Electronic music instrument, system and method for controlling an electronic music instrument

Abstract

An electronic music instrument comprises an input configured for receiving at least one note event from an input device having a plurality of input elements configured for generating at least one note event when activated; a software module configured for including: at least one instrument plugin configured for defining sounding note events and non-sounding control events, and at least one play assistant module, wherein the software module is further configured for at least one of the group comprising excluding the control events from being processed by play assistant functions and excluding play assistant functions generating control events.

Claims

1. An electronic music instrument, comprising an input receiving at least one note event from an input device having a plurality of input elements that generate the at least one note event when activated, wherein the at least one note event includes at least one of a sounding note event operative to cause output of a played note or a non-sounding control event operative to cause a change in a parameter of instrument software; a software module comprising: at least one instrument plugin defining sounding note events and non-sounding control events, and at least one play assistant module; wherein the software module uses the at least one instrument plugin for at least one of the group comprising excluding the non-sounding control events from being processed by play assistant functions and excluding play assistant functions generating control events.

2. The electronic music instrument according to claim 1, wherein the input device is a keyboard having a plurality of keys generating a note event when pressed.

3. The electronic music instrument according to claim 1, wherein the software module is a software synthesizer or sample-based instrument.

4. The electronic music instrument according to claim 1, wherein the input is connected to the play assistant module, the instrument plugin creates a list including control events and provides the list to the play assistant module, and the play assistant module compares the note event with the list and processes the note event if the note event is not a control event or passes the note event to the instrument plugin if the note event is a control event.

5. The electronic music instrument according to claim 4, wherein the play assistant module generates a note event, compares the generated note event with the list of control events and passes the generated note event to the instrument plugin if the generated note event is not a control event or discards the generated note event if the generated note event is a control event.

6. The electronic music instrument according to claim 1, further comprising an arbitrator prohibiting interference between the instrument plugin and the play assistant module.

7. The electronic music instrument according to claim 1, wherein the at least one play assistant module includes at least one of a harmonizer module, a chorder module, a scaler module and an arpeggiator module.

8. An electronic music system, comprising an electronic music instrument comprising: an input receiving at least one note event from an input device having a plurality of input elements that generate the at least one note event when activated, wherein the at least one note event includes at least one of a sounding note event operative to cause output of a played note or a non-sounding control event operative to cause a change in a parameter of instrument software, and a software module, comprising: at least one instrument plugin defining sounding note events and non-sounding control events, and at least one play assistant module, wherein the software module uses the at least one instrument plugin for at least one of the group comprising excluding the control events from being processed by play assistant functions and excluding play assistant functions generating control events; a data processing device in connection with the electronic music instrument; and an input device having a plurality of input elements that generate at least one note event when activated and being connected with the data processing device.

9. The electronic music system according to claim 8, wherein the data processing device executes the software module of the electronic music instrument.

10. The electronic music system according to claim 8, wherein the input device comprises visual indicators each arranged at an input element and indicates at least one control input element corresponding each to a control event.

11. The electronic music system according to claim 8, wherein the input device comprises an RGB LED for each input element, the RGB LEDs used for color coding sounding input element and control input element.

12. A method for controlling an electronic music instrument including a software module including at least one instrument plugin and at least one play assistant module, comprising the steps of: generating a list of non-sounding control events by the at least one instrument plugin; receiving a note event including at least one of a sounding note event operative to cause output of a played note or a non-sounding control event operative to cause a change in a parameter of instrument software; comparing the note event with the list of non-sounding control events; passing the note event to the play assistant module if the note event is not a control event; and passing the note event to the instrument plugin if the note event is a control event.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of: generating a note event in the play assistant module; comparing the generated note event with the list of non-sounding control events; passing the generated note event to the instrument plugin if the generated note event is not a control event; and discarding the generated note event if the generated note event is a control event.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein control input elements generating control events are visually indicated.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein at least one parameter of the group of hue, saturation and brightness is adaptable for visual indication of control input elements generating control events.

16. An apparatus, comprising: a data processing device; and a memory device having stored thereon a computer program for causing a data processing device to perform the steps comprising: generating a list of non-sounding control events; receiving a note event including at least one of a sounding note event operative to cause output of a played note or a non-sounding control event operative to cause a change in a parameter of instrument software; comparing the note event with the list of non-sounding control events; passing the note event to the play assistant module if the note event is not a control event; and passing the note event to the instrument plugin if the note event is a control event.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program executable by a data processing device, the computer program comprising a plurality of code sections for performing the method comprising: generating a list of non-sounding control events; receiving a note event including at least one of a sounding note event operative to cause output of a played note or a non-sounding control event operative to cause a change in a parameter of instrument software; comparing the note event with the list of non-sounding control events; passing the note event to the play assistant module if the note event is not a control event; and passing the note event to the instrument plugin if the note event is a control event.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the Figures which show in

(2) FIG. 1 a schematic diagram of a system of an electronic music instrument and a digital audio workstation; and

(3) FIG. 2 a schematic diagram of the electronic music instrument.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) FIG. 1 shows a system 1 with an electronic music instrument 2 and a data processing device 3 as a block diagram. The electronic music instrument may further be a keyboard, synthesizer, DJ controller, pad controller, 44 controller, step sequencer or the like configured for generating and/or affecting note or sound events. In the following examples, the electronic music instrument 2 may be a keyboard instrument or a synthesizer. Here, the system 1 or the electronic music instrument 2 has a hardware keyboard 4 with a plurality of keys 5. The keyboard 4 may for example include 25, 49 or 61 keys. Other instruments may include keys and/or other input elements like for example buttons of a button matrix or pads of a pad style controller. The following explanations are not only applicable to the explained keyboard, but are valid as well for other electronic music instruments.

(5) Each key 5 generates a signal or note event when it is pressed by a player. As a key 5 is present as an input element, the note event may also be designated as key event. Via a communication link 6 like a data line or a bus system the signal is provided to a data processing device 3. The data processing device 3 may be a DSP, a chip or the like in an enclosure common to the keyboard 4 or a separate device like a computer or a digital audio workstation (DAW). The signal, the communication link 6, protocols and/or interfaces may be compatible to the MIDI standard, USB standard (Universal Serial Bus) or other standards known from computers or music instruments.

(6) The data processing device 3 runs or executes a software module 7 to which the signal is provided. The software module 7 includes one or more play assistance functions 8 and at least one instrument plugin 9.

(7) The software module 7 may encompass further modules, routines, functions or plugins. According to the signals from the keyboard 5 the software module 7 generates or computes an output signal to be recorded and or played. The functions of the software module 7 may be influenced by internal and/or external modulation engines, oscillators, sequencers, envelope followers or the like.

(8) When working with the electronic music instrument 2 or playing an instrument like the electronic music instrument 2, one or more software programs, instruments, routines or plugins are used or executed in serial or parallel. Such software can be executed on the electronic music instrument 2, the data processing device 3 and/or further devices.

(9) To each key 5 of the keyboard 4a visual indicator 10 is assigned. The visual indicators 10 are arranged directly at the respective keys 5. Here, the visual indicators 10 are located at ends of the keys 5 distant to a player. In other words, the visual indicators 10 are arranged in the vicinity to the pivot of the keys 5. As an alternative the keys 5 itself may be illuminated.

(10) The visual indicator 10 may include a light emitting diode (LED) advantageously an RGB LED capable of displaying red, green and blue light. An LED can be directly arranged at a key 5 or inside the keyboard 4. In latter case a light guide is present guiding the light to a display element in front of the key 5. The visual indicator 10 may be adaptable with regard to hue, saturation and/or brightness.

(11) The visual indicator 10 indicates information with regard to the respective key 5. The visual indicator 10 shows whether a key belongs to a sounding key or a non-sounding control key. Here, two visual indicators 10a are turned on exemplarily thereby marking the respective keys as control keys.

(12) By pressing a sounding key a note event corresponding to a note or a sequence of notes is generated by the keyboard 4. By pressing a non-sounding control key control functions or parameters of the instrument 2, the keyboard 4, the data processing device 3 and/or the software module 7 are altered or set.

(13) Inside the instrument plugin 9 or optionally inside the software module 7 a list 11 of control events or control note events (if at least one key is present) is generated. The list 11 is provided to the keyboard 4 via a communication link 12. The communication link 12 may be the same link as communication link 6.

(14) The list 11 is further provided to the play assistant module 8 for consideration. During play of the keyboard 4 note events (sounding note events and non-sounding control events) are provided to the software module 7 and then to the play assistant module 8.

(15) Inside the play assistant module 8 the received note event is compared with or matched against the list 11 in order to filter control events. If the received note event is a control event it will be passed unaltered or unprocessed to the instrument plugin 9 or alternatively to the software module 7 for further prosecution. In other words, the control event is not invoking any play assistant function. The control event may alter settings of the instrument plugin 9 to change it's sound for example. Such control information can be looped back via interface or link 12 to the keyboard 4 for displaying it with the help of one or more visual indicators 10.

(16) If the received note event is no control event it will be processed inside the play assistant module 8. Then, one or more play assistant functions may be activated by the play assistant module 8. The received note event is influenced or processed and one or more note events are generated and provided to the instrument plugin 9 for further processing. It could also be the case no play assistant function is associated with the received note event. Then, the play assistant module 8 may provide this received note event unchanged to the instrument plugin 9.

(17) The play assistant module 8 may include functions like harmonizer, chorder and scaler modules which add or change events in time with the user-generated events so that after being processed by the scaler module, all notes played by the user fit a certain musical scale. The harmonizer adds additional notes to each of the notes played by the user to fit a certain chord scheme. The chorder module plays chords from a lookup table based on the depressed key. The arpeggiator module can create additional and especially differently timed note events so that e.g. the currently depressed keys are sequenced and not played simultaneously.

(18) The play assistant module 8 generates a note event by itself when processing a received note event from the keyboard 4. This generated note event might be a control event. In order to prevent outputting such a control event to the instrument plugin for further processing in which case an undesired start of a control function would occur, the list 11 is utilized again to control or supervise the output of the play assistant module 8.

(19) Thus, the generated note event is compared with the list of control events and the generated note event is only passed to the instrument plugin 9 if the generated note event is not a control event. If on the other hand, the generated note event is a control event it will be discarded and not provided to the instrument plugin 9.

(20) According to FIG. 2 an embodiment of the instrument 2 is shown. The software module 7 may be executed in the data processing device 3 and/or keyboard 4 of FIG. 1. Alternatively, reference sign 7 may indicate a computational device like a DSP in which the play assistant module 8 and the instrument plugin 9 are integrated, either in hardware and/or software.

(21) An interface or input 13 of the software module 7 receives a note event generated by the keyboard 4 or by further devices. The received note event is provided to an arbitrator 14. The arbitrator 14 is further provided with the list 11 of control events from the instrument plugin 9.

(22) The received note event is compared with or matched against the list 11 by the arbitrator 14 in order to filter or identify control events. If the received note event is a control event it will be passed to the instrument plugin 9 or alternatively to the software module 7 for further prosecution. The control event may alter settings of the instrument plugin 9 to change it's sound for example. Such control information can be looped back to the keyboard for displaying it with the help of one or more visual indicators.

(23) If the received note event is no control event, i.e. a sounding note event it will be passed to the play assistant module 8. Then, one or more play assistant functions may be activated by the play assistant module 8. The received note event is influenced or processed and one or more note events are generated and provided to the instrument plugin 9 for further processing.

(24) As described with regard to FIG. 1, the generated note event is compared with the list of control events and the generated note event is only passed to the instrument plugin 9 if the generated note event is not a control event. If on the other hand, the generated note event is a control event it will be discarded and not provided to the instrument plugin 9.

(25) It could also be the case that no play assistant function is associated with the received note event. Then, the play assistant module 8 may provide the received note event unchanged to the instrument plugin 9. This decision may be made by the arbitrator 14 as well. Then, the note event being no control event and not being associated with a play assistant function is passed to the instrument plugin 9.

(26) Further instrument plugins and/or play assistant modules may be integrated within software module 9. The additional blocks may be arranged in parallel to the arbitrator 14.