HK1158792A

HK1158792A - System for learning and mixing music

Info

Publication number: HK1158792A
Application number: HK11111548.1A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 斯科特‧汉弗里
Original assignee: Jammit, Inc.
Priority date: 2008-02-20
Filing date: 2009-02-20
Publication date: 2012-07-20

Abstract

The teachings described herein are generally directed to a system, method, and apparatus for learning music through an educational audio track embodied on a computer readable medium. The system can comprise components including a processor, an input device, a database, a transformation module, an emulation recording module, an integration engine, an output module, and an output device, wherein each component is operable in itself to perform it's function in the system and operable with other system components to provide a system to a user for learning music.

Description

System for learning and mixing music

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/030,174 filed on 20/2/2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The teachings relate generally to a system for learning and mixing music having a processor, a custom digital audio file database, a conversion module, an emulation recording module, an integration engine, an input device for recording music, and an output device containing a graphical user interface and speakers for delivering music to a user.

Description of the Related Art

Multi-track recording techniques provide the flexibility to record music as separate audio tracks, collectively or independently, and then mix the audio tracks to produce a desired music compilation for distribution. The released version typically has a reduced number of tracks: a single track in the case of a monophone, two tracks for stereophonics and typically six tracks for a surround sound system. When the music is edited to have a reduced number of tracks, the music portions are combined, making it difficult, if not impossible, to access individual instrument contributions.

There is a long-felt but unresolved need by musicians and singers to clearly separate musical instrument tracks from preselected musical compositions, whether or not the musical instruments include human vocal cords, jazz-cuzzing brass instruments, string instruments, percussion instruments, or any other musical instrument known to the skilled artisan. And there is currently no way to hear all of the pronunciation and detail in a performance that a user desires to learn, especially when the performance is in an embedded mix of music. This is particularly a problem for users who cannot read music. Unfortunately, current methods of separating sounds by equalization or using algorithms that mask other sounds or separate out specific frequencies have not been adequate to address this need. Isolation of the instrument track from the preselected music will allow a person to simulate the preselected musical composition on the preselected instrument during the learning of the music. Currently, musicians attempt to play along with a recording of a music compilation. However, a problem is that when a preselected musical piece is embedded in a musical compilation, musicians find it difficult to clearly identify all aspects of the preselected musical piece.

The musician may also obtain a modified music compilation with instruments removed and the musician may play along with the modified music compilation. However, a problem is that the musician cannot listen to the instruments alone and the details contributed to the music compilation by the instruments. Further, the musician does not record and mix the performance of the musician with the pre-recorded work portion so that the musician can criticize the performance by himself to improve the ability to learn.

Thus, the skilled person will appreciate a system that allows a user to perform the following operations: (1) obtaining a custom digital audio file of a preselected musical composition, (2) converting the custom digital audio file into a stand-alone instrument track or an emulation track, (3) emulating the preselected musical composition with the preselected instrument, (4) recording the emulated instrument track, combining the emulated instrument track with the emulation track to convert the custom digital audio file into an educational track, (5) listening to the educational track to identify deficiencies in the accuracy of the emulation, and (6) repeating the emulating, recording, combining, and listening until the preselected musical composition has been conferred on the preselected instrument. Furthermore, a system that is interactive and interesting to use will make the learning experience more beneficial to the user and make the system more attractive to the market. Such a system would address the long-standing and unsolved need for musicians and singers, whether skilled or affluent.

SUMMARY

The teachings described herein relate generally to a system for learning music through an educational audio track embodied on a computer readable medium. The system may include elements including a processor, an input device, a database, a conversion module, a simulation recording module, an integration engine, an output module, and an output device, each of which is operable in nature to perform its functions in the system and is operable with other system elements to provide a system for learning music to a user.

In some embodiments, the teachings are directed to a method of learning music through an educational audio track. The method includes obtaining a multi-track digital audio file generated from a multi-track digital audio recording. The multi-track digital audio file includes independent instrument tracks and emulation tracks, and the independent instrument tracks include a single instrument that performs a preselected musical composition that the user wishes to learn on the preselected instrument. The method includes transforming the composition of the multi-track digital audio file to include a ratio of (i) an independent instrument audio track to (ii) an emulation audio track. The simulation track represents a subtraction of an independent instrument track from the plurality of tracks, and the gain ratio is selected by the user. The method includes simulating a preselected musical composition by listening to an independent instrument track and playing a preselected instrument to create a simulated instrument track. The simulated instrument audio track is recorded on a computer readable medium and combined with the simulated audio track to convert the custom digital audio file to an educational audio file. The method includes listening to an educational audio track to identify a defect in the simulation by the user. The user repeats the simulating, recording, combining and listening until the user has learned the preselected musical composition on the preselected instrument to the satisfaction of the user.

In some embodiments, the converting includes reducing the volume of the emulation track, and in some embodiments, the converting includes reducing the volume of the independent instrument track.

The method may further include selecting one or more measures of the independent instrument tracks to enable the user to focus on simulating a portion of the preselected musical composition. In some embodiments, the method may include looping the selection through one or more measures to provide for repeated playback of the portion.

In some embodiments, the simulation may further include reading digital musical notation and fingerboard displays corresponding to the independent instrument tracks. Also, in some embodiments, the custom digital audio file further includes a separate metronome track, and the method further includes listening to the separate metronome track designed for the preselected musical composition.

These teachings include a system comprising a processor, an input device operable to receive audio data on a computer-readable medium, a database operable to store audio files on the computer-readable medium for access, and a transformation module embodied in the computer-readable medium. In some implementations, the conversion module is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing independent instrument tracks and emulation tracks into a ratio of (i) the independent instrument tracks to (ii) the emulation tracks. The emulation tracks represent the subtraction of the independent instrument tracks from the plurality of tracks, and the transformation may result from a user selecting a gain ratio between the independent instrument tracks, the emulation tracks, and the metronome tracks. The system may also include a simulation recording module embodied in the computer readable medium. The emulation recording module is operable to record an emulated audio track of the user on a computer-readable medium. The system may also include an integration engine embodied in a computer readable medium, where the integration engine is operable to combine the simulated instrument audio track with the simulated audio track to convert the multi-track digital audio file into an educational audio file. Additionally, the system may also include an output module embodied in the computer readable medium, wherein the output module is operable to transmit the audio data to an output device. The output device is operable to provide the user with audio data, wherein the audio data assists the user in learning the preselected musical composition.

In some implementations, the input device includes a microphone or a line input. The line input may be used by, for example, a user to input audio data from their instrument into the system for learning and mixing music. For example, a microphone may receive audio from a piano, or a line input may receive output from a guitar amplifier. The skilled person will recognise that the data input may be analogue or digital, and that conversion may be where necessary.

In some implementations, the output module transmits the music score and the fingerboard data to the graphical user interface. The output module may also have a recalibration function operable to recalibrate the audio data track output to correct for delays in the output of the soundtrack data. In some implementations, the output device includes, for example, a speaker, a graphical user interface, or a speaker and a graphical user interface. Also, in some embodiments, the output module has a synchronization function operable to synchronize the music score and the fingerboard data display on the graphical user interface with a separate instrument audio track provided to the listener through the speaker.

The multi-track digital audio file may further include a metronome track. Thus, in some embodiments, the conversion module may be operable to convert the multi-track digital audio file into a ratio between (i) an independent instrument track, (ii) an emulation track, and (iii) a metronome track, and the gain ratio between the independent instrument track, emulation track, and metronome track may be selectable by a user.

The system may also include a data exchange module embodied in the computer readable medium, wherein the data exchange module is operable to exchange data with an external computer readable medium. In some embodiments, the system is embodied in a handheld device and is operable to function as a specific machine or apparatus with the additional functionality of telecommunications, word processing, or gaming, or operable to function as a specific machine or apparatus without other substantial functionality.

These teachings are also directed to a handheld device for learning music. The apparatus may include: a processor; an input device comprising a microphone and a data input port, wherein the input device is operable to receive and store audio data on a computer readable medium; a database operable to store audio files on a computer-readable medium for access; and a conversion module embodied in a computer readable medium. The conversion module is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing independent instrument audio tracks, emulation audio tracks, and metronome tracks into a ratio of (i) the independent instrument audio tracks, (ii) the emulation audio tracks, and (iii) the metronome tracks. The emulation tracks represent the subtraction of the independent instrument tracks from the plurality of tracks, and the transformation may result from a user selecting a gain ratio between the independent instrument tracks, the emulation tracks, and the metronome tracks. The apparatus includes an emulation recording module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the emulation recording module is operable to record an emulation audio track of a user on the computer readable medium. The apparatus includes an integration engine embodied in a computer readable medium, where the integration engine is operable to combine the simulated instrument audio track with the simulated audio track to convert the multi-track digital audio file to an educational audio file. The apparatus includes an output module embodied in a computer readable medium, where the output module is operable to transmit audio data to an output device. Also, the apparatus includes an output device including a speaker and a graphical user interface. The output device is operable to provide the user with audio data in sound and graphical form, wherein the audio data assists the user in learning the preselected musical composition.

In some embodiments, the device may be operable to function as a specific machine or device with additional functionality for telecommunications, word processing, or gaming, or may be operable to function as a specific machine or device without other substantial functionality.

These teachings are also directed to a metronome for measuring time in music, wherein the metronome comprises a processor, an input device operable to receive audio data on a computer readable medium, and a database operable to store audio files on the computer readable medium for access, wherein the audio files comprise metronome tracks designed for a preselected musical composition. The metronome comprises a conversion module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the conversion module is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing a preselected audio track and a metronome track into a ratio of (i) the preselected audio track to (ii) the metronome track. The transition may be generated by a user selecting a gain ratio between the pre-selected audio track and the metronome track. The metronome includes an output module embodied in a computer-readable medium, where the output module is operable to transmit audio data to an output device. The output device is operable to provide the user with audio data, wherein the audio data assists the user in learning the preselected musical composition.

There are a number of ways in which the metronome track may be designed for a preselected musical composition. In some embodiments, the metronome soundtrack may be designed in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), such as a PROTOOLS (Digidesign product) or LOGIC (Apple product), using a preselected musical composition. Using the digital audio workstation, the programmer locates a transition value, e.g., the position of each quarter note, in the multi-track digital audio file, where the quarter note is the transition value. The programmer places a MIDI note on the MIDI track to represent each transition value. In some implementations, the MIDI notes are placed at locations where the transition values are located, e.g., octants, quarter notes, etc. The spacing between each MIDI note created manually is calculated to determine the beats per minute of each musical bar for the preselected piece of music. A tempo map is created by analyzing the MIDI tracks with manually created MIDI notes. A metronome audio file is created by placing an audio sound, such as a clock, a wooden block, a bell, or any such tone, on each beat of the beat graph corresponding to the preselected musical composition. The music XML file is derived from the outputted metronome track, which is used to synchronize the graphical score with the metronome track and the preselected musical composition.

In some embodiments, the metronome is operable to function as a particular machine or device with the additional functionality of telecommunications, word processing, or gaming, or operable to function as a particular machine or device without other substantial functionality.

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a general technical platform of a system for learning and mixing music, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a processor-memory schematic depicting elements of a system for learning and blending music, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a logic diagram of a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments;

fig. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating a system for learning and mixing music that incorporates a metronome function, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a musical score display designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an apparatus for learning and mixing music designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that identifies a set of multi-track audio recordings, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides a selection among a list of tracks of a multi-track audio recording set, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface in a system for learning and mixing music that provides information regarding track list selection, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of track faders, fader control, and transport selection, where all tracks are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments;

fig. 13 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of a track fader, fader control, and transport selection, where all tracks except a metronome track are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments;

fig. 14 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of track faders, fader control, and delivery selection, where only a separate instrument track and an emulated instrument track are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments;

fig. 15 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of track faders, fader control, and delivery selection, where only an emulated track and an emulated instrument track are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments;

fig. 16 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides music score and fingerboard audio data, where only the current portion of the music is shown for a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 17 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides for selection of a portion of a musical composition through a section or set of sections in a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 18 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface providing a help page for a system for learning and dubbing music, according to some embodiments;

fig. 19 illustrates how a network may be used with a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments.

Detailed description of the invention

The teachings described herein are generally directed to a system for learning music through an educational audio track embodied on a computer readable medium. The system may include elements including a processor, an input device, a database, a conversion module, a simulation recording module, an integration engine, an output module, and an output device, each of which is operable in nature to perform its functions in the system and is operable with other system elements to provide a system for learning music to a user.

Fig. 1 illustrates a general technical platform of a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments. Computer system 100 may be a conventional computer system and includes a computer 105, I/O devices 150, and a display device 155. Computer 105 may include a processor 120, a communication interface 125, memory 130, a display controller 135, non-volatile memory 140, and an I/O controller 145. Computer system 100 may be coupled to I/O device 150 and display device 155 or may include I/O device 150 and display device 155.

The computer 105 is connected to external systems through a communication interface 125, which communication interface 125 may include a modem or a network interface. It will be appreciated that the communication interface 125 can be considered part of the computer system 100 or part of the computer 105. The communication interface 125 may be an analog modem, an isdn modem, a cable modem, a token ring interface, a satellite transmission interface (e.g., "direct PC"), or other interfaces for coupling the computer system 100 to other computer systems. In a cellular telephone, the interface is typically a radio interface for communicating with a cellular network, and may also include some form of cable interface for use on a readily available personal computer. In a two-way pager, communication interface 125 is typically a radio interface for communicating with a data transmission network, but may similarly include a cable interface or a cradle interface. In a personal digital assistant, communication interface 125 typically comprises a cradle interface or a cable interface, and may also comprise some form of radio interface, such as a BLUETOOTH or 802.11 interface, or a cellular radio interface.

Processor 120 may comprise, for example, a conventional microprocessor, such as an intel pentium microprocessor or a motorola PowerPC microprocessor, a texas instrument digital signal processor, or a combination of such elements. The memory 130 is coupled to the processor 120 by a bus. Memory 130 may be Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and may also include Static Random Access Memory (SRAM). The bus couples processor 120 to memory 130, and also to non-volatile memory 140, display controller 135, and I/O controller 145.

The I/O devices 150 may include a keyboard, hard drive, printer, scanner, and other input and output devices, including a mouse or other pointing device. Display controller 135 may control the display on display device 155 in a conventional manner, for example, display device 155 may be a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) or a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Display controller 135 and I/O controller 145 may be implemented using conventional well-known techniques, meaning that they may be integrated together, for example.

The non-volatile memory 140 is often a FLASH memory or a read-only memory or some combination of the two. A magnetic hard disk, an optical disk, or another form of storage for large amounts of data may also be used in some embodiments, although the form factor of such devices typically precludes installation as a permanent element in some devices. Rather, a mass storage device on another computer is often used in conjunction with the more limited memory of some devices. Some of this data is often written into memory 130 during execution of software in computer 150 through a direct memory access process. One of ordinary skill in the art will immediately recognize that the term "machine-readable medium" or "computer-readable medium" comprises any type of storage device that is accessible by the processor 120 and further comprises a carrier wave that encodes a data signal. Objects, methods, embedded caches, cache states, and other object-oriented elements may be stored in non-volatile memory 140 or written to memory 130 during execution of, for example, an object-oriented software program.

Computer 100 is an example of many possible different configurations. For example, personal computers based on Intel microprocessors often have multiple buses, one of which may be an I/O bus for peripherals, and one of which directly connects processor 120 and memory 130 (often referred to as a memory bus). The buses are connected together by bridge elements that perform any necessary conversions due to the different bus protocols.

In addition, the computer system 100 may be controlled by operating system software, including a file management system, such as a disk operating system, that is part of the operating system software. One example of operating system software with associated file management system software is Microsoft corporation, Inc. of Redmond, Washington, called Microsoft corporationAndand its associated file management system. Another example of operating system software with associated file management system software is the LINUX operating system and its associated file management system. Another example of operating system software with associated file management system software is the PALM operating system and its associated file management system. The file management system is typically stored in non-volatile memory 140 and causes processor 120 to perform various actions required by the operating system to input and output data and store data in memory, including storing files on non-volatile memory 140. Other operating systems may be provided by the device manufacturer, and thisThese operating systems will typically have device-specific features that are not part of similar operating systems on similar devices. In a similar manner to that described above,or the PALM operating system may be adapted to a particular device for a particular device capacity.

In some embodiments, the computer system 100 may be integrated on a single chip or a group of chips, and may be adapted for a small form factor to function as a personal device. It is not uncommon, therefore, for the processor, bus, on-board memory, and display/I/O controller to all be integrated on a single chip. Alternatively, the functionality may be divided among several chips with point-to-point interconnects, making the bus logically apparent but not physically apparent from inspection of the actual device or associated schematic.

Fig. 2 illustrates a processor-memory diagram depicting elements of a system for learning and blending music, according to some embodiments. The system 200 shown in FIG. 2 includes a processor 205 and a memory 210 (which may include non-volatile memory), where the memory 210 includes an audio database 215, a conversion module 220, a simulation recording module 225, an integration engine 230, an output module 235, and an optional video display module 240, which video display module 240 may also be part of the output module 235. The system may also include an optional data exchange module 245 embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the data exchange module is operable to exchange data with an external computer readable medium.

The system includes an input device (not shown) operable to receive audio data on a computer readable medium. Examples of input devices include a data exchange module operable to interact with external data formats, voice recognition software, handheld devices in communication with the system, including but not limited to microphones, and the like.

The audio database 215 is operable to store audio files for access on a computer-readable medium. In some embodiments, the system may store the original multi-track audio file, a copy of the original multi-track audio file, and the like. Any audio file known to those skilled in the art may be stored including, but not limited to, sound files, text files, image files, and the like. In some embodiments, the system may access any of a variety of accessible data through a data exchange module as described above.

Any audio format known to those skilled in the art may be used. In some embodiments, the audio file includes a format that supports one audio codec, and in some embodiments, the audio file includes a format that supports multiple audio codecs. In some implementations, the audio file includes uncompressed audio formats, e.g., WAV, AIFF, and AU. In some embodiments, the Audio file formats include Lossless compression, e.g., FLAC, Monkey's Audio with File extension APE, WavPack with File extension WV, Shorten, Tom's loss Audio Kompresor (TAK), TTA, ATRAC Advanced loss, Apple loss, and Lossless WINDOWS Media Audio (WMA). In some embodiments, the Audio file formats include lossy compression, such as MP3, Vorbis, Musepack, ATRAC, lossy WINDOWS Media Audio (WMA), and AAC.

In some implementations, the audio format is an uncompressed PCM audio format, such as ". wav" for WINDOWS computer readable media or ". aiff for MAC OS computer readable media. In some embodiments, a broadcast format (BWF) may be used, allowing metadata to be stored in files. In some embodiments, the Audio format is a Lossless Audio format, such as FLAC, WavPack, Monkey's Audio, ALAC/Apple Lossless. In some implementations, the lossless audio format provides a compression ratio of about 2: 1. In some embodiments, the audio format is a free-open format, such as wav, ogg, mpc, flac, aiff, raw, au, or mid. In some implementations, the audio format is an open file format, e.g., gsm, dct, vox, aac, mp4/m4a, or mmf. In some embodiments, the audio format is a proprietary format, e.g., mp3, wma, atrac, ra, ram, dss, msv, dvg, IVS, m4p, iklax, mxp4, and the like.

The conversion module 220 is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing independent instrument tracks and emulation tracks into a ratio of (i) the independent instrument tracks and (ii) emulation tracks, where the emulation tracks represent a subtraction of the independent instrument tracks from the plurality of tracks, and the conversion may result from a user selecting a gain ratio between the independent instrument tracks, the emulation tracks, and the metronome tracks.

The emulation tracks represent the subtraction of the independent instrument tracks from the plurality of tracks, and the transformation may result from a user selecting a gain ratio between the independent instrument tracks, the emulation tracks, and the metronome tracks. The system may also include a simulation recording module 225 embodied in a computer readable medium. The emulation recording module 225 is operable to record an emulated audio track of a user on a computer-readable medium. In some embodiments, emulation recording module 225 may operate in a single functional part of the system, such as a single page of a software application. In some embodiments, the emulation recording module 225 may operate in multiple functional portions of the system, for example, in multiple pages of a software application, such that recording may occur quickly upon user selection without having to move from one portion of the system to another portion of the system.

The system may further include an integration engine 230 embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the integration engine 230 is operable to combine the simulated instrument audio track with the simulated audio track to convert the multi-track digital audio file into an educational audio file. Further, the system can include an output module 235 embodied in a computer-readable medium, where the output module 235 is operable to transmit audio data to an output device, which can be a graphical user interface, or a video display that can optionally be supported by the separate video display module 240, or a display that can be supported by one or more other output devices through the output module 235. The output device is operable to provide the user with audio data, wherein the audio data assists the user in learning the preselected musical composition.

In some embodiments, the input device includes a microphone, and in some embodiments, the output module 235 transmits the musical notation and fingering notation data to the graphical user interface. In some implementations, the output device includes, for example, a speaker, a graphical user interface, or a speaker and a graphical user interface. And in some embodiments the output module has a synchronization function operable to synchronize the music score and fingerboard data display on the graphical user interface with the separate instrument audio track provided to the listener through the speaker.

The output module 235 may also have a recalibration function operable to recalibrate the audio data track output to correct for delays in the output of the soundtrack data. Those skilled in the art will recognize that time stamps may be used to align, recalibrate, and correct delays in the output of the data stream. In some implementations, the delay is corrected by time-stamped samples of the audio data, where a "sample" is a short waveform of audio having a length measured by a time increment. In some embodiments, the sample is less than 1 second long (e.g., about 1/100 or 1/1000 seconds long). In some embodiments, the sample may be about 44/1000 seconds long. An audio track may comprise about 44000 samples per track per second, for example in a high quality sound file. Thus, the concept of sample and sample resolution is a measure of audio resolution or quality. A lower quality mono audio file has, for example, approximately 22000 samples per second per track.

Recalibration techniques may be used in some embodiments. For example, bandwidth limitations of the computer system may produce variations or transients of detuning between the tracks and hamper sound quality. A computer with a smaller CPU may have latency problems that cause performance problems compared to another computer with a larger CPU but with similar memory capacity. In some embodiments, the system may provide output of 4 streaming files, and these files may include (i) an emulated track that does not contain an independent instrument track, (ii) an independent instrument track, (iii) an emulated instrument track, and (iv) a metronome track. In some embodiments, the emulation audio track, the independent instrumental audio track, and the emulated instrumental audio track are stereo files, and in some embodiments, the metronome audio track is a mono file. Each track in each file has its own time axis and there may be acceptable variations that are not apparent to the ear, but there may also be unacceptable variations that result in unacceptable and audible degradation of audio quality.

Each input file is made up of an array of samples, and each sample can be used as a marker in time, as each sample location has an actual location that will be used as a measure of deviation from the ideal location. Recalibration is performed on the sample set. When one set of samples leaves in time, the system can be designed to correct the next set of samples. For example, the system can be designed to recalibrate by measuring the deviation of the time stamp on a set of 44 samples (0.001 seconds for 44000 samples/second high quality samples) from the ideal time stamp for that set of samples based on a sample resolution that provides 0.001 second accuracy. A fast recalibration method was developed to reduce the offset or "delay" in the audio, making it undetectable to humans. For example, a good ear may hear a time offset between tracks of about 1/60 seconds, and multiple offset events in closely related sample strings may be cumulative, making it necessary to have an offset at least on the order of less than 1/60 seconds. In some embodiments, the minimum audio resolution among the samples for delay correction should be no less than 300 samples in a segment. In some embodiments, the audio resolution in the samples used for delay correction is about 44 samples in a segment. In some embodiments, it is found that each "run through" of data in the system, where a "run through" is an emptying and filling of a queue of data in the system, should be recalibrated. Between data loads in the queue, recalibration occurs by measuring the difference between the actual time of each track and the ideal time of each track, and corrections are applied between data loads. In some embodiments, the audio is queued up hundreds of times per second.

The CPU on a handheld computer system may have difficulty processing the audio data files described herein simultaneously. In some implementations, a handheld computing system may have latency difficulties when processing more than 2 audio data files simultaneously. Thus, the data file may require compression. In some embodiments, the data file may be compressed using a compression technique such as Apple's QUICKTIME. Other file compression techniques may be used. In some embodiments, IMA4 may also be used to compress files. In some embodiments, the system requires at least a 600-700MHz processor. The iPhone has a 400MHz processor, on the other hand, it is suggested that the use of some embodiments of the system on the iPhone may require compressed audio data files. IMA4 compression methods compress audio data files to about 25% of the file size.

However, in some embodiments, it should be recognized that the system may use a pure uncompressed wave file. However, most home PCs will not require compressed files due to the more powerful processors currently available to home PCs. The bandwidth of the computer system, i.e., the size of the CPU and memory, will indicate whether compression is necessary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that certain compression techniques may be required in some systems for optimal performance, and that these techniques are readily identifiable and accessible.

The skilled person will recognise that the time stamp of the data sample may also be used for synchronisation between other data streams. In some embodiments, an additional audio data stream is used to provide a digital musical notation and fingering notation display in the form of a graphical display. This audio data may be synchronized and recalibrated simultaneously with other audio data.

The multi-track digital audio file may also include a metronome track. Thus, in some implementations, the conversion module 220 may be operable to convert the multi-track digital audio file into a ratio between (i) an independent instrument track, (ii) an emulation track, and (iii) a metronome track, and the gain ratio between the independent instrument track, emulation track, and metronome track may be selectable by a user.

As described above, the system can also include an optional data exchange module 245 embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the data exchange module is operable to exchange data with an external computer readable medium. For example, the data exchange module may act as a messaging module operable to allow a user to communicate with other users having similar subject profiles, or to communicate with other users in a profile-independent manner, based only on the user's selection. Users may email each other, post blogs, or have the ability to send messages instantly for real-time communication. In some embodiments, the user may have video and audio capabilities in the communication where the system implements data streaming methods known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the system is embodied in a handheld device; a particular machine or device operable to function as an additional function with telecommunications, word processing, or gaming; or may be operated as a specific machine or device without other essential functions.

The systems taught herein may be practiced with a variety of system configurations, including personal computers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. Thus, in some embodiments, the system further includes an external computer connection through the data exchange module 245 and a browser program module (not shown). The browser program module (not shown) may be operable to access external data as part of the data exchange module 245.

Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments. System 300 includes components that may be used in typical implementations. In addition to the audio database 215, the conversion module 220, the emulation recording module 225, the integration engine 230, and the output module 235 shown in fig. 2, the memory 210 of the device 300 includes a data exchange module 245 and a browser program module (not shown) for accessing external data. The system includes speakers 352, display 353, and printer 354 connected directly or through an I/O device 350, the I/O device 350 being connected to the I/O backplane 340.

System 300 may be implemented in a stand-alone device rather than a computer system or network. For example, in FIG. 3, I/O device 350 is connected to speaker (spkr)352, display 353, microphone (mic)354, but may also be coupled to other components. Such a device may have a music phase selector 341, a separate instrument track phase selector 342, an emulated track phase selector 343, a user's emulated track phase selector 344, a learning phase selector 345 for an educational track, a bar phase selector 346, and a timer phase selector 347 for a metronome track, each of which is directly connected to the I/O backplane 340.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises security measures to protect the privacy of the subject, the integrity of the data, or both. These security measures are well known in the art, such as firewalls, software, and the like. Further, the system may be configured for use in environments requiring management programs and control. For example, the system may include a management module (not shown) operable to control access, configure the engine, monitor results, perform quality assurance tests, and define audiences for targeting and trending. Because the system may be securely provided by the network, and in some embodiments, the system is coupled to the network, the security measures may help protect the contents of the system from external intrusion.

In some embodiments, the system is a web-enabled application and may use, for example, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and hypertext transfer protocol over secure sockets layer (HTTPs). These protocols provide rich experience to end users by utilizing network 2.0 technologies such as AJAX, Macromedia Flash, etc. In some embodiments, the system is compatible with Internet browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, and the like. In some embodiments, the system is compatible with mobile devices with full HTTP/HTTPS support, such as iPhone, PocketPC, Microsoft Surface, video game consoles, and the like. In some embodiments, the system may be accessed using the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). The protocol will serve non-HTTP enabled mobile devices, e.g., cell phones, blackberries, etc., and provide a simple interface. Due to protocol limitations, Flash animation is disabled and replaced by text/graphics menus. In some embodiments, the system may be accessed using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and extensible markup language (XML). By exposing data via SOAP and XML, the system provides flexibility for third-party and custom applications to query and interact with the system's core database. For example, custom applications can be developed to run natively on an iPhone, Java, Net-enabled platform, and the like. The skilled person will recognise that the system is not limited to any of the above platforms and that as new platforms evolve the system will be subject to the new platforms.

Fig. 4 is a logic diagram of a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the teachings are directed to a method of learning music by educating an audio track. The method includes obtaining a multi-track digital audio file (405) generated from a multi-track digital audio recording. The multi-track digital audio file includes independent instrument tracks and emulation tracks, and the independent instrument tracks include a single instrument that plays a preselected piece of music that the user desires to learn on the preselected instrument. The method includes transforming the composition of the multi-track digital audio file (410) to include a ratio of (i) an independent instrument audio track to (ii) an emulation audio track. The simulation track represents a subtraction of the tracks of the individual instruments from the plurality of tracks, and the gain ratio is selected by the user. The method includes simulating the preselected musical composition by listening to the independent instrument tracks and playing the preselected instrument to create simulated instrument tracks (415). The simulated instrument audio track is recorded (420) on a computer readable medium and combined (425) with the simulated audio track to convert the custom digital audio file to an educational audio file. The method includes listening to an educational audio track to identify a defect in the simulation by the user (430). The user repeats the simulating, recording, combining and listening (435) until the user has learned the preselected musical composition to the user's satisfaction on the preselected instrument.

In some embodiments, converting 410 includes reducing the volume of the emulation track, and in some embodiments, converting 410 includes reducing the volume of the independent instrument track.

In some embodiments, simulation 415 may further include reading digital musical notation and fingering notation displays corresponding to individual instrument tracks. And, in some embodiments, the custom digital audio file further comprises a separate metronome track, and the method further comprises listening to the separate metronome track designed for the preselected musical composition.

Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments. The audio part of the solo (the part to be learned) is retained in the audio memory 505 and audio recordings of other parts of the composition are retained in the audio memory 510. Storage areas 505 and 510 may exist in separate devices or in a single storage device, but may be accessed separately. The playback controller 515 controls the progressive retrieval of audio information from the memories 505 and 510 so that different parts of a musical composition are synchronized in time. The solo audio signal may pass through the variable gain element 520 such that its volume level may be controlled in the total output 540. Similarly, other audio signals pass through gain element 525 and are fed to mixing element 530 to be combined with the solo instrument audio signal provided from gain element 520.

External instrument input element 545 enables an external audio source, such as a practice instrument, to be included in total output 540. The signal provided by instrument input element 545 passes through gain element 550 before being passed to mixing element 530.

The total output level may be controlled using a gain element 535, the gain element 535 receiving the input signal from the mixing element 530 and feeding the output signal to a total output 540. The various gain elements may be controlled directly by user control or by signals from a control device such as a microprocessor. In some embodiments, other portions of the musical performance may be stored in separate storage areas to facilitate the learning process or to accommodate multiple players.

Fig. 6 illustrates a circuit diagram of a system for learning and mixing music that includes a metronome function, according to some embodiments. An audible timing reference is included in the signal provided to the output of the device. The timing reference may be a periodic sound such as a metronome click, which may be recorded and stored in a similar manner as used for other audio signals, or may be synthesized by the audio signal generator 605 while the musical piece is being played. This additional sound is conveyed to mixing element 530 via variable gain element 610, variable gain element 610 allowing the audible level of the timing reference to be adjusted.

Fig. 7 illustrates a musical score display designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the display provides an animated graphical representation of the musical score relative to the portion to be learned, whereby such graphical representation scrolls along the display area while being synchronized with the audio music signal. In particular, time zones 705 and 710 of the display area are marked to identify the current time of day, and the graphical representation of the music moves through time zones 705 and 710 as the music portion is being played. With this configuration, the display area enables the player to see the music event immediately after the current time in advance. In some embodiments, the latest musical score may also be seen in review. Accordingly, the apparatus and method for providing a musical score are advantageous at least because the user is provided with a temporal context of the music event of interest. Furthermore, and in contrast to traditional sheet music, the scrolling of music can be continuous, eliminating the need for page flipping.

Fig. 8 illustrates an apparatus for learning and mixing music designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music, according to some embodiments. The device may be configured for use on any instrument, such as a guitar, piano, drum or playing instrument. As shown in fig. 8, device 800 may be configured for use on a piano. The device 800 includes a housing or container 805 which may have any shape, for example, a shape designed to be placed on top of a piano in place of standard sheet music. A music display 810, which may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen or other type of display screen, and one or more transfer buttons 815 such as a play button, a stop button, and a pause button may be provided.

The device 800 may include a plurality of controls that may be configured as knobs or other similar status selectors known in the art. In fig. 8, a first set of state selectors 820 is associated with the "mixer" function of the device 800 and is configured to control user inputs, music not contributed by the piano, and the piano itself. The second set of phase selectors 825 are associated with the "primary" function of the device 800 and control the volume, click (or metronome signal), and tempo. The third set of phase selectors 801 and 830 control the on/off function of the device 800 and may include, for example, indicator lights, light intensity control, and additional playback control. The device 800 includes one or more speakers 835, a sound module of an electronic piano (not shown), and one or more ports 802, 803, and 840 for connecting the device 800 to other units, such as USB ports, pickup sockets, and power sockets, or possibly instruments such as electronic organs and guitars. In some embodiments, USB port 840 may be used to connect device 800 to a computer system. In some embodiments, for example, USB port 840 allows audio data to be downloaded to a storage location of a larger computer memory. In some embodiments, data may also be provided to device 800 and/or stored in a removable data storage card. Wireless studio-level headphones may also be provided to the player. Such a device may be manufactured and configured to be readily used with any of a variety of musical instruments.

In some embodiments, the multi-track digital audio file is generated from raw multi-track digital recordings, and these recordings may be from analog tape, e.g., analog multi-track tape (e.g., 1 track to 24 tracks), digital tape format (e.g., pulse code modulation, PCM, digital tape format). In some embodiments, the analog tape format is first converted to a digital recording and a multi-track digital audio file is generated from the digital recording. In some embodiments, the original blend is reconstructed by utilizing all of the different tracks and blending to simulate the original recording. The mixing may be a manual process and may be accomplished using an analog console, a new digital console, or the mixing may be accomplished on a computer using substantially mixing techniques known to the skilled artisan. In some embodiments, the older analog tape needs to be recovered, for example, by a bake procedure, before attempting reconstruction.

It should be appreciated that these teachings are applicable to virtually any musical composition including any musical instrument, including but not limited to stringed instruments, brass instruments, woodwind instruments, percussion instruments, and musical instruments. In some embodiments, musical compositions having variable beats, rhythms, and beats may be more easily learned due to the manually created and variable metronome functions and the manually created audio files having higher independent instrument track quality. In some implementations, songs are complex and have varying or otherwise non-independent beats that are more difficult to learn without the teachings provided herein.

Any of a variety of devices having any of a variety of image displays may be used. Also, the graphical display may have a click function and a slide function, such as a status selector, rather than a knob or physical status selector, such displays being depicted in FIGS. 9-18. Fig. 9 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that identifies a set of multi-track audio recordings, according to some embodiments. Display 900 represents an open page of a multi-track digital audio file generated from a multi-track audio recording for use with the teachings provided herein. Trademark 905 marks the source of the audio file, title 910 shows the user the content contained in the audio file, selection 915 is a function that takes the user to the next page in the graphical display, and credit 920 provides the producer, developer and owner of the audio file with the appropriate share.

Users often have a set of multi-track digital audio files that are learned on the system. Fig. 10 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides for selection among a list of tracks of a multi-track audio recording set, according to some embodiments. The track list display 1000 shows a selection from a multi-track audio recording group or track list 1050. The user selects an audio file and proceeds to the menu bar 1005 to select a function from the home page 1010, the volume/volume controller page 1015, the music score and fingerboard 1020, the loop page 1025, and the help page 1030.

The user may access a page of information about the musical composition selected from the track list, such as band, song title, album, tempo, and tune. Fig. 11 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface in a system for learning and mixing music that provides information about selections in a track list, according to some embodiments. The information display 1100 provides the user with selection bibliographic information 1105, the selection number information 1105 includes information about bands, song titles, and albums, and the selection technique information 1110 provides information about tempo and tuning for selection. The play function 1150 allows the user to begin learning selections.

The volume/fader page 1015 has several functions that enable a user to efficiently learn and mix music. Fig. 12-15 illustrate various functions of the volume/fader page 1015. Fig. 12 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of faders, fader control, and transport selection, where all tracks are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments.

The volume/volume controller display 1200 provides each track file with the functionality of a track on/off (i.e., mute) control 1205. The volume indicator 1215 provides the function of a volume/volume controller control 1210 to indicate the sound pressure level, and the volume controllers 1220, 1225, 1230, and 1235 provide the volume/volume controller control 1210 to adjust the volume in the manner of, for example, a potentiometer or a digitometer. The transmission part 1250 provides a time bar 1255 to indicate the location of the musical piece, and may further include marks such as colors to indicate, for example, a prelude, a president, a verse, an interlude, a tail, a refrain, and an intermediate piece.

The transmission component 1250 also provides several state selection functions: rewind 1260, pause 1265, fast forward 1270, stop 1275 as normal transmission control state settings; loop 1280 to allow the user to repeat a desired portion of the musical piece; and a slow down 1285 to allow the user to slow down the song by a predetermined amount and serve the user as a function commonly referred to as tempo control, tempo adjustment, or tempo control. In some implementations, the slow down 1285 function may be a default setting (e.g., slow down by a certain percentage, such as 50%, 75%), and in some implementations, the user may define a desired speed setting. Thus, in some embodiments, the playback controls may be controls found on any tape drive or video tape recorder, such as "previous", "next", "play", "pause", and "record". And in some embodiments the playback control includes a "loop" function to allow the user to loop through a particular portion or repeat measurements over and over until the user is satisfied in the learning experience.

In some embodiments, the transport component 1250 may operate in a single functional component of the system, such as a single page of a software application. In some embodiments, the transfer component 1250 may operate in multiple functional components of the system, such as in multiple pages of a software application, so that the transfer may occur quickly upon user selection without having to move from one part of the system to another. A music tag and timer 1290 are also provided as a reference data point for the user.

In some implementations, the audio mix can be processed on a per-track basis with a single sample. Each track can be represented individually and must always be monitored for its own samples, duration, level, and peak, gain, and time. Once each track can be initialized and loaded from its file, it is passed to the subsystem to decode the compression and sample. An example of a subsystem may include, for example, Apple's coreudio subsystem. After the samples are made available, the tracks can then be assigned to a primary track processor object, referred to as a mixer object, and the saved recorded audio conference can also be loaded at this time. The mixer object prepares to start the subsystem and initialize the output. In these embodiments, a touch of the "play" button may be used to initiate a mixer in the function of merging audio within the buffer, where the mixer calls for each track to request it for the next frame of audio. Audio frames may be added to the playback buffer and queued, then all timing on the audio synchronized to allow the audio to be synchronized to the notes-minus level to reduce or eliminate creep in the track.

In some embodiments, the audio recording may be processed in a similar manner to audio playback alone, where an extension of the recording to a file and its location within the song may be used. Once the user clicks on the record function, a recorder object may be constructed, and then the object may start the file and initiate the recording. Once initialized, the record class may store the current playing time within the song to measure and start. The user may tell the device to stop recording and then the object may mark that time and store the duration of the data stream in a settings file. The audio data is then flushed to the file, a track handler object can then be created with its start time and duration settings, and the mixer can be updated to allow future playback of the recorded audio along with the remainder of the prerecorded audio.

Fig. 13 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of a track fader, fader control, and transport selection, where all tracks except a metronome track are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments. Fig. 14 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of track faders, fader control, and delivery selection, where only a separate instrument track and an emulated instrument track are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments. Fig. 15 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides state selection of track faders, fader control, and delivery selection, where only an emulated track and an emulated instrument track are selected on a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments.

The user may benefit by understanding the music when played. Fig. 16 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides music score and fingerboard audio data, where only the current portion of the music is shown for a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments. The music score and fingerboard page 1600 provides a current score and fingerboard 1605 in a bright display and an upcoming score and fingerboard 1610 in a dim display, where the current score and fingerboard 1605 represents the currently playing music and the upcoming score and fingerboard 1610 represents the music immediately following the currently playing music. For example, each measurement may have a time code and duration that represents the location in the time axis of the song where the measurement was played. With this information, as well as the current playback position of the song, the fingerboard can be synchronized with any playing audio. Each measurement may be designed to display a note or chord and a string or fret to be used. In some implementations, the user may want a standard scale for display. In some embodiments, the musical notation and fingering notation may also be dynamically scrolling.

Users may also benefit from the ability to allow isolation of a particular portion of a musical piece and cycling of that portion to enable the user to focus on and practice that portion of the music. Fig. 17 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface designed for use on a system for learning and mixing music that provides for selection of a portion of a musical composition through a section or set of sections in a multi-track audio recording, according to some embodiments. The loop page 1700 displays a portion 1705 of the digital audio file, and the user can isolate and select, for example, section 1710 and section 1715 for playback. The user may then focus on and learn, for example, a particular section 1705, section 1710, or section 1715 using the methods taught herein. Thus, in some embodiments, playback may also be controlled by a "reel screen" in which each measurement is divided. In such an embodiment, any audio that the user has recorded may also be displayed on the screen in a measure of its presence to allow the user to quickly find the audio and listen to the playback of the conversation as it is drawn on the raw audio data. In some embodiments, a "tape" may be displayed graphically to display indicia of the playback tracking bar.

Users may have problems and therefore help pages are always useful. FIG. 18 illustrates a display of a graphical user interface providing a help page for a system for learning and dubbing music, according to some embodiments. The help page 1800 is a simple description of the information that the user can obtain from the system.

Fig. 19 illustrates how a network may be used with a system for learning and mixing music according to some embodiments. Figure 19 shows several computer systems coupled together by a network 1905, such as the internet, as well as a cellular network and related cellular devices. The term "internet" as used herein refers to a network that uses certain protocols, such as the TCP/IP protocol, and possibly other protocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) of the hypertext markup language (HTML) that makes up the world wide web (web). The physical connections of the internet and the protocols and communication procedures of the internet are well known to those skilled in the art.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as ISPs 1910 and 1915, typically provide access to the internet 1905. Users at client systems, such as client computer systems 1930, 1950, and 1960, gain access to the internet through internet service providers, such as ISPs 1910 and 1915. Access to the internet allows users of client computer systems to exchange information, receive and send e-mails, and view documents, such as documents that have been prepared in HTML format. These documents are often provided by a network server, such as network server 1920, which is considered "on the internet. These network servers are often provided by an ISP, such as ISP 1910, although a computer system may be set up and connected to the internet if the computer system is also an ISP.

The network server 1920 is typically at least one computer system operable as a server computer system and configured to operate with the protocols of the world wide web and to be coupled to the internet. Alternatively, web server 1920 may be part of an ISP, which provides client systems with access to the Internet. The network server 1920 is shown coupled to a server computer system 1925, the server computer system 1925 itself being coupled to network content 1995, which network content 1995 may be considered to be in the form of a media database. Although FIG. 19 shows two computer systems 1920 and 1925, the network server system 1920 and the server computer system 1925 may be one computer system with different software elements that provide the network server functionality and the server functionality provided by the server computer system 1925, as will be further described below.

The cellular network interface 1943 provides an interface between the cellular network and the respective cellular devices 1944, 1946, and 1948 on one side, and between the cellular network and the network 1905 on the other side. Thus, cellular devices 1944, 1946, and 1948, which may be personal devices including cellular telephones, two-way pagers, personal digital assistants, or other similar devices, may connect to the network 1905 and exchange information, such as email, content, or HTTP formatted data. The cellular network interface 1943 is coupled to a computer 1940, the computer 1940 communicating with the network 1905 through a modem interface 1945. Computer 1940 may be a personal computer, a server computer, or the like, and serves as a gateway. Thus, computer 1940 may be similar to client computers 1950 and 1960 or, for example, similar to gateway computer 1975. Software or content can then be uploaded or downloaded through the connections provided by interface 1943, computer 1940 and modem 1945.

Client computer systems 1930, 1950, and 1960 each may utilize appropriate web browsing software to view HTML pages provided by web server 1920. ISP 1910 provides network connectivity to client computer system 1930 through modem interface 1935, which modem interface 1935 can be considered to be part of client computer system 1930. The client computer system may be a personal computer system, a network computer, a network TV system, or other such computer system.

Similarly, ISP1915 provides internet connectivity to client systems 1950 and 1960, although as shown in fig. 19, these connections are not the same for more directly connected computer systems. Client computer systems 1950 and 1960 are part of a LAN coupled through a gateway computer 1975. Although fig. 19 shows interfaces 1935 and 1945 as being generically "modems," each of these interfaces may be an analog modem, an isdn modem, a cable modem, a satellite transmission modem (e.g., "direct PC"), or other interface for coupling a computer system to other computer systems.

Client computer systems 1950 and 1960 are coupled to LAN 1970 through network interfaces 1955 and 1965, which network interfaces 1955 and 1965 may be ethernet or other network interfaces. The LAN 1970 is also coupled to a gateway computer system 1975, which gateway computer system 1975 may provide firewalls and other internet-related services to local area networks. The gateway computer system 1975 is coupled to the ISP1915 to provide internet connectivity to the client computer systems 1950 and 1960. Gateway computer system 1975 may be a conventional server computer system. Also, network server system 1920 may be a conventional server computer system.

Alternatively, the server computer system 1980 may be directly coupled to the LAN 1970 through a network interface 1985 to provide documents 1990 and other services to the clients 1950 and 1960 without connecting to the internet through a gateway system 1975.

Using such a network, for example, the system may also provide elements of social networking whereby users may be connected with other users having similar subject profiles. In some implementations, the system can include a send message module operable to deliver notifications via email, SMS, and other media. In some embodiments, the system is accessible by a single unit device that is portable, and in some embodiments, the input device, the graphical user interface, or both are provided by a single unit device that is portable. In some embodiments, the portable single unit device is a handheld device.

Regardless of the information presented, the system illustrates the broader concept of a system for learning and mixing music. The system may provide a powerful and unique learning experience, and in some embodiments, it may process multimedia in the form of text, images, video, and sound.

In some embodiments, the user may customize the system, e.g., select interfaces, colors, languages, music preferences and categories, etc. The user is allowed to enter preferences into the system in order to customize the visual display, which presents information to the user in a personalized manner. In some implementations, the system includes multimedia interactions of one or more of text and video, sound and graphics, pictures or images, sound and video.

In some embodiments, the system and its database may include any of a variety of system libraries containing an organized collection of any of a variety of information that is valuable to the user. Further, information may be obtained from external data sources, whereby the plug-ins and APIs may be designed to allow integration with third party systems and exchange data with external data sources. External data sources may be used to provide information about the requirements, to update existing information stored in the system library, or both.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of operation of a system. These operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities which results in the production of useful products. In other words, in some embodiments, a transition is occurring. In some embodiments, the conversion may be specific to the particular machine or device designed for that conversion. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. All of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Further, these teachings relate to systems for performing the operations herein. The system may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), Random Access Memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.

It should also be appreciated that in some embodiments, the methods and displays presented herein need not be related in nature to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the methods of some embodiments. The required structure for a variety of these systems will be apparent to the skilled person given the teachings herein. Moreover, these techniques are not described with reference to any particular programming language, and thus various embodiments may be implemented with a variety of programming languages. Thus, the terms and examples provided above are merely illustrative and are not intended to be limiting; and the term "embodiments" as used herein means embodiments that are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. The following examples illustrate the use of the present invention. It should be recognized that the examples are for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as limiting the invention.

Claims

1. A method of learning music through an educational audio track, the method comprising:

obtaining a multi-track digital audio file resulting from a multi-track digital audio recording, wherein the multi-track digital audio file includes an independent instrument track and an emulation track, and the independent instrument track includes a single instrument playing a preselected musical composition on which a user wishes to learn;

converting a composition of a multi-track digital audio file to include a ratio of (i) the independent instrument audio track to (ii) an emulation audio track, wherein the emulation audio track represents a subtraction of the independent instrument audio track from a plurality of audio tracks, and the gain ratio is selected by the user;

simulating the preselected musical composition by listening to the independent instrument track and playing the preselected instrument to create a simulated instrument track;

recording the simulated instrument audio track on a computer readable medium;

combining the simulated instrument audio track with the simulated audio track to convert a custom digital audio file to an educational audio file;

listening, by the user, to the educational soundtrack to identify a flaw in the simulation; and

repeating said simulating, recording, combining, and listening until said user learns said preselected musical composition on said preselected instrument to his satisfaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting comprises reducing a volume of the emulation audio track.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting comprises reducing a volume of the independent instrument track.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises selecting one or more measures of the independent instrument tracks to enable a user to focus on simulating a portion of the preselected musical composition.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the simulating further comprises reading a digital musical notation and a fingerboard display corresponding to the independent instrument audio track.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the custom digital audio file further comprises a separate metronome track, and the method further comprises listening to the separate metronome track designed for the preselected musical composition.

7. A system for learning music, the system comprising:

a processor;

an input device operable to receive audio data on a computer readable medium;

a database operable to store audio files for access on a computer readable medium;

a conversion module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the conversion module is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing an independent instrumental track and an emulation track into a ratio of (i) the independent instrumental track to (ii) the emulation track, wherein the emulation track represents a subtraction of the independent instrumental track from a plurality of tracks, and the conversion results from a user selection of a gain ratio between the independent instrumental track, the emulation track, and a metronome track;

a simulated recording module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the simulated recording module is operable to record a simulated audio track of the user on the computer readable medium;

an integration engine embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the integration engine is operable to combine the simulated instrument audio track with the simulated audio track to convert the multi-track digital audio file to an educational audio file;

an output module embodied in a computer-readable medium, wherein the output module is operable to transmit audio data to an output device; and

an output device operable to provide audio data to the user, wherein the audio data assists the user in learning a preselected musical composition.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the input device comprises a microphone.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the output module transmits the musical notation and fingering notation data to a graphical user interface.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the output module has a recalibration function operable to recalibrate audio data track output to correct for delays in output of soundtrack data.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the output device comprises a speaker.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the output module has a synchronization function operable to synchronize the music score and fingerboard data display on the graphical user interface with the separate instrument audio track provided to a listener through the speaker.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the multi-track digital audio file further comprises a metronome track, and the conversion module is operable to convert the multi-track digital audio file into a ratio of (i) the independent instrument track, (ii) the emulation track, and (iii) the metronome track, wherein a gain ratio between the independent instrument track, the emulation track, and the metronome track is selected by the user.

14. The system of claim 7, further comprising a data exchange module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the data exchange module is operable to exchange data with an external computer readable medium.

15. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is included in a handheld device.

16. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is operable to function as a specific machine or device with additional functionality for telecommunications, word processing, or gaming.

17. The system of claim 7, wherein the system is operable to function as a specific machine or device without other substantial functionality.

18. A handheld device for learning music, the device comprising:

a processor;

an input device comprising a microphone and a data input port, wherein the input device is operable to receive audio data and store the audio data on a computer readable medium;

a database operable to store audio files on a computer readable medium for access;

a conversion module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the conversion module is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing an independent instrument track, an emulation track, and a metronome track into a ratio of (i) the independent instrument track, (ii) the emulation track, and (iii) the metronome track, wherein the emulation track represents a subtraction of the independent instrument track from a plurality of tracks, and the conversion results from a user selection of a gain ratio between the independent instrument track, the emulation track, and the metronome track;

an output device comprising a speaker and a graphical user interface, wherein the output device is operable to provide audio data to the user in acoustic and graphical form, wherein the audio data assists the user in learning a preselected musical composition.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the device is operable to function as a specific machine or device with additional functionality for telecommunications, word processing, or gaming.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus is operable to function as a specific machine or apparatus without other substantial functionality.

21. A metronome for measuring time in music, wherein the metronome comprises:

a processor;

an input device operable to receive audio data on a computer readable medium;

a database operable to store audio files on a computer readable medium for access, wherein the audio files include metronome tracks designed for a preselected musical composition;

a conversion module embodied in a computer readable medium, wherein the conversion module is operable to convert a multi-track digital audio file containing a preselected audio track and a metronome track into a ratio of (i) the preselected audio track to (ii) the metronome track, wherein the conversion results from a user selecting a gain ratio between the preselected audio track and the metronome track;

22. The metronome of claim 21, wherein the metronome is operable to function as a particular machine or device with the additional functionality of telecommunications, word processing, or gaming.

23. The metronome of claim 21, wherein the metronome is operable to function as a particular machine or device without other substantial functions.