Karaoke equipment

Abstract

To provide a karaoke device that can provide song-name buzzer quizzes giving different enjoyment from before.SOLUTION: A karaoke device (10) is configured to select a music-name buzzer quiz mode in which music-name buzzer quizzes can be given. The karaoke device is provided with: a determination part (21) which determines question music and its playback section when the music-name buzzer quiz mode is selected; a first generation part (22) which generates chord progression information on the playback section based upon music piece data on the question music; a playback part (23) which reproduces a musical sound in chords based upon the chord progression information on the playback section of the question music; an acquisition part (24) which acquires an answer to a music-name buzzer quiz from a user during the reproduction of the musical sound in chords; a determination part (25) which determines whether the answer to the music-name buzzer quiz is correct based upon the music name of the question music; and a notification part (26) which gives notice of a determination result of whether the answer is correct or incorrect.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Karaoke devices have been proposed that can provide content in which a user can guess the name of a song from its introductory parts, etc. As karaoke devices of this type, devices have been proposed that register a plurality of songs in advance and play the introductory parts of the songs in the order of registration to smoothly progress the song name guessing quiz (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and devices that automatically select songs to be played according to the attributes of the songs (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, since some songs have silent sections in the introductory parts or songs that start with a fade-in, devices that play the performance sections that are optimal for the song name guessing quiz have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-078785 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-041071 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-108374 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the song name guessing quizzes described in Patent Documents 1-3, the songs are played as they are, so users who are familiar with music can answer instantly after just hearing the intro to the song, preventing other users from fully enjoying the song name guessing quiz.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a karaoke machine capable of conducting a song name guessing quiz, which allows for a different type of enjoyment from conventional methods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The main invention for achieving the above object is a karaoke device capable of selecting a song name guessing mode in which a song name guessing quiz can be conducted, the karaoke device comprising: a determination unit that determines a song and a performance section when the song name guessing mode is selected; a first generation unit that generates chord progression information for the performance section based on music data of the song; a playback unit that plays back musical sounds of chord performance based on the chord progression information for the performance section of the song; an acquisition unit that acquires an answer to the song name guessing quiz from a user while the musical sounds of chord performance are being played back; a determination unit that determines whether the answer to the song name guessing quiz is correct based on the song name of the song; and a notification unit that notifies the user of the result of the determination of whether the answer is correct or not. The playback unit starts playback from the beginning of the performance section of the song to be played, and stops playback when an answer is obtained from the user or at the end of the performance section of the song to be played. When the answer to the song name guessing quiz is determined to be incorrect or playback is stopped at the end of the performance section of the song to be played, the playback unit plays an arbitrary instrument sound based on the music data in addition to the musical sound of the chord performance from the beginning of the performance section of the song to be played. The karaoke device is characterized by the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, since the song name guessing quiz is conducted using the musical tones of chord playing, even users who are familiar with music will find it difficult to instantly guess the song name of the given song just by listening to the musical tones of chord playing. Therefore, it is possible to provide song name guessing content that can be enjoyed in a different way from conventional karaoke machines. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a karaoke system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram of a karaoke device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing operation of the karaoke apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a karaoke device according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] First Embodiment A karaoke device according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a karaoke system according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the karaoke device according to the first embodiment. For ease of explanation, the functional block diagram in Figure 2 shows functional blocks for implementing specific processing, but it is assumed that the device also includes the components that a karaoke device normally has. Furthermore, although the symbol ac is attached to a portable terminal, the symbol ac may be omitted if no particular portable terminal is specified.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 1, karaoke device 10 is connected to a monitor 11, a speaker 12, a microphone 13, and a remote control device 14. Monitor 11 displays lyrics and captions along with background images in sync with the karaoke performance based on video signals and the like from karaoke device 10. Microphone 13 converts the user's singing voice into a singing voice signal and inputs it to karaoke device 10. Speaker 12 emits the user's singing voice along with the performance sound based on the performance sound signal from karaoke device 10 and the singing voice signal from microphone 13. Remote control device 14 accepts various operations for karaoke device 10, such as reserving songs.

[0011] When the karaoke performance begins on the karaoke device 10, lyrics captions and background images are displayed on the monitor 11 in sync with the karaoke performance. In the karaoke device 10, the karaoke performance sound signal and the singing voice signal input from the microphone 13 are mixed by the mixer, and this mixed signal is amplified by the amplifier and output from the speaker 12. In this way, when the user sings along with the karaoke performance, the singing voice is output from the speaker 12 together with the performance sound. The karaoke device 10 also scores the user's singing ability, and the score is displayed on the monitor 11.

