Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to musical instruments, and particularly to a piano-guitar, i.e., to a guitar used for reproducing automatically a musical piece played by a musician on a piano-style board.

Background of the Invention

At present, known are various devices permitting a musician to reproduce musical pieces on guitar when playing on a piano-style board.

For example, the Great Britain Patent Application 2362023 (publ. on November 7, 2001) describes such a device in general terms. However, an absence of specific embodiments in this specification does not allow for replicating that device.

Known is a musical instrument having a piano-style board, which is disclosed in the US Patent 5691490 (publ. on November 25, 1997). In that device, an electronic keyboard is attached directly to a guitar-style stringed instrument, with a possibility for adjusting a position of that keyboard relative to a guitar body. However, that device does not provide a possibility for converting chords stricken on the electronic keyboards to typically guitar chords.

Summary of the Invention

The purpose of the present invention consists in developing such a device which could have capabilities wider than the closest analog for reproducing mu- sical pieces in a typically guitar manner. Particularly, it is desirable for that device to reproduce the guitar chords in optimal way.

In order for solving that problem and achieving the indicated common result, the present invention provides a piano-guitar comprising: an electronic keyboard configured for reproducing musical pieces by a musician; an acoustic guitar having an automatic player configured for causing strings of the acoustic guitar to sound when supplying respective signals to the automatic player; wherein a memory of a control unit in the automatic player containing a pro- gram which, when being executed in a processor of the automatic player, causes the processor to convert the signals from the electronic keyboard into signals for the automatic player.

In order for achieving the above particular technical result in the piano- guitar in accordance with the present invention, the program in the automatic player control unit in the automatic player allows, when a musician strikes a chord on the electronic keyboard, for reproducing that chord on the acoustic guitar in an optimal mode, when lengths of sounding strings have maximal sizes. Herewith, the program can choose the optimal mode in accordance with a predetermined table for converting piano chords into guitar chords.

Brief Description of Drawings

The invention is further explained using accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows schematically a configuration of the piano-guitar in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows diagrams explaining how to strike chords on a six-string guitar.

Detailed Description

Guitar is a very complex musical instrument from the viewpoint of musi- cian's technique. A virtuoso guitar melody could be played on guitar by only a high-grade guitarist, but, in principle, the same melody could be played on a piano (pianoforte) by even a beginner pianist. Therefore, the use of the piano- guitar in accordance with the present invention allows to play virtuoso guitar melodies not by only a virtuoso of guitar.

The piano-guitar in accordance with the present invention comprises (Fig. 1) an electronic keyboard 1 in a piano-style, which is destined for playing musi- cal pieces by a musician. Any proper keyboard could be used as such electronic keyboard, e.g., such one as disclosed in the aforementioned analogs. Preferably, however, to use the so called MIDI-keyboard (MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a digital interface of musical instruments; a standard of digital sound-recording to data interchange format between electronic musical instru- ments).

Further, the piano-guitar in accordance with the present invention comprises an acoustic guitar 2, with an automatic player 3 mounted thereon, which automatic player is configured for causing the sounding of strings of the acoustic guitar 2 on supplying respective signals to that automatic player 3. As such an automatic layer, a device can be used, e.g., described in the US Patent 6723904 (publ. on April 20, 2004), or any other device, known or developed in the future, which causes for sounding the strings of the acoustic guitar 2 in accordance with signals supplied on that device.

Any automatic player 3 comprises means for pressing strings against var- ious frets of a finger-board, and means for causing strings to sound. It is known for those skilled in the art that these means should operate when supplying them with respective signals from a control unit which input is connected with an output of the electronic keyboard 1. In the present invention, the control unit 4, shown schematically in Fig. 1 separately from the automatic player 3, comprises a processor 5 interconnected with a memory 6 storing a program which, when executing in the processor 5, causes this processor 5 to convert signals from the electronic keyboard 1 into signals for the automatic player 3.

Particularly, that program, in the case when a musician strike a chord on the electronic keyboard 1, ensures a reproducing of this chord on the acoustic guitar 2 in optimal way, i.e., when lengths of sounding strings have maximal sizes.

This case is explained in Fig. 2. Figs. 2a and 2b show diagrams of possible pressing strings for striking the same chord. It can be seen from those dia- grams that the strings in the first variant (Fig. 2a) are pressed in such a manner that their lengths are longer than in the second variant (Fig. 2b), although the chord will sound identically in both cases. Optimal variants for pressing the strings (in order that the length of each string would be maximal) are calculated in advance for every chord and listed or tabulated. When a musician strikes a re- spective chord on the electronic keyboard 1, signals from the pressed keys are supplied to the control unit 4, where they are converted in the processor 5 under the control of the program stored in the memory 6 into an optimal guitar chord in accordance with the preset table of the conversion of the piano chords to the guitar ones. The resulting signals are supplied from the control unit 4 (from the processor 5) to corresponding actuating mechanisms of the automatic player 3, which actuating mechanisms press the needed strings and make them to sound.

Thus, the piano-guitar is provided in the present invention, which piano- guitar has capabilities wider than the known analog for reproducing musical pieces in a typically guitar manner. Particularly, it is desirable for that device to reproduce the guitar chords in optimal way.