Cuepoint Generation for Seamless Audio Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital music players lack the ability to provide seamless playback between songs, particularly in genres like dance music or DJ mixes, where continuous listening is desired without audible gaps, and do not allow for beat-matched transitions based on tempo or measure groupings.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for generating cuepoints that map to measure groupings in songs, allowing for the identification and reconciliation of submitted markings to create seamless transitions between songs, using a network interface, neighborhood generator, and selector to choose candidate cuepoints for mixing and transitioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional digital music players play songs in sequence from a playlist, then the playback order is simple and easy to control, but there are audible gaps and abrupt breaks between songs
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of songs to identify measure groupings, beats, and tempo information before playback. Cuepoints are pre-calculated and stored for each song, enabling seamless transitions without real-time complex processing during actual playback
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer that analyzes song structure (measures, beats, tempo) and generates cuepoint data. This intermediary layer bridges the simple playlist sequence and the complex real-time transition requirements, allowing conventional players to achieve seamless playback
2Measurement precision
If songs are transitioned without alignment to tempo or measure groupings, then the playback process is simple and fast, but the transition is not aligned according to tempo and does not take into account matching portions of songs
Solution Approach 1:
Measure groupings, beats, and tempo information are identified and stored as cuepoints before playback occurs. This preliminary analysis allows the system to achieve precise transition alignment without calculating these parameters in real-time during song transitions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments songs into measure groupings and identifies specific beats within each measure. By dividing the song structure into these manageable segments and pre-calculating cuepoints for each, the system achieves precise alignment while reducing real-time processing requirements
3Reliability
If conventional players allow seamless blending of songs, then continuous listening is improved, but the transition would not be aligned according to tempo or measure groupings
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-analyzes each song to identify measure groupings, beats, and tempo characteristics, storing this information as cuepoints. This allows the player to perform tempo-aligned transitions with continuous music flow without real-time calculation delays
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic transition capabilities that can adjust blending parameters based on the identified measure groupings and tempo information. The system can dynamically select appropriate transition points and blending ratios while maintaining alignment with the musical structure
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for generating cuepoints for mixing song data. One or more people may listen to a song and identify measure groupings within the song. The one or more people might generate markings corresponding to these measure groupings and submit the markings to a cuepoint generation system. The markings may then be reconciled into cuepoints that may be used for mixing the song with other song data. In some embodiments, the cuepoints may be adjusted based on characteristics of the particular songs that are to be mixed together.