Music – Accessories – Producing color or light effects
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-22
2002-01-08
Donels, Jeffrey (Department: 2837)
Music
Accessories
Producing color or light effects
C084S478000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06337433
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument having a performance guidance function of guiding a player to an ideal or perfect performance operation for playing a musical composition, based on input automatic performance data of the musical composition, a performance guidance method, and a storage medium storing a program for executing the same method.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, as an electronic musical instrument of this kind, there has been proposed e.g. an electronic keyboard instrument having a performance guidance function. According to the proposed electronic keyboard instrument, when a player selects a desired musical composition and instructs the instrument to reproduce the same, keys to be operated for ideal performance are indicated to the player in the following manner: For instance, if the keys of the keyboard of the instrument are themselves capable of emitting light, keys located to be operated in accordance with reproduction of the selected musical composition are sequentially lighted in accordance with the reproduction. Alternatively, if the keyboard of the instrument is provided with light emitting diodes (LED's) arranged at a location adjacent to the keyboard in a manner associated with respective keys of the keyboard, LED's corresponding to keys located to be operated in accordance with reproduction of the selected musical composition are sequentially lighted in accordance with the reproduction.
Another conventional electronic keyboard instrument is provided with small liquid crystal displays (LCD's) arranged at a location adjacent to the keyboard in a manner associated with respective keys of the keyboard, and finger numbers each indicating a finger to be used for key depression are sequentially displayed on LCD's corresponding, respectively, to keys to be depressed, in accordance with reproduction of the selected musical composition.
However, according to the former conventional electronic keyboard instrument, nothing is done more than lighting keys to be operated or LED's corresponding to respective keys to be operated, so that when the keyboard is played with both hands, it is impossible for the player, especially for a beginner, to determine which finger of which hand should be used to operate a designated key. Further, even if the player is not a beginner, if a musical composition is played, which requires the player to position the left and right hands close to each other or cross them, the player often gets confused about which hand to use to operate a designated key, which results in an awkward performance which is far different from an ideal or perfect performance to be achieved by a smooth key operation.
According to the latter conventional electronic keyboard instrument, finger numbers indicative of respective fingers to be used are displayed by respective corresponding LCD's arranged at a location remote from the keyboard, and therefore the player is required to look away from the keyboard to see the finger numbers, which makes it difficult to play the keyboard especially when the player is a beginner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an electronic musical instrument having a performance guidance function and a performance guidance method which enable a player to easily carry out a smooth and ideal performance even if the player is a beginner, and a storage medium storing a program for executing the same method.
To attain the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic musical instrument having a plurality of performance operating elements that are operated for performance by a player such that different parts of a body of the player are selectively used to operate predetermined ones of the performance operating elements, the electronic musical instrument comprising an input device that inputs performance data of a musical composition for which the player is guided for performance, and a plurality of display devices that are arranged in association with the performance operating elements, respectively, the display devices each comprising a pair of display elements corresponding to left and right hands of the player, respectively, the display devices being each responsive to the input performance data for indicating to the player a position of a corresponding one of the performance operating elements to be operated by the player and one of the left and right hands to be used in operating the corresponding one of the performance operating elements, by driving a corresponding one of the pair of display elements in a manner corresponding to the one of the left and right hands.
Here, the term “electronic musical instrument” refers, e.g. to an electronic keyboard instrument or an electronic stringed instrument (electric guitar, electric bass, etc), and the term “a plurality of performance operating elements” refers, e.g. to keys of the keyboard if the electronic musical instrument is an electric keyboard instrument, and strings if the electronic musical instrument is an electric stringed instrument. Further, the term “different parts of a body of the player” refers, e.g. to fingers of left and right hands if the electronic musical instrument is an electronic keyboard instrument, or, if the electronic musical instrument is an electronic stringed instrument.
The position of each of performance operating elements to be operated by the player is determined based on pitch information contained in the input automatic performance data. Since the automatic performance data necessarily include pitch information, there is no problem in determining the position based on pitch information. On the other hand, information concerning the parts of the body (left and right hands of the player) to be used in operating the performance operating elements is not included in ordinary automatic performance data. Therefore, if the input automatic performance data do not include the information concerning the parts of the body to be used for the operation, this information is required to be produced from the input automatic performance data. The expression “based on the automatic performance data” implies that the information on the different parts of the body is generated from the input automatic performance data if required.
Preferably, the pair of display elements indicate respective corresponding ones of the left and right hands of the player in different colors from each other.
Also preferably, one of the pair of display elements corresponding to one of the left and right hands of the player indicates a finger of the one of the left and right hands of the player to be used in operating the corresponding one of the performance operating elements, in a display manner corresponding to the finger.
More specifically, it is preferable that one of the pair of display elements corresponding to one of the left and right hands of the player is driven to emit light with a level of brightness corresponding to a finger of the one of the left and right hands of the player to be used in operating the corresponding one of the performance operating elements, to thereby indicate the finger.
To attain the above object, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic musical instrument having a plurality of performance operating elements that are operated for performance by a player such that different parts of a body of the player are selectively used to operate predetermined ones of the performance operating elements, the electronic musical instrument comprising an input device that inputs performance data of a musical composition for which the player is guided for performance, a plurality of first display devices that are arranged in association with the performance operating elements, respectively, the first display devices being each responsive to the input performance data for indicating to the player a position of a corresponding one of the performa
Donels Jeffrey
Rossi & Associates
Yamaha Corporation
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