U.S. patent application number 10/287444 was filed with the patent office on 2003-08-14 for collaborative, networkable, music management system.
Invention is credited to Hamilton, Michael M..
Application Number | 20030150317 10/287444 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25439611 |
Filed Date | 2003-08-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030150317 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hamilton, Michael M. |
August 14, 2003 |
Collaborative, networkable, music management system
Abstract
A system for displaying music. An Internet server stores the
music. A computer accesses the Internet server and downloads a
particular musical composition. The computer stores the particular
musical composition in a computer memory. A plurality of viewers is
coupled to the computer. The computer retrieves, from the computer
memory, the particular musical composition, and sends the
particular musical composition to the plurality of viewers. The
plurality of viewers displays the particular musical composition
retrieved from the computer memory. The computer controls display
of the particular musical composition on the plurality of viewers.
Each viewer has a stylus. Each stylus is used for annotating the
particular musical composition with annotations.
Inventors: |
Hamilton, Michael M.; (San
Jose, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVID NEWMAN CHARTERED
Centennial Square
P. O. Box 2728
La Plata
MD
20646-2728
US
|
Family ID: |
25439611 |
Appl. No.: |
10/287444 |
Filed: |
November 4, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10287444 |
Nov 4, 2002 |
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09917992 |
Jul 30, 2001 |
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6483019 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
84/477R |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09B 15/023 20130101;
Y10S 84/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
84/477.00R |
International
Class: |
G09B 015/02 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A system for displaying music, comprising: an Internet server
for storing the music; a computer, having a computer memory, for
accessing the Internet server and for downloading a particular
musical composition, having a plurality of groups of music, with
said computer, if the particular musical composition is not in a
FHS file format, for translating the particular musical composition
to the FHS file format with each group having a variation in the
particular musical composition corresponding to a particular
musical instrument, said computer for storing the particular
musical composition in said computer memory, said computer for
retrieving, from said computer memory, the particular musical
composition stored in said computer memory; a plurality of groups
of viewers, coupled to said computer, with each group of viewers
having at least one viewer, with the plurality of groups of viewers
corresponding to the plurality of groups of music, respectively,
with the plurality of groups of viewers for displaying the
plurality of groups of music of the particular musical composition
retrieved from said computer memory, with said computer for
controlling display of the particular musical composition on each
of the plurality of groups of viewers; a plurality of styluses,
with a stylus located at each viewer within each group of the
plurality of groups of viewers, respectively, with each stylus for
annotating, at a respective display, the respective particular
musical composition with annotations, thereby the plurality of
styluses generating a plurality of annotations corresponding to the
plurality of groups of viewers, respectively; and said computer for
storing the plurality of annotations as a combined-annotated file
or as a plurality of viewer-annotated files, for later display with
the particular musical composition, and for uploading the
combined-annotated file or the plurality of viewer-annotated files
to the Internet server.
2. A system for displaying music, comprising: an Internet server
for storing the music; a computer, having a computer memory, for
accessing the Internet server and downloading a particular musical
composition, said computer for storing the particular musical
composition in said computer memory, said computer for retrieving,
from said computer memory, the particular musical composition,
stored in said computer memory; a plurality of viewers, coupled to
said computer, for displaying the particular musical composition
retrieved from said computer memory, with said computer for
controlling display of the particular musical composition on the
plurality of viewers; a plurality of styluses, located at the
plurality of viewers, respectively, with each stylus for annotating
the particular musical composition with annotations, thereby
generating a plurality of annotations corresponding to the
plurality of viewers, respectively; and said computer for storing
the plurality of annotations as a combined-annotated file, or as a
plurality of viewer-annotated files, for later display with the
particular musical composition, and for uploading the
combined-annotated file, or the plurality of viewer-annotated
files, to the Internet server.
3. A system for displaying music, comprising: a viewer memory for
storing music corresponding to a musical composition; a viewer
processor for accessing the computer memory for retrieving, from
said viewer memory, the music, stored in said viewer memory, and
for storing music in said viewer memory; a viewer for displaying
the music retrieved from said viewer memory, with the viewer
processor for controlling display of the music on the viewer; a
stylus for annotating the music with annotations; and said viewer
processor for storing the annotations as a viewer-annotated file,
for later display with the music.
4. The system as set forth in claim 3, further including a
computer, having a computer memory, for receiving a particular
musical composition from any of scanner, music composition
software, and electronic or magnetic or optical form, said computer
for storing the particular musical composition in said computer
memory, said computer for retrieving, from said computer memory,
the particular musical composition, stored in said computer memory,
and for sending the particular musical composition to said viewer
processor.
