Eric S Neumann

US Patent:

61758728, Jan 16, 2001

Filed:

Dec 12, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/990122

Inventors:

Eric K. Neumann - Rocky River OH
David J. Reider - Cambridge MA

Assignee:

GTE Internetworking Incorporated - Cambridge MA

International Classification:

G06F 1516

US Classification:

709231

Abstract:

Apparatus and software systems are disclosed that allow real-time interactive playing of musicians each at remote sites from each other. The remote sites are interconnected over a local communications network or a wide area network like the Internet. The apparatus is connected to music synthesizers that accept streams of MIDI data for playing, or generate streams of MIDI data by playing. The streams of MIDI data are bundled by a MIDI management system into transfer control protocol packets, such that the packets of MIDI data may be transferred over the communications network as or within the transfer control packets. In addition, the networked, remote computer systems are synchronized to a standard clock which is appended to the MIDI data packets, and additionally, the network delay is calculated and also appended to the MIDI data packets. In this manner the local musician can receive the MIDI data packets from the remote sites where musicians are playing and in real-time play with them. The present invention allows other data bases of music to be interrogated and the music therein retrieved for local use, storing and/or editing.