[0012] Furthermore, mobile terminals 15a-15c carried by users are communicably connected to the karaoke device 10. When the karaoke device 10 and the mobile terminals 15a-15c are connected, a pairing operation is performed from the karaoke device 10 or the remote control device 14, and a two-dimensional code is displayed on the monitor screen or the remote control screen. A karaoke application is installed on the mobile terminals 15a-15c, and when the karaoke application is started and the two-dimensional code is read by the camera of the mobile terminal 15a-15c, connection information is sent from the mobile terminal 15a-15c to a server (not shown). This connects the mobile terminals 15a-15c to the karaoke device 10.

[0013] When the mobile terminals 15a-15c are connected to the karaoke device 10, owner information including the singing history of the owners of the mobile terminals 15a-15c is transmitted from the server to the karaoke device 10. When the owners of the mobile terminals 15a-15c log in to the karaoke device 10, the owners of the mobile terminals 15a-15c are associated with the users of the karaoke device 10. Each user selects "Karaoke Contents" from the menu screen of the karaoke application on the mobile terminal 15, and then selects "Song Title Guessing Contents" from the karaoke contents, providing the users with a song title guessing quiz.

[0014] By selecting the "guess song title content", an input screen for the number of songs is displayed on the mobile terminal 15. When the user inputs "4" on the input screen and presses the transfer button, the content ID "ID****C1" of the "guess song title content" and the number of songs "4" are sent from the mobile terminal 15 to the karaoke device 10. The karaoke device 10 registers the content ID and number of songs in the reservation list instead of the song ID. The karaoke device 10 reads out the content ID registered in the reservation list, executes the content start process, and operates in the song title guessing mode.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, karaoke device 10 is provided with a determination unit 21 that functions in the song name guessing mode, a first generation unit 22, a playback unit 23, an acquisition unit 24, a determination unit 25, and an annunciation unit 26. When song name guessing mode is selected, determination unit 21 determines the song to be challenged and the performance section. In this case, determination unit 21 references a song database to determine the number of songs to be challenged (four in this embodiment) registered in the reservation list. For example, determination unit 21 references the age information of each user currently logged in to karaoke device 10 and randomly selects four songs to be challenged, X1, X2, X3, and X4, from the top songs in the singing rankings by age.

[0016] The determination unit 21 may refer to the singing history and listening history of each user currently logged in to the karaoke device 10 and determine a song common to multiple users from among the songs stored in the singing history and listening history as the song to be played. The singing history includes songs sung by the user, and the listening history includes songs sung by the user as well as songs sung by other users. Attribute information such as "J-POP" or "2010s" may be entered from attribute items such as music genre, singer name, and release year on the song number input screen of the mobile terminal 15, and the song to be played may be randomly selected from songs associated with this attribute information. Furthermore, the song to be played may be selected based on multiple pieces of attribute information.

[0017] The determination unit 21 also determines the performance section of the given song. In this case, any of the sections of the given song, such as the introductory section, A-melody section, B-melody section, or chorus section, may be determined as the performance section. The performance section may be determined to span multiple sections, such as the section from the beginning of the introductory section to the end of the A-melody section, the section from the beginning of the A-melody section to the end of the B-melody section, or the section from the B-melody section to the end of the chorus section. For example, the performance section of given song X1 is determined to be the chorus section, the performance section of given song X2 is determined to be the introductory section, the performance section of given song X3 is determined to be the section from the beginning of the B-melody section to the end of the chorus section, and the performance section of given song X4 is determined to be the A-melody section.

[0018] The first generation unit 22 generates chord progression information for a performance section based on the music data of the target song. In this case, the first generation unit 22 reads the music data of the target song from the music database, detects chords from melody information composed of note data and the like in the music data for the performance section of the target song, and generates chord progression information. To detect chords from the melody information of the music data, for example, a known technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 09-026790 can be used, which divides melody information into small sections and analyzes them according to the number of notes, note duration, and sounding timing pattern.

[0019] The chord progression information is information indicating multiple chords (harmonics) arranged in the progression of a song. For example, the first generation unit 22 generates chord progression information for the chorus section of the question song X1, in which the chords "F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am" are arranged every four beats. Similarly, the first generation unit 22 generates chord progression information for the introductory section of the question song X2, chord progression information from the beginning of the B-melody section to the end of the chorus section of the question song X3, and chord progression information for the A-melody section of the question song X4.

