memory_tags
Method and apparatus for teaching musical notation to young children2010-03-12note with which the character is associated; such devices are commonly available from a number of sources, including for example, Darice Inc. of Strongsville, Ohio. The tonal button 40, may suitably be mounted in the area indicated by the dotted line image of 42 on the front surface of the paper opposite the finger loop or band 38, with the pressure-sensitive switch portion 44 of the device facing outwardly. Thus, the person can selectively activate the tonal device by pressing it between his fingers, with his thumb on the switch portion 44, as he moves the puppet about to engage in a dialog or other introductory or storytelling activity. Thus, as the tonal device is activated (which may serve to provide "speech" for the cartoon character), the sound of the note which is associated with this character is reinforced upon the mind of the child. Moreover, this activity exercises and enhances the child's auditory perception and discrimination abilities.
In addition to or in place of the tonal button described above, the present invention may also include a cassette tape player or other device for generating a voice or "speech" for the certain character. For example, prerecorded cassette tapes (or CDs, records, or the like) may be provided which the teacher can play to represent the "voice" of the puppet during interaction with the child or class. Advantageously, the recorded voice may have a tone which matches that of the note with which the character is associated, or there may be a background or intermittent tone produced (for example, by a piano key, tuning fork or electronically) which accompanies the recorded speech. Furthermore, the prerecorded tape may have a series of blank portions into which the child's name can be recorded by the teacher, with, for example, a tone preceding each of the blank portions to indicate when the child's name should be inserted on the recording.
Thus, when the tape is played, the character can give the impression of talking to the child so as to stimulate interactive learning. Moreover, the tape-recorded script may be constructed to include a series of questions or other statements eliciting responses from the child, so as to generate an active dialog between the child and "character", again with the object of generating interest in the lesson.
Also, in some embodiments, a script may be provided to the teacher in place of the prerecorded cassettes. The teacher can then dictate the script into a tape recorder, inserting the names of the child or children where indicated by the script (e.g., in questions or other verbal prompts), as well as other information which is of interest to the particular child or class. Preferably, the nature of the script or prerecorded conversation should be consistent with the disposition associated with each particular cartoon character, e.g., Crabby Crab Apple should be irritable, Cheerful Cherry should be pleasant in demeanor, and so on; for example, Crabby Crab Apple can be presented as having grumpy attitude due to just having woken up from a nap.
The next step in the practice of the present invention is to apply the knowledge which the child has acquired through the symbolization process described above in the reading of an actual musical score 50. The musical notes 52 are provided with circular portions 54 which contain the letter designation 56 of each note. The circular portion of each note (which may be shaded or "greyed" to denote a black note) is intended to be colored in by the child using a crayon, a legend 58 showing the object images and colors which are associated with each note in the system being provided to refresh the child's
memory.
Having thus filled in the colors on the notes, the child will ordinarily be able to recall, from having been motivated and socialized by playing with the puppets incorporating the tonal devices, the actual musical tone which each note represents. The child will then be able to sing or otherwise play the melody from the score 50, including any words (not shown) which may be provided.
Although the present invention has been largely described herein with reference to various manual steps, such as the manual coloring of the notes, manipulation of the puppets, and so on, it will be understood that one or more of these steps may be performed using an electronic computer provided with suitable software. For example, the images of the characters can be generated "on screen" by the computer, and the coloring of the notes can be done using a simple graphics program, such as a typical "paintbrush" program. A computer audio system can also be used to generate the musical tones and/or verbal scripts which are associated with the notes and characters. Moreover, the computer program can be confi...
Method and Apparatus for Playing in Synchronism with a CD an Automated Musical Instrument2010-03-04/>
5. A controller for playing an automated musical instrument in synchronism with an audio track from a CD, including, a CD drive; a CD subsystem; a microprocessor;
memory storing a music sequence; the CD drive in communication with the microprocessor and the CD subsystem, the CD drive providing the CD subsystem with digital audio data from the audio track of a CD, and providing the microprocessor with information regarding identity of the audio track; the CD subsystem including a digital to analog converter to convert the digital audio data into an analog signal for transmission to a transducer; the CD subsystem in communication with the microprocessor and providing the microprocessor with information regarding the time progress of processing the digital audio data; the microprocessor in communication with the
memory storing a music sequence, the microprocessor sending the music sequence to the automated musical instrument based on the time progress of processing the digital audio data.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the music sequence is a MIDI file including time stamped articulation events.
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the microprocessor sends the events in music sequence to the automated musical instrument at a discreet time prior to the time called for by the time stamp for the event.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the discreet time is between 100 msec and 500 msec.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor sends the events in music sequence to the automated musical instrument at a discreet time prior to the time called for by the time stamp for the event.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the discreet time is between 100 msec and 500 msec.
11. A method of playing in synchronism digital audio data and an automated musical instrument, the method including the steps of: providing a music sequence having time stamped articulation events, providing digital audio data; converting the digital audio data into an analog signal and sending the analog signal to a transducer to convert the signal into an audible signal; monitoring the progression of the conversion of the digital audio data to establish a time base; referencing the time base and sending the articulation events to the automated musical instrument in accordance with the time stamps as the time base progresses.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the articulation events are advanced a discreet period of time.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the discreet period of time is between 100 msec to 500 msec.
14. The method of claim 11, where the digital audio data is on a...
Music Processing System Including Device for Converting Guitar Sounds to Midi Commands2010-03-03Different or "drop" tunings are simple because the note or tuning of the guitar need not be changed. The instructions for playing the note are simply "transposed" to the desired note in accordance with the desired tuning. The language of the music processing system is very specific as to what note is being played down to the specific fret on each string. This information can be used in conjunction with a learning program to teach guitar. Since each string is tracked individually this can be a very complex and robust application, teaching everything from single note picking to complex chords and strumming techniques.
[0007]Furthermore, the instructions generated can optionally be recorded on a computer
memory. This allows recorded instructions to be edited using computer software. A single note within a recorded song is easily adjusted because all that is changed is the instruction for that specific note. To change or delete a note or passage in a regular recording would require clipping out the undesirable portion and re-recording--not an easy task as precision is next to impossible yet required. An embodiment described herein also allows for easy tempo changes of a recorded performance. The instruction is simply adjusted to change the tempo, thereby avoiding pitch change when a recording slowed down. Editing recorded music is simple using computer software--drag and drop functionality may be provided to edit individual notes. Shorten or lengthen a note simple by clicking on it and changing its duration. Using software, the user can change the whole recording to a new key using the same principle described above regarding alternate tunings. Users can cut and paste a section for use later in the song. File size is small because the methods described herein store instructions for playing a note, not sampling and digitizing the actual note or sound wave. This saves storage space on a hard drive. For example a sampled or digitized 1 minute clip requires about 10 Megabytes of data. The same 10 seconds with the music processing system only requires 10 Kilobytes for the same 1 minute clip. Many files that are already recorded in this language have tracks that are separated from the rest of the tracks making it easy to listen to just one instrument track and study it to learn more about it or how to play it. Then this track can be muted, played over to practice playing the song or for a live performance with backing tracks. One may print out actual sheet music of what has been recorded. It is very simple to convert the recorded instructions into musical notation. One may also create a ring tone for a cell phone.
[0008]The music processing system can be used to trigger much more than notes. The instructions for turning a note on and off and other such commands can optionally be used to activate any action or event within a program or computer game. Many prerecorded elements such as loops or tracks can be triggered on a computer program turning them on and off as backing tracks for example. These elements can also be turned on and off building them to create a song by selecting each individual element by playing a single note. Events can optionally be triggered in games. Playing a specific note or notes can be used for a game such as Guitar Hero鈩?or other similar game. It can be as simple as the current offerings or as complex as a real-world guitar performance. Notes could even be used to move a character around the screen. Embodiments of the present invention can also be used in conjunction with a wide variety of musical equipment. Most electronic musical equipment supports one of the various versions of the MIDI format.
