System and method for generating an audio thumbnail of an audio track

A method for generating an audio thumbnail of an audio track, comprising:

• detecting a first content feature within an audio track;
• mapping a pointer to the detected first content feature within the audio track;
• setting a first duration of time;
• detecting an occurrence of an increase in energy within the audio track;
• mapping a pointer to the detected occurrence of an increase in energy within the audio track;
• setting a second duration of time;
• and
• storing the pointer to the detected first content feature, the first duration of time, the pointer to the detected occurrence of an increase in energy, and the second duration of time as an audio thumbnail of the audio track.

A method for detecting a highlight on an audio track, comprising:

• determining a location of human sound on an audio track;
• computing a first temporal energy envelope of a first segment of the audio track;
• computing a second temporal energy envelope of a second segment of the audio track;
• comparing the computed first and second temporal energy envelopes;
• and
• if the second segment corresponds to a location of human sound on the audio track and if the computed temporal energy of the second segment exceeds the computed temporal energy of the first segment by a predetermined threshold, selecting a location on the audio track corresponding to the location of the second segment as a highlight on the audio track.

A computer-based system for generating a thumbnail of an audio track, comprising:

• a recorder configured to record an audio track comprised of singing and instrumental music;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• detect a first characteristic within an audio track;
• extract a first portion of the audio track corresponding to the detected first characteristic;
• detect an occurrence of an increase in energy within the audio track;
• extract a second portion of the audio track corresponding to the detected increase in energy;
• and
• combine the extracted first and second portions of the audio track into an audio thumbnail of the audio track.

A computer readable medium encoded with software for generating an audio thumbnail of an audio track, by detecting a first characteristic within an audio track;

• extracting a first portion of the audio track corresponding to the detected first characteristic;
• detecting an occurrence of an increase in energy within the audio track;
• extracting a second portion of the audio track corresponding to the detected increase in energy;
• and combining the extracted first and second portions of the audio track into an audio thumbnail of the audio track.