other_tags

Simulated musical rainmaker
2010-03-30 00:00:00
means are made of clear plastic.

7. The simulated musical rainmaker of claim 4 wherein:

said electronic sounding means are secured to said inside wall of said casing.DescriptionFIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to simulated musical toys and especially to a simulated musical rainmaker for school-age children and other people for amusement and educatio...

Musical tone synthesizing apparatus utilizing an all-pass filter having a variable fractional delay
2010-03-29 00:00:00
is roughly set at "0" whereas when said integral delay amount is decreased, a value which was set at said register at a preceding moment which is one sampling period prior to a current moment is set to said register again while said coefficient generator is controlled to generate said coefficient by which said decimal delay amount is set substantially equal to "1".

19. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 13 further comprising an extracting means for extracting said signal circulating through said loop-circuit portion as a musical tone signal representing a musical tone to be produced.Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a musical tone synthesizing apparatus which is suitable for synthesizing musical tones produced from percussion instruments.

b 2. Prior Art

Recently, several kinds of musical tone synthesizing apparatuses are developed such that by activating a simulation model simulating a tone-generation mechanism of the non-electronic musical instrument, the musical tones of the non-electronic musical instrument can be simulated well. Some of these musical tone synthesizing apparatuses are designed to synthesize percussive sounds produced from the percussion instruments. General characteristic of the percussive sounds is inability to sustain sounds, in other words, the percussive sound is rapidly attenuated in tone volume. Hereinafter, the percussive sound having the above-mentioned characteristic will be referred to as "an attenuating sound". As the circuitry to synthesize the attenuating sound, a closed-loop circuitry which contains an adder 1, a delay circuit 2 and a filter 3 as shown in FIG. 17 is known. This type of circuitry is designed on the basis of a so-called delay-feedback-type circuitry.

The delay circuit 2 is configured by a shift register. The shift register provides plural flip-flops of which number (simply referred to as a stage number) is determined responsive to a number of bits of a digital signal which is supplied to the delay circuit 2 from the adder 1. Each of the flip-flop receives a clock which is produced by each sampling period 蟿s. A delay time 蟿p of the delay circuit 2 is equivalent to a result of multiplication in which the sampling period 蟿 is multiplied by a stage number N of the shift register, i.e., "N蟿s ". The filter 3 imparts a desired attenuation characteristic to a signal which circulates through the closed loop.

Meanwhile, an analog signal containing frequency components like a noise signal is modulated by a PCM (i.e., Pulse Code Modulation) technique by each sampling period 蟿s, resulting that a time-series digital signal is obtained. Such time-series digital signal is applied to the musical tone synthesizing apparatus as its input signal. This input signal is supplied to the adder 1, from which it is supplied to the filter 3 by means of the delay circuit 2. Then, the signal is fed back to the adder 1. Thus, the input signal circulates through the closed loop.

When ignoring a phase delay occurring in the filter 3, a time which is required for the input signal to circulate the closed loop once is assumed to be equal to the delay time 蟿p. In this case, the gain of the closed loop has a frequency characteristic of which maximum point is emerged at an integral multiple of a fundamental frequency f1=1/蟿p. Since the closed-loop gain is slightly smaller than "1", the signal which repeatedly circulates through the closed loop is gradually attenuated in amplitude. During an attenuating process of the signal, the output of the adder 1 is extracted and is subjected to digital-to-analog conversion. Thus, it is possible to obtain an attenuating signal having a fundamental wave and the other higher harmonic waves of which frequencies correspond to integral multiples of the fundamental frequency. By use of the above-mentioned closed loop, it is possible to excite the musical tone signal having the fundamental-wave component and higher-harmonic components like the real musical sound which is produced from the stringed instrument. Such musical tone signal is gradually attenuated in amplitude in a lapse of time.

In the circuitry shown in FIG. 17, the delay time 蟿 can be set in response to the integral multiple of the sampling period 蟿, in other words, the delay time 蟿 cannot be arbitrarily changed other than the delay times each corresponding to the integral multiple of the sampling period. In order to obtain an arbitrary delay time which is shifted from the delay time corresponding to the integral multiple of the sampling period 蟿s, an all-pass filter 4 must be inserted between the delay circuit 2 and the filter 3 as shown in FIG. 18. This all-pass filter 4 is designed on tile basis of the known configuration of the primary digital filter. It is configured by adders 41, 42, multipliers 43, 44 and a delay circuit 45. As similar to the delay circuit 2, the delay circuit 45 receives a clock by each sampling period 蟿s.

In the all-pass filter 4, the output of the delay circuit 2 is added with an output of the multiplier 44 by the adder 41. The output of the adder 41 is delivered to the adder 42 by means of the delay circuit 45. In addition, the output of the adder 41 is also delivered to the multiplier 43 wherein it is multiplied by a multiplication coefficient "-伪". Then, a result of the multiplication performed by the multiplier 43 is supplied to the adder 42. On the other hand, the multiplier 44 multiplies the output of the delay circuit 45 by a multiplication coefficient "伪", and then, a result of the multiplication performed by the multiplier 44 is supplied to the adder 41. The adder 42 adds the output of the delay circuit 45 to the output of the multiplier 43. A result of the addition is outputted to the filter 3. As each of the multiplication coefficients "伪" and "-伪" which are respectively used in the multipliers 43 and 44, it is possible to use a value which exists between "-1" and "1".

The function of the all-pass filter 4 described above can be expressed by use of a transfer function H(z) which is denoted by an eq...

Method and apparatus for representing musical information
2010-03-26 00:00:00
instrument and measure by storing the time dimension value and the sound dimension value assigned to the given instrument and measure and storing the musical information associated with the given instrument and measure.

28. The method for representing musical information of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:

identifying a plurality of entries that represent rhythmic, melodic, and interpretive aspects of the musical information, each entry comprising one unit of music data selectively representing a rest, a note or a chord and a set of details associated with the entry;

linking successive entries for a given instrument together;

designating the musical information to be associated with the given instrument and measure by;

assigning a first pointer to the successive entries for the given instrument to designate the first entry to be included in the measure; and

assigning a last pointer to the successive entries for the given instrument to designate the last entry to be included in the measure.DescriptionTECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of music processing devices and methods and apparatus for musical transcription and notation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for representing within a common data structure in the memory means of a computer data processing system musical information that includes both the graphic or visual attributes of the musical information and the related acoustic or sound attributes of the musical information.

BACKGROUND ART

Like human language, musical information is comprised of both aural and written components. The written language of music or musical notation has existed for more than eight centuries, but until the advent of the printing press musicians and composers were required to perform the time consuming task of manual notation in order to memoralize their compositions. Even with the printing press, music notation processing has always been a post composition process usually performed by someone other than the composer or musician. With the introduction of computers, special programming languages have been developed to handle the entry and printing of musical notation. These languages generally use a textually-based user interface that requires the user to enter lengthy sets of computer codes in order to generate a single page of musical notation.

In recent years, music transcription systems have been developed for personal computers in an effort to aid the musician and composer in using musical notation. Some of these transcriptions systems have even attempted to take acoustic musical information recorded as electronic messages and turn this information into standard musical notation or sheet music. Unfortunately, the transcription process of these systems is generally a one-way path and there are no provisions for capturing interpretive musical information, or for recreating the musical information as sound based on the stored music data that are transcribed from the original musical information.

While the music processing devices presently available allow a user to print musical information more efficiently than traditional hand engraving of printing plates, they are far from an ideal music processing apparatus. An ideal music processing apparatus should be able to receive the musical information from its native environment (musical sound), represent the musical information in such a way that it may be automatically converted into its written language equivalent (musical notation), present the musical notation to the user so that it may be manipulated or edited, and then output the musical information, either as musical notation or as musical sound, exactly as it has been composed.

