Tempo and Meter Determination for Musical Performance Input
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic musical instruments require players to practice moving their right and left hands independently, with difficulty in determining tempo and meter, especially for beginners, as they need to play melodies and accompaniments simultaneously, and existing systems fail to accurately adjust for human performance variations.
Innovation Solution
A performance information processing apparatus that determines tempo and meter based on note durations, using a CPU to measure time intervals between note entries and calculate ratios, allowing for accurate tempo and meter determination even with human performance fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the performer plays a melody in real-time, then the performance can be captured and processed, but the performer's intended codes are not added when the performance is not given in the predetermined tempo
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the reference tempo based on the actual performance tempo detected from the melody. Instead of using a fixed predetermined tempo, the tempo determining unit calculates the actual tempo from the time intervals between successive notes in the performed melody, allowing the system to adapt to the performer's natural variations in tempo while still enabling accurate code generation
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the tempo parameter from a fixed predetermined value to a dynamically calculated value based on the actual performance. By measuring the time intervals between notes and deriving the tempo from these measurements, the system transforms the rigid parameter into a flexible one that reflects the performer's actual playing style
2Ease of operation
If the performer plays with natural tempo variations, then the performance reflects human expression, but the existing system cannot accurately determine tempo and meter
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from the actual performance timing to adjust and determine the tempo and meter. By continuously monitoring the time intervals between successive notes and using this information to calculate the tempo, the system creates a closed-loop process that accurately captures the performer's intended tempo and meter even when there are natural variations in playing speed
Solution Approach 2:
The system determines tempo and meter automatically from the performance data itself without requiring external input or manual setting. The tempo determining unit extracts timing information directly from the sequence of performed notes, and the meter determining unit derives the meter pattern from these same timing data, allowing the performance to self-determine its own temporal characteristics
Data Source
AI summary
A performance-information processing apparatus processes performance information entered thereto. When the performance information is entered in a time interval between (i) a starting time point, at which performance information of one note starts entering and (ii) a first timing, that is a certain time after another performance information of a note has been entered after the performance information of said one note was entered, a tempo determining unit determines a tempo of the performance information, based on the performance information entered in the time interval, and a meter determining unit which determines a meter of the performance information based on the tempo determined by the tempo determining unit.