GB2055504A - Teaching systems for keyboard musical instruments - Google Patents

Abstract

To assist someone unfamiliar with musical notation to learn to play a piece of music on a keyboard operated instrument, a system provides indications, preferably visual, of the correct note or notes to be played in the correct order. The player's response is detected and the system moves on to the next note or chord if the response is correct. Preferably utilises a microprocessor system in conjunction with indicator (e.g. LEDS) and a key-note depression detector which may be an electrical contact associated with each key or an add-on unit for use in conjunction with a conventional keyboard. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Teaching systems and teaching aids relating to keyboard operated musical instruments The present invention relates to teaching systems and teaching aids for use with keyboard operated musical instruments.

Many people would like to learn to play a keyboard operated musical instrument but are deterred from doing so because of the difficulty of learning to read music. If one is unable to read music fluently, learning of a piece of music requires either long and patient deciphering of a musical score or the cooperation of another person who is able to demonstrate which notes are to be played. Either method clearly has disadvantages.

An object of the invention is to provide a teaching system and a teaching aid for use by an unqualified keyboard player to enable him more readily to learn to play a piece of music.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a teaching system comprising: a keyboard-operated musical instrument; storage means for storing data representing a sequence of notes corresponding to a piece of music: control means arranged in operation to deliver said data; indication means arranged in operation to receive said data from the control means and to provide an indication in said sequence of the key or keys corresponding to each note or group of notes to be played simultaneously; detection means for detecting operation of said keys; and comparator means arranged in operation to provide the control means with signals indicating operation of the indicated key or keys.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a teaching aid for use in said teaching system and including: storage means for storing data representing a sequence of notes corresponding to a piece of music; control means operable to deliver said data; indication means operable to receive said data from the control means and to provide in said sequence an indication of the key or keys of a keyboard corresponding to each note or group of notes to be played simultaneously; detection means for detecting operation of said keys; and comparator means arranged in operation to provide the control means with signals indicating operation of the indicated key or keys.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a unit adapted to cooperate with a keyboard and provided with indication means for indicating any one of a plurality of keys or a group of said keys and detection means for detecting operation of said keys.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a unit as defined above and further including interface logic circuit means for enabling the unit to be interfaced with a computer system.

Preferably, said control means includes a computer system which may make use of a microprocessor.

Said unit may be adapted to cooperate with all the keys of a conventional keyboard of a piano or organ, or may be adapted to cooperate only with a central group of said keys, which central group is most commonly used in practice.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a teaching system; and Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a key of a musical instrument keyboard provided with sensing and indicating means.

Figure 1 illustrates a teaching system for teaching a person to play musical pieces on a musical instrument provided with a keyboard. The system is computer controlled and is arranged to communicate with the instrument player by means of indicating means and sensing means provided on the instrument keyboard. In Figure 1, a computing means 1, preferably a microprocessor, is controlled by a timing circuit 2 and a manually operable control panel 3. A cassette tape drive unit 4 is provided for permanent storage of programmes and/or musical pieces, a loud speaker 5 is provided to allow an audible output to be produced, and an input/output unit 6 is provided for giving output instructions to a player and for receiving the players responses.Preferably, the unit 6 includes a plurality of visual indicating devices, such as light emitting diodes, for positioning adjacent respective keys of an instrument keyboard. The instrument could be, for example, a conventional piano or organ, or an electric piano or organ. As the indicating means, it would be possible to provide means for displaying adjacent each key a single digit number indicating to the player which finger he should use for that key. For displaying such a single digit number, it is possible to use a conventional seven segment display. The input, output unit 6 also includes a sensing device for sensing the actuation of keys of a keyboard. The sensing device may be an electrical contact positioned under each key, or it may comprise a plurality of external movement sensing devices in contact with respective keys of the keyboard.The system may be built in to a musical instrument, and in the case of an electronic piano or organ, an electrical contact would in any case be provided for each key. This conventionally provided contact could be used as the sensing means of the system of Figure 1. Also in the case of an electronic piano or organ, it is possible to provide connections to allow notes of the instrument to be played without the associated keys being depressed. Thus, the system can automatically cause the instrument to play musical pieces.

Unit 6 may be a separate unit adapted to be placed onto the keyboard of a conventional piano or organ.

Normal operation of the system is as follows.

The computer 1 reads out the first note or chord of a musical piece to the unit 6 thus causing the unit 6 to indicate to the player, preferably by a visual indication, which note or notes of the keyboard are to be depressed. When the player has correctly depressed the appropriate note or notes, this is detected by the unit 6 and the information sent to the computer. This causes the computer to read out the next note or notes in the musical piece.

This procedure may continue until the end of the piece or may be arrested at any desired point during the piece and recommenced at any other desired point. This can be controlled by the player by the control panel 3. This procedure thus allows the player to learn to play a piece of music on the instrument without any knowledge of how to read music. If finger numbers are displayed, the player is also able simultaneously to learn the optimum fingering. If desired, the system may provide an audible indication of the note to be played, either with or without the visual indication, and this audible output may either precede, follow, or be simultaneous with, the players attempt at playing a note or chord. This audible output can be provided by the speaker 5.

Tunes may be entered into the storage facility of the computer 1, either by way of the keyboard 6 or by way of the control panel 4. The control panel 4 will in any case be used to select which mode of the system is to operate in, for example the playback mode or the recording mode, and which of the possible playback modes is required, such as the complete playback of a whole musical piece, the chord by chord output of a musical piece, or the playback of portions of a musical piece. In this connection, the loudspeaker 5 may be used to provide an audible response to the depression of keys of the control panel 4, and may also be used to provide audible alarm signals or metronome type beats during playback of a piece.