5. A system for displaying music, comprising: Internet means for
storing the music; computer means, having a computer memory, for
accessing said Internet means and for downloading a particular
musical composition, having a plurality of groups of music, with
each group having a variation in the particular musical composition
corresponding to a particular musical instrument, said computer
means for storing the particular musical composition in said
computer memory, said computer means for retrieving, from said
computer memory, the particular musical composition stored in said
computer memory; a plurality of groups of viewer means, coupled to
said computer means, with each group of viewer means having at
least one viewer means, with the plurality of groups of viewer
means corresponding to the plurality of groups of music,
respectively, with the plurality of groups of viewer means for
displaying the plurality of groups of music of the particular
musical composition retrieved from said memory, with said computer
means for controlling display of the particular musical composition
on each of the plurality of groups of viewer means; a plurality of
stylus means, with stylus means located at each viewer means within
each group of the plurality of groups of viewer means,
respectively, with each stylus means for annotating, at a
respective viewer, the respective particular musical composition
with annotations, thereby the plurality of stylus means generating
a plurality of annotations corresponding to the plurality of groups
of viewer means, respectively; and said computer means for storing
the plurality of annotations as a combined-annotated file, or as a
plurality of viewer-annotated files, for later display with the
particular musical composition, and for uploading the
combined-annotated file, or the plurality of viewer-annotated
files, to said Internet means.
6. A system for displaying music, comprising: Internet means for
storing the music; computer means, having a computer memory, for
accessing said Internet means and for downloading a particular
musical composition, said computer means for storing the particular
musical composition in said computer memory, said computer means
for retrieving, from said memory, the particular musical
composition, stored in said memory; a plurality of viewer means,
coupled to said computer means, for displaying the particular
musical composition retrieved from said computer memory, with said
computer means for controlling display of the particular musical
composition on the plurality of viewer means; a plurality of stylus
means, located at the plurality of viewer means, respectively, with
each stylus means for annotating the particular musical composition
with annotations, thereby generating a plurality of annotations
corresponding to the plurality of viewer means, respectively; and
said computer means for storing the plurality of annotations as a
combined-annotated file, or as a plurality of viewer-annotated
files, for later display with the particular musical composition,
and for uploading the annotated file to the Internet server.
7. A system for displaying music, comprising: memory means for
storing music corresponding to a musical composition; processor
means for accessing said memory means for retrieving, from said
memory means, the music, stored in said memory means, and for
storing music in said memory means; display means for displaying
the music retrieved from said memory means, with said processor
means for controlling display of the music on the viewer means;
stylus means for annotating the music with annotations; and said
processor means for storing the annotations as a viewer-annotated
file, for later display with the music.
8. The system as set forth in claim 7, further including a
computer, having a computer memory, for receiving a particular
musical composition from any of scanner, music composition
software, and electronic or magnetic or optical device, said
computer for storing the particular musical composition in said
computer memory, said computer for retrieving, from said computer
memory, the particular musical composition, stored in said computer
memory, and for sending the particular musical composition to said
processor means.
9. A method for displaying music, comprising the steps of: storing,
at an Internet server, the music; accessing, with a computer, the
Internet server; downloading, with the computer, a particular
musical composition, having a plurality of groups of music, with
each group having a variation in the particular musical composition
corresponding to a particular musical instrument; storing, with
said computer, the particular musical composition in a computer
memory; retrieving, with said computer from said computer memory,
the particular musical composition stored in said memory;
displaying, with a plurality of groups of viewers, coupled to said
computer, with each group of viewers having at least one viewer,
with the plurality of groups of viewers corresponding to the
plurality of groups of music, respectively, the plurality of groups
of music of the particular musical composition retrieved from said
computer memory; controlling, with said computer, display of the
particular musical composition on each of the plurality of groups
of viewers; annotating with a plurality of styluses, with a stylus
located at each viewer within each group of the plurality of groups
of viewers, respectively, at a respective viewer, the respective
particular musical composition with annotations, thereby the
plurality of styluses generating a plurality of annotations
corresponding to the plurality of groups of viewers, respectively;
storing, with said computer, the plurality of annotations as a
combined-annotated file, or a a plurality of viewer-annotated
files, for later display with the particular musical composition;
and uploading, with said computer, the annotated file to the
Internet server.
10. A method for displaying music, comprising: storing, at an
Internet server, the music; accessing, with a computer, having a
computer memory, the Internet server; downloading, with said
computer, a particular musical composition; storing, with said
computer, the particular musical composition in said computer
memory; retrieving, with said computer from said computer memory,
the particular musical composition, stored in said computer memory;
displaying, with a plurality of viewers, coupled to said computer,
the particular musical composition retrieved from said computer
memory; controlling, with said computer, display of the particular
musical composition on the plurality of viewers; annotating, with a
plurality of styluses, located at the plurality of viewers,
respectively, the particular musical composition with annotations,
thereby generating a plurality of annotations corresponding to the
plurality of viewers, respectively; storing, with said computer,
the plurality of annotations as a combined-annotated file, or as a
plurality of viewer-annotated files, for later display with the
particular musical composition; and uploading, with said computer,
the combined-annotated file, or the plurality of viewer-annotated
files, to the Internet server.