[0009]One using the technology disclosed herein can achieve sound electronically using any classical instruments or any sound source. One method disclosed herein includes analyzing sound from the sound source, and then generating an appropriate sound electronically based on the detection of the first harmonic of the input signal. The second method disclosed herein requires fast and precise first harmonic period determination from the signals generated by a classical instrument, and then the measured period may be transformed to digital information acceptable by electronic instruments to generate sound electronically. Algorithms for transforming the measured period into digital information are disclosed in a co-pending patent application entitled "Adaptive Triggers Method for Signal Period Measuring," U.S. application Ser. No. 11/873,970, filed Oct. 17, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. However, other tone detection methods known in the art may also be used. Such algorithms, which for instance provide a solution for transforming guitar sounds to MIDI commands, require powerful thirty-two bit microprocessors and/or DSP processors, as will be described below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010]One embodiment relates to a controller for a guitar. In the controller, a plurality of small capacity microcontrollers are used. For functions related to analyzing sounds generated by a guitar string, detecting basic harmonics, and generating MIDI information, one small capacity microcontroller is used for each guitar string. El...
Electronic musical instrument capable of reporting operating conditions including sound level and tempo2010-02-05means and said tempo switch means each comprises an UP switch and a DOWN switch.
5. An instrument as claimed in claim 3, wherein said operating condition storing means comprises at least one of a sound level data
memory and a tempo data
memory for storing sound level data and tempo data, respectively.
6. An electronic musical instrument for generating tones by a digital procedure, comprising:
selecting means for selecting operating conditions in which said instrument should operate;
tone generating means for generating tones;
click data storing means for storing click data each being associated with respective one of said operating conditions and representative of sequentially decreasing or increasing sound levels; and
control means for controlling said selecting means, said tone generating means, and said click data storing means such that click data associated with an operating condition selected by said selecting means are read out of said click data storing means, and clicks each having a sound level represented by respective one of said click data are generated by said tone generating means.
7. An instrument as claimed in claim 6, wherein said operating conditions include a sound level of a tone to be produced from said instrument and a tempo for an automatic accompaniment.
8. An instrument as claimed in claim 7, wherein said selecting means comprises at least one of sound level switch means for selecting sound levels and tempo switch means for selecting tempos.
9. An instrument as claimed in claim 8, wherein said sound level switch means and said tempo switch means each comprises an UP switch and a DOWN switch.DescriptionBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument of the type generating tones by a digital procedure and, more particularly, to an electronic musical instrument capable of informing the user of a sound level or a tempo of an automatic accompaniment to be set by changing the pitch of a click to be generated by a tone generating section thereof or changing the sound levels coming out of a left and a right loudspeakers.
An electronic musical instrument of the type described has a sound level selector and a tempo selector each being implemented with a switch device. The sound level selector and tempo selector are operable to select a particular sound level and, when an automatic accompaniment is desired, a particular tempo therefor. The sound level and tempo selected by the user are displayed by LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) or...
Device for and method of detecting and supplying chord and solo sounding instructions in an electronic musical instrument2009-11-07can be played but also various types of other sounding operations, including the playing of chords, can be realized.
According to the invention, in response to an instruction for sounding a musical tone, chord tone data is provided together with tone data indicating a single key number, thus permitting a choice of whether or not to select a chord, and further, a choice of whether or not chord tone data is to be output. Accordingly, various types of sounding operations can be carried, for example, a chord being played can be changed together with a single key solo being played, or a chord being played is not changed, i.e., only the single key solo being played is changed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a sounding routine (step 05);
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall circuitry of an electronic musical instrument;
FIG. 3 is a view of a chord table 11;
FIG. 4 is a view of an assignment
memory 13; and
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an overall routine.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Summary of the Embodiment
In response to a new "key-on" event, first a solo being played is changed (steps 11 and 12), and according to the on-off state of a chord switch 10 (step 13) it is determined whether or not a chord being played (steps 14 through 22) is to be changed. Namely, a chord being played is changed together with a change of a solo being played, or the chord is not changed, i.e., only the solo being played is changed.
1. Overall Circuitry
FIG. 2 shows an overall circuitry of an electronic musical instrument. Individual keys on a keyboard 1 are scanned by a keyboard scanner 2 to thereby detect data indicating a "key-on" or "key-off" event, and the detected data is written to a RAM 6 by a CPU 5. The CPU 5 compares the written data with on-off data for the individual keys and stored in the RAM 6 to determine "on" and "off" events for the keys. Note, the keyboard 1 may be replaced by an electronic string(s) instrument, electronic wind(s) instrument, electronic percussion instrument (pads), or computer keyboard and so forth.
Individual keys in a panel switch group 3 are scanned by a panel scanner 4, to detect on-off data for the individual keys, and the data is written to the RAM 6 by the CPU 5. The CPU...
Method and apparatus for facilitating group musical interaction over a network2009-10-20device, such as a computer monitor or television. Alternatively, the display 302 may be a unitary part of a larger unit that includes the other elements of the hardware.
The central processing unit 304 may be provided as general purpose hardware, such as a 286-based, 386-based, 486-based, Pentium-based, XEON-based, or Power PC-based personal computers. Alternatively, the central processing unit may be a network device or personal digital assistant. In one particular embodiment, the central processing unit 304 is a dedicated game system, such as: PLAYSTATION2, manufactured by Sony Corporation; DREAMCAST, manufactured by Sega Corp.; or XBOX, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. In still other embodiments the central processing unit 304 is specialized, single-purpose hardware.
Audio device 306 may be provided as speakers, an amplifier, a digital-to-audio converter, a synthesizer, or other such device. In some embodiments, the audio device 306 may be a unitary part of a larger unit that includes the other elements of the hardware. In one particular embodiment, the audio device 306 has a portion that is external to the central processing unit 304 and a portion that is internal to the central processing unit 304.
Input device 308 may be provided as an alphanumeric keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a game pad (also called a joy pad), musical keyboard, a conventional musical instrument (e.g., a guitar, a MIDI instrument, etc.), or a "fake" musical instrument.
Still referring to FIG. 3, and in brief overview, the central processing unit 304 includes a
memory element 320, an event monitor 330, a timer 340, a display system 350, an input system 360, and an audio system 370. It should be understood that the individual elements of the central processing unit 304 may be provided as hardware, software, or some combination of hardware and software. For example, in some embodiments the audio system 370, input system 360 and display system 350 are dedicated hardware or mixed hardware/firmware units that are a unitary part of the central processing unit 304, while the event monitor 330,
memory element 320 and timer 340 are software or, alternatively, firmware embodied on a removable device such as a game cartridge or COMPACTFLASH card.
The
memory element 320 stores data related to the musical events for the musical composition in the game. In one embodiment,
memory element 320 stores at least two pieces of data for each musical event: (1) the time during the musical composition at which the musical event should occur; and (2) the actual musical content of the event, such as pitch or rhythm related data. For embodiments in which the input device 308 includes several buttons and a particular button on the input device 308 must be pressed to catch a musical event, the
memory element 320 also stores for each musical event and identification of which button must be pressed on the input device 308 to catch the musical event. The
memory element 320 may be provided as any element such as RAM, DRAM, SDRAM, D...
Waveform data processing system and method 2009-10-12A waveform
memory for storing data of musical tone waveforms can be mounted in and dismounted from an electronic musical instrument body. The waveform
memory is thus replaceable, permitting the sounding of tones with various varieties. In addition, if musical tone waveform data corresponding to a tone designated for sounding is not stored in the
memory, it is automatically loaded in the
memory, thus permitting automatic sounding of tones to be requested.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A waveform data reading/writing device for an electronic musical instrument comprising:
first waveform storage means capable of being mounted in and removed from said electronic musical instrument and having storage capacity to store data of musical tone waveforms;
first reading means for reading the data of musical tone waveforms from said first waveform storage means;
third waveform storage means, in said electronic musical instrument, for storing the data of musical tone waveforms read by said first reading means;
third writing means for writing the data of musical tone waveforms read by said first reading means in said third waveform storage means;
third reading means for reading the data of musical tone waveforms from said third waveform storage means;
second waveform storage means, in said electronic musical instrument, including a semiconductor for storing the data of musical tone waveforms read by said third reading means;
second writing means for writing the data of musical tone waveforms read by said third reading means in said second waveform storage means;
automatic performance information storing means for storing automatic performance information;
automatic performance information reading means for reading the automatic performance information in an order of performance from said automatic performance information storing means;
designating means for designating a musical tone according to the automatic performance information read by said automatic performance information reading means;
second reading means for reading the data of musical tone waveforms from said second waveform storage means according to a designation by said designating means;
output means for outputting the data of musical tone waveforms read by said second reading means as data concerning the musical tone designated by said designating means;
checking means for executing a check with respect to the musical tone designated by said designating means as to whether the data of musical tone waveforms corresponding to the musical tone designated is stored in said second waveform storage means;
fourth reading means for reading the data of musical tone waveforms from said third waveform storage means according to the check by said checking means; and
fourth writing means for writing the data of musical tone waveforms read by said fourth reading means in said second waveform storage means.
2. The waveform data reading/writing device for an electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the data of musical tone waveforms is of a sampled type.
3. The waveform data reading/writing device of claim 1, wherein the data of musical tone waveforms corresponds to sounds of various musical instruments or corresponds to groups of spectra of specific frequency bands according to specific formants.
4. The waveform data reading/writing device of claim 1, wherein the data of musical tone waveforms corresponds to touch data, range of touch data, pitch data, or range of pitch data.
5. A method of waveform data reading/writing for an electronic musical instrument comprising the steps of:
(a) storing data of musical tone waveforms in a first waveform storage area capable of being mounted in and removed from said electronic musical instrument and having storage capacity;
(b) reading the data of musical tone waveforms from the first waveform storage area;
(c) writing the data of musical tone waveforms read in step (b) in a third waveform storage area provided in said electronic musical instrument;
(d) reading the data of musical tone waveforms from the third waveform storage area;
(e) writing the data of musical tone waveforms read in step (d) in a second waveform storage area provided as a semiconductor in said electronic musical instrument;
(f) storing automatic performance information;
(g) reading the automatic performance information in an order of performance stored in step (f);
(h) designating a musical tone according to the automatic performance information read in step (g);
(i) reading the data of musical tone waveforms from the second waveform storage area according to the designation in step (h);
(j) outputting the data of musical tone waveforms read in step (i) as data concerning the musical tone designated in step (h);
(k) checking with respect to the musical tone designated in step (h), whether the data of musical tone waveforms is stored in the second waveform storage area;
(l) reading the data of musical tone waveforms from the third waveform storage area according to a result of the check in step (k); and
(m) writing the data of musical tone waveforms read in step (l) in the second waveform storage area.
6. The method of waveform data reading/writing of claim 5, wherein the data of musical tone wavefo...
Fundamental frequency variation for a musical tone generator using stored waveforms2009-09-09a waveshape
memory. The number of stored data points is reduced by storing the data values in segments corresponding to one-half of the number of data points for a period of a waveshape. By using synthesized data having a symmetry about the midpoint, the second half of the waveshape is recovered by a forward and backward
memory address read of each waveshape segment. After reading each segment a predetermined number of cycles, a...
