Music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale

Abstract

Methods and systems of music notation for visually representing music that provide a visual scale representing a range of an auditory scale of a portion of a musical composition spanning at least four and a half steps. The visual scale may comprise a plurality of whole-step segments each representing one whole step in the auditory scale. Each whole-step segment may be approximately a first height. The visual scale may also comprise one or more half-step segments each representing one half step in the auditory scale. Each half-step segment may be approximately a second height. A first ratio representing the first height divided by the second height may be significantly greater than a second ratio representing the whole step divided by the half step.

Claims

1. A method for visually representing music, the method comprising, the steps of: providing a visual scale representing a range of an auditory scale of a portion of a musical composition, wherein the range spans at least four and a half steps, said visual scale comprising: a plurality of whole-step segments each representing one whole step in the auditory scale, wherein a height of each whole-step segment is approximately a first height, and one or more half-step segments each representing one half step in the auditory scale, wherein a height of each half-step segment is approximately a second height; and wherein a first ratio representing the first height divided by the second height is at least two times greater than a second ratio representing the whole step divided by the half step.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first ratio is between two to fifteen times the second ratio.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein adjacent whole-step or half-step segments are differently colored.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a sequence of the plurality of whole-step segments and the one or more half-step segments in the range are alternating colors.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual scale provides an indicator associated with a note that is not in the auditory scale of the portion of the musical composition.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the whole-step segments have opacity between 25% to 50%.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual scale comprises one or more measure lines and beat ticks.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the visual scale does not include a beat tick at a position at which a measure line is located.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein each beat tick has a color that contrasts with the whole-step segment over which it is located.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual scale further comprises one more note indicators that each represent a note in the musical composition, wherein each note indicator is center-aligned with a center of the whole-step segment or half-step segment corresponding to the note represented by the note indicator.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein one or more of the note indicators contain lyrics.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second height of the half-step segments is within fifty percent of the average line-thickness of a font predetermined for the lyrics.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the lyrics are in a font having a cap-height that is equal to the first height of the whole-step segments.

14. A computer-implemented device for visually representing music, the computer-implemented device comprising: a computer programmed to carry out displaying on an electronic display device a visual scale representing a range of an auditory scale of a portion of a musical composition, where the range spans at least four and a half steps, said visual scale comprising: a plurality of whole-step segments each representing one whole step in the auditory scale, wherein a height of each whole-step segment is approximately a first height, and one or more half-step segments each representing one half step in the auditor scale, wherein a height of each half-step segment is approximately a second height; and wherein a first ratio representing the first height divided by the second height is at least two times greater than a second ratio representing the whole step divided by the half step.

15. The computer-implemented device of claim 14, wherein the first ratio is between two to fifteen times the second ratio.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of whole-step segments and one or more half-step segments are colored so as to distinguish between adjacent segments.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the visual scale further comprises one or one note indicators that each represent a note in the musical composition, wherein each note indicator is center-aligned with a center of the whole-step segment or half-step segment corresponding to the note represented by the note indicator.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein one or more of the note indicators contain lyrics, wherein the lyrics are in a font having a cap-height that is equal to the first height of the whole-step segments and the second height of the half-step segments is within fifty percent of the average line-thickness of the font.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows an example music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale.

(2) FIGS. 2A-2D show an electronic display device displaying a sequence of layouts of a music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale presented on a display screen.

(3) FIG. 3A shows an example music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale.

(4) FIG. 3B shows an example background for display behind the music notation of FIG. 3A.

(5) FIG. 3C shows the notation of FIG. 3A on top of the background of FIG. 3B.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLES

(6) Reference will now be made in detail to the present examples, including examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

(7) Directional terms are used in the following description for purposes of providing relative reference only and are not intended to suggest any limitations on how any article is to be positioned during use or relative to an environment. Further, while the examples are sometimes described in connection with printed or written musical notation (e.g., sheet music), the examples may also be used with other forms of music notation, such as, for example, electronically displayed music notation. Displays referred to herein may be visual displays, whether printed, drawn, electronic, or other computer-generated display. For example, several types of music composition software programs are known in the art and commercially available for users wishing to write music notation using a computer. Similarly, several types of presentation software are known in the art. The exemplary music notations described herein could be used in conjunction with such systems for generating computer displays of music notation. Moreover, the examples described herein may be used with other types of display, such as a tactile display of Braille music notation.

