Tone pitch changing device for selecting and storing groups of pitches based on their temperament

• US 5,117,727 A
• Filed: 12/26/1989
• Issued: 06/02/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Matsuda, Toshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoop, Jr., William M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DONELS, JEFFREY
• Application Number:
  US07/456,942
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 84/442, 84/445, 84/451, 84/454, 84/455, 84/477 R, 84/478, 84/615, 84/619, 84/653, 84/657, 84/678, 84/685, 84/DIG. 18
• US Class Current: 84/619
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/20 for transposition
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/411 Railsback scale, i.e. stretched scale for piano tuning with bass keys having lower pitches and treble keys having higher pitches than foreseen by the equally tempered scale
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/471 Natural or just intonation scales, i.e. based on harmonics consonance such that most adjacent pitches are related by harmonically pure ratios of small integers pitch correction only when playing chords to ensure chord consonance G10H2210/586
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/481 Pythagorean scale, i.e. in which the frequency relationships of all intervals should be based on the perfect fifth, with ratio 3:2
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/491 Meantone scales, i.e. in which all non-octave intervals are generated from a stack of tempered perfect fifths; and wherein, by choosing an appropriate size for major and minor thirds, the syntonic comma is tempered to unison, e.g. quarter comma meantone, syntonic comma, d'Alembert modified meantone
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/002 using a common processing for different operations or calculations, and a set of microinstructions (programme) to control the sequence thereof

Abstract

A tone pitch changing device comprising an operation content memory for storing the contents of an operation required for generating a sound having a pitch which belongs to one of a group of pitches, a frequency interval between each pair of adjacent pitches of each group being different among the groups of pitches, a group selecting unit for selecting and indicating one of the groups of pitches, an operation content reading unit for reading the contents of an operation, required for generating a sound having a pitch of the group selected and indicated by the group selecting unit, from the operation content storing unit, an operating unit for performing an operation in accordance with the contents of the operation read from the operation content reading unit, an operation result memory for storing the result of the operation performed by the operating unit, a pitch indicating unit for indicating a pitch of the group, and an operation result reading unit for reading the result of the operation performed with respect to a pitch indicated by the pitch indicating unit.

Claims

1. A pitch changing device comprising:

conversion content generating means for generating a content of a conversion required for attaining a sound having a pitch which belongs to one of a plurality of groups of pitches, a frequency interval between each pair of adjacent pitches of each group being different among said plurality of groups of pitches;

group selecting means for selecting and indicating one group of said plurality of groups of pitches;

converting means for performing a conversion in accordance with the content of the conversion, which is required for generating a sound having a pitch and which belongs to the group selected and indicated by said group selecting means, from said conversion content generating means;

conversion result storing means for storing a result of the conversion performed by said converting means;

pitch indicating means for indicating a pitch which belongs to any one of the plurality of groups of pitches;

pitch determining means for determining a whether the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means belongs to the group of pitches selected and indicated by said group selecting means;

conversion result reading means for reading the result of the conversion performed by said converting means for the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means when the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means belongs to the group selected and indicated by said group selecting means; and

group selecting control means for controlling said group selecting means to select and indicate a group of pitches which contains the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means when the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means belong to a group other than the group selected and indicated by said group selecting means.

2. The pitch changing device of claim 1, further comprising:

change indicating means for indicating a uniform change of each pitch of said group selected and indicated by a constant quantity thereof; and

operating result modifying means for modifying the result of the operation in accordance with the uniform change indicated by said change indicating means.

3. The pitch changing device of claim 1, wherein said selected and indicated group of pitches is an equal temperament.

4. The pitch changing device of claim 1, wherein said selected and indicated group of pitches is a pure temperament.

5. The pitch changing device of claim 1, wherein said selected and indicated group of pitches is a Pythagoras temperament.

6. The pitch changing device of claim 1, wherein said selected and indicated group of pitches is a meantone temperament.

7. The pitch changing device of claim 1, wherein said selected and indicated group of pitches is a temperament used for the tuning of a piano.

8. A pitch changing device comprising:

operation content storing means for storing a content of an operation required for attaining a sound having a pitch which belongs to one of a plurality of groups of pitches, a frequency interval between each pair of adjacent pitches of each group being different among said plurality of groups of pitches;

group selecting means for selecting and indicating one group of said plurality of groups of pitches;

operation content reading means for reading the content of the operation, which is required for generating a sound having a pitch of said group selected and indicated by said group selecting means, from said operation content storing means;

operating means for performing the operation in accordance with the contents of the operation read from said operation content reading means;

operation result storing means for storing the result of the operation performed by said operating means;

pitch indicating means for indicating a pitch which belongs to any one of the plurality of groups of pitches;

pitch determining means for determining whether the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means belongs to the group of pitches selected and indicated by said group selecting means;

operation result means for reading the result of the operation performed by said operating means for the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means when the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means belongs to the group selected and indicated by said group selecting means; and

group selecting control means for controlling said group selecting means to select and indicate a group of pitches which contains the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means when the pitch indicated by said pitch indicating means belongs to a group other then the group selected and indicated by said group selecting means.

9. A tone pitch changing device as set forth in claim 8, further comprising:

a change indicating means for indicating a uniform change of each pitch of said group by a constant quantity thereof; and

a operation result modifying means for modifying the result of the operation in accordance with the indication by said change indicating means.

10. A tone pitch changing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said group of pitches is a equal temperament.

11. A tone pitch changing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said group of pitches is a pure temperament.

12. A tone pitch changing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said group of pitches is a Pythagoras temperament.

13. A tone pitch changing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said group of pitches is a meantone temperament.

14. A tone pitch changing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said group of pitches is a temperament used for the tuning of a piano.