Ensemble system

The present invention relates to an ensemble system in which even a person who is unfamiliar with the operation of a musical instrument can easily participate in an ensemble, and more particularly to an ensemble system in which a guide role and each participant are assigned a performance part easily and flexibly.

Conventionally, electronic musical instruments that generate musical tones in response to the operation of a performer have been known. Such electronic musical instruments are modeled on, for example, a piano, and are generally performed in the same manner as the piano, which is a natural musical instrument. Such electronic musical instruments require skill in performance and take time to master.

However, in recent years, it has been desired to realize an instrument that can be easily played by a person who is unfamiliar with the operation of the instrument, and not only the performer enjoys playing alone, but also a large number of performers participate. It is desired to realize an instrument that can realize an ensemble.

For example, Patent Document 1 has been proposed as an electronic musical instrument in which a plurality of users who are unfamiliar with the operation of the musical instrument can easily participate in the performance. The electronic musical instrument of Patent Document 1 allows a plurality of people to perform an ensemble with a simple operation (hand-shaking operation).<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-276136</text></patcit>

<p> In the electronic musical instrument of Patent Document 1, a slave unit (operator) is connected to the master unit, and performance information for one song is transmitted in advance. At this time, the master unit allocates the performance part of each slave unit based on the allocation instruction data recorded on the floppy (registered trademark) disk. In such a case, once the performance information is transmitted from the master unit to the slave unit, the transmitted performance part can be played only on that slave unit.</p><p> In addition, the users of each slave unit performed along with the demonstration performance of the master unit. However, when a plurality of people perform activities such as rehabilitation at the same time, a group is formed by a predetermined number of people (for example, about 5 people), and a facilitator (guide role) often guides each participant. In Patent Document 1, it was not possible to perform in accordance with the performance of a human being as a model, and the facilitator could not show a model performance.</p><p> An object of the present invention is to provide an ensemble system in which performance parts can be easily and flexibly assigned between a guide role and each participant.</p>

