Electronic Keyboard Playing Style Selection via Temporal Probability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing electronic keyboard musical instruments lack the ability to naturally replicate the playing styles of plucked string instruments, such as glissando, hammer-on, and pull-off, due to limitations in generating sounds with special playing techniques, especially when transitioning between notes.

Innovation Solution

An information processing device with a control unit that acquires and analyzes parameters like elapsed time and key press information to determine the probability of generating sounds with specific playing styles, using random numbers to select between normal and special playing styles like glissando, hammer-on, and pull-off, ensuring a natural performance-like sound generation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional key-based playing style selection is used, then playing style can be selected, but the sound generation lacks naturalness and realism of plucked string instruments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenaturalness of playing styleVSAvoidcomplexity of playing style selection mechanism

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically determines playing style by analyzing temporal relationships between consecutive notes, eliminating the need for manual selection. The control unit autonomously calculates elapsed time and selects appropriate playing styles (glissando, hammer-on, pull-off) based on detected patterns, making the system self-serve the naturalness requirement without adding operational complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from temporal analysis of note sequences to dynamically adjust playing style selection. By continuously monitoring elapsed time between notes and comparing it against predetermined thresholds, the system adapts its sound generation to match the natural characteristics of plucked string instruments, creating a closed-loop control that enhances realism

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple playing styles are generated with fixed probabilities, then sound variety is achieved, but the probability distribution lacks adaptability to different musical contexts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadaptability of playing style probabilityVSAvoidcomplexity of probability calculation

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts playing style probabilities based on real-time analysis of elapsed time between consecutive notes. Instead of fixed probability distributions, the control unit modifies selection likelihoods according to the detected temporal context, enabling the system to adapt to different musical phrases and performance styles while maintaining computational simplicity through threshold-based decision logic

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If playing style is selected based on elapsed time analysis, then natural performance-like sound is generated, but processing time and computational load increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthenticity of sound generationVSAvoidprocessing time for playing style selection

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis by continuously monitoring and storing elapsed time data between consecutive notes as they occur during performance. This real-time data collection enables immediate playing style determination without requiring post-processing or complex retrospective analysis, reducing computational latency while maintaining authentic sound generation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces complex mechanical or manual playing style selection mechanisms with electronic temporal analysis and probabilistic computation. By using digital signal processing to analyze elapsed time and determine playing styles, the system achieves authentic plucked string instrument reproduction with minimal processing overhead compared to traditional approaches

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS20230306938A1Information processing device, method and a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium

Publication Date: 2023.09.28 CASIO COMPUTER CO LTD

AI summary

An information processing device includes at least one processor that executes a program stored in a memory. The processor executes processing of acquiring first information corresponding to a first musical sound and second information corresponding to a second musical sound generated after the first musical sound, acquiring a first occurrence probability, which is an occurrence probability of a special playing style with respect to an elapsed time since an end of a predetermined operation, and a second occurrence probability, which is an occurrence probability of the special playing style with respect to an elapsed time after the first musical sound is generated until the second musical sound is generated, according to the first and second information, and determining whether to generate the second musical sound with any one of a normal playing style and the special playing style, according to the first and second occurrence probability.