(8) Methods and systems of music notation for visually representing music are provided that include a visual scale representing a range of an auditory scale of a portion of a musical composition spanning at least four and a half steps. The visual scale may comprise a plurality of whole-step segments each representing one whole step in the auditory scale. Each whole-step segment may be approximately a first height. The visual scale may also comprise one or more half-step segments each representing one half step in the auditory scale. Each half-step segment may be approximately a second height. A first ratio representing the first height divided by the second height may be significantly greater than a second ratio representing the whole step divided by the half step. This may be referred to as a disproportionate correlated scale.

(9) FIG. 1 shows an example layout 200 of a music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale. As shown in FIG. 1, the disproportionate correlated scale may comprise a plurality of whole-step segments 20 and half-step segments 10 representing sequential intervals in the aural musical scale. Each whole-step segment 20 represents a particular whole step in the selected musical scale, while each half-step segment 10 represents a particular half step.

(10) In the example shown in FIG. 1, each whole-step segment 20 is approximately the same height. Each half-step segment 10 is approximately the same height. The ratio of the height of the whole-step segments divided by the height of the half-step segments is significantly greater than the ratio representing the whole step divided by the half step. For this reason, the music notation shown in FIG. 1 is referred to as “disproportionate.” The scale is referred to as “correlated” because the order of half-step segments 10 and whole-step segments 20 is correlated to the half steps and whole steps of the selected musical scale.

(11) In one aspect, the height of the half-step segments 10 may be the minimum thickness that can be distinguished by an expected viewer, while the height of the whole-step segments 20 may be significantly greater than the height of the half-step segments 20. For example, the height of the whole-step segments 20 may be between four to thirty times the height of the half-step segments 10. In one aspect, the height of the whole-step segments 20 may be four times the height of the half-step segments 10.

(12) In one aspect, a first ratio representing the height of the whole-step segments 20 divided by the height of the half-step segments 10 is significantly greater than a second ratio representing the whole step divided by the half step. In another aspect, the first ratio may be at least two times the second ratio. In yet another aspect, the first ratio may be between two times and fifteen times the second ratio.

(13) If lyrics are present, the font and size are usually selected such that the height of the half-step segments is approximately the same (e.g., within fifty percent) as the line-thickness (i.e., line weight) of the font, and the height of the whole-step segments is sized based on typographic properties of the font, such as the x-height or cap-height. For screen-visible fonts (i.e., fonts intended for use in a pixel grid rather than print), this generally results in the height of the whole-step segments being at least five times the height of the half-step segments and sometimes as much as 25 times.

(14) When drawing in “perfect pitch” mode, the visual scale may correlate to the diatonic intervals of the C-major aural scale. When drawing in “relative pitch” mode, the visual scale may correlate to the intervals of an aural scale in the selected composition. When the aural scale properly contains augmented intervals, the augmented interval may be split into a half step and a whole step for representation in the notation.

(15) As shown in FIG. 1, when drawn in relative mode, the visual scale must be marked with an “anchor” 80 providing the perfect pitch name of at least one of the notes in the scale. In FIG. 1, for example, the anchor 80 comprises the letter “C” in front of a circle, located outside the leading edge of the scale. In this example, a trained musician would conclude that the notes in the aural scale represented by whole-step and half-step visible segments from bottom to top are C, D, E♭, F, G, A, B♭, C. The scale's range may be extended to include the note for the anchor. Instead of always marking C, the anchor may mark the key note of the scale. In FIG. 1, that would be the B♭ half-step segment.

