Music synchronization arrangement Number:7,521,623 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent

Title: Music synchronization arrangement

Abstract: The invention generally pertains to a hand-held computing device. More particularly, the invention pertains to a computing device that is capable of controlling the speed of the music so as to affect the mood and behavior of the user during an activity such as exercise. By way of example, the speed of the music can be controlled to match the pace of the activity (synching the speed of the music to the activity of the user) or alternatively it can be controlled to drive the pace of the activity (increasing or decreasing the speed of the music to encourage a greater or lower pace). One aspect of the invention relates to adjusting the tempo (or some other attribute) of the music being outputted from the computing device. By way of example, a songs tempo may be increased or decreased before or during playing. Another aspect of the invention relates to selecting music for outputting based on tempo (or some other attribute). For example, the computing device may only play songs having a particular tempo. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to both selecting music based on tempo and adjusting the tempo of the music.

Patent Number: 7,521,623 Issued on 04/21/2009 to Bowen

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Inventors:	Bowen; Adam (Palo Alto, CA)
Assignee:	Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA)
Appl. No.:	10/997,479
Filed:	November 24, 2004

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Current U.S. Class:	84/612 ; 84/636; 84/652; 84/668
Current International Class:	G10H 1/00 (20060101)
Field of Search:	84/612,636,652,668 482/8,9

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Primary Examiner: Warren; David S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Beyer Law Group LLP

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Claims

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What is claimed is:

1. A method of playing music with a hand-held media player having at least a user interface arranged to receive a tactile input event applied by a user, wherein a plurality of audio tracks with different original tempos are stored on the hand-held media player, comprising: receiving an indication of a range of tempos from a slow tempo to a fast tempo from the user, wherein the user specifies the range of tempos by applying a corresponding tactile input event directly at the user interface; adjusting the original tempos of the plurality of audio tracks based on a tempo of an event associated with the user, wherein the original tempo of the plurality of audio tracks is increased if the tempo of the event associated with the user is less than the slow tempo and wherein the original tempo of the plurality of audio tracks is decreased if the tempo of the event associated with the user if greater than the fast tempo; and playing the plurality of audio tracks at the adjusted tempo.

2. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface on the hand-held media player is a wheel, such that rotating the wheel in a first direction decreases the range of tempos and rotating the wheel in a second, opposite direction increases the range of tempo.

3. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface on the hand-held media player is a slider bar, such that sliding the slider bar in a first direction decreases the range of tempos and sliding the slider bar in a second, opposite direction increases the range of tempos.

4. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface on the hand-held media player is a button, such that pushing a first side of the button decreases the range of tempos and pushing a second, opposite side of the button increases the range of tempos.

5. The method, as recited in claim 1, further comprising: monitoring the event associated with the user.

6. The method, as recited in claim 5, wherein the event associated with the user is monitored incrementally at selected times.

7. The method, as recited in claim 5, wherein the event associated with the user is monitored continually.

8. The method, as recited in claim 1, wherein the event associated with the user is one selected from the group consisting of the user's activity, the user's body motion, the user's heart rate, the user's respiratory rate, and the user's temperature.

9. The method, as recited in claim 1, further comprising: selecting from the plurality of audio tracks at least one audio track whose original tempo is within the range of tempos to obtain at least one selected audio track; and playing the at least one selected audio track at its original tempo.

10. The method, as recited in claim 1, further comprising: for each of the plurality of audio tracks, creating and storing multiple versions of the same audio track, each with a different tempo, on the hand-held media player.

11. The method, as recited in claim 10, wherein for each of the plurality of audio tracks, at least one of the multiple versions of the audio track has a tempo that is faster than the original tempo of the audio track and at least one of the multiple versions of the audio track has a tempo that is slower than the original tempo of the audio track.

12. The method, as recited in claim 10, further comprising: associating a tempo tag with each version of each of the plurality of audio tracks, such that the tempo tag indicates the tempo of the associated version of the audio track.

13. A hand-held media player, comprising: a storage configured to store a plurality of audio tracks with different original tempos; a user interface configured to enable a user to specify a range of tempos from a slow tempo to a fast tempo to the media player by applying a corresponding tactile input event directly at the user interface; and a music manager configured to adjust the original tempos of the plurality of audio tracks based on a tempo of an event associated with the user, wherein the original tempo of the plurality of audio tracks is increased if the tempo of the event associated with the user is less than the slow tempo and wherein the original tempo of the plurality of audio tracks is decreased if the tempo of the event associated with the user if greater than the fast tempo and to play the plurality of audio tracks at the adjusted tempo.

14. The hand-held media player, as recited in claim 13, wherein the user interface is a wheel, such that rotating the wheel in a first direction decreases the range of tempos and rotating the wheel in a second, opposite direction increases the range of tempos.

15. The hand-held media player, as recited in claim 13, wherein the user interface is a slider bar, such that sliding the slider bar in a first direction decreases the range of tempos and sliding the slider bar in a second, opposite direction increases the range of tempos.

16. The hand-held media player, as recited in claim 13, wherein the user interface is a button, such that pushing a first side of the button decreases the range of tempos and pushing a second, opposite side of the button increases the range of tempos.

17. The hand-held media player, as recited in claim 13, comprising: a sensor configured to monitor the event associated with the user.

18. The hand-held media player, as recited in claim 17, wherein the sensor is one selected from the group consisting of a pressure switch, a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, and an optical sensor.

19. The hand-held media player, as recited in claim 17, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer and the event associated with the user is the user's motion.

20. A computer program product contained on a hand-held media player having at least a user interface arranged to receive a tactile input event applied by a user, wherein a plurality of audio tracks with different original tempos are stored on the hand-held media player, and the computer program product comprises a computer-readable medium having a plurality of computer program instructions stored therein, which are operable to cause the hand-held media player to: receive an indication of a range of tempos from a slow tempo to a fast tempo from the user, wherein the user specifies the range of tempos by applying a corresponding tactile input event directly at the user interface; adjust the original tempos of the plurality of audio tracks based on a tempo of an event associated with the user, wherein the original tempo of the plurality of audio tracks is increased if the tempo of the event associated with the user is less than the slow tempo and wherein the original tempo of the plurality of audio tracks is decreased if the tempo of the event associated with the user if greater than the fast tempo; and play the plurality of audio tracks at the adjusted tempo.

21. The computer program product, as recited in claim 20, wherein the user interface on the hand-held media player is a wheel, such that rotating the wheel in a first direction decreases the range of tempos and rotating the wheel in a second, opposite direction increases the range of tempos.

22. The computer program product, as recited in claim 20, wherein the user interface on the hand-held media player is a slider bar, such that sliding the slider bar in a first direction decreases the range of tempos and sliding the slider bar in a second, opposite direction increases the range of tempos.

23. The computer program product, as recited in claim 20, wherein the user interface on the hand-held media player is a button, such that pushing a first side of the button decreases the range of tempos and pushing a second, opposite side of the button increases the range of tempos.

24. The computer program product, as recited in claim 20 wherein the computer program instructions are further operable to cause the hand-held media player to: monitor the event associated with the user.

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Description

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to portable media devices and, more particularly, to improved features for managing and outputting media items.

2. Description of the Related Art

There exist today many styles of sound machines such as home stereos, car stereos, boom boxes, CD players, and hand-held music players (e.g., MP3) for outputting music. Hand-held music players in particular have become increasingly popular as they allow a user to listen to music on the go. That is, because of their size, they can easily be transported wherever the user travels. In some cases, the devices are attached to the user, as for example, using a belt or clip, thereby making them even easier to transport. In fact, because of their ease of transport, they are commonly used when exercising. The user can wear the music player thereby leaving their hands free to exercise. The iPod.RTM. manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif. is one example of a hand-held MP3 player.

In most cases, the music stored in music player is downloaded from a host device such as a personal computer. The personal computer can include music management software that allows a user to sort, store and catalog their music. More particularly, the music management software gives the user the ability to organize their music into playlists, play music, purchase music over the Internet (World Wide Web), run a visualizer to display the music in a visual form, encode or transcode music into different audio formats such as MP3, AIFF, WAV, AAC, and ALE, and transfer music between the personal computer and the music players. iTunes.RTM. manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif. is one example of music management software.

A personal computer may also include other software programs associated with music. By way of example, the personal computer may utilize recording software that allows a user to perform, record and create music. These type of programs typically include features such as instruments, pre-recorded loops, amps, effects and editing tools. GarageBand.RTM. manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif., is one example of a music recording program.

The personal computer may also utilize mixing software that allows a user to perform DJ mixing, live remixing, and mix recording using music in various formats such as MP3. This type of software typically performs many functions including mixing, equalizing, cross fading, looping, tempo determination, pitch and tempo adjustment, etc. In order to synchronize two songs during mixing, mixing programs may be configured to analyze the music files and create beat marks for each song (annotate all the beats of the songs so that they can be matched efficiently during mixing). Furthermore, in order to adjust the tempo of a song without affecting pitch, mixing programs may utilize a technique called phase vocoding, which is one of the more powerful methods of manipulating sounds in the frequency domain. Only recently have personal computers had sufficient processing to make real-time phase vocoding a viable proposition. In the past, algorithms for phase vocoding were of such complexity and personal computers were of limited processing power such that it would often require many hours of processing to acquire each second of audio output. Traktor DJ Studio 2.0 manufactured by Native Instruments of Germany is one example of a mixing program.

Although music player systems utilizing a music player and personal computer work well, there is a continuing need for improved features for managing and outputting music.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates, in one embodiment, to a music method performed on a hand-held computing device. The method generally includes designating an attribute of a song. The method also includes controlling the music output of the computing device based on the designated attribute of the song. The attribute may, for example, correspond to the tempo of the song.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a method performed on a hand-held computing device. The method includes designating a tempo. The method also includes adjusting the tempo of one or more audio tracks being outputted to match the designated tempo.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a method performed on a hand-held computing device. The method includes storing a plurality of audio tracks. Each audio track having a tempo. The method also includes designating a tempo. The method further includes selecting audio tracks from storage with a tempo similar to the designated tempo.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a computer readable medium contained on a hand-held music player and including at least computer code for managing music. The medium includes obtaining the tempo of an event. The medium also includes outputting music. The medium further includes controlling the tempo of the music being outputted based on the tempo of the event.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a hand-held media player. The hand-held media player includes a housing of the media player. The hand-held media player also includes an accelerometer disposed inside the housing of the media player and configured to measure the motion of the media player. The hand-held music player further includes a music storage element disposed inside the housing of the media player and configured to contain one or more music items. The hand-held media player additionally includes a processor disposed inside the housing of the media player, and operatively coupled to the accelerometer and the music storage element. The processor is configured to control the output of the music items based on the motion of the media player.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a method performed on a hand-held media player. The method includes sensing the pace of body motion. The method also includes playing one or more audio tracks. The method further includes adjusting the tempo of each audio track in accordance with changes in body motion.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a method performed on a hand-held music player. The method includes designating a tempo profile. The method also includes outputting one or more audio tracks. The method further includes adjusting the tempo of the audio tracks based on the tempo profile.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a method of transferring data between a host device and a portable media device. The portable media device is capable of storing and playing media items. The method includes, at the host device, designating at least one audio file for downloading to the portable media device. The method also includes, at the host device, generating a tempo tag for each designated audio file. Each tempo tag indicates the tempo of the audio file. The method further includes, at the host device, sending the audio file including the tempo tag to the portable media device.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a method of transferring data between a host device and a portable media device. The portable media device is capable of storing and playing media items. The method includes, at the host device, designating at least one song for downloading to the portable media device. The method also includes, at the host device, producing a music collection for each designated song. Each music collection contains the original version of the designated song and new versions of the designated song. Each new version has a different tempo. The method further includes, at the host device, sending the music collection to the portable media device.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to an operational method for a hand-held music player. The method includes storing music data. The music data includes a plurality of music collections. Each music collection contains an original song and a plurality of differently formatted songs based on the original song. The original and differently formatted songs have different tempos. The music collection is generated separately on a device other than the portable media device. The method also includes designating a desired tempo. The method further includes retrieving at least one song from storage having a tempo that closely matches the desired tempo. The method additionally includes outputting one or more of the retrieved songs.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a portable media device capable of playing music. The portable media device includes a storage device containing downloaded music data. The music data includes a plurality of music collections. Each music collection includes an original song and plurality of different versions of the original song. Each song in the music collection has an attribute with a different value. The portable media device also includes a processor configured to control the supply of songs to a speaker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an illustration of an audio file signal, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is an illustration of a tag with beats annotated, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a music method performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a music method performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a music method performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a music method performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a music player system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a media player system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an operational method, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A-10I show various screen shots of a computing device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 11A-11E show various work out programs, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an operational method performed on a portable media device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an operational method performed on a portable media device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a media management system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a media player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is method of transferring data between a host device and a portable media device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is method of transferring data between a host device and a portable media device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is perspective view of a hand-held computing device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a user jogging with a music player attached to the arm, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a music player moving up and down in accordance with a user's steps, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary signal produced by an accelerometer, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a side elevation view of a hand-held computing device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a side elevation view of a hand-held computing device, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is well documented that music can affect the mood and behavior of people. For example, different compositions of music may be used for relaxing, romancing, dancing, exercising, etc. During exercise in particular, music can be used to motivate, speed and drive the intensity of the workout. For example, it is generally believed that if the music is invigorating and inspiring people will be more motivated to work out. Because of this, most gyms play music with an upbeat tempo to keep people motivated during their work out. Furthermore, some studies have shown that joggers who exercised with music had greater endurance, worked out longer and felt better about the workout than those who worked out without music.

