GB2212318A - Apparatus for production of a musical score - Google Patents

Abstract

A 6-6 keyboard has the first and second keys 3 in each octave of a row of keys 2 distinguished from the third to sixth keys in the octave. A score for use with the keyboard has notes with noteheads of a first shape 8 to indicate a note to be played on one row of keys and of a second shape 9 to indicate a note to be played on the other row of keys. Apparatus for producing a 6-6 score includes a MIDI for detecting the pitch and start and stop times of keys or switches representing the notes and means for printing out a score according to the detected values, the score having noteheads of the first and second shapes. A musical instrument may comprise the keyboard, or may comprise struck bars arranged similarly to the keys of the keyboard. <IMAGE>

Description

APPARATUS FOR-PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL SCORE The invention relates to a 6-6 keyboard, to a system of musical notation for use with such a keyboard and to apparatus for producing a printed score for use in playing a tune on the keyboard. Such 6-6 keyboards are known and one is described, for example, in GB2009999.

A first aspect of the invention provides apparatus for producing a 6-6 musical score, the apparatus comprising a keyboard having keys or switches each representing a note to be played, means for detecting when a key is actuated to play or simulate the playing of a note, means for detecting the duration of actuation of the key, and means for printing on a stave a symbol indicative of the pitch of the key which is actuated and the relative time and duration of actuation.

A second aspect of the invention provides a musical score in the form of a sheet, film or other medium, comprising a stave and noteheads to represent pitch, the stave having parallel lines, the position of a notehead on the stave representing pitch, wherein the noteheads are of two shapes, a first shape representing notes to be played on one row of keys of a two row 6-6 keyboard, and the second shape representing notes to be played on the other row of keys of the - keyboard. Preferably one shape is oval or circular and the other shape is triangular. Preferably the shapes are hollow or filled, and timing marks are provided, in the manner of traditional musical notation.

A third aspect of the invention provides a musical instrument comprising actuable elements such as keys or struck bars, each corresponding to a note of a given pitch, the elements being arranged in two rows corresponding to respective whole tone scales a semitone apart, the elements of one row being symmetrically arranged relative to the elements of the other row, in which an adjacent pair of elements in an octave of one row is distinguished from the remainder of the elements in that octave. Preferably each octave in the row has a said distinguished pair of elements, the distinguished pairs being an octave apart.

In a 6-6 musical score, notes which are a whole tone apart are equally spaced in the vertical direction. In a 6 degree 6-6 score, a tone and an adjacent semitone may be positioned on the same stave line, that is to say in a common vertical position on the stave, there need not actually be a line at this position. The notes are, in this case, distinguished by using symbols of first or second kind, a symbol of a first kind representing the pitch of a note played on one row of keys of a 6-6 keyboard, and a symbol of the second kind representing the pitch of a note played on the other row of a 6-6 keyboard. In a 12-degree 6-6 score the different notes are at different vertical positions.

Preferably the apparatus includes one or more of the following: (a) means for detecting and recording accurately all the musical notes and combination of such notes, including rests played on the keyboard; (b) means for detecting and memorising accurately notes ranging in length from l/128th'of a semi-breve up to breve; (c) means for detecting and memorising simultaneously input notes, in the form of chords, harmonies or otherwise at any given time; (d) means for detecting and memorising triplets, quadruplets, 5-plets, 6-plets .... up to n-plets, where t3, 51 U powers of 2, in any beat or any combination of beats provided that the length of each note within any given plets is not shorter than 1/128th of a semi-breve; (e) means for differentiating between left hand and right hand input to the keyboards;; (f) means for recording the initial time-signature and tempo of each particular music score.

(g) means for determining the number of sets of parallel lines required for the left hand and the right hand respectively in that particular music score; (h) means for determining the highest and lowest range of the particular music for the left hand and right hand score respectively with ability to eliminate extra sets of parallel lines by adding one leger line on top and below each set of parallel lines; (i) means for determining and inserting on the margin the numerical figure for each group of parallel lines in order to fix the relative positions of the notes; (j) means for determining and inserting any changes in time-signatures within that particular music score; (k) means for inserting the notes (including rests) between the appropriate bar lines onto the appropriate space/lines within each set of parallel lines, but differentiating between Left hand and Right hand notes;; (1) means for determining and inserting correct stems and the directions (whether up or down) of respective stems of each note; (m) means for inserting the bar lines to the music score in accordance with the time signature and any changes in time-signatures; (n) means for ensuring that notes played at the same time in the form of chords and harmonies are recorded accurately in the music score; (o) means for grouping the relevant notes together in the correct format and timing (e.g. from into n, ) in accordance with prevailing music rules.

(p) means for an operator to edit the music score to include appropriate musical signs and terms.

The invention will be further described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a 6-6 keyboard according to the invention with a musical stave showing the pitch of the keys; Figure 2 shows a piece of music written for a 5-7 (traditional) keyboard and the same music written for a 6-6 keyboard to provide a musical score in accordance with the invention; and Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating the function of apparatus for producing a musical score in accordance with the invention.

Figure 1 illustrates a portion of a piano-type keyboard which comprises a first, front row of keys 1 and a second, back row of "black" keys 2. The first and second keys 3 in each octave of the second row are distinguished from the other keys of the octave, for example by texture or colour. In each row, the adjacent keys of that row are a whole tone apart, the two rows being a semitone apart. It will be appreciated therefore that the "lettering" shown does not represent the traditional lettering for notes used on a 7-5 keyboard, although some of the lettering does correspond.

The stave 4 shown in Figure 1 comprises a lower pair of leger lines 5 which are two tones apart and represent the first and third keys C, E of the whole tone octave played by the front row of keys 1 and also the first and third keys C'E' of the whole tone octave played by the back row of keys 2, these latter being a semitone higher than the front row keys. In order to distinguish which key is to be played, C or C', when a note is placed on the lower leger line 5a, note heads of two shapes are used. Note heads 8 representing the front row of keys 1 are oval in shape, whilst note heads 9 representing the back row of keys are triangular in shape.

By using note heads of different shape, the conventional manner of representing the duration of notes can be used.

That is, a hollow shape represents a full note or semibreve, a hollow shape with a stem represents a half note or minim, and so on.

Figure 2 shows that the traditional notation for showing the length of the notes etc. can be used, the shape of the notehead indicating whether a key in the first or second row is to be played.

Figure 3 is a flow chart showing in outline the operation of an apparatus for producing a 6-6 score which may be of the type seen in Figures 1 and 2.

A piece of music is played on a keyboard, which may be a conventional keyboard or a 6-6 keyboard. A musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) is connected to the keyboard. The function of these is well known and essentially they produce a digital code indicative of the pitch of the note, the volume, the time the note starts or stops, and they may also provide other information such as the attack of the note.

The information from the MIDI is fed to a computer to generate a data file which comprises a stream of transitions, a transition being the starting or stopping of a played note. Hence for each note there will be a two transitions, the information at each start transition indicating the note and the time the note starts.

The transitions are stored in the data file in binary code in 4 bytes of information. The first byte contains the pitch (middle C being decimal 60); the 7 most significant bits of the second byte indicate the loudness of the note; the least significant bit of the second byte indicates whether the note is starting (1) or stopping (0); and the last two bytes indicate the time. The time will be real time" from the start of playing the piece.

From the stream of transitions, a note stream is generated. This is a combination of the start and stop transitions and is represented by the note, the loudness of the note, the time the note starts, and the time the note stops.

The note stream is then divided into voices. In its simplest form, the existence of two voices in the music being played is detected when two or more synchronous notes are playing, that is they have start times which are close together compared to their stop times, and in particular, when one note continues when the other note has stopped. When this is detected, the notes are assigned to different voices.

When synchronous notes are first detected, a number of "voices" equal to the number of notes is notionally created, e.g. three voices for three notes. If three synchronous notes are played and only two voices have been created previously, then a third voice is created.

When a single note is played, and there are more than one voice created, the note is put into the voice which the preceding note is nearest in pitch.

If there is an equal number of voices and synchronous notes, then the notes are distributed one into each voice according to pitch, as before.

If there is only one voice, then a single note goes into that voice.

Slurred notes must be put into the same voice. A slurred note will start just before a preceding note ends.

Once the notes have been assigned to respective voices the lengths of a note are normalized. For example if the length of a full note or semibreve when played was specified at 500, then all measured lengths are adjusted up to a full note length of 128 by multiplying by 128/500. The musican is required to input the time signature and metronome setting, from which the full note length is calculated.

The actual played note length is determined by subtracting from the start time of the note, the start time of the subsequent note in the Same voice. However, if the start time of the following note is significantly later than the stop time of the (first) note, then the note length is determined by subtracting the stop time from the start time, and a rest is assumed to follow the note.

It is desirable to allow for variations in the full note length actually played, since this will vary through the musical piece. This is achieved by comparing the measured note length with the nearest theoretical note length (e.g. 2 , J, and adjusting to the note closest in length. This should leave a small time discrepancy, which may be positive or negative, which is then added to the subsequent note length. The original note length is preserved, and is also used in determining the theoretical length.

Following the assignment of notes to different voices, and normalization, each voice will contain a series of notes defined by their pitch, start time and length.

Rests are determined by a gap in time of significant length between a note stopping and the subsequent note starting.

This basic information can be fed to a printer routine to print out a score in the format seen in Figures 1 and 2.

The pitch will indicate the y-coordinate on the stave and the note head type, i.e. oval or triangular, front or back row key. The note length will be assigned to the nearest standard note, up to a single or double dotted note.

A print routine is provided for printing the notes of the appropriate shape and form (hollow or filled) with the appropriate stems. The direction of the stems (up or down) is determined firstly by the position of the note head on the stave, and secondly by whether there is another voice just above, or below, in that stave, in accordance with the usual music practice. Similarly notes are joined or grouped where appropriate and their horizontal coordinate on the stave determined. This is achieved by means of a production system. The notes are repeatedly matched to conditions defined by rules in the production system. When a fit to the conditions of a rule or rules are met, then the notes are printed, or stored for printing, in the appropriate form.

The notes are firstly grouped, i.e. adjacent one eighth and one sixteenth notes in the same voice are detected.

To detect chords, the voices are looked at in parallel.

When notes of the same length are detected (played) in parallel, a decision is taken on whether these notes represent a chord or simultaneous notes in different voices. Where there are no surrounding notes in a particular voice, it is probable that the note in the voice forms a chord with a note in another voice.

Similarly, where there are surrounding notes close in pitch, a note is unlikely to form a chord with a note in another voice. When a note is removed from a voice, to form a chord in another voice, a gap is left. This gap may be filled by the user, the gap being denoted on the print out, or a rest is inserted, or the timing of subsequent notes may be altered from that point.

The notes are then ordered and the direction of the stems and y-coordinate of the rests are determined. The rest are given a notional pitch, close to that of an adjacent note.

The notes are ordered according to their start times, concurrently in all the voices. This ordering of the notes then determines the x-coordinate of the notes on the stave. The x-coordinates of the notes are determined and then adjusted, for example to place a note on a new stave if it would otherwise overlap the end of a stave.

The stem lengths and angle of the note beams is then set and the score printed. The score can be printed with more than one voice on a stave. If there are two notes with notes close in pitch then this can be detected and the stems are set in opposite directions.

Claims (19)

1. Apparatus for producing a 6-6 musical score as hereinbefore defined, the apparatus comprising a keyboard having keys or switches each representing a note to be played, means for detecting when a key is actuated to play or simulate the playing of a note, means for detecting the duration of actuation of the key, and means for printing on a stave a symbol indicative of the pitch of the key which is actuated and the relative time and duration of actuation in the format of a 6-6 score.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising storage means for storing a unit of code indicative of the pitch of a played note and indicative of the start time of the note and means for storing a unit of code indicative of the pitch of the played note and the stop time of the note.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, comprising means for storing a unit of code indicative of the pitch of a played note, the start time of the note and the stop time of a note.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, comprising voice means for assigning a note to a voice.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said voice means comprises means for determining when two or more notes are played simultaneously.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said voice means further comprises voice assigning means for assigning a first simultaneously played note to a respective voice by comparing the pitch of the note with the pitch of the last preceding note in each voice, and assigning the note to the voice with the last preceding note of closest pitch.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, comprising slurred note detecting means for determining when a note is started just after a preceding note finishes.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein two or more slurred notes are assigned to a common voice.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, comprising note length assigning means, said note length assigning means comparing a note length with a predetermined length for a predetermined note, such as a semibreve, and assigning the note length in accordance with the ratio of the actual note length to the predetermined length.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising means for determining the length of a played note by subtracting the start time of the note from the start time of the subsequent note in the same voice.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, comprising means for comparing a determined note length to the nearest theoretical length of a note, such as a semibreve, and the difference between the determined note length and the nearest theoretical note length is added to the subsequent determined note length.

12. Apparatus for producing a musical score for a 6-6 keyboard, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. A musical score in the form of a sheet, film or other medium, comprising a stave and noteheads to represent pitch, the stave having parallel lines, the position of a notehead on the stave representing pitch, wherein the noteheads are of two shapes, a first shape representing notes to be played on one row of keys of a two row 6-6 keyboard, and the second shape representing notes to be played on the other row of keys of the keyboard.

14. A musical score as claimed in claim 13, wherein one shape is oval or circular and the other shape is triangular.

15. A musical score as claimed in claim 14, wherein the shapes are hollow or filled, and timing marks are provided, in the manner of traditional musical notation.

16. A musical score substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

17. A musical instrument comprising actuable elements such as keys or struck bars, each corresponding to a note of a given pitch, the elements being arranged in two rows corresponding to respective whole tone scales a semitone apart, the elements of one row being symmetrically arranged relative to the elements of the other row, in which an adjacent pair of elements in an octave of one row is distinguished from the remainder of the elements in that octave.

18. A musical instrument as claimed in claim 17, wherein each octave in the row has a said distinguished pair of elements, the distinguished pairs being an octave apart.

19. A musical instrument substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.