Generating music and sound that varies from playback to playback
2010-03-30 00:00:00
AbstractA method and apparatus for the creation and playback of music, audio and sound; such that each time a composition is played back, a different sound sequence is generated in the manner previously defined by the artist. During composition creation, the artist's definition of how the composition will vary from playback to playback is embedded into the composition data set. During playback, the composition data set is processed by a playback device incorporating a playback program, so that each time the composition is played back a unique version is generated. Variability occurs during playback per the artist's composition data set, which specifies: the spawning of group(s) from a snippet; the selection of snippet(s) from each group; editing of snippets; flexible and variable placement of snippets; and the combining and/or mixing of multiple snippets to generate each time sample in one or more channels. MIDI-like variable compositions and the variable use of segments comprised of MIDI-like command sequences are also disclosed.Claims<br /><br />I claim:<br /><br /> 1. A method for generating music or sound, comprising: providing at least one group of alternative sound segments; providing at least one initiating sound segment, wherein aninitiating sound ...

Multi-feature speech/music discrimination system
2010-03-29 00:00:00
different types of sounds. For example, one such discrimination technique is disclosed in Saunders, "Real-time Discrimination Of Broadcast Speech/Music," Proceedings of IEEE ICASSP, 1996, pages 993-996. In this technique, statistical features which are based upon the zero-crossing rate of an audio signal are computed, and form one set of inputs to a classifier. As a second type of input, energy-based features are utilized. The classifier in this case is a multi-variate Gaussian classifier which separates the feature space into two domains, respectively corresponding to speech and music.

As illustrated by the Saunders article, the accuracy with which an audio signal can be classified as containing either speech or music can be significantly increased by considering multiple features of a sound signal. It is one object of the present invention to provide a speech-music discriminator in which the analysis of an audio signal to classify its sound content is based upon an optimum combination of features for a given environment.

Depending upon the number and type of features that are considered in the analysis of the audio signal, different classification frameworks may exhibit different degrees of accuracy. The primary objective of a multi-variate classifier, which receives multiple type of inputs, is to account for variances between classes of input that can be explained in terms of interactions between the measured features. In essence, every classifier determines a "decision boundary" in the applicable feature space. A maximum a posteriori Gaussian classifier, such as that described in the Saunders article, defines a quadric surface, such as a hyperplane, hypersphere, hyperellipsoid, hyperparaboloid, or the like, between the classes. All data points on one side of this boundary are classified as speech, and all points on the other are considered to be music. This type of classifier may work well in those situations where the data can be readily divided into two distinct clusters, which can be separated by such a simple decision boundary. However, there may be situations in which the dispersion of the data for the different classes is somewhat homogenous within the feature space. In such a case, the Gaussian decision boundary is not as reliable. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a speech/music discriminator having a classifier that permits arbitrarily complex decision boundaries to be employed, and thereby increase the accuracy of the discrimination.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a set of features is provided which can be selectively employed to distinguish speech content from music in an audio signal. In particular, eight different features of a digital audio signal can be measured to analyze the signal. In addition, higher level information is obtained by calculating the variance of some of these features within a predefined time window. More particularly, certain features differ in value between voiced and unvoiced speech. If both types of speech are captured within the time window, the variance will be relatively high. In contrast, music is likely to be constant within the time window, and therefore will have a lower variance value. The differences in the variance values can therefore be employed to distinguish speech sounds from music. By combining data from some of the base features with data from other features, such as the variance features, significant increases in the discrimination accuracy are obtained.

In another aspect of the invention, a "nearest-neighbor" type of classifier is used to distinguish speech data samples from music data samples. Unlike the Gaussian classifier, the nearest-neighbor classifier estimates local probability densities within every area of the feature space. As a result, arbitrarily complex decision boundaries can be generated. In different embodiments of the invention, different types of nearest-neighbor classifiers are employed. In the simplest approach, the nearest data point in the feature space to a sample data point is identified, and the sample is labeled as being of the same class as the identified nearest neighbor. In a second embodiment, a number of data points within the feature space that are nearest to the sample data point are determined, and the new sample point is classified by a voting technique among the nearest points in the feature space. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the number of nearest data points in the feature space that are employed for such a decision is small, but greater than unity.

In a third embodiment, a K-d tree spatial partitioning technique is employed. In this embodiment, a K-d tree is constructed by recursively partitioning the feature space, beginning with the dimension along which features vary the most. With this approach, the decision boundary between classes can become arbitrarily complex, in dependen...

Musical scale indicator
2010-03-26 00:00:00
AbstractThe musical scale indicator according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is composed of two cooperating parts. A base is provided having thereon printed information pertaining to a particular musical instrument and which, in addition, has printed thereon fingering patterns for playing tones on that instrument arranged in a predetermined sequence indicative of any number of desired musical scales. A slidable, clear overlay is slidably connected with the base. The overlay has printed thereon the letter designations for the musical tones arranged in a predetermined sequence so as to cooperate with the fingering patterns indicated on the base in order to selectively indicate to the user the finger positions on the subject musical instrument that will produce the tones of a selected musical scale and simultaneously the finger positions on that instrument that will produce those tones.ClaimsWhat is claimed is:<br /><br />1. A music scale indicator, comprising:<br /><br />a base having a first flat surface, said first flat surface having a first indicia placed thereon indicating fingering patterns for playing at least three pre-selected music scales in selected tonics on a pre-selected musical instrument, said first indicia comprising fingering indicia for indicating fingering patterns for playing said pre-selected music scales on said pre-selected musical instrument and lead note indicia for indicating a lead note location of each fingering pattern of said fingering patterns for each said pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales;<br /><br />an overlay having a second flat surface positioned in parallel relation with said first flat surface of said base; said overlay being constructed of a material which permits seeing through said overlay so that said second flat surface of said overlay and said first flat surface of said base may be simultaneously seen, said second flat surface of said overlay having a second indicia placed thereon indicating a simulated finger board of said pre-selected musical instrument, said simulated finger board indicating fingering positions for said pre-selected musical instrument, said second indicia further indicating a chromatic scale tone letter for each fingering position of said fingering positions for said pre-selected musical instrument, the chromatic tone letters being arranged in chromatic scale sequence, said overlay being slidably moved relative to said base so as to selectively indicate fingering positions for playing a selected music scale in a selected tonic on said simulated finger board of said pre-selected musical instrument, said selected tonic for said selected music scale being selected by sliding said overlay relative to said base until a selected chromatic scale tone letter that defines said selected tonic on said overlay aligns with a selected lead note indicia that indicates the selected music scale on said base, selection of said selected tonic for the selected music scale also simultaneously selecting a particular tonic respectively for each other music scale of said pre-selected music scales, a tonic being selected wherever a chromatic scale tone letter of said chromatic tone letters on said second surface of said overlay aligns with a lead not indicia on said first surface of said base, said selected fingering indicia for the selected music scale in the selected tonic and for each other music scale in its respective particular tonic being indicated wherever a tone letter indicia overlays a fingering pattern indicia; and<br /><br />attachment means connected with said base for attaching said overlay to said flat surface of said base so that said second flat surface of said overlay may be selectively slid relative to said first flat surface of said base.<br /><br />2. The music scale indicator of claim 1, wherein each fingering pattern of said fingering patterns on said base is a fingering pattern for each pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales arranged in sequence of playing selected scale notes from the chromatic scale on said finger board of said pre-selected musical instrument.<br /><br />3. The music scale indicator of claim 2, wherein said pre-selected music scales comprise seven music scales; further wherein said fingering patterns comprise fingering patterns for Major, Minor, Locrian, Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian, and Dorian music scales.<br /><br />4. The music scale indicator of claim 3, wherein said pre-selected musical instrument is selected from the group consisting of string instruments, brass and woodwind instruments and percussion instruments.<br /><br />5. The music scale indicator of claim 4, wherein said pre-selected musical instrument is selected from the group consisting of guitar, alto-saxophone and piano.<br /><br />6. A music scale indicator, comprising: <br /><br />a base having a first flat surface, said first flat surface having a first indicia placed thereon indicating fingering patterns for playing pre-selected music scales in selected tonics on a pre-selected musical instrument, said pre-selected music scales comprising Major, Minor, Mixolydian, Phrygian, Locrian, Lydian and Dorian music scales, said first indicia comprising fingering indicia for indicating fingering patterns for playing said pre-selected music scales on said pre-selected musical instrument and lead note indicia for indicating a lead note location of each fingering pattern of said fingering patterns for each said pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales;<br /><br />an overlay having a second flat surface positioned in parallel relation with said first flat surface of said base; said overlay being constructed of a material which permits seeing through said overlay so that said second flat surface of said overlay and said first flat surface of said base may be simultaneously seen, said second flat surface of said overlay having a second indicia placed thereon indicating a simulated finger board of said pre-selected musical instrument, said simulated finger board indicating fingering positions for said pre-selected musical instrument, said second indicia further indicating a chromatic scale tone letter for each fingering position of said fingering positions for said pre-selected musical instrument, the chromatic scale tone letters being arranged in chromatic scale sequence, said overlay being slidably moved relative to said base so as to indicate fingering positions for playing a selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales in a selected tonic on said simulated finger board of said pre-selected musical instrument, said selected tonic for said selected music scale being selected by sliding said overlay relative to said base until a selected chromatic scale tone letter that defines said tonic on said overlay aligns with a selected lead note indicia that indicates the selected scale on said base, selection of said selected tonic for the selected music scale also simultaneously selecting a particular tonic respectively for each other music scale of said pre-selected music scales, a tonic being selected wherever a chromatic scale tone letter of said chromatic tone letters on said second surface of said overlay aligns with a lead note indicia on said first surface of said base, said selected fingering indicia for the selected music scale in the selected tonic and for each other music scale in its respective particular tonic being indicated wherever a tone letter indicia overlays a fingering pattern indicia; and<br /><br />attachment means connected with said base for attaching said overlay to said flat surface of said base so that said second flat surface of said overlay may be selectively slid relative to said first flat surface of said base.<br /><br />7. The music scale indicator of claim 6, wherein each fingering pattern of said fingering patterns on said base is a fingering pattern for each pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales arranged in sequence of playing selected scale notes from the chromatic scale on said finger board of said pre-selected musical instrument.<br /><br />8. The music scale indicator of claim 7, wherein said pre-selected musical instrument is selected from the group consisting of string instruments, brass and woodwind instruments and percussion instruments.<br /><br />9. The music scale indicator of claim 8, wherein said pre-selected musical instrument is selected from the group consisting of guitar, alto-saxophone and piano.<br /><br />10. A method for finding fingering locations on a musical instrument for playing a selected music scale in a selected tonic and simultaneously for at least two other music scales in a particular respective tonic, comprising the steps of:<br /><br />placing fingering patterns for playing at least three pre-selected music scales in selected tonics on a pre-selected musical instrument onto a base, said fingering patterns comprising fingering indicia for indicating fingering patterns for playing each pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales, said fingering patterns further comprising lead note indicia for indicating a lead note location of each fingering pattern of said fingering patterns for each said pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales;<br /><br />placing a simulated finger board indicia onto a transparent overlay, said simulated finger board indicia indicating fingering positions for said pre-selected musical instrument, a chromatic scale tone letter being provided for each said fingering position, the chromatic scale tone letters being arranged in chromatic scale sequence; and<br /><br />aligning said overlay relative to said base so as to align a selected chromatic tone letter that defines said selected tonic on said overlay with a selected lead note indicia that indicates the selected music scale on said base, selection of said selected tonic for the selected music scale also simultaneously selecting a particular tonic respectively for each other music scale of said pre-selected music scales, a tonic being selected wherever a chromatic scale tone letter of said chromatic tone letters on said second surface of said overlay aligns with a lead note indicia on said first surface of said base, the fingering locations on said pre-selected musical instrument being indicated for the selected music scale in the selected tonic and for each other music scale in its respective particular tonic wherever a tone letter indicia overlays a fingering pattern indicia.<br /><br />11. The method for finding tones playable on a musical instrument of claim 10, wherein the first said step of placing further provides for each fingering pattern of said fingering patterns on said base having a fingering pattern for each pre-selected music scale of said pre-selected music scales arranged in sequence of playing selected scale notes from the chromatic scale on said finger board of said pre-selected music instrument.<br /><br />12. The method for finding tones playable on a musical instrument of claim 11, wherein the first said step of placing provides fingering patterns for Major, Minor, Locrian, Mixolydian, Lydian, Phrygian, and Dorian music scales; and said step of aligning results in a respective tonic being selected for each said pre-selected music scale, said step of aligning further providing a fingering pattern for each said pre-selected music scale in its said respective tonic.<br /><br />13. The method for finding tones playable on a musical instrument of claim 12, wherein the first step of placing provides fingering indicia and the second step of placing provides simulated fingering board indicia for a pre-selected musical instrument selected from the group consisting of string instruments, brass and woodwind instruments and percussion instruments.<br /><br />14. The method for finding tones playable on a musical instrument of claim 13, wherein the first step of placing provides fingering indicia and the second step of placing provides simulated fingering board indicia for a pre-selected musical instrument selected from the group consisting of guitar, alto-saxophone and piano.DescriptionBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />1. Field of the Invention:<br /><br />The present invention relates to a device for indicating musical notes playable in any musical scale; more particularly, the present invention is an indicator for musical notes playable in any musical scale with said notes being visually associated with the finger boards used to play selected musical instruments.<br /><br />2. Description of the Prior Art:<br /><br />A. Basic Music Theory, Tonality, Musical Scales, and Musical Instruments<br /><br />There are many different styles of music. But, every style of music is based upon a predetermined progression of tones. Tones, or notes, are variations in pitch (sound frequency) produced ...

Musical apparatus using multiple light beams to control musical tone signals
2010-03-25 00:00:00
AbstractA musical apparatus which controls a variety of parameters of musical tones by detecting motion of an object in a space adjacent to the musical apparatus. More specifically, the musical apparatus may comprise a musical tone signal generator which generates a musical tone signal, at least one light source which radiates light beams into a space adjacent to the musical apparatus, at least one light detector which detects at least two light beams reflected from an object in the space and generates a detection value for each of said at least two light beams, a computing element which receives the detection values and generates a synthesized value; and a controller which controls parameters of musical tones based on the synthesized value. For example, the synthesized value may be the sum of the detection values, the difference between the detection values, the ratio between the detection values, or some other relationship between the detection values.Claims<br /><br />What is claimed is:<br /><br />1. An electronic sound generating system which responds to the motion of an object in a space exterior to the electronic musical system in order to control a sound function, the system comprising:<br /><br />at least one radiation source that emits radiation into a space outside the electronic sound generating system where the emitted radiation hits an object in the space;<br /><br />at least one detector that detects radiation reflected along at least two paths from the object in the space outside the electronic sound generating system to detect motions of the object;<br /><br />a controller for generating a control signal for controlling the sound function dependent on the motions of the object; and<br /><br />a tone generator for generating a sound that is at least partially dependent upon the sound function.<br /><br />2. The system of claim 1, wherein the radiation source that emits radiation comprises a light source that emits at least one light beam and wherein the detector that detects radiation comprises a light detector that detects light reflected along at least two paths from the object.<br /><br />3. The system of claim 1, wherein the sound function is an audio signal.<br /><br />4. The system of claim 1, Wherein the sound function is a tone signal. <br /><br />5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sound function is an electronic audio control signal.<br /><br />6. The system of claim 5, wherein the electronic audio control signal comprises a MIDI signal.<br /><br />7. An electronic audio control system which responds to the motion of an object in a space exterior to the electronic musical system in order to control a sound function, the system comprising:<br /><br />at least one radiation source that emits radiation into a space outside the electronic musical system where the emitted radiation hits an object moving in the space;<br /><br />at least one detector that detects radiation reflected from the object in the space outside die electronic audio control system and produces at least two detection values therefrom, the detection values being dependent upon the motion of the object; and<br /><br />a controller for generating a control signal for controlling the sound function dependent on the motions of the object.<br /><br />8. The system of claim 7, wherein the radiation source that emits radiation comprises a light source that emits at least one light beam and wherein the detector that detects radiation comprises a light detector that detects light reflected along at least one path from the object.<br /><br />9. The system of claim 7, wherein the sound function is an audio signal.<br /><br />10. The system of claim 7, wherein the sound function is a tone signal.<br /><br />11. The system of claim 7, wherein the sound function is an electronic audio control signal.<br /><br />12. The system of claim 11, wherein the electronic audio control signal comprises a MIDI signal.Description<br /><br />FIELD OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />The field of the invention is electronic musical apparatuses such as electronic musical instruments, music-related sound generation devices, music-related sound modification devices, and their controllers, including, for example, synthesizers, keyboards, drum machines, effects processors, effects pedals, sequencers and sound modules. More specifically, the electronic musical apparatus embodying the invention is controlled by detecting the location and/or movement of an object (e.g., a hand) within a space by using a plurality of light beams, including infrared light beams.<br /><br />BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />An electronic musical apparatus which detects reflected light to control the musical tone signal is known. Such a device was disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application Publication Number SHO 58-195296.<br /><br />Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application Publication Number SHO 58-195296 discloses attaching a light quantity detection apparatus in order to detect and sense the amount of ambient light outside an electronic musical apparatus. It reacts to the amount of light that has been sensed by the light quantity detection apparatus and controls parameters that are related to the musical tone (hereinafter, simply referred to as "parameters") such as the musical interval, timbre and volume.<br /><br />However, in the device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application Publication Number SHO 58-195296, the amount of light is detected by a single light quantity detection apparatus, and there is no disclosure in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application Publication Number SHO 58-195296 of the detection of a plurality of light quantities.<br /><br />In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,687 discloses that a space is irradiated with light such as infrared light, mutually different sound pitches are assigned in advance to the multiple number of light beams reflected from the specified objects in the space, said multiple number of reflected light beams are detected and musical tone signals are produced that possess pitches which conform to the reflected light beams that have been detected.<br /><br />However, in the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,687, if a plurality of reflected light beams are detected, the device controls the musical tone signal based only on one of the reflected light beams, the one that is detected first. U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,687 does not disclose that controlling musical tone signals by means of the joint action of a multiple number of reflected light beams.<br /><br />SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />A first, separate aspect of the present invention is a new control mode for musical tone signals where the musical tone signal is controlled by means of the joint action of a plurality of reflected light beams.<br /><br />A second, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which has a plurality of light sources to radiate light into a space and a single light detector which detects light reflected off an object in space.<br /><br />A third, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which sets conditions and determines whether the results of the detection of light reflected off an object in space satisfy those conditions.<br /><br />A fourth, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which controls a musical tone based on whether conditions are satisfied by the results of the detection of light reflected off an object in space.<br /><br />A fifth, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which controls a musical tone based on which conditions are satisfied by the results of the detection of light reflected off an object in space.<br /><br />A sixth, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which has a single detector which detects light beams from a plurality of light sources such as infrared radiation such that the results of this detection controls a variety of parameters of musical tones.<br /><br />A seventh, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus that uses a plurality of light detectors to detect light beams from a single light source such that the results of this detection controls a variety of parameters of musical tones.<br /><br />An eighth, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which locates two light emitters in an outwardly inclined manner on the casing of the musical apparatus in order to reduce the size of the casing.<br /><br />A ninth, separate aspect of the present invention are steps formed in an opened port in the casing of the musical apparatus which prevent diffused reflection from being received by the light detector.<br /><br />A tenth, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which controls the order in which types of parameters of musical tones are changed.<br /><br />An eleventh, separate aspect of the invention is a musical apparatus which uses the sum, difference, ratio or other relationship between the detection results of two detected light beams to control a parameter of a musical tone.<br /><br />A twelfth, separate aspect of the present invention is a musical apparatus which does not require a one-to-one correspondence of light emitters to light detectors.<br /><br />BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS<br /><br />The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:<br /><br />FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic musical apparatus having the musical apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention;<br /><br />FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation panel of the electronic musical apparatus;<br /><br />FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a control table;<br /><br />FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a setting table;<br /><br />FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a buffer;<br /><br />FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt routine;<br /><br />FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for processing of a first infrared LED;<br /><br />FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for processing of a second infrared LED;<br /><br />FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for overall processing;<br /><br />FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for a conversion table of sensor output value;<br /><br />FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of the musical apparatus according to the present invention;<br /><br />FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment with respect to the light emitter and light detector;<br /><br />FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment with respect to the light emitter and light detection;<br /><br />FIG. 14. is an explanatory diagram for explaining the assignment of parameters;<br /><br />FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the assignment of parameters;<br /><br />FIGS. 16(a), (b), and (c) are explanatory diagrams each showing a casing wherein (a) is a top view, (b) is a sectional view taken along the line 16b--16b of (a), and (c) is a view taken in the direction of the arrow C in (b);<br /><br />FIGS. 17(a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams each showing a casing wherein (a) is a sectional view taken along the line 17A--17A of FIG. 16(a), and (b) is a view taken in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 16(a);<br /><br />FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged opened port of the casing;<br /><br />FIGS. 19(a), (b), and (c) are diagrams each showing an example wherein three infrared LEDs are used as light emitters wherein (a) is an example employing three infrared LEDs and one infrared sensor, (b) is an example employing three infrared LEDs and two infrared sensors, and (c) is an example employing three infrared LEDs and two infrared sensors; and<br /><br />FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a conversion table.<br /><br />FIG. 21 is a diagram of another example of a control table.<br /><br />DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT<br /><br />Embodiments of the musical apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.<br /><br />In one embodiment of the present invention, a musical apparatus which detects light rays and uses results of this detection to control musical tones may comprise a plurality of light emitters, a single light detector, and a controller for controlling parameters of musical tone. The light emitter may be a light emitting element such as an infrared light-emitting diode (infrared LED), and a plurality of light emitters may use, for example, two infrared LEDs. Likewise, a light detector may use, for example, a light receiving element such as an infrared sensor. The plurality of light emitters and the single detector are mounted on the main housing of the apparatus. The single detector detects the light rays, which were radiated from the plurality of light emitters and reflected off of a material object in space, independently for every light emitter, and outputs the results detected corresponding to each of the plurality of light emitters, respectively. In response to the detected results, the controller controls or changes parameters of a musical tone.<br /><br />In this embodiment, the plurality of light emitters are, for example, positioned at a prescribed distance (see FIG. 2), or they are positioned such that the direction of radiation of the light emitted from one light emitter is different than that of another light emitter (see FIG. 16), so that when the position of a material object is changed, the light reflected off the material object also changes. The plurality of light emitters emit light in a time-sharing manner, and the single detector outputs the detection result corresponding to the light emitter which emitted light rays synchronously with the timing of the light emission. The musical apparatus may output a detection result corresponding to each one of the plurality of light emitters respectively.<br /><br />An alternative embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of light detectors where at least one detector outputs detection results with respect to a plurality of light emitters. For instance, an embodiment of the present invention may include an apparatus containing three light emitters and two detectors where one of the two detectors outputs detection results with respect to two or three emitters. Accordingly, there is no need for a 1:1 correspondence of light detectors to light emitters, which reduces costs.<br /><br />In another embodiment of the present invention, the musical apparatus which detects light rays and uses the results of this detection to control musical tones may comprises one light emitter, a plurality of detectors, and a controller for controlling parameters of a musical tone. The single light emitter and the plurality of detectors are mounted on the main housing of the apparatus. The plurality of detectors detects the light rays respectively, which were radiated from the single light emitter and reflected off of a material object in space, and outputs the results detected. The controller changes parameters for a musical tone based on the detection results.<br /><br />In this embodiment, a plurality of detectors are, for example, positioned at a predetermined distance, or they are positioned so as to provide differing directivity thereof in their detection regions from one another, so that when a position of the material object in space is changed, a condition in detecting the light reflected by the material object changes.<br /><br />In the musical apparatus containing a plurality of light emitters, at least one light emitter is noticed in the sense that the light radiated from the light emitter is detected by a plurality of detectors. For instance, in an apparatus containing three light emitters and two detectors, one of the three light emitters may be noticed in the sense that the light rays from the light emitter is detected by two detectors. Accordingly, there is no need of a 1:1 correspondence of light emitters to light detectors, which reduces costs.<br /><br />In these embodiments, the musical apparatus may further comprise a selector capable of selecting a desired parameter in a plurality of parameters, and the controller controlling changing modes of parameters selected by the selector in response to the detection results of the detectors.<br /><br />In addition, the musical apparatus may still further comprise a performance mode for controlling or changing parameters of musical tones based on the detection results of a light detector, a setting mode for setting this performance mode, and a controller which, in the setting mode, sets values based on the detection results, and in the performance mode, changes parameters of musical tones based on the values set during the setting mode.<br /><br />FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic musical apparatus embodying the musical apparatus of the present invention where the electronic musical apparatus is constituted such that its entire operation is controlled by the use of a central processing unit (CPU) 10, and more specifically, a bus (BUS) 12 connected the CPU 10; a read-only memory (ROM) 14 storing a program and the like executed by the CPU 10; a random access memory (ROM) 16 having an area for a control table which will be described hereinafter, an area for a buffer, similar areas for executing the program by means of the CPU 10, and a working area; a sequencer 18 in which data of musical performance for a plurality of musical pieces (the expression "data of musical performance for musical pieces" will be hereinafter referred to as "musical piece performance data") and data for musical performance expressing a phrase having a shorter performance period of time than that of musical piece performance data (the expression "data for musical performance expressing a phrase" will be hereinafter referred to as "phrase performance data", and further "phrase performance data which have been stored in a built-in ROM will be referred to as "first phrase performance data", "second performance data", and "third performance data", respectively) have been stored in a built-in ROM and which reads the musical piece performance data and phrase performance data to output the same in accordance with the processing which will be described below; a sound source 20 in which setting conditions for musical tones and the like have been stored in a built-in ROM and which produces musical tone signals on the basis of the musical piece performance data and the phrase performance data outputted from the sequencer 18 to output the signals to a sound system composed of amplifier, loudspeaker and the like; an operating key group 22 including a variety of operating keys for setting a variety of parameters which will be described below for controlling the sequencer 18; and for similar purposes, a display section 24 for displaying setting conditions for a variety of parameters which will be mentioned below and the like; a first infrared LED 26 being the first light emitting element for outputting light rays as a means for emitting light; a second infrared LED 28 being the second light emitting element for outputting light rays as a means for emitting light; and an infrared sensor 30 being a light receiving element for rece...