[0020] The playback unit 23 plays back the musical tones of the chord performance based on the chord progression information for the performance section of the target song. In this case, the playback unit 23 plays back the musical tones based on the music data for the performance section and the chord progression information, but the instrument sounds included in the music data are not played back, and instead, the musical tones of a chord instrument such as a keyboard are played back in accordance with the chord progression information. For example, in the chorus section of the target song X1, the musical tones of "Fa, La, Do" of the F chord, "So, Si, Re" of the G chord, "Mi, So, Si" of the Em chord, and "La, Do, Mi" of the Am chord are played back at the default tempo of the target song X1 in accordance with the chord progression.

[0021] The playback of the chord sounds may be started by an instruction from any of the mobile terminals 15, or may be started after the karaoke device 10 displays a countdown on the monitor 11. In this way, the playback unit 23 starts playing the chord sounds, and the karaoke device 10 starts the song name guessing quiz. When the song name guessing quiz starts, the user who listens to the chord sounds of the song uses the mobile terminal 15 to answer the song name of the song.

[0022] The acquisition unit 24 acquires the answer to the song name guessing quiz from the user while the musical tones of the chord performance are being played. In this case, the answer is input by voice by the user through a microphone (not shown) of the mobile terminal 15, and the answer is converted into text by applying a known voice recognition process to the voice signal. The text answer together with the terminal ID of the mobile terminal 15 is sent from the mobile terminal 15 to the karaoke device 10, and the answer of the user who owns the mobile terminal 15 is acquired by the acquisition unit 24. When the answer is acquired by the acquisition unit 24, the terminal ID and the answer are temporarily stored in a predetermined storage area of ​​the karaoke device 10 in the order of acquisition.

[0023] The determination unit 25 determines whether the answer to the song title guessing quiz is correct or not based on the title of the song that was chosen. If the answer to the song title guessing quiz matches the title of the song that was chosen, it is determined to be a correct answer, and if the answer to the song title guessing quiz differs from the title of the song that was chosen, it is determined to be an incorrect answer. For example, if the title of the song that was chosen X1 is "aiueo," the answer "ka kaki ku ke ko" given by the first acquired terminal ID "ID****S1" is determined to be an incorrect answer. The answer "aiueo" given by the next acquired terminal ID "ID****S2" is determined to be a correct answer, and the answer "aiueo" given by the last acquired terminal ID "ID****S3" is determined to be a correct answer. Note that if no answer is acquired from the user, it is also determined to be an incorrect answer.

[0024] The notification unit 26 notifies the user of the result of the judgment as to whether the answer is correct or incorrect. In this case, the login name of the user associated with the terminal ID by the notification unit 26 and the judgment result are displayed on the monitor 11 or the like. For example, the login name "AAAA" of user U1 associated with the terminal ID "ID****S1" and the judgment result "incorrect answer" are displayed. Furthermore, the login name "BBBB" of user U2 associated with the terminal ID "ID****S2" and the judgment result "correct answer" are displayed. Furthermore, the login name "CCCC" of user U3 associated with the terminal ID "ID****S3" and the judgment result "correct answer but incorrect because the answer was given too late" are displayed. Furthermore, the notification unit 26 may transmit the judgment result as to whether the answer is correct or incorrect to the mobile terminal 15, thereby displaying it on the screen of the mobile terminal 15.

[0025] The processing of each part of the karaoke device 10 may be realized by software using a processor, or may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit or the like. When a processor is used, the processor reads and executes programs stored in memory to perform various processes. As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used. Furthermore, the memory is configured with one or more storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory) depending on the application.

[0026] The processing operation of the karaoke apparatus of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flow diagram showing an example of the processing operation of the karaoke apparatus of the first embodiment. Note that the symbols in Fig. 2 will be used as appropriate in the description. Also, the following flow diagram is merely an example and can be modified as appropriate.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 3, when the karaoke device 10 reads out the content ID of the reservation list, the content start process is executed, and the karaoke device 10 operates in song name guessing mode (Yes in step S01). The determination unit 21 refers to the music database and randomly determines the number of songs to be played as many times as the number of songs registered in the reservation list (step S02). The determination unit 21 determines the introductory section, A-melody section, B-melody section, or chorus section of each song to be played, or two or more consecutive sections, as the performance section (step S03). The performance section may be determined in advance or randomly.

[0028] The first generation unit 22 reads out the music data of the given song from the music database, and generates chord progression information from the melody information of the music data for the performance section of the given song (step S04). The playback unit 23 starts playing the musical tones of chords played by a harmonic instrument in accordance with the chord progression information for the performance section of the given song (step S05). The user listens to the musical tones of the chords played, and the song name guessing quiz begins, prompting the user to answer the song name guessing quiz. The user answers the song name guessing quiz using the microphone of the mobile terminal 15.