11. A method for displaying music, comprising: storing, in a viewer
memory, music corresponding to a musical composition; accessing,
with a viewer processor, the viewer memory; retrieving, with said
viewer processor from said viewer memory, the music, stored in said
viewer memory; displaying, with a viewer, the music retrieved from
said viewer memory; controlling with said viewer processor, display
of the music on the viewer; annotating, with a stylus, the music
with annotations; and storing with said viewer processor, the
annotations as a viewer-annotated file, in the viewer processor,
for later display with the music.
12. The method as set forth in claim 11, further including the
steps of: receiving, at a computer, a particular musical
composition from any of scanner, music composition software, and
electronic or magnetic or optical form; storing the particular
musical composition in a computer memory; retrieving, from said
computer memory, the particular musical composition, stored in said
computer memory; and sending the particular musical composition to
said viewer processor.
Description
RELATED PATENTS
[0001] This patent stems from a continuation application of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 09/917,992, and filing date of Jul. 30,
2001, entitled MUSIC ANNOTATION SYSTEM FOR PERFORMANCE AND
COMPOSITION OF MUSIC SCORES by inventor, MICHAEL HAMILTON. The
benefit of the earlier filing date of the parent patent application
is claimed for common subject matter pursuant to 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.120.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to electronic display of music, and
more specifically, to display of music which can be downloaded from
the Internet, and which electronically can be modified by a
conductor and/or musician in an orchestra, band or other
ensemble.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELEVANT ART
[0003] Electronic display stands have been proposed, which can
advance musical notes without the interruption of a conductor
and/or musician. U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,323, entitled NETWORKED
ELECTRONIC MUSIC DISPLAY STANDS, by Romero et al., which is
incorporated herein by reference, proposed an electronic display
stand which can be controlled by remote mechanical actuation, the
sound of musical notes, or a timed interval. Several of these
devices can be networked to display music to several musicians.
[0004] The prior art does not teach a system which can download
music from the Internet, and which allows modification or
annotation by a conductor or musician. Also lacked in the prior art
is a file system optimized for display of musical notes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A general object of the invention is the electronic display
of musical notes, which can be downloaded from the Internet and
which can be annotated by musicians and conductor.
[0006] Another object of the invention is a common file system for
displaying of musical notes.
[0007] According to the present invention, as embodied and broadly
described herein, a system for displaying music is provided,
comprising an Internet server, a computer, a plurality of viewers
and a plurality of styluses. The Internet server stores the music
in a FreeHand System (FHS) file format, or may store the music in
another file format.
[0008] The computer has a computer processor and a computer memory.
The computer accesses the Internet server and downloads a
particular musical composition. The particular musical composition
has a plurality of groups of music. If the particular musical
composition is not in the FHS file format, then the computer
translates the particular musical composition to the FHS file
format. The particular musical composition is stored in the FHS
file format, or other file format. Each group in the plurality of
groups of music has a variation in the particular musical
composition corresponding to a particular musical instrument. The
computer stores, using the FHS file format, or other file format,
the particular musical composition in the computer memory. The
computer retrieves, from the computer memory, the particular
musical composition stored with the FHS file format, or other file
format, and stores music in the computer memory using the FHS file
format, or other file format.
[0009] The plurality of groups of viewers are coupled to the
computer. The plurality of groups of viewers may be coupled using
wires or cables, or using radio waves. Each group of viewers has at
least one viewer. The plurality of groups of viewers corresponds to
the plurality of groups of music, respectively. The plurality of
groups of viewers, displays the plurality of groups of music of the
particular musical composition retrieved from a viewer memory. The
computer may control display of the particular musical composition
on each of the plurality of groups of viewers.
[0010] The plurality of styluses has a stylus located at each
viewer within each group of the plurality of groups of viewers,
respectively. Thus, each viewer has a stylus. Each stylus
annotates, at a respective viewer, the respective particular
musical composition with annotations. The plurality of styluses
generates a plurality of annotations corresponding to the plurality
of groups of viewers, respectively. A respective viewer stores in a
viewer memory, the annotations made by the stylus at that
viewer.
[0011] The computer stores the plurality of annotations as an
annotated file, for later display with the particular musical
composition. The computer also uploads the annotated file to the
Internet server.
[0012] Additional objects and advantages of the invention are set
forth in part in the description which follows, and in part are
obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
invention. The objects and advantages of the invention also may be
realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and
combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of the specification, illustrate preferred
embodiments of the invention, and together with the description
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a modifiable, electronic display of music
system diagram;
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a viewer with a stylus;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an example of music for display on viewer of FIG.
2;
[0017] FIG. 4 is an example of annotations made with stylus on
viewer of FIG. 2, to the music of FIG. 3; and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a viewer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Reference now is made in detail to the present preferred
embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate
like elements throughout the several views.
[0020] The system for displaying music includes computer means, a
plurality of viewer means, a plurality of stylus means and Internet
means. The computer means is coupled to the Internet means for
communicating data, as is well known in the art. The computer means
is coupled to the plurality of viewer means, for communicating
data. The Internet means stores music using a FreeHand System (FHS)
file format. The Internet means may store the music using an other
equivalent file format.
