Patent ID: 8330034

Claim:
A system for generating an accompaniment note during a musical performance, comprising: a synthesizer capable of generating at least one of a plurality of notes; a split fret stringed instrument having at least two fret sections, the split fret stringed instrument being configured for identifying a fingering of at least one note or chord by the at least two fret sections wherein the at least one note or chord has a first rhythm; a note selection component in communication with the at least two fret sections and the synthesizer, the note selection component being configured to select at least one accompaniment note based on the designated at least two fret sections and communicating the selected accompaniment note to the synthesizer; and a pressure-actuated switch in communication with the synthesizer and configured to cause the synthesizer to generate the selected at least one accompaniment note in a second rhythm independent of the rhythm of the at least one note or chord.