Patent Description:
Note identification by acoustic identification in reed woodwind instruments has already been described in <CIT>. However, the larger instruments in this reed woodwind family pose a particular challenge for note identification because their lower acoustic wavelengths require stimulation of the instruments at lower frequencies and longer analysis frames.

A further technical problem in note identification using speakers to input stimulus signals to musical instruments and microphones to receive the stimulus signals modified by the transfer functions of the musical instruments is that the note identification method is not immune to acoustic interference. This can mean that such methods are not available for performance purposes.

<CIT> discloses an apparatus for outputting a pitch data corresponding to a relative distance between a pair of movable members or a position of a second movable member relative to a first movable member. Data indicating the output relative distance or data indicating the output relative position is converted to corresponding pitch data in accordance with one of a plurality of conversion characteristics selected by a selection section. A pitch corresponding to the converted pitch data is determined. An electronic musical instrument outputs a musical tone having the determined pitch. The musical tone is controlled in accordance with a flow state of air passing through a mouthpiece or a bite pressure.

The present invention provides a system for identification of a note played by a musical instrument according to claim <NUM>.

The invention uses a transmitted electromagnetic signal to determine a configuration of a resonant chamber in the musical instrument from a sensed reflected wave. The configuration of the resonant chamber may include one or more of a state of openings of the resonant chamber, a state of valve positions of the resonant chamber, a length of the resonant chamber, or some other property of the resonant chamber that influences the musical note selected to be played by a player of the musical instrument.

The system of the claimed invention can provide for instruments with an electrically conductive surface a real-time system for musical note identification with complete immunity to acoustic interference. Instruments with an electrically conductive surface include the following instruments: saxophones, labrasones (brass instruments), edge-blown aerophones (flutes) and metal clarinets. Additionally, it is feasible to coat the inside surface of traditionally wooden instruments to provide a conductive surface which would allow use of the invention. Ideally the instrument would have metal key caps, but the disturbance caused by a player's fingers covering holes could prove sufficient to make a measurable difference to the reflected signal. The invention can be used with instruments with a wide variety of internal bore profiles including conical bore profiles (saxophone family) and cylindrical bore profiles (the edge-blown aerophone (e.g. flute) and labrasone (e.g. brass instruments) families).

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

The current invention makes use of signals in the electromagnetic spectrum and recognises that for higher (radio) frequencies within this spectrum the wave nature of an alternating current must be taken into account.

The invention treats a metal-bodied (i.e. electrically conducting) instrument, e.g. a tenor saxophone <NUM> (see <FIG> and <FIG>) as a leaky waveguide, i.e. a waveguide with holes which can be closed by metal (i.e. electrically conducting) keypads. It is known that wave guides may be designed to confine and direct the electromagnetic radio frequency wave with minimal loss.

The system of the invention comprises an antenna <NUM> which by transmitting radio waves allows a resonant chamber of the musical instrument <NUM> to form an electromagnetic resonant cavity at electromagnetic wavelengths which are similar to the normally played acoustic wavelengths.

The saxophone family of instruments have conical bores with relatively small (in comparison with other musical instruments) initial dimensions. For instance, the entrance bore into the crook of a tenor saxophone is about <NUM> in diameter. The lowest 'cut-off' frequency for a circular waveguide to sustain a TE01 wave is defined
The wavelength in the circular waveguide is given as,
<MAT>
where
<MAT>
is the wavelength of the uniform plane wave in the lossless dielectric medium inside the guide.

Thus for mode TE01, the cut-off frequency is <NUM> (although it should be mentioned that since the bore of a saxophone is conical, this figure will not be a precisely accurate figure). However, it will suffice for the present invention, which recognises that it is necessary to be above the cut-off frequency in order to sustain the wave in the waveguide. The TE01 (transverse electric) mode signifies that all electric fields are transverse to the direction of propagation and that no longitudinal electric field is present.

The implementations described below and supported by <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> operate at an excitation frequency of <NUM>. The invention is not limited to use of such a frequency. Other frequencies may be suitable and appropriate as long as they facilitate sustaining of the wave in the waveguide. For example, using an excitation frequency of <NUM> may be appropriate. Such a frequency is in one of the ISM radio bands, so called because these are portions of the radio spectrum reserved internationally for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) purposes other than telecommunications. Other frequencies, both within and without the ISM radio bands, may also be appropriate.

Furthermore, it may be that excitation electromagnetic radiation may be polarised. For example, the antenna may generate a circularly polarised electromagnetic signal. Alternative, the antenna may generate a linearly polarised electromagnetic signal. Alternative, the antenna may generate an unpolarised electromagnetic signal.

The antenna <NUM> of the present invention may be a single probe antenna with a shorted back-stop provided to broadcast a radio frequency electromagnetic signal in a resonant chamber of the instrument <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The antenna may act as both transmitter and receiver. The antenna <NUM> may be mounted in an end cap <NUM> which is mountable on the instrument <NUM> in place of a mouthpiece of the instrument. The end cap <NUM> has a closed end to seal a mouthpiece end of the instrument. The end cap is metallic, so as to be electrically connected to the metallic musical instrument or to a metallic surface of the musical instrument. For instance, if the instrument is a brass instrument, the end cap <NUM> could be brass as well. The conductive part of the antenna <NUM> is mounted in an insulator to be electrically isolated from the end cap <NUM>.

