Audio device, audio device control method and program

Abstract

An acoustic device comprising: a setting unit (51) for setting the end time at which the playback speed of a song during playback is changed to a prescribed playback speed, operation units (216A, 216B) for receiving a user operation for starting the change in playback speed, and playback control units (53, 54) for changing the playback speed of the song during playback between a start time, which is set as the time of a user operation, and the end time, when the user operation is received by an operation unit.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an audio device, a control method for an audio device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, DJ equipment such as DJ controllers have multiple decks, and while playing music on each deck, switching the audio output between the decks is used to switch from one song to another. When switching songs on such DJ equipment, it is generally necessary to match the tempo of the songs before and after the switch. In recent years, it has become common to switch between songs of different genres or songs with significantly different BPMs. Therefore, assuming that the BPM is changed by about 20 to 30, for example, a relative mode has been considered in which the tempo slider can be operated based on a relative position rather than an absolute position (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Serato DJ Pro User Manual (Serato) (https: / / support.serato.com / hc / ja / articles / 227561947) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the relative mode described above, by using the SHIFT button in combination, the tempo is adjusted based on the relative position of the tempo slider while the SHIFT button is pressed, and the tempo is adjusted based on the absolute position of the tempo slider when the SHIFT button is not pressed. As a result, when executing relative mode, the user needs to use both hands to keep the SHIFT button pressed, which creates the problem that operations other than tempo adjustment, such as effect operation, cannot be performed at the same time. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an audio device, an audio device control method, and a program that allow suitable tempo adjustment with simple operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] [1] An audio device comprising: a setting unit that sets an end point for changing the playback speed of a song being played to a predetermined playback speed; an operation unit that accepts a user operation that starts changing the playback speed; and a playback control unit that, when the operation unit accepts the user operation, changes the playback speed of the song being played to the predetermined playback speed from the time of the user operation as the start point until the end point. [2] The audio device according to [1], wherein the setting unit sets the end point in units of bars of the music being played. [3] The audio device according to [1], wherein the setting unit sets a predetermined playback position in the music being played as the end point. [4] The audio device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the predetermined playback speed is the playback speed of the original song of the song being played. [5] The audio device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the predetermined playback speed is the playback speed of the original song of the song to be played next to the song currently being played. [6] An audio device according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the playback control unit, when changing the playback speed to a predetermined playback speed, gradually increases or decreases the amount of change in the playback speed per unit time. [7] A method for controlling an audio device, comprising the steps of: setting an end point for changing the playback speed of a song being played to a predetermined playback speed; accepting a user operation that starts the change in the playback speed; and, upon accepting the user operation, changing the playback speed of the song being played to the predetermined playback speed from the time of the user operation as the start point until the end point. [8] A program for causing a computer to function as an audio device having a setting unit that sets an end point for changing the playback speed of a song being played to a predetermined playback speed, an operation unit that accepts a user operation that starts changing the playback speed, and a playback control unit that, when the operation unit accepts the user operation, changes the playback speed of the song being played to the predetermined playback speed from the time of the user operation as the start point until the end point. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an acoustic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the tempo slider in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an auto-reset process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4B] FIG. 10 is another schematic diagram illustrating the auto-reset process according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an acoustic device according to an embodiment. The audio device 1 according to this embodiment is a DJ system that integrates two players 2A and 2B that play music and a mixer 3 that controls the players 2A and 2B. Specifically, the audio device 1 functions as an audio playback device and an audio playback control device when operated by a user, and plays music and applies various effects to the music being played. Effects include those that apply effects such as delay, echo, reverb, or loop to a song to play effect sounds, as well as those that process the original sound before playing it back. Effects that process the original sound before playing it back include those that change the pitch of the original sound before playing it back, such as pitch, and those that filter a specific frequency band of the original sound before playing it back, such as filter.

[0008] As shown in FIG. 1, the audio device 1 includes operation units 21A and 21B provided on the players 2A and 2B, respectively, and an operation unit 31 provided on the mixer 3, as well as time setting display units 22A and 22B provided on the players 2A and 2B, respectively. The operation unit 21A accepts user operations for the player 2A, and the operation unit 21B accepts user operations for the player 2B. The operation unit 31 also accepts user operations for the mixer 3.

[0009] The operation unit 21A includes a jog dial 211A, a tempo slider 212A, a cue button 213A, a play / pause button 214A, a performance pad 215A, a reset button 216A, and a time setting button 217A.