<p> The ensemble system of the present invention is connected to a performance terminal provided with a performance operator for the user to perform a performance operation, one or more sound sources, the plurality of performance terminals, and the one or more sound sources. It is an ensemble system consisting of a controller that controls each performance terminal, and the controller has an allocation list that describes performance music data consisting of a plurality of performance parts and identification information of the performance terminals assigned to each performance part. The storage means to be stored, the operation means for the user to specify the performance terminal to participate in the ensemble and the performance terminal to not participate in the ensemble, and to select the performance music data to be performed, and the operation means to be described by the user. When the performance song data is selected by using, a performance part is assigned to each of the performance terminals based on the allocation list, and the performance part of the performance terminal that does not participate in the ensemble in the allocation list is assigned to another performance terminal that participates in the ensemble. According to the performance part assignment means to be assigned instead of, and the operation mode of the performance operator of each performance terminal, the reading of the performance part assigned to the performance terminal is advanced, and the data of the read performance part is used as the sound source. It is characterized by being provided with a performance control means for outputting.</p><p> In the present invention, the user selects a performance terminal that participates in the ensemble and a performance terminal that does not participate in the ensemble by using the operating means of the controller. In addition, the performance song data to be ensemble is selected. The performance song data is composed of a plurality of performance parts, and identification information of a performance terminal to which each performance part is assigned is described in a list. When the user selects performance song data, the controller reads the list and assigns each performance part to the performance terminal participating in the ensemble. After that, the user instructs the start of the performance, and the operator of the performance terminal performs the performance operation. The operator of the performance terminal is, for example, the keyboard of an electronic piano. When any one of the keys is pressed, an operation signal is transmitted to the controller. Based on the received operation signal, the controller transmits the pronunciation instruction of the performance part assigned to the performance terminal to the sound source. The sound source produces a musical tone according to the pronunciation instruction.</p><p> Further, in the present invention, the sound source is built in each of the plurality of performance terminals, and the performance control means of the controller incorporates the read data of the performance part in the performance terminal to which the performance part is assigned. It is characterized by outputting to a sound source.</p><p> In the present invention, the controller advances the reading of the performance part assigned to the performance terminal based on the operation signal received from the performance terminal, and transmits the data of the read performance part to the sound source built in the performance terminal. To do. The built-in sound source of the performance terminal produces a musical tone according to the received pronunciation instruction. As a result, each performance terminal will pronounce its own performance part.</p><p> The present invention is further characterized in that the performance part assignment means changes the performance part assignment to each performance terminal according to the change of the performance part assignment instructed by the user using the operation means.</p><p> In the present invention, the user can manually change the performance part of each performance terminal. As a result, each performance part can be freely played on a performance terminal different from the default setting.</p><p> The present invention is further characterized in that, when the performance terminal described in the allocation list is a performance terminal that does not participate in the ensemble, the performance part assigning means allocates the performance part to the performance terminal for the guide role. And.</p><p> In the present invention, when the performance terminal described in the identification information is a performance terminal that does not participate in the ensemble, the controller is assigned instead to the performance terminal for the facilitator. A plurality of performance parts are assigned to the performance terminal for the facilitator.</p><p> In the present invention, the storage means further stores a table that defines related performance parts as a group, and the performance part allocation means is a performance terminal in which the performance terminals listed in the allocation list do not participate in the ensemble. If there is, the performance part is assigned to the performance terminal to which the performance part of the same group is assigned with reference to the table.</p><p> In the present invention, when the performance terminal described in the identification information is a performance terminal that does not participate in the ensemble, the controller assigns the performance terminal to the performance terminal to which the related performance part is assigned instead. Related performance parts include, for example, bass and drums, a plurality of stringed instruments, a plurality of wind instruments, and the like. These related performance parts are listed on the table as performance parts of the same group.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, the performance part is automatically assigned only by instructing the participation (attendance) or non-participation (absence) of each performance terminal, so that the performance part can be easily assigned between the guide role and each participant. And it can be done flexibly. In addition, since the performance part of each performance terminal can be changed manually, each performance part can be played on a performance terminal different from the default setting, so that a model can be set on the performance terminal for the facilitator.</p>

The ensemble system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ensemble system. As shown in the figure, this ensemble system includes a controller 1 and a plurality of performance terminals 2A to 2F connected to the controller 1 via a MIDI interface box 3 (six in the figure). ..

The controller 1 is composed of, for example, a personal computer, and the software installed in the personal computer controls each performance terminal 2 and collects data. Controller 1 stores performance song data consisting of a plurality of parts. These parts consist of one or more melody parts, rhythm parts, accompaniment parts, and the like. The controller 1 includes a communication unit that transmits pronunciation data of each part (or a plurality of parts) to each performance terminal 2.

The performance terminal 2 is composed of an electronic keyboard instrument such as an electronic piano, for example, in which the user performs a performance operation and generates a musical sound according to the performance operation of the user. In this embodiment, a MIDI interface box 3 connected to the controller 1 via USB is used, and each performance terminal 2 is connected by a separate MIDI system. In the figure, the performance terminal 2A is used as the performance terminal for the facilitator. The facilitator terminal is specified by controller 1. The performance terminal is not limited to the electronic piano, and may be another form of electronic musical instrument such as an electronic guitar. Of course, the appearance is not limited to a natural musical instrument, and may be a terminal simply provided with an operator such as a button.

The performance terminal 2 does not need to have a built-in sound source, and an independent sound source may be connected to the controller 1. In this case, the number of sound sources connected to the controller 1 may be one, or the number may be the same as that of the performance terminal 2. When connecting the same number of sound sources as the performance terminal 2, the controller 1 may associate each sound source with the performance terminal 2 and assign each part of the performance song data.

In this ensemble system, a plurality of performance parts of the performance song data stored in the controller 1 are assigned to each of the plurality of performance terminals 2, and each performance terminal 2 advances the automatic performance of the assigned performance parts. .. When the user performs a performance operation (for example, by hitting the keyboard of an electronic piano) using the performance terminal 2, tempo and timing instructions are transmitted to the controller 1. The controller 1 transmits to the performance terminal 2 the pronunciation instruction of each note of the performance part assigned to the performance terminal 2 based on the input tempo and timing instructions. The performance terminal 2 automatically plays based on the received pronunciation instruction. An ensemble is established when the students who use each performance terminal 2 take the tempo according to the facilitator. Hereinafter, the configurations of the controller 1 and the performance terminal 2 will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the controller 1. As shown in the figure, the controller 1 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, an HDD 13, a RAM 14, an operation unit 15, and a display unit 16. A communication unit 11, an HDD 13, a RAM 14, an operation unit 15, and a display unit 16 are connected to the control unit 12.

The communication unit 11 is a circuit unit that communicates with the performance terminal 2 and has a USB interface. A MIDI interface box 3 is connected to this USB interface, and the communication unit 11 communicates with the six performance terminals 2 via the MIDI interface box 3 and a MIDI cable. The HDD 13 stores the operation program of the controller 1 and the performance song data composed of a plurality of parts.

The control unit 12 reads the operation program stored in the HDD 13, expands it into the RAM 14 which is a work memory, and executes processing such as the part allocation 50, the sequence 51, and the pronunciation instruction 52. The part allocation 50 allocates each performance part of the performance song data to the plurality of performance terminals 2. The sequence 51 sequences each performance part of the performance song data (determines the pitch, length, etc. of each sound) according to the tempo and timing instructions received from each performance terminal 2. The pronunciation instruction 52 transmits the pitch, length, etc. of each sound determined in the sequence 51 to the performance terminal 2 as pronunciation instruction data.

The operation unit 15 is for the user (mainly the facilitator) to give an operation instruction of this performance system. The facilitator operates the operation unit 15, for example, specifies performance song data to be played, and assigns a performance part of each performance terminal 2. The display unit 16 is a so-called display (monitor), and the facilitator and each user perform a performance operation while looking at the display unit 16. Although the details will be described later, various information for performing the ensemble is displayed on the display unit 16.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the performance terminal 2. As shown in the figure, the performance terminal 2 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, a keyboard 23 as a performance operator, a sound source 24, and a speaker 25. A communication unit 21, a keyboard 23, and a sound source 24 are connected to the control unit 22. A speaker 25 is connected to the sound source 24.

The communication unit 21 is a MIDI interface and communicates with the controller 1 via a MIDI cable. The control unit 22 comprehensively controls the performance terminal 2. The keyboard 23 has, for example, 61 keys or 88 keys, and can play in the range of 5 to 7 octaves. However, in this ensemble system, note-on / note-off messages and keystroke strength are used without distinguishing the keys. Only the Velocity data is used. That is, each key has a built-in sensor that detects on / off and a sensor that detects the strength of keystrokes, and the keyboard 23 has an operation mode of each key (which key was pressed with what strength, etc.). The operation signal is output to the control unit 22 according to the above. The control unit 22 transmits a note-on message or a note-off message to the controller 1 via the communication unit 21 based on the input operation signal. The sound source 24 generates a musical tone type according to the control of the control unit 22, and outputs it as an audio signal to the speaker 25. The speaker 25 reproduces the audio signal input from the sound source 24 and produces a musical tone. As described above, the sound source and the speaker do not have to be built in the performance terminal 2. The sound source and the speaker may be connected to the controller 1 so that the musical sound can be produced from a place different from that of the performance terminal 2. The same number of sound sources as each performance terminal 2 may be connected to the controller 1, but a single sound source may be used.

In the above operation, when the keyboard 23 is pressed, the control unit 22 sends a note-on / note-off message to the controller 1 (local off), and instead of the note message by the keyboard 23, the musical instrument responds to an instruction from the controller 1. However, apart from the above-mentioned actions, it is of course possible to use it as a general electronic musical instrument. When the keyboard 23 is pressed, the control unit 22 can instruct the sound source 24 to produce a musical tone based on the note message without sending the note message to the controller 1 (local on). The local on and local off may be switched by the user using the operation unit 15 of the controller 1 or may be switched by the terminal operation unit (not shown) of the performance terminal 2. It is also possible to set only some keys to be locally off and other keys to be locally on.

Next, an operation for performing an ensemble using the ensemble system as described above will be described. The user (particularly the facilitator) selects the performance song data using the operation unit 15 of the controller 1. The performance song data is data (standard MIDI) created in advance based on the MIDI standard, and is stored in the HDD 13 of the controller 1. An example of this music data is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the performance song data is composed of a plurality of performance parts, and includes identification information for identifying each performance part and performance information for each performance part.

When the user selects the performance song data, the controller 1 assigns a performance part to each of the connected performance terminals 2. A table is defined in advance as to which performance part is assigned to which performance terminal. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a performance part allocation table. As shown in the figure, MIDI port 0 (facilitator performance terminal) corresponds to the performance part 1. For example, in FIG. 1, the performance part 1 is assigned to the performance terminal 2A. The MIDI port indicates the port number of the MIDI interface box 3, and each performance terminal 2 is identified by the connected MIDI port. Similarly, the performance part 2 corresponds to the MIDI port 1 (piano 1). For example, in FIG. 1, the performance part 2 is assigned to the performance terminal 2B. In this way, each performance terminal 2 is automatically assigned a performance part. This performance part allocation table is registered in the controller 1 by the facilitator in advance. The facilitator may manually select the controller 1 using the operation unit 15.

If it is connected to a USB port, each performance terminal 2 may be identified by the USB port number.

When the facilitator selects performance song data and the controller 1 assigns a performance part to each performance terminal 2, the facilitator uses the operation unit 15 of the controller 1 to instruct the performance start standby. The performance start standby mentioned here does not mean that a musical tone is actually generated, but means that the controller 1 reads the performance song data from the HDD 13 to the RAM 14 and prepares the performance for the performance operation.

When the facilitator instructs the performance start standby and the controller 1 prepares for the performance, the user of each performance terminal 2 can perform the performance. In this ensemble system, a plurality of users perform performance operations according to the performance of the facilitator (ensemble reader). In other words, instead of simply playing along with the model performance (machine demo performance), each user plays along with the facilitator's performance (human performance), so you get the feeling that you are actually playing an ensemble. be able to.

The operation of the ensemble system during the ensemble will be described. When each user presses the operator (keyboard) 23 of the performance terminal 2 with a finger, the control unit 22 sends a note-on message to the controller 1 according to the strength with which the keyboard is pressed. The note-on message contains information such as keystroke strength (Velocity). When the keyboard 23 is returned to its original position (the finger is released), the control unit 22 sends a note-off message to the controller 1. The controller 1 sequences the performance song data for a predetermined length (for example, one beat) of the performance parts assigned to the performance terminal 2 based on the note-on message and the note-off message received from the performance terminal 2. , Is transmitted to the performance terminal 2 as pronunciation instruction data. The pronunciation instruction data includes timing to be pronounced, sound length, intensity, timbre, effect, pitch change (pitch bend), tempo, and the like.

The controller 1 determines the pronunciation instruction data based on the time from receiving the note-on message to receiving the note-off message. Specifically, when a note-on message is input, the timing, timbre, effect, etc. of the performance song data to be read out and pronounced for the predetermined length (one beat, etc.) of the corresponding performance part. Determine the pitch change, etc. In addition, the pronunciation intensity is determined from the Velocity information of the note-on message. The performance information of the performance song data includes information indicating the volume, and the intensity is determined by multiplying this volume by the Velocity information. That is, the performance song data includes volume information in consideration of the volume expression (sound intensity) in the song in advance, but the intensity expression according to the strength with which each user presses the keyboard is added. , The pronunciation intensity will be determined.

