US3509454A - Apparatus for tuning musical instruments - Google Patents

Apparatus for tuning musical instruments Download PDF

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Publication number
US3509454A
US3509454A US497846A US3509454DA US3509454A US 3509454 A US3509454 A US 3509454A US 497846 A US497846 A US 497846A US 3509454D A US3509454D A US 3509454DA US 3509454 A US3509454 A US 3509454A
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Prior art keywords
tuning
frequency
tones
dividers
instrument
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Expired - Lifetime
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US497846A
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English (en)
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Dieter Gossel
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US Philips Corp
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US Philips Corp
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H1/00—Details of electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H1/44—Tuning means

Definitions

  • the tuning of the oscillators (cords, pipes, tongues, electronic generators) of instruments with fixed tones is usually effected in quint intervals with equal temperament. It is the art of the tuning operator to find the very temperament at which the circle of quints closes after twelve steps. In principle not only the quint but also the fourth, the major seventh and the minor second (half tone) are suitable for tuning. When tuning is effected in half tones the adjustment to the initial octave, which is otherwise always necessary, could even be dispensed with. However, tempering of a dissonant is almost impossible by ear so that the consonant intervals quint and fourth are preferred.
  • the present invention relates to an oscillator for a musical instrument and is characterized in that audible frequencies constituting intervals used in music may be derived from a high-frequency oscillation using switchable digital frequency dividers having predetermined integral ratios of division.
  • the new oscillator for a musical instrument it is possible, for example, to construct a tuning device which produces accurate, equal temperament within a very short time. Tuning to the correct pitch is effected by optical means, for example using an indicating instrument, and does not require any training of the tuning operators ear for music.
  • the operation is so simple that such an electronic tuning device may be delivered 'with certain key instruments, as anauxiliary part leaving the occasional tuning to the user.
  • An important application of a tuning device including the new oscillator is with church organs which often require retuning because of the seasonal fluctuations in temperature. Especially with comparatively large-size mechanisms this has hitherto been laborious and time-consuming because of the many different registers and pipes.
  • uniphonic or polyphonic instruments With the new oscillator for musical instruments it is also possible to manufacture uniphonic or polyphonic instruments.
  • the structure is similar to that of the tuning device for either type.
  • the most essential difference is that the uniphonic version includes a switchable frequency divider which provides twelve different quotients, whereas the polyphonic version includes at most twelve dividers each of which provides at least one quotient.
  • FIG. 1 shows an arrangement for the tuning device
  • FIG. 1a shows an arrangement for sustaining oscillations in a string
  • FIG. 2 shows a switching possibility for octave dividers
  • FIG. 3 shows one of the possible circuits for the frequency range
  • FIGS. 4a and 4b show diagrams
  • FIG. 5 shows an arrangement for uniphonic musical instrument
  • FIG. 6 shows an arrangement for a polyphonic musical instrument.
  • a certain frequency f may be divided by any arbitrary integer z. If 2 is comparatively large is usually counted in a counter which after the preselected number 1, provides a reset pulse, which resets the counter so that it may again count to z.
  • the recurrence frequency of the reset pulses is f /z. It is readily possible for z to be chosen so that the associated frequencies constitute intervals serviceable in music.
  • the frequency of, for example, the tone to be tuned is compared via a transducer 3 matched to the relevant apparatus, after amplification and pulsation in squaring amplifier 4 as f with f or f as f in a direct-reading frequency-comparison circuit 5.
  • the indication 6 is phase-sensitive and preferably takes place by optical means. Upon tuning one observes a beating which slows down more and more (fluctuating deflection of an instrument, slowly flickering glowlamp, etc.) and which disappears with accurate equality of frequencies (constant deflection, constant brightness).
  • the tuning process is as follows:
  • the parallel octaves in the bass or discant it is possible in a simple manner, as shown in FIG. 2, to switch a chain of octive dividers 7 respectively, into the comparison branch at A (bass) and into the measuring branch at B (discant).
  • the octave dividers are simple,bistable multivibrators which bring about a frequency division by two.
  • FIG. 3 One of the possible frequency-comparison circuits is shown in FIG. 3; its operation is illustrated in FIGS 4a and 4b.
  • the arrangement is built up as a NOR circuit with a transistor 8; the presence of one of the two input voltages suffices for completely switching-on transistor 8. If both input voltages are zero the transistor 8 is cut off.
  • optical method described it'is also well possible to indicate very slow interference tones of, for example, 0.01 c./s. which cannot be heard by the ear.
  • the transducers employed depend upon the kind of instrument.
  • a microphone is advantageously used with organs.
  • a special magnetic pick-up 30, as shown in FIG. la is suggested which is attached by magnets 33 to the normally ferromagnetic strings adjacent the string to be tuned, thereby damping these adjacent strings.
  • the pick-up also includes a small transistor amplifier 31 which completes a feedback circuit 32 by which the cord to be tuned is set into continuous oscillation.
  • the described digital tuning device is permitted to obtain a faultless equal tempered tuning of an electronic musical instrument within a few minutes, starting from an arbitrary out of tune condition.
  • FIGS. 5 and 6 show diagrammatically the structure of musical instruments for one voice and a multiple of voices respectively.
  • An oscillatory source 10 feeds the oscillation frequency f into a divider 11 from which the tones, for example, in the sequence of the tones if an octave, are obtained by means of keys Z1 to Z12 connected to the individual dividers.
  • the individual notes in the desired octave may be applied to a reproducing device 12 by means of octave dividers OT and switches S to S.
  • Music apparatus comprising a variable frequency oscillator, a first digital frequency divider, a second digital frequency divider, said first and said second digital dividers having division ratio approximately equal to 196/ 185, means for connecting aid first and said second digital dividers to said oscillator, means for detecting a frequency difference between the output of each of said dividers and different tones of a musical instrument.
  • Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further including octave divider means having a division ratio of /2, and means for selectively connecting said octave divider means to each of said digital dividers.
  • Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising indicator means connected to said detecting means for optically displaying the difference between the tones of said instrument and the output of said dividers, and wherein said detecting means comprises transducer means for converting the tones of said musical instrument into electrical oscillations.
  • said detecting means further comprises positive feedback means connected intermediate said transducer means and said 5 6 musical instrument for providing a reinforcing oscillating 2,153,800 4/ 1939 Holmes. magnetic field within said instrument, thereby to sustain 2,521,789 9/1950 Grosdolf 331-18 oscillations. 2,892,944 6/ 1959 Wu.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Auxiliary Devices For Music (AREA)
  • Electrophonic Musical Instruments (AREA)
US497846A 1964-10-28 1965-10-19 Apparatus for tuning musical instruments Expired - Lifetime US3509454A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DEP35370A DE1213210B (de) 1964-10-28 1964-10-28 Musiktonerzeuger, bei dem die Toene durch Frequenzteilung gewonnen werden

Publications (1)

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US3509454A true US3509454A (en) 1970-04-28

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US497846A Expired - Lifetime US3509454A (en) 1964-10-28 1965-10-19 Apparatus for tuning musical instruments

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US (1) US3509454A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
AT (1) AT262732B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BE (1) BE671441A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE1213210B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1099082A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL6513799A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3600692A (en) * 1969-10-17 1971-08-17 Giddings & Lewis Phase comparator providing dc output as a function of variable phase between two inputs
US3702370A (en) * 1971-05-19 1972-11-07 John Ray Hallman Jr Digital tone generator system for electronic organ employing a single master oscillator
US3722353A (en) * 1971-06-11 1973-03-27 L Westhaver Electronic tuning device for visual tuning of stringed instruments
US3743756A (en) * 1971-08-12 1973-07-03 Philips Corp Method of producing tones of a preferably substantially equal-tempered scale
US3764721A (en) * 1971-09-30 1973-10-09 Motorola Inc Electronic musical instrument
US3766818A (en) * 1972-05-01 1973-10-23 L Prohofsky Electronic frequency measuring apparatus
US3790693A (en) * 1971-12-29 1974-02-05 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Tone keying and synthesizing system for electronic musical instrument
US3795754A (en) * 1971-03-06 1974-03-05 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic musical instruments with two master oscillators
US3795169A (en) * 1973-05-31 1974-03-05 Signa Signer Inc Electronic device employing a phase locked loop for tuning musical instruments
US3808345A (en) * 1971-07-02 1974-04-30 Philips Corp Apparatus for producing tones of a musical scale
US3808347A (en) * 1971-06-01 1974-04-30 Itt Electronic music tone generator with pulse generator and frequency dividers
US3809787A (en) * 1970-05-30 1974-05-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Tone generator system
US3824325A (en) * 1972-04-20 1974-07-16 Kawai Musical Instr Mfg Co Electronic musical instrument capable of transposing
US3861266A (en) * 1973-05-29 1975-01-21 Ranald Otis Whitaker Musical tuning instrument utilizing digital techniques
US3878754A (en) * 1972-05-22 1975-04-22 Phillip R Barnum Musical teaching and tuning apparatus
US3878749A (en) * 1972-12-12 1975-04-22 Allen Organ Co Walsh function tone generator and system
US3901120A (en) * 1973-10-11 1975-08-26 John S Youngquist Electronic tuning device for musical instruments
US3948140A (en) * 1973-08-30 1976-04-06 Mishima Kosan Co., Ltd. Portable device for generating and tuning a whole tone scale
US3952625A (en) * 1975-02-18 1976-04-27 Peterson Richard H Electronic tuning device
US3968719A (en) * 1973-09-24 1976-07-13 Inventronics, Inc. Method for tuning musical instruments
US4014242A (en) * 1973-09-24 1977-03-29 Inventronics, Inc. Apparatus for use in the tuning of musical instruments
US4019419A (en) * 1974-05-24 1977-04-26 Kabushiki Kaisha Daini Seikosha Tuning device
US4041832A (en) * 1975-11-25 1977-08-16 Risch Douglas M Tuning aids
US6529843B1 (en) 2000-04-12 2003-03-04 David J. Carpenter Beat rate tuning system and methods of using same
US6613971B1 (en) 2000-04-12 2003-09-02 David J. Carpenter Electronic tuning system and methods of using same
US6627806B1 (en) 2000-04-12 2003-09-30 David J. Carpenter Note detection system and methods of using same

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2153800A (en) * 1936-08-10 1939-04-11 Lester B Holmes Musical instrument tuning apparatus
US2403090A (en) * 1944-09-19 1946-07-02 Central Commercial Co Electronic organ
US2521789A (en) * 1948-02-25 1950-09-12 Rca Corp Frequency control by electronic counter chains
US2566085A (en) * 1949-02-26 1951-08-28 Rca Corp Electronic interval timing method and system
US2892944A (en) * 1957-04-24 1959-06-30 Panoramic Radio Products Inc Signal generator
US3236931A (en) * 1960-01-15 1966-02-22 Academy Of Aeronautics Electronic musical instrument

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2153800A (en) * 1936-08-10 1939-04-11 Lester B Holmes Musical instrument tuning apparatus
US2403090A (en) * 1944-09-19 1946-07-02 Central Commercial Co Electronic organ
US2521789A (en) * 1948-02-25 1950-09-12 Rca Corp Frequency control by electronic counter chains
US2566085A (en) * 1949-02-26 1951-08-28 Rca Corp Electronic interval timing method and system
US2892944A (en) * 1957-04-24 1959-06-30 Panoramic Radio Products Inc Signal generator
US3236931A (en) * 1960-01-15 1966-02-22 Academy Of Aeronautics Electronic musical instrument

Cited By (28)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3600692A (en) * 1969-10-17 1971-08-17 Giddings & Lewis Phase comparator providing dc output as a function of variable phase between two inputs
US3809787A (en) * 1970-05-30 1974-05-07 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Tone generator system
US3795754A (en) * 1971-03-06 1974-03-05 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Electronic musical instruments with two master oscillators
US3702370A (en) * 1971-05-19 1972-11-07 John Ray Hallman Jr Digital tone generator system for electronic organ employing a single master oscillator
US3808347A (en) * 1971-06-01 1974-04-30 Itt Electronic music tone generator with pulse generator and frequency dividers
US3722353A (en) * 1971-06-11 1973-03-27 L Westhaver Electronic tuning device for visual tuning of stringed instruments
US3808345A (en) * 1971-07-02 1974-04-30 Philips Corp Apparatus for producing tones of a musical scale
US3743756A (en) * 1971-08-12 1973-07-03 Philips Corp Method of producing tones of a preferably substantially equal-tempered scale
US3764721A (en) * 1971-09-30 1973-10-09 Motorola Inc Electronic musical instrument
US3790693A (en) * 1971-12-29 1974-02-05 Nippon Musical Instruments Mfg Tone keying and synthesizing system for electronic musical instrument
US3824325A (en) * 1972-04-20 1974-07-16 Kawai Musical Instr Mfg Co Electronic musical instrument capable of transposing
US3766818A (en) * 1972-05-01 1973-10-23 L Prohofsky Electronic frequency measuring apparatus
US3878754A (en) * 1972-05-22 1975-04-22 Phillip R Barnum Musical teaching and tuning apparatus
US3878749A (en) * 1972-12-12 1975-04-22 Allen Organ Co Walsh function tone generator and system
US3861266A (en) * 1973-05-29 1975-01-21 Ranald Otis Whitaker Musical tuning instrument utilizing digital techniques
US3795169A (en) * 1973-05-31 1974-03-05 Signa Signer Inc Electronic device employing a phase locked loop for tuning musical instruments
US3948140A (en) * 1973-08-30 1976-04-06 Mishima Kosan Co., Ltd. Portable device for generating and tuning a whole tone scale
US3968719A (en) * 1973-09-24 1976-07-13 Inventronics, Inc. Method for tuning musical instruments
US4014242A (en) * 1973-09-24 1977-03-29 Inventronics, Inc. Apparatus for use in the tuning of musical instruments
US3901120A (en) * 1973-10-11 1975-08-26 John S Youngquist Electronic tuning device for musical instruments
US4019419A (en) * 1974-05-24 1977-04-26 Kabushiki Kaisha Daini Seikosha Tuning device
US3952625A (en) * 1975-02-18 1976-04-27 Peterson Richard H Electronic tuning device
US4041832A (en) * 1975-11-25 1977-08-16 Risch Douglas M Tuning aids
US6529843B1 (en) 2000-04-12 2003-03-04 David J. Carpenter Beat rate tuning system and methods of using same
US6613971B1 (en) 2000-04-12 2003-09-02 David J. Carpenter Electronic tuning system and methods of using same
US6627806B1 (en) 2000-04-12 2003-09-30 David J. Carpenter Note detection system and methods of using same
US20040025672A1 (en) * 2000-04-12 2004-02-12 Carpenter David J. Electronic tuning system and methods of using same
US7268286B2 (en) 2000-04-12 2007-09-11 David J Carpenter Electronic tuning system and methods of using same

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE1213210B (de) 1966-03-24
GB1099082A (en) 1968-01-17
AT262732B (de) 1968-06-25
NL6513799A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1966-04-29
BE671441A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

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