[0010] The jog dial 211A functions as a rotary operator and is a dial used to set the playback direction and playback speed of the music being played on the player 2A. The tempo slider 212A is a lever that adjusts the playback speed of the music being played on the player 2A.

[0011] The cue button 213A is a button that is pressed when a predetermined position in a song is to be set as a cue point. The play / pause button 214A is a button that is pressed to start or stop the playback of a song on the player 2A. The performance pad 215A is a general-purpose operator to which various functions relating to playback control can be assigned.

[0012] The reset button 216A is a button that is pressed by the user to start a process (hereinafter referred to as an auto-reset process) that changes the playback speed of the music being played to a predetermined playback speed until the set end point. The reset button 216A may be a dedicated operator as shown in Fig. 1, or may be configured to share the same function as an existing operator. The time setting button 217A is a button that is pressed when selecting the end point for the above-mentioned auto-reset process. The time setting button 217A may be a dedicated operator as shown in Fig. 1, or may be configured to share the same function as an existing operator. The details of the reset button 216A and the time setting button 217A will be described later together with the details of the auto-reset process.

[0013] Similar to the operation unit 21A, the operation unit 21B includes a jog dial 211B, a tempo slider 212B, a cue button 213B, a play / pause button 214B, a performance pad 215B, a reset button 216B, and a time setting button 217B. The time setting display sections 22A and 22B are provided with displays and display the time selected by the time setting buttons 217A and 217B described above. For example, when a user operates the operation unit 21A of the player 2A, the audio device 1 plays the music loaded in the player 2A and applies effects to the music being played as needed. The same applies to the player 2B.

[0014] In response to user operations, the mixer 3 switches the music playback between the players 2A and 2B, adjusts the volume of each channel, and performs playback with applied effects. The operation unit 31 of the mixer 3 includes effect selection knobs 311A ​​and 311B, effect amount adjustment knobs 312A and 312B, channel faders 313A and 313B, and a crossfader 314.

[0015] The effect selection knobs 311A ​​and 311B are used to select an effect to be applied to the music being played on the players 2A and 2B, respectively. The effect amount adjustment knobs 312A and 312B are used to adjust parameters such as the depth and magnitude of the effect applied to the music being played on the players 2A and 2B, respectively.

[0016] The channel faders 313A and 313B are levers used to adjust the output volume levels of the music being played on the players 2A and 2B, respectively. The crossfader 314 is a lever used to switch the output volume levels of the music output from the players 2A and 2B. In addition to the above-described components, the operation units 21A, 21B, and 31 may further include a touch panel or the like that detects a position touched by a user.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of an audio device according to an embodiment. In addition to the above-mentioned components, the audio device 1 also includes a music data storage unit 4, a control unit 5, and an audio output unit 6, as shown in Fig. 2. The functions of the above-mentioned components are realized by a processor operating according to a program in an audio device having, for example, a computer hardware configuration. The functions of the components are further described below.

[0018] The music data storage unit 4 is configured to store music data using an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory, etc. Music data for multiple songs is stored in the music data storage unit 4 in a predetermined format, such as MP3 format. In addition to audio information, the music data includes tag information such as the song's BPM, artwork, title, artist name, album name, key, number of DJ plays, and genre. The music data stored in the music data storage unit 4 is associated with a timestamp, which is information about the playback position.

[0019] The control unit 5 is implemented in the audio device 1 by, for example, a communications interface, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a memory that serves as a working area, and controls the operation of the audio device 1. The control unit 5 includes a setting unit 51 that is realized by the processor operating in accordance with a program stored in the memory or received via the communications interface, a tempo detection unit 52, a first playback unit 53, and a second playback unit 54. The control unit 5 detects user operations on the operation units 21A, 21B, and 31, and supplies information indicating the content of the user operations to each unit within the control unit 5. Furthermore, the control unit 5 controls the display of the time setting display units 22A and 22B in response to user operations on the time setting buttons 217A and 217B.

[0020] When the setting unit 51 receives a user operation to start the auto-reset process, it determines the control content of the first playback unit 53 and the second playback unit 54. Details of the process by the setting unit 51 will be described later together with details of the auto-reset process. The tempo detection unit 52 detects the tempo of the music being played back on the players 2A and 2B. The first playback unit 53 plays back music on player 2A and outputs an audio signal to the audio output unit 6. The second playback unit 54 plays back music on player 2B and outputs an audio signal to the audio output unit 6. In addition, the first playback unit 53 applies effects to music being played back on player 2A, and the second playback unit 54 applies effects to music being played back on player 2B.

