Transcending extensions of traditional east asian musical instruments
First Claim
1. A stringed instrument comprising:
- an elongated instrument body;
a plurality of strings coupled to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and spans a distance over said instrument body;
a plurality of bridges, wherein each bridge of said plurality of bridges is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each bridge of said plurality of bridges is slideably adjustable over a substantial portion of said span over said instrument body;
a plurality of vibration-sensing transducers, wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers generates a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of said associated separate string; and
an interface adapted to provide transducer signals generated by said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers to a multi-channel processing system.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
East Asia'"'"'s unique musical instruments and traditions have sadly been increasingly loosing favor to Western music and musical instruments. This invention intends to help reverse this trend by melding cutting-edge Western-music technologies with the noble innovations, timbre, playing techniques, and performance environments of, for example, East Asian musical instruments and traditions. East Asian stringed instruments may be fitted with separate pickups for each string for amplification, music synthesizer interfacing, separate string electronic pitch shifting, exotic signal processing, etc. Examples include the Japanese Koto, Chinese Sheng, Vietnamese Koto, Chinese Pipa, Japanese Biwa, and other similar instruments. Additional devices and structures, such as strain gauges, electronic strumming pads, miniature keyboards, harp, bass, or sympathetic strings, percussion impact sensors, and electronic music control switches, sliders, and buttons may be included. Video cameras may be attached to an instrument, and may be used as an instrument itself in conjunction with hand gestures. Any of the above may be used to control lighting effects as well as sound electronics.
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Citations
108 Claims
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1. A stringed instrument comprising:
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an elongated instrument body;
a plurality of strings coupled to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and spans a distance over said instrument body;
a plurality of bridges, wherein each bridge of said plurality of bridges is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each bridge of said plurality of bridges is slideably adjustable over a substantial portion of said span over said instrument body;
a plurality of vibration-sensing transducers, wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers generates a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of said associated separate string; and
an interface adapted to provide transducer signals generated by said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers to a multi-channel processing system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A stringed instrument comprising:
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an elongated instrument body;
means for coupling a plurality of strings to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and span a distance over said instrument body;
a plurality of bridges, wherein each bridge of said plurality of bridges is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each bridge of said plurality of bridges is slideably adjustable over a substantial portion of said span over said instrument body;
means for generating a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of each string of said plurality of strings; and
means for providing said distinct electrical transducer signal, for each of said plurality of strings, to a multi-channel processing system. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A stringed instrument comprising:
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an instrument body comprising a neck;
a plurality of frets coupled to said neck, wherein an open region is formed between adjacent frets of said plurality of frets;
a plurality of strings coupled to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and spans a distance over said neck, and wherein said tension of each string of said plurality of strings permits displacement of said string into said open region between adjacent frets to facilitate pitch change;
a plurality of vibration-sensing transducers, wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers generates a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of said associated separate string; and
an interface adapted to provide transducer signals generated by said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers to a multi-channel processing system. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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80. A stringed instrument comprising:
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an instrument body comprising a neck;
means for coupling a plurality of frets to said neck, wherein an open region is formed between adjacent frets of said plurality of frets;
means for coupling a plurality of strings to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and spans a distance over said neck, and wherein said tension of each string of said plurality of strings permits displacement of said string into said open region between adjacent frets to facilitate pitch change;
means for generating a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of each string of said plurality strings; and
means for providing said distinct electrical transducer signals, for each of said plurality of strings, to a multi-channel processing system.
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81. A stringed instrument comprising:
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an instrument body;
a plurality of strings coupled to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and spans a distance over said instrument body, and wherein each string of said plurality of strings comprise a plurality of individual fibers;
a plurality of vibration-sensing transducers, wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers is associated with a separate string of said plurality of strings, and wherein each transducer of said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers generates a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of said associated separate string; and
an interface adapted to provide transducer signals generated by said plurality of vibration-sensing transducers to a multi-channel processing system. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107)
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108. A stringed instrument comprising:
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an instrument body;
means for coupling a plurality of strings to said instrument body, wherein each string of said plurality of strings is under tension and spans a distance over said instrument body, and wherein each string of said plurality of strings comprise a plurality of individual fibers;
means for generating a distinct electrical transducer signal responsive to vibrations of each string of said plurality strings; and
means for providing said distinct electrical transducer signals, for each of said plurality of strings, to a multi-channel processing system.
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Specification