(16) The range of whole-step segments 20 and half-step segments 10 represented on layout 200 may be enough to include the highest and lowest note to be performed in its represented time range. Most musical compositions use a single aural scale for their entire duration. Correspondingly, the notation may use a similar sequence of half-step segments and whole-step segments for all layouts. In that case, the notation may include in each layout all the whole-step segments and half-step segments spanning the range of the highest and lowest notes to be performed in the entire composition. However, some songs have sections with different scales. In such cases, the notation may be adapted for each section, laying out different selections of whole- and half-step segments to match the aural scale of each section, and spanning intervals of high and low notes for that section alone. It is not necessary for a scale change to result in a new layout, however.

(17) Referring again to FIG. 1, notes may be visually represented by indicators such as note bubbles 30. In one aspect, bubbles 30 are generally rectangular, though one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that notes may be indicated in other ways. Bubbles 30 may also be stylized in various ways, such as by using chamfered corners or rounded corners. Corner truncation may assist users in noticing the beginning and ending of successive identically-pitched notes. Corner truncation may also draw attention to the visual scale, which is otherwise partially obscured by the note bubbles. Note bubbles 30 may be drawn with their vertical center aligned with the vertical center of the half-step segment 10 or whole-step segment 20 corresponding to that note.

(18) A note bubble 30 may include a hyphenation line 35 to indicate that the text is a syllable in a word that continues in another note. For example, in FIG. 1, hyphenation line 35 indicates that the syllable “SO” is part of the word “sorrows.” The second syllable “RROWS” is included in the subsequent note bubble 30. Hyphenation lines may also be used when indicating a melisma (i.e., a group of notes sung to one syllable of text). In such cases, the note bubble 30 and hyphenation line 35 may be skewed onto another half-step segment 10 or whole-step segment 20. For example, the syllable “TEN” in FIG. 2A is a melisma.

(19) In one aspect, all note bubbles in a given layout have the same bubble height. The bubble height may be, for example, at least as thick as the height of the whole-step segments. If lyrics 50 are included in the layout, the bubble height may be sufficient to encompass lyrical text of sufficient size to be readable by the intended viewers.

(20) In some instances, a particular composition presented in a layout may include a pitch that is not in the composition's scale. As shown in FIG. 1, that pitch may be drawn a half-step up with a slash “/” 40 drawn over the leading edge of the corresponding note bubble 30 (though another symbol or indicator could be used).

(21) Time may advance forward either from left to right or right to left, with the edge corresponding to the earlier time called the “leading” edge, and the opposite edge called the “trailing” edge. When lyrics are present, time would move forward in the same direction as the lyrics. When lyrics are not present, time may preferably move in the direction of the language predominant in the intended audience. However, an apparatus (such as an appropriately programmed computer) for displaying the music notation of FIG. 1 may be configured to specify that time move in any direction.

(22) Rhythm may be indicated by the horizontal placement of a leading edge 15 and a trailing edge 25 of note bubbles 30 relative to each other, as well as by measure lines 60 and beat ticks 70. In one embodiment, measure lines 60 and beat ticks 70 are drawn behind (or underneath) the note bubbles but in front of (or superimposed on) the visual scale. Measure lines 60 may be vertical lines drawn from the bottom to the top of the visual scale. It is possible that a particular layout could include multiple parts drawn with multiple scales. In such a case, a single measure line 60 could extend from the bottom of the lower-most scale to the top of the upper-most scale. Measure lines 60 may be drawn at the beginning of the first beat of a measure.

(23) For other beats in the measure, beat ticks 70 may be drawn instead. In one aspect, a beat tick 70 is a short vertical line. For example, the width of beat tick 70 may be equal to the height of a half-step segment 10. Beat ticks 70 may be drawn over the lower-most and upper-most whole-step segments 20 in a scale. Drawing the beat ticks at the top and bottom minimizes the number of ticks, while helping ensure that one of the two ticks for each beat is visible regardless of the pitch of any one note bubble.

(24) To represent rhythm effectively, the note bubble leading edges 15 and trailing edges 25 and measure lines 60 and beat ticks 70 may be placed such that the relative widths and spacing of note bubbles generally maintains a single width-per-time ratio across a given layout, such as layout 200 in FIG. 1. However, this ratio may, and in practice often will, change from one layout to another. Furthermore, in some cases, the width-per-time ratio may change within a layout.

