Methods and devices for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software.

Abstract

This invention provides a method and apparatus for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software. The method includes: activating a special performance mode for simulating other instruments; acquiring performance technique types; the performance technique types include: playing with both hands using dedicated technique keys and playing with variations in single-hand techniques; when the performance technique type is the type of playing with both hands using dedicated technique keys, setting corresponding special performance techniques according to specific keys, and using the set special performance techniques to present the sound of other keys; when the performance technique type is the type of playing with variations in single-hand techniques, setting corresponding special performance techniques according to variations in performance techniques, and using the set special performance techniques to present the sound of other keys. This invention allows keyboard instruments or software to simulate the special performance effects and techniques of various instruments and produce sound, resulting in a more realistic and vivid simulation effect than existing methods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of musical instruments, and in particular to methods and apparatus for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous development of keyboard instruments, some modern keyboard instruments, such as the piano, have integrated multimedia functions from other instruments. People can use the piano not only as a musical instrument but also as another instrument. Furthermore, not only musical instruments, but also software used to simulate instruments is gradually adding simulation functions for other instruments.

[0003] However, existing keyboard instruments and software typically use a sound library to reproduce the sound of the simulated instrument when simulating the playing functions of other instruments. This technology can only simply represent the pitch and timbre of the simulated instrument, and cannot modify or represent the distinctive playing techniques of wind instruments, bowed string instruments, plucked strings, percussion instruments, etc. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art described above, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software, so that when playing other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software, the unique playing techniques of the simulated instruments can be presented.

[0005] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a method for simulating other musical instruments using a keyboard instrument or software, comprising: activating a special performance mode for simulating other musical instruments; acquiring performance technique types; the performance technique types include: playing with both hands in conjunction with dedicated technique keys and playing with single-handed techniques; when the performance technique type is the type of playing with both hands in conjunction with dedicated technique keys, setting corresponding special performance techniques according to specific keys, and using the set special performance techniques to present the sound of other keys; when the performance technique type is the type of playing with single-handed techniques, setting corresponding special performance techniques according to the changes in performance techniques, and using the set special performance techniques to present the sound of other keys.

[0006] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a device for simulating other musical instruments using a keyboard instrument or software, comprising: a mode selection module for activating a special performance mode for simulating other musical instruments; and a technique setting module for acquiring performance technique types; the performance technique types include: playing with both hands using dedicated technique keys and playing with single-handed techniques; when the performance technique type is the type of playing with both hands using dedicated technique keys, a corresponding special performance technique is set according to a specific key, and the sound of other keys is presented using the set special performance technique; when the performance technique type is the type of playing with single-handed techniques, a corresponding special performance technique is set according to the change in performance technique, and the sound of other keys is presented using the set special performance technique.

[0007] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when loaded and executed by a processor, implements the method described above.

[0008] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor and a memory; wherein the memory is used to store a computer program; and the processor is used to load and execute the computer program to cause the electronic device to perform the method described above.

[0009] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a keyboard musical instrument, including: the electronic device described above.

[0010] As described above, the method and apparatus of the present invention for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software can present the unique playing techniques of the simulated instruments when using keyboard instruments or software to simulate the playing of other musical instruments, which is more realistic and vivid than the existing simulation effects that only simulate pitch. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 The diagram shown is a flowchart of a method for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 The diagram shown is a flowchart of a method for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figures 3-5 The diagram shows a schematic of the piano key layout corresponding to playing with both hands using special technique keys in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figures 6-8 The diagram shows a schematic of the piano key layout corresponding to single-handed technique variations in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 9 The diagram shows a device module diagram of a keyboard-type musical instrument or software simulating other musical instruments according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 10 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features described therein can be combined with each other.

[0018] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, the illustrations only show the components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components in the actual implementation. In the actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.

[0019] In view of the shortcomings of existing keyboard instruments and software in simulating the playing of other instruments, this application provides a new solution that can simulate the unique playing techniques of various instruments based on the keyboard.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a method for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software. This method can be executed by the processor of the keyboard instrument or the processing program of the keyboard software. Keyboard instruments include, but are not limited to, pianos, electric pianos, electronic keyboards, smart pianos, etc., and keyboard software includes software that displays virtual piano keys and allows users to operate the virtual keys through smartphones, tablets, etc., thereby simulating playing effects.

[0021] This embodiment includes the following steps:

[0022] S11: Enables a special playing mode that simulates other musical instruments;

[0023] S12: Obtain the performance technique type; the performance technique type includes: playing with both hands in conjunction with special technique keys and playing with single-hand technique variations;

[0024] S13: When the playing technique type is the type of playing with both hands in conjunction with the special technique keys, a corresponding special playing technique is set according to the specific key, and the playing sound of other keys is presented by the set special playing technique.

[0025] S14: When the playing technique type is the single-hand technique variation playing type, set the corresponding characteristic playing technique according to the change of playing technique, and use the set characteristic playing technique to present the playing sound of other piano keys.

[0026] The following will combine Figure 2 Each step is explained in detail.

[0027] Step S11 activates the special playing modes used to simulate other musical instruments.

[0028] In this application, other instruments simulated include: typical folk wind instruments, typical bowed string instruments, and typical plucked string instruments. For example, typical folk wind instruments include: haidi (sea flute), bagpipes, bangdi (wooden clapper), panpipes, Japanese shakuhachi, mouth flute, qudi (traditional flute), bone flute, xiao (vertical flute), sheng (mouth organ), suona (double-reed horn), guanzi (traditional Chinese wind instrument), shuangguan (double-reed horn), xun (ocarina), etc. Typical bowed string instruments include: gaohu (high-pitched erhu), erhu (two-stringed bowed instrument), zhonghu (medium-sized erhu), banhu (two-stringed erhu), jinghu (Beijing opera fiddle), jing erhu (Beijing opera fiddle), sarangi (India), morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) (China), etc. Typical plucked string instruments include: zhongruan (middle-stringed plucked instrument), liuqin (long-stringed lute), pipa (two-stringed lute), sanxian (three-stringed lute), guzheng (Chinese zither), jing sanxian (Beijing opera fiddle), guqin (two-stringed lute), sitar (India), ud (Iran), sanmeisen (Japan), shisanxian zheng (Japan), gayageum (Korea), kemancha (Iran), dombra (China), rawap (China), morin khuur (China), dutar (China), tanbur (China), yueqin (Chinese moon lute), etc. Due to space limitations, other types of musical instruments will not be listed here.

[0029] In one embodiment, the keyboard instrument or software retains the original normal playing mode and adds the special playing mode proposed in this application. Before performing this step, the mode selection instruction input by the user is obtained. If the mode selection instruction is to select the special playing mode, the special playing mode is activated; if the mode selection instruction is to select the normal playing mode, the normal playing mode is activated.

[0030] The normal performance mode, as described above, is the existing mode without distinctive performance techniques, which typically only simulates the normal pitch and timbre of other instruments. Compared to the normal performance mode, the distinctive performance mode of this application can present the distinctive performance techniques of the simulated instruments, thus making the simulation more realistic and vivid.

[0031] Step S12: Obtain the performance technique type.

[0032] The playing techniques include: playing with both hands using specialized technique keys and playing with variations in single-hand techniques. Specific techniques may include elements such as dynamics, speed, and rhythmic variations.

[0033] With the professional assistance of instrumentalists and music producers, we have summarized the characteristic playing techniques of the above major instrument categories, and divided them into two main categories based on the playing characteristics of different instruments: special techniques for playing with both hands, and single-hand playing techniques with variations, as shown in Table 1.

[0034] Table 1

[0035]

[0036] Step S13: When the playing technique type is the type of playing with both hands in conjunction with the special technique keys, set the corresponding characteristic playing technique according to the specific key, and use the set characteristic playing technique to present the playing sound of other keys.

[0037] For details, see Figures 3-5 The display interface can be that of a smart piano or an electronic terminal such as a smartphone or tablet. When determining the type of playing using the special technique keys with both hands, this embodiment first divides the physical keys of a keyboard instrument or the virtual keys of keyboard software into a performance effect control area and a performance sound area. Each physical key or virtual key in the performance effect control area corresponds one-to-one with a specific performance technique. Triggering each physical key or virtual key in the performance effect control area selects the corresponding specific performance technique; triggering each physical key or virtual key in the performance sound area produces a sound. Then, the triggered physical keys or virtual keys in the performance effect control area and the triggered physical keys or virtual keys in the performance sound area are detected to produce the corresponding sound using the corresponding specific performance technique.

[0038] Specifically, if a user wants to select a special playing technique A, they use their left hand to press the corresponding key (X) in the performance effects control area. After pressing key X, the user then uses their right hand to press a key in the sound production area to play the instrument. The sound produced will then be that of special playing technique A. After producing the sound, the user releases key X with their left hand, thus deselecting special playing technique A.