[0021] The audio device 1 may be configured to include a communication interface, and acquire music data stored in an external storage device, a computer, or the like via the communication interface (not shown), and store the music data in the music data storage unit 4. In this case, the audio device 1 does not include the music data storage unit 4, and the external storage device functions as the music data storage unit 4. The audio output unit 6 includes an audio output terminal such as a speaker terminal or a headphone terminal, and outputs the audio signals of the music played by the first playback unit 53 and the second playback unit 54 as audio information.

[0022] The operation of the control unit 5 when performing the auto-reset process in the audio device 1 described above will now be described. Conventionally, the range of playback speed that can be changed by operating a tempo slider is basically fixed, and in many cases, the user can set one of several predetermined tempo ranges, such as ±6, 10, 16, or 100%, by operating the tempo slider. In such cases, it is possible to set the tempo range for the song being played according to the desired range of BPM changes. For example, if you set the tempo range to 100% to make large changes to the BPM, you will need to change the tempo range again to make fine adjustments to the tempo.

[0023] Also, when using relative mode, which allows operation based on the relative position rather than the absolute position of the tempo slider, the user needs to keep both hands pressed down on the SHIFT button, which means that operations other than tempo adjustment, such as effect operation, cannot be performed simultaneously.Furthermore, if an operation error involving the SHIFT button occurs, such as pressing the wrong button, abnormal sound output may occur or the sound output may change suddenly. In this embodiment, a simple operation using the reset button 216A and time setting button 217A of the operation unit 21A, or the reset button 216B and time setting button 217B of the operation unit 21B, enables suitable tempo adjustment even when there is a large change in BPM.

[0024] 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the tempo slider 212A in one embodiment. In the following, player 2A will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 3, a reset button 216A, a time setting button 217A, and a time setting display section 22A are provided near the tempo slider 212A.

[0025] When the user slides the tempo slider 212A while a song is being played on the player 2A, the first playback unit 53 changes the playback speed of the song in accordance with the operation. In other words, the tempo of the song being played is adjusted manually. On the other hand, when the user turns on the reset button 216A while a song is being played on the player 2A, the first playback unit 53 executes an auto-reset process for the song being played on the player 2A in accordance with the control content set by the setting unit 51. In other words, the tempo of the song being played is adjusted automatically.

[0026] As described above, the auto-reset process is a process for changing the playback speed of a song being played to a predetermined playback speed until the set end point. As an example, the predetermined playback speed is the playback speed of the original song of the song being played. First, the setting of the end point will be explained. The end point can be selected using the time setting button 217A and the time setting display section 22A. Each time the time setting button 217A is pressed, the control section 5 updates the display in the time setting display section 22A in the following order: "0 Bars," "1 Bars," "4 Bars," "8 Bars," "Memory Cue," and "Phrase." When the reset button 216A is turned on, the setting unit 51 sets the time when the reset button 216A is turned on as the start time, sets the item displayed on the time setting display unit 22A at that time as the end time, and determines the control content for changing the playback speed of the song being played back to the playback speed of the original song between the set start time and the set end time.

[0027] "0 bars", "1 bars", "4 bars", and "8 bars" are candidates for setting the end point in units of bars of the music being played. When the reset button 216A is turned on at the time when "0 Bars" is displayed on the time setting display section 22A, the setting section 51 determines the control content for immediately changing the playback speed of the music being played back to the playback speed of the original music. When the reset button 216A is turned on when either "1 Bars," "4 Bars," or "8 Bars" is displayed on the time setting display section 22A, the setting section 51 sets the end point to 1 bar later, 4 bars later, or 8 bars later, respectively, and determines the control content for changing the playback speed of the song being played back to the playback speed of the original song after 1 bar later, 4 bars later, or 8 bars later, respectively.

[0028] "Memory Cue" and "Phrase" are candidates for setting a pre-specified playback position in the music being played as the end point. When the reset button 216A is turned on when "Memory Cue" is displayed on the time setting display section 22A, the setting section 51 sets the cue point at the nearest future position from the playback position of the song being played as the end point, and determines the control content for changing the playback speed of the song being played back to the playback speed of the original song until the end point. If the reset button 216A is turned on when "Phrase" is displayed on the time setting display section 22A, the setting section 51 sets the music development point nearest to the playback position of the music being played as the end point, and determines the control content for changing the playback speed of the music being played back to the playback speed of the original song before the end point. Here, the music development point can be found by performing known music analysis processing such as beat position detection technology, bar position detection technology, vocal detection technology, music development detection, etc.

[0029] Although the example has been given in which the time when the reset button 216A is turned on is set as the start time, the time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the time when the reset button 216A is turned on may also be set as the start time. For example, a known music analysis process such as beat position detection technology, music development detection technology, bar position detection technology, vocal detection technology, and lyric display technology may be performed, and a timing appropriate for starting to change the playback speed of the music being played may be set as the start time.

[0030] Next, we will explain how the setting unit 51 determines the control content. The control content is determined based on the time from the start point to the end point and the difference between the current playback speed of the song being played and the playback speed of the original song. In other words, the setting unit 51 determines the amount of change required to return the playback speed of the song being played back to the playback speed of the original song within the time from the start point, which is the time when the reset button 216A is turned on, to the end point set by the setting unit 51. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams illustrating the auto-reset process, more specifically, the amount of change in playback speed. FIG. 4A shows an example in which the current playback speed of a song being played is slower than the playback speed of the original song and increases until the end of the song. FIG. 4B shows an example in which the current playback speed of a song being played is faster than the playback speed of the original song and decreases until the end of the song. In either case, the playback speed may be changed linearly as shown in L1, or the amount of change in playback speed per unit time may be gradually increased as the end of the song approaches as shown in L2, or the amount of change in playback speed per unit time may be gradually decreased as the end of the song approaches as shown in L3. The amount of change in playback speed may also be determined according to other characteristics. The method for determining the amount of change may be predetermined or may be determined based on a user operation. Alternatively, a plurality of predetermined methods may be switched depending on a user's specification or various conditions. For example, the method may be switched depending on the genre or melody of the music being played, the location where the music is being played, the purpose of the music being played, etc.

[0031] As described above, when the user turns on the reset button 216A, an auto-reset process is executed, which changes the playback speed of the currently playing music to a predetermined playback speed until the end point set at that time. In other words, the user can select an end point using the time setting button 217A and the time setting display section 22A, and then simply turn on the reset button 216 to change the playback speed of the currently playing music to the playback speed of the original song. This allows the user to easily operate the device with one hand or both hands, and also allows for operations other than tempo adjustment, such as effect operation, to be performed simultaneously. This eliminates the need for time-consuming tempo adjustment and allows the user to focus on creating a more natural and original performance. Furthermore, by turning on the reset button 216, which serves as a trigger, the playback speed of the currently playing music can be changed starting from that point, allowing processing to be performed at any time. In other words, by simply performing the minimal operation of turning on the reset button 216 during playback of a music piece at the desired timing, the user can change the playback speed of the currently playing music to the desired speed without any other settings, adjustments, or confirmations. This provides high real-time performance and can meet the needs of improvisational users. Furthermore, because the tempo can be adjusted appropriately with simple operations, it can be easily used only when necessary, depending on the content of various effect operations being performed in parallel. Therefore, even in real-time performances that require complex thinking, judgment, and operations simultaneously in a short period of time, the burden on the user can be reduced, thereby improving the various possibilities of performance.

[0032] In the above example, the predetermined playback speed, that is, the target playback speed at the end point, is the playback speed of the original song of the song being played, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the predetermined playback speed may be the playback speed of the original music piece to be played after the currently playing music piece. This configuration allows the playback speed of the currently playing music piece to be adjusted to match the tempo of the music piece to be played next. Therefore, even in a so-called mix process in which music pieces are switched between two players 2A and 2B, a suitable tempo adjustment can be achieved with a simple operation. Furthermore, for example, the predetermined playback speed may be an intermediate playback speed between the playback speed of the currently playing music piece and the playback speed of the music piece to be played next, or may be a fixed playback speed (e.g., always 120 BPM). The target playback speed at the end point may be determined in advance or may be determined based on a user operation.

[0033] Next, a method for controlling an audio device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. A flowchart of the auto-reset process is shown in Figure 5. The following describes the auto-reset process in player 2A as an example. Every time the time setting button 217A is turned on (YES in step S101), the control unit 5 updates the display content of the time setting display unit 22A (step S102). The processing of steps S101 and S102 is repeated until the reset button 216A is turned on (step S103 YES), and when the reset button 216A is turned on (step S103 YES), the setting unit 51 of the control unit 5 determines the control content in the first playback unit 53 (step S104), and the first playback unit 53 changes the playback speed of the song being played in accordance with the control content set by the setting unit 51 (step S105).

