PERFORMANCE APPARATUS AND ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

• US 20110290097A1
• Filed: 05/31/2011
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Takahashi, Hiroki, Mizushina, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,653,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/622
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/185 Stick input, e.g. drumsticks with position or contact sensors stick for music conducting applications, e.g. conductor baton movement detection G10H2220/206
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing. conductor baton movement sensing G10H2220/206, angle sensing without reference to gravity G10H2220/391; player body joint angle sensing G10H2220/321
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/415 Infrared beams
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/521 Hall effect transducers or similar magnetic field sensing semiconductor devices, e.g. for string vibration sensing or key movement sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/291 Spint drum bass, i.e. mimicking bass drums; Pedals or interfaces therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/211 Wireless transmission, e.g. of music parameters or control data by radio, infrared or ultrasound beam G10H2220/405
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/435 Gensound percussion, i.e. generating or synthesising the sound of a percussion instrument; Control of specific aspects of percussion sounds, e.g. harmonics, under the influence of hitting force, hitting position, settings or striking instruments such as mallet, drumstick, brush, hand spint percussion G10H2230/231
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/146 using a membrane, e.g. a drum; Pick-up means for vibrating surfaces, e.g. housing of an instrument

Abstract

A performance apparatus 11 extends in a longitudinal direction to be held by a player, and is provided with an acceleration sensor 23. CPU 21 of the performance apparatus 11 gives a sound source unit 31 of a musical instrument unit 19 an instruction (note-on event) to generate a musical tone. CPU 21 generates a note-on event indicating a sound-generation timing represented by a time when an acceleration-sensor value of the acceleration sensor 23 exceeds a first predetermined value and thereafter has decreased to a value less than a second threshold value β, which is less than a first threshold value α, and gives the musical instrument unit 19 the generated note-on event to generate a musical tone.

Claims

1. A performance apparatus to be used with a musical-tone generating device for generating a musical tone, the performance apparatus comprising:

a holding member extending in a longitudinal direction to be held by a player;

an acceleration sensor provided in the holding member, for obtaining an acceleration-sensor value; and

controlling means for giving the musical-tone generating device an instruction of generating a sound, wherein

the controlling means comprises sound-generation timing detecting means for giving an instruction to the musical-tone generating device to generate a musical tone at a sound-generation timing represented by a time when the acceleration-sensor value obtained by the acceleration sensor has decreased to a value less than a second threshold value after increasing to a value larger than a first threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is less than the first threshold value.

2. The performance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a magnetic sensor provided in the holding member, for obtaining a magnetic sensor value; and

difference calculating means for calculating based on the magnetic sensor value obtained by the magnetic sensor a difference value representing angles between a previously set reference orientation and an orientation of an axial direction of the holding member, wherein

the controlling means comprises pitch determining means for determining based on the difference value calculated by the difference calculating means a pitch of a musical tone to be generated.

3. The performance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the difference calculating means calculates based on the magnetic sensor value obtained by the magnetic sensor a discrepancy value θ

representing angles between the magnetic north and the axial direction of the holding member, and further calculates a reference discrepancy value θ

p representing angles between the magnetic north and the axial direction of the holding member held at setting, wherein the reference discrepancy value θ

p represents the reference orientation, calculating a difference between the discrepancy value θ and

the reference discrepancy value θ

p, wherein the calculated difference represents the difference value.

4. The performance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the pitch determining means determines the pitch of a musical tone to be generated such that said pitch constantly increases or decreases as the difference value calculated by the difference calculating means increases.

5. The performance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a magnetic sensor provided in the holding member, for obtaining a magnetic sensor value; and

difference calculating means for calculating based on the magnetic sensor value obtained by the magnetic sensor a difference value representing angles between a previously set reference orientation and an orientation of an axial direction of the holding member, wherein

the controlling means comprises timbre determining means for determining based on the difference value calculated by the difference calculating means a timbre of a musical tone to be generated.

6. The performance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the difference calculating means calculates based on the magnetic sensor value obtained by the magnetic sensor a discrepancy value θ

representing angles between the magnetic north and the axial direction of the holding member, and further calculates a reference discrepancy value θ

p representing angles between the magnetic north and the axial direction of the holding member held at setting, wherein the reference discrepancy value θ

p represents the reference orientation, calculating a difference between the discrepancy value θ and

the reference discrepancy value θ

p, wherein the calculated difference represents the difference value.

7. The performance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the controlling means comprises sound-volume level calculating means for detecting the maximum value among the acceleration-sensor values obtained by the acceleration sensor and calculating a sound-volume level in accordance with the detected maximum value of the acceleration-sensor value, and

the sound-generation timing detecting means gives an instruction to the musical-tone generating device to generate a musical tone of the sound-volume level calculated by the sound-volume level calculating means at the sound-generation timing.

8. The performance apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the sound-volume level calculating means calculates a sound-volume level Vel based on the detected maximum value Amax from the following equation:

Vel=a·

Amax,

where if a·

Amax≧

the maximum sound-volume level Vmax, Vel=Vmax, and “

a”

is a positive constant.

9. The performance apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a table containing ranges of the acceleration-sensor values and the sound-volume levels associated with the ranges respectively, wherein

the sound-volume level calculating means obtains a sound-volume level based on which range in the table the maximum value Amax of the acceleration-sensor value belongs to.

10. The performance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the controlling means further comprises sound-volume level calculating means for obtaining time-interval information representing an interval between the time when the acceleration-sensor value obtained by the acceleration sensor reaches a first predetermined level and the time when said acceleration-sensor value thereafter reaches the second threshold value, wherein the latter time corresponds to the sound-generation timing, and calculating a sound-volume level based on the obtained time-interval information, and

the sound-generation timing detecting means gives an instruction to the musical-tone generating device to generate a musical tone of the sound-volume level calculated by the sound-volume level calculating means at the sound-generation timing.

11. The performance apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the sound-volume level calculating means obtains time-interval information representing an interval from the time when the acceleration-sensor value obtained by the acceleration sensor reaches the first threshold value representing the first predetermined level to the time when said acceleration-sensor value thereafter reaches the second threshold value.

12. The performance apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the sound-volume level calculating means calculates the sound-volume level Vel based on the obtained time-interval information “

T”

from the following equation;

Vel=a·

T,

where if a·

T≧

the maximum sound-volume level Vmax, Vel=Vmax, and “

a”

is a positive constant.

13. The performance apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a table containing ranges of the time-interval information and the sound-volume levels associated with the ranges respectively, wherein

the sound-volume level calculating means obtains a sound-volume level based on which range in the table the time-interval information belongs to.

14. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a musical instrument unit; and

a performance apparatus, wherein the musical instrument unit comprises;

musical-tone generating device for generating musical tones, wherein

the performance apparatus comprises;

a holding member extending in a longitudinal direction to be held by a player;

an acceleration sensor provided in the holding member, for obtaining an acceleration-sensor value; and

controlling means for giving an instruction of generating a sound to the musical-tone generating device, wherein

the controlling means comprises sound-generation timing detecting means for giving an instruction to the musical-tone generating device to generate a musical tone at a sound-generation timing represented by a time when the acceleration-sensor value obtained by the acceleration sensor has decreased to a value less than a second threshold value after increasing to a value larger than a first threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is less than the first threshold value, and wherein

both the musical instrument unit and the performance apparatus comprise communication means, respectively.