Electronic mallet controller with range adjustment/low note assignment

• US 10,311,841 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2018
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pearl Musical Instrument Company (Pearl Corporation of Australia Pty Limited)
• Original Assignee: Pearl Musical Instrument Company (Pearl Corporation of Australia Pty Limited)
• Inventors: Lafrenz, Shawn D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher, Marlon T
• Application Number:
  US16/051,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20190139522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0016 Means for indicating which keys, frets or strings are to be actuated, e.g. using lights or leds
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/344 Structural association with individual keys electrically operated wind-actuated organs G10B3/22
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/395 Special musical scales, i.e. other than the 12-interval equally tempered scale; Special input devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/026 associated with a key or other user input device, e.g. key indicator lights
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/061 LED, i.e. using a light-emitting diode as indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/185 Stick input, e.g. drumsticks with position or contact sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/255 Spint xylophone, i.e. mimicking any multi-toned percussion instrument with a multiplicity of tuned resonating bodies, regardless of their material or shape, e.g. xylophone, vibraphone, lithophone, metallophone, marimba, balafon, ranat, gamban, anklong

Abstract

An electronic mallet controller includes a plurality of bars representing musical notes. Each bar active produces a signal indicative of the respective musical note when struck by an implement, and all adjacent bars are spaced apart with the same spacing. A first user input permits a user to select a lowest diatonic natural note of the range of the musical instrument to thereby define a location of dead notes. A processor circuit interprets each signal as an outputted musical note. Based on the first user input, the processor circuit shifts mapping between the bars and the musical notes to be outputted, causing the dead note locations to be associated with certain of the bars, and wherein the bars at the dead note locations are inactive bars. An indicator is associated with the inactive bars to indicate the location of the dead notes to the user.

Claims

1. An electronic mallet controller comprising:

a housing having an upper surface;

a plurality of bars representing musical notes associated with the upper surface, each bar, when active, being constructed and arranged to produce a signal indicative of the respective musical note when struck by an implement so as to define a musical instrument, all adjacent bars being spaced apart with the same spacing,

a first user input constructed and arranged to permit a user to select a lowest diatonic natural note of the range of the musical instrument to thereby define a location of dead notes;

a processor circuit constructed and arranged to interpret each signal as an outputted musical note, wherein based on the first user input, the processor circuit is constructed and arranged to shift mapping between the bars and the musical notes to be outputted, causing the dead note locations to be associated with certain of the bars, wherein the bars at the dead note locations are inactive bars, and

an indicator associated with the inactive bars to indicate the location of the dead notes to the user.

2. The mallet controller of claim 1, wherein the indicator is a cap constructed and arranged to cover over the inactive bar.

3. The mallet controller of claim 2, wherein the cap is of a color different from a color of the bars.

4. The mallet controller of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes a light source constructed and arranged to back-light the inactive bar.

5. The mallet controller of claim 1, further comprising a second user input constructed and arranged, when activated, to cause the processor circuit to shift the range of the musical instrument two octaves up or down from a default position.

6. The mallet controller of claim 1, further comprising a USB input so that power can be supplied to the mallet controller and data can be sent from the mallet controller.

7. The mallet controller of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of inputs for attaching foot pedals.

8. The mallet controller of claim 1, further comprising an MIDI input so that power can be supplied to the mallet controller and data can be sent from the mallet controller.

9. The mallet controller of claim 1, further comprising at least one vertical fader button and at least one horizontal fader button operable with the processor circuit to control fade.

10. A method of adjusting a low note assignment of a mallet controller, the method comprising:

providing a mallet controller comprising a housing having an upper surface, and a plurality of bars representing musical notes associated with the upper surface, each bar, when active, being constructed and arranged to produce a signal indicative of the respective musical note when struck by an implement so as to define a musical instrument, all adjacent bars being spaced apart with the same spacing,

setting a first low note assignment by shifting mapping between bars and the respective musical notes to be outputted, causing dead note locations to be associated with certain of the bars, wherein the bars at the dead note locations are inactive bars,

identifying each of the inactive bars and thus the dead note locations, and

when an active bar is struck, outputting an associated musical note signal based on the low note assignment setting.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising setting a second low note assignment by shifting mapping between bars and the respective musical notes to be outputted, causing new dead note locations to be associated with bars that are different from the certain bars, and wherein the identifying step includes identifying the bars associated with the new dead note locations.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising, prior to the outputting step, shifting an octave of the musical instrument, and wherein the outputting step includes outputting an associated musical note based on the low note assignment setting and the octave shift.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the identifying step comprises placing a cap over each inactive bar.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the identifying step comprising back-lighting each inactive bar.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the musical note signal is an MIDI signal.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the setting step employs a processor circuit and the setting step comprises:

assigning a number to each of the bars,

adding, in the processor circuit, a low-note-shift value to the bar number of a struck bar to define a sum,

employing a lookup table in a memory circuit of the mallet controller so that the processor circuit determines a scale degree based on the sum, and

if the value of the scale degree is not indicated of a dead note, applying, by the processor circuit, an octave shift.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the setting step is initiated by a user activing at least one button on the mallet controller.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the shifting step is initiated by a user activing at least one button on the mallet controller.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising providing a computer or mobile device to receive the outputted musical note signal.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the computer or mobile device is electrically connected to the mallet controller via a USB connection.