[0021] The computer means has a computer processor and a computer
memory. The terms "computer processor" and "computer memory", as
used herein, denote the processor and memory associated with the
computer means. The computer means accesses the Internet means and
downloads a particular musical composition stored in the FHS file
format, or other file format. If the particular musical composition
is not in the FHS file format, then the computer means translates
the particular musical composition to the FHS file format. The
computer means stores the particular musical composition in the
computer memory, using the FHS file format or other file format.
The computer means retrieves the particular musical composition,
stored in the computer memory.
[0022] The plurality of viewer means is coupled to the computer
means. The plurality of viewer means displays the particular
musical composition retrieved from a viewer memory. The term
"viewer memory" denotes a memory associated with the viewer means.
The computer means may control display of the particular musical
composition on the plurality of viewer means.
[0023] The plurality of stylus means is located at the plurality of
viewer means, respectively. Thus, each viewer means has an
associated stylus means. Each stylus means can be used by a user at
a respective viewer means. The stylus means can be used for
annotating the particular musical composition with annotations at
the respective viewer means. The annotating generates a plurality
of annotations corresponding to the plurality of viewer means,
respectively. The computer means stores the plurality of
annotations as an annotated file, for later display with the
particular musical composition, and for uploading the annotated
file to the Internet server.
[0024] The system for displaying music typically has a plurality of
groups of viewer means and a plurality of groups of stylus means,
respectively. The computer means accesses the Internet means and
downloads a particular musical composition, which has a plurality
of groups of music, stored in the FHS file format, or other file
format. Each group has a variation in the particular musical
composition corresponding to a particular musical instrument. The
computer means stores, using the FHS file format, or other file
format, the particular musical composition, as the plurality of
groups of music, in the computer memory. The computer means
retrieves the particular musical composition stored in the memory
using the FHS file format, or other file format.
[0025] The plurality of groups of viewer means is coupled to the
computer means. Each group of viewer means has at least one viewer
means. The plurality of groups of viewer means corresponds to the
plurality of groups of music, respectively. The plurality of groups
of viewer means displays the plurality of groups of music of the
particular musical composition retrieved from the computer memory,
and sent to the plurality of groups of viewer means. The computer
means controls display of the particular musical composition on
each of the plurality of groups of viewer means.
[0026] The plurality of stylus means has each stylus means located
at a respective viewer means within each group of the plurality of
groups of viewer means. Each stylus means can be used for
annotating, at a respective viewer means, the respective particular
musical composition with annotations. Thus, the plurality of stylus
means generates a plurality of annotations corresponding to the
plurality of groups of viewers means, respectively.
[0027] The computer means stores the plurality of annotations as an
annotated file. The annotated file later can be displayed with the
particular musical composition. The computer means uploads the
annotated file to the Internet means.
[0028] In the exemplary arrangement shown in FIG. 1, of the system
for displaying music, the computer means is embodied as a computer
51, the plurality of viewer means is embodied as a plurality of
viewers 52, the plurality of stylus means is embodied as a
plurality of styluses and the Internet means is embodied as an
Internet server 59. The plurality of groups of viewer means is
embodied as a plurality of groups of viewers, respectively. The
plurality of groups of stylus means is embodied as a plurality of
groups of styluses, respectively. FIG. 2 shows a representative
viewer, with display 152, and with a stylus 153.
[0029] The Internet server 59 stores the music in some form of
electronic or magnetic or optic file format. The computer 51 has a
computer memory 61 and a computer processor 62. The terms "computer
memory" and computer processor", as used herein, refer to the
respective memory and processor associated with the computer 51.
The computer 51 accesses, via Internet 71, the Internet server 59.
The computer 51 downloads a particular musical composition from the
Internet server 59. If the particular musical composition is not in
a FHS file format, then the computer 51 translates the particular
musical composition to the FHS file format. Files in the FHS file
format may be encrypted, using public key or asymmetrical key
encryption algorithms, or a combination of asymmetrical key
encryption algorithms, and secret key or symmetrical encryption
algorithms. The encryption may be used to assist in preventing
unauthorized copying of music. The encrypted files may be stored
locally, on the computer 51, or on the Internet server 59. If
required by copyright or contract, the distribution of sheet music
can be managed by use of public key exchange and encryption
technology.
[0030] The Internet server 59 typically will have access, directly
on its own storage means, or through the Internet 71, to a
plurality of music databases 65. Some of the music databases can be
stored in the Internet server 59. Some of the music databases can
be stored on other Internet servers. The computer 51 sends the
particular musical composition to the plurality of viewers 52. The
plurality of viewers 52 will display the particular musical
composition downloaded from the Internet server 59.
