JPH04170592A - electronic musical instruments - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument using a multi-channel synthesis/waveform readout method.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as computer technology has progressed, electronic musical instruments have also become increasingly digital. Among these, many electronic musical instruments that use a so-called waveform readout method have been commercialized, in which a musical sound waveform is stored in advance as PCM data in a memory, and a musical tone is read out in response to a key press. Furthermore, among these, several electronic instruments have been proposed that use a so-called multi-channel synthesis method, in which one musical tone is separated into several components, stored in memory, and synthesized at the time of sound production (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 116595).

A conventional electronic musical instrument will be explained below.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a conventional electronic musical instrument. Fifth
In the figure, 1 is a keyboard, 2 is a control section that generates control signals according to the keyboard 1, 3.4 is a waveform storage section that stores waveforms of different shapes, and 5 is a control that is generated from the control section 2. A readout unit reads out waveforms simultaneously from the waveform storage units 3 and 4 according to the signal, and 6 is an amplitude that controls the amplitude of the two waveform signals output from the readout unit 5 in response to a control signal generated from the control unit 2. 7 is a control section, 7 is an adder, and 8 is a sound system that amplifies the input signal and emits sound.

The operation of the electronic musical instrument configured as described above will be explained below.

When a key is pressed on the keyboard 1, the control section 2 detects the key press and outputs a control signal to the reading section 5 and the amplitude control section 6 based on the detection information of the pitch and touch strength. The reading unit 5 simultaneously reads waveforms from the waveform storage unit 3.4 in accordance with the control signal generated from the control unit 2. The amplitude of the output waveform signals is controlled by an amplitude control section 6 in accordance with a control signal generated from the control section 2, added by an addition section 7, amplified by a sound system 8, and emitted as a musical tone.

The control signal sent to the amplitude control section 6 corresponds to the pitch and the strength of the touch. The two waveform signals read out from the waveform storage units 3 and 4 are each subjected to amplitude control in response to the pitch and the strength of the touch. That is, the volume levels of the two waveform signals are controlled according to the pitch and the strength of the touch, and for example, the tone can be changed according to the strength of the touch.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the timbre can be changed by changing the pitch or the strength of the touch, but the timbre cannot be changed by so-called musical playing methods such as melody playing or chord playing. It had the following drawback.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic musical instrument that can automatically distinguish between a melody playing style and a chord playing style, and can change the tone color depending on the playing style.

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve this object, the electronic musical instrument of the present invention has a plurality of waveform storage sections each storing waveforms of different shapes and read out simultaneously in response to key presses, and a pressed-key number counting section that counts the number of pressed keys; and an amplitude control section that controls the amplitude of one waveform signal read from each waveform storage section in accordance with the count data of the pressed-key number counting section. It has a structure.

Effect: With this configuration, by detecting the number of keys pressed within a unit time and controlling the amplitude of at least one waveform signal based on the detected number, it is possible to change the tone color depending on the performance state.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 is a keyboard, and 109 is a key press number counting section for counting the number of keys pressed per unit time, which includes a timer counter for measuring unit time and a key press number memory.

102 is a control unit that generates a control signal according to the count data in the key depression memory of the keyboard 101 and the key depression count unit 109; 103 and 104 are waveform storage units that store waveforms of different shapes; 105; waveform storage units 103 and 10 according to the control signal generated from the ilJ control unit 102.
106 is an amplitude control section that controls the amplitude of the two waveform signals output from the reading section 105 in accordance with the control signal generated from the control section 102; 107 is an addition section; 108 is a sound system that amplifies the input signal and emits sound.

FIG. 2 is a key press number volume conversion table included in the control unit 102. Here, Vl is the volume change value for the waveform signal read from the waveform storage unit 103, and v2
is the volume change value for the waveform signal read from the waveform storage unit 104.

The operation of the electronic musical instrument configured as described above will be explained below.

When the first key is pressed on the keyboard 101, the pressed key number counting section 109 resets the timer counter and simultaneously writes 1 in the pressed key number memory. The control unit 102 outputs a control signal to the reading unit 105 at the timing of the key press, and also outputs a control signal to the read unit 105 at the key press timing, and also reads the value of the key press number memory (=
1), obtain the volume change values Vl (=OdB) and 2 (=OdB) from the number-of-keys-press volume conversion table shown in Figure 2, and take into account the detection information of pitch and touch strength to determine the final value. amplitude control information is determined, and a control signal is output to the amplitude control section 106. The reading unit 105 simultaneously reads waveforms from the waveform storage units 103 and 104 in accordance with a control signal generated from the control unit 102. The amplitude of the output waveform signals is controlled by an amplitude control section 106 in accordance with a control signal generated from the control section 102, added by an addition section 107, amplified by a sound system 108, and emitted as a musical tone.

When a key is pressed for the second time on the keyboard 101, the pressed key count section 109 refers to the value of the timer counter and compares it with a preset unit time T. If the value of the timer counter is greater than the unit time T, the timer counter is reset and 1 is written in the key press number memory of the key press number counter 109. Control unit 102, reading unit 105
, the amplitude control section 106, the addition section 107, and the sound system 108 operate in the same way as in the case of the first key depression.

