Patent ID: 7928306

Claim:
A system for tuning a musical instrument, comprising: a sound input device; a processing device operatively coupled to said sound input device; and a display operatively coupled to said processing device; wherein: said processing device executes computer readable code to create a first visual representation of a sound sensed by said sound input device for output on said display; wherein: said sound is generated by a musical instrument; and wherein: said first visual representation is generated according to a method comprising the steps of: (a) placing twelve labels in a pattern of a circle, said twelve labels corresponding to twelve respective frequencies, such that moving clockwise or counter-clockwise between adjacent ones of said labels represents a first frequency increment; (b) determining a target frequency; (c) identifying a first label corresponding the target frequency; (d) determining a sensed frequency which is equal to a primary frequency of said sound; (e) identifying a point on said circle corresponding to the sensed frequency; (f) creating a first line connecting the first label and the point, wherein: (1) the color of the first line is a mixture of a first color and a second color if the target frequency and the sensed frequency are separated by more than the first frequency increment and less than a first multiple of the first frequency increment; (2) the color of the first line is a mixture of the second color and a third color if the target frequency and the sensed frequency are separated by more than the first multiple of the first frequency increment and less than a second multiple of the first frequency increment; (3) the color of the first line is a mixture of the third color and a fourth color if the target frequency and the sensed frequency are separated by more than the second multiple of the first frequency increment and less than a third multiple of the first frequency increment; (4) the color of the first line is a mixture of the fourth color and a fifth color if the target frequency and the sensed frequency are separated by more than the third multiple of the first frequency increment and less than a fourth multiple of the first frequency increment; and (5) the color of the first line is a mixture of the fifth color and a sixth color if the target frequency and the sensed frequency are separated by more than the fourth multiple of the first frequency increment and less than a fifth multiple of the first frequency increment.