Music Analysis Device Snare Drum Beat Position Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing music piece analyzers erroneously detect beat positions in music pieces that include half-time beats, as they fail to accurately distinguish between regular and half-time beats.

Innovation Solution

A music piece analyzer comprising a CPU and storage, equipped with a temporary beat position acquiring unit, a snare drum detector, and a beat position determination unit, which uses FFT analysis and filters to identify sounding positions of the snare drum and determine correct beat positions by analyzing the remainder of the snare drum's sounding positions relative to temporary beat positions, thereby preventing erroneous detection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If typical beat detection methods are used to detect kick positions or high acoustic energy portions as beat positions, then beat positions can be detected in most music pieces, but half-time beats are erroneously detected as beat positions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebeat position detection capabilityVSAvoidbeat position detection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a snare drum detector as an intermediary component that specifically detects snare drum sounds to serve as a reference for verifying beat positions. The snare drum detector acts as a mediator between the temporary beat position acquirer and the beat position determiner, providing additional information to resolve the contradiction between detecting all potential beats and accurately distinguishing true beats from half-time beats.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the beat position determiner uses the sounding positions of the snare drum (detected by the snare drum detector) to verify and correct the temporary beat positions. The system compares the temporary beat positions with the snare drum sounding positions and adjusts the beat position determination based on this feedback, thereby improving accuracy while maintaining detection capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Adaptability or versatility

If half-time beats are included in beat position detection, then more complete rhythm coverage is achieved, but erroneous detection of beat positions occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverhythm pattern coverageVSAvoidbeat position detection reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic beat position determination by making the beat position selection adaptive based on the relationship between temporary beat positions and snare drum sounding positions. The system dynamically adjusts which positions are identified as beat positions depending on whether they align with snare drum patterns, thereby maintaining reliability across different rhythm patterns including half-time beats.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter used for beat position verification from purely acoustic energy-based detection to a hybrid approach that incorporates snare drum spectral characteristics. By using the snare drum detector with specific frequency range filtering (1.5kHz to 4kHz) and temporal pattern recognition, the system changes the detection parameters to reliably distinguish true beats from half-time beats across various rhythm patterns.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3690873B1Music analysis device and music analysis program
Publication Date: 2024.01.24 ALPHATHETA CORP
  • EP3690873B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3690873B1 patent drawingFigure 2~4
  • EP3690873B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

A music piece analyzer (1) includes: a temporary beat position acquiring unit (20) configured to detect temporary beat positions of music piece data (SD) or acquire the temporary beat positions detected by an external device; a snare drum detector (21) configured to detect sounding positions of a snare drum in the music piece data (SD) or acquire the sounding positions of the snare drum detected by an external device; a position determination unit (23) configured to determine whether the detected sounding positions of the snare drum coincide with the temporary beat positions of the music piece data (SD); and a beat position setting unit configured to set beat positions of the music piece data (SD) with reference to the sounding positions of the snare drum determined not to coincide with the temporary beat positions of the music piece data (SD) by the position determination unit (23).