U.S. patent application number 12/572660 was filed with the patent office on 2010-01-28 for accessory device, electronic musical instrument and teaching apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to YAMAHA CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Atsushi FUKADA, Yoshinari NAKAMURA, Kenichi NISHIDA, Osamu OHSHIMA, Shinya SAKURADA.
Application Number | 20100018381 12/572660 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38605228 |
Filed Date | 2010-01-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100018381 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
OHSHIMA; Osamu ; et
al. |
January 28, 2010 |
ACCESSORY DEVICE, ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND TEACHING
APPARATUS
Abstract
In an electronic musical instrument, an interface part obtains
user information from a dedicated accessory device logically
connected to the electronic musical instrument. An access part
accesses a server using the user information obtained through the
interface part. A character information acquisition part obtains
character information which represents a character and which
corresponds to the user information, from the server or the
dedicated accessory device. A lesson information acquisition part
obtains, from the server, lesson information which represents a
lesson work to be practiced. A control part performs control
operation to display the character created based on the character
information obtained by the character information acquisition part
while the electronic musical instrument is logically connected to
the dedicated accessory device through the interface part, and to
display the lesson information when the lesson information has been
obtained by the lesson information acquisition part.
Inventors: |
OHSHIMA; Osamu;
(Hamamatsu-shi, JP) ; NISHIDA; Kenichi;
(Hamamatsu-shi, JP) ; NAKAMURA; Yoshinari;
(Hamamatsu-shi, JP) ; SAKURADA; Shinya;
(Hamamatsu-shi, JP) ; FUKADA; Atsushi;
(Hamamatsu-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSSI, KIMMS & McDOWELL LLP.
20609 Gordon Park Square, Suite 150
Ashburn
VA
20147
US
|
Assignee: |
YAMAHA CORPORATION
Hamamatsu-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
38605228 |
Appl. No.: |
12/572660 |
Filed: |
October 2, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11690274 |
Mar 23, 2007 |
|
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|
12572660 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
84/470R |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09B 7/00 20130101; G09B
5/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
84/470.R |
International
Class: |
G09B 15/00 20060101
G09B015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 29, 2006 |
JP |
2006-090885 |
Claims
1. An accessory device comprising: a nonvolatile storage part that
stores character information representing a feature of a character;
an interface part that reads and writes the character information
from and to an external device which is logically connected to the
accessory device; a display; and a control part that performs
control operation to display the character created based on the
character information stored in the nonvolatile storage part, on
the display, and to hide the character from the display while the
accessory device is logically connected to the external device
through the interface part.
2. The accessory device according to claim 1, further comprising:
an operator which is operable by a user; and a change part that
changes the character information stored in the nonvolatile storage
part according to an operation of the operator or an elapsed
time.
3. The accessory device according to claim 1, wherein the interface
part comprises a contactless interface of a proximity type or a
neighborhood type, which is capable of logically connecting the
external device when the accessory device is placed in proximity or
nationhood of the external device.
4. The accessory device according to claim 1, wherein the interface
part comprises a contact-type interface having exposed electrodes
for electric contact with the external device or having a connector
for connection with the external device.
5-15. (canceled)
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This is a divisional of and claims priority from U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/690,274 filed Mar. 23, 2007, the content of
which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Technical Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an accessory device, an
electronic musical instrument, a teaching apparatus, and a program
that are used for teaching music.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] An electronic musical instrument and a teaching apparatus
for use in teaching music are known in the art.
[0006] In a conventional music teaching system as a combination of
the electronic musical instrument and the teaching apparatus, a
teacher terminal (a teacher device) for a teacher and a student
terminal for a student are connected through a wide area network,
and the teacher terminal receives results of a practice that the
student has conducted using the student terminal, and the teacher
listens to the received practice results and sends advice about
musical sense and skill to the student terminal (for example, see
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-219104).
[0007] However, although the conventional music teaching system can
present the advice of the teacher, the student cannot practice a
music performance with the student terminal since the student
terminal is a mere personal computer (PC). In order to practice a
music performance, it is necessary to connect a keyboard instrument
or the like to the student terminal. In addition, to transmit
practice results to the teacher terminal, it is necessary to
connect the student terminal to the wide area network since the
student terminal is connected to the teacher terminal through the
wide area network. Especially, an operation for the connection is
difficult for young students.
[0008] In addition, although it is desired to increase the
motivation of the performance practice of students who commute to a
musical classroom, the conventional music teaching system cannot
increase the motivation since this system is targeted at remote
music teaching and does not support home practices of students who
commute to the musical classroom.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above
circumstances, and it is an object of the invention to provide an
accessory device, an electronic musical instrument, a teaching
apparatus, and a program that can increase the motivation of
performance practice of the student and that can also allow the
student to keep up the performance practice with enjoyment.
[0010] An accessory device according to the invention comprises: a
nonvolatile storage part that stores character information
representing a feature of a character; an interface part that reads
and writes the character information from and to an external device
which is logically connected to the accessory device; a display;
and a control part that performs control operation to display the
character created based on the character information stored in the
nonvolatile storage part, on the display, and to hide the character
from the display while the accessory device is logically connected
to the external device through the interface part.
[0011] Preferably, the inventive accessory device further comprises
an operator which is operable by a user; and a change part that
changes the character information stored in the nonvolatile storage
part according to an operation of the operator or an elapsed
time.