Present music processing apparatus cannot simulate an ideal music processing apparatus in large part because of the limitations imposed by the present methods and systems for internally representing musical information in these systems. The internal representation of musical information for a music processing apparatus is a problem that has challenged musicologists for more than twenty-five years with no single or satisfactory solution. Most music processing apparatus use a code-type representation that stores only the specific musical information needed to achieve the limited objectives of the system, i.e., information about pitch alone, about rhythm alone, or about pitch and rhythm without reference to dynamics or articulation. A few music processing apparatus have attempted to develop language-type representations that would enable the user to encode any element of musical information that is present in common musical notation. For example, the DARMS and MUSTRAN encoding languages were developed for mainframe computers. While flexible and more complete than the code-type representations, current music encoding languages are limited to textual-based entry of musical information and are not structured enough to provide a workable method and apparatus for representing musical information that could be used to create a device approaching the ideal music processing apparatus.

The Directory of Computer Assisted Research in Musicology, Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities, 1987, pp. 1-22, identifies five broad classifications that encompass the current methods and systems for representing musical information: music/machine-readable code; music/logic; music/parametric; music/graphic; and music/acoustic. These classifications provide a background for thinking about the various stages of music data representation as the music data move from the input process to the various output processes of display, printing, analysis and sound in a music processing apparatus.

The first classification, music/machine-readable code, covers music processing apparatus that use a code-type representation, usually in the form of an unstructured character string, wherein each character represents, for example, the pitch or duration of the next role to be played in the sequence. The music/logical classification covers those representations that attempt to organize the musical information into logical records and, in this form, more cl...

Music search by interactive graphical specification with audio feedback
2010-03-25 00:00:00
adjusts the replaced generated musical segment in response to user inputs to change characteristics of the musical segment.Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to multimedia asset management systems, and in particular to the location and retrieval of multimedia files based on a graphically entered music search.

2. Background Information

Audio searching of large multimedia databases has many important applications. Large multimedia databases or collections can contain both audio and video files. Conventional systems store and retrieve specific information from a database using, for example, descriptive information regarding the image file, such as file creation date, file name, file extension and the like. This form of data search and retrieval is not significantly different from the any other digital information.

By relying on the file information, only cursory information can be obtained about the file and nothing at all specifically related to the audio content of the file. For example, an audio file could have a name that has no relation to the features or content of the file, such as a file containing samples of barking dogs could have the file name "cats". Other systems can provide additional information based on the content of the file. However, this is usually done by keyword annotation, which is a laborious task.

Multimedia databases containing music files can have a variety of formats. However the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) format, which has been used since 1983, is the most prevalent. The MIDI format has many advantages for representing music in a digital form. One of the most relevant features of the MIDI format for musical searching is the standardization of the musical scale into a range of integers, from 0 to 127. For example, middle C is assigned integer value of 60, corresponding notes above and below middle C are represented by corresponding integers (i.e., the C# above middle C is MIDI note 61). Additionally, the MIDI format allows for multiple tracks containing musical notes, percussion, timing, and the like, which provides a rich environment for digitally describing a musical piece. Therefore, the MIDI format is used in the following description. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced on any file format that can be stored in a searchable format. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the music files can be stored in related databases, where a searchable data set (e.g., MIDI files) is linked to a data set containing music files that are not easily searchable (e.g., raw audio files).

The amount of multimedia information available today due to the evolution of the internet, low-cost devices (e.g., digital video cameras, digital cameras, video capture cards, MIDI devices, audio cards, digital audio, and the like) to generate multimedia content, and low-cost storage (e.g., hard disks, CDs, DVD, flash memory, and the like) increases the need to search and retrieve relevant multimedia data efficiently. Unlike text-based retrieval, where keywords are successfully used to index into documents, multimedia data retrieval has no easily accessed indexing feature.

One approach to searching audio portions of multimedia collections is to hum a portion of the audio as the search criteria. A query by humming system is described in Ghias et al., "Query by Humming: Musical Information Retrieval in an Audio Database", ACM Multimedia 95 Proceedings, 1995, pages 231-236, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Query by humming requires a user to hum a portion of the audio file, which is then converted into a musical contour (i.e., a relative pitch stream of audio symbols). The musical contour can be represented as a simple string of characters, such as "U, D, S", where U represents that the current note is higher than previous note, D represents that the current note is lower than previous note, and S represents that the current note is the same pitch as previous note. Files in a multimedia database that are being searched ...