[0034] 3 to 5, the processing for player 2A has been described as an example, but similar processing is performed for player 2B. That is, a reset button 216B and a time setting button 217B are provided near the tempo slider 212B, and a time setting display section 22B is also provided (see FIG. 1). Then, when the user turns on the reset button 216B while a song is being played on the player 2B, the second playback unit 54 executes an auto-reset process for the song being played on the player 2B in accordance with the control content set by the setting unit 51.

[0035] According to one embodiment of the present invention as described above, an end point for changing the playback speed of a song being played to a predetermined playback speed is set, and upon receiving a user operation to start changing the playback speed, the playback speed of the song being played is changed to the predetermined playback speed from the time of the user operation as the start point until the end point. Therefore, a suitable tempo adjustment can be achieved with simple operations. Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the end point is set in units of bars of the music being played, which makes it possible to easily set the end point according to the characteristics of the music. Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined playback position in a song being played is set as the end point, which makes it possible to easily set the end point.

[0036] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined playback speed is the playback speed of the original song of the song being played, so that the playback speed of the song being played can be changed back to the playback speed of the original song with a simple operation. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined playback speed is the playback speed of the original music piece to be played after the currently playing music piece. Therefore, even in real-time performances that require complex thinking, judgment, and operations in a short period of time, the playback speed of the currently playing music piece can be easily changed to accurately and reliably match the playback speed of the next music piece. Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, when changing the playback speed to a predetermined speed, the amount of change in playback speed per unit time is gradually increased or decreased, thereby achieving optimal tempo adjustment depending on the genre and melody of the music being played, the place where it is being performed, the purpose of the performance, etc.

[0037] Note that the audio device having the above-described functions is not limited to the examples described in the above embodiments, but may be, for example, a mixer, a DJ controller with a mixer function, etc. The present invention may also be applied to a computer, smartphone, or tablet terminal that runs a DJ application. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied not only to DJ equipment and DJ applications, but also to music applications, streaming services using the Internet, etc. In such cases, the present invention can be applied to automatic playback using playlists, etc. In addition, although the above embodiments have been described as a two-channel audio device having two players 2A and 2B, similar functions can be realized in, for example, a four-channel audio device. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to DJ equipment, but can also be applied to audio devices such as general mixers and electronic musical instruments, as well as DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) and DTMs (Desktop Music).

[0038] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1...sound device, 2A, 2B...player, 3...mixer, 4...music data storage section, 5...control section, 6...audio output section, 21A, 21B, 31...operation section, 22A, 22B...time setting display section, 51...setting section, 52...tempo detection section, 53...first playback section, 54...second playback section, 211A, 211B...jog dial, 212A, 212B...tempo slider, 213A, 213B...cue button, 214A, 214B...play / pause button, 215A, 215B...performance pad, 216A, 216B...reset button, 217A, 217B...time setting button, 311A, 311B...effect selection knob, 312A, 312B...effect amount adjustment knob, 313A, 313B...channel fader, 314...crossfader.

Claims

1. a setting unit that sets an end point at which the playback speed of the music being played is changed to a predetermined playback speed; an operation unit that accepts a user operation that triggers the start of the change in the playback speed; an audio device comprising: a playback control unit that, when the user operation is received by the operation unit, changes the playback speed of the song being played to the predetermined playback speed from the time of the user operation as a start point until the end point.

2. The audio device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets the end point in units of bars of the music piece being played.

3. The audio device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets a pre-specified playback position in the music being played as the end point.

4. The audio device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined playback speed is a playback speed of an original song of the song being played.

5. 4. The audio device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined playback speed is a playback speed of an original song of a song to be played next to the song currently being played.

6. The audio device according to claim 1 , wherein the playback control unit gradually increases or decreases a change amount of the playback speed per unit time when changing the playback speed to the predetermined playback speed.

7. setting an end point for changing the playback speed of the music piece being played to a predetermined playback speed; receiving a user operation that triggers the change in the playback speed; when the user operation is accepted, changing the playback speed of the music piece being played to the predetermined playback speed during a period from the time of the user operation as a start time to the end time; A method for controlling an audio device, comprising:

8. a setting unit that sets an end point at which the playback speed of the music being played is changed to a predetermined playback speed; an operation unit that accepts a user operation that triggers the start of the change in the playback speed; A program for causing a computer to function as an audio device having a playback control unit that, when the user operation is received by the operation unit, changes the playback speed of the song being played to the predetermined playback speed from the time of the user operation as the start point until the end point.

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