[0039] For example, in Figure 3 In the example shown, the performer selects the "upper register" technique by pressing key 32. The performer holds down key 32 with their left hand while playing the key in the sound-producing area with their right hand. The sound heard from this key is produced using the "upper register" technique of traditional wind instruments.

[0040] For example, in Figure 4 In the example shown, the performer selects the "plucking" technique by pressing key 30. The performer holds down key 30 with their left hand while plucking the key in the sound-producing area with their right hand. The sound heard is produced using the "plucking" technique, typical of bowed string instruments.

[0041] For example, in Figure 5 In the example shown, the performer selects the "tremolo" technique by pressing key 37. The performer holds down key 37 with their left hand while plucking the key in the sound-producing area with their right hand. The sound heard from this key is produced using the "tremolo" technique, a common technique for plucked instruments.

[0042] It should be noted that the division between the performance effects control area and the performance sound area can be pre-defined before this method is executed, and this step can be set based on this pre-defined setting during execution. Those skilled in the art can design and divide the performance effects control area and performance sound area of ​​the piano keys, as well as the specific keys contained in each area. For example, taking a smart piano keyboard as an example, the keys of about three note groups on the left are the performance effects control area, and the keys on the right are the performance sound area, etc.

[0043] It should be noted that in the performance effects control area, each piano key corresponds one-to-one with the characteristic playing techniques of the simulated instrument. Of course, this correspondence can also be preset before this method is executed, and this step can be set based on this preset setting during execution.

[0044] S14: When the playing technique type is the single-hand technique variation playing type, set the corresponding characteristic playing technique according to the change of playing technique, and use the set characteristic playing technique to present the playing sound of other piano keys.

[0045] For details, see Figures 6-8 The display interface can be that of a smart piano, or that of an electronic terminal such as a smartphone or tablet. When acquiring the type of single-handed playing variation, this embodiment first associates different single-handed playing techniques with various characteristic playing techniques; then, it detects the performer's single-handed playing technique and uses the corresponding characteristic playing technique to produce the sound on the corresponding piano keys.

[0046] For example, in Figure 6 In the example shown, when the performer plays the keys in the sound-producing area using techniques A / B / C, it can trigger the characteristic playing techniques of legato / staccato / glissando on traditional wind instruments. The sound of the keys heard by the performer is produced using these techniques.

[0047] For example, in Figure 7 In the example shown, the performer uses the D / E technique to play the keys in the sound-producing area, which corresponds to the characteristic playing techniques of legato / spiccato bowing on bowed string instruments. The sound of the keys heard by the performer is produced by the legato / spiccato bowing techniques of bowed string instruments.

[0048] For example, in Figure 8 In the example shown, when the performer plays the keys in the sound-producing area using the technique F, it triggers the characteristic playing technique of "plucking" on plucked instruments. The sound of the keys heard by the performer is produced using the "plucking" playing technique on plucked instruments.

[0049] It should be noted that in the performance effects control area, different single-hand playing techniques correspond one-to-one with various characteristic playing techniques. Of course, this correspondence can also be preset before this method is executed, and this step can be set based on this preset setting during execution.

[0050] In addition, such as Figures 3-8 As shown, during the performance, this application also displays animations of corresponding characteristic performance techniques on the screen for the performer to compare and refer to.

[0051] Through the above steps, this application greatly enhances the actual expressiveness of simulating various instruments with distinctive performance characteristics, no longer limited to simple simulated output of pitch and timbre, and expands the simulation usability and application scenarios of piano, keyboard instruments, and keyboard software.

[0052] All or part of the steps in the above-described method embodiments can be implemented using computer program-related hardware. Based on this understanding, the present invention also provides a computer program product comprising one or more computer instructions. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can store, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0053] See Figure 9 This embodiment provides a device for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software. Since the technical principles of this embodiment are similar to those of the aforementioned method embodiments, the same technical details will not be repeated. The device of this embodiment includes the following modules:

[0054] The device provided in this embodiment for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software includes: a mode selection module and a technique setting module. The mode selection module is used to execute step S11 of the aforementioned method embodiment, and the technique setting module is used to execute steps S12 to S13 of the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0055] Optionally, the technique settings module can display animations of corresponding characteristic performance techniques on the screen during the performance.