[0029] The answers inputted by voice into the mobile terminal 15 are converted into text, and the answers sent from the mobile terminal 15 are acquired by the acquisition unit 24 of the karaoke device 10 (step S06). If the acquisition unit 24 has acquired answers to the song name guessing quiz from all users (Yes in step S06), the playback unit 23 stops playing the musical sounds of the chord playing at the time when the answers of all users have been acquired (step S08). On the other hand, if the acquisition unit 24 has not acquired an answer to the song name guessing quiz from at least one user (No in step S06), the playback unit 23 stops playing the musical sounds of the chord playing at the end of the performance section of the challenge song (Yes in step S07, step S08).

[0030] The determination unit 25 determines whether the answer to the song title quiz is correct or not (step S09). If the answer to the song title quiz matches the song title of the question song, the determination unit 25 determines it to be correct, and if the answer to the song title quiz differs from the song title of the question song, the determination unit 25 determines it to be incorrect. If the user does not provide an answer to the song title quiz, the determination unit 25 also determines it to be incorrect. The notification unit 26 displays the user's login name and the determination result on the monitor 11 or the like (step S10), and the processing from steps S05 to S09 is repeated until the number of remaining question songs reaches 0 (step S11).

[0031] As described above, with the karaoke device 10 of the first embodiment, the song name guessing quiz is conducted using the musical tones of the chords, so even users who are familiar with music have difficulty instantly guessing the song name of the song just by listening to the musical tones of the chords. Therefore, the karaoke device 10 can provide song name guessing content that can be enjoyed in a way that is different from conventional methods.

[0032] <Modification> Alternatively, the playback unit 23 may start playback from the beginning of the performance section of the question song and stop playback when an answer is obtained from the user or at the end of the performance section of the question song. Since the playback unit 23 stops playback of the chord sounds when the first answer is obtained from the user, the user can focus on the judgment result displayed on the monitor 11 by the notification unit 26. Furthermore, if the answer to the song name guessing quiz is determined to be incorrect or playback is stopped at the end of the performance section of the question song, the playback unit 23 may play an arbitrary instrument sound based on the music data in addition to the chord sounds from the beginning of the performance section of the question song.

[0033] For example, if the performance section of the music data for the song to be played includes note data for bass or drum instruments, the bass and drum instrument sounds may be played together with the chord notes from the beginning of the performance section of the song to be played. Furthermore, if the answer to the song name guessing quiz the first time is incorrect, the chord notes and the bass instrument sounds may be played, and if the answer to the song name guessing quiz the second time is incorrect, the chord notes, bass, and drum instrument sounds may be played. In this way, with each playback count, additional instrument sounds may be added to the chord notes based on the note data for the performance section of the music data.

[0034] As described above, with the karaoke device 10 of the modified example, when the answer to the song name guessing quiz is incorrect, the difficulty of the song name guessing quiz can be lowered by adding the sound of an arbitrary instrument to the musical sound of the chord performance. As the number of times of playback increases, the musical sound becomes closer to the original song, and the user's rate of correct answers can be increased.

[0035] Second Embodiment Next, a karaoke device of a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of the karaoke device of the second embodiment. The karaoke device of the second embodiment differs from the karaoke device of the first embodiment in that the answer to the song name guessing quiz may be determined to be correct not only when the answer matches the song name of the song in question, but also when the answer contains a chord progression that is common to the song in question. Therefore, a description of the same components of the karaoke device of the second embodiment as those of the karaoke device of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0036] 4, the karaoke device 30 of the second embodiment includes a determination unit 31 that functions in the song name guessing mode, a first generation unit 32, a playback unit 33, an acquisition unit 34, a determination unit 35, an identification unit 36, a second generation unit 37, a correction unit 38, and an informing unit 39. The identification unit 36 ​​identifies a predetermined song whose song name is indicated by an answer to the song name guessing quiz that is determined to be incorrect. For example, if the answer "ka-ki-ku-ke-ko" for the terminal ID "ID****S1" that was initially acquired is determined to be incorrect, the identification unit 36 ​​refers to the music database and identifies a predetermined song X2 whose song name is "ka-ki-ku-ke-ko."

[0037] The second generating unit 37 generates chord progression information for a predetermined section based on the music data of a predetermined song. In this case, the second generating unit 37 reads the music data of the predetermined song from the music database, and then detects chords from melody information composed of note data and the like in the music data for the predetermined section of the predetermined song, thereby generating chord progression information. For example, the second generating unit 37 generates chord progression information of "~F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Em, F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Am, Am~" for every four beats, with one chorus including the introductory section, A melody section, B melody section, and chorus section of the predetermined song X2 as the predetermined section. Note that chord progression information may also be generated for the entire performance section.

