Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COMPUTERIZED MUSIC NOTATION SYSTEM
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a computerized music notation
system in which pitch codes are entered on an instrument
keyboard and rhythm codes are entered on a control keyboard as
`~ data sets independent of each other. The pitches and rhythm
~ codes are then processed together by a computer program in
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~ order to produce integrated music data for storage,
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modification, translation, display, printed music notation,
synthesized music or other forms of output.
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~^ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Music notation has traditionally been written out by
-^ hand and entered in an automated system for publication as
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typeset or printed sheets. The manual process of handwriting,
revising, and/or transcribing music notation can be very
laborious for the music composer. For the music publisher,
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~ the conversion of handwritten notation into an automated
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typesetting or printing system requires the manual inputting
of data, and only a limited capability exists for
compositional modifications. The data generally must be
reentered if the rhythm of the music is substantively changed.
Micro computers have been applied to music composition
~- for digital processing of music data. Such computer systems
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~ allow a composer to compose on a keyboard and to store,
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manipulate, and output the data as synthesized music or as
~ printed music notation. These systems have been generally of
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- two types, i.e. realtime coding and non-realtime coding. In
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realtime codinq systems, music is entered on an instrument
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keyboard, such as a piano-type keyboard, with exactly the
timing and rhythm as it is intended to be played. The key
inputs are analyzed by computer for their indicated pitches
and the actual time durations and rhythms by which they are
pressed on the keyboard in order to derive the proper
notation. In non-realtime systems, the pitches are entered as
separate data from their durations and rhythms.
As an example of a realtime system, Davis et al. U.S.
Patent 3,926,088 employs an organ keyboard on which an
operator plays the pitch keys and a foot pedal which is
pressed to indicate the start of each measure. The pitch keys
in each measure are then processed into music notation
according to the time durations and rhythmical ordering in
which they are pressed. Such realtime systems have the
disadvantage that the music must be played through with
metronomic accuracy in order for the durations and ordering of
the pitches to be analyzed correctly. The necessity of
entering the pitch keys exactly as they are to be played
severely limits the ability of the composer to compose or
modify the music at the keyboard. Further, such systems have
built-in limitations in discriminating notes of short
durations or of complex rhythms.
In non-realtime systems, pitches are entered by
selecting from an array of designated pitch keys, and the note
durations associated with the pitches are entered separately
by selecting from a prescribed set of binary fractions, i.e.
halfs, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, etc., in order to define
the desired music notes. Other rhythmical types, such as ties
(continued notes) and rests (pauses), are entered in a similar
manner as the pitches. For example, Rauchi U.S. Patent
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4,307,645 and Ejiri et al. U.S. Patent 4,215,343 disclose
non-realtime coding systems having keys for standard notes,
ties, and rests in binary fractions. Namiki et al. U.S.
Patent 4,202,235 employs note duration keys in integer
multiples of 1/16th intervals.
Such non-realtime systems are cumbersome to use since
a specific duration is assigned in a fixed relationship to
each pitch key. These systems have little capability of
modifying the music notation into different time signatures
without reentering the data. Moreover, the same rhythm
representations in some cases may be played with different
actual time durations, since conventional music notation uses
binary note symbols whereas more complex rhythm structures may
be desired. The assignment of a fixed binary symbol to each
pitch in conventional systems would therefore result in music
data that did not represent actual time durations for a wide
range of rhythms, and would limit the usefulness of the data,
; for example, for playing the music on a synthesizer.
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l SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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In view of the aforementioned limitations of
conventional systems, it is a principal object of the present
- invention to provide a computerized system in which pitch data
and relative rhythm data are entered as data sets independent
of each other, and then are processed together to generate an
integrated music data output. A central feature of the
invention is that the rhythm data represent the relative
- proportions by which the pitches, rests, ties, and other
rhythm types divide a basic music interval, such as the main
beat, so that their relative proportions remain specified even
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if the time signature of the beat is changed. It is a
` further object that a screen display, printed music
notation and other forms of output can be generated from
the pitch and rhythm data responsive to a wide range of
selected compositional parameters, and can be modified or
changed by computer processing without having to reenter
the original data.
Generally speaking, the present invention
provides a computerized music notation system comprising:
first input means for entering a series of pitch codes
representing respective pitches which are to be designated
as occurring in a series of basic music intervals of a
music piece; second input means for entering, separately
and independently of the first input, a series of relative
rhythm codes for designating respective types of rhythm
elements, including the pitches, as occurring in the basic
music intervals of the music piece, wherein the relative
rhythm codes include at least a series of main division
codes, each of which represents a respective main division
rhythm element designated as occurring in a basic music
interval, and interposed demarcation codes each of which
delimits a respective one of the basic music intervals of
the music piece, wherein the rhythm codes for each basic
: music interval includes one or more main division codes
and a demarcation code delimitating each the basic music
interval; third input means for selecting a desired
interval duration value to be assigned to each of the
basic music intervals corresponding to a selected time
signature for a desired music notation output for the
music piece; computer means connected to the first,
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second, and third input means and having: (1) programmed
counting means for counting the number of main division
codes occurring in each basic music interval, as delimited
by a respective demarcation code, from the rhythm codes
entered through the second input; and (2) programmed
duration assigning means for assigning a fixed duration
value to each of the main division rhythm elements in each
respective basic music interval, the fixed duration value
being based upon the selected interval duration value
assigned to the basic music intervals divided by the
number of main division codes counted by the programmed
counting means as occurring in each the basic music
interval; and output means for providing a music notation
output in the selected time signature based upon the
rhythm codes designating the rhythm elements including
pitches in the basic music intervals of the music piece,
the pitch codes representing pitches for the respective
rhythm elements, and the fixed duration values assigned to
the respective rhythm elements by the computer means.
The above-described basic structure of the
; invention provides for the pitch data to be entered
independently of the corresponding relative rhythm data,
and the two sets of data are processed together to assign
fixed duration values to the pitches according to a
selected time signature. In the preferred implementation
of the invention, the main beat of the music is the basic
duration interval, i.e. the preferred system is beat
oriented. In standard music notation, the time signature
indicates the number of beats per measure and the note
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duration of each beat, e.g. half-note per beat, quarter-
note per beat, etc. The system according to the present
invention processes the pitch data and the relative rhythm
data together by assigning note duration values to the
pitches calculated according to their relative proportions
within a beat and the note duration per beat.
The relative rhythm coding of the invention also
includes rhythm codes for other rhythm types, i.e. ties,
rests, and dots, as well as subdivision codes for
designating subdivisions of any main division of a beat by
the rhythm types. The codes are selected to correspond to
convention types of rhythm notations, so that entry and
interpretation of the rhythm codes parallels conventional
music notation for the convenience of the user. The
rhythm codes constitute a relatively small code set, yet
they allow expression of music notation to a high degree
of rhythmical complexity. The main division and
subdivision codes permit the user to encode note durations
- other than conventional binary fractions, e.g.
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- l/3rd, l/5th, l/6th l/7th notes, etc.
If the user desires to have music notation translated
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`- into a different time signature, the original pitch and
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relatlve rhythm data can be retrieved from storage, and the
note durations of the pitches and other rhythm types can be
recomputed for the new time signature. Since the relative
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rhythm codes represent the intended proportions by which the
rhythm types divide each beat, the same rhythm codes can be
used both to generate music notation using standard binary
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~ 10 note symbols, and also as data to a synthesizer representing
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~ the actual durations of the notes to be played. The key of
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music can also be selected as a system parameter, and the
corresponding pitch names and the proper locations and
notehead styles of the notes on a musical staff are defined
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during processing of the pitch data in the selected key.
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The preferred system configuration of the invention
includes an instrument keyboard for entering pitch data by
~; pressing corresponding pitch keys, a control keyboard for
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; entering the relative rhythm codes, as well as command codes
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for selecting the parameters of and operating the system, a
computer for executing the program for processing the pitch
and rhythm data, and associated output devices such as a
display screen, a printer, a music synthesizer, and/or a data
storage device Pitch and relative rhythm data for the system
can also be derived by computer processing in reverse sequence
to that described above, from input obtained through digital
scanning and feature recognition of original music notation.
Other features of the computerized music notation
system of the invention include program routines for deriving
ledger lines, staff notations, stems, flags, beams, dotted
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notes, notehead designs, articulation marks, line, measure,
beat, and note spacings, and other aspects of fully featured
music notation. The invention is advantageous for a wide
range of applications, e.g. composition, music synthesis,
printing of music notation, computerized music archiving, and
performing high speed retrieval, regeneration, and
modification of music data under computer control.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above-mentioned objects, purposes, features, and
applications of the invention are described in further detail
below in conjunction with the drawings, of which:
Fig. l illustrates an example of conventional music
notation;
Fig. 2 is a chart depicting conventional note symbols
for pitches and other rhythm types;
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an overall computer
system configuration including associated input and output
devices and computer processing sections in accordance with
the invention;
Fig. 4 is a chart of a preferred set of relative
- rhythm codes used in the invention;
Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of the Main Parsing Loop for
pitch and rhythm data in the preferred notation processing
program of the invention;
Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of the Beat Processing
routine of the processing program for processing the pitch and
rhythm data in beat units;
Fig. 7 is a flow diagram of the LVlDRW routine for
processing the pitch and rhythm data into an integrated music
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data output form;
Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) are flow diagrams of the BCODI
subroutine of LVlDRW for converting the input rhythm codes
into rhythm data with assigned relative beat division values;
Fig. 9 is a flow diagram of the BVNLOC subroutine of
LVlDRW for determining notation parameters for the output of
fully featured music notation;
Figs. 10 and ll are schematic diagrams of input and
output functions for a beat of music;
Fig. 12 illustrates storage and retrleval of music
data to or from permanent storage in beat units;
Fig. 13 illustrates regeneration of output data from
permanent storage to associated output devices in beat units;
- Fig. 14 is a chart of some attributes of notation
', 15 parameters and output data generated by the notation
processing program of the invention;
Figs. 15(a), 15~b), 15(c), and 15~d) show some
examples of the conversion of rhythm code sequences to output
notation in the preferred system of the invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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In the following description, certain conventions and
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terminology for music and music notation are used. These are
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discussed below in order to explain their intended meaning.
