Moving tempered musical scale method and apparatus

• US 6,448,487 B1
• Filed: 10/29/1999
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Limited Partnership
• Original Assignee: Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Limited Partnership
• Inventors: Smith, Jack W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher, Marlon T.
• Application Number:
  US09/430,294
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• Field of Search: 846/09--10, 846/13, 846/15--16, 846/18--19, 846/34, 846/37, 846/49--50, 846/66, 846/69, 844/54--55
• US Class Current: 84/669
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/20 for transposition
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/383 Chord detection and/or recognition, e.g. for correction, or automatic bass generation
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/44 Tuning means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/335 Chord correction, i.e. modifying one or several notes within a chord, e.g. to correct wrong fingering or to improve harmony natural chords G10H2210/586
• 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 2210/581 Chord inversion
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/586 Natural chords, i.e. adjustment of individual note pitches in order to generate just intonation chords scale natural G10H2210/471; chord correction G10H2210/335; musical analysis G10H2210/031
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/596 Chord augmented
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/601 Chord diminished
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/621 Chord seventh dominant
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/626 Chord sixth
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/161 Logarithmic functions, scaling or conversion, e.g. to reflect human auditory perception of loudness or frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/125 Extracting or recognising the pitch or fundamental frequency of the picked up signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/186 Means for processing the signal picked up from the strings filtering G10H1/12

Abstract

A musical instrument and a method of operating it. An instrument and method which retunes and adjusts volumes in response to the chord being sustained and the way that chord is voiced. The instrument is capable of producing tones, the intervals between which are equal tempered intervals of a twelve note octave, and tones, the intervals between at least some of which are determined by identifying at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce. The method includes identifying the at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, providing a map for mapping the identified notes to a chord type, identifying a note in that chord type, and substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

Claims

1. A musical instrument including a first switch having a first position in which the instrument is capable of producing tones, the intervals between which are equal tempered intervals of a twelve note octave, the first switch having a second position in which the instrument is capable of producing tones, the intervals between at least some of which are determined by identifying at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, a second switch, and a processor including at least two different maps by which the identified notes are mapped to a chord type, identifying a note in that chord type, substituting a first frequency closer to a harmonic of an identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce when the second switch selects one of the maps, and substituting a second frequency closer to a harmonic of an identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce when the second switch selects a second and different one of the maps, the second switch having a position for each of the at least two different maps, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different maps by which the instrument maps the identified intervals to a chord type.

2. The instrument of claim 1 further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different chord type decision engines, the third switch having a position for each chord type decision engine, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different decision engines by which the instrument identifies a note of the chord type.

3. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting a frequency within a predetermined range of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

4. The instrument of claim 3 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting a frequency within five cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

5. The instrument of claim 4 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting a frequency within two cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

6. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of harmonics of at least two other notes the instrument is being commanded to produce.

7. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of at least two harmonics of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

8. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor is a processor for permitting mapping of the identified notes to at least one of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord.

9. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the processor is a processor for resolving contention among competing ones of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord, and mapping according to the contention resolution.

10. The instrument of claim 9 and further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different chord type contention resolutions, the third switch having a position for each chord type contention resolution, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different chord type contention resolutions by which the instrument identifies the chord type.

11. The instrument of claim 8 wherein the processor is a processor for permitting mapping of the identified notes to an inversion of the chord.

12. The instrument of claim 1 further including a third switch, the processor including a substitution decision engine, the third switch having a position in which the substitution decision engine is disabled and a position in which the substitution decision engine is enabled.

13. The instrument of claim 12 wherein the substitution decision engine has as an input at least one of:

how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes;

the history of accumulated time of uninterrupted sustainment of a sustained note;

the position a sustained note occupies in a chord;

the position a sustained note occupied in a chord on at least one prior occasion; and

, how much the note'"'"'s current assigned frequency varies from equal-tempered tuning.

14. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor includes a lookup table including a map by which the identified notes are mapped to a chord type.

15. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor includes a lookup table by which a note of the chord type is identified.

16. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor includes a lookup table by which a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

17. The instrument of claim 1 including a keyboard having multiple keys for producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce, the processor substituting octaves of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the octaves of the frequency of at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

18. The instrument of claim 17 wherein the processor includes a substitution decision engine having as an input how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes, the processor reassigning the keys to producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce when the instrument is no longer commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes.

19. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the processor is a processor for adjusting the amplitude of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note which is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

20. The instrument of claim 19 further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different amplitude decision engines, the third switch having a position for each amplitude decision engine, thereby permitting selection of a selected one of the at least two different amplitude decision engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitude of the frequency.

21. The instrument of claim 19 wherein the processor is a processor for adjusting the amplitudes of more than one of the tones the instrument produces in response to the commands to produce.

22. The instrument of claim 21 further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different amplitude decision engines, the third switch having a position for each amplitude decision engine, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different amplitude decision engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitudes of the tones.

44. The method of claim 7 further including providing at least two different amplitude decision engines, and selecting one of the at least two different amplitude decision engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitudes of the tones.

23. A method of operating a musical instrument capable of producing tones, the intervals between which are equal tempered intervals of a twelve note octave, and tones, the intervals between at least some of which are determined by identifying at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, the method including identifying the at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, providing at least two different maps for mapping the identified notes to a chord type, identifying a note in that chord type, selecting one of the at least two different maps by which the identified intervals are mapped to a chord type, and substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note from the selected map for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

24. The method of claim 23 further including providing at least two different chord type decision engines, and selecting one of the at least two different decision engines by which the instrument identifies a note of the chord type.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce includes substituting a frequency within a predetermined range of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce includes substituting a frequency within five cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce includes substituting a frequency within two cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

28. The method of claim 23 including substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of harmonics of at least two other notes the instrument is being commanded to produce.

29. The method of claim 23 including substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of at least two harmonics of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

30. The method of claim 23 wherein providing a map for mapping the identified notes to a chord type includes providing a map for mapping the identified notes to at least one of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord.

31. The method of claim 30 including resolving contention among competing ones of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord, and mapping according to the contention resolution.

32. The method of claim 31 including providing at least two different chord type contention resolutions, and permitting selection of one of the at least two different chord type contention resolutions by which the instrument identifies the chord type.

33. The method of claim 30 wherein providing a map for mapping the identified notes to a chord type includes providing a map for mapping the identified notes to an inversion of the chord.

34. The method of claim 23 further including providing a substitution decision engine, and selectively enabling the substitution decision engine.

35. The method of claim 34 including providing as an input at least one of:

how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes;

the history of accumulated time of uninterrupted sustainment of a sustained note;

the position a sustained note occupies in a chord;

the position a sustained note occupied in a chord on at least one prior occasion; and

how much the note'"'"'s current assigned frequency varies from equal-tempered tuning.

36. The method of claim 23 including providing a lookup table by which the identified notes are mapped to a chord type.

37. The method of claim 23 including providing a lookup table by which a note of the chord type is identified.

38. The method of claim 23 including providing a lookup table by which a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

39. The method of claim 23 wherein the instrument includes a keyboard having multiple keys for producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce, the method including substituting octaves of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the octaves of the frequency of at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

40. The method of claim 39 including a substitution decision engine having as an input how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes, and reassigning the keys to producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce when the instrument is no longer commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes.

41. The method of claim 23 including adjusting the amplitude of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note which is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

42. The method of claim 23 further including providing at least two different amplitude decision engines, and selecting one of the at least two different amplitude decision engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitude of the frequency.

43. The method of claim 23 including adjusting the amplitudes of more than one of the tones the instrument produces in response to the commands to produce.

45. A musical instrument including a first switch having a first position in which the instrument is capable of producing tones, the intervals between which are equal tempered intervals of a twelve note octave, the first switch having a second position in which the instrument is capable of producing tones, the intervals between at least some of which are determined by identifying at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, a second switch, and a processor including a map by which the identified notes are mapped to a chord type, identifying a note in that chord type, and substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce, the processor including at least two different chord type decision engines, the second switch having a position for each chord type decision engine, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different chord type decision engines by which the instrument identifies a note of the chord type.

46. The instrument of claim 45 further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different chord type decision engines, the third switch having a position for each chord type decision engine, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different chord type decision engines by which the instrument identifies a note of the chord type.

47. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting a frequency within a predetermined range of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

48. The instrument of claim 47 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting a frequency within five cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

49. The instrument of claim 48 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting a frequency within two cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

50. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of harmonics of at least two other notes the instrument is being commanded to produce.

51. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor is a processor for substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of at least two harmonics of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

52. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor is a processor for permitting mapping of the identified notes to at least one of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord.

53. The instrument of claim 52 wherein the processor is a processor for resolving contention among competing ones of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord, and mapping according to the contention resolution.

54. The instrument of claim 53 and further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different chord type contention resolutions, the third switch having a position for each chord type contention resolution, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different chord type contention resolutions by which the instrument identifies the chord type.

55. The instrument of claim 52 wherein the processor is a processor for permitting mapping of the identified notes to an inversion of the chord.

56. The instrument of claim 45 further including a third switch, the processor including a substitution decision engine, the third switch having a position in which the substitution decision engine is disabled and a position in which the substitution decision engine is enabled.

57. The instrument of claim 56 wherein the substitution decision engine has as an input at least one of:

how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes;

the history of accumulated time of uninterrupted sustainment of a sustained note;

the position a sustained note occupies in a chord;

the position a sustained note occupied in a chord on at least one prior occasion; and

, how much the note'"'"'s current assigned frequency varies from equal-tempered tuning.

58. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor includes a lookup table including a map by which the identified notes are mapped to a chord type.

59. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor includes a lookup table by which a note of the chord type is identified.

60. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor includes a lookup table by which a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

61. The instrument of claim 45 including a keyboard having multiple keys for producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce, the processor substituting octaves of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the octaves of the frequency of at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

62. The instrument of claim 61 wherein the processor includes a substitution decision engine having as an input how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes, the processor reassigning the keys to producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce when the instrument is no longer commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes.

63. The instrument of claim 45 wherein the processor is a processor for adjusting the amplitude of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note which is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

64. The instrument of claim 63 further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different amplitude decision engines, the third switch having a position for each amplitude decision engine, thereby permitting selection of a selected one of the at least two different amplitude decision engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitude of the frequency.

65. The instrument of claim 63 wherein the processor is a processor for adjusting the amplitudes of more than one of the tones the instrument produces in response to the commands to produce.

66. The instrument of claim 65 further including a third switch, the processor including at least two different amplitude decision engines, the third switch having a position for each amplitude decision engine, thereby permitting selection of one of the at least two different amplitude engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitudes of the tones.

67. A method of operating a musical instrument capable of producing tones, the intervals between which are equal tempered intervals of a twelve note octave, and tones, the intervals between at least some of which are determined by identifying at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, the method including identifying the at least selected ones of the notes the instrument is being commanded to produce, providing at least two different chord type decision engines, selecting one of the at least two different decision engines by which the instrument identifies a note of a chord type, providing a map for mapping the identified notes to a chord type, identifying a note in that chord type, and substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

68. The method of claim 67 further including providing at least two different chord type decision engines, and selecting one of the at least two different chord type decision engines by which the instrument identifies a note of the chord type.

69. The method of claim 67 wherein substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce includes substituting a frequency within a predetermined range of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

70. The method of claim 69 wherein substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce includes substituting a frequency within five cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

71. The method of claim 70 wherein substituting a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce includes substituting a frequency within two cents of a harmonic of the identified note for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

72. The method of claim 67 including substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of harmonics of at least two other notes the instrument is being commanded to produce.

73. The method of claim 67 including substituting frequencies closer to at least two harmonics of the identified note for the frequencies of at least two harmonics of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

74. The method of claim 67 wherein providing a map for mapping the identified notes to a chord type includes providing a map for mapping the identified notes to at least one of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord.

75. The method of claim 74 including resolving contention among competing ones of a major triad, a minor triad, a triad suspended by a second, a triad suspended by a fourth, a major sixth, a minor sixth, a major seventh, a minor major seventh, a dominant seventh, a minor dominant seventh, a half diminished chord, a full diminished chord, and an augmented chord, and mapping according to the contention resolution.

76. The method of claim 75 including providing at least two different chord type contention resolutions, and permitting selection of one of the at least two different chord type contention resolutions by which the instrument identifies the chord type.

77. The method of claim 74 wherein providing a map for mapping the identified notes to a chord type includes providing a map for mapping the identified notes to an inversion of the chord.

78. The method of claim 67 further including providing a substitution decision engine, and selectively enabling the substitution decision engine.

79. The method of claim 78 including providing as an input at least one of:

how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes;

the history of accumulated time of uninterrupted sustainment of a sustained note;

the position a sustained note occupies in a chord;

the position a sustained note occupied in a chord on at least one prior occasion; and

how much the note'"'"'s current assigned frequency varies from equal-tempered tuning.

80. The method of claim 67 including providing a lookup table by which the identified notes are mapped to a chord type.

81. The method of claim 67 including providing a lookup table by which a note of the chord type is identified.

82. The method of claim 67 including providing a lookup table by which a frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

83. The method of claim 67 wherein the instrument includes a keyboard having multiple keys for producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce, the method including substituting octaves of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note for the octaves of the frequency of at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

84. The method of claim 83 including a substitution decision engine having as an input how long the instrument is commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes, and reassigning the keys to producing tones which are octaves of the at least one harmonic of the at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce when the instrument is no longer commanded to sustain one of the twelve notes.

85. The method of claim 67 including adjusting the amplitude of the frequency closer to a harmonic of the identified note which is substituted for the frequency of at least one harmonic of at least one other note the instrument is being commanded to produce.

86. The method of claim 67 further including providing at least two different amplitude decision engines, and selecting one of the at least two different amplitude engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitude of the frequency.

87. The method of claim 67 including adjusting the amplitudes of more than one of the tones the instrument produces in response to the commands to produce.

88. The method of claim 87 further including providing at least two different amplitude decision engines, and selecting one of the at least two different amplitude decision engines by which the instrument adjusts the amplitudes of the tones.