A percussion-instrument playing apparatus for playing a percussion instrument having a striking surface. The apparatus includes: a main body to be mounted on the percussion instrument 100 to face the striking surface of the percussion instrument with a predetermined space from the striking surface; an arm supporter attached to the main body; an arm that has, at a distal end, an arm head, and is rotatably supported by the arm supporter; a drive device that allows the arm to be rotationally displaced between a state where the arm head pushes the striking surface of the percussion instrument and a state where the arm head is separated from the striking surface; a control device that controls the drive device in accordance with a control program; and an operation device that outputs a drive instruction signal to the control device in response to an operation by a user.

An apparatus, system, and method for an electronic handheld musical instrument that generates electronic signals for processing by a processor-based module to generate musical sounds adapted to replicate non-electronic traditional hand percussion and other handheld instruments, is provided. A piezoelectric-based trigger is secured in an enclosed volume or enclosure formed in the electronic handheld musical instrument. When manipulated by a musician in a normal fashion, freely moving beads float or travel within the enclosure of the electronic handheld musical instrument and strike against a sensitive face of the piezoelectric transducer device to create a desired sound effect.

An operation state detecting apparatus includes the following. An electronic device includes an operation surface and can detect whether there is contact in a plurality of positions. A sheet material can be attached to and detached from the operation surface. The sheet material includes a projecting portion which deforms to change a contact state on the operation surface according to strength of external force. A processor of the electronic device detects whether there is contact in a plurality of positions in an individual detecting region on the operation surface on which a contact state changes by the projecting portion deforming in a state with the sheet material attached to the operation surface. The processor performs a specific process according to strength or speed of an operation applied to the projecting portion judged based on a detected result of whether contact is detected in the plurality of positions.

Systems, methods, and devices for providing interactive striking objects (e.g., drumsticks) and performing actions in response to striking motions of the striking objects are disclosed. In some embodiments, the systems and methods provide an interactive drumstick, which includes a lighting display located at a tip portion of the interactive drumstick, a motion detector contained at least partially within the drumstick, a processor and memory contained at least partially within the drumstick, and an interactive system stored within the memory of the drumstick. The interactive system includes a striking motion module that determines striking motions of the drumstick with respect to a virtual percussion instrument based on accessing information measured by the motion detector, and a display module that causes the lighting display to present a certain type of illumination based on the striking motions determined by the striking motion module.

This disclosure relates generally to electronic methods. More musical instruments, systems, and particularly, this disclosure relates to electronic percussion instruments such as tom toms, snare drums, bass drums, cymbals, and hi-hats, and assemblies of instruments (e.g., percussion instruments), such as drum sets. Even more particularly, this disclosure relates to wireless electronic percussion instruments, and percussion instruments with interchangeable and/or removable components to change the instrument between a traditional percussion instrument (that relies on resonance and/or vibration to produce sound) and an electronic percussion instrument. The present disclosure also relates to electronic cymbal instruments, such as cymbal assemblies and hi-hat assemblies, that can be used in conjunction with a traditional acoustic metal cymbal.

A device is provided as part of a system, the device being for capturing vibrations produced by an object such as a musical instrument. Via a fixation element, the device is fixed to a drum. The device has a sensor spaced apart from a surface of the drum, located relative to the drum, and a magnet adjacent the sensor. The fixation element transmits vibrations from its fixation point on the drum to the magnet. Vibrations from the surface of the drum and from the magnet are transmitted to the sensor. A method may further be provided for interpreting an audio input, such as the output of the sensors within the system, the method comprising identifying an audio event or grouping of audio events within audio data, generating a model of the audio event that includes a representation of a timbre characteristic, and comparing that representation to expected representations.

A miniature interactive lighted electronic drum kit is provided. The kit includes a supporting base member, a drum set, and a cymbal set. The drum set cymbal set each includes at least one scaled miniature representation of a musical percussion instrument. The kit further includes one or more speakers, a plurality of light sources, which are mounted within or on the drum kit and base, and a microcontroller in operable communication with a power source, the one or more speakers, and/or a plurality of light sources. One or more switches is operably connected to the microcontroller, wherein actuation of the switches may cause them to initiate a sequence of electrical signals to activate the one or more figures and/or activate at least one of the plurality of lights. The one or more switches are attached to a miniature bass drum and cymbal stand pedals.

This disclosure relates generally to electronic musical instruments, systems, and methods. More particularly, this disclosure relates to electronic percussion instruments such as tom toms, snare drums, bass drums, cymbals, and hi-hats, and assemblies of instruments (e.g., percussion instruments), such as drum sets. Some cymbals and hi-hats according to the present disclosure can be used in conjunction with a traditional acoustic metal cymbal. This disclosure also relates generally to devices and methods for operating electronic musical instrument systems including one or more musical instruments and a hub, and particularly to systems including wireless communication between the instrument(s) and hub. Various devices and methods are described for operating the system, including various operational modes of the devices, and including methods and techniques for connecting the devices, improving communication speed and robustness, and conserving power.

In the preset invention, in an initial stationary state of a drumstick section, a CPU stores each axis component of geomagnetism obtained by a magnetic sensor in a RAM, and obtains each axis component of geomagnetism obtained by the magnetic sensor which is changed by a motion provided to the drumstick section at every predetermined timing. Then, the CPU accumulates each axis component of geomagnetism obtained at every predetermined timing, for each predetermined interval, and conforms each axis component of geomagnetism accumulated thereby to each axis component of geomagnetism stored in the RAM.

In the preset invention, in an initial stationary state of a drumstick section, a CPU stores acceleration that occurs due to gravity and is obtained by an acceleration sensor in a RAM, obtains, at every predetermined timing, acceleration that occurs due to a motion provided to the drumstick section and is obtained by the acceleration sensor at a predetermined timing, accumulates the accelerations each obtained at the predetermined timing for each predetermined interval, and conforms the accelerations obtained by accumulation to the acceleration stored in the RAM.