Aural pitch recognition teaching device

Claim 2

Apparatus for teaching aural pitch recognition by receiving a musical tone containing a pitch in the form of peak amplitude excursions and by displaying a visual represenation of the pitch, comprising: means for receiving and detecting the peak amplitude, and for generating therefrom a pulse train having a period and a pulse repetition frequency substantially equal to that of the pitch; means coupled to the receiving means and responsive to the pulse train for producing therefrom a periodic control signal having a first binary state followed by a second binary state, said control signal having a period substantially equal to a number of said pulse train periods; means for producing a binary clock signal having a predetermined pulse repetition frequency substantially greater than that of said pulse train; first counter means operatively coupled to the control means and responsive to the first binary state of said control signal for receiving and counting the binary clock signal during a time duration of said first state to produce therefrom a first count representative of the octave of the pitch; second counter means operatively coupled to the clock means and responsive to said second binary state and said first count, and for producing a second count indicative of the frequency of said pitch within the octave; and means coupled to said first and second counter means for receiving the first and second count and for decoding and displaying therefrom a visual representation indicative of the pitch of the received musical tone.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display means includes a face plate element having indicia representative of a musical staff; and a plurality of light-emitting diodes each corresponding to a predetermined pitch, the light-emitting diodes being mounted on the face plate at locations relative to the musical staff indicia to correspond to the predetermined pitch of the respective one of the light-emitting diodes.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the decoding means includes electrically arranging and connecting the plurality of light-emitting diodes in a matrix of N rows and M columns; the decoding means being adapted to couple a first portion of the data word to the N rows of the matrix and a second portion of the data word to the M columns of the matrix to cause a one of the light-emitting diodes to become active.

Claim 5

A teaching aid for providing a voice student with a visual representation of a pitch contained in a musical tone, the teaching aid comprising: means for producing an electrical signal representative of the musical tone; means for receiving and amplifying the electrical signal; means coupled to the receiving means for detecting amplitude peaks of the amplified electrical signal and for producing therefrom a pulse train having a pulse-to-pulse period substantially equal to a period of the pitch contained in the musical tone; means coupled to said peak detecting means for receiving the pulse train and for producing therefrom at least first and second control signals each having time durations substantially equal to R times the pulse-to-pulse period of said pulse train, R being an integer greater than zero; means for generating a first clock signal having a predetermined frequency substantially greater than that of the pitch contained in the musical tone; means coupled to said clock means and responsive to said first control signal for producing a data word indicative of the octave of said pitch; means coupled to said clock means for producing a plurality of second clock signals that are each different submultiples of said first clock signal; means coupled to said second clock signal producing means and responsive to said data word for selecting a one of said second clock signals; means responsive to said second control signal for receiving and counting said selected second clock signal to produce therefrom a count indicative of a fundamental frequency of said pitch; and means responsive to the data word and the count for producing therefrom and displaying the visual representation of the pitch contained in said musical tone.

Claim 6

A teaching aid for providing a voice student with a visual representation of a pitch contained in a musical tone, the teaching aid comprising: means for producing an electrical signal representative of the musical tone; means for receiving and amplifying the electrical signal; means coupled to the receiving means for detecting amplitude peaks of the amplified electrical signal and for producing therefrom a pulse train having a pulse-to-pulse period substantially equal to a period of the pitch contained in the musical tone; means coupled to said peak detecting means for receiving the pulse train and for producing therefrom at least first and second control signals each having time durations substantially equal to R times the pulse-to-pulse period of said pulse train, R being an integer greater than zero; means for generating a first clock signal having a predetermined frequency substantially greater than that of the pitch contained in the musical tone; means coupled to said clock means and responsive to said first control signal for producing a data word indicative of the octave of said pitch; means coupled to said clock means for producing a plurality of second clock signals that are each different submultiples of said first clock signal; means coupled to said second clock signal producing means and responsive to said data word for selecting a one of said second clock signals; means responsive to said second control signal for receiving and counting said selected second clock signal to produce therefrom a count indicative of a fundamental frequency of said pitch; and means responsive to the data word and the count for producing therefrom and displaying the visual representation of the pitch contained in said musical tone.

Claim 7

The teaching aid of claim 4, wherein the detecting means includes a comparator means having first and second inputs and an output, a diode connected between the first and second inputs and a capacitor connected between the second input and a system ground; and means for applying the amplified electrical signal to the first input, the pulse train appearing on the output of the comparator.