[0038] The correction unit 38 corrects the determination result to the correct answer if the chords of the challenge song from the beginning of the performance section of the challenge song to the time when the incorrect answer was obtained are included in the chord progression information of the predetermined song. For example, when the playback unit 33 plays up to the chords "F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am" out of the chord progression information of the chorus section of the challenge song X1, the acquisition unit 34 acquires the song title "ka-ki-ku-ke-ko" of the predetermined song X2. Because the song title of the challenge song X1 is "ai-ue-o," the determination unit 35 determines that the song title "ka-ki-ku-ke-ko" is incorrect.

[0039] Here, the chords "F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em" of the challenge song X1 played back by the playback unit 33 are included in the chord progression information "~F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Em, F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Am, Am~" of the predetermined song X2 generated by the second generation unit 37. At the time of answering, the chords of the challenge song X1 are also part of the chords of the predetermined song X2, so the correction unit 38 corrects the determination result of "incorrect answer" to "correct answer." Note that if the playback unit 33 has played back the chords of the challenge song X1 up to "F, G, Em, Am, F, G, Em, Am," and has acquired the title of the predetermined song X2, "ka kaki ku ke ko," the chords of the challenge song X1 will no longer be included in the chord progression information of the predetermined song X2, and the determination result will not be corrected.

[0040] As described above, according to the karaoke device 30 of the second embodiment, even if the answer to the song name guessing quiz is a predetermined song different from the song being asked, the answer can be determined to be correct as long as the chord progression of the song being asked up to the time of the answer is included in the chord progression of the predetermined song.

[0041] In the above embodiments and modified examples, the user inputs the answer to the song name quiz into the mobile terminal by voice, but the user may also input the answer to the song name quiz into the mobile terminal by text.

[0042] In the above embodiment, a song guessing quiz function may be added by installing a program in the karaoke machine and the portable terminal. The program is stored in a storage medium. The storage medium is not particularly limited, and may be a non-transitory storage medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a flash memory.

[0043] Although the present embodiment has been described, other embodiments may be obtained by combining the above-described embodiments and modifications in whole or in part.

[0044] Furthermore, the technology of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be variously modified, substituted, or altered within the scope of the spirit of the technical idea. Furthermore, if the technical idea can be realized in a different way due to technological advances or other derived technologies, it may be implemented using that method. Therefore, the claims cover all embodiments that may fall within the scope of the technical idea. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 10, 30: Karaoke equipment 21, 31: Decision section 22, 32: First generation section 23, 33: Playback section 24, 34: Acquisition part 25, 35: Judgment section 26, 39: Information Department 36: Specific part 37: Second generation part 38: Correction section

Claims

1. A karaoke device that can select a song name guessing mode in which a song name guessing quiz can be conducted, a determination unit that determines a song and a performance section when the song name guessing mode is selected; a first generation unit that generates chord progression information for a performance section based on music data of a given piece of music; a playback unit that plays back chord sounds based on chord progression information for the performance section of the song; an acquisition unit that acquires an answer to a song name guessing quiz from a user while the musical sound of the chord performance is being played; a determination unit that determines whether or not the answer to the song name guessing quiz is correct based on the song name of the song; a notification unit that notifies the result of the determination of whether the answer is correct or incorrect, The playback unit starts playback from the beginning of the performance section of the song to be played, and stops playback at the point when the answer is obtained from the user or at the end of the performance section of the song to be played, When the answer to the song name guessing quiz is judged to be incorrect or when the playback is stopped at the end of the performance section of the song, the playback unit plays back an arbitrary instrument sound based on the music data in addition to the chord sound from the beginning of the performance section of the song.

2. A karaoke device that can select a song name guessing mode in which a song name guessing quiz can be conducted, a determination unit that determines a song and a performance section when the song name guessing mode is selected; a first generation unit that generates chord progression information for a performance section based on music data of a given piece of music; a playback unit that plays back chord sounds based on chord progression information for the performance section of the song; an acquisition unit that acquires an answer to a song name guessing quiz from a user while the musical sound of the chord performance is being played; a determination unit that determines whether or not the answer to the song name guessing quiz is correct based on the song name of the song; an identification unit that identifies a predetermined song whose song name is indicated by an answer to the song name guessing quiz that has been determined to be incorrect; a second generating unit that generates chord progression information for a predetermined section based on music data of a predetermined song; a correction unit that corrects the determination result to a correct answer when the chord of the given song from the beginning of the performance section of the given song to the time when the incorrect answer is obtained is included in the chord progression information of the given song; and a notification unit that notifies the result of the determination of whether the answer is correct or not.

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