However, it should be understood that the invention is deemed
not to be limited by the conventions and terminology used
within this description, but rather shall encompass the full
range of potential forms and applications to which its general
principles might be adapted.
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Referring to Fig. 1, a musical score is written with
notes marked on ledger lines 10, which are grouped in staffs
lOa, lOb, indicating treble and bass clefs in which the music
is played. The position of the notes on the lines or spaces
of the staff represent the pitch of the note in the indicated
octave. A fundamental key of the music (nC major" in Fig. 1)
is selected to define the starting pitch of the octave scales
indicated by the musical staff.
The staff lines are divided horizontally into measures
by vertical bars 11. Each measure or bar of music is composed
of a series of regular beats 12 which form the primary
recurring rhythmic pulse of the music. For the implementation
of the invention as described herein, the beat is the basic
music duration interval for which music data are coded. A
time signature is selected for the score to define the number
of beats to a bar and the notehead expression of each beat.
Thus, in the example of Fig. 1, music written in 4/4 time
signature has four beats 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-4, to a bar and
each beat has a quarter note duration. The actual time
duration of each beat depends upon the tempo by which the
- music is played. The tempo is set by individual
interpretation, or may be set by a timing scale in music
synthesizers.
The rhythm of the music, i.e. the ordering of sound,
is defined by certain conventional rhythm elemen~s or types,
- which include pitches 13, ties (continued pitch) 14, rests
(pauses) 15 and 16, and dots (dotted notes) 17. A dot follows
a pitch note or rest symbol and indicates a sustaining of one
half the duration of the associated note. It can also be used
as an abbreviation for several ties. Pitch notes and rests
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have different notations depending on their duration. In Fig.
2, the conventional notehead designs using binary symbols for
note duration are shown, along with the notations for ties and
dotted notes.
An octave on a piano keyboard has a regular
progression of 7 pitches, or eight divisions from one octave
to the next. In the key of C, for example, an octave
progresses by pitches named C, D~ E, F, G, A, B, C. The
progression of pitches of an oçtave depends upon the keynote
pitch and the convention for the progression of keys on the
keyboard. Some pitches are assigned different pitch names
depending on the key of the music.
Pitch notes are indicated in music notation by an
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~ inclined oval dot which, for fractions of a whole note, have a
;~ stem 13a on the left or right side. The stems may have flags
:ff,f.! 13b indicating binary note fractions, or they may have a beam
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18 joining the stems of a group of notes in a beat. Beams can
-~- have different angles of inclination and lengths depending on
the ascent or descent of the grouped notes, and may have
/ 20 multiple beam lines representing binary fractions to express
`` divisions of the beat.
The actual duration by which flagged or beamed notes
^ are played depends upon the proportions by which the notes
... . .
divide a beat and the note duration assigned to the beat. If
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the actual duration of the note is a non-binary fraction of
the beat, the convention in music notation is to depict the
note with the closest binary fraction representation. For
-- example, for a quarter-note beat interval, two combined
(beamed) eighth-notes indicate two pitches each played with an
eighth-note duration, whereas three beamed eighth-notes (a
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triplet) are used to indicate three pitches each played in
one-third of the quarter-note beat interval. Thus, the
conventional binary representations in music notation do not
necessarily correspond to the actual durations of the notes
when performed. Two or more notes beamed together may have a
spline indicating that they are a dublet, triplet, etc.
Standard music notation also includes articulation marks, such
as for emphasis 19, deemphasis 20, etc.
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10In accordance with the invention, a preferred system
configuration is shown in Fig. 3. An instrument keyboard 21,
such as a piano-type keyboard, is used to enter pitch codes
corresponding to the pitch keys depressed into computer system
23. A control keyboard 22, such as a standard ASCII keyboard,
15 is used to enter rhythm and command codes into computer system
23 as an independent data set. For ergonomic ease of use, the
rhythm codes may be entered by other types of input devices
- such as foot pedals, a speech recognition module, light pen,
mouse, head movement monitor, or other type of simple coding
device.
The computer system 23 executes a program for music
data processing functions, of which the main part in this
invention is the notation data processing section 24. This
section receives input pitch codes (PCODE) from instrument
keyboard 21 and rhythm codes (RCODE) from command keyboard 22
or input device 22a, and processes them together in a Main
Parsing Loop which generates output data tables (NTDATA)
specifying music notation characteristics for final output to
a screen display 25, through display interface 25a, and/or to
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a printer 26, through printer interface 26a. Permanent
storage 27 is connected to computer system 23 for storage and
retrieval of the notation data, and also of the original data
sets PCODE and RCODE in Simple Code Form, and an intermediate
rhythm data set BBCODE, as described further below.
Previously stored Simple Form Code or BBCODE can be retrieved
from permanent storage 27 and processed with modified
compositional parameters by processing section 24 into a
modified output for display or printing.
