JPH021734Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field of the invention] The present invention is a so-called karaoke device that plays back a recording medium such as a cassette-type magnetic tape on which accompaniment music is recorded, and mixes and amplifies this playback signal with an audio signal input from a microphone. The present invention relates to an audio signal reproducing device such as a device for reproducing audio using a speaker.

[Technical background of the invention]

A so-called karaoke device is an audio device that allows people to sing along with the music of an orchestra, etc. It is mainly used in snack bars and banquet halls, but it is also used not only for commercial purposes but also for personal and home use. It has even reached the point where it is commercially available. This karaoke device is basically configured as an audio signal reproducing device consisting of a magnetic tape player, an amplifier, a mixing device, and a built-in or external speaker device.
There are various types from stationary to portable types.
There are usually 1 to 3 microphone input circuits, which allow mixing with the so-called karaoke tape played on a magnetic tape player, and even an echo device to add an echo to the microphone input. There are many. Magnetic tape is often available in eight-track cartridge or cassette format. Also, for commercial purposes, one that is linked to a coin box is used. By the way, "karaoke" is a term mainly used in broadcasting, movies, recording technology, etc., and originally meant "sky orchestra", and it is a method of recording or recording songs, narrations, etc., accompaniment, background music, etc. at the same time. This refers to accompaniment, background music, etc. when a performance is not performed. Magnetic tapes on which only accompaniment music such as popular songs are recorded are called karaoke tapes and are widely available on the market.

Conventionally, no karaoke apparatus of this type has been able to achieve the effect of a duet performed by a single singer, that is, a so-called duet performed by one singer. Furthermore, if you are trying to achieve the effect of a one-person duet, you should use a multi-channel tape recorder and perform synchronous recording on each channel multiple times, as is done in record recording, or use a ``karaoke'' method in advance. It was common practice to mix the first microphone input and record it on a tape recorder, and then mix the second microphone input while playing back this tape.

Therefore, conventionally, in order to obtain the effect of a one-person duet, it is necessary to record the singer's voice at least once using a tape recorder, which not only takes a lot of time and effort, but also requires a tape recorder to However, it was not possible to achieve such an effect in real time using only a karaoke machine.

[Purpose of invention]

The object of the present invention is to provide an audio signal reproducing device, such as a karaoke device, which allows one person to achieve the effect of multiplex singing easily and in real time.

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention includes a reproduction means for reading and reproducing an audio signal recorded on a specific recording track of a recording medium, and a pitch control device for receiving microphone input and compressing or expanding the audio signal to control the frequency of the microphone input. , pitch setting means for setting the control value of the pitch control device to a predetermined value musically related to the microphone input; and pitch setting means for setting the control value of the pitch control device to a predetermined value musically related to the microphone input; and a signal mixing means for mixing according to the level relationship of the audio signals and providing for audio reproduction.
It is characterized by the fact that it uses decompression processing technology to easily achieve effects such as one-person duets.

[Example of idea]

The figure shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment described here, for example, the normal 4-track recording method (in the case of a cassette) is used as the recording and reproducing method of the magnetic tape used, and in the case of a dedicated karaoke tape, the first and fourth channels are "karaoke". is recorded, and pitch control signals, which will be described later, are recorded on the second and third channels. That is, "karaoke" is recorded on one of the original two channels, and a pitch control signal is recorded on the other channel. Further, it is assumed that a general-purpose karaoke tape (monophonic in this case) has a common "karaoke" recorded across both two channels, that is, the first and second channels (or the third and fourth channels).

