# US 2014/0360340 A1 · Vocal processing with accompaniment music input > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0360340 A1 - Document ID: US20140360340A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/467,560 - Filed: 2014-08-25 - Published: 2014-12-11 - Earliest claimed: 2012-10-19 - Assignees: Sing Trix LLC - Applicants: Sing Trix LLC - Inventors: David Kenneth HILDERMAN; John DEVECKA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140360340A1 ## CPC - G10H 1/366: {with means for modifying or correcting the external signal, e.g. pitch correction, reverberation, changing a singer's voice} - G10H 1/00: Details of electrophonic musical instruments - G10H 1/0091: {Means for obtaining special acoustic effects (combined with modulation G10H1/043)} - G10H 1/36: Accompaniment arrangements - G10H 1/361: {Recording/reproducing of accompaniment for use with an external source, e.g. karaoke systems} - G10H 1/38: Chord - G10H 1/383: {Chord detection and/or recognition, e.g. for correction, or automatic bass generation} - G10H 1/44: Tuning means - G10K 15/08: Arrangements for producing a reverberation or echo sound {(modifying acoustic properties to change reverberation time G10K11/002)} - G10L 21/007: characterised by the process used - H04R 29/00: Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements {(for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308)} - G10H 2210/066: for pitch analysis as part of wider processing for musical purposes, e.g. transcription, musical performance evaluation; Pitch recognition, e.g. in polyphonic sounds; Estimation or use of missing fundamental - G10H 2210/081: for automatic key or tonality recognition, e.g. using musical rules or a knowledge base - G10H 2210/245: Ensemble, i.e. adding one or more voices, also instrumental voices - G10H 2210/261: Duet, i.e. automatic generation of a second voice, descant or counter melody, e.g. of a second harmonically interdependent voice by a single voice harmonizer or automatic composition algorithm, e.g. for fugue, canon or round composition, which may be substantially independent in contour and rhythm - G10H 2210/325: Musical pitch modification - G10H 2210/331: Note pitch correction, i.e. modifying a note pitch or replacing it by the closest one in a given scale - G10H 2210/335: Chord correction, i.e. modifying one or several notes within a chord, e.g. to correct wrong fingering or to improve harmony - G10H 2220/211: for microphones, i.e. control of musical parameters either directly from microphone signals or by physically associated peripherals, e.g. karaoke control switches or rhythm sensing accelerometer within the microphone casing - G10H: ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE - G10K: SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) ## Abstract Systems, including methods and apparatus, for generating audio effects based on accompaniment audio produced by live or pre-recorded accompaniment instruments, in combination with melody audio produced by a singer. Audible broadcast of the accompaniment audio may be delayed by a predetermined time, such as the time required to determine chord information contained in the accompaniment signal. As a result, audio effects that require the chord information may be substantially synchronized with the audible broadcast of the accompaniment audio. The present teachings may be especially suitable for use in karaoke systems, to correct and add sound effects to a singer's voice that sings along with a pre-recorded accompaniment track. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A time-aligned audio system for harmony generation, comprising: a chord detection circuit configured to receive and analyze an accompaniment audio signal and to determine chord information corresponding to the accompaniment audio signal; a harmony processing circuit configured to identify errors in the chord information, to determine a chord of the accompaniment audio signal while ignoring the errors, to produce a harmony signal harmonized to the chord of the accompaniment audio signal, and to transmit the harmony signal to a loudspeaker; and a delay circuit configured to store the accompaniment audio signal in memory until the harmony signal is transmitted to the loudspeaker, and to transmit the accompaniment audio signal to the loudspeaker substantially simultaneously with the harmony signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The audio system of claim 1, wherein the harmony signal is also harmonized to a melody note. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The audio system of claim 1, wherein the delay circuit is further configured to store in memory a melody audio signal corresponding to the accompaniment signal until the harmony signal is transmitted to the loudspeaker, and to transmit the melody audio signal to the loudspeaker substantially simultaneously with the harmony signal and the accompaniment audio signal. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The audio system of claim 1, wherein the chord detection circuit is further configured to receive and analyze a melody note sung by a singer, and the harmony generation circuit is configured to produce the harmony signal harmonized to both the melody note and the chord of the accompaniment audio signal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The audio system of claim 4, wherein the harmony generation circuit is configured to identify as errors pitch-shifted melody notes. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The audio system of claim 1, wherein the harmony generation circuit is configured to identify as errors short-term chord changes lasting less than a predetermined amount of time. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The audio system of claim 1, wherein the harmony generation circuit is configured to identify as errors sequential key changes. ### Claim 8 A time-aligned audio system for harmony generation, comprising: a digital signal processor configured to: receive a melody audio signal produced by a singer, detect melody notes within the melody audio signal, determine whether the melody notes include one or more errors, produce a harmony signal harmonized to the melody notes and an accompaniment audio signal while ignoring the errors, transmit the harmony signal to a loudspeaker, store the melody audio signal in memory until the harmony signal has been produced, and transmit a version of the melody audio signal to the loudspeaker substantially simultaneously with the harmony signal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The audio system of claim 8, wherein the digital signal processor is configured to correct the errors by creating corresponding pitch-corrected melody notes and wherein the version of the melody audio signal transmitted to the loudspeaker is a corrected version including the pitch-corrected melody notes. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The audio system of claim 9, wherein the digital signal processor is configured to determine a musical key of the accompaniment audio signal and to create the pitch-corrected melody notes by shifting the melody notes received from the singer into the musical key of the accompaniment audio signal. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The audio system of claim 8, wherein the digital signal processor is configured to determine whether the accompaniment audio signal includes one or more errors, and wherein ignoring the errors includes ignoring the errors in both the melody notes and the accompaniment signal. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The audio system of claim 11, wherein the digital signal processor is configured to determine that short-term chord changes lasting less than a predetermined amount of time are errors in the accompaniment signal. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The audio system of claim 12, wherein the digital signal processor is configured to determine that sequential key changes are errors in the accompaniment signal. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The audio system of claim 8, wherein the digital signal processor is configured to store the accompaniment signal in memory until the harmony signal has been produced, and to transmit the accompaniment audio signal to the loudspeaker substantially simultaneously with the harmony signal. ### Claim 15 A method of generating a time-aligned, harmonized musical signal, comprising: determining melody notes within a melody audio signal, determining chords within an accompaniment audio signal, analyzing at least one of the audio signals to identify errors, producing a harmony signal harmonized only to the melody notes and the chords which do not include the identified errors, storing the melody audio signal and the accompaniment audio signal until the harmony signal has been produced, and transmitting a version of the melody audio signal, a version of the accompaniment audio signal and the harmony signal to a loudspeaker substantially simultaneously. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the step of analyzing includes analyzing the melody audio signal to identify melody notes that contain a pitch error. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the transmitted version of the melody audio signal includes pitch-shifted melody notes in place of melody notes identified to contain a pitch error. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the transmitted version of the melody audio signal includes both pitch-shifted melody notes and original melody notes identified to contain a pitch error. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the step of analyzing includes analyzing the accompaniment audio signal to identify as errors short-term chord changes lasting less than a predetermined amount of time. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the step of analyzing includes analyzing the accompaniment audio signal to identify as errors sounds produced by percussion instruments.