Stringless bowed musical instrument

A bowed musical instrument, comprising:

• a body;
• a fingerboard extending over a top surface of the body;
• optical pitch sensors that detect placement locations of a player's fingers placed on the fingerboard;
• a support member attached to at least one of the body or the fingerboard;
• a track connected to the support member, the track having a bowing surface to receive a bow for the musical instrument, the track equipped with:
• a bow sensor that detects motion of the bowing surface, the support member positioned so as to elevate the bowing surface to a height above a height of the fingerboard;
• a light source that generates a light beam aligned with the fingerboard;
• and
• a light sensor, the light source and the light sensor cooperating to detect finger placement locations on the fingerboard, each location being associated with a musical pitch;
• and
• electronic components configured to
• receive information from the pitch sensors and the bow sensor;
• process the information;
• and
• transmit a signal to a sound-generating device.

A musical instrument, comprising:

• a body;
• a fingerboard extending over, and spaced apart from, a top surface of the body;
• a support mounted to the fingerboard;
• and
• a track comprising:
• a vertical member coupled to the support, and
• an elongated bar connected to the vertical member, the elongated bar extending beyond an end of the fingerboard and having a bowing surface for receiving a bow for the musical instrument, wherein the vertical member elevates the bowing surface to a position above a top surface of the fingerboard.

A musical instrument, comprising:

• a body;
• a fingerboard extending over, and spaced apart from, a top surface of the body;
• a support;
• a support mount that attaches the support to the body, the support mount holding the support in a substantially fixed position;
• and
• a track coupled to the support, the track including an elongated bar substantially aligned in a same direction as the fingerboard, the elongated bar providing a vibrational bowing surface positioned above the fingerboard to receive a bow.

A musical instrument, comprising:

• a body;
• a fingerboard extending over a top surface of the body;
• a plurality of optical pitch sensors that detect placement locations of a player's fingers placed on the fingerboard, the plurality of optical pitch sensors comprising:
• a light source that emits a light beam that propagates along the fingerboard, and
• a light detector that cooperates with the light source to detect a finger placement location on the fingerboard;
• and
• electronic components configured to
• receive information from the optical pitch sensors;
• process the information to determine a musical pitch corresponding to the finger placement location;
• and
• transmit a signal to a sound-generating device to generate the musical pitch.