Portable chord output device, computer program and recording medium

• US 8,003,874 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2007
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Plato Corp.
• Original Assignee: Plato Corp.
• Inventors: Delackner, Seth, Asakura, Kosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels; Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US12/307,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20100294112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,512 Days
• Field of Search: 846/13, 846/37, 846/69
• US Class Current: 84/613
• CPC Class Codes: G10G 7/02 Tuning forks or like devices
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/38 Chord
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/011 Lyrics displays, e.g. for karaoke applications
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/096 using a touch screen touch screen note input, e.g. using a displayed keyboard G10H2220/241; personal digital assistant [PDA] G10H2230/015
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/101 for graphical creation, edition or control of musical data or parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/015 PDA [personal digital assistant] or palmtop computing devices used for musical purposes, e.g. portable music players, tablet computers, e-readers or smart phones in which mobile telephony functions need not be used touch-screen interfaces G10H2220/096
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/641 Waveform sampler, i.e. music samplers; Sampled music loop processing, wherein a loop is a sample of a performance that has been edited to repeat seamlessly without clicks or artifacts

Abstract

To provide a portable chord producing device capable of producing chord sounds by a simple operation.

In or on a housing 10 of a portable size, an operation switch 121 with which eight different chord sounds can be designated, and a display screen 11 which also serves as a touch sensor panel are formed. A memory card 20 has a chord data file recorded thereon that is used for letting chord sounds that have characteristics of sounds on a real musical instruments be produced. The chord producing device produces the chord sounds designated by the operation switch 121 through a sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with a specific touch operation only during the time when it is selected.

Claims

1. A portable chord producing device having a housing of a portable size to be held with one hand, the housing having a plurality of manipulators formed thereon each of which can be selected by a player with his or her finger of one hand, and a touch sensor formed therein or thereon which can be touched by the player directly with his or her finger of the other hand or indirectly,

said housing including a data memory, a control mechanism, a sound production mechanism, which are connected to each other,

said data memory having a plurality of chord data files recorded thereon along with chord IDs for use in identifying chord sounds, the chord data files being for producing chord sounds that have characteristics of sounds on real a musical instrument, through said sound production mechanism,

either one of said chord IDs being assigned to each of said plurality of manipulators, said control mechanism comprising:

manipulator selection state detection means for detecting which manipulator is being selected by the player and when he or she cancels the selection;

specific operation detection means for detecting details of the operation including the timing to start touching said touch sensor; and

chord production control means for reading the chord data file identified by said chord ID that is assigned to the manipulator detected by said manipulator selection state detection means, from said data memory only during the time when the subject manipulator is selected, for supplying the chord data file to said sound production mechanism, and for letting the chord sound that is made producible as a result of it be produced through said sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with the details of the operation detected by said specific operation detection means,

said specific operation detection means being for detecting, in addition to said timing to start touching, a direction of the touch operation to said touch sensor,

said chord production control means also being for producing, when said specific operation detection means detects that said touch sensor is touched again after a first chord sound is produced through said sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation, a chord sound that is made producible by said chord ID that is assigned to the manipulator detected in said situation of operation at the time of re-touch, as a second chord sound through said sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation, and

for comparing said first chord sound with said second chord sound, and comparing a direction of the touch operation in said first chord sound with a direction of the touch operation in said second chord sound, for changing, in association with the results of the of these comparisons, the volume of the first chord sound that is produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation, the time during which the sound is produced, and the volume of the second chord sound that is produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation.

2. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said specific operation detection means is for detecting, in addition to said timing to start touching, at least one of a direction of the touch operation to said touch sensor, a touch operation speed, and a touch operation position,

said chord production control means for changing an output frequency thereof depending on the change direction when a change in direction of the touch operation is detected for letting an output intensity thereof have an intensity for the touch operation speed when the touch operation speed is detected.

3. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said specific operation detection means is for letting the first chord sound that is produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation be synthesized for the production with the second chord sound produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation when said first chord sound is identical to said second chord sound, and when the direction of the touch operation in said first chord sound is opposite to the direction of the touch operation in said second chord sound, and

in other cases, for lowering the first chord sound produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation from the time point of said re-touch, for letting the sound disappear over a predetermined period of time, for letting the second chord sound produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation have the minimum volume at the time point of said re-touch, and thereafter increase the volume thereof over a predetermined period of time to produce it.

4. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said chord data file is a data file obtained by means of recording chord sounds on a real musical instrument.

5. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said real musical instrument is a stringed musical instrument on which said chord sound is produced when a plurality of strings are strummed almost together.

6. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 5, comprising a memory loading-and-unloading mechanism for use in removably connecting said data memory to said control mechanism and the sound production mechanism,

said data memory recording said data files for each real musical instrument including said stringed musical instrument.

7. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said data memory has an image data for use in presenting a musical composition consisting of a series of measures, each measure being associated with one or a plurality of said chord IDs that are assigned for the subject real musical instrument,

said control mechanism further comprising display control means for letting a musical composition image for one or a plurality of measures to be presented on a predetermined image display pane according to the image data for use in presenting said musical composition, and for letting a next musical composition image including one or a plurality of measures be presented on said image display pane in place of the musical composition image being presented when the chord data file identified on the basis of said chord ID that is associated with measure(s) of the musical composition image being presented is produced through said sound production mechanism, said control mechanism conducting change of presentation of the musical composition images on said image display pane in response to the selection of said manipulator and operation of said touch sensor by a player.

8. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the musical composition image presented on said image display pane accompanies at least one of a lyric of the subject musical composition, information which guides the timing of operating said touch sensor for producing a chord sound, and information which guides the generation of a chord sound on said musical instrument, which are assigned to the subject one or a plurality of measures.

9. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said control mechanism further comprises history recording means for recording a progress log that keeps track of changing the presentation of said musical composition image, a selection log that keeps track of which said manipulator is selected for the presentation of said musical composition image, and a touch operation log for said touch sensor, in a mutually associated manner, said control mechanism being adapted to supply, in response to the input of an instruction from a player, said progress log out of the information recorded on said history recording means to said display control means, thereby to cause said display control means to reproduce the change in presentation of the musical composition image on said image display pane, and supply said selection log and said touch operation log to said chord production control means, thereby to cause said chord production control means to reproduce the production of a chord sound associated with said change in presentation and change in aspect thereof.

10. The portable chord producing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said data memory has a vibration image data recorded thereon that is for representing a sound vibration image,

said control mechanism further comprising vibration image display control means for letting a vibration image file that is read from said data memory be presented on a vibration image display pane which is different from said image display pane, for changing the vibration image being presented according to the production of said chord sound, and for stopping it at the time point when the output intensity reaches zero.

11. A computer program stored in a computer which is mounted in a housing of a portable size to be held with one hand for causing the computer to operate as a portable chord producing device, said housing having a plurality of manipulators formed thereon each of which can be selected by a player with his or her finger of one hand, and a touch sensor formed therein or thereon which can be touched by the player directly with his or her finger of the other hand or indirectly, said computer being provided with a data memory and a sound production mechanism, said data memory having a plurality of chord data files recorded thereon along with chord IDs for use in identifying chord sounds, the chord data file being for producing chord sounds that have characteristics of sounds on a real musical instrument, through said sound production mechanism,

said computer program causing said computer to work as:

assigning means for assigning either one of said chord IDs to each of said plurality of manipulators;

manipulator selection state detection means for detecting which manipulator is being selected by the player and when he or she cancels the selection;

specific operation detection means for detecting details of the operation including the timing to start touching said touch sensor and a direction of the touch operation to said touch sensor; and

chord production control means for reading the chord data file identified by said chord ID that is assigned to the manipulator detected by said manipulator selection state detection means, from said data memory only during the time when the subject manipulator is selected, to for supplying it to said sound production mechanism, and for letting the chord sound that is made producible as a result of it be produced through said sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with the details of the operation detected by said specific operation detection means, as well as to for producing, when said specific operation detection means detects that said touch sensor is touched again after a first chord sound is produced through said sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation, a chord sound that is made producible by said chord ID that is assigned to the manipulator detected in said situation of operation at the time of re-touch, as a second chord sound through said sound production mechanism in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation, and for comparing said first chord sound with said second chord sound, and comparing a direction of the touch operation in said first chord sound with a direction of the touch operation in said second chord sound, for changing, in association with the results of these comparisons, the volume of the first chord sound that is produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation, the time during which the sound is produced, and the volume of the second chord sound that is produced in a manner that is associated with said details of the operation.

12. A computer readable recording medium on which a computer program as claimed in claim 11 is recorded.