GB2116770A

GB2116770A - A display device

Info

Publication number: GB2116770A
Application number: GB08305777A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael John Lewis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-03-03
Filing date: 1983-03-02
Publication date: 1983-09-28
Also published as: GB8305777D0

Abstract

A display device (13;40) has means for representing a part of a musical instrument contacted by the fingers of a user and is capable of identifying the full range of finger positions (21) and the fingering required at any one time to play a sequence of notes or chords on the instrument. The display device may include a simulacrum of a part of the instrument with illuminable elements (21) or may be a general purpose display screen such as a video display unit driven via a processor (41). A memory device is operable to cause display of successive fingering positions. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A display device The present invention relates to display devices, and particularly to display devices which can be adapted to provide a visual display representing the operable part of a musical instrument such as a guitar neck or a simulacrum of a guitar neck, or a keyboad or a keyboard instrument.

There are two ways in which an intending musician may learn to play his chosen instrument. First, conventionally, music and technique can be taught by an individual tutor or group teacher. Much information is conveyed by the tutor or teacher demonstrating, on the instrument itself, the relevant hand positions for achieving the required musical effect, such as by depressing the strings between the frets of a guitar neck, and although this is an effective method it does require a certain mental agility in transposing the finger positions as viewed to those required of the pupil since, if the teacher is facing the pupil, the neck of the tutor's guitar extends in the opposite direction from that of the pupil's guitar. Similar problems arise with other musical instruments.

One alternative available means for learning to play the guitar comprise the so-called "self tutors" which are books or pamphlets describing and illustrating the various positions adopted in playing the guitar and the fingering necessary on the guitar neck. Again, although the information can be transmitted quite clearly, it is time consuming and tedious continually transposing the printed diagrams into finger positions and there are no incentives to progress.

The present invention seeks, therefore, to provide a display device which can be operated as a teaching aid to display the information required for a pupil to learn the required hand movements, such as the fingering a guitar neck, or other hand movements required of other musical instruments. Such teaching aid can be usefully employed as an adjunct to "self-tutors".

In one aspect, therefore, the present invention provides a display device comprising means for displaying a representation of a part of a musical instrument contacted by the hands of a player, means for identifying a plurality of finger positions on the instrument, and memory means operable selectively to activate the finger position - identifying means whereby to indicate one or a plurality of finger positions which must be adopted in combination and/or sequentially in playing the instrument.

In one embodiment of the present invention the means for displaying a representation of a part of a musical instrument comprises a video display unit and a processor unit operable to generate signals representing on the screen of the video display unit the outline of the relevant part of the musical instrument as well as signals identifying the required finger positions.

In such an embodiment the relevant part of a musical instrument, such as the keyboard of a piano or organ, or the neck of a guitar or other stringed instrument, may be generated on the screen of the video display unit, perhaps in outline form depending on the storage capacity of the memory, and additional representation is made of the required finger positions, for example by points of light or other such visible indication.

The required finger positions may be identified individually in sequence to represent the single notes of a sequential tune, or may be illuminated in groups, the illumination being held for a given time period, to represent the fingering necessary to produce a chord.

The display device may itself be provided with a keyboard of push buttons together with means interlinking the keyboard, the processor unit and the memory whereby to provide for representation of the required finger positions on the instrument to be shown on the display in response to a request keyed into the system via the keyboard. In such a system the user may thus operate the keyboard to select a tune, a chord or even a chord sequence, following which the display device will operate to generate a display of the finger positions required to play the requested tune, chord or chord sequence.

In another embodiment of the invention there are provided means in the form of a simulacrum of a part of a musical instrument having illuminable indicia or marking elements identifying the required finger positions, and the memory means is operable to cause illumination of the said illuminable marking elements or indicia in a selected combination and/or sequence to represent the required combination and/or sequence of finger positions. In this context the term "illuminable" will be understood to identify any visual recognisable arrival of visual information and in particular to include iiquid crystal display where the regions identified by a change in the reflectivity, for example, can be considered to correspond to the "illuminated" display area.

The means for causing illumination of the illuminable elements may comprise a programmable memory device storing a plurality of programmes as sets of information units relating to the said display. Each set of information units or bytes thus represents a tune or a sequence of chords, and, once selected, the device will produce the required sequence of displayed positions at a rate which itself is adjustable.

