Method and apparatus for sensing and displaying tablature associated with a stringed musical instrument

A data acquisition apparatus, comprising:

• optical motion capture means having an output, said optical motion capture means comprising:
• a plurality of reference markers, said reference markers placed on the hands and fingernails of a guitar player, and
• video recording means, wherein said video recording means records the position of said plurality of reference markers as a function of time;
• means to combine said optical motion capture means output with an output from a guitar pickup;
• and
• means to generate a digital data stream from said combined output, said digital data stream containing representations of notes being played and techniques utilized to play said notes.

A data acquisition method, comprising

• locating a plurality of reference markers on the hands and fingers of a guitar player;
• recording the positions of said reference markers as a function of time;
• and
• generating a digital data stream from said positions, said digital data stream containing representations of notes being played and techniques utilized to play said notes.

A data acquisition method, comprising

• locating a plurality of reference markers on the hands and fingers of a guitar player;
• recording the positions of said reference markers as a function of time to produce an output;
• combining said output with output from a guitar pickup;
• and
• generating a digital data stream from combined outputs, said digital data stream containing representations of notes being played and techniques utilized to play said notes.

A data conversion method, comprising:

• receiving data from a motion capture means located on a guitar player;
• imposing pattern recognition standards on said data;
• and
• generating output in either standard notation or tablature, or both, based on said pattern recognition standards as applied to said data.

A data conversion method, comprising:

• receiving string data from a guitar pickup;
• receiving motion data from a motion capture means located on a guitar player;
• combining said string data and said motion data;
• and
• generating output in either standard notation or tablature, or both, based on combined string data and motion data.

A data acquisition apparatus, comprising:

• optical motion capture means having an output, said optical motion capture means receiving positional input from a musician;
• audio capture means having an output, said audio capture means receiving input from an instrument being played by the musician;
• means to combine output from said optical motion capture means with output from said audio capture means to produce a combined output;
• and
• means to generate a digital data stream from said combined output, said digital data stream containing representations of notes being played and techniques utilized to play said notes.

A data acquisition method, comprising:

• locating a motion capture means on a musician;
• receiving motion capture data as a function of time from said motion capture means;
• and
• generating a digital data stream from said motion capture data, said digital data stream containing representations of notes being played and techniques utilized to play said notes.

A data conversion method, comprising:

• receiving motion data from a musician;
• receiving sound data from the musician;
• combining said motion data and said sound data;
• and
• generating output in standard notation from said combined data, wherein said output is a visual representation of music played.