RU2824728C1 - Guitar for performance of given melody - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: musical instruments.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of stringed musical instruments, namely to the design of electric musical instruments converting mechanical vibrations of strings into electric signals. Automatic single-string guitars for performance of a given melody comprises a body, a string, a peg, a saddle, a string holder, a sound pickup, a string vibration analyser, a sound generator, control module, vibration motor, indicators, display, buttons for selecting a musical composition, a stop button, a start button and sound adjustment controls. Melody from the output of the sound generator is transmitted to a digital audio output with the possibility of connecting to an audio system.

EFFECT: significant simplification of the design and the possibility of deliberately making changes to the rhythm being executed (for example, syncopation), as well as, if desired, controlling the obtained sound.

10 cl, 4 dwg

Description

Field of technology

The invention relates to the field of plucked string musical instruments, namely to the design of electric musical instruments that convert mechanical vibrations of strings into electrical signals.

State of the art

Robotic guitars are known, that is, electric or acoustic guitars, on the neck of which there are or move mechanical elements that clamp the string, and in the place intended in guitars for plucking strings, there are mechanical elements that perform this plucking (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5xocxHgj10). The disadvantage of the known design is the complexity of implementation.

MIDI guitars are also known, equipped with pickups or sensors that detect string vibration and fret position and convert them into MIDI data, and may also contain buttons and other mechanical means of inputting information about pressing the fingerboard and plucking the strings. The disadvantage of the known design is the complexity of implementation - the presence of several strings and mechanical means of inputting information about pressing the fingerboard and plucking the strings, as well as a specially marked fingerboard.

Disclosure of the essence of the invention

The task solved by this invention is to simplify the process of playing the guitar and learning guitar parts, while maintaining the feeling of plucking a real string. This opens up the following possibilities:

- music lovers and performing professional musicians - allows you to play along "on the guitar" without having to learn the guitar part and without the requirement to be able to play the guitar,

- for children - allows them to get the feeling of playing a real guitar, to get them interested in learning to play a real guitar,

- for musicians working in the studio - allows you to add a "live performance" feel to your soundtracks.

The technical result of the claimed invention is a significant simplification of the design (one string instead of several, the absence of a marked fingerboard) and the ability to consciously make changes to the performed rhythm (for example, syncopations), as well as, if desired, control the resulting sound (change the volume, duration and tone of the notes, as well as the timbre).

The claimed technical result is achieved by using a guitar for performing a given melody, comprising a body, a string, a tuning peg, a nut, a tailpiece, a pickup, an ADC, a string vibration analyzer, a sound generator, a control module, a vibration motor, indicators, a display, buttons for selecting a musical composition, a stop button, a start button and sound adjustment controls, wherein the buttons for selecting a musical composition, the stop button, the start button and sound adjustment controls are connected to the control module, the string is connected via the pickup to the ADC, the output of which is connected to the information input of the string vibration analyzer, the output of the sound generator is connected to the input of the audio system, the vibration control output of the control module is connected to the input of the vibration motor, the backlight control output of the control module is connected to the inputs of the indicators,

the string pluck event indication output of the string vibration analyzer is connected to the first control input of the control module and is connected to the first control input of the sound generator, the string volume value output of the string vibration analyzer is connected to the volume setting input of the sound generator, the string tone change value output of the string vibration analyzer is connected to the tone change setting input of the sound generator,

the output of the song name and number of the control module is connected to the song assignment input of the sound generator,

the output of the event to start and stop playback of a musical composition of the control module is connected to the input to set the event to start and stop playback of a musical composition of the sound generator,

the output of the control module's song execution time is connected to the input of the sound generator's song execution time,

The output of the sound control parameters of the control module is connected to the input of the sound control parameters of the sound generator.

In one embodiment, the indicators are made in the form of an LED matrix.

In one embodiment, the indicators are implemented using a display screen.

In one embodiment, the indicator is a light-emitting diode.

In one embodiment, all elements are placed on the body.

In one embodiment, the string is secured using a tuning peg, a nut, and a tailpiece.

In one embodiment, the guitar contains an audio system located outside the body.

In one embodiment, the output of the sound generator is connected to the digital audio output of the guitar.

In one embodiment, the guitar contains a digital-to-analog converter, wherein the output of the sound generator is connected to the digital-to-analog converter, the output of which is connected to the input of the audio system.

In one embodiment, the control module is configured to output information from the outputs of the song title and number and the song performance time to the display.

A person plucks a string on the invention and a sound is produced that conveys the nuances of the sound of this string, but with the correct tone and a given timbre (guitar or other instrument), thus creating the effect of playing a real guitar or other instrument. The nuances of the sound include changes in the volume of the sound, as well as changes in the tone of the string (if the person consciously changes it). As a result, it seems to the person that he really plays music on the guitar, although in fact he only plucks the string, without any consideration of the change in tone.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 - Structural diagram of a device containing:

1 - Body 11 - Audio system (speakers or headphones) 2 - String 12 - Control module 3 - Kolok 13 - Vibration motor 4 - Threshold 14 - Indicators 5 - Tailpiece 15 - Display 6 - Pickup 16 - Music selection buttons 7 - ADC 17 - Stop button 8 - String vibration analyzer 18 - Start button 9 - Sound generator 19 - Sound adjustment controls (guitar volume, music volume, guitar tone change) 10 - DAC

Fig. 2 - structural diagram of the 8 string vibration analyzer, containing:

20 - High Pass Filter 21 - RMS (Root Mean Square) calculation block 22 - Peak Detector 23 - Sound frequency detector 24 - Current frequency to base frequency ratio calculator

Fig. 3 - Structural diagram of Control Module 12, containing:

25 - Song selection block 26 - Timer 27 - LED Sequencer 28 - VIBRO Sequencer 29 - Decoder

Fig. 4 - Structural diagram of Sound Generator 9, containing:

30 - Melody sequencer 31 - Sound synthesizer 32 - Sound mixer 33 - Background Music Player

Implementation of the invention

The following symbols are used in the description:

No. Conventional designation Functional purpose 34 SOUNDIN String vibration analyzer data input (digital audio stream) 35 PLUCK String pluck event indication 36 VOL Measured value of the string volume 37 F/F0 Measured change in string tone 38 SONGNAME The name of the song selected by the user (text title of the song and its number in the song list) 39 START,STOP Events for starting and stopping playback of a musical composition 40 TIME Song playing time (time in seconds since the start of playback) 41 LEDDATA Backlight control (control commands for indicators) 42 VIBRODATA Vibration control (vibration motor on/off commands) 43 CTL Numeric values of sound control parameters - volume, tone settings (array of numbers, where one number characterizes the state of the corresponding parameter) 44 SOUNDOUT Resulting audio (digital audio stream)

On body 1 there is string 2, which is secured and tensioned with the help of: tuning peg 3, nut 4 and tailpiece 5. Parallel to the string there is pickup 6, the output of which is connected to the input of ADC 7. The output of ADC 7 is connected to the input of string vibration analyzer 8.

The string vibration analyzer 8 sends data to the input of the sound generator 9, the digital audio stream from which is transmitted to the DAC 10, the analog audio signal from which is fed to the audio system 11.

The control module 12 controls the switching on and off of the vibration motor 13, controls the illumination of the indicators 14 and the display 15. The control module 12 also receives signals from the music selection buttons 16, the Start 18 and Stop 17 buttons, as well as information about the position of the regulators (potentiometers or encoders) for adjusting the sound 19.

Also, the control module 12 receives data from the string vibration analyzer 8. In addition, it controls the sound generator 9.

Analyzer 8 receives input data in the form of a digital audio stream SOUNDIN from APC 7. This audio stream is fed to high-pass filter 20, which removes the low-frequency component (DC-offset) from the input string sound signal.

The filtered audio stream is fed from block 20 to RMS calculation block 21. This is a standard block for estimating the loudness of an audio signal as the root-mean-square output level calculated over a short period of time (e.g. https://openframeworks.cc/ofBook/chapters/sound.html - section "RMS"). The output values of block 21 are given to the output of block 8 as VOL - the string volume values, for transmission to block 9.

In addition, the volume values are fed to block 22, which is a standard block implementing the detection of peaks (maxima) of the input signal (for example, https://github.com/leandcesar/PeakDetection). This block detects local volume maxima, which in the case of a string sound corresponds to the moments of plucking the string (when plucking a string, the volume of the sound increases sharply and then gradually decreases). In the case when the block has detected a peak, the detection result is output to block 8 as PLUCK - a string plucking event, for transmission to blocks 9 and 12.

Also, the input audio stream coming to block 8 goes to the sound frequency detection block 23, which is a standard block measuring the fundamental frequency of the sound in short periods of time (for example, https://github.com/sevagh/pitch-detection). The result of the measurement F goes to the input of block 24, which calculates the ratio of the current frequency to the frequency F0, which is the minimum frequency value over the last few seconds. Due to the fact that during the game the user can, if desired, only temporarily tighten the string, for example, by pressing it behind the nut, the frequency of the string oscillation will only increase, and not decrease, therefore F0 is an estimate of the frequency of the unstretched string. The ratio F/F0 is output from block 8 as the result of measuring the change in the string tone, for transmission to block 9 (in this case, the F/F0 value equal to 1 means that the original tone of the string has not changed, and values greater than 1 indicate the degree of tone increase).

Control module 12 receives input from buttons 16,17,18, as well as information about regulators 19. In addition, the PLUCK event is transmitted to it from block 8.

The song selection block 25 changes its state (the currently selected song) when buttons 16 are pressed. The resulting song name SONGNAME (in which the text name of the song and its number in the list of songs downloaded into the memory of the invention are encoded) is output to the block 12 and is sent for display to display 15, as well as to sound generator 9.

When buttons 18, 17 are pressed, output events of module 12 START, STOP are generated, which are also sent to sound generator 9.

Block 26 is a timer, which is started by the START event and stopped by the STOP event. The timer generates high-frequency data on the time elapsed since the start of playback (after pressing the Start button), and outputs this data to the TIME output of module 12, for display on display 15, and also for transmission to the sound generator 9.

The signals about the selection of a song from 25, the START, STOP events, as well as the data of timer 26 are fed to the input of blocks 27 and 28, which are sequencers that generate a sequence of control commands for the selected song for the LEDDATA indicators, which are sent to 14, and the commands for turning on/off the VIBRODATA vibration motor, which are sent to 13.

Also, blocks 27 and 28 receive information about the PLUCK string plucking event from the analyzer module 8, which, depending on the settings of the selected song, can affect the resulting commands of the indicators and the vibration motor (for example, with a PLUCK event, the indicators can flash and the vibration motor can turn on for a short time).

Finally, the decoder block 29 receives signals from the controls 19 and transforms them into numerical sound control data CTL, which are transmitted to the sound generator 9 for sound control (volume, timbre adjustment).

Sound generator 9 receives the song name SONGNAME, START, STOP events, TIME values, and CTL as input from module 12. It also receives the PLUCK event and the VOL and F/F0 values from analyzer 8 as input.

The data SONGNAME, TIME and PLUCK are fed to the input of the melody sequencer 30. This block, depending on the selected song SONGNAME and the current time TIME, selects the next sound A that can potentially be played at the current time. If a PLUCK event occurs, then block 30 sends information to the sound synthesizer block 31 that it should begin playing a new sound with the parameters A.

The sound that can be played at a given moment TIME is determined by the following rule, the application of which allows changes to be made to the played rhythm of the melody, while leaving it recognizable:

Let A1, A2, …, An be the successive sounds of the guitar part that should sound in the song at times T1, T2, …, Tn.

For k=1..n the half-intervals are calculated:

I1 = [0, (T1+T2)/2)

I2 = [(T1+T2)/2, (T2+T3)/2)

I3 = [(T2+T3)/2, (T3+T4)/2)

…

In = [(T(n-1)+Tn)/2, D), where D is the total duration of the musical piece.

Then, depending on which of the half-intervals Ik the current moment of time TIME falls into, the corresponding sound Ak is started.

This method of selecting notes is essential to allow the performer to creatively vary the moments of string plucking from the ideal, and to introduce small or even significant features into the performance (such as syncopation or swing).

Sound synthesizer 31, on command from block 30, starts playing the specified sound A, whereby the parameters of volume VOL and pitch change F/F0 change the played sound (accordingly, the generated volume and pitch change). In addition, the sound control parameters CTL affect the sound playback (for example, the user can change the timbre of the generated sound by adding the Overdrive effect, as well as change the sensitivity of the volume and pitch change of the generated sound to the current values of VOL and F/F0).

