JPH0337698A - Melody data conversion system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform melody conversion to obtain a melody adapted to the musical time pattern, the rhythm, the atmosphere, or the like of an accompaniment by providing a means which obtains each constituting sound of the melody as the position on the scale of the melody and a means which allows this obtained position to correspond to a position on a conversion objective scale to perform the scale conversion between melodies. CONSTITUTION:The melody to be converted is converted to data of the sound name or the like of each constituting sound and is held as melody data 1, and a scale 2 indicates the scale name forming the melody or information designating the scale name. An intra-scale position determining means 3 obtains scale designating information of the scale 2 to express respective constituting sounds of melody data 1 as the arrangement of positions in the designated scale. Degrees of separation from a principal sound of respective positions in each of various scales are described in scale correspondence rules 4. When a scale is inputted by the external conversion indication, a scale converting means 5 uses a rule related to the objective scale out of scale correspondence rules 4 to perform the scale out of scale correspondence rules 4 to perform the scale conversion. Thus, the melody adapted to the atmosphere of the accompaniment is played.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a melody conversion method used in an arrangement system using a computer.

(Prior art) Arranging is a musical score that is ready to be played as a piece by adding accompaniment, creating sub-melodies, creating preludes, interludes, second songs, etc., and determining the arrangement structure for the target melody. This is the act of creating music, performance data, etc. Currently, these operations are basically performed manually. In other words, the arranger creates music in his head and converts it into a score. However, arranging using this method requires extensive musical knowledge, and the result of the arrangement cannot be immediately heard as a performance unless the performer is present. Therefore, in recent years, music has been arranged using the automatic performance function of computers.

In this method, performance data arranged using a performance data creation editor is created, and music data is created while checking and correcting the arrangement result through automatic performance. Although this method improves the efficiency of arranging work because the arrangement results can be confirmed by ear, arranging work remains a labor-intensive task for those who do not have a wealth of arranging knowledge or musical experience.

Against this background, attempts have recently been made to automate part of the arrangement so that even amateurs can enjoy arranging, and to further improve the efficiency of the arrangement work. For example, the automatic chording function implemented in the automatic performance software “Music Cool°” for the personal computer PC88VA manufactured by NEC Home Electronics Co., Ltd., automatically plays melodies written manually. This software determines the chord progression.The software also has an automatic performance function that allows the user to select an accompaniment pattern stored in a file in advance, and the melody and accompaniment are played according to the determined chord progression. Also, Lit-Music's music score printing software "Mukan Bijin" for the personal computer PC9801, also manufactured by NEC Corporation, has a function to transpose the melody by shifting the note number of the input melody. There is.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In arranging work by humans, it is common to change the note length, pronunciation timing, and note name of the melody to match the meter, rhythm, etc. of the accompaniment. However, in conventional computer-based arrangements, it is not possible to change the melody to suit the meter and rhythm of the accompaniment according to one's preference. for example,
It was not possible to change the atmosphere of a melody by converting a melody in a major key to a melody in a minor key. The melody modulation function in the conventional system shifts the note names of all constituent notes in the melody by the same number of degrees, and does not solve the above-mentioned problem of compatibility with the accompaniment. Furthermore, when the time signature of the accompaniment is different from the time signature of the melody, it is not possible to perform the music appropriately.

In this way, the melody is basically played using the exact note lengths, note names, and pronunciation timings created manually, so if the melody does not match the accompaniment's time signature, rhythmic rhythm, or atmosphere, it will be difficult to listen to. It ends up being a performance.

An object of the present invention is to provide a melody data conversion method that can convert an input original melody into a melody that matches the time signature, rhythm, atmosphere, etc. of the accompaniment, in order to eliminate such problems.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The first aspect of the present invention is a means for determining each constituent note in a melody as a position on the scale of the melody, and converting the position on the scale of each determined constituent note. It is characterized by having pitch conversion means for performing scale conversion between melodies by making them correspond to positions on the target scale.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized by having a time signature conversion means that changes the time signature of the melody by changing the note length depending on the sounding time within the bar of each constituent note in the melody.

The third aspect of the present invention is to change the start time, duration, and volume of each constituent note in the melody according to rules representing the rhythm, which is an effect produced by the discrepancy between the performance data as written on the musical score and the lively performance data. The present invention is characterized in that it has a rhythm converting means for changing the rhythm of the melody by changing the rhythm of the melody.

(Operation) The first aspect of the present invention is to perform scale conversion on melody data to change the impression received from the melody and increase suitability for accompaniment. The principle will be explained below.

A musical scale is a step-like series of notes within an octave arranged in order of pitch, and is also called a scale.

In the case of general major and minor keys, melodies and harmonies are formed based on the scale, and tonality is established. There are many different types of scales, but the type of scale tones that a melody is composed of has a great influence on the atmosphere and impression of the melody. Therefore, by converting the scale of the melody to a different scale, it is possible to change the atmosphere and impression of the melody. The number of notes in a scale varies depending on the type of scale. It generally ranges from 5 to 12 notes, and the mainstream is a 7-note structure.

Those with 9 to 11 tones are not used. Although scale conversion is possible even when the number of scale notes is different, here, as an example, scale conversion between seven-tone configurations will be explained.

When there is a tonality in the melody data that is the basis of the conversion, the constituent notes of the melody data can be expressed as the position within the scale of that key, that is, the number of scale notes from the tonic (root). For example, if the key of the base melody data is C major,
The melody data is the position in the major scale starting from the note name "H" (1 (C), 2 (D), 3 (E), ......, 7 (
It can be expressed as a sequence of b)). Here, in order to convert the base melody data expressed as a position in the scale to the melody of the target scale, we need to determine the correspondence between the base major scale note and the target scale note. It may be determined in advance.

Now, let's consider converting from the C major scale to the 2 minor natural minor scale. The scale to be converted starts from "2" (1 (D), 2 (E), 3 (E), ..., 7 (C)), and the scale obtained as above is Position within the major scale (1
(c), 2(d), . . . , 7(b)) By matching the same numbers, it is possible to convert the base melody data to the desired dimajor natural minor scale. here,
Even if the numbers of scale notes are different, conversion is possible by defining the correspondence between the numbers.

A second aspect of the present invention is to create melody data that is suitable for accompaniment with a different time signature by performing time signature conversion on the melody data.

Meter refers to the musical time grouped into a certain number of beats, and measures are separated by that unit. The time signature within a measure shows a regular repetition of dynamics, and the number of beats within the measure indicates a
It is classified into beats, triple beats, quadruple beats, etc. To convert the time signature, a tone length conversion rule that depends on the beat within a measure may be determined in advance, and then applied sequentially to each constituent note of the base melody data.

For example, to convert from 4 time signatures to 3 time signatures, for example, by applying the rule "Half the duration of the constituent notes existing on the 3rd to 4th beats of each measure", 3.
It is possible to convert two beats worth of melody at the ~4th beat into one beat worth.

The third aspect of the present invention is to change the pitch of the melody and increase its suitability to the accompaniment by changing the note name, note length, and pronunciation timing of the constituent notes in the base melody data. It is something. Nori refers to the effect that makes a performance lively, which is created from subtle differences in the timing and volume of pronunciations during performance compared to the performance data written on the musical score. Since the rhythm differs depending on the rhythm of the accompaniment, it is expected that the performance will be easier to listen to by converting the rhythm of the melody to match the rhythm of the accompaniment. In order to convert the rhythm of the melody to match the rhythm of the intended accompaniment, the rhythm of the accompaniment, that is, changes in duration, pronunciation timing, and volume, must be described for each accompaniment, and each structure of the melody data This can be achieved by converting the sound pronunciation timing, sound length, and volume to suit them.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a melody data conversion section in an arrangement system to which the melody data conversion method according to the first invention is applied.

Melody data 1 is data in which a melody to be converted is converted into data such as the note name, note length, and pronunciation timing of each constituent note and is held. As an example of melody data, here, the melody shown in the 5-line staff in Figure 4(a) is converted to the 4th melody.
The melody data shown in Figure (b) will be used. (b
) is the time when one beat is 48, and the pronunciation timing is the time from the start time of the measure, which is also determined when one beat is 48. Scale 2 is the name of the scale forming the melody shown in FIG. 4 (aXb) or information specifying the name of the scale.

In the example in Figure 4, the key is C major, and the melody's scale is 2.
is given as a C major scale. In-scale position determining means 3
Now, the scale designation information for scale 2 is obtained, and each constituent note of melody data 1 is expressed as a sequence of positions within the designated scale. As the position within the scale, a number from the tonic in the scale can be used.

Figure 5 shows the C major scale. Starting from C, the positions are 1 (Ha), 2 (D), 3 (Ho), etc., and Ma (Ro). Fourth
Since the melody in the figure is (ha, ho, g, i, g), the position of the melody in the scale is (1, 3, 5, 6, 5).

Regarding scale correspondence, Rule 4 describes, for each of various scales, the degree (degree) that each position (1 to 7) in the scale is distant from the tonic. Degree is a unit that represents a semitone. When a target scale is manually inputted by an external conversion instruction, the scale conversion means 5 converts the scale using the rule related to the target scale from among the scale mapping rules 4. Here, the target scale will be explained as an A natural minor scale. Figure 6 shows the natural minor scale with "i" as the tonic.

Below the 5-line staff, in addition to the position and note name, each position in the scale (
The frequencies from the tonic corresponding to 1 to 7) are described.

Although the 5-line staff in Figure 6 has Ipa as the tonic, the note name can be found for any tonic by the degree from the tonic shown in Figure 6. In the above example, when converting the C major scale melody (Figure 4) to, for example, A minor scale, the scale correspondence rules shown in Figure 6 with A as the tonic are applied, and the scale position ( 1-7) Find the note name corresponding to each. The determined pitch name is shown in FIG.

Using the note names of the in-scale positions (1 to 7) obtained above, the sequence of in-scale positions (1, 3, 5, 6, 5) of the melody of the C major scale determined by the scale position determination means 3 is determined. By replacing it, converted melody data is created.

The musical positions of the A minor scale shown in Figure 6 are 1 (A) and 3.
(c), 5 (e), and 6 (he), so the pitch name of the melody after conversion is (i, ha, ho, he, ho).

In the example explained above, the number of scale notes is the same, but even if the numbers are different, conversion is possible by defining the correspondence. Furthermore, if there are constituent notes in the melody that are not on the scale, they can be similarly converted by describing them as relative relationships with the scale notes. In other words, in the case of the note "to" in the C major scale, "4+" is a semitone above position 4 (E) in the scale, or "15" is a semitone below 5 (G).
11, and find the pitch name as a semitone above the pitch name of the desired pitch position 4 or a semitone below the pitch name of 5. It is also possible to convert the same type of scale with different tonic notes, and in this case, the function is equivalent to the transposition of the prior art.

Next, the second invention of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a melody data conversion section to which the melody data conversion method according to the second invention is applied. Melody data 1 is held in the same format as described above.

In the meter conversion rules 8, rules for changing the note length of a melody depending on the position within a measure are described for each type of meter conversion. The time signatures include 2 beats, 3 beats, 4 beats, 1. There are various types, such as . . . , and the change instruction specifies which time signature to convert from. Here, the conversion from triple time to four time signature will be explained as an example. As a rule, for example, “
It is possible to use the rule "double the time length of each piece of melodic data included in the time of the first beat". Figure 7 shows an example of conversion according to that rule. (a) is the melody before conversion, and (b) is the melody after conversion.■ The quarter note (C) in the measure is converted to a half note, and the half note (U) in the second measure is converted to a dotted half note. It is obvious that the rules are not limited to the ones mentioned above, and various time length conversion rules can be written.

Next, the third invention of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a melody data conversion section to which the melody data conversion method according to the third invention is applied. In the present invention, the rhythm of the melody is changed to match the rhythm specified from the outside. In rhythm performance, groove is something that can be felt from the subtle discrepancies in the timing and duration of the pronunciation of each note as marked on the musical score, and it makes the performance more lively. This is the effect of making it more appealing.

The rhythm conversion rule 10 describes the pronunciation of sounds within a measure and the timing at which the sounds are stopped. The nori converting means 9 obtains the rules of the nori to be converted from the conversion instruction, and makes the rules correspond to the pronunciation and the timing of stopping sounds described in the nori conversion rules.
The sound generation timing and time length of the constituent notes in the melody data 1 are changed. In other words, the timing of pronunciation and sound stop is made to match the timing described in the rhythm conversion rule. FIG. 8 shows an example of the groove conversion rule. The upper part of FIG. 8 shows the pronunciation, note stop, and iminoji of each constituent note of melody data 1, with the horizontal axis representing time.

The center part is an example of the pronunciation and sound stop timings described in the nori conversion rules. The groove converting means 9 makes the sounding timing of each sound in the upper part of FIG. 8 correspond to the sounding timing closest to the sounding timing in the center part, and also performs the same process for the sound stop timing. What is shown at the bottom of FIG. 8 is the converted result. The example in Figure 8 was explained using the example of time length, but
By adding volume information to the pronunciation section, it is possible to create rhythm conversion rules that include the volume.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the scale of the melody can be easily changed, and a melody performance suitable for the atmosphere of the accompaniment can be performed.

Further, according to the second invention, by converting the time signature of the melody even for accompaniment with a different time signature, it is possible to perform a melody that is not unnatural, and the range of arrangement can be expanded.

Furthermore, according to the third aspect of the invention, by converting the pitch of the melody even for accompaniments with different pitches, it is possible to perform a melody that is not unnatural, and the range of arrangement can be expanded.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the second invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the third invention. FIG. 4 is an example of melody data 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of scale 2 in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the processing in the scale converting means 5 in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the time signature conversion means 7 in FIG. 2. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the groove converting means 9 in FIG. 3. In the figure, 01, melody data, 2... scale, 3. ... Scale position determination means, 4. Scale corresponding bones are rules, 5. Scale conversion means, 6. Post-conversion melody data, 7. Time signature conversion means, 8. Time signature conversion rules. , 9... Nori conversion means, 10... Nori conversion rule.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Scale conversion between melodies by finding each constituent note in the melody as its position on the scale of the melody, and making the found position on the scale of each constituent note correspond to the position on the scale that is the purpose of conversion. A melody data conversion method that performs the following. (2) A melody data conversion method characterized by converting the time signature of a melody by changing the note length depending on the pronunciation time within a measure of each constituent note in the melody. (3) The rhythm of the melody is improved by changing the start time, length, and volume of each constituent note in the melody according to the rules that represent the rhythm, which is an effect produced by the discrepancy between the performance data as written on the musical score and the lively performance data. A melody data conversion method characterized by converting.