Synchronizing Digital Scores with Expressive Audio via Temporal Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current music notation systems can only synchronize audio playback with automatically generated digital scores, resulting in robotic and lifeless renderings that fail to accurately represent the music, limiting the ability to synchronize playback with more expressive human performances.
Innovation Solution
A method is developed to synchronize a digital musical score with an alternate audio rendering by generating a temporal mapping of score events to the offsets in an expressive audio recording, using subclips and cross-correlation to align the playback location within the graphical score with the alternate audio, allowing for synchronization with human performances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If automatically generated audio renderings from digital scores are used for synchronized playback, then synchronization accuracy is maintained, but the audio quality becomes robotic and lifeless
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a temporal mapping as an intermediary between the digital score and the expressive audio recording. This mapping contains offset values that align score events with their corresponding timestamps in the human performance recording, enabling synchronization without requiring the audio to be automatically generated from the score.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If expressive human performance recordings are used for audio playback, then audio quality and musical expression are improved, but synchronization with the digital score becomes inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the temporal parameters of the expressive audio recording by applying offset values from the temporal mapping. Each score event is associated with a corrected timestamp that accounts for timing deviations in the human performance, thereby maintaining synchronization accuracy while preserving the expressive quality of the original recording.
3Adaptability or versatility
If synchronized playback is extended to expressive audio recordings, then the range of applicable renderings is widened, but the complexity of the synchronization system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-generating the temporal mapping between score events and expressive audio timestamps before playback. This mapping is created once and stored, allowing the system to synchronize any expressive recording with its corresponding score without requiring complex real-time analysis during playback.
4Measurement precision
If temporal mapping is generated by comparing synthesized audio with expressive recording, then synchronization accuracy is improved, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio comparison process by analyzing specific temporal features and key events rather than processing the entire audio signal continuously. This segmentation allows for accurate temporal mapping generation while reducing the overall computational burden and processing time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables accurate synchronization of the graphical score with expressive audio renderings, enhancing the representation of music by aligning playback locations with the temporal offsets of human performances, providing a more authentic listening experience.
Implementation Method 1
determining an adjusted temporal offset of the subclip of the synthesized audio for which a cross-correlation between the subclip of the synthesized audio rendering and the subclip of the alternate audio rendering is maximized
Data Source
AI summary
Playback of a graphical representation of a digital musical score is synchronized with an expressive audio rendering of the score that contains tempo and dynamics beyond those specified in the score. The method involves determining a set of offsets for occurrences of score events in the audio rendering by comparing and temporally aligning audio waveforms of successive subclips of the audio rendering with corresponding audio waveforms of successive subclips of an audio rendering synthesized directly from the score. Tempos and dynamics of human performances may be extracted and used to generate expressive renderings synthesized from the corresponding digital score. This enables parties who wish to distribute or share music scores, such as composers and publishers, to allow prospective licensors to evaluate the score by listening to an expressive musical recording instead of a mechanically synthesized rendering.