US 7,605,324 B2Granted

Apparatus for assisting in playing musical instrument

AssigneeYamaha Corporation

InventorsHideyuki Masuda, Junji Fujii, Yutaka Tohgi

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Abstract

An apparatus is to assist an unskilled player in playing a musical instrument by detecting the quantity of the player's manipulation against the instrument, modifying the detected manipulation quantity with reference to a recommended manipulation to a degree according to a given assistance coefficient, and actuating the instrument with the modified manipulation quantity. For a brass instrument, the apparatus comprises an embouchure sensor and a breath pressure sensor to detect the embouchure and the breath pressure of the player as he/she plays the brass instrument. The detected embouchure and breath pressure are then modified with reference to a recommended embouchure and breath pressure weighted by a given assistance coefficient. The apparatus actuates the brass instrument based on the modified embouchure and breath pressure.

Claims7

Dependent claims

An apparatus for assisting in playing a musical instrument comprising:

a manipulation quantity detecting device for detecting a quantity of manipulation by a player against a musical instrument for playing said musical instrument;
an assistance signal generating device for generating an assistance signal which represents a degree of assistance in playing said musical instrument by processing said detected quantity of manipulation according to a given assistance coefficient;
and
an actuating device adapted to be coupled to said musical instrument for actuating said musical instrument based on said assistance signal;
wherein said musical instrument is a brass instrument having a mouthpiece;
and
wherein said actuating device includes artificial lips having a plurality of elastic members covering said mouthpiece, an actuator for actuating said artificial lips based on said assistance signal to establish an embouchure for playing said brass instrument and a gas blowing mechanism for blowing compressed gas into said mouthpiece through said artificial lips, wherein said artificial lips and said gas blowing mechanism are controlled based on said assistance signal to determine an amount of said blown compressed gas.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/468,488Filed 30 Aug 2006
Priority: JP 2005-25001730 Aug 2005
Published: US 2007/0068372 A129 Mar 2007
Granted: 20 Oct 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G10H 3/16
Using mechanically actuated vibrators with pick-up means: using a reed
G10H 1/0008
Details of electrophonic musical instruments: associated control or indicating means
G10H 3/125
Using mechanical resonant generators, e.g. strings or percussive instruments, the tones of which are picked up by electromechanical transducers,…:…
G10H 2220/361
User input interfaces for electrophonic musical instruments: mouth control in general, i.e. breath, mouth, teeth, tongue or lip-controlled input…