "running singing" similar to the second reference data. Also, in the second singing part of the first call singing section, the information on the rush singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "build-up singing", and the information on the rush singing and the build-up singing of the singer U2 is also "build-up singing". In this way, when the information on the rush singing and the build-up singing of both parties matches, the second correction unit 40 does not correct the recorded voice of the singer U2 in the second singing part of the first call singing section.

[0118] In the second singing exchange section, in both the first singing part and the second singing part, the information on the early singing and the late singing indicated by the second reference data matches the information on the early singing and the late singing of singers U1 and U2, so the second correction unit 40 does not correct the recorded voices of singers U1 and U2 in the first singing part and the second singing part of the second singing exchange section.

[0119] In the first singing part of the third call-and-sing section, the information on the early singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "build-up singing", whereas the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the singer U1 is "neither". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of the vocalization by delaying it so that the recorded voice of the singer U1 becomes "build-up singing" similar to the second reference data in the first singing part of the third call-and-sing section. Also, in the second singing part of the third call-and-sing section, the information on the early singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "neither", whereas the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the singer U2 is "running singing". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of the vocalization by delaying it so that the recorded voice of the singer U2 becomes "neither" similar to the second reference data in the second singing part of the third call-and-sing section.

[0120] In the first singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "neither", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of the singer U1 is "running singing". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of the vocalization by delaying it so that the recorded voice of the singer U1 becomes "neither" like the second reference data in the first singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section. Also, in the second singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section, the information on the rushing and building up singing indicated by the second reference data is "running singing", whereas the information on the rushing and building up singing of the singer U2 is "neither". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of the vocalization by advancing it so that the recorded voice of the singer U2 becomes "running singing" like the second reference data in the second singing part of the fourth call-and-sing section.

[0121] In the first singing part of the fifth call-and-sing section, the information on the rushing and build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "neither", whereas the information on the rushing and build-up singing of the singer U1 is "running singing". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the recorded voice of the singer U1 by delaying the vocalization timing so that the recorded voice of the singer U1 in the first singing part of the fifth call-and-sing section becomes "neither" like the second reference data. Also, in the second singing part of the fifth call-and-sing section, the information on the rushing and build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "running singing", and the information on the rushing and build-up singing of the singer U2 is also "running singing". In this way, when the information on the rushing and build-up singing of both singers matches, the second correction unit 40 does not correct the recorded voice of the singer U2 in the second singing part of the fifth call-and-sing section.

[0122] In the sixth exchange singing section, in both the first singing part and the second singing part, the information on the early singing and the late singing indicated by the second reference data matches the information on the early singing and the late singing of singers U1 and U2, so the second correction unit 40 does not correct the recorded voices of singers U1 and U2 in the first singing part and the second singing part of the sixth exchange singing section.

[0123] In the first singing part of the seventh call-and-sing section, the information on the early singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "build-up singing", whereas the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the singer U1 is "neither". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of the vocalization by delaying it so that the recorded voice of the singer U1 becomes "build-up singing" similar to the second reference data in the first singing part of the seventh call-and-sing section. Also, in the second singing part of the seventh call-and-sing section, the information on the early singing and the build-up singing indicated by the second reference data is "build-up singing", whereas the information on the early singing and the build-up singing of the singer U2 is "neither". Therefore, the second correction unit 40 corrects the timing of the vocalization by delaying it so that the recorded voice of the singer U2 becomes "build-up singing" similar to the second reference data in the second singing part of the seventh call-and-sing section.

[0124] According to the third embodiment, the karaoke device 1 corrects the recorded voice of the karaoke singing of a duet song based on the karaoke singing evaluation result and the second reference data, so that the tendency of the opening and closing singing in the call-and-response section sounded by playing back the recorded voice can be made to be closer to the second reference data (i.e., the original singer). This allows the singer to refer to and learn more preferable opening and closing singing when singing a duet song, so the karaoke device 1 can encourage duet singing.

[0125] In the third embodiment, the karaoke device 1 records and corrects the karaoke singing of a duet song when the correction recording mode is set, and the corrected recorded singing can be played back, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In another example, when the non-correction recording mode is set, the karaoke device 1 records the karaoke singing of a duet song as is, and when playing back the recorded singing, may provide advice at the points where the opening and closing parts of the call-and-response section differ from the second reference data (i.e., the original singer).

[0126] Furthermore, the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope that does not contradict the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and karaoke devices involving such modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0127] 1 Karaoke equipment 2 Karaoke unit 3 Microphone 1 4. Second microphone 6 Display device 10 Control section 11 Storage section 20 Acquisition Department 21 Evaluation Section 22 Presentation part 30 First Correction Section 40 Second Correction Section

Claims

1. A karaoke apparatus for performing a karaoke performance of a duet song having a dialogue singing section in which two singers sing karaoke alternately, a storage unit that stores, in association with the duet song, first reference data used for evaluating the singing voices of the two singers who sing the duet song as karaoke, and second reference data indicating information on the opening and closing vocal parts of the two original singers in the exchange singing section of the duet song; an acquisition unit that acquires information on the early singing and the late singing of the two singers in the exchange singing section based on a comparison between the singing voices of the two singers in the exchange singing section and the first reference data; an evaluation unit that compares information on the initial singing and the build-up singing of the two singers in the exchange singing section with the second reference data, and evaluates the karaoke singing of the duet song by the two singers based on the comparison result; A karaoke device comprising:

2. 2. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a presentation section which presents advice to at least one of the two singers regarding quick singing and slow singing in the exchange singing section based on the evaluation result by the evaluation section.

3. the storage unit stores the evaluation result by the evaluation unit in association with the two singers and the duet song; 3. The karaoke apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first correction unit which, when a karaoke performance of the duet song is reserved by either of the two singers, corrects the timing of switching the display of lyric subtitles in the duet song's duet singing section based on the evaluation results corresponding to the two singers and the duet song.

4. the storage unit records and stores the singing voices of the two singers who sing the duet song as karaoke; The karaoke apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a second correction section for correcting the accelerated singing and the accumulated singing in the interlocutor singing section of the recorded singing voices of the two singers based on the second reference data.

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