JP2003131667A - Electronic musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide an electronic musical instrument that can express the strength of sound richly at low cost. SOLUTION: When a weak tone is detected, a value of read control data to be read from a waveform memory 4 is changed, and a difference between a left and right pitch of a sound of a stereo signal read from the waveform memory is changed by the change of the read control data. In this configuration, the difference in pitch provides a sound volume reduction effect.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument which generates musical performance data by operating a keyboard, such as an electronic piano, or musical instrument sound according to MIDI standard musical performance data. An attempt is made to propose a configuration of an electronic musical instrument capable of generating weak sounds with a simple configuration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, strength data is added to note name data designating a note name of a note to be pronounced and output from a keyboard, such as an electronic piano, for performance data or MIDI standard performance data. The sound with the pitch name specified by the pitch name data is pronounced with the strength specified by the intensity data, and the expression of the strength and weakness of the music is achieved. FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a general electronic musical instrument. In the figure, 1 is a performance data source, 2
Is a controller, 3 is a sound source circuit, 4 is a waveform memory, 5L is a left signal mixer, 5R is a right signal mixer, 6 is a D / A converter, and 7 is an audio amplifier.

The performance data source 1 is an electronic keyboard 1A or MI.
It can be configured by any of the MIDI signal sources 1B that generate signals of the DI standard. These electronic keyboards 1A and MI
In each of the DI signal sources 1B, note name data designating a note name to be pronounced and intensity data designating the strength of the note designated by this note name data are output as a pair. That is, the electronic keyboard 1A detects the key tapping speed and generates sound intensity data in proportion to the key tapping speed. The controller 2 is composed of a computer system generally called a CPU, receives the note name data and intensity data sent from the performance data source 1 in the computer system, and the received note name data is read control data. And is input to the read control means 3A constituting the tone generator circuit 3. Further, the intensity data is converted into envelope control data and input to the envelope control means 3D provided in the tone generator circuit 3, and the waveform data read from the waveform memory 4 is provided with envelopes of sounds of various musical instruments.

The read control means 3A determines the read cycle of the left signal memory 4L and the right signal memory 4R provided in the waveform memory 4 according to the read control data sent from the controller 2, and the sound specified by the performance data source 1 is selected. Read the waveform data at the repetition frequency corresponding to the name. The details of the read control means 3A are shown in FIG. The read control means 3A includes an adder 11 and
It is composed of a cumulative adder 12 and an interpolator 13.
The accumulator 12 has an initial address 14 indicating the type of musical instrument.
Is given. The initial address 14 specifies the start address of the storage area in which the waveforms of various musical instruments stored in the waveform memory 4 are stored.

Read control data 15 is input to the adder 11. The read control data 15 is cumulatively added to the initial address 14 in the cumulative adder 12 to generate the read address of the waveform memory. The read control data 15 has an integer part and a decimal part, and the cumulative value of the integer part mainly determines the read address of the waveform memory 4. The decimal part is input to the interpolator 13, and the interpolated value of the waveform data read from the waveform memory 4 is calculated according to the decimal value of the decimal part. The details will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, the address "0000" is designated as the initial address, and the waveform data D1 is incremented every time the address is incremented by "+1" from the address "0000".
It is shown that D2, D3, D4 ... Are stored.

If, for example, "1.01" is input as the read control data 15, the cumulative adder 12 outputs "1" such as "1.01", "2.02", "3.03" .... The cumulative addition value of ".01" is output. The integer part is given to the waveform memory 4 as an address signal and the address "000
0 to “0001”, “0002”, “0003”,
"0004" ... Is accessed. The decimal part is "0.0
Cumulative additions such as 1 ”,“ 0.02 ”,“ 0.03 ”,“ 0.04 ”. The numerical value of the fractional part represents the position within the address interval, the interpolator 13 calculates the value of the waveform data corresponding to each position within the address interval, and outputs the calculation result as a waveform data string.

