WO2025061929A1

WO2025061929A1 - Interactive music decoder

Info

Publication number: WO2025061929A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/076413
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philip Smith; David Law
Original assignee: Noisy Clan
Current assignee: Noisy Clan
Priority date: 2023-09-20
Filing date: 2024-09-20
Publication date: 2025-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-20
Also published as: GB202314378D0

Abstract

An interactive music decoder (2; 10), which allows a user/musician, to interactively access and decode different chord shapes. The music decoder (2; 10) includes a carrier member (4; 38; 380) and a printed conveyor (6; 12). The printed conveyor (6; 12) is provided as a closed band around the carrier member (38; 380). The band providing the printed conveyor (6; 12) being configured to rotate around the carrier member (38; 380), wherein rotating the band providing the printed conveyor (6; 12) relative to the carrier member (38; 380) alters information displayed to a user by the printed conveyor (6; 12).

Description

INTERACTIVE MUSIC DECODER

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a portable and interactive music decoder. More particularly, the present invention relates to an interactive musical aid for use by players of stringed instruments, where the aid allows a user/musician to visualise how musical patterns (shapes, chords, scales, triads, etc.) can be moved over the fingerboard of their instrument by interacting with the device/aid.

Background

To get the most out of playing an instrument, for example a stringed instrument it is important to gain an understanding of the fingerboard. This can be done with various musical reference systems. An example of one of these is the CAGED system on the guitar. The CAGED system is method of mapping out the frets of the neck/fingerboard by visualising the five common open C, A, G, E, and D chords as moveable shapes that can be played up and down the guitar neck/fingerboard to play any chord, i.e., there are a total of twelve unique notes and the same chord shape can be used to play all 12 chords based on those original twelve notes.

Summary of Invention

The present invention provides an interactive musical aid, which allows a user/musician, to interactively access and decode different chord shapes; the musical aid comprises: a carrier member and a printed conveyor, wherein the printed conveyor is provided as a closed band around the carrier and wherein the band providing the printed conveyor is configured to rotate around the carrier member, wherein rotating the band providing the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member alters information displayed to a user by the printed conveyor. The printed conveyor may be a formed from a strip of material that is folded and ends are joined to form the closed band. A joint provided when the ends are joined may include one or more stiffeners. The joint may be sandwiched between two stiffeners.

The ends may be joined by adhesive, welding, fusion or a combination. The adjuster may be attached to the printed conveyor by adhesive, welding, fusion or a combination.

Alternatively, the printed conveyor, may be produced as a band with no visible joins. The printed conveyor may be a band that is cut from a tube of material. The tube of material may be pre-printed or the printed conveyor may be printed after cutting from the tube of material.

The printed conveyor may include printed markings, for example circles, solid dots and or symbols that represent musical notes e.g., the notes of major chords. The printed conveyor may also include printed vertical lines representing frets of a fingerboard/neck of a stringed instrument. Alternatively, the carrier member may include vertical lines representing frets of a stringed instrument, for example a guitar, ukulele, bass, mandolin, lute, banjo etc.

A forward surface of the carrier member may include printed horizontal lines representing strings of a stringed instrument wherein the printed conveyor is made of a transparent printed material. The carrier member may include a substantially quadrilateral panel comprising two parallel slots arranged close to opposing edges, wherein the slots are configured to receive ends of a strip providing the printed conveyor.

Each slot may include a rounded slot at each end. Each rounded slot is configured to reduce wear and stress on the moving edges of the printed conveyer when being used.

Alternatively, the carrier member may be a substantially quadrilateral sheet including a recess on each vertical edge, wherein the printed conveyor loop extends around the carrier member within the recesses.

Each recess may include an enlarged portion of the recess at each end. Each enlarged portion of the recess is configured to reduce wear and stress on the moving edges of the printed conveyer when being used.

The interactive musical aid/decoder may further comprise a housing containing a front panel including a viewing portion and a rear panel; the carrier member about which is mounted the printed conveyor, which is operable to rotate relative to the carrier member; wherein the carrier member is located between the front and rear panel and wherein the printed conveyor is visible to the user via the viewing portion of the front panel.