Method and apparatus for generating musical tone waveforms by user input of sample waveform frequency
2010-03-24 00:00:00
has the pitch designated by said performance information, and a sampling frequency of the musical tone waveform samples generated corresponding to at least one of said plurality of performance parts is different from the sampling frequency of the musical tone waveform samples generated corresponding to the other performance parts; and

a reproducing step of playing back said musical tone waveform samples generated by said generating step.

4. A method of generating musical tones which is executed on a computer, comprising:

a first receiving step of receiving a plurality of pieces of performance information for commanding to generate musical tones;

a second receiving step of receiving limitation information defining a maximum number of channels for generating tones;

a generating step of carrying out, at predetermined time intervals longer than a sampling cycle, a musical tone waveform calculation of a plurality of sounding channels which said performance information has commanded to generate tones, for generating a plurality of musical tone waveform samples in said plurality of sounding channels, wherein when said performance information commands to start generation of a new tone, one new sounding channel is added to said plurality of sounding channels, and when the tone generation in one of said plurality of sounding channels is finished, said one of said plurality of sounding channels is removed from said plurality of sounding channels; and

a reproduction step of outputting said plurality of musical tone waveform samples, sample by sample, every sampling cycle;

wherein said generating step generates said musical tone waveform samples by said musical tone waveform calculation in a manner such that a maximum number of said plurality of sounding channels is limited in accordance with said limitation information by inhibiting said musical tone waveform calculation for some of said plurality of sounding channels when a total number of said sounding channels exceeds the maximum number defined by said limitation information.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the received limitation information is input based on a setting operation by a user.

6. A method of generating musical tones which is executed on a computer, comprising:

a first receiving step of receiving a plurality of pieces of performance information for commanding to generate musical tones;

a second receiving step of receiving limitation information defining a maximum amount of processing capacity of a processor of the computer which can be employed for tone generation;

a generating step of carrying out, at predetermined time intervals longer than a sampling cycle, a musical tone waveform calculation of a plurality of sounding channels which said performance information has commanded to generate tones, for generating a plurality of musical tone waveform samples in said plurality of sounding channels, wherein when said performance information commands to start generation of a new tone, one new sounding channel is added to said plurality of sounding channels, and when the tone generation in one of said plurality of sounding channels is finished, said one of said plurality of sounding channels is removed from said plurality of sounding channels; and

a reproduction step of outputting said plurality of musical tone waveform samples, sample by sample, every sampling cycle;

wherein said generating step generates said musical tone waveform samples by said musical tone waveform calculation in a manner such that a total number of said plurality of sounding channels is limited in accordance with said limitation information by inhibiting said musical tone waveform calculation for some of said plurality of sounding channels when a total amount of processing capacity of the processor which is used by the musical tone waveform calculation in the generating step exceeds the maximum amount of processing capacity of the processor defined by said limitation information.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the received limitation information is input based on a setting operation by a user.

8. A method of generating musical tones which is executed on a computer, comprising:

a performance information receiving step of receiving performance information which designates a pitch of each of the musical tones to be generated;

a control information receiving step of receiving control information;

a waveform sample generating step of carrying out, at predetermined time intervals longer than a sampling cycle, a musical tone waveform calculation of a plurality of sounding channels which said performance information has commanded to generate tones, for reading musical tone waveform samples from a memory, interpolating the read musical tone waveform samples in a manner selected by the control information, at a rate corresponding to a pitch designated for each of said sounding channels by said performance information, and generating a plurality of musical tone waveform samples for each of said sounding channels based on the musical tone waveform samples interpolated, wherein said musical tone waveform samples generated has the pitch designated by said performance information; and

a reproducing step of outputting said musical tone waveform samples generated by said waveform sample generating step, sample by sample, every sampling cycle.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the received control information is input based on a setting operation by a user.

10. A method of of generating musical tones which is executed on a computer, comprising:

a first receiving step of receiving performance information;

a second receiving step of receiving instruction information for instructing a digital filter to switch on or off;

a generating step of carrying out, at predetermined time intervals longer than a sampling cycle, a musical tone waveform calculation in response to the received performance information, for generating a plurality of mus...

Graphic/tactile musical keyboard and nomographic music notation
2010-03-23 00:00:00
wherein said lower row keys have a uniform width equal to the uniform width of the middle row keys, and wherein the frontmost ends of all said lower row keys are coplanar; and

a nomographic music notation system comprising musical notation wherein notes to be played on one row of the keyboard are graphically marked while notes to be played on an other row of the keyboard are unmarked, said notation system, in addition to conventional key signature symbols, including in the key signature area nomographic symbols indicating the lines and spaces on which said graphically marked notes occur.

2. A musical instruction system according to claim 1, wherein the graphic markings on certain notes and the nomographic markings in the key signature are alike.

3. The musical instruction system of claim 1, wherein notes are marked with a diagonal slant " " through the body of the note.

4. The musical instruction system of claim 1, wherein the upper row C鈾?/D鈾?and D鈾?/E鈾?keys are graphically and tactilely differentiated from the remaining upper row keys by lengthening the upper row C鈾?/D鈾?and D鈾?/E鈾?keys so that from ends thereof are relatively closer to the player than front ends of the remaining upper row keys, and

wherein the F鈾?/G鈾? G鈾?/A鈾? and A鈾?/B鈾?keys are graphically and tactilely differentiated from the remaining middle row keys by lengthening the F鈾?/G鈾? G鈾?/A鈾? and A鈾?/B鈾?keys so that front ends thereof are relatively closer to the player than front ends of the remaining middle row keys.

5. The musical instruction system of claim 1, wherein the upper row F and G keys are both graphically and tactilely differentiated from the remaining upper row keys by darkening the top and front surfaces of the upper row F and G keys, and by lengthening the upper row F and G keys so that front ends thereof are relatively closer to the player than front ends of the remaining upper row keys, and by beveling top surfaces and opposing side surfaces of the upper row F and G keys at the front ends thereof; and

wherein the C keys are both graphically and tactilely differentiated from the remaining middle row keys by darkening the top and front surfaces thereof, and by lengthening and bevelling the front ends thereof, said F, G, and C keys thus tactilely providing a major scale index.

6. The musical instruction system of claim 5, wherein top surfaces of the upper row F and G keys are raised above top surfaces of the remaining upper row keys by about one-eighth inch (3 mm).

7. The musical instruction system of claim 5, wherein top surfaces of the C keys are raised above top surfaces of the remaining middle row keys by about one-eighth inch (3 mm).

8. The musical instruction system of claim 5, wherein the lower row F and G keys are graphically differentiated from the remaining lower row keys by darkening top and front surfaces of the lower row F and G keys.

9. The musical instruction system of claim 8, wherein top surfaces of the lower row F and G keys are raised above top surfaces of the remaining lower row keys by about one-eighth inch (3 mm).

10. A graphic/tactile musical instruction system, comprising:

tone producing means for producing a musical note in response to the actuation of a selected key of a keyboard;

a graphic/tactile keyboard wherein actuation of any two adjacent keys within a single row causes the tone producing means to produce two musical notes separated by a whole tone, and actuation of any two adjoining keys in adjacent rows produces two musical notes separated by a half-tone, the keyboard having:

an upper row of keys positioned relatively farther away from the player, the upper row keys producing the notes C鈾? D鈾? D鈾?/E鈾? F, G, A and B, wherein adjacent upper row keys are separated by a gap, and wherein selected upper row keys are graphically and tactilely differentiated from the remaining upper row keys, the upper row keys in a predetermined one or more highest octaval groupings being narrower than the upper row keys in octaval groupings below said narrower keys;

a middle row of keys po...

Suspension of musical instruments
2010-03-20 00:00:00
the harness to an other attachment point on the instrument, and a third connector between the first and second connectors, attached to the instrument for limiting the extent to which the instrument can be displaced from the harness.Claims

What is claimed:

1. A harness for the suspension of a musical instrument, which includes a plurality of attachment points, comprising

suspension means;

means for attaching said suspension means to one of said attachment points of said instrument;

means for attaching said suspension means to another one of said attachment points of said instrument;

means for attaching said suspension means to still another one of said attachment points of said instrument;

the attachment of said suspension means to said instrument limiting the extent to which said suspension means can be displaced from said instrument.

2. A harness as defined in claim 1 wherein said instrument is a guitar having said plurality of attachment points, and said suspension means is attached to said guitar at three separated ones of said attachment points.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said suspension means comprises

a main strap with a first end including said means for attaching said suspension means to said one of said attachment points, and a second end including said means for attaching said suspension means to said another of said attachment points and a secondary strap with a first end including said means for attaching said suspension means to said still another of said attachment points, and a second end including means for attachment to said main strap at a position intermediate said first and said second ends of said main strap.

4. A harness as defined in claim 1 wherein said suspension means comprises

first, second and third straps, each having first and second ends, with the first ends conjoined and the second ends connected separately to said attachment points on said instrument.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a ring having a circumference and said suspension means comprises first, second and third straps, each having first and second ends;

said first ends containing means for looping about and securing to said circumference of said ring; and

said second ends being connected to attachment points on said instrument.

6. A harness as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said means for attaching said suspension means to said one of said attachment points, said means for attaching said suspension means to said another of said attachment points or said means for attaching said suspension means to said still another of said attachment...

Hand-held percussion musical instrument comprising elongate tube shaped as a ring, incorporating dividers, and incoporating contained sound-generating elements
2010-03-18 00:00:00
to define at least one chamber adapted to contain hard solid masses,

said wall means being sufficiently small to be readily grasped, lifted and shaken by one hand of a performer,

(b) hard solid masses disposed loosely in said chamber,

said wall means and said masses being so constructed and related that shaking of said wall means by said one hand of said performer causes said masses to impact said wall means and generate sound that is audible to said performer and others, and

(c) drumhead means mounted adjacent said wall means and connected thereto,

said drumhead means and wall means being so constructed and related to each other that striking of said drumhead means by the other hand of said performer creates combined sounds, one by said drumhead means, and one by said above-stated impacting of said wall means by said masses.

12. The invention as claimed in claim 11, in which said wall means is shaped as a closed figure having an opening defined thereby, and in which said drumhead means is provided across said opening.

13. The invention as claimed in claim 12, in which said wall means and drumhead means are disposed parallel to each other.

14. The invention as claimed in claim 11, in which said wall means is a tube formed of hard synthetic resin, said tube being bent into a closed figure, and in which said masses are disposed in said tube.

15. The invention as claimed in claim 14, in which a plurality of walls are provided internally of said tube at spaced points therealong to divide said tube into a plurality of tubes, said tubes defining at least said one chamber adapted to contain said masses.

16. The invention as claimed in claim 14, in which said drumhead means is a rigid rim across which a flexible drumhead is stretched under tension, and in which means are provided to fixedly mount said rim on said tube of hard synthetic resin.

17. A percussion musical instrument, which comprises:

(a) wall means to define an elongate tube

said wall means being formed of hard synthetic resin having such characteristics, and being sufficiently thin, that when hard solid masses are disposed loosely within said tube, and said tube is shaken, audible percussion vibrations will be created in the air surrounding said tube due to the impacting of said masses on said wall means,

the diameter of said tube being sufficiently small that said tube may be readily grasped by one hand of a musician,

(b) divider means provided at spaced points along said tube to divide the length of said tube into chambers at least some of which are adapted to contain hard solid masses, and

(c) hard solid masses loosely disposed in at least some of said chambers to impact said wall means and said divider means and create said audible percussion vibrations when said tube is shaken by said one hand.Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hand-held percussion musical instruments for use by a performer to lend percussion sound emphasis to music, singing and/or dancing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Examples of percussion musical instruments designed to be held in one hand by a performer for lending motion an...

