There is provided an apparatus configured to control a plurality of light emitting elements so that the light emitting elements display a lighting behavior based on audio output which is based on an audio file. The apparatus can include a control portion and a choreography portion. The control portion is operable to generate an instruction sequence which can be used to control the lighting behavior of the light emitting elements, the instruction sequence can include a plurality of lighting instructions. The choreography portion is operable to associate at least one lighting instruction from the plurality of lighting instructions with at least one portion of the audio file.

A visualization method for music-color synesthesia, belonging to the fields of cognitive psychology, color science and computer graphics, and relating to the visualization of the music synesthesia correlation of colors and the generation of a musical color combination scheme. In the method, a musical scale system is presented in the form of a color scale system, and the musical elements are presented through the color correlation to realize the synesthetic conversion between colors and musical elements, and on this basis, a color graphical conversion of the musical structure is performed. The implementations include: a conversion from colors to musical scales, a conversion from colors to chords, a conversion from colors to rhythm and a conversion from colors to texture etc.

In one embodiment, a method for the enhanced display of the hands of a pianist playing a piano, including: (a) recording at least one video stream of at least one hand of a pianist playing a piano; and (b) while the pianist is playing the piano, using at least a portion of the piano as a display for displaying the video stream.

Systems and methods for a digital instrument are described, for example to simulate or be used in conjunction with a stringed instrument. A sensor system detects the deflection of one or more strings of the digital instrument, produces a measurement of the detected deflection, correlates the measurement to a musical note, and produces at least a portion of digital output based upon the musical note.

An electronic musical instrument comprising a lower frame member having a first end and a second end, and above the handle portion of the first end are a plurality of apertures extending through the lower frame member towards the second end, pins mounted within the plurality of apertures in predetermined locations, jingles loosely mounted to the pins, so that when the instrument is shaken a tambourine sound is emitted, an upper frame member having a first end and a second end wherein the first end of the upper frame member is attached distal to the first end of the lower frame member, at least one strip attached to the lower frame member, and an activation switch attached to the upper frame member, so that when the second end of the upper frame member and the second end of the lower frame member come in contact the strip is activated.

A percussion instrument, in particular electronic percussion instrument, includes at least one main attack element having at least one main attack surface and with a position detecting unit which is at least provided to detect an attack position of the main attack surface. The position detecting unit comprises at least two position detecting elements which are arranged decentrally with respect to the main attack surface, at least when the main attack surface is viewed perpendicularly.

Finger-tracking systems and methods for virtual instruments playback. The described system tracks the position of user's ten fingers on a projection surface and can be used to play virtual instruments such as virtual piano, drums, and bells. The system tracks the movement of user's ten fingers while keeping them free of encumbrance or excessive postural constraints. More specifically, in one or more embodiments, a coded light based projector is used to send out location signal onto a flat surface, and ten light sensors are mounted on user's fingers to receive these signals and locate user's fingers. Based on their locations and relative distance to a fixed point, a printed music instrument can be used for virtual instrument music playback. With the described tracking system, various embodiments of virtual music instruments may be implemented, including a system and method for virtual piano playing as well as virtual Chinese bell playing on printed keyboard and printed Chinese bell set.

A musical game system and associated methods configured to allow for unguided, free-form group-based musical expressivity during generation of a collaborative digital music track (or song). The musical game system is designed to provide a hardware and software pipeline that functions to record, quantize, and loop multiple (e.g., 1 to 15 or more) users' inputs (e.g., via a piezoelectric MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) controllers or triggered instruments or other user input devices) in a dynamic playback space. The musical game system further functions to provide volume attenuation and localization of playback to enable participants to express themselves with their user inputs with complete agency while simultaneously adding to an overarching, collaborative musical composition generated using their user inputs and other participants' user inputs. The collaborative musical composition is created by the system so as to maintain coherence and tonality regardless of the user inputs the system receives and processes.

A stringless electric bowed musical instrument is disclosed in which sensors are provided to detect finger positions and bowing motions of the player. A touch-sensitive fingerboard surface is equipped with pitch sensors that detect finger positions. Use of a fingerboard surface that includes an interactive flexible touch screen display provides a plurality of illumination patterns to be displayed on the fingerboard and permits various operational modes that are useful for both students and artists. A bowing platform in contact with either the fingerboard or the body of the instrument provides an adjustable bowing surface for including bow sensors configured to detect vibrations in response to bow motion. The bow sensors may include piezo-ceramic elements. Optical pitch sensors may sense interruption of one or more laser beams that propagate above a top surface of the fingerboard.

A reproduction control method, which is executed by a computer, includes determining, based on an image showing an object, whether a type of the object is a first type or a second type that is different from the first type, and reproducing a sound, triggered by a striking of an operation surface by the object, based on a result of the determining.