[0031] The particular musical composition has a plurality of groups
of music, stored in the FHS file format, or other file format. Each
group of music has a variation in the particular musical
composition corresponding to a particular musical instrument. An
example of music for a particular group is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4
shows an annotated version of the music of FIG. 3. An orchestra, by
way of example, might have a group of first violins, a group of
second violins, a group of cellos, a group of drums, a group of
oboes, and a group of flutes. A particular musical composition
might include groups of music corresponding to each group of
musical instruments. Thus, for the example, the particular musical
composition would include a first group of music for the group of
first violins, a second group of music for the group of second
violins, a third group of music for the group of cellos, a fourth
group of music for the group of drums, a fifth group of music for
the group of oboes, and a sixth group of music for the group of
flutes.
[0032] The computer 51 stores, using the FHS file format, or other
format, the particular musical composition in the computer memory
62, using the FHS file format or other file format. The computer 51
retrieves, from the computer memory, the particular musical
composition stored.
[0033] The plurality of groups of viewers 52 is coupled to the
computer 51. The coupling may be by radio waves, cable, wire,
infrared or other electronic, sonic or optical means. Each group of
viewers has at least one viewer. Typically an USB port might be
employed, or other network interface card (NIC) using radio waves,
wire or cable.
[0034] The plurality of groups of viewers 52 corresponds to the
plurality of groups of music, respectively. The plurality of groups
of viewers 52, receives the particular musical composition, sent
from the computer 51, to the plurality of groups of viewers 52.
Each viewer in the plurality of groups of viewers stores the
particular musical composition received from the computer 51, in a
respective viewer memory 513, as shown in FIG. 5. The term "viewer
memory" as used herein, refers to a memory associated with a
viewer. The plurality of groups of viewers displays the plurality
of groups of music of the particular musical composition retrieved
from their respective viewer memory. The computer 51 may control
display of the particular musical composition on each of the
plurality of groups of viewers 52.
[0035] The plurality of styluses 52 has a stylus located at each
viewer within each group of the plurality of groups of viewers 52,
respectively. Each stylus can be used to annotate, at a respective
viewer, the respective particular musical composition with
annotations. Thus, the plurality of styluses 53 can be used to
generate a plurality of annotations corresponding to the plurality
of groups of viewers, respectively. FIG. 4 illustrates an example
of the music of FIG. 3, with annotations, annotated by the stylus
153.
[0036] Each viewer can store the respective annotations made by the
stylus at that viewer, as a viewer-annotated file, in the viewer
memory 513 of the viewer. Each viewer also can send the
viewer-annotated file to the computer 51.
[0037] The computer 51 stores the plurality of viewer-annotated
files in the computer memory 61. The computer also may combine the
plurality of viewer-annotated files as a combined-annotated file.
The computer 51 can later display the combined-annotated file, or
the individual viewer-annotated files, with the particular musical
composition. The computer 51 uploads the combined-annotated file,
and/or the plurality of viewer-annotated files, via the Internet
71, to the Internet server 59.
[0038] A block diagram of a viewer is shown in FIG. 5. The viewer
typically might include an LCD display 511, a video controller 512,
a viewer memory 513, a touch screen 514, a viewer processor 515, an
USB interface 516, expansion slots 517 and a stylus 153. The LCD
display 511, the video controller 512, the viewer memory 513, the
touch screen 514, the viewer processor 515, the USB interface 516,
the expansion slots 517 and the stylus 153, are interconnected
using a computer bus, such as an ISA bus, EISA bus or PCI bus, or
the microchannel bus, as is well known in the art. The viewer also
would include means for coupling to the computer 51. Such means
might be an USB interface, or a network interface card (NIC)
coupled to the computer 51 using a cable, wires, radio waves, or
other optical means for coupling to the computer 51.
[0039] The viewer processor 515 controls the viewer, including
responding to control signals from the computer 51. When a
particular musical composition is received at the viewer, the
viewer processor 515 stores the particular musical composition in
the viewer memory 513. When the particular musical composition is
to be displayed on the viewer, the viewer processor 515 has the
display sent to the video card 512 and displayed on the LCD display
511.
[0040] A musician or other user at a particular viewer may annotate
the music with the stylus 153. The annotations may be in color. For
a particular viewer, the annotations are stored by the viewer
processor 515 in the viewer memory 513 as a viewer-annotated file.
With a plurality fo viewers, the corresponding annotations for each
viewer are stored in the respective viewer memory as a
viewer-annotated file. The plurality of viewers can send the
respective plurality of viewer-annotated files to the computer
51.
[0041] The computer 51 can store the plurality of viewer annotated
files in the computer memory 61. Additionally, the computer 61,
using the computer processor 62, may combine the plurality of
viewer-annotated files as a combined-annotated file. The
combined-annotated file is a compilation of the plurality of
viewer-annotated files, either for display as a compilation, or for
efficiency or convenience of transmitting or sending the plurality
of viewer-annotated files to the Internet server 59.
[0042] Annotations may be integrated. For example, a conductor may
annotate the music for first violins. The annotations may be passed
from the conductor to the computer 51, and then sent to the group
of first violins. This would be accomplished by making a
viewer-annotated file for the conductor, and then sending the
viewer-annotated file from the conductor to the computer 51. The
viewer-annotated file of the conductor can be sent from the
computer 51 to the first group, which represents the group of first
violins.
[0043] The computer 51 can obtain music from a variety of sources,
such as the Internet 71, scanners 72, music software 73 and other
electronic, magnetic, or optic means. Any source of music can be
inputted to the computer 51, and translated for display on one or
more viewers 52.
[0044] The viewer is roughly equivalent to a laptop computer, and
not strictly a slave to the computer. The computer can download
multiple pieces of music, from the Internet, scanner, music
software, etc., and send the formatted music to the viewer. The
viewer can store multiple pieces of music, and take the music with
the viewer.
[0045] When looking at music on a viewer, and understanding
annotations, a staff is a group of five lines separated by spaces.
Each line and space represents a particular note. More than one
staff is defined as a stave.
[0046] Each score is organized into groups of related staves, each
such group called a system. The system function tries to organize
its arguments into system-wide marks and staves full of musical
objects. The main objects that a system notices are staff objects
and system-wide brackets. The two kinds of brackets are bracket and
brace. If a staff had both a bracket and a brace, divided strings
in an orchestral score, for example, then put the bracket on the
system, and the brace on the lower of the staves.
[0047] Additionally there are other notation marks that are
critical to the performance of the piece. These notational symbols
describe action such as loadness, softness, fade in, fade out,
tempo. Again the present invention preserves this critical
information.
[0048] Annotated description information is provided on how
annotation works. The Viewer is essentially a stand alone PC a
touch screen. Therefore the following actions will be able to be
performed on the viewer.
[0049] Annotate the base music file. This will be an overlay to the
base music file.
[0050] Additional people can create separate annotations, each are
separate overlays.
[0051] Each overlay can be turned off and on. All or several
overlays can be turned on at the same time.
[0052] The annotations can be different colors and line widths. The
annotations also will have an erase function.
[0053] All the annotations and the base file can be transferred
onto the computer.
[0054] The viewer has an annotation mode and well as performance
mode. In the performance mode the annotation is turned off and the
touch screen becomes a mechanism to turn pages and navigate through
the music.
[0055] The following annotation related actions can be performed by
the software application running on a personal computer.
[0056] Import and display annotation and base music from the
viewer.
[0057] Set the preferences for the annotations.
[0058] Do any cleanup operations to improve the readability of the
annotations.
[0059] Upload the base file and annotation overlays to the Internet
(Webservice).
[0060] Crop and adjust to view to be downloaded to the viewer for
performance and annotation.
[0061] Thirdly, here are the different ways to import music into
the FreeHand system and to be displayed by the viewer.
[0062] Scanner: Scanner capability can be integrated into the
computer application. So any scanner with a twain capability, most
are, can be used. Method would be to scan and print to the computer
51.
[0063] Music Software: Any music software can be used. Again the
method is when the user wants to viewer his/her piece they would
simply execute the print to a computer command.
[0064] Downloaded from the Internet and translate from different
file formats. There are a variety of file formats out there and the
present invention would provide translation capability integrated
into the product. The following are commonly found formats: PDF,
Adobe Acrobat; NIFF, Music graphic format; GIF; PNG; JPEG;
Sibelius; Finale; and many other proprietary formats.
[0065] During use of the viewer for playing an instrument, the
pages of the music may be changed by the touching touch screen 514,
or other actuator means for changing pages. For example, a foot
peddle could be coupled to the viewer through an expansion slot
515. The foot peddle can cause the pages of the viewer to change,
by touching the foot peddle. The foot peddle may have a two way
actuator for changing pages forward or backward, which is
responsive to how the peddle is touched. The pages also may be
turned by a wireless or by a cable, or from a remote controller.
The remote controller might be the computer or a conductor or other
source for controlling page turning.
[0066] The viewer can display more than notes from music. An entire
music system can be stored so that not only notes are read, but
also words, such as a song that goes with the notes, or other
words. Also, the viewer can store annotations along with a variety
of non-music related graphics and text.
[0067] A viewer only requires one display, since pages of music can
be turned electronically, as discussed. Two or more displays are
not required.
[0068] The present invention includes a method for displaying
music. The method comprising the steps of storing, at an Internet
server, the music in a FreeHand System (FHS) file format, or other
file format; accessing, with a computer, the Internet server;
downloading, with the computer, a particular musical composition,
having a plurality of groups of music, stored in the FHS file
format, or other file format, with each group having a variation in
the particular musical composition corresponding to a particular
musical instrument; storing, with the computer, using the FHS file
format, the particular musical composition in a computer memory;
retrieving, with the computer from the computer memory, the
particular musical composition stored in the computer memory using
the FHS file format, or other file format; displaying, with a
plurality of groups of viewers, coupled to the computer, with each
group of viewers having at least one viewer, with the plurality of
groups of viewers corresponding to the plurality of groups of
music, respectively, the plurality of groups of music of the
particular musical composition retrieved from the computer memory;
controlling, with the computer, display of the particular musical
composition on each of the plurality of groups of viewers;
annotating with a plurality of styluses, with a stylus located at
each viewer within each group of the plurality of groups of
viewers, respectively, at a respective viewer, the respective
particular musical composition with annotations, thereby the
plurality of styluses generating a plurality of annotations
corresponding to the plurality of groups of viewers, respectively;
storing, with the computer, the plurality of annotations as a
combined-annotated file, or as a plurality of viewer-annotated
files, for later display with the particular musical composition;
and uploading, with the computer, the annotated file to the
Internet server.
