Patent ID: 7786372

Claim:
A wind musical instrument for producing tones, comprising: a pipe structure defining a column of air therein; a vibration exciter connected to said pipe structure, and used to give rise to vibrations of said column of air in said pipe structure; a pitch changing mechanism provided on said pipe structure, and selectively manipulated for changing a length of said column of air; and a supporting system provided in association with said pitch changing mechanism for mechanically assisting a human player in manipulating said pitch changing mechanism, said supporting system includes at least one sensor provided in association with said pitch changing mechanism and producing a detecting signal representative of the manipulating of said pitch changing mechanism, at least one actuator connected to a valve forming a part of said pitch changing mechanism and used for changing the length of said column of air, said at least one actuator responsive to a driving signal so as to mechanically assist said human player in said manipulating, and a controlling unit connected to said at least one sensor and said at least one actuator, analyzing said detecting signal for an intention of said human player and supplying said driving signal to said at least one actuator for mechanically assisting said human player in said manipulating, wherein said valve is monitored by said at least one sensor so that said controlling unit determines whether or not said human player gives rise to a movement of said valve.