Alternatively, multiple probe antennae may be used, typically being arranged equally around a plane orthogonal to the bore which provides the resonant chamber of the instrument. This could be conveniently be realised as a microstrip circuit with <NUM> orthogonal probes (or any number of orthogonal probes spaced around the resonant chamber, equally spaced in terms of angle of separation, when viewed in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the resonant chamber). It is important to make a good ohmic connection between the shorted back-stop body and the instrument, if necessary connecting to the internal surface of the bore of the instrument with a sprung connection.

Saxophones have conical bores opening out very considerably from the initial approximate <NUM> radius (tenor saxophone) to approximately <NUM> at the bell. The sustainable wavelength is directly proportionate to the bore radius. As with an acoustic wave, an element of the radio frequency wave will be reflected at the impedance discontinuity of the opening of the bell into free-air. The reflected energy can advantageously be increased by attaching a conducting plane reflector <NUM> over a bell end <NUM> of the instrument <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

The system of the invention depends upon stimulating the bore of the instrument with an accurately repeatable range of frequencies and monitoring the reflected energy. The stimulated frequencies may be continuously scanned or individually stepped such that the reflected wave is measured with repeatable frequencies. Measuring the reflected energy across a range of frequencies will produce a 'frame' of data, with a data point per frequency of interest. A programmable network analyser (e.g. the Keysight 5225B™ analyser) can carry out a scan of <NUM> points in a few milliseconds (ms). Practical realisations used by the system of the present invention generate a sufficient few hundred points in <NUM>.

The stimulus waveform is generated by the system in one or both of the following ways:.

There can be seen in <FIG> and <FIG> schematic illustrations of two different embodiments of an electronic processing unit of the invention. Both have an oscillator <NUM>, a VCO <NUM> and a mixer <NUM>. The VCO <NUM> is an electronic oscillator whose oscillation frequency is controlled by a voltage input. The applied input voltage determines the output oscillation frequency. The VCO <NUM> receives a DC "scanning voltage" signal from a digital to analogue converter <NUM>, which controls the output of the VCO <NUM>. The digital to analogue converter <NUM> is controlled by a microprocessor <NUM>, as will be described later. A signal output from the mixer <NUM> is passed through a high-pass filter <NUM> to provide a stimulation signal to be broadcast by the antenna <NUM>.

Thus the transmitted stimulus waveform can resemble a classical 'chirp' waveform and either move smoothly between frequencies or be stepped. For instance, the microprocessor <NUM> can step the broadcast frequencies by way of a control output to the digital to analogue converter <NUM>; the microprocessor <NUM> knows what frequency has just been broadcast, so it will know the next frequency to be broadcast in the series. The direct synthesis steps may be chosen linearly or exponentially depending upon the range of the scanning frequency or at spot frequencies chosen to maximise the difference responses.

When the stimulus waveform is applied to the instrument <NUM>, being transmitted by the antenna <NUM>, it is modified by the reflected waveform dependent upon the keyholes which are currently closed.

In <FIG> a representative signal from the reflected waveform is produced through a directional coupler <NUM> (e.g. Narda™ <NUM>-D, <NUM>-<NUM>). The coupler <NUM> may be connected to a peak-detector diode <NUM> (e.g. Keysight™ <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM> - <NUM>) in order to provide to the microprocessor <NUM> a baseband signal representing the instantaneous peak of the reflected waveform. Thus the d. level of the peak-detector diode baseband signal is representative of the magnitude of the reflected wave as the analysis waveform is scanned. The entire circuit can advantageously be implemented in a microstrip on a printed circuit board.

Other standard microwave circuits to measure the magnitude and/or phase of the reflected wave are possible, e.g. a homodyne circulatory mixer supplied with the analysis waveform and the reflected waveform as input signals to the mixer.

In <FIG>, a 'reflector probe' <NUM> (a receiving antenna) is placed adjacent to the reflector <NUM> at the bell end <NUM> of the instrument <NUM> in order to carry out a transmission measurement, detecting the signal within the conical cavity, as shown in <FIG> (in this embodiment the antenna <NUM> is used only to transmit the excitation signal and is not used to receive the reflected signal, only the probe <NUM>). The signal from the reflector probe <NUM> can be amplified if necessary (not shown), measured with the detector <NUM> and processed as shown in <FIG>, being passed through the peak-detector diode <NUM> through to microprocessor <NUM>.

In both the <FIG> and <FIG> systems the signal output from the diode <NUM> is passed through an analogue to digital converter <NUM> and then the digital signal is passed to a microprocessor <NUM>.

Further schemes are possible combining <FIG> and <FIG> to measure the signals from both probes.

In implementing the system, there is an initial training phase in which the system operates in a training mode in which every possible outcome which it is desirable to recognise is generated and the frame of data for each outcome is acquired and stored in a memory of the microprocessor <NUM>, e.g. being digitised by the microprocessor <NUM> and committed to the memory as representing the respective outcome. So, for each musical instrument there is a training phase when each note is played at least once and the magnitude spectral outcome for each note is captured by the system. Measured spectra for the notes D3 and A3 on a tenor saxophone are shown in <FIG> as examples.

Subsequent to the training phase, the system runs in a note recognition mode whilst the instrument is played normally. In the note recognition mode, live frames of data are acquired and then compared by the microprocessor <NUM> with those collected in the memory during training. The closest match with the training date is used to determine the 'played' note. A variety of statistical techniques may be applied to determine the closeness of the match. The signal processing and matching process can be completed typically in under <NUM>, depending upon processing power.

Once a played note has been determined by the system, the system can use a synthesizer unit of the system (not shown) to synthesize and to output the detected musical note for transmission to e.g. headphones, so the player can hear a synthesized musical note in response to a change of fingering with a typical worst-case latency of under <NUM>.

A pressure sensor (not shown) can be incorporated in the system to measure the breath pressure of the player and thereby the timing of the starting of generation of the synthesized musical notes and/or their volume can be controlled by the system with reference to a pressure signal generated by the pressure sensor, in order to provide a realistic playing experience. The pressure sensor can be incorporated in a replacement mouthpiece, integral with the end cap <NUM> or mountable thereon, used to replace the regular mouthpiece of the instrument. The replacement mouthpiece could have a passage directing the breath of the player of the instrument through an outlet provided in the replacement mouthpiece or a small aperture could be provided in the end cap <NUM> for the passage of breath and a tube could be connected to such an aperture to lead the breath through the instrument to a tube outlet at or beyond the outlet of the instrument. When the system of the invention is used with an Aerophone or for a Labrasone, a breath sensor could be provided or a lip vibration sensor, e.g. as described in published <CIT> and <CIT>, and a signal from such a breath senor or lip vibration sensor sent to the microprocessor <NUM> and used thereby to control the starting of generation of the synthesized musical notes and/or their volume. When a breath sensor is used e.g. with a flute, then the breath sensor can send signals to the microprocessor <NUM> indicating the direction and the velocity of breath and these signals can be used by the microprocessor e.g. to select the correct octave or register for the musical note to be synthesized.

The transmission and measurement of an electromagnetic wave (as opposed to the acoustic wave) has the distinct advantage that it the system is immune to acoustic interference. With suitable amplification a musical instrument fitted with the system of the invention may be played in a performance ensemble with other instruments or in a solo capacity.

The analysis waveform power requirement is very small, typically 0dBm (1mW), and is within international safety standards for electromagnetic radiation. Advantageously the whole system may be battery powered, with a battery possible being contained within the bell of the instrument. A power amplifier and loudspeaker may also be contained within the bell of the instrument for local performance. Alternatively for performance to a large audience the instrument may be linked to an off-instrument synthesiser/amplifier/speaker arrangement by means of a digital radio connection, e.g. Bluetooth ™.

The synthesizer unit of the system can run a user-controllable musical synthesis algorithm to allow the player to choose synthesized signals which synthesize the musical notes of a different type of instrument, e.g. so that an experience saxophonist can play his/her saxophone yet hear musical notes output via headphones or speakers which sound like notes played on a piano.

Claim 1:
A system for identification of a musical note played by a musical wind instrument (<NUM>) with a resonant chamber having a plurality of configurations selectable by a player of the musical wind instrument (<NUM>) and an electrically conductive surface in the resonant chamber, the system comprising:
a stimulation signal generator (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) for generating a stimulation signal;
antenna means (<NUM>) mountable on the musical instrument (<NUM>) for broadcasting the stimulation signal as an electromagnetic signal within the resonant chamber and for receiving a reflected electromagnetic signal from the resonant chamber; and
an electronic processing unit (<NUM>) for processing the reflected electromagnetic signal and determining therefrom a configuration of the resonant chamber selected by the player and indicative of a musical note that is or would be output by the instrument (<NUM>) when played at the time of the received reflected signal; characterised in that
the system is operable in a training mode in which the stimulation signal is broadcast by the antenna means (<NUM>) as an electromagnetic signal separately for each different fingering configuration of the musical wind instrument (<NUM>), each different fingering configuration being associated with a different musical note played by the musical wind instrument (<NUM>), and the received reflected electromagnetic signals, or signals derived therefrom by the electronic processing unit (<NUM>), are separately stored in a memory of the electronic processing unit (<NUM>); and
the system is operable in a musical note recognition mode in which the electronic processing unit (<NUM>) compares the reflected electromagnetic signals received thereby, or signals derived therefrom by the electronic processing unit (<NUM>), with the signals stored in the memory of the electronic processing unit (<NUM>) and determines a best match with the stored signals and from the best match determines the musical note that is or would be output by the musical wind instrument (<NUM>) when played at the time of the received reflected signal.