Therefore, by changing the numerical value of the decimal part, the frequency (pitch) of the waveform data is changed, and the waveform data of an arbitrary pitch is generated. Every time the pitch of the sound to be reproduced rises by one octave, the numerical value of the integer part increases by "+1", and the address of the waveform memory 4 is alternated by one or two.
, And waveform data is generated over a wide range. The envelope of the waveform data read by the read control means 3A is adjusted by the filter 3B and the multiplier 3C according to the envelope control data, and is output to the left signal mixer 5L and the right signal mixer 5R as an output signal of the tone generator circuit 3. That is, the tone generator circuit 3 is originally provided over multiple channels, and sound data of different note names or sound data of different musical instruments are output from each tone generator circuit 3, and these plural data are output to the left signal mixer 5L and the right signal mixer 5L. Signal mixer 5R
The mixed data is D / A converted by the D / A converter 6, and the D / A converted output is amplified by the audio amplifier 7 and output to the output terminal 8. Therefore, the tone generator circuits 3 are provided at least for the number of soundable channels, and accordingly, the read control means 3A is also provided for the number of soundable channels.

[0008]

As described above, conventionally, the intensity data output from the performance data source 1 is the controller 2
Is converted into envelope control data by this, and the filter 3B and the multiplier 3C are controlled by this envelope control data,
It controls the strength (amplitude) of the sound of the specified note name, and expresses the strength of the sound. Therefore, as the filter 3B, it is necessary to use a filter whose filter coefficient can be changed in order to change the musical sound data envelope (amplitude). That is,
The frequency characteristic of the filter is controlled according to the frequency of the note name to be sounded, and the envelope is controlled by giving an appropriate amount of attenuation by changing the frequency characteristic.

As described above, the filter capable of controlling the envelope is expensive and has the drawback of increasing the cost. As another method of adding the strength of sound to the waveform data read from the waveform memory 4, the waveform data of the strong sound and the waveform data of the weak sound are stored in the waveform memory 4, and the waveform data of these strong sounds are stored. A method is also conceivable in which both the waveform data of the weak tones are read, the mixing ratio of these two waveform data is determined according to the value of the intensity data, and the strength of the sound is expressed according to this mixing ratio.

However, when this configuration is adopted, the storage capacity of the waveform memory 4 is doubled, and therefore there is a drawback in that an increase in cost cannot be avoided in this respect. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic musical instrument capable of suppressing the increase in cost and expressing the strength and weakness of sound with a simple structure.

[0011]

According to claim 1 of the present invention, a waveform memory in which waveform data of a musical instrument sound is separately stored as a right signal and a left signal, and a pitch name for designating a pitch name of a musical instrument sound to be pronounced. Data and a performance data source that transmits intensity data that specifies the intensity of the specified note name, and note name data and intensity data that the performance data source transmits, and a note according to the received note name and intensity data. A controller that generates read control data corresponding to the name and envelope control data that gives an amplitude corresponding to the specified intensity data, and the read cycle of the waveform memory is determined according to the read control data output by the controller. A plurality of read control means for generating a right signal and a left signal having a frequency corresponding to the note name, and a plurality of read control means according to the envelope control data output by the controller. Envelope control means for controlling the envelopes of the right signal and the left signal to be output, and weak performance detection means provided in the controller for detecting weak performances in which intensity data transmitted from the performance data source is smaller than a preset intensity value. There is provided an electronic musical instrument constituted by read changing means for changing the read control data given to a plurality of read control means when the weak play detecting means detects a weak play.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electronic musical instrument according to the first aspect, wherein the read change means gives a deviation to the read cycle of the read control data given to the plurality of read control means. To do. Claim 3 of this invention
Then, in the electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, the changing means provides the electronic musical instrument configured to change the read initial position to the read control data given to the plurality of read control means. Effect when a weak response rate detection means according to the present invention detects the Jakuso performance, read control means for reading out waveform data from the waveform memory is given a change in the reading operation of the right signal and a left signal. When the read operation is changed, a difference occurs in the read waveform data, and the peak position of the amplitude of the left and right signals deviates in time due to the difference, which is equivalent to the sound volume being reduced. A phenomenon occurs and a weak sound can be substantially generated.

The second aspect of the present invention specifically claims that a difference is given to the waveform data read cycle during a weak performance.
The operation of giving a difference to the read cycle is sufficient if the pitch of the read address given to the read control means is changed, so that it can be realized by a slight change of the control program in the controller. It is possible to realize the expression of strength without increasing the cost as a result. Further, the third aspect of the present invention specifically claims that a difference is given to the initial reading position of the waveform memory during the weak performance. Even in this case, in particular, the read cycle of the waveform data read from the waveform memory can be made different, so that the same effect as that of the volume being reduced can be obtained, and the weak sound can be obtained.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since a weak sound can be obtained without using a particularly expensive component, there is an advantage that the electronic musical instrument can be provided at a low price.

