Effects transitions in a music and audio playback system
View Patent ↗A music and audio playback system enables an operator to control an audio effect for transitioning an audio output signal from a first audio source to a second audio source by using a single cross-fader control. The transition audio effect combines the two incoming sources using a function that depends on the current position of the cross-fader control. Effects include cross-fading the frequency range, band-ducking, vocoder effects, and beat-cutting effects. The technique is especially advantageous in DJ performance systems in which audio effect-based transitions can add excitement and variety to a performance. Dedicated transition effect preset buttons located near the cross fader facilitate rapid selection by the DJ of the cross-fader controlled transition audio effect.
1. A music and audio playback system comprising:
a first input for receiving audio data from a first audio source;
a second input for receiving audio data from a second audio source;
a processor for processing audio data;
an audio output for outputting audio data; and
a user-operable cross-fader control;
wherein the processor is configured to apply in real time a user-selected audio effect for combining audio data received from the first audio source via the first audio input and audio data received from the second audio source via the second audio input to generate a processed audio signal,
wherein the processed audio signal in a first frequency range comprises the audio data received from the first audio source that lies within the first frequency range, and the processed audio signal in a second frequency range comprises the audio data received from the second audio source that lies within the second frequency range, corresponding to the frequencies not included in the first frequency range, a current state of the cross fader control controlling one or more frequency cut-offs between frequencies derived from the first audio source and frequencies derived from the second audio source,
wherein a parameter of the audio effect is controlled by a current state of the cross-fader control, and
wherein the music and audio playback system outputs a signal comprising the processed audio signal, the audio data from the first audio source, and the audio data from the second audio source via the audio output.
2. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 , wherein the music and audio playback system includes one or more input controls for enabling the user to select the audio effect.
3. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 , wherein the current state of the cross-fader control corresponds to one of a range of positions, the range of positions having a left limit and a right limit, and wherein:
the processed audio signal comprises the audio data received from the first audio source when the cross-fader is in the left limit position; and
the processed audio signal comprises the audio data received from the second audio source when the cross-fader is in the right limit position.
4. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 , wherein the first frequency range ranges from a lowest frequency present in either of the audio sources to a frequency f, wherein f is a function of the current state of the cross-fader.
5. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 further comprising a user-operable direction switch, and wherein switching the direction switch from a first state to a second state causes the first audio input and the second audio input to be interchanged before applying the user-selected audio effect.
6. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 , wherein the music and audio playback system comprises a disc jockey performance system.
7. A music and audio playback system comprising:
a first input for receiving audio data from a first audio source;
a second input for receiving audio data from a second audio source;
a processor for processing audio data;
an audio output for outputting audio data; and
a user-operable cross-fader control;
wherein the processor is configured to apply in real time a user-selected audio effect for combining audio data received from the first audio source via the first audio input and audio data received from the second audio source via the second audio input to generate a processed audio signal,
wherein the processed audio signal in a first frequency range comprises the audio data received from the first audio source that lies within the first frequency range, and the processed audio signal in a second frequency range comprises the audio data received from the second audio source that lies within the second frequency range, corresponding to the frequencies not included in the first frequency range, a current state of the cross fader control controlling one or more frequency cut-offs between frequencies derived from the first audio source and frequencies derived from the second audio source,
wherein the music and audio playback system outputs a signal comprising the processed audio signal at a first level, the audio data from the first audio source at a second level, and the audio data from the second audio source at a third level, and
wherein the first, second, and third levels are controlled by the state of the cross-fader control.
8. The music and audio playback system of claim 7 further comprising a user-operable direction switch, and wherein switching the direction switch from a first state to a second state causes the first audio input and the second audio input to be switched before applying the user-selected audio effect.
9. The music and audio playback system of claim 7 , wherein the user-selected audio effect includes modulating a volume of the first audio source with a function of a volume of the second audio source.
10. The music and audio playback system of claim 9 , wherein the modulating function is a decreasing function of the volume of the first audio source.
11. The music and audio playback system of claim 9 , wherein the modulating function is an increasing function of the volume of the first audio source.
12. The music and audio playback system of claim 7 , wherein the user-selected audio effect comprises a vocoder effect.
13. The music and audio playback system of claim 7 , wherein the user-selected audio effect comprises generating a toggle signal comprised of toggling back and forth between the first audio source and the second audio source is based on a tempo of at least one of the first audio source and the second audio source.
14. The music and audio playback system of claim 7 , wherein prior to applying the real time audio effect, the audio data received from the first audio source via the first input and the audio data received from the second audio source via the second audio input is transformed into frequency space, and the real-time audio effect is applied in frequency space to the transformed audio data to produce a processed signal, and wherein the processed signal is transformed back to a time-domain representation prior to being output at the first level.
15. A method of generating a processed audio signal, the method comprising:
receiving at an audio and music playback system including a processor and a user-operable cross-fader control, audio data from a first audio source;
receiving at the audio and music playback system audio data from a second audio source; and
using the processor, outputting a processed audio signal comprising the received audio data from the first audio source and the audio data from the second audio source by applying in real time a user-selected audio effect,
wherein the processed audio signal in a first frequency range comprises the audio data received from the first audio source that lies within the first frequency range, and the processed audio signal in a second frequency range comprises the audio data received from the second audio source that lies within the second frequency range, corresponding to the frequencies not included in the first frequency range, a current state of the cross fader control controlling one or more frequency cut-offs between frequencies derived from the first audio source and frequencies derived from the second audio source,
wherein a parameter of the audio effect is controlled by the current state of the cross-fader control, and
wherein the music and audio playback system outputs a signal comprising, the audio data from the first audio source, the audio data from the second audio source, and the processed audio signal.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the audio and music playback system comprises a disc jockey performance system.
17. A method of generating a processed audio signal, the method comprising:
receiving at an audio and music playback system including a processor and a user-operable cross-fader control, audio data from a first audio source;
receiving at the audio and music playback system audio data from a second audio source; and
using the processor, outputting a processed audio signal comprising the received audio data from the first audio source and the audio data from the second audio source by applying in real time, a user-selected audio effect,
wherein the processed audio signal in a first frequency range comprises the audio data received from the first audio source that lies within the first frequency range, and the processed audio signal in a second frequency range comprises the audio data received from the second audio source that lies within the second frequency range, corresponding to the frequencies not included in the first frequency range, a current state of the cross fader control controlling one or more frequency cut-offs between frequencies derived from the first audio source and frequencies derived from the second audio source, and
wherein the music and audio playback system outputs a signal comprising the processed audio signal at a first level, the audio data from the first audio source at a second level, and the audio data from the second audio source at a third level, wherein the first, second, and third levels are controlled by the state of the cross-fader control.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the music and audio playback system is associated with a disc jockey performance system.
19. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 , wherein the processed audio signal corresponds to a ducker effect.
20. The music and audio playback system of claim 1 , wherein the processed audio signal corresponds to a vocoder effect.