SIGNAL EMITTING DEVICE WITH ADJUSTABLE BEAT FREQUENCY

Abstract: On a first keyboard (4) the time value of each musical note and/or the time value of each pause of the musical sequence to be reproduced is introduced. After the introduction of each note value, the respective pitch value of this note can be introduced with the aid of a second keyboard (50). The introduced sequence can include up to 8 measures and is reproduced repeatedly after actuating a start switch (11) on a visual display (13) and/or with an acoustic output (34) in a frequency which is selected with the help of a switch (20). The visual display (13) has (4) seven segments elements which show the sequence continuously, measure after measure. The acoustic output (34) can produce, at choice, white noise signals or sounds. The white noise signals have impulses which decrease exponentially from a maximum.

Description: SIGNAL EMITTING DEVICE WITH ADJUSTABLE BEAT FREQUENCY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a new and improved construction of a signal emitting device with adjustable beat frequency comprising an input unit for the introduc¬ tion of a sequence of time values of musical notes or pauses which include at least one measure, a memory unit for the introduced sequence and a circuit for repeatedly producing control signals representing the introduced sequence in dependence of the selected beat frequency. Such devices can be used as metronome. After the introduction of the selected sequence of time values of musical notes and pauses, which is easily ' possible also for a beginner, the corresponding rhythm is repro¬ duced with the selected beat frequency. First the beat frequency can be set low for training- and later higher without changing the structure of the introduced musical measure. Such known devices are a better help to learn a musical composition than the usual metronomes with acoustic or visual output because the training person is able to understand the rhythm of the difficult passages but, the acoustic signals being uniform, the succession of the tones of a melody cannot be reproduced. There are some cases in which it is desired to have, at least temporarily, in addition to the mere rhythm, the reproduction of the succession of tones of a musical composition, e.g. in singing lessons, since be~ ginners often feel themselves insecure about the height of the tones. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Hence, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of a signal emitting device with adjustable beat frequency which is suited to reproduce not only the rhythm but also the melody of a musical composition. Another object of the invention aims at the provision of a new and improved construction of a signal emitting device which is extremely easy to operate, not making necessary deeper musical knowledge of the user. Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide a device which is suited for children as a mere beat emitting device or as a melody box. Now, in order to implement these and still further objects of the invention, which will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, the device comprises a second keyboard for introducing a pitch value information after the introduction of a respective time value information, the introduced pitch value information being stored in a storage together with the introduced time value information, a circuit for producing pitch value control signals together" with the time value con¬ trol signals of the introduced sequency and. a selectively operable audio frequency generator, which is influenced by the time value control signals and the pitch value control signals. According to a further embodiment of the inven¬ tion the device can be constructed in such a way that a visual display is also provided which has several discrete Optical elements having at least two different possible states and which change their state to reproduce the time values of the notes and/or the pauses and to make possible a simultaneous visual representation of the introduced sequence, which helps in the understanding of this sequence.. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description- makes reference to. the-annexed drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a representation of the front panel of an embodiment of a signal emitting device according to the present invention, showing the most important actuating elements; Figure 2 is a representation of a second embodi¬ ment of an optical display; Figure 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the circuit of the invention; and Figure 4 is a schematic representation of a frequency signal of the invention. OMH DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Describing now the drawings and considering initially an embodiment as shown in Fig. 1 it will be understood that the same comprises a housing 1 which is relatively flat as to be arranged under the music sheet on a music stand. For fixing it at the music stand, strap 2 can be used as well as other devices like hooks. The device is best arranged in such a way that its front panel appears in the visual field of the user at the same time as the music sheet he is reading. On the. fron panel are the most important input and visual output, elements. A keyboard 4 is used to introduce the sequence of time values of notes and pauses which should be re¬ produced and a second keyboard 50, which in combination with an octave- switch 52. and a half—tone switch 51 is used to introduce the pitch values of the notes. The input occurs in the following manner:- the power being on (switch 5) and the reset (switch 