The FreeHand System File Format
[0069] The Freehand System (FHS) File Format is modeled somewhat
after the PNG file format. The following discussion discloses the
FreeHand System (FHS) file format.
Signature
[0070] The FHS file starts with an 8 byte signature modeled after
the PNG signature. The signature, as shown in Table 1, has the
following 8 bytes:
1TABLE 1 a byte with its most 142 significant bit set 70 F 72 H 32
space 13 CR 10 LF 26 {circumflex over ( )}Z 10 LF
[0071] The signature is designed to avoid most copying problems,
such as downloading a binary file in
Chunks
[0072] The bulk of the file has "Chunks". A chunk is a block of
data with a specified type. A Chunk, as shown in Table 2, is in the
following format:
2 TABLE 2 Type 4 A value indicating what type of chunk bytes this
is. The value, while handled as an integer, consists of four bytes
representing four ASCII characters, such as "PAGE", or "TEXT".
Length 4 The length of the data section. bytes Data Length The data
for this chunk. The meaning bytes of the data is dependent on the
chunk type.
[0073] In the PNG file format, the Data section is followed by a
four byte cyclic-redundant-check (CRC) code value to verify the
integrity of the chunk. The CRC code may be added to the FHS file
format, but it is not currently implemented.
[0074] In the PNG file format, the case of each character in the
type has meaning. For example, "TEXT" would be different from
"teXT". This feature is not implemented at this time in the
freehand format.
[0075] The following sections discuss the chunk types currently
implemented.
The Header Chunk (FHDR)
[0076] The Header Chunk is the first chunk in the FHS file format.
There may be only one Header chunk. Currently, as shown in Table 3,
the header chunk cincludes the following contents:
3 TABLE 3 Version 1 byte Major number of Major version Version 1
byte Minor number of Minor version Version 1 byte Release number of
Release version Pad 1 byte
[0077] The header has a version number in the form of M.m.r, which
is used for compatibility checking. Other fields can be added to
the header.
The Page Chunk (PAGE)
[0078] There is one Page Chunk for every page in the file. The page
chunks are in order of the pages. The page chunk, as shown in Table
4, include the following:
4 TABLE 4 Type 4 bytes The type of page data Arbitrary The page
bytes data
[0079] The type of the page is a four byte quantity encoded as a
character string indicating the format of the page data. The type
of page that is supported by the FHS file format is PNG format,
with the Type ID of "PNG", with a space after the G to fill out the
four bytes. The length of the data is the chunk length minus the
four bytes for the type. For PNG data, this includes the complete
content of a PNG file.
The Text Chunk (TEXT)
[0080] The Text Chunk allows insertion of various text properties
into the file. These properties may be displayed by the UI.
Examples of such properties may be Title, Composer, Copyright, or
Part. The text chunk, as shown in Table 5, include the
following:
5 TABLE 5 Property Arbitrary A NULL terminated bytes string Value
Arbitrary A NULL terminated bytes string
[0081] An example of a Property might be "title" with a Value of
"Mary had a Little Sheep".
The End Chunk (FEND)
[0082] The End Chunk is the last chunk in the file. The End Chuck
no data. The end Chunk can be used to guarantee the completeness of
the file. If the End Chuck is not present then the file is not
complete.
Producing the FHS File
[0083] The below process of producing the freehand file is as
follows:
[0084] 1. Produce image files for the pages. This can be done using
a scanner, a virtual printer driver, or any other method of
producing images.
[0085] 2. Size the images to the viewing size. The viewing size
should be at least 480.times.640 pixels or 640.times.960 pixels.
The former size would allow viewing in portrait mode on a VGA
screen. The latter size would allow viewing in landscape mode,
split into two parts.
[0086] 3. Adjust the images to four bit greyscale and save as a PNG
file. Four bit greyscale is not needed, but results in a small
file. Pure black and white generally does not look good. The
greyscale improves the clarity of the image.
[0087] 4. Run the Freehand program which imports the PNG files. A
single Import command imports all of the pages.
[0088] 5. Save as a FHS file.
[0089] This procedure is done automatically, with creation of the
images, resizing, and converting to PNG all done automatically. The
process can be automated by adding a printer driver to print
directly to FHS file format, and by adding scanning capabilities
directly to the Freehand application.
[0090] There are many additions that can be added to the FHS file
format.
Endian Support
[0091] In order to be able transfer the Freehand files between
different machines, both big and little endian should be addressed.
