Abstract: The invention is an electronic, voice-controlled musical instrument. It is in essence an electronic kazoo. The player hums into the mouthpiece, and the device imitates the sound of a musical instrument whose pitch and volume change in response to the player's voice. The player is given the impression of playing the actual instrument and controlling it intimately with the fine nuances of his voice. The instrument can in principle be any music-producing sound source: a trumpet, trombone, clarinet, flute, piano, electric guitar, voice, whistle, even a chorus of voices, i.e. virtually any source of sound. In its simplest configuration, the instrument resembles a kind of horn. However, the shape and appearance of the instrument can be fashioned by the manufacture to match the sound of any traditional instrument, if desired; or its shape can be completely novel.

Abstract: An electronic, voice-controlled musical instrument called the Vocolo, in which the player hums into the mouthpiece, and the device imitates the sound of a musical instrument whose pitch and volume change in response to the player's voice is disclosed. The player is given the impression of playing the actual instrument and controlling it intimately with the fine nuances of his voice. The invention comprises techniques for pitch quantization that provide esthetically pleasing note transitions, mechanisms for song recording that are suited for rhythmic repeated playback and performance evaluation of the player's pitch control, techniques related to expressive control and pitch detection, and techniques for mitigating the effect of pitch detection errors. Embodiments are disclosed for providing finger/hand interaction for expressive control, a microphone enclosure that mitigates audio feedback, and for providing rhythmic feedback to the player through mechanical vibrations induced in the device.