Keyboard Guitar Transpose Buttons for Pitch Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Keyboard guitars lack a guitar-like playing style and aesthetic, and limited functionality to perform techniques such as note bending, hammer-ons, and tremolo, which restricts their musical expressiveness compared to traditional guitars.
Innovation Solution
A keyboard guitar with an extended neck and a limited number of keys, featuring transpose buttons for tuning control, a touch-sensitive surface for pitch variation, and additional controls for tone manipulation, allowing for guitar-like playability and expressiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If keyboard guitar has a limited number of keys, then the instrument has a more guitar-like appearance and is easier to play, but the range of notes available is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic octave shifting capability through software, allowing the keyboard guitar to switch between different octaves. This enables a limited physical keybed to produce a wide range of notes by dynamically adjusting the octave display and sound output, resolving the contradiction between limited keys and extensive note range.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of octave shifting to the keyboard guitar. By introducing octave up/down buttons and software-based octave change capabilities, the instrument extends its range not by adding more keys horizontally, but by adding a vertical dimension through octave manipulation, allowing players to access full-range notes with a compact keybed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If keyboard guitar has transpose buttons for instant key changes, then the functionality and musical expressivity are enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transpose buttons are designed to serve multiple functions: they can transpose the entire keyboard to different keys, bend individual notes, and work in combination with octave shifting. This multi-functionality allows a small number of buttons to provide extensive musical control, enhancing expressivity without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The transpose buttons dynamically change the pitch parameter of the notes being played. By implementing parameter-based control where pressing a button shifts the pitch by a specific interval (e.g., semitone, whole tone), the system provides precise musical control through simple button activations, enhancing versatility without complex mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If keyboard guitar includes note bending and tremolo capabilities, then the guitar-like expressivity is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical guitar techniques (physical string bending, tremolo bars) with electronic implementations. Note bending is achieved through electronic pitch modulation via transpose buttons, and tremolo is achieved through electronic amplitude modulation. This substitution eliminates complex mechanical components while maintaining the desired guitar-like expressivity, simplifying manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements note bending and tremolo by dynamically changing electronic parameters (pitch and amplitude) rather than mechanical ones. The transpose buttons control pitch bending by shifting note frequencies, while tremolo is achieved through programmed amplitude variations. This parameter-based approach simplifies manufacturing by eliminating the need for complex mechanical bending mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A musical instrument includes: a body including a keybed having a plurality of keys, wherein activation of each key creates an electrical signal at an output, wherein said electrical signal represents a pitch associated with a musical note; an elongated neck connected to the body; and a plurality of transpose buttons located along the length of the neck, wherein the transpose buttons of the fretboard are configured to control the tuning of the keys in the keybed such that activation of each of the transpose button alters the pitch represented by the electrical signal that is output by of each of the keys.