The pitch and rhythm data, preferably in the
intermediate BBCODE form, can also be output to a music
synthesizer, through synthesizer interface 28a, for producing
sound. The pitch and rhythm data can also be derived by
reverse processing of notation data provided from a digital
scanner 29 used to scan an original printed or handwritten
music sheet. The input from scanner 29 can be decoded by a
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feature recognition algorithm through recognizer 29a to
extract data on notation characteristics in the same format as
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~ NTDATA, so that it is stored, processed, and/or output through
~ 20 the other parts of computer system 23 and its peripheral
devices. Alternatively, a low level recognition algorithm can
be used to extract pitch and rhythm data in the Simple Form
Code or intermediate BBCODE formats.
The components of the above-described system can be
assembled from computer equipment which is commercially
available. The basic processing functions of the notation
~- data processing section 24, receiving pitch and rhythm code
inputs and providing NTDATA output for display or printing,
will now be described.
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The system is initialized and the desired
compositional parameters, such as time signature, key of
music, main beat, notation form, spacings, etc., are entered
by command codes on control keyboard 22. Once the system is
initialized for composing, the user enters pitch codes by
pressing keys on the instrument keyboard 21, and rhythm codes
on the control keyboard 22 or ergonomic input device 22a. The
two data sets are entered in non-real time, i.e. independent
of each other and without regard to the actual way the final
music is intended to be played. For example, the user may
play the pitch keys for a beat, measure, line or several lines
of music, then go back and enter the rhythm codes
` corresponding to those units. The user may also play the
pitch keys while simultaneously entering the rhythm codes, by
~- key presses, foot pedal control, speech command, etc., in or
near realtime. If the rhythm codes are a series of recurring
codes, they can be entered automatically by a macro command.
; The flexibility of entering rhythm codes as an independent
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data set from the pitch codes is an important advantage of the
invention.
As the two streams of pitch and rhythm codes are
entered, they are temporarily stored in buffers and parsed in
Simple Form Code through the Main Parsing Loop shown in Fig.
5. In the described implementation of the invention, the
- notation processing section 24 processes pitch and rhythm data
in beat units, i.e. according ~o the main beat specified by
the selected time signature. The pitch and rhythm codes are
thus processed by the beat processing loop BTPROC shown in
Fig. 6, and by the beat data generating routines LVlDRW,
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BCODI, BVNLOC, and BMRHY, and display output routine LV2DRW,
shown in Figs. 7-9, from intermediate BBCODE into output
tables NTDATA which completely specify the beat units of music
notation for output on the display screen 25 or the printer
26. The input and output routines for the beat data are shown
in Figs. 10 and 11. Previously stored data can be retrieved
by the routine shown in Fig. 12 and regenerated as shown in
Fig. 13 for a modified output using new compositional
parameters or for mass output, such as for high speed
printing.
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A central feature of the invention is the use of
rhythm codes which represent the relative proportions of
rhythm types within a defined music interval, such as a beat.
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~l 15 The fundamental music interval in Western music is the main
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-~` beat. The use of relative proportion values for the rhythm
elements allows their representation within a beat to remain
unchanged even if the time signature of the beat or tempo of
the music is changed. Thus, the notation can be readily
changed for a different time signature, or one or both of the
pitch and rhythm code sequences can be retrieved and modified,
without having to reenter all of the original data.
- The preferred set of rhythm codes of the invention are
selected to have a one-to-one correspondence to the rhythm
types recognized in conventional music notation, for the
convenience of the user in entering and interpreting the
rhythm code sequences. The preferred rhythm codes thus
comprise a set of main division codes, representing each
rhythm type, i.e. pitch, tie, rest, or dot, which may divide a
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beat, subdivision codes for each rhythm type subdivision of a
main division, a beat demarcator code, and beat multiple codes
for a rhythm element occupying a multiple beat. Each beat is
processed with all rhythm elements related to either main
divisions, subdivisions, or multiples of the beat interval.
The pitch codes entered as an independent data set are related
in correspondence to the rhythm codes for pitches, and the
integrated data can then be further processed to provide a
~` display or printed output of fully featured music notation.
The preferred set of rhythm codes is shown with
representational characters in Fig. 4. Each pitch entered on
the instrument keyboard is associated with the pitch rhythm
code "N" if it is a main division of a beat. A pitch
subdivision of a main division is denoted by "nn. Similarly,
rests are denoted by nR" if they are main divisions of a beat
unit, or by ~r" if they are a subdivision of a main division.
Ties are indicated by ~T~ and ~t~ and dots by "D- and "d" for
corresponding main divisions and subdivisions. By convention,
a beat interval cannot begin with a dot or with any
subdivision. The end of a beat interval is denoted with a
terminator code such as ~/~. For example, if a beat is
composed of two pitches of equal duration, the rhythm codes
- ~N, N, /~ are keyed in. If a beat is composed of two pitches
which are the onset of two equal intervals, and the first
interval includes another pitch which subdivides the first
interval, then the codes "N, n, N, /" are keyed in. Examples
of other rhythm code sequences are shown in Figs. 15(a)-15tg),
together with their resultant data table and music notation.
