A keyboard musical instrument includes a string-striking mechanism (hammer), driver, sound receiver, analyzer, and adjuster. The hammer strikes a string responsive to a change in position of an associated key of keyboard. The driver drives the hammer under a driving condition in accordance with control data. The sound receiver generates an audio signal corresponding to a sound occurring in the vicinity of the hammer. The analyzer detects the hammer striking a string by analyzing the audio signal generated when the hammer operates. The adjuster adjusts the control data in accordance with results of the analysis. The analyzer detects hammer striking a string in accordance with an intensity of the audio signal occurring within a search range, which has a predetermined relationship along a time axis with regard to a time at which the hammer commences operation.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to acoustic-electric sensor system including a main acoustic sensor operably coupled to detect string vibrations of an acoustic-electric instrument and a feedback suppression acoustic sensor configured to primarily detect sound board vibrations of the acoustic-electric stringed instrument at a location with a substantially attenuated string vibration signal relative to its sound board vibration signal. In an illustrative example, a mixing circuit may at least partially cancel out sound board vibration signatures output by the main and feedback suppression acoustic sensors with one another to produce a mixed output signal. The feedback suppression acoustic sensor may be spaced outside of an ellipse substantially centered around a sound board string coupling point. The main acoustic sensor may be arranged in close proximity to receive the string vibration signal. The mixed output signal may substantially reject audio feedback disturbances while retaining the unique characteristic sound of the instrument.

A system for remotely generating sound from a musical instrument includes a calibration system to improve the quality of the sound produced by the musical instrument. In one embodiment, the system includes an input configured to receive a signal representative of the sound of a first musical instrument, an exciter for converting the signal to mechanical vibrations, a coupling interface for coupling the mechanical vibrations into a second musical instrument, and a calibration system for altering the signal sent to the exciter.

A system for remotely generating sound from a musical instrument includes a calibration system to improve the quality of the sound produced by the musical instrument. In one embodiment, the system includes an input configured to receive a signal representative of the sound of a first musical instrument, an exciter for converting the signal to mechanical vibrations, a coupling interface for coupling the mechanical vibrations into a second musical instrument, and a calibration system for altering the signal sent to the exciter.

A system for remotely generating sound from a musical instrument includes a linear exciter which may be configured as a brace for a sound board of the musical instrument. In one embodiment, the system includes an input configured to receive a signal representative of the sound of a first musical instrument, a linear exciter for converting the signal to mechanical vibrations, and a calibration system for altering the signal sent to the exciter.

A system for remotely generating sound from a musical instrument includes a linear exciter which may be configured as a brace for a sound board of the musical instrument. In one embodiment, the system includes an input configured to receive a signal representative of the sound of a first musical instrument, a linear exciter for converting the signal to mechanical vibrations, and a calibration system for altering the signal sent to the exciter.

The musical instrument includes: a pickup that acquires an electric sound signal corresponding to a sound performed on the musical instrument; effector circuitry that imparts an effect to the acquired electric sound signal; a vibrator that produces mechanical vibration corresponding to the effect-imparted sound signal; and a transmission device that transmits the mechanical vibration, produced by the vibrator, to the body of the musical instrument with a characteristic having a fundamental frequency region of the musical instrument suppressed. The electric sound signal corresponding to the performed sound is imparted with an effect, the vibrator is driven by the effect-imparted sound signal, and a mechanical vibration sound is generated from the body of the musical instrument. The thus-generated mechanical vibration sound is audibly generated from the body as a vibration sound additional to the performed sound, which allows a user to experience a performance feeling that has never existed before.

Waking-up a violin or other instrument by determining naturally resonating features of a particular instrument by applying tones and analyzing the instrument's responses, and then applying vibrations (e.g., continuously and/or in patterns, such as alternating on/off, staccato, etc.) corresponding to the most responsive (resonant) portions of the instrument's responses (e.g., peaks of the analyzed instrument's response) fully breaking in the various parts of the instrument. The applied vibrations are continued until the instrument's amplitude response plateaus.

Examples of an aiding device for singers are described. The aiding device comprises a body that has a periphery edge, a top wall and a smooth inner wall. The top wall curves away from the periphery edge thus forming a cup-like cavity which is shaped to define a first chamber and a second chamber that are interconnected together. The first chamber is shaped and sized to fit over an earlobe of a singer while the second chamber has a distal end that is designed and configured to be positioned in proximity to a user's mouth. When in use the first chamber encloses one of user's ears and the distal end of the second chamber is positioned in proximity to user's mouth with the periphery edge pressed against user's face such that a sound produced by the user is captured and travels into the second and first chamber and is reflected back from the smooth inner wall producing echo within the cavity. Thus, the unfiltered sound coming out from the singer's mouth is provided to one of the singer's ear in real time and hear the original sound or key in the other ear so that the singer can match his/her pitch to the original sound.

Waking-up a violin or other instrument by determining naturally resonating features of a particular instrument by applying tones and analyzing the instrument's responses, and then applying vibrations (e.g., continuously and/or in patterns, such as alternating on/off, staccato, etc.) corresponding to the most responsive (resonant) portions of the instrument's responses (e.g., peaks of the analyzed instrument's response) fully breaking in the various parts of the instrument. The applied vibrations are continued until the instrument's amplitude response plateaus.