(25) This is illustrated in FIG. 2A. FIGS. 2A-2D show an electronic display device 300 displaying a sequence of layouts of a music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale presented on a display screen. FIG. 2A contains two layouts, and the layouts pictured in FIG. 2A have a different width-per-time ratio. Electronic display device 300 may be any number of devices known in the art, including without limitation televisions, computer displays, projector/projection screens, LED screens, and the like.

(26) In some aspects, it is desirable to display a music notation over a background, such as background artwork. For example, FIG. 3A shows a music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale. FIG. 3B shows a background that may be shown underneath the music notation of FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C shows the music notation of FIG. 3A overlaid on the background shown in FIG. 3B.

(27) When the music notation is used with a background as in exemplary FIG. 3C, the whole-step segments 20 may be drawn with significant transparency (e.g., 50% to 75%). While note bubbles do not require transparency, a slight transparency (e.g., 95% opacity) may improve the look-and-feel of the layout. Similarly, measure lines 60 and beat ticks 70 may be drawn without transparency, but a slight transparency helps prevent them from dominating the visual appearance of the scale. In one aspect, scale lines may be drawn with approximately the same transparency as the measure lines.

(28) To provide internal contrast, the sequence of half-step segments 10 and whole-step segments 20 may be drawn with alternating colors. For example, two colors may be selected, with one being assigned to measure lines. The lower-most half-step segment 10 or whole-step segment 20 in the scale may also be drawn in this color. Each successive half-step segment 10 or whole-step segment 20 may be given the alternate color from the one below it. In one aspect, beat ticks 70 receive the opposite color of the whole-step segment 20 over which they are drawn. Adjacent whole-step segments 20 need not have abrupt color changes at their junction. For example, the junction between whole-step segments 20 may be rendered as a gradient of color change extending over a particular region. In one aspect, that region may be no more than twice as thick as the height of a half-step segment 10.

(29) Note bubbles 30 may have a color selected to provide contrast with the scale and, where applicable, coordinate with the background artwork. If lyrics are present, their color may be selected to provide contrast with the note bubble colors so that the lyrics are easily legible.

(30) As illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D, during live playback of a display showing a music notation using a disproportionate correlated scale, a cursor 90 may move across the layout, always positioned at the current time. In one aspect, cursor 90 may comprise a vertical line of the same color as the lyrics and two adjacent lines of the same color as the note bubble (for contrast to aid visibility). Due to the constant width-per-time-ratio of the notation, this means cursor 90 moves at a constant speed for a particular layout. Cursor 90 may also be drawn before the performance of the layout begins, as a lead-in. Cursor may be aligned at its top and bottom with the top and bottom of any measure lines 60, such that it spans all simultaneous scales. Cursor 90 may be drawn superimposed over the scale measure lines 60 and beat ticks 70, but behind (or underneath) any note bubbles 30. Cursor 90 may be omitted if musicians have difficulty performing in-sync with the notation.

(31) In one aspect, during live performance, when the time of a particular layout has expired, it may be removed immediately. In another aspect, an expired layout may be faded or blurred until invisible or otherwise removed gradually using visual effects known in the art. FIG. 2B shows two layouts, with the top layout shown in mid-fade. Similarly, FIG. 2D shows two layouts, with the bottom layout shown in mid-fade. In an “all or nothing” moment, all of the lyrics or notes on the display must be removed and a new slide must be at least partially displayed before the viewer knows what will happen next. As demonstrated in FIG. 2A-2D, the all-or-nothing moment is avoided entirely by continually replacing a completed layout with a future layout. By limiting the drawing to two simultaneous layouts, the indication of which layout is to be used becomes obvious to the inexperienced viewer because there is only one choice following the completion of each layout.

(32) Other examples of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the examples disclosed herein. Moreover, the various features of the examples described here are not mutually exclusive. Rather any feature of any example described here can be incorporated into any other suitable example. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.