If the value of the timer counter is less than or equal to the unit time T during the second key press, the key press count unit 109 does not do anything to the timer counter, but increases the value of the key press count memory by 1 (in other words, in this case , the value of the number of keys pressed memory will be 2)
. The control unit 102 controls the reading unit 10 at the timing of the key press.
5, and outputs a control signal to the key press number counting section 1.
09, the volume change value Vl (-〇d
B).

V2 (=+3 dB) is obtained, final amplitude control information is determined by taking into account the pitch and touch strength detection information, and a control signal is output to the amplitude control section 106. The following operation is the same as that for the first key press.

The third and subsequent key presses are the same as the second key press.

The unit time T is set to a value that distinguishes between a chord playing style and a melody playing style, as described below. As shown in FIG. 3, the chord performance technique referred to herein is a performance technique in which a plurality of keys are pressed substantially simultaneously or in a distributed manner over a short period of time. As shown in FIG. 4, the melody playing style is a playing style in which a single key is pressed in a distributed manner over a relatively long period of time. Let Tc be the time from the first key press to the last key press in one chord performance,
Let Tm be the time between two pressed keys in a melody playing style, then the unit time T is set to satisfy the following formula (2).

Tc≦T<Tm ・・・・・・0
As described above, according to this embodiment, by counting the number of keys pressed within a unit time T set to satisfy formula (2) and controlling the amplitude of the waveform signal based on the information, chord playing style and melody playing style can be adjusted. You can change the tone. If we do not consider the influence of pitch and touch strength on the amplitude, for example, when playing the chord shown in Figure 3, one waveform signal (waveform memory Part 10
The volume levels of the waveform signals read from 4) are +3 dB, +6 dB, and +9 dBl, respectively. However, in the case of the melody performance method shown in FIG. 4, the volume level does not change for any sound. For example, if the waveform of a guitar is stored in the waveform storage unit 103 and the waveform of picking noise (noise emitted when the pick and string collide) is stored in the waveform storage unit 104, the picking noise will be thick only when playing chords. It becomes possible to perform extremely effectively.

Furthermore, this embodiment has the advantage that the volume balance can be corrected when a large number of sounds are produced using a small number of channels. In this embodiment, one sound is created by combining two waveforms, but in such a case, two channels are normally required for one sound. Therefore, if the system has 32 channels, the maximum number of sounds will be 16. However, if one waveform is selected such as picking noise, which decays in a short time, the number of channels of the waveform signal on the picking noise side should be set to 1 channel or 2 channels regardless of the number of keys pressed. By limiting the number to , it is possible to generate a large number of sounds using a small number of channels.

(For example, if the system has 32 channels and the picking noise side is limited to 2 channels, the maximum number of notes will be 30.) However, if this method is applied in the conventional example, the volume of the picking noise will increase, especially when playing chords. There is a problem that becomes relatively small. This is because, for example, if you play a chord with 4 notes, the guitar waveform signal will be output on 4 channels, but the picking noise will only be output on 2 channels, which will change the volume balance. There is. In such a case, the present embodiment can correct the volume and keep the volume balance constant regardless of the number of keys pressed simultaneously.

Although this embodiment shows the case where one sound is synthesized using two waveform signals, the same applies to the case where one sound is synthesized using three or more waveform signals. In this case, more diverse performance expressions are possible.

Further, in this embodiment, the control section 102 controls the waveform storage section 103.
104 at the same time, it goes without saying that "simultaneously" in this case includes the meaning of "substantially simultaneously due to time division processing".

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the timer counter is reset when a key is pressed for the first time or when playing a melody, but a memory for storing the timer counter value is provided, and instead of resetting the timer counter It is also possible to write the value in the memory and check the difference between the timer counter value and the memory value at the next key press timing. In this case, there is an advantage that the timer counter can be used in conjunction with other processing.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention includes a plurality of waveform storage units each storing waveforms of different shapes and read out simultaneously in response to key presses, and a key press number counter that counts the number of keys pressed within a unit time. and a small number (both 1) read out from each waveform storage unit.
Equipped with an amplitude control section that controls the amplitude of the two waveform signals according to the count data of the key depression count section,
It can automatically distinguish between melody and chord playing styles, and change the tone depending on the playing style.

Moreover, when producing many sounds with a small number of channels, the volume balance can be corrected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a key press number volume conversion table included in a control section according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a chord playing method in the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a melody playing method in the embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional electronic musical instrument. 101...Keyboard, 102...Control unit,
103゜104... Waveform storage unit, 105...
...Reading unit, 106...Amplitude control unit, 1
07... Addition section, 108... Sound system, 109... Key press number counting section. Name of agent Patent attorney Haruaki Koebi and 2 others No. 111 1ρl Figure 2 O-7

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of waveform storage sections each storing a waveform of a different shape and read out simultaneously in response to a key press; a key press number counting section counting the number of keys pressed within a unit time; An electronic musical instrument comprising: an amplitude control section that controls the amplitude of at least one waveform signal according to count data of the key press number counting section.