GB2254954A

GB2254954A - Teaching device for musical intsruments

Info

Publication number: GB2254954A
Application number: GB9105077A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Clive Perryman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-03-11
Filing date: 1991-03-11
Publication date: 1992-10-21
Anticipated expiration: 2011-03-11
Also published as: GB9105077D0; GB2254954B

Abstract

A device for teaching a student to play a musical instrument comprises instrument playing part (20, Fig. 1) preferably in the form of a keyboard, storage means (14) for storing data representing a sequence of notes to be played, control means (12) for controlling the delivery of the data, display means (18) for receiving the data from the control means and displaying a plurality of representations 26 of the instrument playing part and providing an indication 38 on the instrument playing part representations of at least the note or notes to be played at that instant and the note or notes to be played immediately thereafter, and means interlinking the storage, control and instrument playing part means, whereby the notes played on the instrument playing part means are displayed. In the case of a keyboard instrument, the fingers to be used for each note may be indicated, 34, and the display may identify only incorrectly played notes. <IMAGE>

Description

A TEACHING DEVICE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS The invention relates to a teaching device for teaching students to play musical instruments.

Many people would like to learn to play a musical instrument but are deterred from doing so because of the difficulty of learning to read music and 'translating' the music into the required actions for playing a musical instrument. An object of the invention is to provide a teaching device for use by an unqualified player to enable him more readily to learn to play a piece of music.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a device for teaching a student to play a musical instrument, comprising instrument playing part means, storage means for storing data representing a sequence of notes to be played, control means for controlling the delivery of the data, display means for receiving the data from the control means and displaying a plurality of representations of the instrument playing part means and providing an indication on the instrument playing part representations of at least the note or notes to be played at that instant and the note or notes to be played immediately thereafter, and means interlinking the storage, control and instrument playing part means, whereby the notes played on the instrument playing part means are displayed.

Preferably, only incorrect notes played by the student are displayed. If an incorrect note is played the device may display an indication as to the position of the correct note in relation to the incorrect note, for example, a pointer may be displayed. In this way, the student is able to correct any incorrectly played notes without taking his eyes off the display, which would be positioned at a comfortable eye level. Also the speed at which the music is presented in the display may be set to adjust automatically according to the speed at which the student is progressing with the piece.

Preferably, the stored data is arranged such that the display means indicates the duration of the note or notes to be played at that instant. This may be shown by the note or notes becoming highlighted for the appropriate period. For example, in the case of learning to play a keyboard instrument the notes would remain highlighted for the period in which the corresponding keys are to remain depressed. The stored data is preferably also arranged such that the display means displays fingering.

Preferably also, the storage means stores data representing a piece of music and at least a bar of the piece of music is displayed at any one time. Note duration is indicated in relation to the performance of the piece.

By displaying the notes to be played on a representation of the instrument playing part, muscial notations such as sharps and flats, bass and treble clefs become redundant as the student is merely required, in the case of a keyboard instrument, to depress the key of his musical instrument corresponding to the indicated key in the image of the keyboard displayed. Generally, six to eight keyboard images would be displayed in the screen at any time with generally more information being displayed as the student becomes more experienced. Clearly, the invention would also be of value to the experienced musician who would find that complex pieces of music are easier to learn and memorise. Right and left hand notes may be shown on the right and left sides of the display, respectively, and be distinguished by colour or shape, for example.

instrument playing part may be displayed in three dimensions in order to more closely resemble the actual instrument.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a device for displaying music, comprising storage means for storing data representing music notation, control means for controlling the delivery of the data, display means for receiving the data from the control means, instrument playing part means and means interlinking the storage, control and instrument playing part means, whereby in response to activation of the notes of the instrument playing part means a representation of the notes activated is displayed on a representation of the instrument playing part means.

Advantageously, the music notation is displayed in an easily readable format as described herein.

Preferably, the instrument playing part means is a keyboard and the device further includes an audible output means for producing a sound corresponding to the key depressed. The device may also include a printer.

The storage and control means may comprise any suitable device capable of storing information and subsequently outputting to a screen. For example, as storage means an electronic memory, a magnetic disc, a compact disc or video tape may be used and as control means a computer, a compact disc player or video recorder may be used.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a device in accordance with the invention in cooperation with an electronic musical instrument, Figure 2(a) is a visual display for a keyboard instrument produced by a device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, and Figure 2(b) is a different visual display for a keyboard instrument produced by a device in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a computer 10 is controlled by a manually operable control panel 12. A magnetic disc drive unit 14 is provided for storage of programmes representing musical pieces, a speaker 16 is provided to allow an audible output to be produced, an output means 18 is provided in the form of a visual display unit (VDU) for giving output instructions to a player and input means 20 is provided in the form of an electronic musical instrument for receiving the players responses.

The instrument in this case is a keyboard instrument which may be a piano, organ or simply a keyboard. If a piano or organ is used the output unit may be adapted to be mounted on the instrument itself at a suitable location by means of brackets, for example, or simply supported directly on the top of the piano or organ or on a separate support to one side of the instrument where it can clearly be seen by the player.

Figures 2 (a) and 2(b) illustrate displays 22 and 24, respectively, suitable for a keyboard instrument in which musical notations are presented in an easily readable form as rows 26 of keyboard representations consisting of white 28 and black 30 notes. However, it will be appreciated that the device of the present invention is equally applicable to any type of instrument subject to appropriate modifications of the information displayed. In Fig 2(a), eight rows 26, or one bar of music, of keyboard representations are shown whereas in Figure 2(b) four times as many rows are shown. The display in Fig 2(b) is for use by the more experienced player or for pieces which are to be played at high speed. The particular layout of the rows of keyboard representations used will also depend on the size of the display. Only the central part of the keyboard 26 is displayed since this is the part used most frequently but at the top of each display the complete keyboard 32 is shown in order to provide an indication of when the notes to be played are an octave higher or lower. Fingering for each hand is illustrated on respective representations of hands 34 at either side of each keyboard representation where the fingers to be used by the player become coloured to match the colour of the note to be depressed. In general, right hand keys 36 will be shown in one colour and left hand keys 38 will be shown in a different colour. For black and white displays, different shades or hatching would be displayed in place of colour. Use and duration of pedal is indicated by a representation of a foot print 40 at the side of the keyboard representation.

Conventional musical notations such as the diminuendo mark at 42 and the staccato mark at 44 are indicated on the screen where appropriate but they may be replaced with the equivalent written form for those musicians less familiar with conventional musical notations. Alternatively, the degree of loudness and softness required may be indicated by means of a series of yraduations of colour, for example, from a pale pink shading on the simulated notes for 'ppp' to a crimson for 'fff'.

If desired, music in conventional form may be displayed simultaneously to assist students in learning to read music as well as to play a musical instrument.

Alternatively or additionally, particularly for complete beginners, the simulated notes in the display may be colour coded to match the colours of corresponding keys on the actual instrument.

In use, the output means 18 is placed in a suitable location so that it is easily visible by the student as he is playing his instrument. The player starts the programme by operating the control means 12 and the computer 10 delivers the first eight lines of a piece of music to the output means 18. The notes to be played are shown as coloured keys on the respective keyboard representations and a horizontal highlighting bar scrolls down the screen in accordance with the beat of the music to highlight the notes to be played at that instant as well as to indicate the duration of the note to be played. Incorrectly played notes are shown as differently coloured or flashing keys marked with an arrow pointing in the direction of the correct key.

When the highlighter bar has reached the bottom of the display the next set of notes are displayed and the process is repeated. This procedure may continue until the end of the piece or may be stopped at any desired point by use of the control panel 12. The student may adjust the speed of the programme to suit his ability.

This may be set in advance or may be set to adjust automatically according to the speed at which the student plays his instrument. Alternatively, different speeds may be achieved by providing a range of recordings of a particular piece of music at different speeds so that the student can select a desired speed in advance.

With the device of the invention, the player can learn to play a piece of music on the instrument without any knowledge of how to read music. If desired, the device may provide an audible indication of the note to be played and this audible output may either precede, follow or be simultaneously with, the players attempt at playing a note or chord. The audible output can be provided by the speaker 16 and may be used to indicate to the player that an incorrect note has been played.

In the case where the device is arranged to display music in response to oration of an instrument playing part means, in addition to actual notes played being displayed on a representation of the instrument playing part means, musical notation such as diminuendo and staccato marks and the tempo of the piece may be displayed, in accordance with the operation of the instrument. It will be appreciated that considerable variations in the combination of information to be displayed can be provided and the invention is therefore not limited to the particular embodiment described above. Thus, while the invention has been described with reference to a keyboard instrument, particularly pianos and organs, it will be clear that the principles of the invention are applicable to other instruments such as string and wind instruments. Similarly, as an alternative to the musical notation being presented in the display as a stationary image, the musical notation may be presented as a moving image. For example, the musication notation may be arranged to be scrolled upwards in the display.

Claims

- CLAIMS

1. A device for teaching a student to play a musical instrument, comprising instrument playing part means, storage means for storing data representing a sequence of notes to be played, control means for controlling the delivery of the data, display means for receiving the data from the control means and displaying a plurality of representations of the instrument playing part means and providing an indication on the instrument playing part representations of at least the note or notes to be played at that instant and the note or notes to be played immediately thereafter, and means interlinking the storage, control and instrument playing part means, whereby the notes played on the instrument playing part means are displayed.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the control means is arranged to deliver for display only the incorrect notes played on the instrument playing part means.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein incorrect notes played on the instrument are displayed together with an indication as to the position of the correct note in relation to the incorrectly played note.

4. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the control means is arranged to automatically adjust the speed at which the notes are presented in the display according to the speed at which the instrument playing part means is played.

5. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the stored data is arranged such that the display means indicates the duration of the note or notes to be played and/or finger positions.

6. A device for displaying music, comprising storage means for storing data representing music notation, control means for controlling the delivery of the data, display means for receiving the data from the control means, instrument playing part means and means interlinking the storage, control and instrument playing part means, whereby in response to activation of the notes of the instrument playing part means a representation of the notes activated is displayed on a representation of the instrument playing part means.

7. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the instrument playing part means is a keyboard.

8. A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the display means comprises a video display unit.

9. A device according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an audible output means.

10. A device according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a printer.

11. A device for displaying music substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.