# US 2014/0360341 A1 · Music playing device, electronic instrument, music playing method, and storage medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0360341 A1 - Document ID: US20140360341A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/297,198 - Filed: 2014-06-05 - Published: 2014-12-11 - Earliest claimed: 2013-06-10 - Assignees: Casio Computer Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Casio Computer Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Tatsuya DEJIMA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140360341A1 ## CPC - G10H 7/002: {using a common processing for different operations or calculations, and a set of microinstructions, e.g. programs, to control the sequence thereof} - G10H 1/342: {for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played (electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18)} - G10H 3/125: {Extracting or recognising the pitch or fundamental frequency of the picked up signal} - G10H: ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE ## Abstract A CPU detects an operation state on a fingerboard at a prescribed period, stores the detected operation state in a memory every time an operation state is detected, detects whether or not any of a plurality of extended strings has been struck, determines a pitch of a note to be played based on the operation state stored in the memory in response to a string being struck, and controls a note to be played in a sound source based on the detected operation state and the operation state stored in the memory every time the operation state is detected after a command to play a note of a determined pitch is issued to the sound source. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A music playing device, comprising: a pitch operation receiver that electrically and continuously monitors and receives a pitch determination operation by a user; a sound commencement operation receiver that electrically receives a sound commencement operation by the user; and a controllable sound source connected to the pitch operation receiver and to the sound commencement operation receiver, the controllable sound source emitting a sound at a time of said sound commencement operation receiver receiving the sound commencement operation by the user at an initial pitch determined by a pitch determination operation that is received by the pitch operation receiver when said sound commencement operation receiver receives the sound commencement operation by the user, the controllable sound sources continuously emitting said sound until a prescribed time is passed or until the user causes the sound commencement operation receiver to receive another sound commencement operation time, whichever occurs first, wherein the controllable sound source modulates the sound during emission thereof based on a subsequent pitch determination operation of the user received by the pitch operation receiver subsequent to reception of said pitch determination operation that determined said initial pitch. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The music playing device according to claim 1, wherein the pitch operation receiver includes: an operation unit; an operation detection unit connected to the operation unit, the operation detection unit detecting an operation state for an operation performed by a user on the operation unit; and a memory control unit that stores the detected operation state in a memory as a current operation state and that designates as an immediately previous operation state an operation state stored in the memory immediately prior to the current operation state being stored, every time the operation state is detected, wherein the sound commencement operation receiver includes a play command operation detection unit that detects a play command operation performed by the user, and wherein the controllable sound source includes: a pitch determination unit that determines a pitch of a musical note to be played in response to the play command operation being detected and based on the current operation state stored in the memory; a play command unit that issues a command to a sound source to play the musical note of said determined pitch; and a first musical note control unit that, after the command to play the musical note is issued to the sound source, modulates the musical note played in the sound source based on the current operation state and the immediately previous operation state stored in the memory. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The music playing device according to claim 2, wherein the operation unit is a fingerboard over which a plurality of strings extend, wherein the operation detection unit detects, as the operation state, a string-press state in which any of the plurality of strings is pressed on the fingerboard, and wherein the play command operation detection unit detects, as the play command operation, whether or not any of the plurality of strings has been struck. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The music playing device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of frets are provided on the fingerboard, and wherein the operation detection unit has: a plurality of sensors that are provided in positions corresponding to the respective plurality of frets, that detect a proximity to said sensors of strings that are pressed, and that output a signal corresponding to said detected proximity; and a search unit that searches, as a string-press state, a sensor among the plurality of sensors with a string at a closest proximity and an output signal from said sensor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The music playing device according to claim 4, wherein the first musical note control unit reads in the output signal from the sensor with said string at the closest proximity as the string-press state stored in the memory, and controls a pitch of the musical note being played based on a difference between the read-in output signal and an output signal from the sensor detected as the string-press state after the play command has been issued. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The music playing device according to claim 2, wherein the first musical note control unit controls at least one of a pitch, tone, and volume of the musical note played in the sound source that is connected. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The music playing device according to claim 3, further comprising: a pitch extraction unit that extracts a vibration pitch of a vibration signal generated by said struck string that has been detected; and a second music control unit that controls a pitch of the musical note played in the sound source based on the pitch extracted by the pitch extraction unit. ### Claim 8 (depends on 3) The music playing device according to claim 3, wherein the memory stores three consecutively detected states: a current string-press state; an immediately previously detected string-press state; and a string-press state detected immediately prior to said immediately previously detected string-press state, wherein the memory control unit updates the consecutively detected states stored in the memory every time the operation detection unit newly detects a current string-press state, and wherein the first music control unit controls a pitch of the musical note that is played based on said three consecutively detected string-press states. ### Claim 9 A music playing device, comprising: an operation detection unit configured to be connected to an operation unit, the operation detection unit detecting an operation state for an operation performed by a user on the operation unit; a memory control unit that stores the detected operation state in a memory as a current operation state and that designates as an immediately previous operation state an operation state stored in the memory immediately prior to the current operation state being stored, every time the operation state is detected; a play command operation detection unit that detects a play command operation performed by the user; a pitch determination unit that determines a pitch of a musical note to be played in response to the play command operation being detected and based on the current operation state stored in the memory; a play command unit that issues a command to a sound source to play the musical note of said determined pitch; and a first musical note control unit that, after the command to play the musical note is issued to the sound source, controls the musical note played in the sound source based on the current operation state and the immediately previous operation state stored in the memory. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The music playing device according to claim 9, wherein the operation unit is a fingerboard over which a plurality of strings extend, wherein the operation detection unit detects, as the operation state, a string-press state in which any of the plurality of strings is pressed on the fingerboard, and wherein the play command operation detection unit detects, as the play command operation, whether or not any of the plurality of strings has been struck. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The music playing device according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of frets are provided on the fingerboard, and wherein the operation detection unit has: a plurality of sensors that are provided in positions corresponding to the respective plurality of frets, that detect a proximity to said sensors of strings that are pressed, and that output a signal corresponding to said detected proximity; and a search unit that searches, as a string-press state, a sensor among the plurality of sensors with a string at a closest proximity and an output signal from said sensor. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The music playing device according to claim 11, wherein the first musical note control unit reads in the output signal from the sensor with said string at the closest proximity as the string-press state stored in the memory, and controls a pitch of the musical note being played based on a difference between the read-in output signal and an output signal from the sensor detected as the string-press state after the play command has been issued. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The music playing device according to claim 9, wherein the first musical note control unit controls at least one of a pitch, tone, and volume of the musical note played in the sound source that is connected. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The music playing device according to claim 10, further comprising: a pitch extraction unit that extracts a vibration pitch of a vibration signal generated by said struck string that has been detected; and a second music control unit that controls a pitch of the musical note played in the sound source based on the pitch extracted by the pitch extraction unit. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The music playing device according to claim 10, wherein the memory stores three consecutively detected states: a current string-press state; an immediately previously detected string-press state; and a string-press state detected immediately prior to said immediately previously detected string-press state, wherein the memory control unit updates the consecutively detected states stored in the memory every time the operation detection unit newly detects a current string-press state, and wherein the first music control unit controls a pitch of the musical note that is played based on said three consecutively detected string-press states. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) An electronic instrument, comprising: the music playing device according to claim 9; the operation unit; and a sound source that generates the musical note in response to a command to play a sound from a music play command unit. ### Claim 17 A music playing method performed by a music playing device, the method comprising: detecting an operation state for an operation performed by a user on an operation unit; storing the detected operation state in a memory as a current operation state and designating as an immediately previous operation state an operation state stored in the memory immediately prior to the current operation state being stored, every time the operation state is detected; detecting a play command operation performed by the user to issue a command to play a sound; determining a pitch of a musical note to be played in response to the play command operation being detected and based on the current operation state stored in the memory; issuing a command to a sound source to play the musical note of said determined pitch; and controlling, after the command to play the musical note is issued to the sound source, the musical note played in the sound source based on the current operation state and the immediately previous operation state stored in the memory. ### Claim 18 A non-transitory storage medium that can be read by a computer provided in a music playing device, the non-transitory storage medium storing a computer program to be executed by the computer to cause the music playing device having the computer to perform the following steps: detecting an operation state for an operation performed by a user on an operation unit; storing the detected operation state in a memory as a current operation state and designating as an immediately previous operation state an operation state stored in the memory immediately prior to the current operation state being stored, every time the operation state is detected; detecting a play command operation performed by the user to issue a command to play a sound; determining a pitch of a musical note to be played in response to the play command operation being detected, and based on the current operation state stored in the memory; issuing a command to a sound source to play the musical note of said determined pitch; and controlling, after the command to play the musical note is issued to the sound source, the musical note played in the connected sound source based on the current operation state and the immediately previous operation state stored in the memory.