In the figure, 1a and 1b are playback heads, which respectively represent the first channel of the magnetic tape, that is, the channel in which "karaoke" is recorded in the case of a dedicated tape, and the second channel, that is, the channel in which the pitch control signal is recorded in the case of a dedicated tape. Reproduce. Head amplifiers 2a and 2b amplify the reproduction outputs of reproduction heads 1a and 1b, respectively. 3 is a microphone connected to the outside, and 4 is a microphone head amplifier for amplifying the input of the microphone 3. 5 and 6 are attenuators for variably adjusting the levels of the karaoke playback signal output from the head amplifier 2a and the microphone input output from the head amplifier 4, for example, by external operation, and 7 is applied via the attenuators 5 and 6. This is a mixer that mixes the level-adjusted karaoke playback signal and microphone input signal. 8 is a pitch controller which converts the frequency of an input audio signal according to a separately given control value, and is a device that utilizes so-called audio compression and expansion technology that has been put into practical use in recent years. That is, this pitch controller 8 digitally encodes an analog audio signal input, writes it into a RAM (random access memory), reads it out, and outputs it as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 57-23899, and also inputs the read clock frequency at the time of reading from the outside. The sound pitch, that is, the frequency of the sound, is controlled by variable control according to the given control value. Reference numeral 9 denotes an operation switch for manually switching on and off the signal path for inputting the microphone input output from the microphone amplifier 4 to the pitch controller 8. In this case, the microphone 3 is equipped with at least an operation section so that it can be operated remotely. It's summery. Reference numeral 10 denotes an analog delay circuit that delays the output of the pitch controller 8 by an appropriate amount of time, for example, about 100 to 200 ms. ing. Reference numeral 11 denotes an attenuator that variably adjusts the level of the output of the delay circuit 10, for example, by external operation. 12 and 13
are buffer amplifiers provided on the output side of the mixer 7 and on the output side of the attenuator 11, respectively; 14 is a mixer that mixes the outputs of the mixer 7 and the attenuator 11 provided via the buffer amplifiers 12 and 13, respectively; 15 is a mixer of the mixer 14; A power amplifier 16 amplifies the power of the output, and 16 is an output terminal for giving the output of the power amplifier 15 to a built-in or external speaker.

Reference numerals 17 to 20 denote band pass filters for separating and extracting the pitch control signal of the dedicated tape reproduced by the reproduction head 1b and amplified by the head amplifier 2b for each bit, and 21 denotes each output signal of the band pass filters 17 to 20. A waveform shaping circuit 22 converts the digital value into an H (high level) or L (low level) signal corresponding to the digital value, and 22 operates an analog switch in accordance with the output digital value of the waveform shaping circuit 21 to change, for example, an analog resistance value. This is a D/A (digital-to-analog) converter.
Further, 23 is a manual preset device for selectively setting a predetermined resistance value by an external preset operation, and 24 is a manual preset device for selectively setting a predetermined resistance value by an external preset operation. This is an auto/manual mode changeover switch that selects an operation and gives it to the pitch controller 8 as a control value.

That is, in this case, the pitch control signal recorded on the second channel of the dedicated tape sets the control value of the pitch controller 8 using, for example, a 4-bit digital code.
The digital value of the bit is converted into a signal of a different frequency for each bit position and recorded. In other words, in this case, the 4-bit data is D ₁ , D ₂ , D ₃ ,
For example, ₁ = _510kdl , ₂ =
Frequencies such as 1.35 kdl, ₃ = 2.9 kdl, and ₄ = 4.95 kdl that do not cause beats or interference with each other are matched, and the signals of each of these frequencies are combined, multiplexed, and recorded. Each data D ₁ to _{D 4}
The value of each represents 4-bit data, with "1" when a signal of the corresponding frequency is present, and "0" when there is no signal. Bandpass filter 17
.about.20 separates the multiplexed signals of the four types of frequencies, and are designed to pass only the bands corresponding to the respective frequencies ₁ to ₄ . The waveform shaping circuit 21 includes a bandpass filter 17
Each frequency component separated and extracted in ~20 is rectified and smoothed separately, and D/A is performed as a 4-bit signal of H when there is a signal of each frequency and L when there is no signal of each frequency.
It is given to the converter 22. In this case, the compression and expansion frequencies of the pitch controller 8 can be considered to be basically determined by the frequency ratio of the write clock (constant) and the read clock, and in this case a CR type oscillator is used as the read clock oscillator. This readout clock is
The value of R (resistance) of the CR type oscillator is controlled by the D/A converter 22 in 16 steps (since it is 4 bits). For example, when performing a solo duet, the part that harmonizes with the main melody is often one octave (perfect 8th), or one above (high side) or below (low side) the main melody. It is considered to be within 12 semitones, and even if you include the main melody, it will consist of 13 notes, so if you set the main melody above or below in advance, 4 bits = 16 steps can cover it sufficiently.
Several levels can be taken on the opposite side of the main melody (lower side if the upper side is set). If it is anticipated that this will not be sufficient, it will be sufficient to use a 5-bit or 6-bit digital code for the pitch control signal. In this way, the pitch control signal recorded on the second channel of the dedicated tape provides pitch control information for forming the second part for the main melody when it is input from the microphone input.