By using a stream of codes to represent each rhythm
element in the beat intervals, the relative duration values of
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the elements become implicit in their order and number, and
the absolute duration of the elements can be derived for any
specified beat duration (time signature~. The use of
subdivision codes provides a second order level of beat
complexity which is commensurate with the limits of human
performance of music. Higher order levels of relative rhythm
coding may of course be used.
According to the principles of the invention, it is
apparent that other rhythm code sets or more specialized
rhythm types may instead be used. For example, beat division
codes may indicate the proportions of beat divisions by
numerical weights, the rhythm types may be numerically coded,
independently entered, or entered with the pitch codes, a beat
commencing code instead of terminator code may be used, or the
basic duration interval may be a measure of music rather than
a beat. Such variations are nevertheless encompassed within
the principles of relative rhythm coding as disclosed herein.
Since each beat is delimited by a terminator code, the
rhythm codes can be input without any required continuity, as
can the pitch codes. The notation processing program parses
the two independent data streams through the Main Parsing Loop
and processes a beat output whenever sufficient pitch data and
rhythm data followed by a terminator code are input. The
terminator code is used herein as a beat delimiter, but a beat
initializer could instead be used. The relative rhythm coding
also includes an autoterminator code "An for providing a
recurring series of rhythm codes followed by a terminator code
automatically when the music being composed has a regular
number of pitches in equal main divisions of each beat. This
allows the rhythm coding to be handled automatically by a
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single keystroke for convenience of data entry for many
standard rhythms.
The main rhythmic types, i.e. pitches, rests, ties, or
dots, represent the conventional musical rhythmic notations.
Depending on the time signature and the main beat duration,
any combination of these rhythmic types may be used in a beat,
and the resultant notation for a beat may be expressed with
the notes joined together by horizontal beams and tuplet
indicators. If the time signature is changed, the relative
proportions of the rhythm elements are nevertheless preserved
over the current fraction or multiple of the original main
beat, and the resulting notation may be expressed differently,
i.e. with multiple or no horizontal beams or different
notehead designs.
15- The relative rhythm coding includes auxiliary codes
for multiples of a beat unit, e.g. when a rhythm element has a
duration of multiple beats. In Fig. 4, three integer multiple
codes are shown. Also, a particular series of rhythm codes
which is used frequently may be input through a single
keystroke by use of a macro key, which provides a stored
stream of characters as input codes.
The relative rhythm coding of the invention is
selected to be a small, manageable set, but it may of course
- may be expanded if more complex rhythm coding functions are
desired. A small set of rhythm codes allows the rhythm data
to be input rapidly and with a minimum of interruption so that
the user can simultaneously input the pitch codes from the
instrument keyboard 21 if so desired. In the system shown in
Fig. 3, the rhythm coding is entered by any selected
alphanumeric keys on the control keyboard 22, but it may
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instead be entered through other, more ergonometric input
devices such as foot pedals, a speech recognition unit, a
monitor for head movements, or pointing or contacting devices
- such as a light pen, touch tablet, mouse, etc.
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M~ia~ Sia~99B
The Main Parsing Loop for pitch and rhythm codes in
:
beat units is shown in Fig. S. Block 31 indicates the major
system initialization steps, such as interfacing the various
; system components for the notation processing mode. KEYCMD at
block 31a indicates the initialization steps for user
parameter selections and establishing the internal parsing
-J
program to receive and process pitch and rhythm codes as they
are input from the instrument keyboard 21 and control keyboard
22, and to display the output notation on staff lines set up
` 15 on the CRT display 25 for visual confirmation to the user.
Program control then enters INLOOP at block 31b, which
commences with a test whether a macro sequence of codes is
being stored or sent. If no macro sequence is in effect, the
parsing program polls the control (ASCII) keyboard for a
command or rhythm code (RCODE) keypress, at block 32, and the
instrument keyboard for a pitch code (PCODE) keypress, at
block 33. Simultaneous pressing of more than one pitch key (a
chord) is treated as one pitch key event for purposes of the
description herein.
The program proceeds to block 34 which sends the PCODE
to block 35 where the pitch is identified and displayed on the
staff lines as it is entered (without rhythm information) for
visual confirmation. Pitch processing at this stage includes
determination of all attributes of pitch information needed
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for proper musical notation, e.g. pitch name, accidentals
~sharp or flat), location on the sta~f lines, a chord, etc.
The processed pitch data are then stored in a temporary pitch
buffer OUTPIT.
A command keycode or the RCODE is branched from block
34 to block 36, where it is interpreted, and then to PROCKEYS
at block 36a. The PROCREYS routine executes an indicated
command, or branches the RCODE to block 36b where it is
converted to Simple Form Code (binary number) and stored in a
temporary rhythm buffer OUTRHY. The parsing program then goes
to block 37 at the end of the parsing loop where it returns to
INLOOP. At block 36c, a check BTDEST is made whether
sufficient rhythm and pitch codes have been received for a
beat and whether a beat termination code is received. If so,
the program branches at block 36d to execute the BTPROC
routine at block 38, which is the main routine for generating
the complete output notation for each beat. When an output
beat is generated, it is displayed on the staff lines ~the
pitch-only display is erased), then the beat counters are
incremented and a vertical bar line is drawn i~ a measure of
music has been completed. The parsing loop then receives the
next input by returning to INLOOP.
B~t~ s~ias
Refer-ring to Fig. 6, the main beat processing routine
BTPROC commences by clearing an output data table NTDATA for
the beat, at block 38a, fetching the current beat pitch record
from OUTPIT at block 38b, and fetching the current beat rhythm
record from OUTRHY at block 38c. The program enters LVlCALL
and calls the routine LVlDRW, described further below, for
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processing the pitch and rhythm data into its final output
form, which is then stored as output data and displayed as a
completed beat on the CRT display. The program then moves the
beat cursor to the current beat space on the staff lines of
the display, at block 38d, and increments the beat counter,
checks the space remaining on the current line, and checks the
beat count for a completed measure, at block 38e. The program
then exits BTPROC- and returns to INLOOP in the Main Parsing
~.
Loop for the next beat.
The routine LVlDRW, shown in Fig. 7, commences by
checking at block 41 whether the code for a multiple beat
interval (beat multiplier code in Fig. 4) is present. If so,
the routine MBTEXPAND is called at block 42 to expand a beat
interval code into two or more beat interval codes in a form
compatible with subsequent rhythm data processing. At block
43, the routine SETPIT is called to process the pitch data
further to determine the stem direction (upward or downward)
and any flag or beam attributes for the output notation. At
~,
, blocks 44 and 45, a check of the stem direction is made and 20 the pitch data is modified so that the specification of notes
corresponds to the proper stem direction.
The program then proceeds to block 46 where the
further routine BCODI is called to convert the rhythm data for
the beat from Simple Form Code to the intermediate form
BBCODE. BBCODE iS a conversion of the rhythm codes from a
simple binary number to a form where the relative proportion
of each rhythm code element within a beat is expressed. At
blocks 47 and 48, a check is made whether the current beat is
a multiple of the main beat interval and, if so, the beat
width and end of beat notation are appropriately modified. At
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block 49, the ledger line data for the current beat is
initialized. At block 50, a check is made whether the current
beat is the end of a series of beats having simple notation
which can be compressed into a smaller width for one measure
on a line of output notation, referred to herein as a "dynamic
:,
beatn. If so, the beat widths are recalculated and modified,
at block 51, and a compressed notation for the measure is
` substituted for the constituent beats.
At block 52, the pitch and rhythm data is now
sufficiently specified so that processing of them together can
take place. At BVNCALL 53, the subroutine BVNLOC is called to
merge the pitch and rhythm data together, as explained further
below. The output of BVNLOC is integrated information on all
required attributes of the note(s) occupying the current beat
(at block 54). In preparation for final processing for an
output display of notation, the integrated information is
input at BRMCALL 55 to the subroutine BMRHY which calculates
all of the stem, beam, and beat dimensions corresponding to
-l the specified note~s) in accordance with standard music
- 20 notation. The program then proceeds to LV2CALL 56 where the
output graphics display subroutine LV2DRW is called. This
completes the processing and output display of one beat of -~
music, and control then returns to the Main -Parsing Loop for
the next beat.
B~ s~b~g~ g~
The subroutine BCODI for converting the rhythm codes
for a beat in single byte (Simple) form to the intermediate
- BBCODE is shown in Figs. 8(a) and 8(b). Simple Form Code for
the rhythm codes are input at block 65. The BCODI pointers
.', .
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1 329273
are initialized at block 66, and the program enters MAINLOOP
67 with a test for termination. One main beat interval at a
time is processed through MAINLOOP. If there are multiple
main beats in the current beat interval being processed,
MAINLOOP is reentered until a termination for the complete
sequence is detected, as shown at block 67.
Processing for each main beat interval begins with
initialization of the counters for main-divisions and
subdivisions in the beat, at block 63. The rhythm codes are
then parsed through the loop 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 79, until
a total count MDIV, at block 74, of main division codes has
been counted. MDIV represents the number of main division
intervals into which the beat is divided. At blocks 77 and
78, a test is made whether the number of main division codes
is two or three, in order to set a BREAXFLG which results in
output beamed notation having breaks in the beaming if any
subdivisions of a main division are present, according to
music notation convention.
The program proceeds to SUBLOOP 80a, 81, 82, 83, 84,
where each main division is checked in turn for subdivisions.
When the count of subdivision(s) SDIV(i) for the current
subdivision is obtained at block 80, the program proceeds to
block 85l in Fig. 8(b), where the product of MDIV and SDIV(i)
is obtained. This product represents the relative fraction of
the beat occupied by each of the rhythm elements expressed by
the current main division code and following subdivision
code(s). In the loop 86-98, the program parses through each
of these fractional rhythm elements and loads the BBCODE
representing their fractional proportion of the beat. When
the current main division has been processed, the program
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1 32927~ :
proceeds with a test whether the current beat is completed, at
block 100. If yes, a terminator in BBCoDE-is inserted, at
block 99, and control returns to MAINLOOP at block 102 for
conversion of the next main beat interval. If no, a check is
made for a BREARFLG at blocks 101, 103, in order to insert a
BREARSYM code for beam breaking in the final output (mentioned
above), and control then returns to SUBLOOP at block 104.
