Layered voice musical self-accompaniment system

Claim 2

A musical accompaniment control system for providing selective sustain in a musical self-accompaniment synthesizer of the type wherein significant parameters of notes being played by a musician in a lead voice performance are encoded in a real-time note data signal including "note on" event messages and "note off" event messages transmitted to a polyphonic tone generator cooperating with an audio sound system so as to produce a musical accompaniment having notes related in pitch and timing to corresponding notes played in the lead voice source, said control system comprising, in combination: an electronic signal processor adapted to controllably transmit said "note on" messages and said "note off" messages to said tone generator; an "accompaniment" switch adapted to control said processor in a manner enabling the musician to repeatedly choose between an "off" state in which transmission of said "note on" event messages to said tone generator is inhibited, and an "on" state in which said "note on" event messages are transmitted to said tone generator; and a "sustain" switch adapted to control said processor in a manner enabling the musician to repeatedly choose between an "off" state wherein said "note off" event messages are transmitted immediately to said tone generator and an "on" state wherein transmission of said "note off" event messages is delayed for as long as said "sustain" switch remains in said "on" state, whereby the musician is enabled, through interactive operation of said "accompaniment" switch and said "sustain" switch in strategic time relationship with notes of said lead voice performance, to selectively sustain particular notes of said accompaniment and to build up a group of thusly sustained notes which can continue to sustain as background accompaniment over which new lead voice notes may be played independently.

Claim 3

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 1 wherein said "accompaniment" switch and said "sustain" switch each comprise a low-profile footswitch of the momentary type which provides an "on" state while pressed downward and an "off" state while not pressed, said footswitches being disposed so as to facilitate operation by the musician from a standing position with one foot at each footswitch.

Claim 4

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 1 further comprising, in combination therewith, accompaniment pitch-bend disabling means adapted to enable the musician, while applying pitch-bending to notes of said lead voice performance, to disable pitch-bending in said accompaniment notes.

Claim 5

A musical accompaniment system, for providing an electronically synthesized self-accompaniment including selective sustaining of accompaniment notes derived from notes played by a musician in a lead voice performance, said accompaniment system comprising, in combination: a polyphonic lead voice source adapted to provide a plurality of audio signals representing the notes played in the lead voice performance; an encoding module adapted to encode said audio signals into a MIDI-formatted note data signal comprising "note on" event messages and "note off" event messages; a sustaining processor module, receiving as input said note data signal from said analog-to-MIDI encoding module, adapted to controllably sustain said accompaniment notes by delaying transmission of said "note off" event messages; an electronic polyphonic tone generator module receiving as input said "note on" event messages and said "note off" event messages, adapted to produce therefrom an audio accompaniment signal in accordance with said note data as received from said processor module; an "accompaniment" switch adapted to enable the musician to exercise on/off control over transmission of said "note on" event messages from said encoding module to said tone generator module; and a "sustain" switch, operatively connected to said sustaining processor module, adapted to enable the musician to suspend transmission of said "note off" event messages for as long said "sustain" switch remains in an "on" state; whereby the musician, through sequentially interactive operation of said "accompaniment" and "sustain" switches in combination with each other and in strategic time relationship with notes of said lead voice performance, is enabled to enhance said self-accompaniment extemporaneously through such selective sustaining techniques; and whereby, more particularly, the musician is enabled to set up a sustained accompaniment note group derived from selected notes of said lead voice performance, to hold said sustained group unchanging and independent of the playing of further lead voice notes, and to subsequently add more notes, as selected from said lead voice performance, to said sustained accompaniment note group.

Claim 6

A musical accompaniment system, for providing an electronically synthesized self-accompaniment including selective sustaining of accompaniment notes derived from notes played by a musician in a lead voice performance, said accompaniment system comprising, in combination: a polyphonic lead voice source adapted to provide a plurality of audio signals representing the notes played in the lead voice performance; an encoding module adapted to encode said audio signals into a MIDI-formatted note data signal comprising "note on" event messages and "note off" event messages; a sustaining processor module, receiving as input said note data signal from said analog-to-MIDI encoding module, adapted to controllably sustain said accompaniment notes by delaying transmission of said "note off" event messages; an electronic polyphonic tone generator module receiving as input said "note on" event messages and said "note off" event messages, adapted to produce therefrom an audio accompaniment signal in accordance with said note data as received from said processor module; an "accompaniment" switch adapted to enable the musician to exercise on/off control over transmission of said "note on" event messages from said encoding module to said tone generator module; and a "sustain" switch, operatively connected to said sustaining processor module, adapted to enable the musician to suspend transmission of said "note off" event messages for as long said "sustain" switch remains in an "on" state; whereby the musician, through sequentially interactive operation of said "accompaniment" and "sustain" switches in combination with each other and in strategic time relationship with notes of said lead voice performance, is enabled to enhance said self-accompaniment extemporaneously through such selective sustaining techniques; and whereby, more particularly, the musician is enabled to set up a sustained accompaniment note group derived from selected notes of said lead voice performance, to hold said sustained group unchanging and independent of the playing of further lead voice notes, and to subsequently add more notes, as selected from said lead voice performance, to said sustained accompaniment note group.

Claim 7

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 4 wherein said "accompaniment" switch and said "sustain" switch each comprise a low-profile footswitch of the momentary type which provides an "on" state while pressed downward and an "off" state while not pressed, said footswitches being disposed so as to facilitate operation by the musician from a standing position with one foot at each footswitch.

Claim 8

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 4 further comprising, in combination therewith: an echo module, interposed in a signal path of said accompaniment system, adapted to enable the musician to introduce and vary a recurring echo in notes of said accompaniment, said recurring echo being derived from corresponding notes of said lead voice; and an "echo" footswitch, operatively connected to said echo module, adapted to provide on/off control over said recurring echo, whereby the musician is enabled to operate said "echo" footswitch, in the manner of said "sustain" footswitch, in cooperation with said "accompaniment" footswitch, to utilize said recurring echo in the manner of said sustaining of notes of said accompaniment.

Claim 9

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 6 wherein said echo module is further adapted to control and synchronize said recurring echo from a rhythmic pulse signal derived from a timing clock.

Claim 10

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 6 wherein said echo is caused to repeat a designated finite number of times.

Claim 11

The musical accompaniment control system as defined in claim 6 wherein said echo is caused to repeat infinitely as long as said "echo" switch is held in an "on" state.