22) being activated, the key buttons corresponding to the time values of the notes 6 and of the pauses 7 are depressed in correspondence with the notes of the rhythm to be . reproduced. After each introduction of such a time value, a key.button on keyboard 50 corresponding to the pitch value of this note is also actuated to introduce its pitch. For this purpose, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, seven key buttons are provided which represent the pitch values of one octave of the C-Major scale and are respectively marked. For the introduction of semitones, the semitone key utton 51 is actuated before the key button of the pitch value-to be introduced, which increases the pitch of this note by a semitone. For the flat-scales the same semitone key button 51 is used before actuating the key button of the pitch which is one whole step below the note, the flat of which is to be reproduced. The octave key 52 displaces the introduced degree one octave up so that two octaves can be played, e.g. one lower octave 220 - 440 Hz and one upper octave 440 - 880 Hz. In another (not shown) example the input " of the pitch of the notes is done with a. piano—like key array with a range of two octaves, the semitone key button 51 and the octave key 52 then being not necessary. Dotted notes are obtained by actuating the dotted key 8 after the introduction of the time value of the note to be dotted by the key buttons of column 6. Triplets are introduced by actuating the cor¬ responding key button 9 before the introduction of the three notes building the triplet on the note sheet. During the introduction of the note- or pause time values, the corresponding elements of the visual display are -- illuminated. After the introduction of a whole measure the bar switch 10 is actuated, which causes a new start in the visual display, as will be explained later. In the present embodiment, within one measure, note- and pause time values can be introduced up to the sum of 1, herewith the most important time signatures are available. In the embodiment ' up to 8 measures can be introduced which also allows time signature changes, e.g. from 3/4 to 4/4 and back. When the sequence has been introduced, including the tone pitches, the start switch 11 is actuated. A foot pedal can also be used to give the start. First a whole silent measure is played (visual display only) in the rhythm of the first measure ' introduced, then the sequence is played with a frequency which has been selected before by switch 12. The beat frequency is determined in relation to the 1/4 note value as is usual (Metronome I.alzel) and can be adjusted in the O PI given embodiment to any whole number between 0 and 299 (e.g. J = 64 means 64 quarter notes in a minute) , the switch for the hundreds being adjustable between 0 and 2, the other ones between 0 and 9. A visual and an acoustic output which will be described provides the signals. The visual output 13, according to the version of Fig. 1, consists in a series of optical elements as e.g. four Seven Segments elements 14, of which only the vertical segments are used. The visual display occurs in such a way that, in correspondence with the selected frequency, vertical segments of the seven segments ele¬ ments represent the time values according to their places in the measure and their lengths. The time values .of the notes are displayed in such a way that the segments of the seven segments ele¬ ments light up sequentially with the frequency of the shortest displayable time value and do so as long as the whole time value of the selected note has been obtained. Then all corresponding segments stop shining at the same time. In a 4/4 time signature, in which the shortest displayable time values are 1 6 notes, the third 1/4 note will, e.g. be visually displayed by the successive lighting up of the vertical segments of the third element in the rhythm of 1/16 notes and at the end of the 1/4 note all the vertical segments of this third element stop shining at the same time. If on the other hand the third position of the measure is occupied by four 1/16 notes, each vertical segment of the third element will shine only for the duration of a 1/16 note and will stop emitting immediately after this value. For the display of uneven time signatures, e.g. 3/4, not the whole row of elements 13 will be actuated, but the display will start on the left again after the duration of one measure, in the above cited example, in this case, the last seven segments element 14 of the row will not be activated. Pauses will be displayed by jumping, over the corresponding number of visual elements and during the pause no element is lighted. Herewith it is clear that the described visual display can reproduce rhythms of the most possible time- signatures whose time values per measure are smaller or equal to 1 in sum, e.g. 2/2—, 2/4-, 4/4-, 3/4-,- 6/8- which are the most usual time signatures. With a small modification of the described example, e.g. with the use of 5 or 6 elements 14 it is possible to display time signatures without the above mentioned limitation as for example 9/8-, 12/8-, 6/4-, or 5/4. In Fig. 2 another visual display is shown which functions according to the same principles but in which each time value can be represented with its own symbol. The time values shown in Fig. 2 are to be con¬ ceived as a liquid crystal display which becomes visible only when activated and else remains unnoticeable. The lowest row 15 is used for the display of 1/16 note values and triplets. This row is actuated in the same way as row 13 of the visual elements of Fig. 1. Additionally in one of the upper rows 16 to 19 