The interactive musical aid/decoder may further comprise: an adjuster, operable to move the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member thereby emulating left and right movement relative to the viewing portion. The adjuster may be provided by a mechanism which is connected to the printed conveyor and is operable to rotate the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member thereby emulating left and right movement relative to the viewing portion. For example, the adjuster may include a ratchet mechanism operable to move the printed conveyor left and right relative to the viewing portion.

The adjuster may include a body attached to the printed conveyor and a tab graspable by a user.

The adjuster may include a toggle member, which is attached to the adjuster and is configured to be gripped by the user to aid movement of the adjuster and therefore the printed conveyor. The toggle member may be attached to the tab.

The musical aid may include a slot on the rear panel and wherein the tab is guided by the slot. The extent of movement left and right of the printed conveyor relative to the viewing portion being limited by travel of the tab and the length of the slot.

Alternatively, the musical aid may include a slot on the front panel, wherein the tab is guided by the slot. The extent of movement left and right of the printed conveyor relative to the viewing portion being limited by travel of the tab and the length of the slot

The slot may extend substantially edge to edge across a width of the panel through which it is included. Alternatively, the slot may be shorter than the width of the panel through which it is included.

It will be appreciated the width/length of the slot determines the maximum distance travelled by the sliding conveyor in the left and right directions as visualised via the viewing portion. For maximum travel of the sliding conveyor, the slot extends between outer edges of the housing.

The viewing portion may be provide by a transparent window on the front panel. The transparent window protects the printed conveyor from dirt and debris and allows the user to see the printed conveyor.

The transparent window may include printed horizontal lines representing strings of a guitar. Alternatively, a forward surface of the carrier member may include printed horizontal lines representing strings of a guitar wherein the printed conveyor is made of a transparent printed material. The carrier member may include vertical lines representing a fret board of a stringed instrument, e.g., a guitar, Ukulele, Bass, Mandolin, Lute, Banjo, etc. The printed conveyor may include printed markings, for example circles, solid dots and or symbols that represent musical notes e.g., notes of major chords. The printed conveyor may also include printed vertical lines representing a fretboard of a stringed instrument, e.g., a guitar, Ukulele, Bass, Mandolin, Lute, Banjo, etc..

The printed conveyor may be a formed from a strip of material that is folded and ends are joined to form a loop/band. A joint provided when the ends are joined may include one or more stiffeners. The joint may be sandwiched between two stiffeners. An outer stiffener may provide an anchor for an adjuster.

The ends may be joined by adhesive, welding, fusion or a combination. The adjuster may be attached to the printed conveyor by adhesive, welding, fusion or a combination. The adjuster may include a toggle member, which is attached to the adjuster and configured to be gripped by the user to aid movement of the adjuster and therefore the printed conveyor.

The housing may include a chassis member, which incorporates the carrier member, the printed conveyor and the adjuster, wherein the chassis member is sandwiched between the front panel and the rear panel.

The carrier member may be a portion of the chassis member, wherein the carrier member extends between two vertical slots, wherein the printed conveyor is held and guided between the vertical slots and is movable left to right relative to the vertical slots.

Alternatively the carrier member may be sheet including a recess on each vertical edge. The printed conveyor loop may be formed around the carrier member.

Alternatively, the printed conveyor may be pre-formed as a flexible band that is configured to be received over the carrier member or to receive the carrier member.

Alternatively, the printed conveyor may be cut from a pre-formed tube thereby providing a pre-formed band configured to be received over the carrier member or to receive the carrier member.

After assembly of the printed conveyor and the carrier member the printed conveyor is operable to rotate around the carrier member.

After assembly of the assembly of the printed conveyor, the carrier member and the front and rear panel, the printed conveyor is operable to rotate relative to the carrier member wherein the extent of travel of the printed conveyor is restricted. The carrier member may be a flexible panel. For example, the carrier member may be made of polypropylene. Alternatively, the carrier may be made from a rigid or semi rigid material to which the printed conveyor is mounted.

The carrier member may be mountable onto a rigid/semi rigid chassis, wherein the chassis is received in the housing between the front and rear panel.

The printed conveyor is sized relative to the carrier such that the printed conveyor rotates unhindered relative to the carrier.

The printed conveyor may be printed with symbols representing notes and chord shapes such that the user can visually control the chord shapes by moving the printed conveyor left or right.

The band providing the printed conveyor may further comprise a tension member, which is operable to adjust the tension/slackness of the printed conveyor to ensure smooth rotation relative to the carrier. The tension member may be provided by a removable spacer.

The printed conveyor may include printable transparent material. Accordingly, the window or the carrier may include printable material upon which lines that represent strings and/or frets of a fingerboard/head of a stringed instrument can be displayed.

The printed conveyor may include a printable opaque/non-transparent material. Accordingly, the window may include printable material upon which lines that represent strings and/or frets of a fingerboard/head of a stringed instrument can be displayed.

The interactive music decoder may further comprise a stand. The stand may be extendable and retractable relative to the rear panel. The rear panel may include a recess into which the stand is received in a stowed configuration. In a deployed configuration, the stand may extend from the recess.

The printed conveyor includes graphics that represent musical notes e.g., essential chords, scales arpeggios, triads etc.. To distinguish each chord shape the note shapes may include circles, for example circles with no outline or circles with an outline and/or symbols, for example a lightning bolt.

The printed conveyor may include a two layer laminated structure, wherein a first layer of transparent film includes printed graphics and a second layer of transparent film is laminated on top of the first layer and the graphics thereon. In this way, lamination of the two layers means the graphics are contained in an interface between the first layer and the second layer, thereby protecting the graphics from wear.

The process of laminating the graphics at the interface of the two layers may be done in a manner similar to an existing process used in food packaging.

The front panel may include one or more windows, configured to display the chord and associated notes.

Brief description of Drawings

Examples of the invention are described below, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1a shows a first example of an interactive musical aid/decoder carrier member according to an example of the present invention; Fig. 1b shows a further example of an interactive musical aid/decoder carrier member according to an example of the present invention;

Fig. 1c illustrates a front view of a further example of an interactive musical aid/decoder according to an example of the present invention;

Fig. 2a illustrates a basic front view of the interactive musical aid/decoder of Fig. 1c;

Fig. 2b illustrates a rear view of the interactive musical aid/decoder of Fig. 1c, including a stand in a stowed position;

Fig. 3 illustrates a perspective rear view of the interactive musical aid/decoder Fig. 2b, including the stand in a deployed position;

Fig. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the components forming the interactive musical aid/decoder of Fig. 1c, 2a, 2b and 3;

Fig. 5a shows a rear view of a chassis incorporating a carrier member having guiding slots to receive and guide the strip of material of Fig. 7;

Fig. 5b shows a strip of material as illustrated in Fig. 7 being attached to the chassis and carrier member of Fig. 5a;

Fig. 6a shows an example of another carrier member that includes indents along parallel edges, where the indents receive and guide the strip of material of Fig. 7;

Fig. 6b illustrates the strip of material of Fig. 7 wrapped and secured around the carrier member of Fig. 6a;

Fig. 7 shows a printed strip of material, which forms a printed conveyor as illustrated as part of the components of Fig. 4, 5b, 6b; Fig. 8a shows an example of preparing and reinforcing a joint that secures the ends of the strip of material of Fig. 5b, Fig, 6b and Fig 7 together to produce the printed conveyor as illustrated as part of the components of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8b shows an example of an adjuster including a pull tab attached to the joint of Fig. 8a, where the adjuster and pull tab facilitate controlling movement of the printed conveyor in the assembled interactive musical aid/decoder as illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8c shows an example of the chassis and carrier member of Fig. 5a and Fig. 5b assembled with the strip of material of Fig. 7 formed as a loop and including the adjuster and pull tab of Fig. 8b attached.

Description

As an example of the present invention Fig. 1a and 1b each illustrate an interactive musical aid/decoder 2, which facilitates a musician e.g. a stringed instrument player to access/decode different musical arrangements e.g., essential chords, scales arpeggios, triads etc.

In this example, the musical aid/decoder 2 includes a carrier member 4 and a printed conveyor 6 (shown blank for illustrative purposes only). The printed conveyor 6 is a loop/band that rotates (as indicated by arrows 8) relative to the carrier member 4 to change the arrangement of notes displayed to the musician.

