Patent US3604299A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3604299A
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Method and apparatus for recreating a musical performance
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1970-04-22
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Granted: 1971-09-14
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Expires: 1990-04-22
Abstract
Abstract A distinct signal is provided throughout the actuation of each control of an instrument, such as during the depression of each key. The relative time occurrences of these performance signals are determined by assigning to each a separate count in a repeated train of gating pulses. The pulse train is produced by a gating means stepped by clock pulses from an oscillator. When coincidence between a performance signal and a corresponding one of the gating pulses is detected, a matrix provides a ''''key-on'''' signal to a modulator which is also supplied with the clock pulses. This modulator develops a composite signal or sinusoidal waveform which includes a sync level once every pulse train, a clocking level for every clock pulse during which there is no key-on signal, and a key-on level for every clock pulse during which there is a key-on signal. The waveform may be recorded for later playback or transmitted to a remote location for immediate playback. In playback, the method described above is simply reversed in which the waveform is demultiplexed to provide a plurality of control signals whose presence corresponds to the desired time occurrences of each instrument. By coupling these signals to appropriate drivers, such as relays, the playing mechanisms of the instrument may be actuated to duplicate the original musical performance. Embodiments of the system for use with an organ and for use with a piano are described, as are specific embodiments of the system elements. Modifications to allow operation of a remote keyboard and to provide keyboard transposition and coupling are shown.
Inventors
- 👤 Edward J Englund
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 14:29
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10H; G10H1/00; G10H1/0033; G10H1/0041; G10H1/005
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for recreating the performance of a musical instrument involving the playing of one or more of a plurality of musical notes and the operating of other controls of the instrument, comprising the steps of: a. time multiplexing the relative time occurrences of said musical notes and said control operations to form a composite signal; b. demultiplexing said composite signal to form a plurality of distinct signals, each of said distinct signals corresponding to a desired playing of a musical note or to a desired operation of a control; and c. playing the notes and operating the controls of the instrument in accordance with the relative time occurrences of said plurality of distinct signals.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for recreating the performance of a musical instrument involving the playing of one or more of a plurality of musical notes and the operating of other controls of the instrument, comprising the steps of: a. time multiplexing the relative time occurrences of said musical notes and said control operations to form a composite signal; b. demultiplexing said composite signal to form a plurality of distinct signals, each of said distinct signals corresponding to a desired playing of a musical note or to a desired operation of a control; and c. playing the notes and operating the controls of the instrument in accordance with the relative time occurrences of said plurality of distinct signals.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of time multiplexing further comprises: a. providing a plurality of second, distinct signals, each of said second signals corresponding to the actual playing of the musical note or to the operation of a control during the musical performance; and b. sensing the relative time occurrences of said plurality of second, distinct signals to produce said composite signal.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
113 words
A method useful in the recreation of a musical performance, comprising the steps of: a. providing a distinct performance signal for each occurrence of a musical event of the performance, b. providing a plurality of pulses which are repeated in a regular order, each pulse being assigned to a distinct performance signal, c. sensing the relative time occurrences of said musical events by providing an output signal upon each coincidence of any of said distinct performance signals and its corresponding pulse, and d. modulating said output signals onto a waveform to produce a composite signal which is suitable for Playback of an instrument or for recording on a device of limited frequency response.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
113 words
A method useful in the recreation of a musical performance, comprising the steps of: a. providing a distinct performance signal for each occurrence of a musical event of the performance, b. providing a plurality of pulses which are repeated in a regular order, each pulse being assigned to a distinct performance signal, c. sensing the relative time occurrences of said musical events by providing an output signal upon each coincidence of any of said distinct performance signals and its corresponding pulse, and d. modulating said output signals onto a waveform to produce a composite signal which is suitable for Playback of an instrument or for recording on a device of limited frequency response.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
85 words
A method of operating a musical instrument having a plurality of controls in accordance with the composite signal recited in claim 3, comprising the steps of: a. demodulating and demultiplexing said composite signal to produce a plurality of control signals which occur in a sequence corresponding to the time occurrences of the musical events of the original musical performance, and b. applying said plurality of control signals to the plurality of controls of said musical instrument in a regular manner to thereby operate said instrument.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
59 words
A method as recited in claim 3 wherein said pulses have a fixed repetition rate and said step of modulating comprises: a. providing a sinusoidal waveform having a frequency equal to the repetition rate of said pulses, and b. amplitude modulating said sinusoidal waveform according to the presence or absence of said output signals to form said composite signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
79 words
A method of operating a musical instrument in accordance with the composite signal recited in claim 5, comprising the steps of: a. demodulating and demultiplexing said composite signal to produce a plurality of control signals which occur in a sequence corresponding to the time occurrences of the musical events of the original musical performance, and b. applying said plurality of control signals to the plurality of controls of said instrument in a regular manner to thereby operate said instrument.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
102 words
A method for recreating a musical performance involving operation of a musical instrument having a plurality of controls, each control providing a distinct musical note or group of notes upon actuation thereof, comprising the steps of: a. sampling the status of each of said controls at regular, predetermined intervals to determine whether or not said control has been actuated, b. storing the results of said sampling, c. converting said stored results into a plurality of control signals, one for each control that has been actuated, and d. actuating each of said controls in response to the presence of its corresponding control signals.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
102 words
A method for recreating a musical performance involving operation of a musical instrument having a plurality of controls, each control providing a distinct musical note or group of notes upon actuation thereof, comprising the steps of: a. sampling the status of each of said controls at regular, predetermined intervals to determine whether or not said control has been actuated, b. storing the results of said sampling, c. converting said stored results into a plurality of control signals, one for each control that has been actuated, and d. actuating each of said controls in response to the presence of its corresponding control signals.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
143 words
An apparatus for providing an electrical signal, suitable for recording or other transmission, representing a musical performance embodying the time occurrences of actuations of controls of a musical instrument, comprising: a. sensing means providing a distinct signal during the actuation of each instrument control, b. a source providing a plurality of clock pulses which occur at a frequency greater than the expected frequency of instrument control actuations, c. means stepped by said clock pulses to provide a series of gating pulses which occur in a repetitive order which is consistently related to said instrument controls, d. means comparing corresponding ones of said gating pulses with corresponding ones of said distinct signals to provide an output signal upon coincidence therebetween, and e. means modulating said clock pulses in accordance with the presence or absence of said output signal to thereby produce said electrical signal.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
143 words
An apparatus for providing an electrical signal, suitable for recording or other transmission, representing a musical performance embodying the time occurrences of actuations of controls of a musical instrument, comprising: a. sensing means providing a distinct signal during the actuation of each instrument control, b. a source providing a plurality of clock pulses which occur at a frequency greater than the expected frequency of instrument control actuations, c. means stepped by said clock pulses to provide a series of gating pulses which occur in a repetitive order which is consistently related to said instrument controls, d. means comparing corresponding ones of said gating pulses with corresponding ones of said distinct signals to provide an output signal upon coincidence therebetween, and e. means modulating said clock pulses in accordance with the presence or absence of said output signal to thereby produce said electrical signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
95 words
In combination with an apparatus for providing an electrical signal as recited in claim 8, an apparatus for recreating the original musical performance, comprising: a. means demodulating said electrical signal to reproduce said clock pulses and said output signal therefrom, b. a second-gating means producing from said reproduced clock pulses said series of gating pulse, c. means comparing said output signal with said reproduced series of gating pulses to provide a separate control signal for each coincidence thereof, and d. driving means operating the playing mechanism of the instrument in response to said control signals.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
120 words
An apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein: a. said gating means produces a series of gating pulses which are arranged in a repetitive pulse train, each of said gating pulses being assignEd to one control of the instrument, and said gating means additionally providing a synchronizing pulse for each of said pulse trains, and b. said modulating means from said synchronizing pulse and said output signal the electrical signal which comprises a sinusoidal waveform whose frequency is equal to the repetition rate of said clock pulses and which is amplitude modulated to a first level during the presence of said synchronizing pulse, a second level during the presence of said output signal, and a third level at other times.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
163 words
In combination with an apparatus as recited in claim 10, an apparatus for operating the musical instrument in a recreation of the original musical performance comprising: a. means demodulating said electrical signal, said demodulating means including first, second and third threshold detection means, said first threshold detection means reproducing said synchronizing pulse on each occurrence of said first level in said electrical signal, said second threshold detection means reproducing said output signal upon each occurrence of said second level in said electrical signal, and said third threshold detection means reproducing said clock pulses upon the occurrence of each cycle of said electrical signal, b. a second-gating means producing from said reproduced clock pulses and reproduced synchronizing pulse said series of gating pulses, c. means comparing said reproduced output signal with said reproduced series of gating pulses to provide a separate control signal upon each coincidence thereof, and d. driving means operating the playing mechanisms of the instrument in response to said control signals.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
103 words
An apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein: a. said gating means includes a binary counter which is stepped by said clock pulses to provide one output pulse for each instrument control, and a decoding gate section combining said output pulses into a lesser number of gating pulses, one gating pulse for each group of said instrument controls, and b. said comparing means comprises a matrix which has as inputs thereto said plurality of distinct signals and said gating pluses, said matrix signal providing said output signal upon the coincidence of a distinct signal and a corresponding gating pulse within the same group.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
157 words
In combination with an apparatus recited as in claim 12, an apparatus for operating the musical instrument in a recreation of the original musical performance comprising: a. means demodulating said electrical signal to reproduce said clock pulses and said output signal therefrom, b. a second-gating means including a secondary binary counter and a second-decoding gate section, said second binary counter being stepped by said reproduced clock pulses to provide one output pulse for each instrument control, and said second-decoding gate section combining said output pulses into a less number of reproduced gating pulses, one reproduced gating pulse for each group of said instrument controls, c. means comparing said reproduced output signal with said reproduced gating pulses, said comparing means comprising a matrix which provides a separate control signal upon the coincidence of any output signal and each of said reproduced gating pulses, and d. driving means controlling the musical instrument in accordance with said separate control signals.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
57 words
An apparatus as recited in claim 8 for use with a keyboard instrument whose controls include a plurality of manually operated keys, wherein said sensing means further comprises a pair of electrical contacts coupled to each key and actuated upon depression thereof, a voltage source, and means connecting said voltage source to each of said contact pairs.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
100 words
In combination with the apparatus recited in claim 14, an apparatus for recreating the original musical performance of the instrument comprising: a. means demodulating said electrical signal to reproduce said clock pulses and said output signal therefrom, b. a seCond-gating means producing from said reproduced clock pulses said series of gating pulses, c. means comparing said reproduced output signal with said reproduced gating pulses to provide a separate control signal for each coincidence thereof, and d. a plurality of drivers, each driver being coupled to one of the keys and being actuated in response to one of said control signals.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
103 words
An apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising: a. a sensor providing a volume signal proportional to the amplitude of musical notes resulting from the instrument control actuations, b. means modulating said clock pulses in accordance with the level of said volume signal to produce a second electrical signal, c. means demodulating said second electrical signal to reproduce said volume signal, and d. means coupling said reproduced volume signal to said plurality of drivers so that each driver is actuated in response to one of said control signals to proportionally control its key in response to the level of said volume signal.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
72 words
An apparatus as recited in claim 11 which is adapted to transpose the key signature of the original musical performance upon recreation thereof further comprising: a. a counter means and a plurality of gates therefor which delay said reproduced synchronizing pulse by a corresponding plurality of predetermined intervals, b. means selecting one of said delayed, reproduced synchronizing pulses, and c. means coupling the output of said selective means to said second-gating means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
140 words
An apparatus such as recited in claim 11 which is adapted to modify the original musical performance upon recreation thereof by simultaneously operating predetermined combinations of the instrument controls, further comprising: a. a third-gating means having said reproduced clock pulses connected thereto, b. means selectively coupling one pulse from said reproduced series of gating pulses to said third-gating means, said third-gating means thereby providing a second series of gating pulses which occur at an interval with respect to said reproduced series of gating pulses that is determined by the gating pulse selected, and c. means coupling said second series of gating pulses to said comparing means so that said comparing means provides said separate control signals upon the coincidence of said reproduced output signal and either of said reproduced series of gating pulses or said second series of gating pulses.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-09-13 | 1975-03-15 | 1975-09-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-09-13 | 1979-03-15 | 1979-09-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-09-13 | 1983-03-15 | 1983-09-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |