An Automatic Multi-String Musical Instrument Tuner using One-to-Many Micro Actuating Mechanism
Narongsak Tirasuntarakul, Arbtip Dheeravongkit · 2018
In this research, the one-to-many micro actuating mechanism is designed and implemented on a multi-string musical instrument as a part of an automatic string tuning system. The tuning process has been tested on the three highest treble strings of Thai hammered dulcimer. A pickup sensor is placed under each string to identify and monitor the signal amplitude when the string is hit. Goertzel algorithm is applied to calculate the initial frequency of the strings. Tuning time for each string is predicted in advance. The micro actuating modules, then adjust the tension of the strings to the target frequency for the predicted tuning time period. The process can be repeated until the target frequency is reached. The experimental results show that, by using a single motor drive, the proposed micro actuating modules can successfully tune three strings of the different initial frequencies to the same target frequency simultaneously and independently.