Digital Score Scrolling Adaptation to Musician Tempo
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for scrolling virtual musical scores in real-time during a performance are ineffective due to noise and instrument-specific variations, making it difficult to accurately identify notes and maintain synchronization with the musician's tempo.
Innovation Solution
A method that captures real-time audio signals, estimates the dominant tempo, and adjusts the scrolling speed of digital scores on a device, allowing continuous scrolling and synchronization with the musician's performance, using audio sensing means like microphones and A/D converters, and employing techniques such as spectrogram analysis and autocorrelation to improve tempo estimation accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If real-time audio signal analysis is used to detect tempo and adjust scrolling speed, then the scrolling adapts to the musician's performance, but noise and instrument variations cause inaccurate note identification and tempo detection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio signal into frames and processes each frame independently to detect onsets and estimate tempo. This segmentation allows the system to handle noise and variations by analyzing local temporal patterns rather than relying on the entire signal, thereby maintaining adaptation while improving detection precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing of the audio signal by computing spectrograms and detecting onsets before tempo estimation. This preliminary action prepares the data in a form that is more robust to noise and instrument variations, enabling accurate tempo detection that adapts to the musician's performance.
2Device complexity
If page-by-page scrolling is used to display electronic scores, then the display is simple and memory usage is low, but the scrolling does not synchronize with the musician's tempo
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from static page-by-page scrolling to dynamic scrolling where the scrolling speed continuously adapts to the detected tempo. The system dynamically adjusts the scrolling rate based on real-time tempo estimation, maintaining simplicity while achieving tempo synchronization through continuous parameter adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback loop where the detected tempo from audio analysis feeds back to control the scrolling speed. This feedback mechanism enables the scrolling to synchronize with the musician's performance while keeping the overall system relatively simple by using the detected tempo as a direct control parameter.
3Ease of operation
If note identification based on tone frequency comparison is used, then the scrolling can follow the playing position, but instrument variations and environmental factors make unequivocal note identification infeasible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts temporal information (onsets and tempo) from the audio signal rather than relying on frequency-based note identification. By taking out the temporal characteristics that are more robust to instrument variations and environmental factors, the system achieves reliable scrolling control without being affected by the unreliability of tone frequency comparison.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical approach of frequency-based note identification with a temporal analysis approach using spectrograms and onset detection. This substitution replaces a system that is sensitive to instrument variations with one that relies on temporal patterns, thereby improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation for scrolling control.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for displaying a musical score on a screen of an electronic device, comprising: loading a file having a digital score in a piece of memory of said electronic device; scrolling said digital score on the screen of the electronic device; capturing an audio signal (501) corresponding to said musical score being played by a musician; repeatedly selecting frames (frame_i) of the captured audio signal (501) and, for each selected frame (frame_i): obtaining a dominant tempo value (502) at which the music contained in said frame (frame_i) is played; from the dominant tempo value (502) obtained from said frame (frame_i) and from a reference tempo (503) comprising a reference figure and a reference tempo value, estimating (52) the tempo at which the musician is playing, said estimated tempo (504) comprising said reference figure and a normalized tempo value with respect to the dominant tempo value (502); adjusting the scrolling speed of the digital score according to the estimated tempo (504).