Transcending extensions of classical south Asian musical instruments
First Claim
1. A musical instrument comprising:
- a melody string;
a plurality of drone strings, wherein each drone string of said plurality of drone strings has an associated pitch;
a melody string transducer associated with said melody string, wherein said melody string transducer generates an electrical melody string signal in response to vibrations of said melody string;
a drone string transducer associated with one or more drone strings of said plurality of drone strings, wherein said drone string transducer generates an electrical drone string signal in response to vibrations of said associated one or more drone strings;
a plurality of curved frets coupled to a neck of said musical instrument, wherein each fret of said plurality of curved frets is adapted to distinctly change the vibrating length of said melody string in response to user manipulation; and
an interface adapted to provide electrical signals generated by said drone string transducer and said melody string transducer to a multi-channel mixer which responsively generates an outgoing audio output signal comprising a mix of received electrical signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
South Asia'"'"'s unique musical instruments and raag systems have provided many rich treasures to Western music. This invention melds Western-music technologies with the innovations, timbre, playing techniques, and performance environments of South Asian musical instruments and traditions. Sitars, Dilrubas, and Esraj may be provided with multi-channel signal processing and pitch change for individual strings, additional playing strings, keyboards, strumpads, percussion interfaces, controls for timbre and stage environment control, synthesizer interfaces, pickups for brass strings, resonant and twang processors, and spatial sound distribution. Bows may include sensors measuring the bow'"'"'s physical activity or direct finger manipulation. Tabla and baya may be replaced with touch pads capable of recognizing relevant hand contact modalities and positions. Touch pads may be comprised of pressure sensor arrays that recognize traditional bols and permit other generalizations and deeper levels of sonic control. Sounds may be synthesized or processed from acoustic instrument sample playback.
93 Citations
76 Claims
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1. A musical instrument comprising:
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a melody string; a plurality of drone strings, wherein each drone string of said plurality of drone strings has an associated pitch; a melody string transducer associated with said melody string, wherein said melody string transducer generates an electrical melody string signal in response to vibrations of said melody string; a drone string transducer associated with one or more drone strings of said plurality of drone strings, wherein said drone string transducer generates an electrical drone string signal in response to vibrations of said associated one or more drone strings; a plurality of curved frets coupled to a neck of said musical instrument, wherein each fret of said plurality of curved frets is adapted to distinctly change the vibrating length of said melody string in response to user manipulation; and an interface adapted to provide electrical signals generated by said drone string transducer and said melody string transducer to a multi-channel mixer which responsively generates an outgoing audio output signal comprising a mix of received electrical signals. - 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, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A music generating method comprising:
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providing a melody string and a plurality of drone strings to a musical instrument, wherein each drone string of said plurality of drone strings has an associated pitch; associating a melody string transducer with said melody string, wherein said melody string transducer generates an electrical melody string signal in response to vibrations of said melody string; associating a drone string transducer with one or more drone strings of said plurality of drone strings, wherein said drone string transducer generates an electrical drone string signal in response to vibrations of said associated one or more drone strings; coupling a plurality of curved frets to a neck of said musical instrument, wherein each fret of said plurality of curved frets is adapted to distinctly change the vibrating length of said melody string in response to user manipulation; and providing electrical signals generated by said drone string transducer and said melody string transducer to a multi-channel mixer which responsively generates an outgoing audio output signal comprising a mix of received electrical signals. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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Specification