Patent ID: 7076035
Filing Date: 2006-07-11
Classification: G10H,H04M

Abstract:
1. A method for providing on-hold music in a telephony environment such as a PBX comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of music generation engines in a telephony system, wherein each of the music generation engines generates music of a plurality of styles of music, wherein the music generation engines collectively can generate a plurality of styles of music; receiving telephone calls from a plurality of users, wherein the plurality of users are placed on-hold by the telephony system; providing one or more audio prompts to each of the plurality of users, wherein the one or more audio prompts inform each of the plurality of users of the plurality of styles of music that can collectively be generated by the music generation engines and commands that may be entered by each of the plurality of users via one or more telephony inputs to select a particular style of music as on-hold music; detecting via the telephony system one or more first commands input by a particular user of the plurality of users; based on the detected one or more first commands, selectively controlling a first music generation engine of the plurality of music generation engines to automatically compose on-hold music that is audibly provided to the particular user; wherein, in response to the one or more first commands entered by the particular user, on-hold music of a particular style is selected by the particular user and the first music generation engine is controlled to generate via autocomposition on-hold music of the particular style selected by the particular user, wherein the on-hold music of the particular style selected by the particular user is modified based on one or more second commands entered by the particular user, wherein the first music generation engine is controlled to generate modified on-hold music of the particular style selected by the particular user based on the one or more second commands entered by the particular user.