The sound generated by block 31 is sent to sound mixer 32. Sound generation by the synthesizer stops when the volume of the VOL string becomes less than a certain threshold. If a new PLUCK event arrives during sound generation, then the generation of a new sound is immediately started, and the old sound is quickly extinguished in a short time (about 0.05 sec).

In addition to the sound synthesizer, which is activated by the PLUCK event, there is a background music playback block 33. This playback is independent of the string plucking. It is started by the START event and stopped by the STOP event. The generated sound from block 33 also goes to the sound mixer 32.

Sound mixer 32 mixes sounds from blocks 31 and 33, using parameters from CTL as the mixing volume parameter. The resulting digital audio stream is output to the SOUNDOUT output of block 9 and transmitted to DAC 10, from where it is output to audio system 11 as analog sound. (Note: the DAC block may be missing if a digital audio system such as a Bluetooth speaker or online streaming is used).

The invention is a guitar with one string without a fingerboard. To play it, you need to pluck the string, which generates a sound that repeats the dynamics of the string's sound (the event of the beginning of the sound, the change in volume, the variation of the tone), but replaces the tone with another, predetermined one. The timbre of the sound can convey both the guitar and any other musical instruments and sounds.

For example, a typical application is when a guitar user can turn on background music (any piece of music without one part), and play the proposed invention over it. By plucking the string in the desired rhythm (or creatively changing it, for example, syncopating or using swing), the invention's sound generator will substitute sounds of the desired timbre (of a guitar or any other instrument) and the desired tone (this is set in advance for each piece of music), thus reproducing the missing part.

The second application is solo guitar playing. In this case, the rhythm is transmitted to the guitar using a built-in vibration motor, as well as visual means (indicators) on the guitar.

The device works as follows.

1. The user switches on the invention and selects the desired song using buttons 16, 17. Its name is shown on display 15.

2. When the Start button 18 is pressed, the background music player 33 is launched in the generator 9, and music starts playing in the audio system 11. The display 15 shows the playback time in seconds and/or beats, the vibration motor 13 starts to operate in time with the music (depending on the settings for a specific song), and the indicators 14 start to light up in time with the music, or simply change colors (depending on the settings for a specific song).

3. If the user plucks string 2 during playback, the sound is picked up by pickup 6 and digitized by ADC 7 and fed to the input of string oscillation analyzer 8. The analyzer detects the fact of plucking and transmits this information to generator 9, to block 30, which starts generating the desired sound in synthesizer block 31. If the user mutes the string with his finger, or tightens it by pressing the string between the nut and the tuning peg, then the parameters for changing the volume and tone VOL and F/F0 will be read by block 8 and transmitted to synthesizer 31, which will change the synthesized sound accordingly. The final synthesized sound will go to mixer 32, where it will be mixed with the sound of player 33.

As a result, it will feel as if the desired note was played, although in fact the user only plucked the string, and the sequencer gave the desired tone to the sound 30.

4. The user can adjust the balance of the player's sound volume and the generated melody using the controls 19. Also, among these controls there may be timbre settings (for example, adding the Overdrive effect to the sound) and sensitivity settings for the influence of the VOL and F/F0 parameters on the volume and tone of the generated sound.

5. Additionally, the PLUCK signal from analyzer 8 will be transmitted to control module 12, and depending on the settings of the selected song, when pinched, vibration motor 13 may turn on for a short time, and indicators 14 may flash.

6. When pressing the Stop button 17, playback stops - timer 26 and sequencers 27, 28 stop their work, player 33 stops generating sound, vibration motor 13 stops, and indicators 14 go into standby mode (they turn off or show something specified in the program settings for the stop mode).

At the same time, the melody sequencer 30 stops selecting new notes, but continues to generate signals for the synthesizer - therefore, even when playback is stopped, the user can pluck a string and hear a sound (the last sound selected by module 30 will sound).

In the algorithm described above, for a given musical composition, the sounds A1, A2, …, An are determined - successive sounds of the guitar part that should sound in the intervals I1, I2, …, In.

The encoding method of Ai sounds can be one of the following:

1. "Synthesizer": Ai is a set of numerical characteristics describing the frequency, timbre of the sound and the volume envelope. In this case, at the moment of plucking, the sound generator begins to synthesize the sound according to the specified parameters. For example, the parameters can be

- timbre (1 - sine wave, 2 - square wave)

- sound frequency, Hz

- attack duration, sec

- attenuation duration, sec.