the notes will be displayed now during their whole time values. For example, tσ display a 1/4 note one element of row 17 (without dot) will shine during its whole time value and at the same time the length of this note can be perceived on the lowest row 15 where the light emitting devices flash for the length of a 1/16 note value in the already described manner. Dotted notes are characterized by the supplemen¬ tary lighting of a dot as can be understood with Fig. 2, This arrangement has, particularly for a beginner, the advantage that the display coincides largely with the symbols on the note sheet. As already mentioned, an acoustic output -is also foreseen whose loudness can be controlled with switch 20 (Fig. 1) which can also switch it off. The acoustic display has a loudspeaker 34 which is preferentially located on the upper or lower surface of the housing 1. The tones are acoustically reproduced in the following manner: In a white noise position, the tone is sent to the loudspeaker 34 preferentially as a pulse of approximately 0.2 sec. having an exponentially decreasing amplitude, as shown schematically in Fig. 4, independently of the time length of the note. In this way a very noticeable and timely precise reproduc¬ tion of each beat is assured. In the sound mode con¬ tinuous sounds are audible which are interrupted shortly before the end of their time values in order to separate the notes from each other. To mark certain notes of a measure (so-called good notes) , each note at choice, can, in the embodiment described of the device, be reproduced louder than the other ones. The accentuation switch 53 serves for this purpose and is actuated, when introducing the sequence of notes to be reproduced, just after the note which is to be accentuated. O...PI Switch 20 controls the loudness of the repro¬ duction. In the position, "off" the acoustic output is silent. In the position "white noise" the notes are each reproduced as a so-called white noise (random noise having a balanced frequency spectrum) particularly con¬ venient when the device is used as a metronome. The amplitude of the white noise pulses has the form shown in Fig. 4. When the device is used to learn a piece of music, the following procedure is advantageous. First the sequence of tones is introduced as already described. The reproduction first occurs optically and acoustically and the pitches are also reproduced. When the sequence has been understood in its rhythm and melody, the acoustic display can be switched to white noise and the sequence . then can be trained in this mode. Finally the acoustic display can be completely switched off and the training can be pursued with the aid of the visual display only. In each mode different time signatures are possible. The device can also have on its front panel a decimal (three digits) measures counter: When the switch "start" is actuated and the device is running, this counter shows the number of played measures. This suppresses, e.g. the difficulty of having to count the measures during long pauses. A connection for external output is also located on the front panel to interconnect electrically several similar devices and start them at the same time so that if 'they are set at the same fre¬ quency, the play of an ensemble can be considerably facilitated, particularly with the help of the visual display, in comparison with the usual optical signal giving devices. In a further embodiment an external output for a headgear or a tape recorder is provided, the use of the last mentioned device being especially advantageous when long sequences should be played or when many voices are to be reproduced. The above functions' can be obtained by the electronic circuit as described in Fig. 3: Keyboard 4 for the time values and keyboard 50 for the pitch values are each connected to a first input unit 24. The decimal switch 12 is connected to a second input unit 25. Both input units are connected to a microprocessor and memory 27 through an 8rbit-databus 26 for the introduced note sequence (time values and pitch values) . The microprocessor 27 has a quartz oscillator which oscillates at a frequency of 4 MHz and a reset input 35. The microprocessor 27 is connected by a 11-Bit Addressbus to a read only memory 30, in which a function program is stored. The read only memory 30 is also connected to an 8-bit-databus 26 which leads to an output unit 31. To this last unit are connected the visual display under the form of the elements 14, the measures counter 32 with the measures counter display 21, a phase locked loop- circuit (PLL-Circuit) , which serves as frequency syn¬ thesizer 53 to generate various sound frequencies and a white noise generator. The PLL-Circuit 53 receives the digital infor¬ mation concerning the pitch and generates a frequency which corresponds to the frequency of the introduced note. This frequency signal is conducted to an amplifier 55 through a switch 54, which can be actuated by switch 20 of the front panel, and to which the white noise genera¬ tor is also connected. The amplifier 55 is controlled by the output unit in such a way that the white noise pulses have an exponential decrease of amplitude and a duration of circa 0.2 sec. Amplifier 55 is also responsible for the in- crease in amplitude of the sounds corresponding to the accentuated notes- which have been accentuated by the accentuation switch 53. In another embodiment of the invention (not shown) the signal emitting device comprises an 8-bit word decoder (so-called character generator) at one of its outputs. This output can be connected to a dot matrix printer or an analog printer for printing the played