One attribute of music that is believed to be tied strongly to mood and behavior is tempo. Tempo, which is often measured in beats per minute (bpm), is the speed at which an element or composition is played. The tempo of music typically ranges between 50 and 200 beats per minute. Although tempo sets the basic pace of music, it should be noted that the rhythm of the music can also have an impact on the perceived pace (so it too can affect a person's mood and behavior).

With regards to exercising, it is generally believe that the speed of the music influences the pace of a person's workouts since the body automatically tries to keep in synch with the music. Because of this, slower tempos, which tend to produce a more relaxed state, are typically used when stretching, warming up or cooling down, while faster tempos, which tend to produce a more excited state, are typically used when strength training or performing cardio work outs. In fact, some studies have shown that sedative music (low tempo) is great for stretching but bad for strength training, and that stimulating music (high tempo) is good for strength training but bad for stretching.

The invention generally pertains to a hand-held music player. The term hand-held music player is primarily directed at music storage players such as MP3 music players, although it may also be directed at any hand-held personal computing device capable of outputting music as, for example, a game player, a video player, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and/or the like. More particularly, the invention pertains to a music player that is capable of controlling the speed of the music so as to affect the mood and behavior of the user during an activity such as exercise. By way of example, the speed of the music can be controlled to match the pace of the activity (synching the speed of the music to the activity of the user) or alternatively it can be controlled to drive the pace of the activity (increasing or decreasing the speed of the music to encourage a faster or slower pace).

One aspect of the invention relates to adjusting the tempo (or some other attribute) of music being outputted from a music player. By way of example, a song's tempo may be increased or decreased before or during playing. This is typically accomplished in real time (on the fly) in the music player. Another aspect of the invention relates to selecting music for outputting based on tempo (or some other attribute). For example, the music player may play songs having a particular tempo. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to both selecting music based on tempo and adjusting the tempo of the music.

These and other embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 1-23. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a music player 10, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The music player 10 includes a music manager 12 and a music store 14, both of which can be embodied as software or hardware or a combination of software and hardware. The music manager 12 controls the audio output of music files 16 stored in the music store 14. During operation, for example, the music manager 12 selects an audio track 18 from the music files 16 and outputs the audio track 18 in the form of an audio track.

