Pitch control device for electronic stringed instrument
AssigneeCasio Computer Co., Ltd.
InventorShigeru Uchiyama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A plurality of strings are extended along a surface of a body, and an operation by a player with respect to the strings is detected by two detection systems. The first detection system is operated when a string vibration is started, and electrically obtains an operated fret position of the string by detecting an ON/OFF operation of a switch arranged below each fret. The second detection system is enabled after the first detection system is enabled, and directly measures a pitch period of the string vibration. The second detection system detects a change in pitch by a choking operation or an arming operation of a tremolo arm with respect to the string after tone generation is started.
Claims20
An electronic stringed instrument in which a vibration of at least one extended string is detected to generate a corresponding musical tone from musical tone generating means, comprising:
- a plurality of frets which are arranged at a plurality of positions on a body portion below an extending direction of said string, and each of which is brought into contact with said string when said string is depressed against said body portion at a depression position to change an effective string length of said string in accordance with the depression position;
- string depression position detecting means for detecting the depressed position of said string, and for producing string depression data indicating the depressed position of said string;
- string vibration waveform detecting means for detecting a string vibration waveform of said string whose effective string length is being changed;
- string vibration presence/absence detecting means for detecting a presence/absence condition of a string vibration of said string;
- pitch extraction means coupled to said string vibration waveform detecting means for extracting pitch data from the string vibration waveform, including means for measuring a vibration period of the string vibration waveform to provide said pitch data;
- and
- musical tone control means for, when said string vibration presence/absence detecting means detects generation of the string vibration, causing said musical tone generating means to start generation of the musical tone with a pitch according to the string depression data supplied from said string depression position detecting means, and thereafter for causing said musical tone generating means to change the pitch of the musical tone, which is being generated, in accordance with the pitch data extracted by said pitch extraction means.
An electronic stringed instrument, comprising:
- at least one string extended on a body;
- string depression position detecting means for detecting string depression data indicating a depression position of said string;
- string vibration waveform detecting means for detecting a vibration waveform of said string;
- string vibration presence/absence detecting means coupled to said string vibration waveform detecting means for detecting a presence/absence condition of a vibration of said string on the basis of the vibration waveform detecting by said string vibration waveform detecting means;
- pitch extraction means coupled to said string vibration waveform detecting means for extracting pitch data from the string vibration waveform detected by said string vibration waveform detecting means, including means for measuring a vibration period of the string vibration waveform to provide said pitch data;
- and
- musical tone control means for, when said string vibration presence/absence detecting means detects generation of the string vibration, instructing generation of a musical tone with a pitch according to the string depression data detected by the string depression position detecting means, and thereafter changing the pitch of the musical tone, which is being generated, in accordance with the pitch data extracted by said pitch extracting means.
An input control apparatus for an electronic stringed instrument, comprising:
- at least one string;
- effective string length detecting mean for detecting a depression position of said string to obtain an effective string length of said string;
- extraction means for extracting a vibration waveform of said string;
- pitch detecting means for detecting a vibration pitch of said string on the basis of the vibration waveform detected by said extraction means, including means for measuring a vibration period of the vibration waveform to provide said vibration pitch;
- and
- pitch determining means for determining a pitch of a musical tone at the beginning of tone generation from the effective string length of said string obtained by said effective string length detecting means when the vibration of said string is started, and for determining a pitch of the musical tone, after the vibration pitch sequentially obtained by said pitch detecting means.
An electronic apparatus in which a vibration of at least one string is detected to cause an electronic circuit to generate a corresponding acoustic wave, comprising:
- vibration start detecting means for detecting a start of a vibration of said string;
- first pitch determining means for, when said vibration start detecting means detects the start of the vibration, detecting a depression position of said string to obtain an effective string length of said string and for determining a pitch of the acoustic wave the generation of which is to be started;
- and
- second pitch determining means for, after said first pitch determining means determines the pitch of the acoustic wave when the generation of the acoustic wave is started, detecting a vibration period of said string and determining a pitch of the acoustic wave so as to sequentially change the pitch in accordance with the detected vibration period.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.