FR3064802A1 - LARGE KEYBOARD-MASTER MIDI PERCUSSION ON ROUND PADS DISPOSED ACCORDING TO THE CHROMATIC RANGE - Google Patents

Abstract

The keyboard we invented is a MIDI control surface that comes in the form of a "giant" bean-shaped keyboard resting on a height-adjustable stand. Its length (130 cm) requires more or less ample movements of the arms. This keyboard includes at least 25 notes made of rubber pads (pads) of at least 8cm in diameter each. Under each pad is placed a piezoelectric sensor (trigger) for the transmission of information (in principle samplerized musical sounds, in unlimited number) to any synthesizer or expander via standard cable-jack. Each pad, white or black, has in its center a pellet of a different color of 4 cm in diameter on which is inscribed the name of the note. The direct hit on the pads is done without the use of instruments held manually. The user, stands in front of the keyboard set at a comfortable height. Various settings and features such as volume, velocity, "personal touch", reverb and duration of sounds are set directly on the expander based on the electronic performance of the model obtained in the trade. The invention relates to the following fields: music and paramedical treatments such as speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychomotility and occupational therapy. It finds its place in the reeducative treatment of certain neuro-degenerative diseases (akinesia) and certain neuropsychological disorders (visual heminégligence, auditory and visual memory disorders).

Description

LARGE MIDI PERCUSSION KEYBOARD ON CHROMATIC ROUND PADS.

AVAILABLE ACCORDING TO THE RANGE

FR 3 064 802 - A1

QP The keyboard we invented is a MIDI control surface in the form of a "giant" bean-shaped keyboard resting on a height-adjustable support. Its length (130 cm) requires more or less wide movements of the arms. This keyboard includes at least 25 notes made up of rubber washers (pads) of at least 8cm in diameter each. Under each pad is placed a piezoelectric sensor (trigger) for the transmission of information (in principle unlimited sampled musical sounds) to any synthesizer or expander via standard cable-jack. Each pad, white or black, has in its center a patch of different color 4 cm in diameter on which is written the name of the note. The direct strike on the pads is done without the use of instruments held manually.

The user stands in front of the keyboard adjusted to a comfortable height. Various settings and functions such as volume, velocity, "personal touch of the strike", reverberation and duration of the sounds can be adjusted directly on the expander according to the electronic performance of the model obtained commercially.

This invention relates to the following fields: music and paramedical treatments such as speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychomotricity and occupational therapy. It finds its place in the rehabilitative treatment of certain neurodegenerative diseases (akinesia) and certain neuropsychological disorders (visual hemi-negligence, auditory and visual memory disorders).

-1 This invention relates to the following fields: music, speech therapy, physiotherapy, psychomotricity, occupational therapy.

Currently, there is no musical instrument usable in various rehabilitative treatments, in particular in the context of certain neurodegenerative diseases, having the following characteristics:

1 / Percussion musical instrument.

2 / Instrument in the form of a large arched keyboard (“giant” keyboard), of a length equal to that of the spacing of the arms of a medium-sized adult requiring more or less wide movements of the arm when in use.

3 / Instrument comprising at least 25 notes made up of white and black rubber or silicone pads (and not rectangular shaped keys like on a classical piano) arranged according to the chromatic scale.

4 / Instrument using a direct strike of one or more fingers on pads (and not on skins, drums, wooden or metal blades, strings, bells, cymbals, or any other surface) that is to say without the use of instruments held in the hands (wooden or metal sticks, brooms, mallets, wooden bats, hammers, sticks ...).

5 / Instrument allowing to control the unlimited production of electrically generated musical sounds (MIDI) and audible through loudspeakers or using headphones.

Among the many percussion instruments which may require more or less wide movements of the arms (characteristic 2), there are, on the one hand, the Steel drum, the acoustic or electronic drums and on the other hand the instruments forming part of the category of keyboards. However, none of them meets characteristics 3 and 4 (at least 25 pads arranged according to the chromatic range (3) and manual direct striking without accessories (4)).

Thus, for example, the steel cans (barrels of oil) tuned called sections or "steel drums" and forming part of the "bass", "tenor-bass" and "doubletenor" desks for the practice of Steel drum ( figure 1), most of the time require large movements of the arms for the production of sounds. However, the notes are not arranged as on a keyboard (characteristic 3), that is to say in a chromatic manner. By

-2 elsewhere, the strike is made using specific sticks (and not by direct strike, characteristic (4)). In addition, the musical sounds produced are relatively intense: their volume is difficult to adjust. The timbre produced is specific and unique, with a metallic sound (and not unlimited production of musical sounds, characteristic (5)). Finally, it is bulky equipment (two to six cans of oil of reduced height (double tenors, low tenor) or left as is (six-bass), difficult to transport, especially in the medical environment.