On the other hand, when using a general-purpose karaoke tape other than a dedicated tape, the manual preset device 23 is used to simulate a certain degree of one-man duet effect since the pitch control signal is not recorded on the second channel. So, above the main melody is a perfect 8th or 1 octave higher (twice the frequency), below the main melody is a perfect 8th or 1 octave lower (1/2 frequency) and the main melody. It has a resistance value that provides a control value corresponding to three types of pitches (perfect 1st), and one of these can be switched and selected as desired by external operation.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be explained.

(b) "When using a special tape" First, attach the special tape and turn the operation switch 9.
is turned on, the mode selector switch 24 is switched to the auto side (side A in the figure), and playback is started.
Then, the singer sings into the microphone 3 along with the ``karaoke'' of the first channel of the tape being played back by the playback head 1a (of course, the main melody). The ``karaoke'' playback signal and the microphone input amplified by the head amplifier 2a and the microphone head amplifier 4 are adjusted appropriately by attenuators 5 and 6, are additively mixed by a mixer 7, and are applied to a mixer 14 via a buffer amplifier 12. At the same time, the microphone input output from the head amplifier 4 is input to the pitch controller 8 via the operation switch 9. On the other hand, the pitch control signal reproduced by the reproduction head 1b is amplified by the head amplifier 2b, each of the frequency-multiplexed 4-bit signal components is separated and extracted by the bandpass filters 17 to 20, and the waveform shaping circuit 21 converts each signal into digital 2 bits. The waveform of the signal is shaped into a value level signal, and the signal is provided to the D/A converter 22. Therefore, in the D/A converter 22, the resistance value is variably controlled in accordance with the pitch control signal. At this time, since the mode selector switch 24 has selected the auto side (side A), the above resistance value is given to the pitch controller 8 as a control value. In this way, the main melody audio signal input to the microphone 3 is pitch-converted in accordance with the pitch control signal reproduced by the reproduction head 1b, further delayed for a predetermined time by the delay circuit 10, and level-adjusted by the attenuator 11. Batsuhua amp 13
The signal is supplied to the mixer 14 via. Mixer 14 is a "karaoke" provided by Batsuhua Amplifier 12.
The synthesized signal of the main melody from the playback signal and three microphone inputs is additively mixed with the second part signal based on the pitch control given from the buffer amplifier 13, and this mixed signal is sent to the speaker from the output terminal 16 via the power amplifier 15. supplied to Note that the delay circuit 10 delays the output of the pitch controller 8 slightly (100 to 200 ms is optimal) because this second part is masked by the main melody's microphone 3 input and the effect of the duet is weakened. This time difference separates the two voices, making it appear as if they are being sung by different people. Therefore, from the speaker, the "karaoke" played by the playback head 1a, the voice of the main melody as it was input from the microphone 3, and the pitch control of the microphone input according to the pitch control signal by the pitch controller 8. The audio of the second part is attenuator 5, 6, 1
The signals mixed at the mixing ratio appropriately adjusted in step 1 are reproduced, and a good one-person duet effect can be obtained.

(b) "When using a general-purpose tape" Attach a general-purpose karaoke tape on which no pitch control signal is recorded, and press the operation switch 9.
is turned on, the mode selector switch is switched to the manual side (M side in the figure), and the manual preset device 23 is preset to either an upper perfect 8th, a lower perfect 8th, or the same pitch, and playback is started. Manual preset device 23
For example, if the singer is male, select the upper perfect 8th, and if the singer is female, select the lower perfect 8th, and you will get an effect similar to a male-female duet.
If you select the same pitch, it becomes so-called unison,
This produces an effect that makes the quality of the voice feel softer. In this way, the mode changeover switch 24
The preset value of the manual preset device 23 is given as a control value to the pitch controller 8, and the pitch controller 8 sets the main melody to 1 in almost the same way as the auto operation described above.
Voices of a melody an octave higher, a melody one octave lower, or the same melody are formed, which are delayed by a delay circuit 10 and mixed with the ``karaoke'' or main melody voice. At this time, the effect of the delay circuit 10 is very effective. In this way, although it is not as effective as in case (a), the effect to some extent is as if two singers are singing.

(c) ``When one person does not perform a duet'' If the operation switch 9 is turned off, the signal input to the pitch controller 8 is cut off, so in this state it can be used like a normal karaoke apparatus.

In this way, the effect of a one-person duet can be obtained very effectively and easily using a special tape or a general-purpose tape.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist thereof.

For example, in the case of using a dedicated tape, the delay circuit 10 does not necessarily provide at least some effect, and the operation switch 9 does not necessarily need to be attached to the microphone 3. Further, the preset device 23 may be configured to allow selection of only some of the above three types of presets.

Further, the delay circuit 10 may not be specially provided, and the pitch controller 8 may be provided with a delay function.

Further, the order combination of mixing may be changed as appropriate, and an echo adding device may be inserted as appropriate to add an echo to a part of each signal to be mixed or the output after mixing, or a delay circuit 10,
An echo addition function may be added to any of the pitch controllers 8.

Further, although the pitch control signal is an FSK (frequency shift keying) signal obtained by frequency division multiplexing a 4-bit digital code, other digital transmission signals or analog signals may be used.

Furthermore, "karaoke" may be a stereophonic or multi-channel signal, and the audio signal system added by pitch control may be multi-channel to obtain the effect of one person singing multiple songs.

In addition, without providing a special channel for the pitch control signal on the dedicated tape, frequency components other than audible frequencies (however, they can be played back by a playback head, etc.) are mixed into the ``karaoke'' audio signal, and these are separated and extracted for use. It's okay.

Of course, the present invention can be implemented in substantially the same manner as described above for playback devices other than karaoke devices and recording media other than tapes.

[Effect of idea]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an audio signal reproducing device that can easily obtain the effect of multiplex singing by one person in real time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. 1a, 1b...playback head, 2a, 2b, 4...
...Head amplifier, 3...Microphone, 5, 6,
11... Attenuator, 7, 14... Mixer, 8
...Pitch controller, 9...Operation switch,
10... Delay circuit, 12, 13... Buffer amplifier, 15... Power amplifier, 16... Output terminal,
17-20...band pass filter, 21...waveform shaping circuit, 22...D/A converter, 23...manual preset device, 24...mode changeover switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) Reproducing means for reading and reproducing audio signals recorded on a specific recording track of a recording medium;
a pitch control device that receives microphone input and compresses or expands the audio signal to control the frequency of the microphone input; and a pitch setting that sets the control value of the pitch control device to a predetermined value musically related to the microphone input. and signal mixing means for mixing the audio signal reproduced by the reproduction means, the microphone input, and the output of the pitch control device in a predetermined level relationship for audio reproduction. (2) A utility model characterized in that the pitch setting means reads out and reproduces a pitch control signal previously recorded on a recording track other than the recording track on which the audio signal is recorded, and sets the control value using this pitch control signal. An audio signal reproducing device according to claim 1. (3) The audio signal reproduction according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pitch control device substantially includes delay means for delaying the output with respect to the microphone input. Device.