Thumbrest ring adapter for musical instrument
2010-03-24 00:00:00
AbstractA ring adapter assembly is releasably attachable to a thumbrest of a woodwind musical instrument, such as an oboe, clarinet, English horn or straight saxophone, to provide an attachment ring in those instances when the thumbrest of the instrument does not include a permanent attachment ring. The ring adapter assembly allows a support device to be attached to the musical instrument to relieve the weight on the thumb and hand of a musician playing the instrument. One embodiment of the ring adapter assembly is used with fixed position thumbrests and is adapted to be seated on a top surface of the thumbrest so that an attachment ring within the assembly faces away from the musical instrument. A top portion of the assembly may be moved up and down by an adjustment screw and includes a spring wire which extends around the thumbrest to connect the assembly to the thumbrest. Upward adjustment of the top portion increases the tension on the wire and the downforce applied to the assembly to maintain the assembly seated on the thumbrest. Another embodiment of the ring adapter assembly fixes an attachment ring to an adjustable thumbrest. The position of the ring adapter assembly on the thumbrest is adjustable to compensate for adjustments of the thumbrest in relation to the musical instrument. An attachment component for a monopod strut device is also disclosed. The attachment component is releasably attachable to the ring adapter assembly to support the musical instrument.Claims<br /><br />The invention claimed is:<br /><br />1. A ring adapter assembly for a musical instrument having a thumbrest which includes a horizontal projection extending outward from the instrument toward a musician and under which a thumb of the musician is conventionally placed, said assembly comprising:<br /><br />a body;<br /><br />attachment apparatus for connecting the body to the thumbrest without interfering with placement and position of the musician's thumb under the horizontal projection; and<br /><br />an eye fixed to the body at a position above the horizontal projection of the thumbrest.<br /><br />2. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein the position of the horizontal projection is fixed in relation to the musical instrument, and wherein the body further includes:<br /><br />a base having a bottom surface seated upon a top surface of the horizontal projection.<br /><br />3. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein the body further comprises:<br /><br />a resilient, compressible surface bonded to the bottom surface of the base and adapted to be seated on the horizontal projection. <br /><br />4. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein a vertical post is fixed to a top surface of the horizontal projection of the thumbrest and a receptacle is fixed to the musical instrument to receive the vertical post and adjustably fix the position of the horizontal projection in relation to the musical instrument, and wherein:<br /><br />the body further comprises an elongated horizontal surface defining a vertical opening at one end to receive the vertical post of the thumbrest and allow the horizontal surface to move along the vertical post; and<br /><br />the attachment apparatus includes movement limiting means to fix the location of the horizontal surface relative to the vertical post.<br /><br />5. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein:<br /><br />the horizontal surface further defines a threaded horizontal opening; and<br /><br />the movement limiting means comprises a set screw extending through the threaded horizontal opening to contact the vertical post.<br /><br />6. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein:<br /><br />the body further comprises a vertical surface attached to an end of the horizontal surface opposite the vertical opening; and<br /><br />the eye is fixed to the vertical surface.<br /><br />7. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein the vertical surface and the eye extend below the horizontal surface.<br /><br />8. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein the vertical surface and the eye extend above the horizontal surface.<br /><br />9. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein:<br /><br />the horizontal surface is fixed to the vertical post at a location above the receptacle; and<br /><br />the vertical surface and the eye extend below the horizontal surface.<br /><br />10. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein:<br /><br />the horizontal surface is fixed to the vertical post at a location below the receptacle; and<br /><br />the vertical surface and the eye extend above the horizontal surface.<br /><br />11. A ring adapter assembly as defined in claim 1, in combination with:<br /><br />an attachment component for connecting the ring adapter assembly to a support device for the musical instrument, said attachment component comprising:<br /><br />an elongated body adapted to be connected to the support device; and<br /><br />a connector pivotably connected to the elongated body, said connector pivotable between an open position and a closed position to engage the eye and connect the elongated body to the eye without interfering with the conventional placement and position of the musician's thumb on the thumbrest.<br /><br />12. A ring adapter assembly and attachment component combination as defined in claim 15, wherein the connector includes:<br /><br />a hook; and<br /><br />an actuating handle connected to the hook to pivot the hook to the closed position through the eye and and to pivot the hook to the open position and withdraw the hook from the eye.<br /><br />13. A ring adapter assembly and attachment component combination as defined in claim 12, wherein the elongated body further includes:<br /><br />a longitudinal slot formed at one end of the elongated body to receive the eye; and<br /><br />a transverse slot formed adjacent the one end of the elongated body to capture the hook as the actuating handle moves the hook across the longitudinal slot.<br /><br />14. A ring adapter assembly and attachment component combination as defined in claim 13, wherein the connector further comprises:<br /><br />a biasing device connected between the hook and the elongated body to bias the hook into a position within the transverse slot and extending across the longitudinal slot.<br /><br />15. A ring adapter assembly and attachment component combination as defined in claim 12, wherein the elongated body further includes:<br /><br />a longitudinal slot formed at one end of the elongated body to receive the eye.<br /><br />16. A ring adapter assembly and attachment component combination as defined in claim 15, wherein the elongated body further includes:<br /><br />a transverse slot formed adjacent the one end of the elongated body to capture the hook as the actuating handle moves the hook across the longitudinal slot.Description<br /><br />FIELD OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />This invention relates to musical instruments of the type which are substantially supported by a thumb or hand of the musician while they are being played, such as an oboe, clarinet, English horn or straight saxophone. More particularly, the present invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for selectively connecting an attachment ring to either a fixed or an adjustable thumbrest of a musical instrument which did not previously provide an attachment ring. The attachment ring may be used to attach a support device such as a neck strap or a monopod support of the type described in the aforementioned application to the musical instrument to relieve the musician of some of the fatigue involved when playing the instrument.<br /><br />BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />Certain reed woodwind musical instruments, such as the oboe, the clarinet, the English horn and the straight saxophone, require the musician to hold the instrument by the musician's mouth embouchure and by the musician's hands, while simultaneously requiring the embouchure to be flexible enough to achieve the desired range of reed vibration and requiring the fingers to be flexible and moveable enough to depress all of the keys when playing the instrument. One consequence of these requirements for simultaneous stability and flexibility is that the support arrangement for the instrument can not limit the flexibility of the musician's fingers or mouth. As a result, an oboe, clarinet, English horn and straight saxophone all include a thumbrest which rests on the thumb of the musician's right hand. The thumbrest itself typically comprises a flange which protrudes from the musical instrument, the flange having a flat underside that is supported on the musician's right thumb while the remaining fingers of the right hand are unrestricted to contact the key pads of the instrument. The thumbrest may be fixed in position on the musical instrument or it may be adjusted over a narrow range of positions along the length of the instrument. The fingers and the thumb of the musician's left hand are all available to contact key pads.<br /><br />The substantial majority of the weight of the instrument is supported by the thumb of the musician's right hand, since the embouchure can not support the weight of the instrument and still remain flexible enough to play the instrument, and because the fingers of the left hand must remain free to contact the keypads. As a result, considerable strain in the hand and on the right thumb may be experienced by the musician during prolonged musical performances or practice sessions. For professional and student musicians, the strain may become so unbearable as to hinder their ability to play the instrument. Worse still, repeated strain may cause severe and permanent injuries of a nature similar to repetitive motion injuries.<br /><br />A variety of instrument support devices have been created to relieve the musician of the stress involved with supporting the musical instrument over a prolonged period of time. These devices include both conventional neck straps and chest support devices which are typically connected to an attachment ring mounted on a top side of the thumbrest opposite the underside where the musician's right thumb is placed. In addition to neck straps and chest supports, the attachment ring may also be connected to a monopod support such as the one described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/378,198 for "Extendable Monopod Strut Device For Musical Instrument," filed Jan. 25, 1995.<br /><br />However, not all woodwind musical instruments include an attachment ring on top of the thumbrest. In particular, clarinets and less expensive oboes often do not include such an attachment ring on the thumbrest. In these instances, a neck strap, a chest support or a monopod support can not be directly attached to the thumbrest, and the weight of the musical instrument must be fully supported by the musician's thumb and embouchure.<br /><br />Alternatively, a different means of supporting the musical instrument which is not dependent on a thumbrest attachment ring may be utilized. Such alternative means includes wrist straps which extend from the musician's wrist, between the thumb and forefinger, to the instrument at a location near a bell of the instrument. The lower end of the strap is attached by a belt which is attached around the body of the instrument. The length of the strap is adjusted to position the hand in the desired location and to relieve the weight on the thumb. Wrist support devices of this type have not achieved acceptance, possibly due to the constriction on the hand between the thumb and the forefinger and possibly due to the different feel of the instrument when it is supported near its bell rather than in the middle near its center of balance.<br /><br />A variety of other types of instrument support devices have been used with heavier instruments such as baritones, sousaphones and S-shaped saxophones. However, these other types of support devices are virtually required because of the considerably greater weight of those instruments and would not typically be effective with the smaller woodwind instruments which require a greater degree of dexterity. Thus, in spite of the variety of different types of support devices for a wide variety of different musical instruments, musicians playing the smaller woodwind instruments such as the oboe, the clarinet, the English horn and the straight saxophone typically choose to either support the entire weight of the instrument on their thumb or use a support device connected to an attachment ring on the thumbrest. In those instances where the instrument does not include an attachment ring on the thumbrest, the musician will typically be required to hold the entire weight of the instrument rather than opt for an alternative support device. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has evolved.<br /><br />SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />The present invention provides the capability of attaching a support device, such as a neck strap, chest support or monopod device to a woodwind instrument such as the oboe, the clarinet, the English horn or the straight saxophone when those instruments do not include a permanent eye or attachment ring on the their respective thumbrests. The ability to add such a support device allows a musician to relieve as much of the weight of the musical instrument on the musician's thumb and hand as desired without limiting the position, flexibility or maneuverability of the instrument. A further objective of the present invention is to provide an assembly that allows for the attachment of a support device, where the assembly is relatively small with respect to the size of the musical instrument and where the assembly may be quickly and simply attached to the instrument.<br /><br />In accordance with the above aspects, the present invention relates to a unique ring adapter assembly which may be releasably attached to a thumbrest on the musical instrument to provide an attachment ring to those thumbrests which do not include their own permanent eye or attachment ring. One embodiment of the ring adapter assembly, which is used with fixed position thumbrests, includes a base adapted to be seated on a top surface of the thumbrest (opposite the bottom surface where the musician's thumb is positioned while playing the instrument). The base holds an attachment ring and fits within an open bottom end of a hollow tube. A cap fits within an open top end of the hollow tube and holds the ring in place within the hollow tube. Once the base is seated on the thumbrest, a spring wire attached to the cap is connected around the thumbrest to maint...