The casette storage system 4 allows an operator to store musical pieces permanently on a cassette tape when they have been entered into the storage system of the computer 1 and enables these musical pieces to be read back into the computer 1 at a later date.

Thus, there are three main modes of operation envisaged for the system. These are as follows: - a) The computer can cause visual indication of the first key or keys to be played and can then wait for that key or those keys to be depressed by the player for a preset time interval before moving on to the next note or notes.

b) The computer could cause visual indication of a key or keys to be depressed and then wait for that key or those keys to be depressed by the player before moving onto the next key or keys.

c) The computer could, when requested, play a part or the whole of the piece itself and then allow the player to try, with or without prompting by the indicating means. This latter mode of operation enables the system to indicate the relative note durations as well as the actual location of the notes on the keyboard.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of one form of unit 6 suitable for use on a conventional piano or organ keyboard. Projecting from the base of unit 6 are a plurality of sensing members one for each key of the keyboard at least over a substantial range of the keyboard, two of these sensing members 23 and 24 being illustrated. It will be seen that member 23 is arranged to cooperate with a white note 21 and sensing member 24 is arranged to cooperate with a black note 22. it will be appreciated that since black and white notes on a conventional keyboard have differing heights, it is necessary for members 23 and 24 to protrude by differing amounts from unit 6. Members 23 and 24 are spring biased by springs 27 and 28 in the downwards direction.

Associated with each of members 23 and 24 is a respective contact pair 25 or 26. Upon depression of, for example, key 21, member 23 is urged downwardly by its spring 27 thus causing contact pair 25 to close. This causes application of a signal indicating depression of note 21 to an interface logic circuit 30. Circuit 30 may need to have means for temporarily storing data representing the keys depressed where the computer 1 is arranged to receive data in serial mode. It would be possible, for example, to provide a plurality of data latches in circuit 30, one for each key of the keyboard. Data from circuit 30 is taken to the computer 1 via a two way data bus 31 via which unit 6 also receives instructions from the computer. Circuit 30 is also operable to cause indicating means 29, for example a plurality of light emitting diodes, to indicate to the player which notes are to be depressed.

It will be appreciated that the embodiment of Figure 2 is only one of numerous possible embodiments, within the scope of the invention.

Where the system is built into a musical instrument, members such as 23 and 24 would be rendered unnecessary, since electrical contacts could be provided beneath respective keys of the keyboard for detecting their depression. It would also be possible to provide, as indicating means, a light within each key of the keyboard to enable the keys to be selectively lit up.

Where the unit 6 is to be operable to cause keys of the keyboard to be depressed automatically, it will be possible to provide, for example, a plurality of electromagnetically operated plungers in unit 6 for operation in response to signals from the computer to cause depression of keys of a keyboard in a preselected sequence. Where, however, the system is built-in to an electronic piano or organ, it could be arranged for notes to be selected and sounded directly without the intermediary of the keyboard.

Claims (22)

1. A teaching system comprising: a keyboardoperated musical instrument; storage means for storing data representing a sequence of notes corresponding to a piece of music; control means arranged in operation to deliver said data; indication means arranged in operation to receive said data from the control means and to provide an indication in said sequence of the key or keys corresponding to each note or group of notes to be played simultaneously; detection means for detecting operation of said keys; and comparator means arranged in operation to provide the control means with signals indicating operation of the indicated key or keys.

2. A system according to claim 1 in which said indication means is arranged to produce a visual indication adjacent respective keys.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said indication means includes a plurality of lightemitting diodes.

4. A system according to claim 2 or 3 in which said indication means is arranged to display finger numbers.

5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims in which said indication means is arranged to produce an audible output corresponding in pitch to that of each note or group of notes to be played.

6. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said detection means comprises an electrical contact associated with each key whose operation is to be detected.

7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said instrument is an electric piano or organ and means are provided to enable the instrument to reproduce musical pieces without the intermediary of the keyboard.

8. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said control means comprises a computer system.

9. A system according to claim 8 wherein the computer system includes a microprocessor.

10. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein there is provided storage means for permanent storage of musical pieces.

11. A system according to claim 10 wherein said storage means includes a cassette drive unit.

12. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the control means is operable to cause indication of a key or keys to be played and to wait for depression of that key or those keys before moving on to the next key or keys.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein said control means is operable to wait for a preset time interval for said depression before moving on to the next key or keys.

14. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the control means is operable to play part or the whole of a piece automatically.

1 5. A teaching system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A teaching aid for use in the teaching system of any one of claims 1 to 15 and including: storage means for storing data representing a sequence of notes corresponding to a piece of music; control means operable to deliver said data; indication means operable to receive said data from the control means and to provide in said sequence an indication of the key or keys of a keyboard corresponding to each note or group of notes to be played simultaneously; detection means for detecting operation of said keys; and a comparator means arranged in operation to provide the control means with signals indicating operation of the indicated key or keys.

1 7. A teaching aid according to claim 16 and substantially as hereinbefore described.

1 8. A unit adapted to cooperate with a keyboard and provided with indication means for indicating any one of a plurality of keys or a group of said keys and detection means for detecting operation of said keys.

1 9. A unit according to claim 18 and further including interface logic circuit means for enabling the unit to be interfaced with a computer system.

20. A unit according to claim 18 or 19 adapted to cooperate with all the keys of a conventional keyboard of a piano or organ.

21. A unit according to claim 18 or 19 adapted to cooperate only with a central group of keys of a conventional keyboard of a piano or organ, which central group is most commonly used in practice.

22. A unit adapted to cooperate with a keyboard substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.