Fig. 1c, 2a, 2b and 3 illustrate a further example of an interactive musical aid 10, which facilitates a musician e.g. a stringed instrument player to access/decode different musical arrangements e.g., essential chords, scales arpeggios, triads etc. In this example the musical notes displayed and the graphical representation displayed represent the neck/fingerboard of a stringed instrument e.g., a guitar, Ukulele, Bass, Mandolin, Lute, Banjo, etc.. In the example illustrated and described below the decoder 10 aids with decoding chord arrangements and the instrument referenced hereafter is a guitar. However, it should be appreciated the decoder 10 is applicable to other instruments and musicians to access/decode different chord shapes.

Using a chord system as an example, the CAGED system is frequently used to help understand the fretboard. The five chords when learning the guitar using the CAGED system are the C major, A major, G major, E major, and D major chords. These chords are considered the five most important chords because they form 5 distinct movable chords that can be used across the fretboard to play any other chord.

The major chords are made up of three notes, i.e., the root, a major third, and a fifth.

The interactive musical aid 10 also referenced as a decoder because the purpose of the interactive musical aid/decoder 10 is to translate print (in this case notes) into physical musical notes/sounds from the instrument, which in this example is a guitar.

In the illustrated example, the interactive musical aid/decoder 10 includes a printed conveyor 12 that captures what is known as the CAGED open chord shapes in an interactive manner to aid learning and skill progression for guitar players.

Another example (not illustrated) is the pentatonic scale, which can be played across the fretboard. For each key there are several shapes and positions up the fretboard that a musician can play the scale. These repeat after the twelfth fret and are all moveable. The shapes can be used to play the scales for every one of the 12 keys. In the illustrated example, the printed conveyor 12 is operable to rotate relative to a carrier member and visually, to the musician, the printed notes move left to right (described further below) such that different chord patterns can be selected, displayed and decoded.

In the example illustrated in Fig. 1, the root chord is C as displayed in an upper round window 14, the major third is E and the fifth is G as indicated by secondary window or windows 16 included below the printed conveyor 10.

The printed conveyor 10 incudes printed notes 18a, 18b, 18c, i.e., the root, a major third, and a fifth for each major chord. The notes are displayed as solid circles (no outline) 18a for the root, an outlined white circle 18b for the major third and circles with a lightning bolt symbol 18c for the fifth. A combination of each of these notes represent the selected chord pattern i.e., the root. As noted above in the example illustrated in Fig. 1, chord pattern Major C is selected i.e. the root note is C.

The interactive musical aid/decoder 10 as illustrated in Fig. 1 includes an aide memoir 20 of the five major chords by including an illustration of each chord shape/pattern 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e.

Referring now to Fig. 1 and 2a, in this example, the printed conveyor 12 is displayed through a transparent window 22, which includes six printed horizontal lines 24. The horizontal lines 24 each represent a string of an instrument, in this example a guitar.

The interactive musical aid/decoder 10 also includes printed vertical lines 26 (see Fig. 1). The vertical lines 26 are spaced to represent the guitar’s fretboard. In this example, the vertical lines 26 are printed on the printed conveyor 12. However, alternatively the vertical fretboard lines may be printed on a chassis/carrier member

36, 38 (see Fig. 3 and the related description below) relative to which the printed conveyor 12 rotates. In the latter case, it will be appreciated the printed conveyor 12 would be made of transparent material such that the printed lines can be seen as the printed conveyor 12 moves relative to the chassis/carrier member 36, 38.

The combination of the printed transparent window 22 and the printed conveyor 12 provides a layout that emulates a guitar fretboard visually and logically because, as noted above any given chord can be played all over the fretboard using the CAGED chord forms. Each chord shape connects to the previous chord shape following a set and repeating pattern, as follows:

• C form connects to A form;

• A form connects to G form;

• G form connects to E form;

• E form connects to D form; and

• D form connects to C form.

The structure of the interactive musical aid/decoder 10, hereafter decoder 10, according to an example of the present invention can be visualised further with reference to Fig. 2a, 2b, 3 and 4.

The decoder 10 includes a housing, which includes a front panel 32 and a rear panel 34. In this example, as described above, the front panel 32 includes a transparent window 22, through which the printed conveyor 12 is viewed. The front panel also includes the window 14, which displays the selected chord shape i.e. , the root note e.g., C as illustrated in Fig. 1 and the further one or two windows 16 that display the major third and fifth notes. The front panel 32 and rear panel 34 house a chassis 36, which incorporates a carrier member 38, and an assembly of the printed conveyor 12 and an adjuster 40.

The chassis 36 and carrier member 38 are described further below with reference to Fig. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b.

In this example, the adjuster 40 (see Fig. 2b and 3) includes a horizontal tab 42 which, in this example includes a hole 44 to which a toggle 46 (see Fig. 3) is attached. The adjuster 40 and toggle 46 facilitate moving the printed conveyor 12 to alter the major chord shape being displayed. The toggle 46 (see Fig. 2b) is provided and configured to help a user grip and control the movement of the printed conveyor 12.

In this example the rear panel 34 includes a horizontal slot 30, which aligns with the horizontal tab 42 of the adjuster 40 (see Fig. 2b) in the assembled decoder 10. The slot 30 guides the tab 42 to facilitate side-to-side (rightward and leftward) travel of the printed conveyor 12 relative to the window 22 and the horizontal slot 30 in the assembled decoder 10. It will be appreciated the actual movement of the printed conveyor 12 is rotation relative to the carrier member 36, 38.

The length of the slot 30 limits the extent of travel of the tab 42 and therefore the extent of travel of the printed conveyor 12 also.

In the illustrated example, the decoder 10 includes a stowable stand 50, which is pivotally connected to the rear panel 34. In this example, the rear panel 34 includes a recess 52 into which the stand 50 is seated in a stowed configuration.

When the stand 50 is in the stowed configuration, the decoder 10 can be laid flat by resting the rear panel 34 on a flat surface e.g., a music stand. In this example, the stand 50 is pivotally connected to the rear panel 34 (see Fig. 4) such that when pivoted outwards from the rear panel 34, the decoder 10 can be supported on a flat surface with the front panel 32 being displayed at an angle towards the vertical.

Fig. 5a and 5b show the chassis member 36 of the exploded diagram shown in Fig. 3. In this example, the chassis member 36 includes two vertical slots 60, with expanded holes 62 at the top and bottom of each slot 60. The expanded hole 62 are each configured to reduce wear and stress on the moving edges of the printed conveyer 12 in use.

In this example, the section of the chassis 36 between the slots 60 provides the carrier member 38, where the carrier member 38 is the component of the decoder 10 relative to which the printed conveyor 12 rotates to change the major chord being displayed.

Fig. 5b shows a strip of material 64 partially assembled with the chassis member 36, where a length of the strip of material 64 extends across the front face (not visible) of the carrier member 38 and the ends 66a, 66b of the strip of material 64 pass through the slots 60 towards the rear face 68.

The two ends 66a, 66b of the strip of material 64 are subsequently joined together to form the printed conveyor 12 that is operable to move from side-to-side relative to the carrier member 38 as part of the chassis member 36.

Fig. 6a and 6b illustrate an alternative example of a carrier member 380, where the carrier member 380 includes a panel 362 that includes an indent 364 along both vertical parallel edges 366. Each indent 364 includes an expanded groove 365 at both ends. The grooves 365 are each configured to reduce wear and stress on the moving edges of the printed conveyer 12 as it rotates relative to the carrier member

380 in use.

Fig 6a shows a strip of material 64 arranged relative to the carrier member 38.

Fig. 6b shows the strip of material 64 assembled with the carrier member 380 and including the adjuster 40 as described above.

In this example, the carrier member 380 is placed on top of the strip of material 64 and the indents 364 and grooves 365 are aligned with the strip of material 64. The strip of material 64 is then folded across the rear face of the carrier member 380 and both ends 66a, 66b are joined to create a loop/band around the carrier member 380.

When the two ends 66a, 66b of the strip of material 64 are joined together, the loop forms the printed conveyor 12. The adjuster 40 is subsequently affixed to the joint provided by joining the two ends 66a, 66b together (an example of this process is described further below with reference to Fig. 8a, 8b and 8c).

In the examples described with reference to Fig. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b the strip of material 64 provides the printed conveyor 12 when the ends 66a, 66b are joined together.

In an alternative example, the printed conveyor 12 may be manufactured as a band of material, which is then placed over a carrier member 380 as illustrated in Fig. 6a and 6b. In this example, one or both of the printed conveyor 12 and or the carrier member 380 will be sufficiently flexible to allow the printed conveyor 12 to be received over the carrier member 380.

Where the band i.e. , the printed conveyor 12 is sufficiently flexible, elasticity of the band will allow it to expand to be received over a carrier member 380 (as illustrated in Fig. 6a and 6b) and, once assembled, to contract sufficiently to fit snuggly, around the carrier member 380.

Where the carrier member is flexible, i.e., being made of a suitable material e.g. plastic, cardboard, laminate etc. the carrier member is configured to slightly bend/distort to allow the printed conveyor 12 to be received over it. Releasing the carrier member will return the carrier member elastically to the undistorted form to complete assembly of the printed conveyor 12 and the carrier member.

The carrier member 380 may be assembled with a chassis member (not shown) and then housed between the front panel 32 and the rear panel 34 to form the decoder 10.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a printed strip of material 64 that can be used to form the printed conveyor 12 for use with the chassis 36 and carrier members 38, 380 as illustrated in Fig. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6c and the components of Fig. 4.

The strip of material 64 includes a printed section 70 and two bonding sections 66a, 66b, where a bonding section 66a, 66b is located at each end of the strip of material 64. As described above with reference to Fig. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b the bonding sections 66a, 66b are configured to be joined together to reconfigure the strip of material 64 to a loop/ban that forms the printed conveyor 12 (as described above with reference to Fig. 5a, 5b, 6a and 6b) when mounted on the carrier member 38, 380.

The strip of material 64 includes printed matter that is displayed via windows 14, 16, 22 provided on the front panel 32 (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 2a) of the decoder 10.

In this example, the strip of material 64 is printed to include vertical lines 26 that represent frets of the fingerboard/neck of a guitar. Between and on the fret lines 26, the strip of material 64 also includes circular spots 78, which represent notes of the major chords. For illustrative purposes, only solid spots 78 are included in this example. However, Fig 1 and the description above provide an example of different spot configurations 18a, 18b, 18c used to represent each note type of the major chords.

An upper section of the strip of material 64 includes markings 75 e.g., letters (indicated by white squares in Fig. 7). Each marking 75 (see Fig. 1) represents which major chord is selected, when the decoder 10 of Fig.1 is being used. These letters are visible through the window 14 as shown in Fig. 1.

A lower section of the strip of material 64 includes markings 77a, 77b e.g., letters (indicated by grey boxes in Fig. 7). These markings represent the major third 77a and fifth notes 77b respectively associated with the selected major chord 75. These letters are visible through the window or windows 16 as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8a illustrates preparation of the printed conveyor 12 (a loop/band) from the strip of material 64. More specifically Fig. 8a shows an example of how the two ends 66a, 66b of the strip of material 64 can be joined together.

In this example, the two ends 66a, 66b of the strip of material 64 overlap and the overlapping sections join together by adhesive or by welding, fusing etc. The joint is then sandwiched between two stiffeners 80, 82 that are configured to reinforce and secure the joint. The stiffeners 80, 82 may be added under pressure P1 to ensure the joint is secure.

In the illustrated example, the stiffeners 80, 82 are attached to the joint using adhesive tape. However, it will be appreciated other joining methods could be used, e.g., welding, fusing etc. In the illustrated example, the outer stiffener 80 provides an anchor point for attachment of the adjuster 40 (including a pull tab 40), which (as described above) facilitates rotation of the printed conveyor 12 relative to the carrier member 38, 380.

Fig. 8b illustrates the step of adding the adjuster/pull tab 40 to the outer stiffener 80 that is attached to the joint at the rear of the printed conveyor 12.

In this example, the adjuster 40 is attached to the outer stiffener 80 using a combination of adhesive 84 and welding 86.

The shape and form of the adjuster 40 and pull tab 42 means that load on the printed conveyor 12 is distributed evenly over a relatively large and uniform contact surface area such that rotation of the printed conveyer 12 relative to the carrier member 38, 380 is smooth and unrestricted. This arrangement minimises stress concentrations on the printed conveyor 12.

Fig. 8c illustrates the chassis member 36 as illustrated in Fig. 5a and 5b assembled with the printed conveyor 12, the adjuster 40 and pull tab 40.

The printed conveyor 12 may include a tension member (not illustrated), which is operable to adjust the tension/slackness of the printed conveyor 12 relative to the carrier member 38, 380. The tension member may be provided by a removable spacer.

Whilst specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that departures from the described embodiments may still fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An interactive music decoder, which allows a user/musician, to interactively access and decode different chord shapes; the music decoder comprises: a carrier member and a printed conveyor, wherein the printed conveyor is provided as a closed band around the carrier member and wherein the band providing the printed conveyor is configured to rotate around the carrier member, wherein rotating the band providing the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member alters information displayed to a user by the printed conveyor.

2. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the printed conveyor is a formed from a strip of material that is wrapped to form the band and wherein ends are joined to form the closed band.

3. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 2, wherein a joint provided when the ends are joined may include one or more stiffeners.

4. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 3, wherein the joint is sandwiched between two stiffeners.

5. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the ends are joined by adhesive, welding, fusion or a combination.

6. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the band providing the printed conveyor is produced with no visible joins.

7. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 1 or 6, wherein the band providing the printed conveyor is cut from a tube of material

8. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the printed conveyor includes printed markings, for example circles, solid dots and or symbols that represent note arrangements.

9. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carrier member includes a substantially quadrilateral panel comprising two parallel slots arranged close to opposing edges, wherein the slots are configured to receive ends of a strip providing the printed conveyor.

10. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 9, wherein each slot includes a rounded slot at each end.

11. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the carrier member is a substantially quadrilateral sheet including a recess on each vertical edge, wherein the printed conveyor loop extends around the carrier member within the recesses.

12. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 11 , wherein each recess includes an enlarged portion of the recess at each end.

13. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising: a housing containing a front panel including a viewing portion and a rear panel; the carrier member about which is mounted the printed conveyor, which is operable to rotate relative to the carrier member; wherein the carrier member is located between the front and rear panel and wherein the printed conveyor is visible to the user via the viewing portion of the front panel.

14. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: an adjuster, operable to move the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member thereby emulating left and right movement relative to the viewing portion.

15. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 14, wherein the adjuster is provided by a mechanism which is connected to the printed conveyor and is operable to rotate the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member thereby emulating left and right movement relative to the viewing portion.

16. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein the adjuster includes a body attached to the printed conveyor and a tab graspable by a user.

17. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 16, wherein the adjuster includes a toggle member, which is attached to the adjuster and is configured to be gripped by the user to aid movement of the adjuster and therefore the printed conveyor.

18. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 16 or 17, further comprising a slot through the rear panel and wherein the tab is guided by the slot.

19. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 16 or 17, further comprising a slot through the front panel and wherein the tab is guided by the slot.

20. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 18 or 19, wherein the slot extends substantially edge to edge across a width of the panel through which it is included.

21. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 18 or 19, wherein the slot is shorter than the width of the panel through which it is included.

22. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim in any of claims 13 to 20, wherein the viewing portion is provide by a transparent window on the front panel.

23. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any of claims 13 to 22, wherein the housing includes a chassis member, which incorporates the carrier member and the printed conveyor, wherein the chassis member is sandwiched between the front panel and the rear panel.

24. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 23, wherein the carrier member is a portion of the chassis member, wherein the carrier member extends between two vertical slots, wherein the printed conveyor is held and guided between the vertical slots and is rotatable relative to the vertical slots.

25. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carrier member is a flexible panel.

26. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 25, wherein the carrier member is made of polypropylene.

27. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any of claims 1 to 24, wherein the carrier member is made from a rigid or semi rigid material to which the printed conveyor is mounted.

28. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any of claims 25 to 27, wherein the carrier member is mountable onto a rigid/semi rigid chassis member.

29. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claims, wherein the printed conveyor further comprises a tension member, which is operable to adjust the tension/slackness of the printed conveyor relative to the carrier member.

30. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 29, wherein the tension member is provided by a removable spacer.

31. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any of claims 13 to 30, further comprising a stand.

32. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 31, wherein the stand is extendable and retractable relative to the rear panel.

33. An interactive music decoder as claimed in claim 31 or 32, wherein the rear panel include a recess into which the stand is received in a stowed configuration and wherein the stand extends from the recess in a deployed configuration.

34. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a hole or slot proximate a lower portion of the decoder, wherein the hole or slot is configured to receive an elongated member to act as a stand or a prop to support the decoder in an elevated position.

35. An interactive music decoder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the printed conveyor includes a two layer laminated structure, wherein a first layer of transparent film includes printed graphics and a second layer of transparent film is laminated on top of the first layer and the graphics thereon.