In accordance with one embodiment, the music manager 12 is configured to select audio tracks 18 with particular characteristics and/or adjust characteristics of the audio tracks 18 to meet a particular need. In so doing, the music can be more closely matched to a users mood and circumstances, and in some cases drive the mood and circumstances of the user. For example, the music manager 12 can select an audio track or adjust the characteristics of the audio track to match the behavior of the user, and/or it can select an audio track or adjust the characteristics of the audio track to encourage or drive the behavior of the user.

In one implementation, the music manager 12 is configured to adjust the tempo of an audio track or an audio track (as it is being outputted). This may be accomplished via a user selection or some external event. In the case of user selection, the user may set a desired tempo, and thereafter the media manager 12 may adjust the tempo of the audio tracks to match the desired tempo. In the case of events, the media manager may monitor an event and adjust the tempo of the audio track 18 based on the tempo of the event. In either case, the tempo may be adjusted incrementally or continuously (real time). When incrementally, the media manager 12 may sample the user selection or event at various times, and therefore only adjust the tempo at various times. When continuously, the media manager 12 continuously samples the user selection or event while the audio track 18 is being output, and simultaneously adjusts the tempo of the audio output with the tempo of the user selection or event as it changes.

The user selection may be performed in a variety of ways. In one example, the user selection is made through a GUI and a button or wheel that operates a slider bar on the GUI. The desired tempo changes as the slider bar is moved to various positions. The user can therefore select a desired tempo by simply moving the slider bar to a position associated with the desired tempo. Once a tempo is set, the music manager 12 can adjust the tempo of the audio track 18 accordingly. For example, if the user selects 120 beats per minute, and the audio track has a tempo of 140 beats per minute, then the music manager 12 can decrease the tempo of the audio track 18 from 140 bpm to 120 bpm thereby matching the tempo of the audio track with the selected tempo.

The events, which are typically monitored by the music manager 12, may be widely varied. In one example, the user events are associated with a body metric such as body motion, heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and the like. In most cases, these types of events are measured via sensors that send signals to the music manager 12 that are proportional to the tempo of the user event. For example, when the user event is body motion, and more particularly jogging, the sensors may send a signal indicative of the number of steps per minute, which can then be translated by the music manager 12 to beats per minute (bpm). For example, each step may represent one beat. The music manager after determining the tempo (bpm) of the user event can adjust the tempo of the audio track accordingly. For example, if the audio track has a tempo of 120 beats per minute, and the user event has a tempo of 140 beats per minute, then the music manager 12 can increase the tempo of the audio track from 120 bpm to 140 bpm thereby matching the tempo of the audio track with the tempo of the user event. Alternatively, the sensor itself may translate the step/m to beat/m.

In another implementation, the media manager 12 is configured to select audio tracks having tempos that closely match a desired tempo. The desired tempo may be based on a user selection or on some user event such as a body metric. For example, the user may set a desired tempo, and thereafter the media manager 12 may browse through all the music files 16 stored in the music store 14 looking for audio tracks 18 with similar tempos. Alternatively, the media manager 12 may monitor a user event, and thereafter the media manager 12 may browse through all the music files 16 stored in the music store 14 looking for audio tracks 18 with tempos similar to the user event. In either case, once matches are made, the media manager 12 outputs only those audio tracks, which have tempos that closely match the desired tempo.

In some cases, the music files 16 may contain multiple versions of the same audio track 18. Each version has a different tempo and therefore more audio tracks 18 may be made available for outputting. By way of example, the music files 16 may contain the original version 18A as well as one or more increased tempo versions 18B, and one or more decreased tempo versions 18C. The different versions may be part of the original music file, or they may be created when the music file is downloaded either to a host device that serves the music player 10 or to the music player 10 itself. Furthermore, in order to make it easier on the music manager 12 (save time and processing power), each audio track 18 may include a tag 20 that indicates the tempo of the audio track 18. The tag 20 may be part of the original music file, or it may be created when the music file is acquired (e.g., downloaded). By providing tags 20, the music manager 12 does not have to determine the tempo of each audio track 18 on its own. It simply has to select the audio tracks 16 with the desired tempo by looking at the tags 20. The tags and formats may be associated with metadata.

The tag may be a simple number such as 120 bpm or it may be based on the score that has the beats annotated. FIG. 2A is an example of an audio output signal, and FIG. 2B is an example of a preprocessed tag with the beats annotated for the audio output signal.

In yet another implementation, the music manager 12 is configured to both select audio tracks 18 having tempos that closely match a desired tempo, and to adjust the tempo of the audio track as it is being outputted. This is a combination of the two embodiments mentioned above. This particular embodiment may be used to reduce the processing power typically required to adjust the tempo of the audio track 18 at the music player 10. Because the tempo of the audio track has already been pre-selected to closely match the desired tempo, only small adjustments need to be made to more closely match the tempo of the audio track with the desired tempo. For example, if the desired tempo is 120 bpm, the music manager may select audio tracks having tags that indicate between about 115 bpm and about 125 bpm, and thereafter the music manager may adjust the audio track to bring it to 120 bpm.

Although the embodiments described above are primarily directed at "tempo matching" it should be noted that this is not a limitation and that the music manager may also be configured to drive events based on the tempo. For example, the music manager can select or adjust the tempo of music to illicit a change in a user event such as a body metric (e.g., the music manger can slow the tempo, thereby causing the user to slow their pace or the music manger can speed up the tempo, thereby causing the user to speed up their pace).

FIG. 3 is a music method 50 performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method generally includes blocks 52 and 54. In block 52, an attribute of a song is designated. The attribute may for example correspond to tempo, rhythm, pitch, and the like. The designation may be accomplished by a user selection, i.e., a user selects the attribute and its desired value. The attribute is typically fixed once it is selected, i.e., it doesn't change until a user selects another attribute or another value. The designation may also be accomplished by monitoring an event such as a media player event, a user event, or the like. In this case, the attribute may be fixed or it may vary over time.

In block 54, the music output of the media player is controlled based on the designated attribute of the song. The music can be controlled in a variety of ways. In some cases, the actual attribute of the song is adjusted based on the designated attribute. For example, the actual attribute may be increased or decreased to match the designated attribute. In other cases, the songs that are selected for playing are based on the designated attribute. For example, only those songs with an actual attribute that matches the designated attribute may be played.

FIG. 4 is a music method 60 performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method begins at block 62 where a tempo indicator is obtained. The tempo indication may be generated by a user selection or by monitoring some event. Once a tempo indicator is obtained, the method proceeds to block 64 where an audio track is obtained. For example, once a an audio track is selected, the media player begins playing the audio track so that is can be transmitted to a speaker or headset. The method also includes block 66, which can occur before or during the playing (block 64). In block 66, the tempo of the audio track is adjusted based on the tempo indicator. In some cases, the tempo of the audio track is adjusted to match the tempo indicator, and in other cases, the tempo of the audio track is adjusted to effect a change, but not necessarily to match the two tempos. That is, the tempo indicator may be used to drive the tempo up and down in conjunction with some rules. For example, the tempo of the music may be a multiple or divisor of the user's pace (2/3.times., 3/4.times., 2.times., 3.times., etc.).

FIG. 5 is a music method 70 performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method begins at block 72 where a plurality of songs, each of which has a tempo, are stored. The songs may for example be stored in memory. Thereafter in block 74, a tempo indicator is obtained. This block is similar to block 64 described above. Following block 74, the method proceeds to block 76 where one or more songs are selected from storage based on the tempo indicator. In some cases, the tempo of the song is selected to match to the tempo indicator, and in other cases, the tempo of the song is selected to effect a change, but not necessarily to match the two tempos. For example, the tempo indicator may be used to drive the tempo of the next song up and down in conjunction with some rules. Thereafter, in block 78, a least one of the selected songs is retrieved from storage and outputted.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the step of obtaining the tempo of a user event such as a body metric may include generating a signal indicative of a user event and extracting tempo information from the user event. By way of example, if the user event is body motion, an accelerometer may be used to generate an acceleration signal indicative of the users acceleration, and a controller of some sort may be used to extract the tempo of the users motion from the acceleration signal. During extraction, one or more conversion or filtering steps can be performed in order to transform the user event signal into a tempo indication.

FIG. 6 is a music method 100 performed on a music player, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invent