Referring to Figs. 15~a)-15(d), some examples are
shown of rhythm codes converted to the BBCODE form. In
particular, Fig. 15(d) shows one which includes main division,
subdivision, tie and rest codes converted into BBCODE. BBCODE
is represented by an integer representing the rhythm element's
fractional space in the beat and a character representing the
type of rhythm element. BBCODE thus expresses the relative
fractions and types of rhythmic elements as a highly
compressed data set.
The BVNLOC subroutine shown in Fig. 9 fills in the
output table NTDATA with further specification of the various
notational and spatial attributes of the output notation
corresponding to the pitch and rhythm data in accordance with
standard music notation conventions. At block 120, pointers
to NTDATA are initialized. A-test is made at block 121 if the
previous beat is tied to the current beat. If so, then a tie
marker is stored in the NTDATA table. MAINLOOP 122 is the
entry to a parsing procedure for determining the notational
attributes of tied or dotted rhythm elements.
Beginning at block 128a, a test is made at block 129
for a note or tie. If yes, a test is made at block 129a
whether the next adjacent elements are ties or dots. If they
are not, a single note is detected (block 130), and control
~' ,
- 23 -
: 1l 3 ~ 9 ,' 7 ~ .
.
goes to blocks 139a and 140 where the subroutine BTDIV is
called for computing the attributes of single note, rest or
tie. If there are adjacent ties or dots to a note or tie,
their number and beat fraction are determined at blocks 131,
132. BTDIV is then called at block 133 to determine the
appropriate notational attributes, i.e. type of notehead, stem
flags, number of beams, placement of dots, etc., and STORE is
called to load all generated attribute information together
with the associated pitch data to the output table NTDATA.
Tests are made at block 141 for beam values, stem flags, dots,
and other data to be stored in NTDATA. Control goes to
CONTINUE 142 and returns to MAINLOOP 122.
If the test at block 129 is negative, a test is made
at block 134 whether the current rhythmic type is a rest, and
if so, blocks 134a, 135, process for a single rest or for a
tied or dotted rest, similar to the procedure described above.
If the test at block 134 is negative, a subtest for a BREARSYM
(beam break) code is made at blocks 136, 137, and for a
multiple beat at block 138. If a multiple beat is present,
~0 the subroutine FRACTAD is called to determine the fractions of
the beat allocated to the current rhythmic notation. Control
then returns to MAINLOOP 122. If the list of rhythmic types
for the beat is ended, the program exits at block 123, then
tests for beams at block 124. If no beams are present, then
the default beam values are suppressed.
After exiting BVNLOC, the further subroutine BMRHY is
called to provide fur'her notational attribute information in
which the key coordinates, contours and endpoints of the
notation elements are specified. The subroutine LV2DRW is
then called to generate the complete contour and mapping
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~ 329 L_7 3
information for output to the display screen. An example of
some of the various notational attributes processed into
NTDATA in the processing program is shown in Fig. 14.
~BIat~9!~Bla~ is~ a
The notation processing program described above is
beat oriented in that it processes input pitch and rhythm data
in beat units and outputs a completed beat of music data. As
shown in Fig. 3, the notation data processing 24 is the center
of input/output flows connecting the input keyboards and
devices 21, 22, 22a, the permanent storage 27, and screen
display 25. An I/O program loop is shown in Figs. 10 and 11.
Beginning at INLOOP, the program determines whether input data
is obtained from a keyboard, the screen display, permanent
storage, or a macro buffer. If from a keyboard, input is
provided by the keypresses, or if from the screen display,
then it is fetched via the screen matrix. Input from
permanent storage (hard disk) is fetched via a beat matrix
which stores all the addresses for each beat of the entire
music for random access and global editing. Regardless of
source, input is provided for one beat at a time and processed
- through the notation processing program to generate one beat
of music data output.
The beat output in Fig. 11 may be sent to the screen
matrix, a macro buffer, and/or hard disk matrix. Data
processed in the notation processing program may be stored on
the hard disk as Simple Form Code for the streams of
keypresses from the keyboards, intermediate BBCODE
representing the rhythmic proportions and types in compressed
form and the pitch names, and/or the output table NTDATA for
,,
- 25 -
,, ,
.,
1 32q?~-~
generating a complete display of beat notation. In the I/O
program, if the SOUNDFLG is set at block 240, then the output
data may provided in the compressed (BBCODE) format suitable
for realtime pexformance. This format may be used, for
example, to provide music data to the synthesizer interface
28a, in Fig. 3, for synthesizer performance. For certain high
speed or high volume applications, such as printing hard copy,
searching, or mass storage, the music data for an entire
section or score of music may be held in a cache memory and
output in a continuous stream.