Low profile keyboard device and system for recording and scoring music
2010-03-23 00:00:00
AbstractA portable modular music recording device which simply and unobtrusively attaches to a keyboard instrument for purposes of recording live musical performances; and an efficient music microcomputing system in which the captured musical data is digitized and further analyzed to determine note and note expression information when a key has been played. In the modular keyboard device, key and key expression data is captured by means of reflective couplers mounted in the keyboard device, and the information is transmitted to the processing unit. Microcomputer instructions refine the data to a format suitable for serial transmission via a computer-compatible link for ultimate scoring and recording.ClaimsI claim:<br /><br />1. A portable, modular apparatus for acquiring data representative of a live musical performance on a selected keyboard instrument, said apparatus being removable positionable atop aback portion of the keyboard of the instrument, said apparatus comprising:<br /><br />a housing designed with slots to fit atop a predetermined span of black and white keys on the keyboard of the selected keyboard instrument, said housing being structured for disposition atop the back portion of the keyboard and to operativelycover the predetermined span of keys on the keyboard;<br /><br />reflective coupler means disposed within said housing, said reflective coupler means comprising light emitting means disposed to impinge light onto each key on the keyboard covered by said predetermined span means for receiving said lightreflected by each of the keys in accordance with the amount the key is depressed, and means for providing an electrical analog output signal corresponding to the amount of reflected light received from the key, and<br /><br />means operatively connected to said reflective coupler means for monitoring the electrical analog output signal from said electrical analog output signal providing means to acquire data representative of the live musical performance.<br /><br />2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrical analog output signal monitoring means comprises means for enabling each said analog output signal providing means at preselected time intervals.<br /><br />3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said electrical analog output signal monitoring means comprises means for enabling said electrical analog output signal providing means in a preselected sequence.<br /><br />4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said monitoring means comprises means for clocking said electrical analog output signal providing means to acquire data representative of key strike and release velocity.<br /><br />5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said electrical analog output signal clocking means comprises means for clocking said electrical analog output signal sufficiently fast to provide data accurately representative of key strike and releasevelocities.<br /><br />6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said monitoring means comprises means for comparing consecutive electrical analog output signals from a key's electrical analog output signal providing means to determine if the amount of key depression haschanged and means for generating note expression data representative of key strike and release velocity for such key in response to changes in consecutive electrical analog output signals from its associated electrical analog output signal providingmeans. <br /><br />7. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means for converting said data representative of the live musical performance to a form transferable to a computer compatible link.<br /><br />8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said light emitting means comprises a light emitting diode for each covered key.<br /><br />9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said electrical analog output signal providing means comprises, for each covered key, a phototransistor.<br /><br />10. The invention of claim 1 in combination with at least a second said modular apparatus and means for operatively connecting said modular apparatuses.<br /><br />11. The invention of claim 10 wherein each said modular apparatus comprises an encodable module identifying means.<br /><br />12. The invention of claim 10 wherein each said modular apparatus is an octave module comprising a housing operatively covering twelve keys.<br /><br />13. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising means for varying the light intensity to each light emitting means to compensate for differences in reflectivity for individual keys on said keyboard.<br /><br />14. A method for acquiring data representative of a performance on a keyboard instrument comprising:<br /><br />for each key within a selected group of keys on the keyboard instrument,<br /><br />(a) emitting light from a source,<br /><br />(b) impinging the light onto the key,<br /><br />(c) reflecting the light from the key onto a photodetector in accordance with the amount the key is depressed to generate an electrical analog output signal indicative of the amount of key depression,<br /><br />using steps (a), (b), and (c), in accordance with a clock signal, sequentially initiating the electrical analog ouput signal for each key within the group of keys sufficiently frequently to provide a series of electrical analog output signalsrepresentative of key depression as a function of time, comprising key striking and release velocities.<br /><br />monitoring the series of electrical analog output signals for each key to acquire data representative of the performance, and<br /><br />comparing the strengths of consecutive electrical analog output signals within the series from each key within the group of keys to determine if a change in the amount of depression for each key has occurred and generating note expression datarepresentative of key strike and release velocity when the signal strength comparison step indicates a change in key depression has occurred for a key.<br /><br />15. The method of claim 14 further comprising adjusting the amount of light impinging on each key to compensate for differences in reflectivity for each key.<br /><br />16. The method of claim 14 wherein the clock signal is sufficiently fast to provide accurate data for key strike and release velocities.<br /><br />17. The method of claim 14 further comprising converting the acquired data into a form transferable to a computer compatible link.DescriptionBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />This invention relates to a convenient, low cost modular device to be unobtrusively attached to any keyboard instrument which electronically captures musical note and note expression data; and a processing system to convert and transmit the datato computer-compatible interfaces thereby recording live musical performances.<br /><br />Various inventions have been devised to assist musicians in performing, arranging, recording and composing music. An historically early method of recording music which is still in use today is the player piano. Holes, corresponding toparticular notes, are punched in paper which is rotated as the player piano is played. Recording music with this technique requires an entirely different instrument than the piano or substantial adjustments to a conventional piano. U.S. Pat. No.1,194,302, entitled "MUSIC RECORDER," to Liefield, discloses an extremely bulky electrical attachment which is capable of recording musical notes on a rotating sheet of paper to be applied to a conventional keyboard instrument. The device of thisinvention which attaches to the keyboard, however, covers more than half of the keyboard and thus interferes with a musician's efforts at the keyboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,221, entitled, "PLAYER PIANO RECORDING SYSTEM," to Starnes et al, teaches amore modern recording system in which player piano tapes are prepared. This system requires the elaborate and delicate installation of photosensors to the underside of the piano keys. While the invention does not interfere with the musician's use ofthe keyboard, such installation of the apparatus to the keyboard is expensive and requires the services of a skilled piano tuner or electronics technician. This invention is furthermore limited in its application because the purpose of the invention isto create player piano tapes and not a musical score for immediate viewing by the musician. Another example of a musical recording system is given in U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,719, entitled "TAPE ACTIVATED PIANO AND ORGAN PLAYER," to Maillet, which againrequires the elaborate installation of sensitive electronics to the underside of a keyboard, with the accompanying disadvantages of being costly and requiring skilled persons to render the invention useful. U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,267, entitled"ELECTRONIC PLAYER PIANO WITH RECORD AND PLAYBACK FEATURE," to Vincent, teaches an electronic data storage system including a magnetic type recorder/replayer for recording spontaneous musical presentations for replay through a similar instrument. Tocapture the musical data, the invention also requires extensive and expensive modifications to the underside of each key in the instrument. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,456, entitled "MUSIC ENCODING AND DECODING APPARATUS," to Groeschel, for yetanother example of how electronic switching to monitor keyboard action requires bulky circuitry and modification of the keyboard from within the instrument.<br /><br />The sequencer is a viable alternative method of recording music which has been developed in the prior art, although early in its development, the sequencer was a massive network of electronics, often covering walls in a recording studio. Musicians are able to record and immediately play back music with the use of sequencers. A sequencer, in its simplest form, consists of a series of adjustable voltage memories stepped by a clock pulse. The typical analog sequencer uses potentiometersand variable resistors, each including a manually operable dial for establishing a certain DC voltage In order to load the sequencer, the musician manually sets each potentiometer. Thereafter, the bank of potentiometers is scanned sequentially and theDC voltages are read to a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) which then produces the melody or the rhythm. The sequencer thus enables the musician to repeatedly listen to the melody and make changes by varying the potentiometer dials. Sequencers areused to create the familiar insistent machine-beat that has been used in electronic organs. See Keyboard Synthesizer Library, Vol. 3, Synthesizers and Computers, p. 37 (1985). While the sequencer produces the accompaniment, a musician can play the leadline of the same or another keyboard, or even another instrument.<br /><br />With the advent of solid state electronics, smaller and more efficient electronics have been combined in the prior art to produce a digital sequencer. Typical digital sequencers utilize a Read/Write memory storing a plurality of words, each wordbeing coded to represent a note played on the keyboard. Once the memory has been coded, the sequencer can be used to play the keyboard instrument by reading back the data words in the memory in time sequence. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,871, entitled,"APPARATUS FOR STORING SEQUENCES OF MUSICAL TONES," to Oberheim; U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,399, entitled, "AUTOMATIC SEQUENCE GENERATOR FOR A POLYPHONIC TONE SYNTHESIZER," to Deutsch; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,101, entitled "DIGITAL SOLID STATE RECORDING OFTHE SIGNALS CHARACTERIZING THE PLAYING OF A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT," to Ellen. While providing an improved and efficient means of recording music, sequencers do not provide a written means of preserving music on musical score sheets. More importantly,however, sequencers require an electronic musical instrument and have not been adapted to conventional acoustic keyboard instruments, such as the piano.<br /><br />The electronic music revolution has led to the invention of the synthesizer, an electronic musical instrument. Sequencers, as described above, have been incorporated into the synthesizer, so that while the musician plays music on a synthesizerkeyboard, sequencers within the synthesizer plays back various accompaniments that the musician loaded previously into the sequencer. The use of sequencers allows the musician to compose and record various tracks of music. The electronic instrumentsgenerate musical data consisting of a series of binary digits, called bits. A number of digits representing a complete musical expression, such as which note has been played and the particular style, is called a data word. The words are then stored ina memory unit which can store only a finite number of these binary data words. The length of the recorded music, therefore, is limited by the amount of memory in the solid state chips used in digital sequencers. Microprocessor technology provides themeans for storing lengthy sequences by transferring the digitized musical data stored in memory to peripheral devices such as computer diskettes. Examples of electronic musical instruments which incorporate microprocessor technology include the EnsoniqMirage鈩? various Korg polyphonic synthesizers, and the Casio CZ 101鈩?<br /><br />The computer, especially the personal home computer, further revolutionized the electronic music industry with the creation of software capable of interpreting the notes played on the keyboard and printing the music in musical scored form. Themusic industry desired a communication standard to be used among the multitude of electronic music manufacturers and the multitude of available home computers. The standard decided upon was MIDI, an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Inits simplest application, MIDI permits a musician to play two or more instruments from a single keyboard, in order to layer musical tone colors. In its most comprehensive application, MIDI provides the means for realizing a multi-track recorder or acomputer-based composing system by connecting several instruments to a master controller or computer. Computer software is available, furthermore, which can transform the music from digital format to a conventional musical score, both on the computerscreen and as printed out on paper in hard copy. Commercially available software which can convert MIDI data to scored music or to a format to be viewed on a computer terminal for editing purposes include the MIDI Performance Series鈩?by Passport,and the MPS鈩?written by Kentyn Reynolds for IBM-compatible personal computers.<br /><br />The current limitation to the MIDI computer - musical interface is that it requires expensive and complex electronic musical instruments such as synthesizers or sequencers. MIDI was not designed to be adapted for the conventional non-electronicmusical instrument, such as the piano. MIDI Retrofit Kits鈩?are currently available from Forte Music Company to accommodate acoustic pianos; however, these retrofit kits require extensive modification on the underside of the piano keys as has beendescribed on some of the previous efforts to record keyboard music.<br /><br />U.S. patent application Ser. No. 861,317 discloses a keyboard device and system which is mounted on a keyboard to capture, analyze, record, and score musical information. The musical data is captured within this device by optical transmissivecouplers which sense whether a key has been depressed by a wiper and piston assembly which makes contact with the key. It would be desirable to eliminate the pistons and wipers connected to each key as so many parts can cause mechanical and maintenanceproblems.<br /><br />Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, lightweight and unobtrusive device for the purpose of scoring and recording live music performances.<br /><br />It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic device which is both noninvasive, portable and convenient to attach to any keyboard instrument, and which does not require piano tuning or electronics expertise for properinstallation of the keyboard sensing electronics to record and score music.<br /><br />Still another object of the present invention is to provide modular keyboard devices which easily interconnect to span any size or length of any keyboard instrument for purposes of recording and scoring music.<br /><br />Another object of the invention is to provide a modular keyboard device with simplified electronics and a minimal number of wires for sequential capture of key and key expression data.<br /><br />Another object of the invention is provide a reflective coupler method to detect which key is played and the velocity with which a particular key is struck, thus allowing for further musical expressions, such as staccato, legato, pianissimo, orfortissimo to be recorded simultaneously with the performance.<br /><br />A further object of the present invention is to convert analog musical information into digital data compatible with a MIDI interface for ultimate recording and scoring with the use of a personal computer and appropriate software.<br /><br />Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent fro...

Keyboard electronic musical instrument with guitar emulation function
2010-03-20 00:00:00
AbstractA polyphonic electronic musical instrument is provided wherein a keyboard is used to trigger arpeggiated chords which emulate a strumming guitar sound. Select keys are provided for selecting which notes are included in chords to be strummed. At least one triggering device is also provided for triggering chords. The triggering device is constructed to alternate between two trigger states. The triggering device may be a keyboard key, foot pedal, or other device. The instrument operates in such a fashion that two arpeggiated chords of alternating direction (ascending and descending) may be produced during, and at least partially as a result of, one triggering device cycle from one state to the other and back again.Claims<br /><br />What is claimed is:<br /><br />1. An emulator for producing a guitar style performance from a controller, said controller including a user-operated triggering device for triggering arpeggiated chords which a user may alternate between a first trigger state and a second trigger state, and at least twelve keyboard keys assigned to a note select function, each of which a user may alternate between a rest key state and a selected key state, comprising:<br /><br />a digital data processing system which receives trigger state information from said triggering device and key state information from said note select keys, and which sends commands to a tone generating device wherein,<br /><br />a first state change of said triggering device from said first trigger state to said second trigger state when at least two of said note select keys are in said selected key state causes said data processing system to command said tone generating device to initiate production of a plurality of tones corresponding to the selected note select keys in an ascending sequence; and,<br /><br />a second state change of said triggering device from said second trigger state to said first trigger state following said first triggering device state change as said selected note select keys remain in said selected key state causes said data processing system to command said tone generating device to (a) terminate production of said plurality of tones and (b) re-initiate production of said plurality of tones in a descending sequence.<br /><br />2. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />said triggering device is a keyboard key.<br /><br />3. An emulator as in claim 2 wherein,<br /><br />said triggering device key is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and <br /><br />said first and second trigger states are said rest and depressed key positions, respectively.<br /><br />4. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />said triggering device is a vertically reciprocating foot pedal.<br /><br />5. An emulator as in claim 4 wherein,<br /><br />said triggering device foot pedal is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said first and second trigger states are said rest and depressed pedal positions, respectively.<br /><br />6. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />said triggering device is a foot position sensing device which senses horizontal position of at least a portion of one of said user's feet.<br /><br />7. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein,<br /><br />each of said note select keys is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said rest and selected key states are said rest and depressed positions, respectively.<br /><br />8. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />production of all of said tones initiated as a result of said first trigger state change is terminated as a result of said second trigger state change before the tones are re-initiated as a result of said second state change.<br /><br />9. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />each of said tones initiated as a result of said first trigger state change is terminated as a result of said second trigger state change immediately prior to re-initiation; whereby,<br /><br />as a result of said second state change, the highest pitched selected musical tone is muted and re-triggered, then the next lowest pitched selected musical tone is muted and re-triggered, followed by the next lowest tone.<br /><br />10. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />state changes of said triggering device are affected through movement of a human appendage;<br /><br />said data processing system receives information from said triggering device regarding the velocity with which said appendage effects trigger state changes;<br /><br />said commands to initiate tone production include velocity data; and,<br /><br />the velocity values corresponding with commands to initiate tone production for selected tones are a function of the velocity of the appendage movement which triggers the initiation of the selected tones.<br /><br />11. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />said key state information includes information regarding aftertouch pressure applied to selected note select keys;<br /><br />said commands to initiate tone production include velocity data; and,<br /><br />the velocity values for selected tones are a function of aftertouch pressure applied to note select keys near the time of corresponding trigger state change.<br /><br />12. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />said data processing system measures elapsed time between successive triggering device state changes; and,<br /><br />elapse times between successive commands to initiate tone production for selected tones initiated as a result of a trigger state change are a function of the elapsed time between that trigger state change and the preceding trigger state change.<br /><br />13. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />state changes of said triggering device are affected through movement of a human appendage;<br /><br />said data processing system receives information from said triggering device regarding the velocity with which said appendage effects trigger state changes; and<br /><br />elapse times between successive commands to initiate tone production for selected tones initiated as a result of a trigger state change are an inverse function of the velocity of the appendage movement which affected the corresponding trigger state change.<br /><br />14. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />the center-to-center distance between two of said note select keys which correspond with two tones one octave apart is not more than 14.5 centimeters.<br /><br />15. An emulator as in claim 1 wherein;<br /><br />said data processing system communicates with said tone generating device according to a standardized digital protocol.<br /><br />16. An emulator as in claim 15 wherein;<br /><br />said protocol is selected from the group consisting of MIDI and ZIPI.<br /><br />17. A method of generating ascending and descending musical chord arpeggiations comprising:<br /><br />assigning at least twelve of the keys within a keyboard to a note select function;<br /><br />determining which keys are included within a group of said note select keys being held in a selected state by a user;<br /><br />instructing a tone generating device to play an ascending arpeggiation of the notes corresponding with said group of keys in response to a first user-initiated state change of a triggering device from a first trigger state to a second trigger state as said group of keys continue to be held in selected state; and<br /><br />instructing said tone generating device to (a) mute the notes played in response to said first trigger state change and (b) play a descending arpeggiation of the same notes in response to a second user-initiated state change of said triggering device from said second trigger state to said first trigger state as said group of keys continue to be held in selected state.<br /><br />18. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein;<br /><br />said triggering device is a key within said keyboard.<br /><br />19. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 18 wherein,<br /><br />said triggering device key is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said first and second trigger states are said rest and depressed key positions, respectively.<br /><br />20. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein;<br /><br />said triggering device is a foot pedal.<br /><br />21. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 20 wherein,<br /><br />said triggering device foot pedal is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said first and second trigger states are said rest and depressed pedal positions, respectively.<br /><br />22. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein,<br /><br />each of said note select keys is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said rest and selected key states are said rest and depressed positions, respectively.<br /><br />23. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein;<br /><br />production of all of said notes initiated in response to said first triggering device state change is terminated as a result of said second triggering device state change before the notes are re-initiated in response to said second triggering device state change.<br /><br />24. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein;<br /><br />each of said notes initiated in response to said first triggering device state change is terminated as a result of said second triggering device state change immediately prior to re-initiation; whereby,<br /><br />in response to said second state change, the highest pitched selected note is muted and re-triggered, then the next lowest pitched selected note is muted and re-triggered, followed by the next lowest note.<br /><br />25. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 further comprising;<br /><br />measuring the velocity with which a human appendage effects a triggering device state change; and<br /><br />instructing said tone generating device to produce the corresponding arpeggiation at a volume which is a function of the measured appendage velocity.<br /><br />26. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 further comprising;<br /><br />measuring the aftertouch pressure applied to said group of keys near the time of a triggering device state change; and<br /><br />instructing said tone generating device to produce the corresponding arpeggiation at a volume which is a function of the measured aftertouch pressure.<br /><br />27. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 further comprising;<br /><br />measuring elapsed time between successive triggering device state changes; and,<br /><br />instructing said tone generating device to produce said arpeggiations of notes in such a manner that elapse times between successive notes within an arpeggiation are a function of the elapsed time between the triggering device state change which triggered the arpeggiation and the preceding triggering device state change.<br /><br />28. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 further comprising;<br /><br />measuring the velocities with which a human appendage effects triggering device state changes; and<br /><br />instructing said tone generating device to produce said arpeggiations of notes in such a manner that elapse times between successive notes within an arpeggiation are an inverse function of the velocity of the appendage movement which triggered the arpeggiation.<br /><br />29. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein;<br /><br />the center-to-center distance between two of said note select keys which correspond with two notes one octave apart is not more than 14.5 centimeters.<br /><br />30. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 17 wherein;<br /><br />instructions are sent to said tone generating device according to a standardized digital protocol.<br /><br />31. A method of generating arpeggiations as in claim 30 wherein;<br /><br />said protocol is selected from the group consisting of MIDI and ZIPI.<br /><br />32. An emulator for producing a guitar style performance from a controller, said controller including first and second user-operated triggering devices, each of which a user may alternate between a rest trigger state and a selected trigger state, and at least twelve keyboard keys assigned to a note select function, each of which a user may alternate between a rest key state and a selected key state, comprising:<br /><br />a digital data processing system which receives trigger state information from said triggering devices and key state information from said note select keys, and which sends commands to a tone generating device wherein,<br /><br />a state change of said first triggering device from said rest trigger state to said selected trigger state when at least two of said note select keys are in said selected key state causes said data processing system to command said tone generating device to initiate production of a plurality of tones corresponding to the selected note select keys in an ascending sequence; and,<br /><br />a state change of said second triggering device from said rest trigger state to said selected trigger state following said state change of said first triggering device as said selected note select keys and said first triggering device continue to be held in selected state causes said data processing system to command said tone generating device to (a) terminate production of said plurality of tones and (b) re-initiate production of said plurality of tones in a descending sequence.<br /><br />33. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein said processing system<br /><br />(a) allows said tone generating device to continue production of the tones initiated as a result of said state change of said second triggering device when either of said triggering devices is returned to rest state as the other triggering device and said selected note select keys remain in selected state; and<br /><br />(b) commands said tone generating device to terminate production of the tones initiated as a result of said state change of said second triggering device when the triggering device remaining in selected state is returned to rest state.<br /><br />34. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />at least one of said triggering devices is a keyboard key.<br /><br />35. An emulator as in claim 34 wherein,<br /><br />said triggering device key is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said rest and selected trigger states are said rest and depressed key positions, respectively.<br /><br />36. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />at least one of said triggering devices is a foot pedal.<br /><br />37. An emulator as in claim 36 wherein,<br /><br />said triggering device foot pedal is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said rest and selected trigger states are said rest and depressed pedal positions, respectively.<br /><br />38. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein,<br /><br />each of said note select keys is reciprocative between a rest position and a depressed position; and<br /><br />said rest and selected key states are said rest and depressed positions, respectively.<br /><br />39. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />production of all of said tones initiated as a result of said state change of said first triggering device is terminated as a result of said state change of said second triggering device before the tones are re-initiated as a result of said state change of said second triggering device.<br /><br />40. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />each of said tones initiated as a result of said state change of said first triggering device is terminated as a result of said state change of said second triggering device immediately prior to re-initiation; whereby,<br /><br />as a result of said state change of said second triggering device, the highest pitched selected musical tone is muted and re-triggered, then the next lowest pitched selected musical tone is muted and re-triggered, followed by the next lowest tone.<br /><br />41. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />state changes of said triggering devices from rest to selected state are affected through movement of one or more human appendages;<br /><br />said data processing system receives information from said triggering devices regarding the velocity with which said one or more appendages effect state changes of said triggering devices from rest to selected state;<br /><br />said commands to initiate tone production include velocity data; and,<br /><br />the velocity values corresponding with commands to initiate tone production for selected tones are a function of the velocity of the appendage movement which triggers the initiation of the selected tones.<br /><br />42. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />said key state information includes information regarding aftertouch pressure applied to selected note select keys;<br /><br />said commands to initiate tone production include velocity data; and,<br /><br />the velocity values corresponding with commands to initiate tone production for selected tones are a function of aftertouch pressure applied to note select keys near the time of corresponding triggering device state change from rest to selected state.<br /><br />43. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />said data processing system measures elapsed time between successive triggering device rest-to-selected state changes; and,<br /><br />elapsed time between successive commands to initiate tone production for selected tones initiated as a result of a triggering device rest-to-selected state change is a function of elapsed time between successive triggering device rest-to-selected state changes.<br /><br />44. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />state changes of said triggering devices from rest to selected state are affected through movement of one or more human appendages;<br /><br />said data processing system receives information from said triggering devices regarding the velocity with which said one or more appendages effect state changes of said triggering devices from rest to selected state; and<br /><br />elapsed time between successive commands to initiate tone production for selected tones initiated as a result of a triggering device rest-to-selected state change is an inverse function of the velocity of the appendage movement which affected the corresponding rest-to-selected trigger device state change.<br /><br />45. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />the center-to-center distance between two of said note select keys which correspond with two tones one octave apart is not more than 14.5 centimeters.<br /><br />46. An emulator as in claim 32 wherein;<br /><br />said data processing system communicates with said tone generating device according to a standardized digital protocol.<br /><br />47. An emulator as in claim 46 wherein;<br /><br />said protocol is selected from the group consisting of MIDI and ZIPI.<br /><br />48. A method of generating ascending and descending musical chord arpeggiations comprising:<br /><br />assigning at least twelve of the keys within a keyboard to a note select function;<br /><br />determining which keys are included within a group of said note select keys being held in a selected state by a user;<br /><br />instructing a tone generating device to play an ascendi...

Device for cleaning wind musical instruments
2010-03-18 00:00:00
AbstractA device for cleaning an inner wall of a tube for a wind musical instrument. The device includes a semi-rigid rod formed of separable half sections, which define, when contiguous to one another, an axially directed slit. A removable cleaning cloth is secured within the slit between the confronting walls of the half sections of the rod, when the confronting walls of the half sections are contiguous to one another. The cloth extends along the rod in the axial direction substantially the entire distance of the rod, when the walls of the half sections are contiguous to one another.Claims<br /><br />What is claimed is:<br /><br />1. A cleaning device for cleaning a tube of a wind musical instrument comprising:<br /><br />(a) an elongated member having separable sections separable from one another along the axis of said elongated member, said separable sections confronting one another in the axial direction of said elongated member and defining therebetween a slit axially directed along the axis of said elongated member when said separable sections are disposed in contiguous relation;<br /><br />(b) a cleaning cloth removably secured between said separable sections and disposed within said axially directed slit, said cleaning cloth having at least one flap extending out of said slit for cleaning the tube of the wind musical instrument, said flap being furled about said elongated member to prevent the elongated member from marring the tube of the wind musical instrument; and<br /><br />(c) means for releasably securing said separable sections in contiguous relation,<br /><br />(d) said slit extending substantially along the entire axial distance of said elongated member, and said cleaning cloth being disposed in and extending out of said slit substantially along the entire axial distance of said elongated member.<br /><br />2. A cleaning device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said separable sections are formed with confronting walls between which said cloth is removably secured when said separable sections are disposed in contiguous relation, said device further comprising abrasive means adhering to said confronting walls to improve the securement between said separable sections and said cloth.Description<br /><br />BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />The present invention relates in general to devices for cleaning musical instruments, and more particularly to a device for cleaning wind musical instruments. <br /><br />The playing of wind musical instruments causes moisture to collect on the inner wall of the tube of the wind instrument. The breath of the instrumentalists condenses on the inner wall of the tube of the wind instrument. Proper care of the wind instrument requires the removal of the moisture from the inner wall of the tube of the wind instrument. Heretofore, cotton swabs have been employed to remove the moisture that has collected on the inner wall of the tube of the wind instrument. Such swabs were intended to be disposable. Heretofore, filaments were employed to remove moisture that has collected on the inner wall of the tube of the wind instrument. The filaments with the moisture collected thereon extended through the tone holes of the musical instrument, resulting in moisture collecting on the pad that covers the tone holes. The repeated wetness of the pad causes the pad to become hard rather than remain a soft material.<br /><br />The U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,504, to Koregelos, issued on Sept. 19, 1978, for Demoisturizer For Wind Musical Instrument, discloses an elongated device with filaments disposed along an elongated member. The filaments extend radially outward from the elongated member. The device is inserted into the tube of the wind instrument, whereby the filaments absorb moisture that has collected on the inner walls of the tube.<br /><br />The U.S. Pat. No. 1,421,529, to Millhouse, issued on July 4, 1922, for Cleaning Device, discloses a cleaning device having an elongated resilient wire. At the free end of the elongated resilient wire is a bristle brush. The elongated wire is inserted into the tube of the wind instrument and the brush at the free end thereof removes the moisture from the inner wall of the tube of the wind musical instrument.<br /><br />In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,790, to Satch, issued on Jan. 13, 1970, for Cleaning Rod For Woodwind Musical Instruments, there is disclosed a cleaning rod for musical instruments. At the free end of the rod is a hole through which a piece of cloth passes.<br /><br />In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,420, to Kafkis, issued on June 19, 1973, for Device Swabbing The Base of A Musical Instrument, there is disclosed a device for removing moisture from the inner wall of a tube of a wind musical instrument. The device includes a flexible cord. At the free end of the cord is a triangularly shaped body of foamed plastic material. On the foamed plastic body is a contour conforming chamois cloth.<br /><br />The U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,517, to Guinness, issued on Oct. 6, 1964, for Musical Pipes, discloses a musical pipe made of telescoping tubes. The U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,865, to Posson, issued on May 12, 1953, for Tube Cleaning Tool, discloses a ramrod. At the free end of the ramroad is a cleaning swab.<br /><br />The U.S. Pat. No. 1,427,582, to Cumpston, issued on Aug. 29, 1922, for Gun Cleaning Device, discloses a ramrod. At the free end of the ramrod is a tip with a slit. A cleaning rag is disposed on the slit of the tip and wrapped around the tip. A sleeve is slipped over the tip. The unwrapped portion of the rag passes through a slit in the sleeve and the free end of the rag hangs loosely from the slit in the sleeve. The British Patent to Foster, No. 26,650, issued Nov. 17, 1910, for An Improved Cleaning Device For The Barrels of Firearms and For Other Tubes, discloses a cylindrical rod slotted diametrically at the free end thereof. A flannel cloth is inserted into the slot. The cloth is wrapped around the rod and presents a cylindrical surface. The German Patent to Glatz, No. 25415, issued on Aug. 25, 1906, discloses a rod with a tip at one end.<br /><br />SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION<br /><br />A device for cleaning an inner wall of a tube of a wind musical instrument, which includes an elongated member having an axially directed slit disposed along substantially the length of the elongated member and across the cross-sectional area of the elongated member. Disposed in the slit is a cleaning cloth that extends substantially along the entire length of the slit. By separating the elongated member along the length thereof, the cleaning cloth can be removed from or inserted between sections of the elongated member. By placing the separated sections of the elongated member into contiguous relation, the cloth is removably secured in the slit between the sections of the elongated member. A cap is disposed on at least one end of the elongated member to retain the cloth securely between the sections of the elongated member. The cloth, while retained securely between the sections of the elongated member, projects radially outward from the elongated member and along the length of the elongated member.<br /><br />An object of the present invention is to provide a device for cleaning an inner wall of a tube of a wind instrument in which a cleaning cloth extends substantially along the entire length of an elongated member and is removably secured between separable sections of the elongated member.<br /><br />A feature of the present invention is that the cleaning cloth can be removed with facility from the device for washing and reuse after being washed.<br /><br />Another feature of the present invention is to provide abrasive confronting surfaces on the separable se...

Automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument
2010-03-15 00:00:00
AbstractThe present invention relates to an automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument for activating and deactivating an automatic performance for each musical part such as melody tone, accompaniment tone, or rhythm tone. The first performance data memory stores an instruction signal which instructs the second reading circuit to start and stop reading performance data stored in the second performance data memory, so that the reading of the performance data stored in the second performance data memory can automatically start and stop in accordance with the progressing of the reading based on the performance data stored in the first performance data memory. Both performance data stored in the first performance data memory and in the second performance data memory are read by respective reading circuits, so that it is possible to selectively start and stop reading the performance data stored in both the first performance data memory and the second performance data memory.ClaimsWe claim:<br /><br />1. An automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument comprising:<br /><br />first automatic performance means for performing music comprising:<br /><br />first memory means for storing first performance information and instruction information; and<br /><br />first reading means for reading said first performance information and said instruction information from said first memory means;<br /><br />second automatic performance means for performing music comprising:<br /><br />second memory means for storing second performance information; and<br /><br />second reading means for reading said second performance information from said second memory means; and<br /><br />control means for controlling said second automatic performance means in response to the readout of said instruction information.<br /><br />2. An automatic performance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first memory means comprises a chord sequence memory for storing said first performance information including basic tone data. <br /><br />3. An automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument comprising:<br /><br />first automatic performance means having a first performance data memory for storing first performance data and first reading means for reading out performance data stored in said first performance data memory;<br /><br />second automatic performance means having a second performance data memory for storing second performance data and second reading means for reading out performance data stored in said second performance data memory; and<br /><br />selection means for selecting at least one of said first automatic performance means and said second automatic performance means in accordance with the state of stored instruction data, said selection means comprising a start-stop switch and said stored instruction data comprising registered content data included in said first performance data memory.<br /><br />4. An automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument comprising:<br /><br />first automatic performance means having a first performance data memory for storing first performance data and first reading means for reading out performance data stored in said first performance data memory;<br /><br />second automatic performance means having a second performance data memory for storing second performance data and second reading means for reading out performance data stored in said second performance data memory; and<br /><br />selection means for selecting at least one of said first automatic performance means and said second automatic performance means in accordance with the state of stored instruction data,<br /><br />wherein said first performance data memory is a chord sequence memory for storing said first performance data including basic tone data.<br /><br />5. An automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument comprising:<br /><br />first automatic performance means having a first performance data memory for storing first performance data and first reading means for reading out performance data stored in said first performance data memory;<br /><br />second automatic performance means having a second performance data memory for storing second performance data and second reading means for reading out performance data stored in said second performance data memory; and<br /><br />selection means for selecting at least one of said first automatic performance means and said second automatic performance means in accordance with the state of stored instruction data,<br /><br />wherein at least one of said first memory and said second memory stores said instruction data.DescriptionBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS<br /><br />The present invention is described in the following; reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown.<br /><br />FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware construction of the automatic performance apparatus of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention;<br /><br />FIG. 2 is a layout diagram showing the data stored in a chord sequence memory CM shown in FIG. 1;<br /><br />FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the details of a reading control circuit 22 in this embodiment;<br /><br />FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware construction of a melody on-off detecting circuit 36 shown in FIG. 1; and<br /><br />FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the details of a registered data detecting circuit 42 shown in FIG. 1.<br /><br />DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT<br /><br />Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described by reference to the drawings.<br /><br />FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware construction of the present invention. In FIG. 1, numeral 1 designates a keyboard having plural keys, each of which provides key switches thereunder to detect the OPEN or CLOSED state thereof. The keyboard 1 is divided into three key-areas, KB1 to KB3, in which the output signal of each key in the key-area KB1 is supplied to a manual performance musical tone generating circuit 2 and a chord data generating circuit 3. The output signal of each key in the key-area KB2 is supplied to manual performance musical tone generating circuit 2, and the output signal of each key in the key-area KB3 is supplied to manual performance musical tone generating circuit 2 and note length data generating circuit 4 respectively.<br /><br />The manual performance musical tone generating circuit generates a musical tone signal corresponding to the depressed key on keyboard 1 and outputs this musical ton signal to an amplifier 5. The chord data generating circuit detects the depressed key in key-area KB1 to generate its chord data in accordance with the detected key data, in which chord data indicates a chord of an accompaniment tone.<br /><br />In the present embodiment, many types of chords such as C major or A minor are designated by the key operation of key-area KB1. For example, depressing keys C, E, and G of key-area KB1 designates C major. The chord data generating circuit 3 receives a signal based on the key which is depressed in key-area KB1. According to this received signal, the chord data generating circuit 3 generates chord data which includes basic tone data CCD indicated by the basic tone of the chord (C, D, E, or the like) and type data TPD indicated by type of the chord (major minor, or the like). In accordance with the generated chord data, an automatic accompaniment tone is generated as described later. The note length data generating circuit 4 generates note length data FTD corresponding to the depressed key in key-area KB3. Herein, the note length data of the accompaniment chord is indicated by the key operation of key-area KB3. The note length data generating circuit 4 then outputs note length data FTD to the next circuit in accordance with the detected key data of key-area KB3.<br /><br />A tone color switch 6 is used for setting the tone color of the accompaniment tone; an effect switch 7 for setting an effect of the accompaniment tone; a melody-ON switch 8 for storing a starting signal of a melody tone in the automatic performance; a melody-OFF switch 9 for storing a stopping signal of the melody tone in the automatic performance; a multi-stage tone volume switch 10 is used for controlling the volume of the accompaniment tone; and an end switch 11 is used to indicate the completion of the accompaniment tone.<br /><br />Numeral 12 designates a record switch which is CLOSED when writing data to chord sequence memory CM. A play switch 13 CLOSES when reading data stored in chord sequence memory CM to automatically perform the accompaniment tone. A start-stop switch 14 manually turns the melody tone on and off during the automatic performance.<br /><br />A code converter circuit 16 generates the registered data corresponding to one of the operated switches 6 to 11. The registered data includes registered type data RGS and registered content data RGD, in which registered type data RGS indicates a type (tone color switch, effect switch, etc.) of the operated switch, while registered content data RGD indicates a switch number, a tone volume level (when tone volume switch 10 is operated), or the like. Numeral 17 designates an OR gate which executes the logical OR among the above-mentioned note length data FTD, registered data RGS, and RGD by every bit to thereby output its result to a differentiation circuit 18. The differentiation circuit 18 outputs a pulse signal to the next circuit when the output of OR gate 17 is a trailing edge.<br /><br />Numeral 20 designates an OR gate for executing the logical OR among registered data RGS and RGD.<br /><br />Numeral 21 designates a selector for selectively outputting the data at an input terminal <1>or <0>from the output terminal thereof depending on whether the output of OR gate 20 is "1" or "0".<br /><br />A chord sequence memory CM stores basic tone data CCD, type data TPD, note length data FTD, and registered data RGS and RGD, in which basic tone data CCD and type data TPD are inputted from chord data generating circuit 3, the note length data is inputted from note length ...