Method and apparatus for achieving timbre modulation in an electronic musical instrument
2010-03-15 00:00:00
scale factors increase in magnitude. The output of the comparator combined with the note attack and decay indicator signal is used to control the transmission of the sample gating signalof the waveshape generator. In the preferred embodiment, the control of the sample gating signal is in synchronism with the waveshape generator since common frequency signals are used for both the waveshape generator and the timbre modulation system. In this way the basic audio waveshape undergoes variable segmentation resulting in timbre modulation during attack. With this arrangement, organ "chiff" can effectively be simulated. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the same principlescan be applied during decay to create other musical effects. In addition, various combinations of frequency signals may be chosen for connection to the comparator. Different combinations of frequency signals result in different segmentationcharacteristics and therefore different timbre modulation characteristics. These optional arrangements facilitate accomplishing the particular "musical" objectives of the musical instrument designer.

In another variation of the present invention, frequency signals may be compared to an external digital signal. Timbre modulation will then be coordinated with the change in that external signal rather than attack and/or decay indicator signal. This allows still another option to the musical instrument designer in utilizing the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic musical instrument utilizing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a logic diagram of the present invention.<...

Method and apparatus for teaching musical notation to young children
2010-03-12 00:00:00
INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the educational tools and display apparatus, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for teaching musical notation and auditory perception to young children, by providing a system of symbols endowed with distinctive characteristics which the child can associate individually with each of the musical notes.

2. Background

Many systems and aids have been proposed for teaching the musical scale to young children. A number of these systems have utilized colors and/or colored objects, while others have taken the form of card games. Illustrative examples of earlier approaches include those set forth in the following U.S. patents:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,539 (Searing) discloses a system which employs display cases having horizontal dividers which represent the lines on a staff. The cases hold flash cards showing objects having names which begin with letters which correspond with the positions on the scale, i.e., a flash card showing a pair of gloves is provided for the note "G". A cassette tape device generates the noun, the name of the note, and then the sound of the note, after which the student selects another card; the time required to remove all of the cards is clocked by the device.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,183 (Ney) discloses a portable dummy keyboard having a frame 56 which displays the musical staves above the keyboard. The frame supports wires on which colored markers representing each of the keys can be mounted.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,447,213 (Sledge) discloses a color code system in which each of the lines on a staff is provided with its own color, i.e. the "G" line is colored blue, and a small blue house is mounted at the end of the line, drawing the analogy to a street. Markers in the shape of animals having names which begin with the appropriate letters (i.e., a goose for "GG", a bear for the note "B", and so forth) are mountable on the display board and are colored to match the appropriate note line. For example, the goose is colored blue (and is also marked with the letter "G"), and the child is taught that the goose lives in the blue house at the end of the blue street. After the child learns the line with which each note is associated, the colored house for that line is moved to the appropriate key on a dummy piano keyboard made up of blocks 12.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,638 (Adams) discloses a device comprising a series of interfitting dummy key blocks which are identical in shape to the keys of a piano, but which are organized according to a color arrangement.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,793 (Jay) discloses a system which is somewhat similar to that of Sledge, in that each note has associated therewith the image of an animal whose name begins with the letter which represents that note; i.e., a picture of the head of a goat appears with the note "G" on the printed musical score, along with the letter "G" itself. This same symbol is also displayed on the sides of a hollow toy block which houses swinging chimes which emit the sound of the appropriate note when the block is shaken.

The prior art systems described above all employ some form of symbology, by associating colors and/or images with the notes of the musical scale. However, some of these systems (e.g. Searing) are overly complex for use by very young children, while others (e.g. Adams, Ney, and Sledge) are particularly adapted to teaching the use of a piano keyboard, which may or may not be the object of instructing the child.

More fundamentally, none of these earlier systems makes full use of the capabilities which symbolization offers in education of young children. Recently, it has come to be understood that children employ symbology in changing and increasingly complex patterns very early in life. It is now believed that, beginning at about the age of two, children pass through a series of developmental crests that have been termed "waves". As the child enters each wave, the use of symbolization becomes increasingly sophisticated. In particular, as children approach the more advanced stages of symbolization (around three to five years of age), they commonly show an attraction toward what has been referred to as "second-order" symbolization, in other words, a set of symbols or marks that itself refers to a first set of symbols or marks. It is believed that the impulse to create second-order symbol systems is a deep-seated human inclination which emerges with little provocation. The systems described above generally employ symbology in only the most basic forms, and thus do not take advantage of the powerful, higher-order levels of symboliza...