Currently, files written on one machine are not readable on
another. The files should be standardized to one form, or support
reading in either form. PNG standardizes on big endian. Note, that
the FHS file format only needs the endianness of data. For embedded
data, such as a PNG file, the data are left in whatever endianness
that file needs.
CRC
[0092] CRC can be added to each chunk, similar to PNG. This will
guarantee the integrity of our files when transferred.
Different Types of Pages
[0093] Currently, FHS file format only supports PNG based pages.
Other formats of pages may be supported as well. The layout of the
page chunk would make it easy to add other formats. Examples of the
types of formats include:
[0094] 1. Other image formats. In the future, an image format may
be better than PNG.
[0095] 2. Notational formats. Notational formats may be supported
such as NIFF. These formats do not contain an image of the page,
but instead contain a description of how to produce it. Using a
notational format would allow editing the music.
[0096] 3. Proprietary formats. Proprietary formats may be available
from a company such as Finale or Sibelius, allowing a user to
purchase an add on package for the appropriate software. With this
add on package, output from the appropriate software package could
be used on the freehand device.
[0097] 4. Multipage formats. Currently each Page Chunk represents a
single page of the file. Some music formats require supporting all
of the pages in a single chunk, for example, if the chunk
represented an embedded Finale file.
[0098] 5. References to other files. In the current model, the
files representing the pages (e.g. PNG files) are embedded in the
freehand files. For some formats, we may choose to have a reference
to a separate file. For example, instead of embedding a Sibelius
file in the Freehand file, the Freehand file would point to the
Sibelius file. This has the disadvantage of requiring that both
files be transferred, but allows the Sibelius file to be edited
with Sibelius without the need to extract it from and reinsert it
into the Freehand file.
Annotation Support
[0099] Annotation is allowed on Freehand files. The primary form of
annotation is in the form of ink, including white ink allowing for
the "erasure" of music on the score. FHS file format could also
support other types of annotations such as post-its.
[0100] Each page's annotations should be in a chunk. The
annotations should be considered a layer on top of the page, and it
can be turned on and off. Multiple layers of annotations can be
supported in separate chunks. For example, one layer might be the
musician's notes, and another layer the conductor's notes. The
annotations in separate files from the pages can be supported,
allowing, for example the conductor's notes to be sent between
machines without the need to rewrite the main page. The annotation
chunks could also be labeled, for example "First Violin", so that a
single file of annotations could be available for a whole
orchestra, but the First Violin would only see the appropriate
annotations.
Table of Contents
[0101] Currently, the pages are stored in the file in order, and
viewed in the order that they appear. A table of contents chunk can
be added that provides logical information about the pages,
allowing them to appear in a different order. Some things that
could be provided by such a table of contents:
[0102] 1. A repeat could be indicated. After playing page five for
the first time, go back to page three. The second time after
playing page five, continue to page six.
[0103] 2. Rather than providing a separate file for each part, a
single freehand file would contain all the parts. The table of
contents would indicate that the sousaphone gets pages 1-3, the
kazoo gets pages 4-5, and the triangle gets pages 6-15. When each
musician opens the file, they would choose their part. The
conductor could easily jump between the individual parts or view
the score as a whole. This avoids the need to make sure that the
right part is loaded on each musician's device, at the cost of
transferring and storing much bigger files. A single physical page
could be divided into smaller pages for display. Looking at a full
sheet of music on a 640.times.480 pixels display results in a very
small page, even in portrait mode. More readable results can be
obtained at the page in landscape mode, and just look at the top or
bottom half. However, the page cannot be divided in two, since that
is likely to be in the middle of a system. The division will need
to be at appropriate places in the page.
[0104] 3. Timing information. If synchronized to Midi, timing
information could allow the pages to be turned automatically.
Putting this all together, a table of contents, as shown in Table
6, might look like this:
6TABLE 6 Logical Physical Vertical Instrument Paqe Page Pixels
Timing Comments Sitar 1 1 20-460 0 Top half of physical page 1
Sitar 2 1 460-900 425 Bottom half of physical page 1 Sitar 3 2
10-485 937 Top half of physical page 2 Sitar 4 2 486-940 1483 Glock
1 3 30-470 0 Glock starts on physical page 3 Glock 2 3 470-920 357
Glock 3 4 30-470 601 Glock 4 3 470-920 925 Repeat goes from top of
page 4 to bottom of 3 Glock 5 4 30-470 1280 Glock 6 4 470-920 1555
Don't repeat the second time
[0105] While Table 6 illustrates a single table of contents, in
practice, this might be implemented as multiple chunks. For
example, each instrument might have its own table of contents
chunk, or we might choose to keep timing information
separately.
Other Embedded Data
[0106] Other types of data can be embedded in the freehand file as
well. For example, a midi file could be embedded in the Freehand
file.
[0107] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications can be made to the modifiable, electronic music
display of the instant invention without departing from the scope
or spirit of the invention, and it is intended that the present
invention cover modifications and variations of the modifiable,
electronic music display provided they come within the scope of the
appended claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *