US4489636A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electronic musical instruments having supplemental tone generating function
Assignee: Nippon Gakki Co Ltd
•
Filing: 1983-05-11
•
Granted: 1984-12-25
•
Expires: 2003-05-11
Abstract
Abstract An electronic musical instrument which produces counter melody automatically selects one from among chord constituting tones in a predetermined priority order and produces a tone of the same note as the selected tone as a counter melody tone. This electronic musical instrument further comprises a chord type detector for detecting a chord type of a performed chord besides a chord designation detector for detecting the fact that the chord has been designated, a counter melody tone determining circuit for selecting one from among the chord constituting tones and sound system for producing the counter melody tone. The predetermined priority order is determined in accordance with the detected chord type. This dependence on chord type make it possible to produce a counter melody tone which is more rich in music.
Inventors
- 👤 Eiichiro Aoki
- 👤 Iwao Higashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 00:48
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10H; G10H1/00; G10H1/36; G10H1/38; G10H1/383; G10H2210/00; G10H2210/155; G10H2210/245; G10H2210/261; G10H2210/571; G10H2210/596; G10H2210/601; G10H2210/616; G10H2210/626; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S84/00; Y10S84/02; Y10S84/22
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
109 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: chord designating means for designating a chord; chord type detecting means for detecting a chord type of said chord; chord designation detecting means for detecting the fact that said chord has been designated; tone selecting means for selecting, in response to the detection of said fact, one from among a group of tones in priority order determined by said chord type, said group comprising the chord constituting tones of said chord; and tone producing means connected to said chord designating means and said tone selecting means for producing a chord tone and a supplemental tone corresponding to said chord and said selected tone respectively.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
109 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: chord designating means for designating a chord; chord type detecting means for detecting a chord type of said chord; chord designation detecting means for detecting the fact that said chord has been designated; tone selecting means for selecting, in response to the detection of said fact, one from among a group of tones in priority order determined by said chord type, said group comprising the chord constituting tones of said chord; and tone producing means connected to said chord designating means and said tone selecting means for producing a chord tone and a supplemental tone corresponding to said chord and said selected tone respectively.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
66 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 wherein said tone selecting means further comprises: memory means for storing the information of a last supplemental tone; and limiting means for limiting said tones of said group to tones within a predetermined interval of the tone corresponding to said information, so that said supplemental tone is within said predetermined interval of said tone corresponding to said information.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 which further comprises melody tone designating means for designating a melody note, and wherein said group further comprises a tone a predetermined interval distant from said melody tone and said tone producing means further produces a melody tone corresponding to said melody note.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 3 wherein said predetermined interval is 3rd degree.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
67 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 which further comprises melody tone designating means for designating a melody tone, and wherein said tone selecting means which comprises correction information generating means for generating correction information in accordance with said melody tone, a reference tone among said chord constituting tones and said chord type, said priority order being determined by said correction information and said reference tone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
60 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 3 which further comprises: measuring means for measuring time from the designation of said chord to that of said melody note; and designating means for designating to determine a new supplemental tone to said tone selecting means in place of said supplemental tone only when said measured time is within a predetermined time.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 which further comprises: melody tone designating means for designating a melody tone; and preventing means for preventing the production of said supplemental tone when said selected tone is a semi-tone distant from said melody tone.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 3 wherein said predetermined interval is 6th degree.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
144 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: a chord designating means for designating a chord; chord variation detecting means which comprises memory means for storing a previous chord designated by said chord designating means and coincidence detecting means detecting whether said previous chord and a newly designated chord are the same or not; supplemental tone determining means for determining a supplemental tone, said supplemental tone determining means comprising memory means for storing a last supplemental tone and tone selecting means for selecting one within the interval determined by the detection result of said chord variation detecting means of said last supplemental tone from among a group of tones relating to said chord; and tone producing means connected to said chord designation means and said supplemental tone determining means for producing a chord tone and a present supplemental tone corresponding to said chord and said selected tone.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
144 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: a chord designating means for designating a chord; chord variation detecting means which comprises memory means for storing a previous chord designated by said chord designating means and coincidence detecting means detecting whether said previous chord and a newly designated chord are the same or not; supplemental tone determining means for determining a supplemental tone, said supplemental tone determining means comprising memory means for storing a last supplemental tone and tone selecting means for selecting one within the interval determined by the detection result of said chord variation detecting means of said last supplemental tone from among a group of tones relating to said chord; and tone producing means connected to said chord designation means and said supplemental tone determining means for producing a chord tone and a present supplemental tone corresponding to said chord and said selected tone.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 9 wherein said interval is major 2nd when the previously and newly designated chords are different.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 9 wherein said interval is different in accordance with whether said previously and newly designated chords are the same or not.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
44 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 9 which further comprises melody tone designating means for designating a melody tone, and wherein said group further comprises said melody note and said tone production means further produces a melody tone corresponding to siad melody note.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
116 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: chord designating means for designating a chord; melody note designating means for disignating a melody note; chord designation detecting means for detecting the fact that said chord has been designated; tone selecting means for selecting, in response to the detection of said fact, one from among a group of tones, said group comprising the chord constituting tones of said chord and a tone a predetermined interval distant from said melody note; and tone producing means for producing a chord tone, a melody tone and a supplemental tone for producing a chord tone, a melody tone and a supplemental tone corresponding to sid chord, said melody note and said selected tone respectively.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
116 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: chord designating means for designating a chord; melody note designating means for disignating a melody note; chord designation detecting means for detecting the fact that said chord has been designated; tone selecting means for selecting, in response to the detection of said fact, one from among a group of tones, said group comprising the chord constituting tones of said chord and a tone a predetermined interval distant from said melody note; and tone producing means for producing a chord tone, a melody tone and a supplemental tone for producing a chord tone, a melody tone and a supplemental tone corresponding to sid chord, said melody note and said selected tone respectively.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 13 wherein said predetermined interval is 3rd degree.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
15 words
An electronic musical instrument according to claim 13 wherein said predetermined enterval is 6th degree.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
105 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: chord designating means for designating a chord chord designation detecting means for detecting the fact that a chord has been designated; supplemental tone determining means for determining means for determining a supplemental tone; memory means for storing a previous supplemental tone, correction information forming means for forming correction information based on said previous supplemental tone and said chord, said supplemental tone determining means determining said supplemental tone in accordance with said previous supplemental tone and said correction information; and tone producing means for producing a chord tone and a musical tone corresponding to said chord and said supplemental tone respectively.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
105 words
An electronic musical instrument comprising: chord designating means for designating a chord chord designation detecting means for detecting the fact that a chord has been designated; supplemental tone determining means for determining means for determining a supplemental tone; memory means for storing a previous supplemental tone, correction information forming means for forming correction information based on said previous supplemental tone and said chord, said supplemental tone determining means determining said supplemental tone in accordance with said previous supplemental tone and said correction information; and tone producing means for producing a chord tone and a musical tone corresponding to said chord and said supplemental tone respectively.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
JPS5272213A
Cited
US4381689A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1987-12-25 | 1988-06-25 | 1988-12-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1991-12-25 | 1992-06-25 | 1992-12-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1995-12-25 | 1996-06-25 | 1996-12-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |