Dynamic diatonic instrument

• US 8,822,803 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2013
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ableton AG
• Original Assignee: Ableton AG
• Inventors: Terry, Jesse
• Primary Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US14/023,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20140076126A1
• Time in Patent Office: 356 Days
• Field of Search: 846/44, 847/19, 847/44
• US Class Current: 84/644
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/525 Diatonic scales, e.g. aeolian, ionian or major, dorian, locrian, lydian, mixolydian, phrygian, i.e. seven note, octave-repeating musical scales comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/565 Manual designation or selection of a tonality
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/241 on touchscreens, i.e. keys, frets, strings, tablature or staff displayed on a touchscreen display for note input purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/251 arranged as 2D or 3D arrays; Keyboards ergonomically organised for playing chords or for transposing, e.g. Janko keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/00 Instruments in which the tones are synthesised from a data store, e.g. computer organs

Abstract

A musical instrument comprising buttons for playing notes is disclosed, wherein the buttons are arranged in an isomorphic layout consisting of rows and columns, characterized by means for choosing between a diatonic and a chromatic layout of the buttons and by means for choosing between different keys and scales. The buttons can be velocity and/or pressure sensitive, they can be backlit in different colors and they can have a dynamic note information thereon. When the layout is diatonic, the scales are arranged horizontally in rows, the rows being vertically spaced in relative fourths: when the layout is chromatic, the buttons corresponding to the scale notes of the selected key are lit in way different from the other keys.

Claims

1. A musical instrument comprising buttons for playing notes comprising:

buttons arranged in an isomorphic layout consisting of rows and columns;

a layout format selector to select a layout from the group consisting of a diatonic layout of the buttons, wherein a certain diatonic scale in a certain key is selected and wherein each row consists of consecutive notes of said scale in said key, and a chromatic layout of the buttons, wherein each row consists of consecutive notes of the chromatic scale;

a key selector to select said certain key; and

a scale selector to select said certain diatonic scale.

2. Musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the buttons are selected from the group consisting of velocity and pressure sensitive buttons.

3. Musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the buttons are backlit.

4. Musical instrument according to claim 3, wherein the buttons are backlit in different colors.

5. Musical instrument according to claim 3, wherein the buttons have a dynamic note information thereon.

6. Musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the layout is diatonic and wherein the scales are arranged horizontally in rows, the rows being vertically spaced in relative fourths.

7. Musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the layout is chromatic and wherein the buttons corresponding to the scale notes of the selected key are lit in way different from the other keys.