When the note-off message is input, the controller 1 measures the time from the input of the note-on message. Until the note-off message is input, the first musical tone is generated as it is, and when the note-off message is input, the tempo of the beat and the length of each note are determined and the next musical tone is pronounced. ..

The tempo may be simply determined from the time from note-on to note-off (referred to as GateTime), but the tempo may be determined as follows. That is, the moving average of GateTime is calculated for a plurality of keystrokes (from the latest to several times before), and weighted by time. The weighting is the highest for the most recent keystroke, and the weighting is reduced for the past keystrokes. By determining the tempo in this way, even if the Gate Time changes significantly only when a certain key is pressed, the tempo does not change suddenly, and the tempo can be changed according to the flow of the song without any discomfort.

The control unit 22 of the performance terminal 2 receives the pronunciation instruction data determined by the controller 1 as described above, and instructs the sound source 24 to generate a musical tone type. The sound source 24 generates a musical sound form and reproduces a musical sound from the speaker 25. The above process is repeated each time each user presses the keyboard. For example, a song can be played by pressing the keyboard every beat.

As described above, until the note-off message is input, the first musical tone is generated as it is, so the same musical tone will continue to be played until the user returns the finger from the keyboard. In this ensemble system, Can realize a performance expression (fermata) that extends the sound.

Further, by determining the tempo by the moving average of GateTime as described above, the following performance expression can be realized. For example, when a key is pressed for a short time, the length of each note for that beat is shortened, while when the key is pressed slowly, the length of each note for that beat is lengthened. As a result, it is possible to realize a performance expression (staccato) that does not change the tempo significantly but improves the crispness of each sound, or a performance expression (tenuto) that maintains the length of the sound without significantly changing the tempo. Can be done.

In this embodiment, a note-on message and a note-off message are transmitted to the controller 1 regardless of which key is pressed, but the above-mentioned staccato or tenuto-effective keyboard and non-effective keyboard may be separated. The controller 1 may change the note length while maintaining the tempo only when a note-on message or a note-off message is input from a specific keyboard (for example, E3).

Next, the user interface displayed on the display unit 16 will be described. FIG. 6 is a main operation window displayed on the display unit 16. The text field at the top of this window displays the performance song data name selected by the user. Each performance terminal (Facilitator, Piano 1 to 5) is displayed in the "setting" field, and a pull-down menu for selecting attendance for each performance terminal and a radio button for assigning a performance part are displayed. The performance terminals (Facilitator, Piano 1 to 5) are associated with the MIDI ports of the MIDI interface box 3. As shown in FIG. 7, it is also possible for the facilitator to manually select the MIDI port associated with the performance terminal (Facilitator, Piano 1 to 5).

The attendance pull-down menu is selected and input by the facilitator according to the attendance of the student. The radio button is displayed only on the performance terminal to which the performance part is assigned in the performance song data.

In the example in this figure, performance parts 1, 2, 3, and 10 are set in the selected performance song data, and when this performance song data is selected, Facilitator, Piano1, Piano2, and Piano3 are sequentially displayed according to the above table. Automatically assigned to playing parts 1, 2, 3, and 10. In the figure, since the selected performance song data contains only four performance parts, the performance parts are assigned only to Facilitator and Piano1 to 3. For example, the performance song data contains six performance parts. If included, performance parts are assigned to each of Facilitator and Piano 1-5. If there are more playing parts than the MIDI port (playing terminal), assign multiple playing parts to the Facilitator. Here, the user (facilitator) who operates the controller 1 can manually select each performance part as a favorite performance terminal by selecting a radio button. If you select the Facilitator Only checkbox, all performance parts will be assigned to the Facilitator. The radio button is not displayed on the performance terminal whose pull-down menu is "absent", and the performance part cannot be assigned.

Also, when automatically assigning performance parts based on the table, if "absence" is selected for the "attendance" and "absence" pull-down menus, the performance part that should be assigned to that performance terminal is assigned to the Facilitator. Be done. In this case, the performance part of "absence" may be assigned instead of another performance terminal to which a performance part having a similar tone color or role relationship (for example, a bass, a stringed instrument group, etc. for drums) is assigned. .. The related performance parts may be specified in advance by the table.

After assigning the performance part, pressing the Start button among the performance control buttons displayed in the center left of the window puts the performance start standby, and the ensemble window shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the display unit 16. In this window as well, the selected performance song data name is displayed in the upper text field. The number of measures of the selected performance song data and the measure currently being played are displayed on the upper right side of the window. In the beat setting field (Beat Setting) displayed at the top center of the window, a radio button for setting the number of beats in one bar is displayed. In the figure, one bar plays for song data of 4 beats / 4 minutes, so if the number of beats is set to 4, the keys will be pressed for each beat. Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, when a radio button having 2 beats is selected in this performance song, the keys are pressed every other beat, and the 1st and 3rd beats are the keystroke timings. In this case, when the note-on message and the note-off message are transmitted from the performance terminal 2, the controller 1 returns the performance instruction data for two beats. In other words, one keystroke will play two beats.

In Fig. 8, each MIDI port (Facilitator, Piano1, Piano2, Piano3) is displayed on the left side of the center of the window, and the current number of measures, the number of beats in a measure (keystroke timing), and the current beat are displayed on each MIDI port. Will be done. As shown in the figure, the keystroke timing is displayed by a square icon with a number written inside, and the current beat is displayed by a three-dimensional square icon. Of course, the icon is not limited to the icon in this example, and may be an icon having another shape. As shown in FIG. 9B, the time signatures (2nd and 4th beats) that do not coincide with the keystroke timing are displayed by changing to an icon having a different shape such as a circled number.

When the user hits a key, the current beat changes one beat at a time as shown in FIG. That is, the three-dimensional square icon is changed to the first beat, the second beat, the third beat, and the fourth beat for each keystroke. Since the performance song data in this example is a song data of 4 beats / 4 minutes, when the key is pressed next to the 4th beat, it returns to the 1st beat and advances by 1 bar.

In FIG. 8, a field indicating a deviation from the Facilitator is displayed on the right side of the center of the window. This field has multiple lines (for example, 5) in the vertical direction, with horizontal lines corresponding to each MIDI port. In addition, a circle is displayed corresponding to each MIDI port. This circle indicates the deviation from the Facilitator.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the deviation from the Facilitator. As shown in the figure, the circle corresponding to the Facilitator is fixed to the center line of the vertical lines and displayed. The circle corresponding to each user (for example, Piano 1) moves left and right according to the deviation from the Facilitator. For example, if the keystroke is delayed by one bar (four beats in this example) from the Facilitator, the circle moves to the left by one vertical line as shown in the figure. If there is a delay of half a bar (two beats), the circle will move from the center line in the vertical direction to the left by half the line spacing. On the other hand, if the key is pressed faster than the Facilitator, it will move to the right. In the figure, two lines are displayed on the left and right from the center line, so a deviation of two measures can be displayed. If there is a gap of 2 bars or more, change the icon on the left and right end lines (for example, change to a square icon). In this way, each user can easily recognize the deviation from the facilitator. In the above example, one line represents a deviation of one bar, but for example, one line may represent a deviation of 1/2 bar or two measures.

The standard performance terminal is not limited to the Facilitator performance terminal. The amount of deviation from the performance terminal 2 may be displayed based on any one of the plurality of performance terminals 2.

Further, the field indicating the deviation from the Facilitator is not limited to the example of being displayed on the display unit 16 of the controller 1, but is displayed on the display unit (not shown) for the performance terminal installed in each performance terminal 2. You may.