As for the electronic drum (figure 2), it is made up of pads connected to a MIDI interface by sensors. The pads are arranged there as on an acoustic drum (and not as on a traditional keyboard). In addition, the sounds produced are not melodic; these are percussion sounds similar to those produced by the drums and cymbals of an acoustic drum.

Regarding the instruments of the category of keyboards such as for example the celesta (figure 3), the vibraphone (figure 4), the xylophone (figure 5), the keys consist of metal blades (metallophones) or wood . In addition, the sounds are not produced by direct manual striking, but by mallets or other hand-held instruments.

There are many electronic master keyboards (Figure 6) comprising, in addition to the classic piano keys (white and black), so-called "control" surfaces including various potentiometers and a few pads (two to eight on average) allowing manually send MIDI information to sequencers. These pads close together and grouped on the control surface are not arranged as on a keyboard and their triggering with the finger does not require large movements of the arms.

Devices called "controllers", "pad controllers", "launchpad", or even "MIDI control surfaces" (Figure 7) allow you to control any sequencer. These control surfaces include various controls (potentiometers in particular) and numerous keys called "tactile surface" (pads), backlit or not depending on the model. These control surfaces are generally rectangular or square in shape and measure approximately 260 mm to 350 mm x 230 mm to 260 mm x 30 mm to 60 mm. The pads, small in size, generally square in shape, 3 to 5 cm in side, are 16 in number,

-336, 64 or more. Each pad can be assigned to a musical note or a MIDI track. Pads are generally sensitive to typing speed and velocity. The triggering of MIDI sounds is done by finger strikes and does not require the participation of arm movements. Generally, the pads are not arranged as on a classic piano keyboard but in a checkerboard pattern (3 to 8 per side, or 9 to 64 pads or more).

Finally, there are control surfaces called “ultra-portable” (Figure 8) generally comprising 25 touch pads of square or rectangular shape, backlit, sensitive to velocity and arranged as on a classical piano keyboard. However, this type of ultra portable keyboard, as its name suggests, measures on average 325 mm x 84 mm x 11 mm and includes small rectangular pads designed to be operated like piano keys. They are not designed to be "hit" and do not require wide arm movements.

This is why a “MIDI control surface” comprising at least 25 round pads of at least 10 cm in diameter each, arranged according to the chromatic scale with black and white notes on a very large keyboard, would meet the five criteria. listed above.

The invention of such an instrument (figure 9) would make it possible to diversify the range of existing musical instruments, in particular for bassists who would like to try to produce bass guitar or double bass sounds by typing the notes on a master keyboard. of size corresponding to the length of the spacing of the two arms and not by plucking strings. In addition, our experience as a speech-language pathologist for 43 years has led us to make and use such an instrument on a daily basis for rehabilitative treatment in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a syndrome that is part of the pathology of the extrapyramidal system, resulting from damage to the Niger locus. This disease is manifested by various symptoms, especially tremor, akinesia and stiffness. Various functions such as walking, swallowing food, speaking, voice production, writing are altered depending on the evolutionary phase. Currently, drug treatments do not allow healing but most often lead to a clear

-4 improvement of disorders. Various rehabilitative treatments are an essential complement to the treatment of this disease. In this disease, the articulation of speech, the production of voice and the performance of swallowing gestures of saliva and food are often very impaired and constitute dysarthria (disturbance of the voice, and / or speech and / or swallowing of neurological origin) called akinetic dysarthria.

Rehabilitative treatments for Parkinson's disease generally call for voluntary movement (fortunately preserved) and are intended to restore as much as possible certain faulty automatic components of gestures. This principle applies to all motor behaviors, in particular that of walking. It allows the performance of different functions in daily life. In speech therapy, for re-education, patients are offered, among various exercises, loud programs of automatic spoken or sung series. These are surprisingly perfectly performed while the usual speech is very altered (whispered voice and palilalies (acceleration of the rhythm of speech evoking a stuttering)). These emissions of sounds can be accompanied by movements of the arms to facilitate voluntary control of the inspiratory momentum (here very altered) and the phonatory breath. These exercises, if practiced almost daily, allow to fight mainly against akinesia. They can help maintain acceptable speech articulation, speech output and swallowing. Thus, the practice of tango in parkinsonians, dance during which the steps and the movements of the body are programmed and voluntary, is highly recommended and used in various hospitals in France and abroad. In addition, the emission of vocalizations, or songs of variety with loud voice is very used in the rehabilitation therapy of this disease. A detailed description of so-called akinetic dysarthria and its speech therapy is set out in the book La Voix, Tome lit chez Masson by Doctor François Le Huche and myself in different successive editions since 1986 and translated into several languages.

In our practice, we offer people with Parkinson's disease to sing aloud, daily, the name of each of the successive notes constituting various variety songs (or better their bass line) chosen by the patients while playing ( by manual typing) the notes on a percussion musical instrument meeting the criteria listed above.

-5The invention we describe (Figure 9) is a master keyboard or MIDI control surface of original size and shape.

It is 60 cm long and 40 cm wide in our prototype. This length corresponds to the spacing of the arms stretched laterally, about 130 cm (the maximum distance between the highest note (pad) and the lowest note). It is arched, bean-shaped, almost semi-circular. Its ends are rounded. In our prototype, we have arranged 25 pads corresponding to the white and black notes according to the chromatic scale as on a piano keyboard: C, C #, D, Eb etc. Each pad is isolated on its base and in its periphery by an acoustic insulator in order to avoid the unexpected triggering by vibration of two or more pads at the same time. The whole rests on a height-adjustable support.

This keyboard rests on a height-adjustable support, the user can stand in front of the instrument in a sitting position, or better, in a standing position.

This instrument allows MIDI information to be sent to devices such as sequencers, synthesizers or expanders. This MIDI information is in principle musical sounds (samples or synthesized sounds). The instrument can integrate a sequencer or expander type sound generator system.

These musical sounds are obtained by clapping your hands on rubber or silicone washers (pads) with a circular shape 10 cm in diameter (Figure 10).

The pads are arranged like a classic piano keyboard according to the chromatic scale: natural notes of white color to the user, black for altered notes (sharps and flats). There are 25 pads (it is possible to have more provided that you do not reduce their diameter too much). They are spaced 2.5 cm apart (a lower distance could put several pads at the same time into action by propagation of the vibrations).

The 14 natural white notes are distributed from left to right: Sol La Si Do Ré Mi Fa Sol La Si Do Ré Mi Fa.

The 11 black notes (sharps and flats): Fa #, La b, Si b, Do #, Mi b, Fa #, La b, Si b, La #, Mi b, Fa #.

-6Each pad is acoustically isolated by an acoustic insulator. Bubble wrap for packaging is an excellent acoustic insulator.

Each pad, white or black, has a 4 cm diameter dot in its center on which the name of the note is written. The pastilles are of different colors in order to facilitate the memorization of the succession of the notes to “strike”. For the sound-color correspondence, we are based on the proposals of Philippe Junod taking up the proposals of 38 authors (colored hearing or synopsy, special case of synesthesia): red dot for the two Cs, orange for the two Ds, yellow for the two Mi, green for the two Fa, etc ...

Below the pads are piezoelectric sensors, usually called triggers (Figure 11). Acoustic insulation completely coats each sensor and the bottom of each pad. These sensors are connected by standard jack cables to any external commercially available sound generator (the converter allows you to transform the signals emitted by the sensors into digital signals). Due to the size of the keyboard and the arrangement of the pads, the gestures for obtaining the sounds require more or less wide movements of the arms forward, to the sides and slightly backwards.

The user, musician or patient, in principle stands in front of the keyboard adjusted to a comfortable height and strikes the pads with his fingers. Various parameters such as volume, duration, reverberation of sound or velocity and the personal touch of the strike can be adjusted directly on the expander according to the capabilities of the model chosen by the user. In our experience, we mostly use bass guitar sounds but the control surface allows us to choose any sound of wind or string instruments depending on the sound bank (often hundreds) generated by the external expander converter associated with our instrument.

Our experience with Parkinson's patients but also and especially with adults and children (musicians and non-musicians) has shown us a great attraction for this instrument, especially for its playfulness. Experienced musicians, after a short training session, have found great satisfaction in playing the bass line of known songs, by manual percussion on a large keyboard generating amplified bass guitar sounds.

-7 Figures 1 to 8 show some instruments with many differences from our invention, the "Large MIDI keyboard percussion master on circular pads", which we have described. Figures 9 to 13 illustrate our invention.

- Figure 1 shows the arrangement of the notes on the six basses (steel drum).

- Figure 2 illustrates the arrangement of the pads on an electronic drum kit.

- Figure 3 shows the piano keys arranged on a keyboard according to the chromatic scale.

- Figure 4 shows the arrangement of notes on the chromatic keyboard of the vibraphone.

- Figure 5 illustrates the arrangement of the notes on the chromatic keyboard of the xylophone.

- Figure 6 shows an example of an electronic master keyboard with a control surface grouping the pads and potentiometers on the front.

- Figure 7 shows three examples of small MIDI control surfaces. The pads are not arranged according to the chromatic scale. On the left, a launchpad with 64 pads, in the middle with 8 pads and on the right with 16 pads.

- Figure 8 shows an example of an ultra-portable control surface, keyboard type with small rectangular pads arranged according to the chromatic range.

- Figure 9 illustrates our invention, the "large percussion master keyboard on circular pads".

- Figure 10 shows the standing user hitting the pads directly with his hands.

- Figure 11 shows three pads 10 cm in diameter. In the center of each pad is a patch of different color depending on the note.

- Figure 12 illustrates the arrangement of the sensor (trigger) under each pad.

- Figure 13 shows our invention seen from above: large bean-shaped keyboard on which are arranged 25 pads according to the chromatic range.

For our prototype, we used to make the keyboard a rigid "vedi" support 5 cm thick. This material turns out to be too fragile. Other materials such as polypropylene can be used as long as they do not bend with each manual strike. They must be thick enough to accommodate the pads with their sensors or any printed circuit system that is less artisanal than ours. The pads should not be too small. A diameter of 10 cm is a good compromise between easy typing and the need to accommodate on the keyboard at least 25 pads. Their diameter can be reduced to 8 cm.

-8The pads can be made of rubber or silicone, like the pads for electronic drums.

We possibly suggest making a keyboard that is even more arcuate than ours, almost semi-circular, which would make it possible to accommodate a larger number of pads (35 for example). For this, it is necessary to ensure that all the pads remain within reach of the hands when the arms are fully extended, without having to move the body. We propose to have on the left of the keyboard for the lowest note, not a natural C but rather a B or even a B flat.

We used an Alesis brand converter, model DM DOCK requiring the use of an Apple brand tablet type Ipad 2 and an amplification. For industrial manufacturing, the keyboard could include a converter offering a large bank of sampled MIDI sounds, preferably string or percussion instruments (xylophone, steel-drum ...). It could also include various potentiometers and one or two loudspeaker (s) as in electronic keyboards. The potentiometers would allow you to adjust directly on the keyboard the velocity of the strike, the "touch" specific to each user and adapted to the style of music and especially the "sustain" or reverberation of the musical sounds chosen by the user. An external "output" for better amplification of sounds should be provided, in particular for bassists who wish to "type" their notes as on a djembe and not "pluck" strings. An internal memory would store and reproduce various data to facilitate training. This memory could also contain various programmed melodies. Finally, a more sophisticated system of light pads could indicate in real time the pads to be struck. This has the effect of making the instrument even more fun and facilitating learning throughout an exercise for both a musician and a parkinsonian patient.

The cost of industrial manufacturing and therefore its selling price should be much lower than that of an electronic keyboard.

Claims (7)

1) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface characterized in that it has an arcuate shape (1) of a length equal to that of the spacing of the arms of an adult (2) on which are placed 25 or more pads (3) corresponding to the musical notes, actuated by manual striking and arranged according to the chromatic scale (4). 2) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface according to claim 1) characterized in that the pads (3) have a diameter between 8 and 10 centimeters. 3) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface according to claim 1) or according to claim 2) characterized in that the pads (3) are made of rubber or silicone. 4) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pads (3) are arranged as on a piano keyboard, according to the chromatic scale (5) with notes natural and altered notes (sharps and flats). 5) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface according to claim 4) characterized in that it comprises pads of white color for natural notes and black color for sharps and flats. 6) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface according to claims 1) to 5) characterized in that it is connected to a sound generator system of the sequencer or expander type (5). 7) Percussion musical instrument consisting of a MIDI control surface according to claims 1) to 5) characterized in that it incorporates a sequencer or expander type sound generator system (5).