sequence on paper tape or the like. Thereby.it is possible to record the selected sequence in visible form.. At the mentioned output a standard CRTC (cathode ray tube controller) is connectable which modulates radio frequency signals, which in turn are entered into the areal input of a standard home TV set. Thereby, the visible effects can be enhanced. Another, version of the inventive device comprises a floppy magnetic card on which the selected sequences are recorded. Thereby the recorded sequences later can be entered without using the key¬ boards. Finally, in another embodiment an input is pro¬ vided for reading the above mentioned print out on a paper tape. Thereby a recorded sequency also can be reentered without using the keyboards. The described signal emitting device has many - uses. As already mentioned, it can be used in musical and rhythmic teaching in various modes and allows a particularly favorable didactic approach of music notes. It can be used as a metronome and as a music instrument playing back introduced note sequences. It can also be combined with other•electronic sound synthesizers, e.g. electronic organs. While there are shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims. ACCORDINGLY,

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS 1. An improved signal emitting device with adjustable beat frequency having an input unit for the introduction of a sequenc of time values, of musical notes or pauses which include at least one measure, -a- memory unit for the introduced sequence and. a circuit for repeatedly producing control signals representing the introduced sequence in dependence of the selected beat frequency, the improvement comprising a second input unit for introducing a pitch value information after the. in¬ troduction of a respective time value information, the introduced pitch value information being stored in the storage together with the introduced time value informa¬ tion, a circuit for producing pitch value control signals together with the time value control signals of the in¬ troduced sequency and a selectively operable audio fre¬ quency generator, which is influenced by the time value control signals and the pitch value control signals. O PΓ 2. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 1, comprising an audio frequency generator being of a type switchable between two modes, whereas in a irst mode audio frequencies corresponding to the selected pitch values are"generated and in a second mode white noise is generated. 3. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 2, comprising a variable amplifier connected to the output of the audio frequency generator operable to generate white noise signals having an exponentially decreasing amplitude independently of the selected time values of " a note. 4. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 3, comprising an input switch, for selecting the amplification rate of singular notes of the sequence by means of said variable amplifier. 5. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the second input unit comprises a key¬ board, each key button of which corresponds to one note of an octave of a. C-major scale, a semitone switch and a ' switch for selecting one of two adjacent octaves. 6. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 1, wherein the second input unit is formed as a finger- board including two octaves. 7... A-signal .emitting device as defined in claim 1, comprising a visual output having a plurality of discrete display elements, each of which having at least two op " tically different states and being settable in one of these two states in a manner which is charac¬ teristic for the type of a note and its position within the selected sequence. 8. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 7, the visual" output comprising at least 16 visual ele¬ ments grouped in four, so that for each sixteenth note within a measure at least one element is available, these elements being activatable in accordance with the selected sequence. 9. A signal emitting device as defined in claim 7, in the form of a metronome, the visual output comprising several groups of optical elements, each group corre¬ sponding to one of several note and pause time values and constitutes at least one measure to be displayed, wherein at least one optical element correspond to the time value, of the actual note or pause of the reproduced sequence. 10. A signal emitting device of claim 1, further PI ._ comprising an 8-bit word decoder at one of its outputs, the 8-bit word decoder being connectable to a dot matrix, printer for printing out the played sequence- and/or to a standard cathode ray tube controller for influencing a cathode-ray τ tσ-opticarll -display the selecte -sequence. 11. A signal emitting device of claim 1, further comprising a floppy magnetic card for recording the selected sequence information and for reentering it into the device. 12. A signal emitting device of claim 11, " comprising an input device suited for reading said print out of the matrix printer. 13. A method of operating of a device as defined in claim 8, wherein for optically representing one note of a certain time value within a measure, the elements of a corresponding group of visual elements are sequentially placed in an active state in a frequency of the smallest displayable time value and remain in this -state till the end of the time value to be displayed at which moment they return together into a nonactive stage.

Inventors: JUNGO CHARLES, PEPERSACK WALTER
Applicants: JUNGO CHARLES, PEPERSACK WALTER
Application year: 1982
Main classification: G10H1
IPC codes: G09B15, G10G1, G10H1