[0012] Preferably, the interface part comprises a contactless
interface of a proximity type or a neighborhood type, which is
capable of logically connecting the external device when the
accessory device is placed in proximity or nationhood of the
external device. Alternatively, the interface part comprises a
contact-type interface having exposed electrodes for electric
contact with the external device or having a connector for
connection with the external device.
[0013] An electronic musical instrument according to the invention
comprises: an interface part that obtains at least user information
from a dedicated accessory device logically connected to the
electronic musical instrument; an access part that accesses a
server using the user information obtained through the interface
part; a character information acquisition part that obtains
character information which represents a character and which
corresponds to the user information, from the server or the
dedicated accessory device; a lesson information acquisition part
that obtains, from the server lesson information which represents a
lesson work to be practiced and which corresponds to the user
information; a display; and a control part that performs control
operation to display the character created based on the character
information obtained by the character information acquisition part,
on the display while the electronic musical instrument is logically
connected to the dedicated accessory device through the interface
part, and to display the lesson information on the display when the
lesson information has been obtained by the lesson information
acquisition part.
[0014] Preferably, the inventive electronic musical instrument
further comprises: a reward information acquisition part that
obtains, from the server reward information which represents a
reward to practicing of the lesson work and which corresponds to
the user information; a change part that changes the obtained
character information using the reward information obtained by the
reward information acquisition part; and an updating part that
updates the character information which corresponds to the user
information and which is present in the server or the dedicated
accessory device in accordance with the changed character
information, wherein the control part performs the control
operation to display the character created based on the changed
character information on the display.
[0015] Preferably, the inventive electronic musical instrument
further comprises: a recording part that records a performance
operation of the electronic musical instrument that is performed
for practicing the lesson work while the electronic musical
instrument is logically connected to the dedicated accessory
device; and another change part that changes practice record
information which corresponds to the user information and which is
present in the server, based on a record of the performance
operation recorded by the recording part.
[0016] Preferably, the interface part comprises a contactless
interface of a proximity type or a neighborhood type, which is
capable of logically connecting the dedicated accessory device when
the dedicated accessory device is brought into proximity or
nationhood of the contactless interface. Alternatively, the
interface part comprises a contact-type interface having exposed
electrodes for electric contact with the dedicated accessory device
or having a connector for connection with the dedicated accessory
device.
[0017] An inventive machine readable medium contains a program
executable by a computer to perform: an access process of accessing
a server using user information which is obtained from a dedicated
accessory device through an interface to which the dedicated
accessory device is logically connected; a character information
acquisition process of obtaining character information which
represents a character and which corresponds to the user
information from the server or the dedicated accessory device; a
lesson information acquisition process of obtaining lesson
information which represents a lesson work to be practiced and
which corresponds to the user information from the server; and a
control process of performing control operation to display the
character created based on the character information obtained by
the character information acquisition process, on a display while
the dedicated accessory device is logically connected to the
interface, and to display the lesson information on the display
when the lesson information has been obtained by the lesson
information acquisition process.
[0018] A teaching apparatus according to the invention comprises:
an interface part that obtains at least user information which
indicates a student from a dedicated accessory device logically
connected to the teaching apparatus; an access part that accesses a
server using the user information obtained through the interface
part; a character information acquisition part that obtains
character information which represents a character and which
corresponds to the user information from the server or the
dedicated accessory device; an input part that inputs reward
information which represents a reward to practicing of a lesson
work by the student; a registration part that registers the reward
information inputted through the input part on the server in
association with the user information; a display; and a control
part that performs control operation to display the character
created based on the character information obtained by the
character information acquisition part, on the display while the
teaching apparatus is logically connected to the dedicated
accessory device through the interface part.
[0019] Preferably, the inventive teaching apparatus further
comprises a practice record information acquisition part that
obtains practice record information associated with the user
information, the practice record information being present on the
server and representing a record of the practicing of the lesson
work by the student, wherein the control part performs control
operation to display the practice record information obtained by
the practice record information acquisition part on the
display.
[0020] Preferably, the interface part comprises a contactless
interface of a proximity type or a neighborhood type, which is
capable of logically connecting the dedicated accessory device when
the dedicated accessory device is brought into proximity or
nationhood of the contactless interface. Alternatively, the
interface part comprises a contact-type interface having exposed
electrodes for electric contact with the dedicated accessory device
or having a connector for connection with the dedicated accessory
device.
[0021] Another inventive machine readable medium contains a program
executable by a computer to perform: an access process of accessing
a server using user information which identifies a student and
which is obtained from a dedicated accessory device through an
interface to which the dedicated accessory device is logically
connected; a character information acquisition process of obtaining
character information which represents a character and which
corresponds to the user information from the server or the
dedicated accessory device; a registration process of registering
reward information on the server in association with the user
information, the reward information representing a reward to
practicing of a lesson work by the student; and a control process
of performing control operation to display the character created
based on the character information obtained by the character
information acquisition process, on a display while the dedicated
accessory device is logically connected to the interface.
[0022] According to the invention, a character created based on the
character information stored in the nonvolatile storage part is
displayed on the display unit, and the character is hidden from the
display unit while the accessory device is logically connected to
the external device through the interface part. Accordingly, a
person who operates the electronic musical instrument or the
accessory device can operate it with a sense of identity with the
character such that the person can practice together with the
character with enjoyment.
[0023] According to the invention, a character created based on the
character information obtained by the character information
acquisition part is displayed on the display unit while the
electronic musical instrument is logically connected to the
dedicated accessory device through the interface part, and the
lesson information is displayed on the display unit when the lesson
information has been obtained. Accordingly, the student can take
the lesson with enjoyment.
[0024] According to the invention, it is possible to increase the
motivation of the performance practice of the student since the
student can receive the reward information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an example configuration of a music
teaching system including an electronic musical instrument
according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration of a
student electronic musical instrument in FIG. 1.
[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates an external appearance of an accessory
device in FIG. 2.
[0028] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the accessory device
of FIG. 3.
[0029] FIGS. 5a to 5c illustrate most important information used
when the music teaching system of FIG. 1 performs control
operations.
[0030] FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate an example of a character
displayed on a display unit of the student electronic musical
instrument of FIG. 2.
[0031] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of a main
routine performed by the student electronic musical instrument of
FIG. 2 (specifically, by a CPU therein).
[0032] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
a login process in FIG. 7.
[0033] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
a practice process in FIG. 7.
[0034] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
a logout process in FIG. 7.
[0035] FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
a login process of a teacher electronic musical instrument in FIG.
1.
[0036] FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a procedure of a main routine
performed by the accessory device of FIG. 4 (specifically, by a CPU
therein).
[0037] FIGS. 13a and 13b illustrate an accessory device having a
different configuration from that of the accessory device of FIG.
4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0038] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described
in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates an example configuration of a music
teaching system including an electronic musical instrument
according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 1, the music teaching system of this
embodiment includes a student electronic musical instrument 100, a
guardian PC 101, a teacher electronic musical instrument 300, and a
server computer 400 (that will be referred to as a "server" for
short). The devices 100, 101, 300, and 400 are connected to each
other through a communication network 500.
[0041] The guardian PC 101 may be omitted since this device is not
essential for the music teaching system of this embodiment. The
teacher electronic musical instrument 300 is not necessarily
embodied as a musical instrument and may also be embodied as a
PC.
[0042] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration of
the student electronic musical instrument 100.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 2, the student electronic musical
instrument 100 includes a performance operator 1, a setting
operator 2, a detection circuit 3, a detection circuit 4, a CPU 5,
a ROM 6, a RAM 7, a timer 8, a display unit 9, an external storage
device 10, a contactless communication interface (I/F) 11, a
general-purpose interface (I/F) 12, a Musical instrument Digital
Interface (MIDI) interface (I/F) 13, a communication interface
(I/F) 14, a tone generator circuit 15, an effect circuit 16, and a
sound system 17. The performance operator 1 includes a keyboard for
inputting pitch information. The setting operator 2 includes a
joystick and a plurality of switches or a wheel for inputting a
variety of information. The detection circuit 3 detects operating
states of the performance operator 1. The detection circuit 4
detects operating states of the setting operator 2. The CPU 5
controls overall operations of the student electronic musical
instrument 100. The ROM 6 stores a control program to be executed
by the CPU 5 or a variety of table data. The timer 8 measures an
interrupt time in a timer interrupt process and various other
times. The display unit 9 includes, for example, a liquid crystal
display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED), and the like for
displaying a variety of information or the like. The external
storage device 10 is a machine readable medium and stores a variety
of application programs including the control program, a variety of
music data, and various other data. Through the contactless
communication interface 11, the student electronic musical
instrument 100 performs contactless communication with an accessory
device 200. Through the general-purpose interface 12, the student
electronic musical instrument 100 is connected to other devices.
Through the MIDI interface 13, a MIDI message is input and output
to and from the student electronic musical instrument 100. The
communication interface 14 performs data communication with, for
example, the teacher electronic musical instrument 300 or the
server 400 through the communication network 500. The tone
generator circuit 15 converts preset performance data or
performance data input through the performance operator 1 into a
musical sound signal. The effect circuit 16 imparts a variety of
effects to a musical sound signal from the tone generator circuit
15. The sound system 17 includes, for example, an amplifier, a
speaker, or a digital to analog converter (DAC) for converting a
musical sound signal from the effect circuit 16 into sound.
[0044] The components 3 to 16 are connected to each other through a
bus 18. The timer 8 is connected to the CPU 5. Another MIDI device
600 is connected to the MIDI interface 13. The communication
network 500 is connected to the communication interface 14. The
effect circuit 16 is connected to the music circuit 15. The sound
system 17 is connected to the effect circuit 16. Each of the
communication interface 14 and the communication network 500 is not
limited to a wired type and may also be of a wireless type. A
communication interface and a communication network of both the
types may also be provided.
[0045] Examples of the external storage device 10 include a floppy
disk drive (FDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a CD-ROM drive, and a
magneto-optical disc (MO) drive. The control program which is to be
executed by the CPU 5 as described above can also be stored in the
external storage device 10. In the case where no control program is
stored in the ROM 6, the control program can be stored in the
external storage device 10 and then be loaded into the RAM 7,
thereby causing the CPU 5 to perform the same operation as that
when the control program is stored in the ROM 6. This makes it easy
to add another control program or to update the version of the
control program.
[0046] Any communication type of interface can be employed as the
contactless communication interface 11 provided that it can perform
contactless communication. For example, a Bluetooth or infrared
communication interface or a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
interface can be employed as the contactless communication
interface 11. It is preferable to employ a type of interface which
can perform communication with an object only when the object is
very close to the interface (for example, within 3 cm) or a type of
interface that has a distance detector and thus can determine
whether or not an object is very close to the interface (for
example, within 3 cm).
[0047] Examples of the general-purpose interface 12 include an
RS-232C or Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface and IEEE
(pronounced "I triple E") 1394 interface. When a contactless
communication interface 11' such as a commercially available RFID
reader is externally connected to the general-purpose interface 12,
the student electronic musical instrument 100 may not include the
contactless communication interface 11.
[0048] As described above, the communication interface 14 is
connected to the communication network 500, for example to a Local
Area Network (LAN), the Internet, or a telephone line, and is
connected to the server 400 through the communication network 500.
In the case where the programs and the variety of parameters are
not stored in the external storage device 10, the communication
interface 14 is used to download the programs and parameters from
the server 400. As a client, the electronic musical device
transmits a command, which requests download of programs or
parameters, to the server 400 through the communication interface
14 and the communication network 400. Upon receiving the command,
the server 400 distributes the requested programs or parameters to
the electronic musical device through the communication network 500
and the electronic musical device receives the programs or
parameters through the communication interface 14 and stores them
in the external storage device 10, thereby completing the
download.
[0049] Although the student electronic musical instrument 100 is of
a keyboard instrument type in this embodiment, it is not limited to
the keyboard type and may also be a string instrument type, a wind
instrument type, or a percussion instrument type.
[0050] The teacher electronic musical instrument 300 includes the
same components as those of the student electronic musical
instrument 100. The guardian PC 101 includes a general-purpose
personal computer and the server 400 includes a general-purpose
server computer. In the case where the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300 is embodied as a PC type, it is constructed of a
general-purpose personal computer.
[0051] FIG. 3 illustrates an external appearance of the accessory
device 200. As shown in FIG. 3, the accessory device 200 has a
small size for easy portability and a child-friendly shape which
arouses the interests of children.
[0052] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the accessory device
200. Since a nonvolatile memory 208 is the only component specific
to the accessory device 200 for the student electronic musical
instrument 100, the nonvolatile memory 208 is solely described here
and a description of the other components will be omitted. Since
the accessory device 200 has a small size as described above, it
uses a small-size LCD 207 as its display unit.
[0053] For example, a Non-Volatile (NV) RAM, a power-backup RAM, or
a flash memory can be used as the nonvolatile memory 208 although
any type of nonvolatile memory may be employed.
[0054] FIGS. 5a to 5c illustrate most important information used
when the music teaching system of this embodiment performs control
operations. FIG. 5a shows information that the student electronic
musical instrument 100 (or the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300) stores in the ROM 6, FIG. 5b shows information that
the accessory device 200 stores in the nonvolatile memory 208, and
FIG. 5c shows information that the server 400 stores in an external
storage device (not shown).
[0055] The student electronic musical instrument 100 or the teacher
electronic musical instrument 300 stores server information as
shown in FIG. 5a. The server information includes information
indicating the position of the server as an access destination on
the communication network 500, which is expressed by, for example,
a uniform Resource Locator (URL). Different server information may
be used for the student electronic musical instrument 100 and the
teacher electronic musical instrument 300.
[0056] The accessory device 200 stores user information and
character information as shown in FIG. 5b. The user information
includes a user ID (for example, a login name) and a password of a
student who possesses the accessory device 200. The character
information includes information indicating the states of a
character (see FIG. 3) that is displayed on the LCD 207 of the
accessory device 200. The states of the character are specifically
the degree of vitality, the degree of growth, the personality,
acquired items, and the like of the character, which these are
merely virtual states.
[0057] The server 400 stores user information, lesson information,
reward information, and practice record information. The user
information includes user IDs (login names) and passwords of
students, which are referred to when the student electronic musical
instrument 100 logs into the server 400. The lesson information
includes test music selection information (ID, etc.), test music
performance data (which may include information indicating the
music score position), an advice of the teacher (which may include
information indicating the music score position), and a message
from the teacher. The reward information is information that makes
a change to the state of the character. Specifically, the reward
information includes a change in the vitality, a change in the
degree of growth, a change in the personality, and an addition or
removal of items such as a hat or shoes of the character. The
reward information is virtual information since it is associated
with the states of the character. The teacher checks the practice
record information and prepares reward information containing
information corresponding to the checked result. Alternatively, a
program on the server 400 may automatically generate the reward
information based on the practice record information (specifically,
advancement of the performance skill, a total practice time, the
number of pressed keys, and an automatic scoring result). The
reward information is not necessarily always positive. When the
practice result is negative, the reward information may be
information which changes the state of the character so that the
vitality of the character is reduced, the degree of the growth is
decreased, the character becomes old and infirm, the personality is
worsened, or the character loses an item. The practice record
information is a record of practices that the student has done
according to the lesson information. Specifically, the practice
record information includes the number of times an accompaniment
has been played, the number of pressed keys, a total practice time,
a part of the music score up to which its performance has been
played, a scoring result obtained by a scoring function, or
performance data in which pressed keys are recorded without change
(for example, performance data in Standard MIDI File (SMF)
format).
[0058] An overview of a control process performed by the music
teaching system configured as described above will first be
described with reference to FIG. 6 and then be described in detail
with reference to FIGS. 7 to 12.
[0059] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a character displayed on
the display unit 9 of the student electronic musical instrument
100.
[0060] If the student places the accessory device 200 on the
student electronic musical instrument 100 that is powered on, then
the student electronic musical instrument 100 obtains user
information from the accessory device 200 and logs into the server
400 based on the obtained user information. The student electronic
musical instrument 100 obtains character information from the
accessory device 200 and generates a character based on the
obtained character information and displays the generated character
on the display unit 9. In addition, the student electronic musical
instrument 100 obtains reward information and lesson information of
the student from the server 400 and changes the generated character
based on the obtained reward information (see FIG. 6a). After
displaying the changed character on the display unit 9, the student
electronic musical instrument 100 selects a test music based on the
obtained lesson information and displays an image according to the
lesson information (see FIG. 6b).
[0061] When the student conducts a practice according to the lesson
image on the display unit 9, the student electronic musical
instrument 100 records the practice. If the student terminates the
practice and separates the accessory device 200 from the student
electronic musical instrument 100, then the student electronic
musical instrument 100 updates the practice record information on
the server 400 and then logs out of the server 400.
[0062] On the other hand, if the accessory device 200 is placed on
the teacher electronic musical instrument 300 that is powered on,
the teacher electronic musical instrument 300 logs into the server
400 and generates and displays a character based on character
information obtained from the accessory device 200 in the same
manner as the student electronic musical instrument 100 does. Then,
the teacher electronic musical instrument 300 obtains practice
record information from the server 400 and displays it on the
display unit. The teacher views the displayed practice record
information and determines reward information. If the teacher
inputs the determined reward information through a specific user
interface (UI) on the teacher electronic musical instrument 300,
then the teacher electronic musical instrument 300 writes the input
reward information to the server 400.
[0063] For example, a student who commutes to a music classroom
conducts a musical performance practice by placing an accessory
device 200 on a student electronic musical instrument 100 located
at their home in the above manner and then goes to the music
classroom with the accessory device 200. Then, a teacher places the
accessory device 200 of the student on the teacher electronic
musical instrument 300 to display a practice record of the student.
The teacher views the practice record and inputs reward information
to the teacher electronic musical instrument 300. Accordingly, the
teacher electronic musical instrument 300 writes the input reward
information to the server 400. After the lesson of the music
classroom is finished, the student carries the accessory device 200
back to the home and then places the accessory device 200 on the
student electronic musical instrument 100. Then, the student
electronic musical instrument 100 changes and displays the
character, which was displayed before the student went to the music
classroom, according to the reward information input by the
teacher. That is, the character is continually changed according to
performance practices of the student. This allows the student to
change the character to become better and thus to practice the
performance a lot, thereby improving the motivation of the
performance practice of the student. Accordingly, the student does
not feel uncomfortable practicing the performance, thereby allowing
the student to continue practicing the performance with
enjoyment.
[0064] The following is a detailed description of this control
process.
[0065] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of a main
routine performed by the student electronic musical instrument 100
(specifically, by the CPU 5).
[0066] In the main routine, the CPU 5 performs the following
processes:
[0067] (1) Login Process (step S4)
[0068] (2) Practice Process (step S5)
[0069] (3) Logout Process (step S8)
[0070] (4) Normal Operation Process (step S9)
[0071] The login process (1) and the practice process (2) are
performed when the accessory device 200 is placed on the student
electronic musical instrument 100. The logout process (3) and the
normal operation process (4) are performed when the accessory
device 200 is placed on the student electronic musical instrument
100. In this manner, the main routine is divided into two sections
depending on whether or not the accessory device 200 is placed on
the student electronic musical instrument 100. Therefore, the CPU 5
always checks whether or not the accessory device 200 is placed on
the student electronic musical instrument 100 and selects one of
the two divided sections of the main routine according to the
checked result and performs the selected section (step S2).
[0072] The login process (1) is performed once when the accessory
device 200 is first placed on the student electronic musical
instrument 100 after the accessory device 200 is not placed on it
for a predetermined time or more. The logout process (3) is
performed once when the accessory device 200 is first separated
from the student electronic musical instrument 100 after it is
placed on the student electronic musical instrument 100 for a
predetermined time or more. Thus, we define a flag which is set to
"1" (step S6) when the accessory device 200 is placed on the
student electronic musical instrument 100 and is reset to "0" (step
S10) when the accessory device 200 is not placed on it. The CPU 5
always checks whether or not the value of the flag has been
switched (steps S3 and S7) and performs the login process (1) when
the value of the flag has been switched from "0" to "1" and
performs the logout process (3) when the value of the flag has been
switched from "1" to "0". When the value of the flag is not
changed, either the practice process (2) (flag="1") or the normal
operation process (4) (flag="0") is performed according to the
value of the flag.
[0073] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
the login process (1).
[0074] As shown in FIG. 8, first, the CPU 5 obtains user
information stored in the nonvolatile memory 208 from the accessory
device 200 through the contactless communication interface 11 (step
S21). Then, the CPU 5 reads server information stored in the ROM 6
and accesses a server 400 indicated by the read server information
through the communication interface 14 and the communication
network 500 and logs into the server 400 using the obtained user
information (step S22). Since user information of each registered
student is stored in the server 400 as described above, the server
400 compares the user information (i.e., a login name and a
password) transmitted from the student electronic musical
instrument 100 with user information (i.e., a login name and a
password) in the server 400 and permits login of the student
electronic musical instrument 100 if the two user information are
identical.
[0075] Then, the CPU 5 obtains character information stored in the
nonvolatile memory 208 from the accessory device 200 through the
contactless communication interface 11 (step S23). Using the
character information, the CPU 5 creates and stores a group of
image data (hereinafter referred to as "character objects"), which
is required to display a character in an animated fashion, in a
character object storage area (not shown) reserved in a specific
portion of the RAM 7. The CPU 5 sequentially reads character
objects stored in the character object storage area at specific
times and provides them to the display unit 9 (step S24).
Accordingly, for example, the character on the left side of FIG. 6a
is displayed in an animated fashion on the display unit 9. Since a
process in parentheses in step S23 is performed when an accessory
device as shown in FIG. 13, which has a different configuration
from that of the accessory device 200, is employed (i.e., since
this login process is commonly applied when the accessory device
200 is employed and when the accessory device of FIG. 13 is
employed), the process in parentheses in step S23 is not associated
with this embodiment. The same is true in a flow chart of FIG.
11.
[0076] The CPU 5 then obtains reward information from the server
400 using the user information and the server information (step
S25). Specifically, the CPU 5 sends a request for transmission of
reward information of a student corresponding to a login name in
the user information to a server 400 indicated by the server
information through the communication interface 14 and the
communication network 500. In response to this request, the server
400 reads reward information of the student corresponding to the
received login name from a plurality of information which is stored
for each student in the server 400 as described above, and
transmits the read reward information to the student electronic
musical instrument 100. By receiving the reward information
transmitted from the server 400, the student electronic musical
instrument 100 obtains the reward information of the student who
possesses the accessory device 200.
[0077] The CPU 5 then edits the character object according to the
obtained reward information and reflects it in the displayed image.
The reward information is information that makes a change to the
states of the character that are represented by the character
information as described above. More specifically, the character
information represents the degree of vitality, the degree of
growth, the personality, acquired items, and the like of the
character, whereas the reward information represents a change in
the vitality, a change in the degree of growth, a change in the
personality, and an addition or removal of items such as a hat or
shoes of the character. That is, the character object created using
the character information can be changed according to the reward
information without changing the overall feel of the character.
FIG. 6a illustrates that the character on the left side is changed
to the character on the right side according to the reward
information. In the illustrated example, the degree of growth is
increased and a hat is added as an item to the character according
to the obtained reward information.
[0078] The CPU 5 then changes the obtained character information
according to the obtained reward information and updates (or
overwrites) the character information in the nonvolatile memory 208
of the accessory device 200 with the changed character information
(step S27). The update of the character information in the
nonvolatile memory 208 is also performed through the contactless
communication interface 11. Since data communication between the
student electronic musical instrument 100 (or the teacher
electronic musical instrument 300) and the accessory device 200 is
performed always through the contactless communication interface
11, the data communication will be described only when the data
communication is performed using another device. Data communication
between the student electronic musical instrument 100 (or the
teacher electronic musical instrument 300) and the server 400 will
also be described only when the data communication is performed
using devices other than the communication interface 14 and the
communication network 500.
[0079] Then, the CPU 5 obtains lesson information from the server
using the user information and the server information in the same
manner as step S25 (step S28) and selects a test music based on the
obtained lesson information (step S29) and then displays an image
according to the lesson information (step S30). The character image
on the left side of FIG. 6b illustrates an example character image
when the obtained lesson information includes a message from the
teacher and the character image on the right side of FIG. 6b
illustrates an example character image when the obtained lesson
information includes a test music and an advice of the teacher.
When the obtained lesson information includes a test music and an
advice of the teacher, it is preferable that the advice image of
the character be displayed in combination with a music score of the
test music selected at step S29 or the advice image and the music
score be displayed alternately so that the specified music score
position is displayed.
[0080] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
the practice process (2).
[0081] In the illustrated practice process, the CPU 5 automatically
plays an accompaniment of the test music selected at step S29 (step
S41) and displays the music score of the test music in
synchronization with the automatic accompaniment (step S42).
Through the tone generator circuit 15, the effect circuit 15, and
the sound system 17, the CPU 5 then generates musical sounds
corresponding to the performance operator operated by the student
as the student plays a performance according to the displayed music
score (step S43). A further description is omitted herein since the
illustrated practice process is not different from the normal
practice process up to this step.
[0082] Then, the CPU 5 stores a record of a performance played by
the student (i.e., a practice record) in a practice record storage
area (not shown) reserved in a specific portion of the RAM 7 (step
S44). Similarly to the practice record information illustrated in
FIG. 5c, examples of the practice record include the number of
times an accompaniment has been played, the number of pressed keys,
a total practice time, a part of the music score up to which its
performance has been played, a scoring result obtained by a scoring
function, or performance data in which pressed keys are recorded
without change (for example, performance data in Standard MIDI File
(SMF) format).
[0083] The CPU 5 also displays the character on the display unit 9
in an animated fashion according to the performance operations or
the total practice time in order to prevent the student from being
tired of practicing the performance (step S45).
[0084] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
the logout process (3).
[0085] First, the CPU 5 updates (or overwrites) practice record
information corresponding to the student stored in the server 400
according to the practice record stored in the practice record
storage area (step S51).
[0086] The CPU 5 then causes the student electronic musical
instrument 100 to log out of the server 400 (step S52) and displays
an image expressing exit of the character from the display unit 9
(step S73). The character which has exited the display unit 9
moves, without change, to the LCD 207 of the accessory device 200
(see step S74 of FIG. 12 which will be described later).
[0087] The normal operation process (4) is a process of the student
electronic musical instrument as a normal musical instrument.
Examples of the normal operation process (4) include a process for
generating musical sounds as keys are pressed or performance data
is played automatically.
[0088] A main routine performed by the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300 will now be described.
[0089] Since the main routine of the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300 is the same as that of FIG. 7 except that it has no
practice process (2), the main routine of FIG. 7 excluding the
practice process (2) is used as that of the teacher electronic
musical instrument 300.
[0090] FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a detailed procedure of
a login process of the teacher electronic musical instrument 300.
In FIG. 11, the same steps as those of the login process of the
student electronic musical instrument 100 of FIG. 8 are denoted by
the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 8. This login process
is activated once when the accessory device 200 is first placed on
the teacher electronic musical instrument 300 after the accessory
device 200 is not placed on it for a predetermined time.
[0091] In this login process, first, the CPU 5 causes the teacher
electronic musical instrument 300 to log into the server and
displays a character on the display unit of the teacher electronic
musical instrument 300 (steps S21 to S24). The steps S21 to S24 of
this login process are almost the same as those of the login
process of the student electronic musical instrument 100. However,
this login process differs from that of the student electronic
musical instrument 100 in that the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300 logs into the server 400 with the authority of the
teacher (step S22'). The purpose of logging into the server 400
with the authority of the teacher in this login process is to
restrict each student's access to reward information and practice
record information among information of each student stored in the
server 400 since it is not necessary (or it is not suitable) to
allow the student to freely overwrite the reward information and
the practice record information. Server information for the teacher
used for login may be different from that for the student. User
information for the teacher may be previously input through a
specific UI to log into the server and information to be accessed
with user information for the student obtained from the accessory
device may then be specified (the same is true for the logout).
[0092] The CPU 5 then obtains practice record information from the
server 400 using user information and server information (step S61)
and then displays the obtained practice record information (step
S62). If the teacher determines reward information by viewing the
displayed practice record information and inputs reward information
through a specific UI, then the CPU 5 obtains the input reward
information and writes it to the server 400 (step S64).
[0093] When it is desired to immediately reflect the reward
information in the accessory device 200, the CPU 5 reflects it in
the same manner as steps S25 to S27 of FIG. 8 (steps S25 to S27).
In the case where the reward information is immediately reflected,
character information of the accessory device 200 may be directly
changed instead of writing elements of the reward information one
by one to the server 400. On the other hand, if it is desired to
reflect the reward information in the accessory device 200 at a
later time, any reflection process is not performed in this login
process. Thereafter, when the student logs into the server 400
using the student electronic musical instrument 100 of the student,
the reward information is reflected in the accessory device 200 as
described above in steps S25 to S27 of FIG. 8.
[0094] A description of the logout process and the normal operation
process performed by the teacher electronic musical instrument 300
is omitted herein since the logout process and the normal operation
process are the same as those performed by the student electronic
musical instrument 100.
[0095] FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a procedure of a main routine
performed by the accessory device 200 (specifically, by the CPU
203).
[0096] The main routine is divided into two procedures, i.e., a
procedure when the accessory device 200 is placed on a contactless
interface of an electronic musical instrument (which may be the
student electronic musical instrument 100 or the teacher electronic
musical instrument 300) and a procedure when the accessory device
200 is not placed on the contactless interface.
[0097] When the accessory device 200 is placed on the contactless
interface of the electronic musical instrument, the image of the
character is to be moved from the LCD 207 of the accessory device
200 to the display unit of the electronic musical instrument and
therefore, if a character is displayed on the LCD 207, the CPU 203
hides the character (i.e., causes the LCD 207 not to display the
character) (step S71.fwdarw.S72). Then, the CPU 203 updates
character information stored in the nonvolatile memory 208 as the
electronic musical instrument accesses it through the contactless
communication interface 209 (step S83). This character information
update includes the update achieved by the process of step S27 of
FIG. 8 performed by the student electronic musical instrument 100
and the update achieved by the process of step S27 of FIG. 11
performed by the teacher electronic musical instrument 300. That
is, this process is to record significant positive changes as the
student practices a performance such as an increase in the vitality
of the character, an improvement of the personality, an increase in
the degree of growth, or an acquisition of the capability to obtain
an item.
[0098] On the other hand, when the accessory device 200 is not
placed on the contactless communication interface of the electronic
musical instrument, the image of the character is to be moved from
the display unit of the electronic musical instrument back to the
LCD 207 of the accessory device 200 and therefore, if no character
is displayed on the LCD 207, the CPU 203 creates a character based
on the character information stored in the nonvolatile memory 208
and displays the character on the LCD 207. Then, to cause the
created character to move around on the LCD 207, the CPU 203
updates the image of the character according to a time measured by
a timer or an operation of an operator 201 by the user (step S75).
The CPU 203 also modifies character information stored in the
nonvolatile memory 208 according to the time measured by the timer
or the operation of the operator 201 by the user (step S76). This
modification, for example, when the student is lazy in practicing
the performance, includes modification of virtual information such
as a reduction in the vitality of the character, a decrease in the
degree of growth, making the character old and infirm, or the loss
of an item held by the character. When the student virtually plays
with the character using the operator 201, a small positive change
may be made to the character. However, in this case, any
significant positive change as that made when the student practices
the performance cannot be made to the character.
[0099] When the guardian PC 101 is connected to the communication
network 500 as shown in FIG. 1, the guardian may view the lesson
information of the student in the server 400 using the guardian PC
101 or may add reward information, separately from the teacher.
[0100] The teacher electronic musical instrument 300 is not
necessarily embodied as a musical instrument and may also be
embodied as a PC as described above. When a PC is used as the
teacher electronic musical instrument 300, the normal operation
process of the main routine is not a process of the teacher
electronic musical instrument as a normal musical instrument and
is, for example, a score management process in which practice
record information of the student is estimated and managed. Of
course, this does not mean that the normal operation process is
limited to the score management process. In the login process of
the teacher electronic musical instrument 300, the accessory device
200 is used to log into the server 400 in the same manner as in the
login process of the student electronic musical instrument 100.
However, if a PC is used as the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300, student user information may be manually input and
the student user information may then be used to log into the
server 400 to view or edit a variety of information of the student.
The guardian PC 101 can simply perform these control processes
since the guardian PC 101 is a type of PC.
[0101] FIGS. 13a and 13b illustrate an accessory device 200' having
a different configuration from that of the accessory device 200,
where FIG. 13a shows an external appearance of the accessory device
200' and FIG. 13b shows a control structure of the accessory device
200'.
[0102] As shown in FIG. 13a, the external appearance of the
accessory device 200' has a shape corresponding to the image of the
character displayed on the LCD 207 of the accessory device 200.
Although any material may be used for the accessory device 200',
one can consider, for example a stuffed toy. The purpose of forming
the accessory device 200' with such a shape and material is only to
attract the interest of young students. Since such a material and
shape is not essential in applying the present invention, the
accessory device may have an insipid shape (for example, a plate
shape) and may also be colored with a single color.
[0103] An RF tag 209' is embedded in the accessory device 200'. A
passive one is employed as the RF tag 209'. Even if the RF tag 209'
is a passive one, it can be considered as a contactless
communication interface as shown in FIG. 13b. The nonvolatile
memory 208 is also connected to the RF tag 209'. A variety of
information can be written to the nonvolatile memory 208 using a
writer for RF tags. Therefore, if a reader/writer for RF tags is
employed as the contactless communication interface of the
electronic musical instrument, user information and character
information can be written to the nonvolatile memory 208 of the
accessory device 200' as with the accessory device 200. However,
since the RF tag reader/writer is too large in both size and price,
compared to the simple RF tag reader, a simple RF tag reader is
employed as the contactless communication interface of the
electronic musical instrument and a reader/writer prepared in a
different place is used when writing information to the nonvolatile
memory 208 of the accessory device 200'. Accordingly, the user
information alone is previously stored in the nonvolatile memory
208 of the accessory device 200' and information in the nonvolatile
memory 208 is not overwritten with the contactless communication
interface of the electronic musical instrument.
[0104] When the accessory device 200' is employed, the same main
routine as that of FIG. 7 is basically used for each of the student
electronic musical instrument 100 and the teacher electronic
musical instrument 300. However, the character information is
stored on the server since it is not stored in the nonvolatile
memory 208 of the accessory device 200'. Accordingly, the processes
of steps S23 and S27 in the login process of the student electronic
musical instrument 100 of FIG. 8 are replaced with processes in
parenthesizes. For the same reason, the processes of steps S23 and
S27 in the login process of the teacher electronic musical
instrument 300 of FIG. 11 are replaced with processes in
parenthesizes.
[0105] Since the accessory device 200' only permits data readout,
the accessory device 200' does not perform the main routine
performed by the accessory device 200 which is described above with
reference to FIG. 12.
[0106] It is not possible to display a character on the accessory
device 200'. However, since a character is created and displayed on
the display unit 9 of the student electronic musical instrument 100
when the accessory device 200' is placed on the student electronic
musical instrument 100 in the same manner as when the accessory
device 200 is placed on the student electronic musical instrument
100, using the accessory device 200' also improves the motivation
of the performance practice of students who commute to the music
classroom.
[0107] Although the interface between the accessory device and the
student electronic musical instrument or a teacher device for
teaching is preferably a proximity contactless interface, it does
not matter whether it is a neighborhood contactless interface or a
contact-type interface. Hereinafter, the term "teacher apparatus
for teaching" is used rather than the term "teacher electronic
musical instrument" since it is not necessarily embodied as a
musical instrument and may also be embodied as a PC. The
contact-type interface includes a type of interface having
electrodes exposed on its contact surface or a type of interface
having a connector for connection between them.
[0108] The teacher apparatus for teaching may also have the
functions of a student electronic musical instrument. This is
because, for example, some electronic musical instruments for a
small-size musical classroom are used for both the teacher and the
students.
[0109] Needless to say, the object of the invention is also
achieved by providing a system or a device with a machine readable
storage medium, in which program codes of software for implementing
the functions of the above-described embodiment are recorded, and
by causing a computer (a CPU or an MPU) of the system or device to
read and execute the program codes stored in the storage
medium.
[0110] In this case, the program codes read from the storage medium
implement, by themselves, the novel functions of the invention, and
the program codes and the storage medium in which the program codes
are stored constitute the present invention.
[0111] For example, a floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disc,
CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, magnetic
tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like can be used as the
machine readable storage medium which contains the program codes.
The program codes may also be provided from a server computer
through a communication network.
[0112] Further, needless to say, the invention includes not only an
implementation of the functions of the above-described embodiment
by allowing the computer to execute the read program codes but also
an implementation of the functions by allowing an OS or the like
running on the computer to perform all or part of the actual
processes.
[0113] Needless to say, the invention also includes an
implementation of the functions of the above-described embodiment
by writing the program codes read from the storage medium to a
memory provided on a function expansion board inserted in the
computer or provided in a function expansion unit connected to the
computer and then causing a CPU or the like, provided in the
function expansion board or the function expansion unit, to perform
all or part of the actual processes based on instructions of the
program codes.
* * * * *