A flowchart for music data storage and retrievel is
shown in Fig. 12. In the preferred beat oriented system of
the invention, a beat received from the notation processing
program is assigned a key address which is stored in BTMATRIX.
Searching and retrieval of music is obtained by requesting the
key addresses of the music section of interest, and the stored
data is loaded in a buffer area where it can be used in the
music program or another connected device or interface. Beat
matrix manipulations can be performed to relocate sections of
music or to copy, or alter data in some way. This facilitates
insertions of new material, deletions, or copying, and allows
high level manipulation of large data sets.
In Fig. 13, a process for regenerating stored music
data is shown. Music data retrieved from permanent storage 27
is held in a buffer 27a from which data is sent in beat units.
The beat data may be stored in Simple Form Code, BBCODE, and
NTDATA. Simple Form Code can be entered in the notation
processing program at the entry point to the BTPROC routine,
from which it is regenerated into NTDATA and displayed on the
screen Modifications or new compositional parameters can be
- 26 -
:'
~3?q~3
specified through keyboards 21, 22, in an editing mode, and
the modified beat can be displayed and stored. NTDATA may
instead be regenerated from BBCODE by a macro command
providing the input in the program sequence to BVNCALL, or
retrieved data in NTDATA form may be provided to the display
interface 25a. The compressed BBCODE format is suitable for
performance of the music in realtime through the synthesizer
interface 28a.
9 ~ 1a D ~ i; i 9 B ~ i 9 };1 S
The notation processing program can also have other
; program sections for entering other notational features on the
score in accordance with the full features of standard music
notation. Articulation marks may be entered by selection from
a list of icons or marks displayed on the screen using
function keys on the control keyboard or other computer input
device, such as a pointer, touch screenr or mouse. The
desired mark is positioned in the proper score area by
movement of a cursor (pointer) to a particular note, beat
interval, measure, or position on the staff lines. The
program for entering articulation marks includes a function
for controlling the movement of the cursor so that it jumps by
incremental note, beat, or bar positions for ease of use.
- Stored pitch and rhythm codes, as well as the output
NTDATA tables, can be retrieved and modified for notation in a
different key of music and/or time signature. The pitch and
rhythm codes can be independently modified, for example, to
produce a stored melody with a different rhythm, or a
different melody with the stored rhythm, or some combination
of both. Music analysis tools can be applied to analyze
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melody, harmony, chord progression, rhythm, and other
sub-attributes of the full music notation interactively via
the display screen, keyboards, or synthesizer. The flexible
format of the relative rhythm coding of the invention allows
music of any complexity to be easily and rapidly input to the
; system for printing, modification, or display. The computer
- system may be interfaced with a printer of typesetting quality
for sheet music production. The interface may include
routines for compressing data, producing special fonts or
marks, etc.
The computerized notation system can be advantageously
applied to parts extraction from or to an instrumental work or
larger symphonic score. The parts of a symphonic score for
different instruments are often printed with different measure
and line spacings and notational formats and attributes. The
relative proportions of rhythm elements represented by the
relative rhythm coding facilitates the recalculation of
notational formats. With the editing and modification
` capability of the system disclosed herein, the several
instrument parts can be readily extracted and printed by data
file manipulations.
~ The invention has important advantages over
; conventional music notation systems. Since the pitch codes
-~ are independent from the rhythm codes, the code input need not
."
~ 25 be played in realtime and less musically skilled persons can
- operate the system. This increases the utility of the system
and allows sav;ngs of labor cost in high-volume music notation
processing. The expanded capability of transposing the pitch
and rhythm codes into another key or time signature makes
possible a wide range of automated music publishing functions.
- 28 -
~.,.
~ 3~9?7i~
The intermediate BBCODE format iB a compressed data
set which can be readily adapted as an input to conventional
synthesizers. The problem of conventional binary notation
conflicting with non-binary time durations in performance,
particularly with synthesizers, is obviated since BBCODE
preserves the actual relative proportions within a beat, while
NTDATA is usable to generate notation according to music
convention. Also, digital scanning and feature extraction
systems can be used to provide notational input to the present
system from printed or handwritten original sheets. The
compressed data set BBCODE can be relatively easily derived
through feature extraction, and the notation processing
program can be used to regenerate the full notational output
tables (NTDATA) for display, permanent storage, editing or
; 15 modification.
Although a preferred implementation of the invention
has been described above, it should be understood that many
variations and modifications are possible within the disclosed
-~ principles of this invention. The rhythm codes might be
modified to include other rhythm types or other relative
division markers. For example, instead of main division and
subdivision markers, integer values may be assigned to each
rhythm element representing their relative proportions within
the beat. The basic interval may be a full measure of music
instead of a beat. The notation processing program may be
simplified, and the beat processing routines may be
implemented by ROM addressing or tree-structure decoding of
rhythm code sequences rather than program operation. Other
types of beat processinq algorithms will occur to one skilled
in this field given the disclosure herein. Further, other
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132'~273
types of peripheral data entry, storage, output, and
associated musical devices may be connected to the disclosed
system. It is intended that the systems described herein and
:- all such variations and modifications be included within the
scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims.
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