[0056] Those skilled in the art should understand that Figure 9 The division of modules in this embodiment is merely a logical functional division; in actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one or more physical entities. Furthermore, these modules can be implemented entirely in software via processing element calls, entirely in hardware, or partially in software via processing element calls and partially in hardware.

[0057] See Figure 10 This embodiment provides an electronic device, which may be an electronic device included in a smart piano, electronic piano, or electronic keyboard, or it may be a desktop computer, portable computer, smartphone, or other devices. Specifically, the electronic device includes at least a memory and a processor connected via a bus, wherein the memory is used to store computer programs, and the processor is used to execute the computer programs stored in the memory to perform all or part of the steps in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0058] The system bus mentioned above can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This system bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus. The communication interface is used to enable communication between the database access device and other devices (e.g., clients, read-write libraries, and read-only libraries). Memory may include Random Access Memory (RAM) and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device.

[0059] The processors mentioned above can be general-purpose processors, including central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), etc.; they can also be digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0060] Finally, this application also provides a keyboard musical instrument, such as the aforementioned smart piano, electronic piano, electronic keyboard, etc., which include electronic devices, and will not be repeated here.

[0061] In summary, the method and apparatus of the present invention for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software can enable keyboard instruments or software to simulate the characteristic playing effects and techniques of various musical instruments and to produce sounds. This is more realistic and vivid than existing simulation effects, effectively overcoming various shortcomings in the prior art and possessing high industrial application value.

[0062] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed in the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for simulating other musical instruments using keyboard instruments or software, characterized in that, include: Enable special playing modes that simulate other musical instruments; Obtain the type of performance technique; The types of performance techniques include: playing with both hands using special technique keys and playing with variations of single-hand techniques; When the playing technique type is the type of playing with both hands in conjunction with special technique keys, corresponding characteristic playing techniques are set according to specific keys, and the playing sounds of other keys are presented using the set characteristic playing techniques; when the type of playing with both hands in conjunction with special technique keys is obtained, the physical keys of keyboard instruments or the virtual keys of keyboard software are divided into a playing effect control area and a playing sound area; wherein, each physical key or each virtual key in the playing effect control area corresponds one-to-one with each characteristic playing technique; each physical key or each virtual key in the playing effect control area is triggered to select the corresponding characteristic playing technique; each physical key or each virtual key in the playing sound area is triggered to play a sound; the triggered physical keys or virtual keys in the playing effect control area and the triggered physical keys or virtual keys in the playing sound area are detected, so that the corresponding characteristic playing techniques are used to play the sound of the corresponding keys. When the playing technique type is the single-hand technique variation playing type, corresponding characteristic playing techniques are set according to the change of playing techniques, and the playing sounds of other keys are presented by the set characteristic playing techniques; when the single-hand technique variation playing type is obtained, different single-hand playing techniques are matched with each characteristic playing technique; the playing technique of the performer's single hand is detected, and the corresponding characteristic playing technique is used to play the corresponding key sounds; The techniques mentioned include at least one of the following: the force, speed, or rhythmic variation of the player's playing of the piano keys.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method also includes displaying animations of corresponding characteristic performance techniques on the screen during the performance.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The simulated musical instrument's playing modes include: a normal playing mode and a special playing mode; the method further includes: Get mode selection command; When the mode selection command is to select a special performance mode, the special performance mode is enabled; When the mode selection instruction is to select normal performance mode, the normal performance mode is activated.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The categories of other musical instruments include at least one of the following: wind instruments, bowed string instruments, and plucked string instruments.

5. A device for simulating other musical instruments using a keyboard instrument or software, characterized in that, include: The mode selection module is used to enable special playing modes that simulate other musical instruments; The technique settings module is used to obtain the type of performance technique. The types of performance techniques include: playing with both hands using special technique keys and playing with variations of single-hand techniques; When the playing technique type is the type of playing with both hands in conjunction with special technique keys, corresponding characteristic playing techniques are set according to specific keys, and the playing sounds of other keys are presented by the set characteristic playing techniques; when the playing technique type is the type of playing with single-hand technique variations, corresponding characteristic playing techniques are set according to the variations in playing techniques, and the playing sounds of other keys are presented by the set characteristic playing techniques.

6. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is loaded and executed by the processor, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: Processor and memory; among which, The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to load and execute the computer program to cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. A keyboard musical instrument, characterized in that, include: The electronic device as claimed in claim 7.

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