Musical instruments including keyboard guitars

• US 10,157,602 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2016
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Michael S. Hanks
• Original Assignee: Michael S. Hanks
• Inventors: Hanks, Michael S.
• Primary Examiner(s): WARREN, DAVID S
• Application Number:
  US15/077,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20170278500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,001 Days
• Field of Search: 84615
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0551 using variable capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/20 for transposition
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/225 Portamento, i.e. smooth continuously variable pitch-bend, without emphasis of each chromatic pitch during the pitch change, which only stops at the end of the pitch shift, as obtained, e.g. by a MIDI pitch wheel or trombone
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/096 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/301 Fret-like switch array arrangements for guitar necks
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/365 Ergonomy of electrophonic musical instruments

Abstract

A musical instrument, for example, a keyboard guitar, includes a body, an elongated neck coupled to the body, neck keys disposed on the elongated neck, and an output for transmitting an electrical signal generated by the musical instrument. Activation of each neck key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note. The musical instrument may also include body keys disposed on the body, and a strum bar that generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note based on which of the body keys are activated during activation of the strum bar. Further, the musical instrument may include a continuous graphic image spanning the front face of the body and the body keys, forming a continuous pattern that is unbroken across a transition between key surfaces of the body keys and the front face of the body.

Claims

1. A musical instrument, comprising:

a body;

an elongated neck coupled to the body;

a plurality of neck keys disposed on the elongated neck;

a plurality of body keys disposed on the body; and

an output for transmitting an electrical signal generated by the musical instrument;

wherein activation of each neck key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note corresponding to the activated neck key, activation of each body key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note corresponding to the activated body key, the body keys are tuned in a first chromatic scale and the neck keys are tuned in a second chromatic scale extending in the same direction as the first chromatic scale, and the musical note corresponding to at least one of the neck keys has a lower pitch than the musical notes corresponding to the plurality of body keys; and

wherein at least one of the plurality of neck keys is configured to control accompaniment music when said neck key is activated.

2. The musical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a hinge disposed between the body and the neck and coupling the neck to the body, thereby allowing the neck to move relative to the body.

3. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the plurality of body keys are disposed in a keybed on the body;

and

further comprising a pivot coupled to the keybed and the body to allow movement of the keybed relative to the front face of the body, such that the keybed can be positioned at multiple different angles relative to the body.

4. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the keybed is releaseably engaged to the body and moveable between one of a first orientation and a second orientation, and wherein the first orientation is a one hundred eighty degree rotation of the second orientation.

5. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the elongated neck further includes a touch sensitive surface configured such that a user may alter the pitch represented by the electrical signal generated by the body keys and/or the neck keys by dragging a finger along the touch sensitive surface.

6. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the body and neck define an electric guitar shape.

7. The musical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a whammy bar coupled to the body, the whammy bar adapted to adjust the electrical signal generated by the body keys and/or neck keys when the whammy bar is moved.

8. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the neck includes a plurality of transpose buttons located along a length of the neck, and wherein the transpose buttons are configured to control tuning of the body keys and the neck keys such that activation of each of the transpose buttons alters the pitch represented by the electrical signal that is generated by each of the body keys and the neck keys.

9. The musical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a continuous graphic image spanning a front face of the body and the plurality of neck keys, thereby forming a continuous pattern that is unbroken across a transition between key surfaces of the neck keys and a front face of the body.

10. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of body keys and the plurality of neck keys comprise physical keys having a piano key shape.

11. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the first chromatic scale and the second chromatic scale define a continuous chromatic scale spanning the body keys and the neck keys.

12. The musical instrument of claim 1, wherein the first chromatic scale and the second chromatic scale are separate from one another.

13. A musical instrument, comprising:

a body;

an elongated neck coupled to the body;

an output for transmitting an electrical signal generated by the musical instrument;

a plurality of neck keys disposed on the elongated neck; and

a strum bar disposed on the body, wherein activation of the strum bar generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note, and wherein the represented pitch generated by the strum bar activation is based on which of the neck keys are activated during activation of the strum bar.

14. The musical instrument of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of body keys disposed on the body, wherein activation of each body key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note.

15. The musical instrument of claim 14, wherein the body keys and the neck keys are tuned in a continuous chromatic scale spanning the body keys and the neck keys.

16. The musical instrument of claim 14, wherein the body keys are tuned to a first chromatic scale and the neck keys are tuned to a second chromatic scale separate from the first chromatic scale of the body keys.

17. The musical instrument of claim 14, wherein the neck includes a plurality of transpose buttons located along a length of the neck, and wherein the transpose buttons are configured to control tuning of the body keys and/or the neck keys such that activation of each of the transpose button alters the pitch represented by the electrical signal that is generated by each of the body keys and/or the neck keys.

18. The musical instrument of claim 14, wherein the body includes a body surface and each body key includes a top key surface;

and

further comprising a continuous graphic image spanning the body surface and the plurality of top key surfaces forming a continuous pattern that is unbroken across a transition between the top key surfaces and the body surface.

19. A musical instrument, comprising:

a body including a front face;

an elongated neck coupled to the body;

an output for transmitting an electrical signal generated by the musical instrument;

a plurality of body keys disposed on the front face of the body, wherein activation of each body key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note; and

a continuous graphic image spanning the front face of the body and the plurality of body keys, thereby forming a continuous pattern that is unbroken across a transition between key surfaces of the body keys and the front face of the body.

20. The musical instrument of claim 19, wherein the continuous pattern is a single color.

21. The musical instrument of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of neck keys disposed on the elongated neck, wherein activation of each neck key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note.

22. A musical instrument, comprising:

a body including a touch sensitive surface defining multiple touch sensitive body keys;

an elongated neck coupled to the body, the elongated neck including a touch sensitive surface defining multiple touch sensitive neck keys; and

an output for transmitting an electrical signal generated by the musical instrument;

wherein activation of each touch sensitive neck key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note corresponding to the activated touch sensitive neck key, activation of each touch sensitive body key generates an electrical signal at the output representing a pitch associated with a musical note corresponding to the activated touch sensitive body key, the touch sensitive body keys are tuned in a first chromatic scale and the touch sensitive neck keys are tuned in a second chromatic scale extending in the same direction as the first chromatic scale, and the musical note corresponding to at least one of the touch sensitive neck keys has a lower pitch than the musical notes corresponding to the plurality of touch sensitive body keys; and

wherein at least one of the plurality of neck keys is configured to control accompaniment music when said neck key is activated.