Abstract: An electric guitar has a plurality of strings stretched over a rigid body and a neck, and a vibration detecting unit embedded into the rigid body, and the vibration detecting unit has a plurality of photo emitting elements paired with a plurality of photo detecting elements spaced apart from the associated photo emitting diodes in directions parallel to the associated strings, wherein the photo emitting elements radiate light spots toward the associated strings for causing the reflections to be fallen upon the associated photo detecting elements so that the photo detecting elements produces photo currents without any diffraction of light.

Abstract: A hand-held percussion musical instrument includes a swinging tone-generating plate, which is hinged and moved when being played. The tone plate is sounded by impact with the body of the instrument, which includes a resonator and impact member located at the point of contact with the tone plate. The tone plate swings on a hinge, which is a flexible elastomeric joint that secures the tone plate to the resonator. A pleated, accordion-type elastomeric member is affixed between the end of the tone plate and body of the instrument to control the lateral movement of the tone plate and limit its backswing.

Abstract: Conventional karaoke devices simply show lyrics on screen. This invention displays not only lyrics but also data useful for the enhancement of the singer's presentation such as the strength of the vocals and the pitch. More precisely, vocal data, which indicates the special requisites of a specific vocal rendition such as its strength and pitch, and the current lyric position indicator, which marks the current position in the lyrics, are correlated with the music data to which they correspond and then stored in memory. The said vocal data and current lyric position data are then read out of memory and each block of vocal data is displayed on the screen of a visual display medium a little in advance of the music to which it corresponds while the current lyric position within said block of vocal data is indicated in time with the music. Moreover, the strength and basic frequency of an actual vocal rendition can be detected and compared with the stored vocal data.

Abstract: A drum head is held over the open end of a drum body by a drum hoop passing around the edge of the drum head. A lug on the side of the drum body has an axial opening which receives a lug nut. The lug nut has an axial threaded opening. A threaded bolt, which engages the drum head hoop, is tightened into the threaded opening of the lug nut and draws the drum hoop to tighten the drum head. A radial opening extends radially through the lug nut from the opening in the lug to the threaded opening for the bolt. An elastic bolt engaging and bolt rotation resisting chip in the radial opening engages the lug on the outside and the bolt in the lug nut opening for restraining rotation of the bolt. There may be a drum head at each end of the drum body, a respective lug near each drum head and a single element defining both lug nuts.

Abstract: Disclosed is a keyboard device of an electronic keyboard instrument generating a sound upon actuation of a switch disposed on a main plate by a pushing operation of a keyboard; the device includes a touch element varying in position according to the operation of the keyboard and a guide element for guiding the touch element, so that pushing force of the keyboard may be regulated. Therefore, this device enables a player to feel the same sense of touch as that in a common piano by eliminating a sense of friction which may be exerted upon his finger when pushing down the keyboard.

Abstract: An electro-mechanical pickup for a musical instrument having a plurality of strings. The pickup includes a core, a first piezoelectric transducer element connected in parallel with a second piezoelectric transducer element, and a two-conductor output lead. Using two piezoelectric transducer elements connected in parallel increases the output voltage and capacitance of the pickup compared with using a single piezoelectric transducer element. The core is elongated, and has a first face opposite a second face. The first piezoelectric transducer element includes first and second electrodes on opposite faces of a first piezoelectric film. The second piezoelectric transducer element includes third and fourth electrodes on opposite faces of a second piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric transducer elements are each responsive to more than one string of the musical instrument. The first piezoelectric transducer element is stacked on the core with the second electrode in contact with the first face of the core.

Abstract: In controlling a sound source for an electronic musical instrument, an operation data of a performance operation member corresponding to musical tone control parameters of a musical instrument is corrected according to a tone generation region characteristic of the musical instrument. The corrected data is inputted to a sound source circuit of the electronic musical instrument thereby a musical tone approximating of the musical instrument is regularly generated.

Abstract: A resonant effect apparatus for an electronic musical instrument includes a plurality of resonant tone signal forming channels for forming a plurality of resonant tone signals different in their resonant frequency characteristics when applied with a musical tone to be generated and a plurality of acoustic conversion systems for acoustically converting each of the resonant tone signals to issue the converted resonant tone signals therefrom. In the resonant effect apparatus, a supply condition of the resonant tone signals to the acoustic conversion systems is controlled for control of a sound localization of the resonant tone signals.

Abstract: A muting device of an upright piano which includes butt, a wippen, a capstan button and a muting mechanism (15). This butt rotates with a hammer which strikes a string of the upright piano. In addition, a jack is provided to come in contact with a lower surface of the butt, and rotates the butt in response to displacement of the key. The jack is supported by the wippen such that it can freely rotate. The capstan button is provided at a back edge portion of the key to transmit displacement of the key to the wippen. The muting mechanism is designed to reduce a string-striking stroke by rotating the hammer. Further, there is provided a key-displacement-transmission-rate changing mechanism. When reducing the string-striking stroke by the muting mechanism, this mechanism raises a displacement transmission point, at which displacement of the key is transmitted to the wippen, toward a rotation center of the key from the capstan button.

Abstract: A technique for digitally processing a counterpart of a musical sound first transforms a set of time-domain samples of the sound into frequency-domain counterparts and then gradually coerces the frequency-domain counterparts into integer multiples of a fundamental frequency of the sound.

Abstract: A hammer movement detection device for detecting the movement of a hammer which strikes strings provided for each key of a keyboard musical instrument. The hammer movement detection device radiates light onto a hammer shank which moves with the hammer and detects at least the displacement of the hammer shank based on the light reflected from the hammmer shank. The movement detection device may be attached to a shank rail which supports the hammer shank in a freely rotatable manner. The hammer movement detection device may be supported using a fixed member which is supported above the hammer shank and below the pin board which is connected to the frame which supports the strings which are struck by the hammer.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument having selectable monaural, stereo and multiple channel musical performance capability is disclosed which includes a performance data generating device; tone signal generating systems; sound producing systems; a mode indicating device; a selection device; and a distribution device. The tone signal generating systems generate musical tone signals based on performance data generated by the performance data generating device. The sound producing systems produce musical sounds based based on the musical tone signals. The selection device allocates performance data to a single musical tone signal generating system when the mode indicated by the mode indicating device is the first mode. The selection device allocates performance data to plural musical tone generating systems when the mode indicated by the mode indicating means is the second mode.

Abstract: In construction of a keyboard apparatus in which a plurality of keys are swingably mounted to a fixed key support and change in electric inductance is induced in response to every key operation for adjustment of musical tone control parameters, the change in inductance by an inductance change inducer is detected by at least one planar coil pattern which is arranged such that its mating surface area with the an inductance change inducer should change in correspondence to the key stroke of the key at key operation. Thanks to use of the change in the mating surface area in detection, a linear relationship is obtained between the key stroke and the detection output, which well avoids inter-key variation in detection output for uniform generation of musical tones from different keys.

Abstract: A musical tone synthesizing apparatus generates musical tones by simulating the tone generation construction of a plucked-stringed instrument or string-striking type stringed instrument. The apparatus has a closed-loop circuit which simulate a tone generating element of the instrument, an excitation circuit which creates an excitation signal corresponding to the excitation given to the tone generating element in response to the time function. The time function is set in response to operational information of the tone generating operator. The excitation signal is supplied to the closed-loop circuit and circulates around closed-loop circuit and is delayed by a delay circuit having delay interval, and is fed back into the excitation circuit as the state of the tone generating element.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument having a function of simultaneously generating musical tones of a plural tone color comprises a tone color designating device for designating a plurality of tone colors, and a balance decision device for deciding balance of tone volume between the tones of tone colors designated by the tone color designating device, according to the order specified thereby. After the tone colors are designated, when musical tone generation is specified by a keyboard or the like, the musical tones of the tone colors are generated according to the previously decided balance of tone volume.

Abstract: An apparatus for electronically connecting a plurality of percussion instruments having individual connecting leads to a mixing desk or the like comprises a rack surrounding at least partially the plurality of percussion instruments wherein the rack is provided with sockets for receiving the individual connecting leads from each of the percussion instruments and is further provided with a single connection cable for connecting the rack to the mixing desk.

Abstract: A tonality determining apparatus provides a tonality analysis of a chord progression. The apparatus includes a chord function knowledge database storing musical knowledge of evaluating a function of each chord in the chord progression. A keynote and function progression extractor determines a keynote and function of each chord in the chord progression from a chord progression input device in accordance with the function knowledge database. From the extractor's results a tonality data generator produces tonality data defining a pitch class set available in each chord time interval. The tonality determining apparatus is applied to an accompaniment apparatus for playing an accompaniment with a desired tonality.

Abstract: A music recording system on electronic keyboard is disclosed, and the system includes: a key scanning circuit for reading and interpreting the key data from the key board, and for outputting a note number data and a key on/off information: a counter for counting the input signals in accordance with the system clock and based on the key on/off information from the key scanning circuit; a register for latching the content of the counter upon completion of the counting; a pointer generator for looping the length data of the notes and rest; another register for temporarily storing the length data of the notes and rests read by the pointer generator; a comparator for comparing the data latched in the registers; and an output control circuit for forming into byte forms the data of the counted values of the register and the note number data of the key scanning circuit. According to the present invention, a long melody can be stored with a small memory capacity.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument which simulates an acoustic wind instrument and the like is designed to generate a musical tone having a desirable tone pitch in response to breath pressure applied thereto by a performer. Preferably, the electronic musical instrument has a shape like the wind instrument, so that the breath pressure includes breath blowing pressure and breath sucking pressure. For example, generation of the musical tone is controlled in response to the breath blowing pressure, while the predetermined musical parameter such as the tone color, accompaniment and rhythm is controlled in response to the breath sucking pressure.

Abstract: In a musical percussion instrument where percussion elements are arranged side-by-side, support for the percussion elements which includes a base member grooved to receive the percussion elements and matching hook-and-pile self-fastening fabric elements on both the base member grooves and the percussion elements to hold the latter in place on the grooves in spaced relation with the surface of the grooves.