Wavetable-modification instrument and method for generating musical sound
2010-03-12 00:00:00
means for selecting the modified data value as a stored value stored back into the wavetable unit for subsequent delaywhere the stored value forms the output signal,

an output unit responsive to said output signal to produce the musical sound.

44. A wavetable-modification generator for use with a musical instrument having an input unit for specifying a musical sound to be generated and having an output unit responsive to an output signal to produce musical sound said generatorcomprising,

a digital wavetable unit having a random access memory for cyclically storing data values for a delay period,

a modifier unit having an arithmetic unit for summing two or more delayed data values from said wavetable unit and for dividing the summed data value by a number greater than unity to form a modified data value, and

means for storing the modified data value back into the memory for subsequent delay where the modified data value forms said output signal representing the musical sound to be produced.DescriptionBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to musical instruments and more specifically to digitally controlled electronic instruments and methods for generating musical sound.

Digitally controlled methods of generating musical sound operate by producing a sequence of digital numbers which are converted to electrical analog signals. The analog signals are amplified to produce musical sound through a conventionalspeaker. Musical instruments which employ digital control are constructed with a keyboard or other input device and with digital electronic circuits responsive to the keyboard. The electronic circuits digitally process signals in response to thekeyboard and digitally generate oscillations which form the sound in the speaker. These digitally generated oscillations are distinguished from oscillations generated by analog oscillators and are distinguished from mechanically induced oscillationsproduced by conventional orchestral and other type instruments.

All musical sounds, whether of electronic or mechanical origin, can be described by Fourier spectra. The Fourier spectra describes musical sound in terms of its component frequencies which are represented as sinusoids. The whole musical soundis, therefore, a sum of the component frequencies, that is, a sum of sinusoids.

Under Fourier analysis, tones are classified as harmonic or inharmonic. A harmonic tone is periodic and can be represented by a sum of sinusoids having frequencies which are integral multiples of a fundamental frequency. The fundamentalfrequency is the pitch of the tone. Harmonic instruments of the orchestra include the strings, the brasses, and the woodwinds. An inharmonic tone is not periodic, although it often can be represented by a sum of sinusoids. The frequencies comprisingan inharmonic tone, however, usually do not have any simple relationship. Inharmonic instruments do not normally have any pitch associated with them. Instruments in the orchestra that are inharmonic include the percussion instruments, such as the bassdrum, the snare drum, the cymbal and others.

Electronically controlled musical instruments have relied upon forming selected Fourier spectra as a basis for producing musical sound. One known type of digital musical instrument employs a harmonic summation method of music generation. In theharmonic summation method, a tone is produced by adding (or subtracting) a large number of amplitude-scaled sinusoids of different frequencies. The harmonic summation method, therefore, requires a large number of multiplications and additions to formeach sample. That process requires digital circuitry which is both expensive and inflexible. Accordingly, the digital design necessary to carry out the method of harmonic summation is computationally complex and leaves much to be desired.

Another known type of musical instrument employs the filtering method of music generation. In the filtering method, a complex electrical waveform, such as a square wave or a saw-tooth pulse train, is filtered by one or more filters to select thedesired frequency components. Thereafter, the filtered frequency components are combined to form the electrical signal which drives the speaker. The filtering method is commonly used to synthesize human speech and has often been used with analogelectronic organs. The filtering method is compar...

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