As described above, each user can perform with a simple operation of pressing the keyboard with one finger, and by performing operations so as to eliminate the deviation from the facilitator shown on the display unit 16, a plurality of users can perform the performance. You can play the ensemble while having fun with people.

In addition, this ensemble system can perform the following operations as a modified example. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a model performance mode. As shown in FIG. 6A, the model icon is displayed in any area (for example, the left part) of the main operation window shown in FIG. When the facilitator presses this "model" icon, the model playing mode is set. The figure (B) is a screen for selecting a terminal for performing a model performance. As shown in Fig. (B), in the model performance mode, radio buttons are displayed on each performance terminal 2 other than for the facilitator. The facilitator selects the radio button of the performance terminal (Piano1 to Piano5) for which you want to perform a model performance. In the model performance mode, the performance operation of the selected performance terminal 2 is performed by the performance terminal for the facilitator, and the music sound is reproduced from the performance terminal 2 selected according to the operation of the performance terminal 2 for the facilitator. For example, as shown in Fig. (B), when Piano1 is selected and the keyboard of the facilitator playing terminal (Facilitator) is pressed, the controller 1 sends sound data to the playing terminal of Piano1 in response to the input note message. .. The pronunciation data to be transmitted is the performance part assigned to Piano 1. The Piano1 performance terminal produces a musical tone based on the received pronunciation data. As a result, each user can listen to the model performance of the facilitator on the performance terminal at hand. In the above example, a single performance terminal is selected with the radio button to perform the model performance, but a plurality of performance terminals may be selected at the same time to perform the model performance. Of course, it is also possible to select all performance terminals.

The operation of the ensemble system in this model performance mode will be described in detail. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller 1 in the model performance mode. When the facilitator presses the "model" icon, it triggers this operation to start.

First, determine whether a note-on message has been received (s11). This determination is repeated until a note-on message is received. When a note-on message is received, it is determined whether or not the note-on message is sent from the performance terminal for the facilitator (s12). If it is not a note message sent from the performance terminal for the facilitator, the process is repeated from the reception judgment (s12 s11). If it is a performance terminal for a facilitator, the performance song data of the performance part assigned to the specified performance terminal is sequenced (s13). The designated performance terminal is selected by the facilitator as described above. When the facilitator presses the "model" icon, it is assumed that Piano 1 is selected in the initial state. After that, the pronunciation data is transmitted to the designated performance terminal (s14).

As described above, in the ensemble system of the present embodiment, the performance part is automatically assigned only by instructing the participation (attendance) or non-participation (absence) of each performance terminal, so that the facilitator and each participant's performance part are automatically assigned. Can be assigned easily and flexibly. Moreover, since the performance part of each performance terminal can be changed manually, each performance part can be played on a performance terminal different from the default setting.

<figref num="1">Block diagram showing the configuration of the performance system</figref><figref num="2">Block diagram showing controller configuration</figref><figref num="3">Block diagram showing the configuration of a performance terminal</figref><figref num="4">Diagram showing an example of music data</figref><figref num="5">Diagram showing an example of a part allocation table</figref><figref num="6">Diagram showing the main operation window</figref><figref num="7">Diagram showing the MIDI port selection window</figref><figref num="8">Diagram showing the ensemble window</figref><figref num="9">Diagram showing the setting of the number of beats</figref><figref num="10">Figure showing the transition of the current beat</figref><figref num="11">Diagram explaining the gap with the Facilitator</figref><figref num="12">Diagram explaining the model performance mode</figref><figref num="13">Flowchart showing the operation of controller 1 in the model performance mode</figref>

Code description

1-Controller 2-Performance terminal 3-MIDI interface box 11-Communication section (of controller) 12-Control (of controller) 13-HDD 14-RAM 15-Operation unit 16-Display 21-Communication Department 22-Control 23-Keyboard 24-Sound source 25-speaker