When a string sounds, the volume of the sound changes depending on the read volume of the string, and the tone changes depending on the read change in tone of the string.

2. «MIDI»: Ai is specified by the MIDI note number (number from 0 to 127). In this case, in case of plucking, the generator starts the sound assigned to the selected MIDI channel. At the moment of playback, the volume values corresponding to the read string volume are sent to this MIDI channel, as well as the read pitch change signals as Bend Wheel values (MIDI pitch change parameter).

3. "Sampler": Ai is specified as a sound sample of a given note (that is, the recorded sound of a given note on a given instrument).

At the moment of plucking, the sound generator starts playing the given sound sample, changing the playback volume in accordance with the read volume value of the string, and also changing the tone in accordance with the change in the tone of the string by changing the playback speed of the sound sample, or using pitch shift algorithms (Pitch Shift).

In the above description, embodiments of the present invention are described for clarity with reference to specific elements and blocks.

However, it is understood that any suitable distribution of the functionality between different functional elements or blocks may be used without prejudice to the present invention. Therefore, references to specific functional blocks or circuits should be considered only as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality. The present invention can be implemented in any suitable form. Although the present invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments, this should not be considered as limiting to the specific form set forth herein. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims. Further, although individual features may be included in different claims, they may possibly be effectively combined, and inclusion in different claims does not mean that the combination of features is impracticable and/or disadvantageous. In addition, the order of features in the claims does not indicate a specific order in which these features must be applied.

Taking into account the above, it can be concluded that the essential features of the claimed invention are not known from the prior art and ensure full compliance of the claimed invention with the patentability conditions of “novelty” and “inventive step”.

The claimed invention can be used in industry. Thus, the claimed invention satisfies the patentability condition of "industrial applicability".

It follows that, in the opinion of the applicant, the claimed invention fully complies with the conditions of patentability according to Article 1350 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Claims (14)

1. A guitar for performing a given melody, comprising a body, a string, a tuning peg, a nut, a tailpiece, a pickup, an ADC, a string vibration analyzer, a sound generator, a control module, a vibration motor, indicators, a display, music selection buttons, a stop button, a start button and sound adjustment controls, wherein the music selection buttons, the stop button, the start button and the sound adjustment controls are connected to the control module, the string is connected via the pickup to the ADC, the output of which is connected to the information input of the string vibration analyzer, the output of the sound generator is connected to the input of the audio system, the vibration control output of the control module is connected to the input of the vibration motor, the backlight control output of the control module is connected to the inputs of the indicators, the string plucking event indication output of the string vibration analyzer is connected to the first control input of the control module and is connected to the first control input of the sound generator, the output of the string volume value of the string vibration analyzer is connected to the volume setting input of the sound generator, the output the string tone change values of the string vibration analyzer are connected to the tone change input of the sound generator, the output of the song name and number of the control module is connected to the song assignment input of the sound generator, the output of the event to start and stop playback of a musical composition of the control module is connected to the input of the setting event to start and stop playback of a musical composition of the sound generator, the output of the control module's song execution time is connected to the input of the sound generator's song execution time, The output of the sound control parameters of the control module is connected to the input of the sound control parameters of the sound generator. 2. A guitar according to item 1, characterized in that the indicators are made in the form of a LED matrix. 3. A guitar according to item 1, characterized in that the indicators are made using a display screen. 4. A guitar according to item 1, characterized in that the indicator is a light-emitting diode. 5. A guitar according to item 1, characterized in that all elements are placed on the body. 6. A guitar according to item 5, characterized in that the string is secured using a tuning peg, a nut, and a tailpiece. 7. A guitar according to item 5, characterized in that it contains an audio system located outside the body. 8. A guitar according to item 1, characterized in that the output of the sound generator 9 is connected to the digital audio output of the guitar. 9. A guitar according to claim 1, characterized in that it contains a digital-to-analog converter, wherein the output of the sound generator 9 is connected to the digital-to-analog converter, the output of which is connected to the input of the audio system. 10. A guitar according to item 1, characterized in that the control module is designed with the ability to output information from the outputs of the name and number of the song and the time of the song's performance to the display.