It is noted that when using a video display unit the memory can be programmed to pro duce an illuminated display representating a guitar neck strung either in a left handed or right handed manner. For use as a guitar tutor, therefore, the video display unit or guitar neck simulacrum would be set up as a left handed player would hold it so that when positioned in front of a right handed player the illuminated finger positions represent a mirror image of the positions to be adopted by the pupil; this considerably facilitates the selection of finger positions, particularly during the early stages of study. Of course, a suitable programme stored in the memory can easily be provided for producing a right handed display for teaching a left handed player.

Conveniently the illuminable elements are light emitting diodes and the guitar neck simulacrum is provided with up to fifteen rows of six such diodes, each row of six diodes representing the position of one fret on the guitar neck.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the programmable memory device has an associated control keyboard for selectively addressing the programmes stored as sets of information units in the memory, although in a simple embodiment this may merely be a switch. In this way the individual "tunes" or chord change sequences can be selected for practice by the user. It is envisaged that the device will be sold with an associated instruction booklet or manual which presents much of the information currently provided by "self tutors".

The program or memory device is preferably an integrated circuit semi-conductor EP ROM which produces, at its output, binary information in dependence on the signals transmitted thereto on a plurality of address lines. The control switch for selectively addressing programmes in the memory is, thus, preferably a binary code switch and conveniently this binary code switch addresses those address lines carrying the most significant bits of the address information.

The programmable memory device may also be addressed in a sequential manner by a counter device, which later preferably addresses those address lines carrying the least significant bits of the address information. The said counter device thus operates to address the bytes of information in the memory in a predetermined sequence allowing the whole of the memory programmes to be run through from beginning to end. The counter device is preferably fed from a clock pulse generator having a speed control which allows the rate at which the memory is addressed to be controlled in dependence on the speed required by the user.

Preferably the said memory device is mounted releasably on the display device whereby to permit easy interchange of this with other such memory devices having differ ent programmes stored therein. The display device can then be progressed through increasingly advanced programmes to advance the progress of the pupil through more and more complex tunes and/or chord changes.

If a guitar neck simulacrum is used in the display device of the present invention it may be marked with the guitar string positions as well as the fret positions, although the relative positions of the light emitting diodes may themselves be adequate representation.

The principles of the present invention may be applied in a slightly modified form to provide a display device for a guitar neck of a guitar proper, for entertainment purposes rather than for educational purposes. In such an embodiment of the invention the guitar neck simulacrum is replaced by the neck of a guitar and the display device includes a plurality if illuminable elements mounted in position between the frets and between the strings of the guitar neck, there being provided a means for illuminating the said illuminable elements intermittently in a random, pseudo-random or otherwise irregular manner whereby to provide a changing illuminated display on the guitar neck.

Such illumination may be provided simply by a counter addressing a suitably connected decoder having a plurality of output lines each feeding a control circuit for controlling illumination of one or more illuminable elements.

Again, the illuminable elements are preferably light emitting diodes and the control circuit includes a driver transistor for each diode or set of diodes. Again, the counter may be supplied with clock pulses from a clock pulse generator having an associated speed control element so that speed of change of display can be varied.

In a more sophisticated version, the decoder is fed with signals produced in dependence on the sound being produced at any one time by the guitar neck, this being generated from a detector having an associated counter and, if necessary, suitable divider circuits for reducing the frequency to suitable values.

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a display device formed as a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the part of the control circuit for the embodiment of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the essential part of a circuit for a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a further embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in particular to Figs. 1 and 2, the display device illustrated comprises a control box 11 mounted on a base 1 2 and having, on the front face thereof, a guitar neck simulacrum 1 3 in the form of a rectangular panel inclined from right to left upwardly at an angle approximately representing that at which the neck of a guitar would be held by a left handed player. At the upper free end of the neck simulacrum 1 3 is a blank nut 14 approximately representing the nut at the end of the guitar neck.

The front face of the neck simulacrum 1 3 is marked with six rows of broken lines 15-20 extending in positions corresponding to the positions of the six strings of the conventional guitars. Between the dashes representing the six lines 15-20 are provided fifteen transverse rows of light emitting diodes 21 each diode of a row being positioned between the ends of adjacent dashes of a line to represent possible finger positions on the frets of a guitar neck.

The front panel of the casing 11 is also provided with an ON/OFF switch 22, a speed control knob 23, and a programme selector switch 24. A cable 25 leading to a conventional plug 1 6 provides for energisation of the display device from the mains electricity supply.

The light emitting diodes 21 are selectively energisable in accordance with a programme stored within the device by the circuit illustrated in Fig. 2. This circuit comprises a silicon chip integrated circuit memory device 27 having a plurality of output lines 28 leading to a decoder 29. The outputs from the decoder 29 are fed via respective resistors 30 (only one of which is shown in Fig. 2) to the base of respective transistors 31 (again, only one of which is illustrated in Fig. 2) which control the illumination of respective light emitting diodes 21 connected between a positive supply line 32 and a return line 33.

The EPROM 27 has a plurality of address lines 34 separated into two groups, the four most significant lines being indicated 34A and the seven least significant lines being indicated 34 B. The most significant lines 34A are connected to a four bit binary switch 35 and the least significant lines 34B are connected to the outputs of a counter 36 which is fed from a clock circuit 37 controlled by a timing capacitor 38 and a potentiometer 39 adjustment of which varies the pulse repetition frequency of the clock pulses generated by the clock 37.

When the on/off switch 22 is turned to the on position and the selector dial 24 moved to the appropriate position the memory 27 is sequentially addressed at a rate determined by the pulse repetition frequency of the clock 37 to sequence through its stored programmes.

The memory is pre-programmed by the manufacturer and the contents thereof are arranged into 1 6 sections of 1 28 bytes. Each byte represents the information for illuminating one light emitting diode as one element in a chord or one note in a tune. The light emitting diodes 21 are thus illuminated in sequence or in sets depending on whether a tune or a sequence of chords is contained in the programme being run through at any one time, these light emitting diodes being driven via their associated respective driver transistors 31 by the outputs from the decoder 29 controlled by the binary input signals on the lines 28 from the memory 27. As mentioned above, the memory 27 may be constructed as a plug-in unit so that it can easily be removed and replaced by a different memory containing further programmes.

Fig. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention adapted for providing a flashing display on a guitar neck. This circuit comprises a clock 37 having a control capacitor 38 and adjustable potentiometer 39 entirely analogous to the correspondingly numbered items in the embodiment of Fig. 2. In fact, all the elements of the embodiment of Fig. 3 which fulfill the same or a similar function to those of corresponding elements in the embodiment of Fig. 2 have been identified with the same reference numerals. Thus, the output from the clock 37 is supplied to a counter 36 the binary output signals of which are supplied directly to a decoder 29 the output lines of which are connected via driver transistors 31 to respective light emitting diodes 21.In use, the light emitting diodes 21 are mounted in the neck of a guitar, but this time there are five light emitting diodes in each row, positioned between the six strings in spaces where they will not foul the strings as they are pressed against the frets. When operating the clock 37 causes the counter 36 to sequence through its count in a cyclic manner and this generates via the decoder 29, a predetermined sequence of illumination of the light emitting diodes 21.

Alternative means for diriving the decoder 29 may be provided to generate random or pseudo-random signals to provide different displays on the guitar neck.

Referring now to Fig. 4, there is shown a display device similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2, but in which the display is provided by means of a video display unit 40, which may be a conventional television receiver, to which signals are fed from a processor 41 to generate a display of selected instruments or part of the instrument, and the identification of the finger positions. As shown in Fig. 4 the display is illustrated with a part of a guitar neck being displayed similar to the display of Fig. 1.

The required finger positions may be identified by various different means when a video display unit is employed. For example, the full range of finger positions may be showed in one colour with the selected finger positions in a different colour, the colours changing as the required finger positions change. Alterna tively, like the embodiment of Fig. 1, the required finger positions may be identified by brighter spots of illumination on the screen which, if required, may flash to draw attention to them.

The processor 41 feeding signals to the video display unit 40 itself receives control signals from a keyboard 43 and operates under the control of a timer 44. A memory 42 is provided with the requisite store of basic information, for example concerning the particular instrument required, and the memory may be a plug-in unit which can be interchanged to provide a representation of a different instrument or a different part of the same instrument, or the memory may have sufficient storage capacity for this purpose without requiring interchange.

By acting on the keyboard 43 various different modes of operation may be utilised. First, the display device may be employed in the same mode as that described in relation to Figs. 1 and 2, in which an illustration of the guitar neck is displayed showing the strings, frets and potential finger positions. In addition, information concerning the name of each note played in connection with each finger position may be put on this screen, together with a representation of its conventional musical notation so that the three units of information can be related by the pupil. Futher, individual numbers representing the strings and fret positions can be displayed for teaching purposes.The keyboard can be used to enter information relating, for example, to a chord, and the processor 41 will extract the appropriate information from the memory 42 and display on the VDU 40 not only the illustration of the chord in normal musical notation, but also a close up view of the relevant section of the guitar neck with the required finger positions indicated. By using the fret and string numbers referred to above, information concerning an unknown chord can be entered in to the keyboard 43 to be displayed on the screen together with an indication of the notation and chord name.

The processor 41 can be programmed to recognise all the acceptable combinations of notes or chords in both major and minor keys and can also identify which fingers should be used in order to play the chord. In this way the processor will recognise any error introduced through the keyboard and can be programmed suitably to correct the error either by means of an "error" signal on the screen or by generating the correct information for display on the screen.

The memory can also be entered with information concerning all major and minor scales which can then be displayed on the representation of the guitar neck on the screen. Again, the information may also be displayed in the form of conventional musical notation on stave lines enabling the student to learn the range of the guitar in musical manuscript form as well as following the illustration from the displayed guitar neck.

Although described specifically in relation to guitar tutors, it will be appreciated that the present invention is not so limited and that the relevant part of any instrument could be displayed on the screen of the VDU 40. For example, a keyboard of a piano, the finger positions of a flute or a recorder, or indeed any musical instrument, could be displayed on the screen as an illustration of a required fingering necessary to play the instrument.

Claims

1. A display device comprising means for displaying a representation of a part of a musical instrument contacted by the hands of a player, means for identifying a plurality of finger positions on the instrument, and memory means operable selectively to activate the finger position identifying means whereby to indicate one or a plurality of finger positions which must be adopted in combination and /or sequentially in playing the instrument.

2. A display device as claimed in Claim 1, in which the means for displaying a representation of a part of a musical instrument comprises a video display unit and a processor unit operable to generate signals representing on the screen of the video display unit the outline of the relevant part of the musical instrument as well as signals identifying the required finger positions.

3. A display device as claimed in Claim 2, in which there is further provided a keyboard and means interlinking the keyboard, the processor unit and the memory whereby to provide for a representation of the required finger positions on the instrument to be shown on the display in response to a request keyed into the system via the keyboard.

4. A display device as claimed in Claim 1, in which there are provided means in the form of a simulacrum of a part of a musical instrument having illuminable indicia or marking elements identifying the required finger positions, and the memory means is operable to cause illumination of the said illuminable marking elements or indicia in a selected combination and/or sequence to represent the required combination and/or sequence of finger positions.

5. A display device as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the means for causing illumination of the illuminable elements or indicia comprises a programmable memory devide storing a plurality of programmes as sets of information units relating to the said display.

6. A display device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the illuminable elements are light emitting.

7. A display device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the indicia are liquid crystal devices.

8. A display device as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the memory is a programmable memory device having an associated control switch for selectively addressing the programmes stored as sets of information units in the memory.

9. A display device as claimed in Claim 8, in which the control switch is a binary code switch.

10. A display device as claimed in Claim 9, in which the binary code switch addresses the address lines carrying the most significant bits of the address information.

11. A display device as claimed in any of Claims 8, 9 or 10, in which the programmable memory device can also be addressed by a counter device which addresses those address lines carrying the least significant bits of the address information.

12. A display device as claimed in Claim 11, in which the said counter device is operative to address the bytes of information in the memory in a pre-determined sequence.

1 3. A display device as claimed in any preceding Claim, in which the said memory device is mounted releasably on the device and is interchangeable with other such devices having different programmes previously stored therein.

14. A display device as claimed in any of Claims 4 to 13, in which the simulacrum represents a guitar neck and is marked with string positions as well as fret positions defining the potential finger positions in playing the instrument.

1 5. A display device comprising a guitar incorporating a plurality of illuminable elements mounted on the neck of the guitar in positions between the frets and between the strings, and means for illuminating the said elements intermittently in a random, pseudorandom or otherwise irregular manner whereby to provide a changing illuminated display on the guitar neck.

1 6. A display device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the illumination of the said illuminable elements is synchronised with the sound produced by the guitar.

1 7. A display device as claimed in Claim 1 5 or Claim 16, in which the illuminable elements are light emitting diodes.

1 8. A display device as claimed in any of Claims 15, 1 6 or 17, in which energisation of the illuminable elements is effected by means of a decoder driven by a counter fed with clock pulses.

1 9. A display device substantially as here it before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. A guitar having an incorporated neck display device as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.