Electronic Keyboard Instrument Research Articles

Internet of Things Remote Piano Information Teaching System and Its Control Method

In order to change the current piano teaching mode and develop towards digitalization, this paper puts forward the Internet of Things remote piano information teaching system. The digital electric piano teaching system is controlled by multimedia computer. It is a kind of music teaching form composed of electric piano and other electronic keyboard instruments, music auxiliary teaching system, and music production software. It integrates viewing, listening, and practicing and changes the traditional one-to-one teaching mode. Its core structure adopts professional audio processing chip and processor to realize controllable digital audio communication channel, which solves the interference problem well, and realizes classroom simulation functions such as centralized teaching, personal guidance, personal demonstration, group demonstration, and group practice. The application results show that the average learning time of the students who pass the intelligent digital electric piano teaching system is reduced by 14%; After two months of study, 46 students still like the piano through the intelligent digital electric piano teaching system, with a retention rate of 92%, which is significantly higher than the 38 students who study the traditional piano, with a retention rate of 76%. Conclusion. The system makes teaching easier and more efficient.

Об инструментах расширения информационного пространства творческого вуза

The article examines the issue of extending the informational space within the framework of international cooperation by means of musical computer technologies (MCT) with the aim of improving the quality of education during the process of teaching foreign students. The author acknowledges the necessity of developing a methodology for applying the MCT in musical education system of an artistic higher education institute. Description is made of authorial educational courses of the Khabarovsk State Institute for Culture (KSIC) “Electronic Keyboard Instruments” and “Computer Music Creativity.” The viability of expanding the timbrel aspect of the electronic keyboard synthesizer with the richness of the musical culture of the Russian Far-East and the countries of the Asian and Pacific Island Region. Analysis is made of the role of the MCT in the educational space of the artistic higher educational institutions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Accentuation is made of the interest of promoting the disciplines connected with the MCT. This becomes manifested by the high level of technical infrastructure of the musical computer auditoriums, as well as auditoriums for holding classes in the higher educational institutions of PRC where computer technology is used. Keywords: musical computer technologies, students from the People’s Republic of China, international cooperation, electronic keyboard instrument, computer musical creativity.

Implementation of sample-engineering as arrangement technology in the training of a future teacher of musical arts

The article considers the possibility of including the technology of sample-engineering in the process of training students - future teachers of Musical Arts. The purpose of the article is to highlight the concept “sample-engineering” in its historical and technical aspects and to determine the possibilities of practical application of the innovative technology for arranging musical material by future teachers of Musical Arts. The main development stages of the technology facilitating the artificial production of non-traditional sound tones are considered, it is associated with the revolutionary inventions obtained at the end of the twentieth century and a qualitative breakthrough in microprocessor technology, which allowed us to significantly increase the volume and speed of information processing as well as the role of discoveries in the field of applied music programs and provided the emergence of new ideas regarding sound synthesis. The author describes the features of three technological stages related to sound synthesis, sampling and sample-engineering, as well as to new opportunities that are opened up for musicians through their use. The distinguishing features of using these technologies and devices are presented, in particular, the features of the sampling phenomenon and the emergence of a new variety of electronic keyboard instruments – a sampler in the memory banks of which you can store sounds that are “borrowed” from the environment. Particular attention is drawn to the importance of the widespread practice of developing modern sample-engineering technology which arose due to the microprocessor technology and the opportunity to convert an analogue sound to a digital one without any noticeable loss in quality. The essence of the concept “engineering”, the significance of its use in musical practice and the main stages-tasks of using the technology of sample-engineering in the educational process are revealed. The universal role of the computer in the application of the sample-engineering technology is determined, its technical capabilities growing when connecting external sound sources (tone generators) to it. The article substantiates the feasibility and prospects for the future teachers of Musical Arts to study the sampling-engineering technology a good command of which might allow them to achieve timbre diversity and greater artistic expression in the processing of school songs arranged by them and in their own creativity. The work reveals the prospects of using the technology of sample engineering as a way to increase the capabilities of future specialists-arrangers to process musical material, the importance of mastering creative self-realisation by the future teachers in a modern innovative way. The author presents the stage-by-stage process regulating the acquisitions of skills to use sample engineering by students in educational and creative practice alongside the prospects of mastering this technology involving a wide range of teachers of institutions of higher musical and pedagogical education.

전자건반악기를 이용한 악기 자율학습기 개발

본 논문에서는 초등학교 저학년 학생들이 쉽고 효율적으로 건반악기 연주 방법을 학습할 수 있도록 개발한 악기 자율학습기를 설명한다. 개발한 악기 자율학습기는 PC기반의 학습 소프트웨어와 외장 전자건반악기 모듈로 구성된다. 우리는 USB 인터페이스를 적용한 전자건반악기와 PC용 S/W를 연동하여 악기 연주에 필요한 정보를 PC 화면에 제공하는 기능과 타자연습과 유사한 형식의 게임을 통해 학습내용을 재미있게 복습하는 기능을 구현하였다. 개발한 외장 전자건반모듈은 USB 인터페이스를 통하여 PC로부터 선택적으로 악기연주 안내정보를 수신하여 LED 및 7-세그먼트에 표시해줌으로써 초보자들이 쉽게 악보 내 음계와 건반의 상관관계를 숙지할 수 있도록 하였다. 또한 사용자가 건반을 잘못 눌렀을 때 이를 감지하여 LED와 PC 화면에 안내정보를 출력하도록 구현하였다. 구현된 악기 자율학습기를 이용한 악보 연주 실험을 통하여 학습효율이 향상됨을 확인하였다. In this paper, we propose a self instrument learning tool using a PC-based software and an external electronic keyboard instrument with USB interface to help primary school students to learn playing piano more easily and effectively. The PC-based learning software and the external electronic keyboard instrument interact through the USB interface. This tool has a help window to provide information how to play and support interesting game mode for exercise. The external electronic keyboard instrument receives a selective information through the USB interface and display it on LEDs and 7-segment for novices to easily know the relation between the notes and the positions in the keyboard. The external keyboard instrument can detect false inputs, display them on LEDs and on the information window. We implemented a self instrument learning system and our feasibility tests showed its validity of the self learning tool to improve the learning efficiency.

PC MIDI와 USB Interface를 이용한 전자건반악기 개발

음악교육은 창의력, 사회성, 학업 성취도를 향상시킨다. 음악교육에 있어서 학습자들이 수동적으로 지식을 전달 받기보다는 자기 수준에 맞는 내용을 선택하여 자신의 학습속도에 맞춰 스스로 학습할 수 있는 학습자 중심의 교육이 강조되고 있다. 이에 따라 자신의 학습 수준, 속도에 맞게 학습할 수 있는 학습도구의 개발이 요구되고 있고, 특히 자율학습이 가능한 전자 악기 HW, SW에 대한 요구가 높아지고 있다. 그러나 기존의 전자악기와 PC MIDI를 이용한 software들은 초등학교 저학년 학생들이 악기연주 자율학습에 활용하는데 어려움이 있다. 본 논문에서는 이들 문제점들을 해결하기 위해 PC 환경에서 PC와 USB Interface로 통신 가능한 외장 전자 건반악기와 PC 기반 software로 구성되는 악기연주 자율학습 지원도구 구현방법을 제안한다. 외장 전자건반모듈은 USB를 지원하는 PIC18F4550 MCU를 활용함으로써 간결한 구조와 저비용으로 구현하였다. 그리고 PC상에서 수행되는 software는 악보편집, MIDI정보 처리, 외장 전자건반모듈과의 상호연동을 통하여 건반악기와 유사한 환경을 지원함으로써 향후 자율학습용 컨텐츠가 추가될 경우 전자건반악기 연주 자율학습에 활용이 가능하다고 판단된다. The music education improves the creative talent, social skills and academic achievement of the students. For the efficient music education, the learner centered study is highly recommended rather than the passive education, which supports self-control in selecting teaching materials, learning patterns and speed. For the successful self learning, it is requested to develop the collaborative educational learning tools, especially electronic collaborators such as H/W and S/W. Though there exist many commercialized electronic instruments and the PC MIDI based softwares, these tools have some limits and problems for the primary student to learn playing the musical instrument by himself. In this paper, we propose a supporting tool implementation method using an electronic keyboard instrument with USB Interface and PC-based software to help the primary student to learn playing the musical instrument. We implemented an electronic keyboard instrument module compactly and at low cost using a PIC18F4550 MCU. PC based software was developed to edit musical score, process the MIDI information, and interact with the electronic keyboard instrument module. This tool can offer a similar keyboard instrument environment and can be incorporated with self learning contents.

Electronic keyboard instrument

An electronic keyboard instrument in which the efficiency of sound emission is enhanced by preventing a soundboard portion having a large vibration amplitude from being hidden by a musical score plate to make sound emission of the soundboard to be hardly hindered by the musical score plate. A musical stand device is disposed rearward of a key-depression part of a keyboard and right above the soundboard, and has a musical score plate disposed close to and parallel to an upper surface of the soundboard when the musical score plate is in a fallen state. The soundboard is excited for sound production by transducers disposed on a lower surface of the soundboard. The transducers are disposed at positions where the transducers do not overlap, as viewed in plan, the musical score plate which is in the fallen state.

Instrument modeling using sampled sound

The modern electronic keyboard instrument is asked to imitate all the familiar musical instruments. Virtually all rely on digital sampling. Compared to older synthesis techniques, sampling at first seemed to present startling realism. But the exact reproduction of a single recording of a single note does not fool the ear. Every musical instrument has a set of cues which, when absent, expose the imposter. This talk examines a number of techniques that are used to create more realistic simulations of acoustic instruments in Ensoniq’s latest sampling keyboards. The problems addressed include temporal variations in loudness, pitch, and brightness; formants; legato connections between notes; sympathetic resonances, restrike of a vibrating string, and nonlinearities. Expressive nuance in performance poses additional questions. How can a performer, squeezed through the pipe of digital information, create expression in a sampled sound? The answer must include ergonomic physical controllers linked to perceptually important sound parameters. Since samples are inherently static, special tricks are needed to give the illusion of a dynamic process.

Electronic musical instrument with pitch alternation function

The present electronic musical instrument can apply to various electronic musical instruments, such as an electronic wind instrument, electronic keyboard instrument and electronic string instrument. Pitch alteration width data with a predetermined pitch difference with respect to a tone being presently generated is stored in advance in a memory section, and by alternately performing the following two operations thereby to ensure a trill performance with a pitch having an arbitrary pitch alteration width by a simple pitch alteration operation. (1) A predetermined musical tone is generated at the presently-designated pitch by the pitch designation operation executed with respect to a pitch designating section. (2) A predetermined musical tone is generated at a pitch higher or lower than the presently-designated pitch, in accordance with the pitch alteration width data, by the pitch alteration designating operation executed with respect to a pitch alteration designating section.

MIDI Output Interface to a Parallel Printer Port

MIDI (the Musical Instrument Digital Interface) has become a standard feature on electronic keyboard instruments. MIDI is a serial, current-loop, data transmission network that is a hardware and software standard maintained by the International MIDI Association (11857 Hartsook St., North Hollywood, California 91607 USA; telephone (818) 505-8964). MIDI has been designed to allow detailed control of keyboard instruments by other keyboard instruments or computers. The MIDI standard specifies coding for note-on, note-off, note velocity, key pressure, and other parameters related to musical keyboard playing. MIDI has 16 timedivision multiplexed channels, so that sixteen instruments can be individually accessed from one MIDI network. The 31.25 Kbaud signalling rate allows real-time control of these instruments. MIDI is a bidirectional network. Performance information can be generated by a keyboard instrument to be transcribed in computer memory or in a data file, but the most common application is the external control of an instrument by a sequencer or computer. Scores can be edited on a computer, a MIDI data list can be generated, and a composition can be heard in real time on a group of selected instruments.

Electronic musical instrument employing keyboard tonality designation system

Tonality designation of an electronic keyboard instrument is realized by utilizing keys instead of conventional tonality designation switches provided on the panel of its. The tonality designation system comprises a tonality data forming circuit and a memory. The tonality data forming circuit generates tonality data consisting of keynote data and scale data representative of key note and type of scale respectively based on key depression and transfers it to the memory in advance before performance. The memory stores the tonality designation data during performance. A musical tone to be produced is formed or controlled based on the stored tonality data and a depressed key.

Percussion envelope generator

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Sound reproducing system utilizing acoustic processing unit

A system for reproducing a plurality of electro-acoustic signals each corresponding, for example, to a channel signal of a multichannel electronic keyboard instrument, includes an acoustic processing unit which comprises a plurality of electro-acoustic transducers, one for each signal, so arranged within a substantially sealed enclosure as to convert the electro-acoustic signals to corresponding acoustic signals and to mix them to produce a pair of composite sound signals each containing at least one dominant component corresponding to an applied electro-acoustic signal and sub-dominant components related to other applied electro-acoustic signals. In one embodiment, a pair of acoustic transmission paths are provided for coupling the composite sound signals to the left and right ears, respectively, of a listener. The sound image felt by the listener is localized externally of the head of the listener and simulates what the listener would experience if the multiple channels were separately acoustically reproduced in a listening room. In another embodiment the two composite sound signals are converted into corresponding electro-acoustic signals which may be applied to respective power amplifiers and loudspeakers, or to the left and right earpieces of an electro-acoustic headset, for acoustic reproduction.

Electronic keyboard instrument

An electronic keyboard instrument generates signals of frequencies respectively corresponding to keys by depressing the keys of a keyboard from a signal source, and reproduces a musical note corresponding to the generated signal. The frequency spectrum of an external signal is detected and used to control the frequency spectrum of the generated signal to cause the frequency spectrum of the generated signal to approximate that of the external signal.

One key chording system for electronic keyboard instrument

A one key chording system for an electronic organ of the type in which single contact keyswitches for D.C. keying of tone signals are employed. The keyswitches of a first group are connected to a common bus to which is also connected a mode select circuit for selectively applying thereto a D.C. potential of either positive or negative polarity. In the disclosed embodiment, when a negative potential is applied to the common bus a signal from an actuated keyswitch in said first group operates one of a plurality of chord logic circuits to produce a plurality of auxiliary keying signals which operate tone signal keyers for tone signals corresponding to a musical chord. An alpha-numeric display disposed adjacent to the keyboard indicates the name of the chord being played by the one key chording system. When the mode select circuit is operated to apply a positive potential to the common bus, the chord logic circuits are rendered inoperative and the instrument is returned to normal operation with multiple key chording.