[0015]

1 shows an embodiment of an electronic musical instrument according to the present invention. Portions corresponding to those in FIG. 9 are designated by the same reference numerals. The characteristic feature of the present invention is that the read control means 3A is provided in the controller 2 when the weak performance detection means 2A and the weak performance detection means 2A detect a weak performance from the performance data input from the performance data source 1. This is the point that the read change means 2B for changing the read control data to be sent to is provided. The weak performance detecting means 2A monitors the intensity data sent from the performance data source 1 to detect a weak performance state. As the intensity data, for example, 7-bit parallel data can be used to identify the intensity of 0 to 127 steps. As the weak performance, for example, when the value of the intensity data is smaller than "88", the weak performance can be defined as a weak performance.

When the weak performance detecting means 2A detects a weak performance, the read changing means 2B is activated. Readout changing means 2B
Changes the read control data sent to the tone generator circuit 3. As one example, the read cycle of the waveform data read from the waveform memory 4 is changed. The change of the waveform data read cycle can be realized by changing the value of the read control data 15 described with reference to FIG. Accordingly, here, when the weak performance detecting means 2A detects the weak performance state, the reading changing means 2B provided in the controller 2 receives the detection result and outputs the reading control data 15 (see FIG. 10) to the reading control means 3A. A case is shown in which an operation of adding a slight offset value to the value and changing the value is executed to give a difference between the frequencies of the tone data read from the waveform memory 4 to the left signal and the right signal.

The difference between the frequencies given to the left signal and the right signal is limited to about ± 1 cent if the volume is controlled. For example, if a left signal is given a +0.5 cent change, then a right signal is given a -0.5 cent change.
Conversely, if the left signal is changed by -0.5 cents, the right signal is changed by +0.5 cents. As a result, the left signal and the right signal have a frequency difference of 1 cent, and the left and right signals are given a frequency difference, so that the localization of the sound becomes indefinite, and the sound equivalent to that the volume is temporarily reduced is produced. Is obtained.

That is, in the field of this type of electronic musical instrument, the left signal and the right signal are reproduced in the same phase as much as possible, and the focus is on fixing the position of the sound image. Therefore, in a normal situation (at the time of non-weak play), the left signal and the right signal faithfully reproduce the conditions stored in the waveform memory 4. In this state, the left signal and the right signal are generally aligned in the same phase. On the other hand, even if the left signal and the right signal are slightly different, for example, by giving a difference in frequency, the peak positions of the waveforms are shifted from each other, so that the sense of localization of the sound image is diffused, and it is as if the volume was lowered. Is obtained. This phenomenon is also disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-288287.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the weak performance detecting means 2A detects the weak performance state, the read changing means 2B is activated,
By adding a slight offset value to the read control data 15 sent to the read control means 3A and slightly changing the value of the read control data 15, the data is read from the waveform memory 4 and DA-converted by the D / A converter 6. The same effect as that in which the volume of the sound converted into an analog signal and emitted as a sound is reduced is obtained, and a weak performance is realized. FIG. 2 shows a flow chart showing the operations of the weak performance detecting means 2A and the read changing means 2B provided in the controller 2. The detune shown in FIG. 2 is the frequency assigned to the note of each note name,
The operation intentionally shifts the frequency.

At step SP1, it is determined whether or not the value of the intensity data is larger than the set value F. The intensity data is the set value F
If it is larger, the process proceeds to step SP2 and the read control data is output as it is (without changing the value). If the intensity data value is smaller than the set value F, step SP
Branch to 3. An offset value is added to the left signal read control data in step SP3, and an offset is added to the right signal read control data in step SP4.
Proceed to P2.

At step SP2, the changed read control data is output and sent to the read control means 3A. Although the method of changing the value of the read control data to change the frequency of the sound has been described above, the same effect can be obtained by giving a difference to the read start address of the waveform memory 4. For example, if the read start address of the left signal is set to 0 msec from the start address and the read start address of the right signal is set to an address delayed by 4.2 msec from the start address, and read is started from these read start addresses at the same time, the left signal A phase difference is generated between the right signal and the right signal, and the localization of the sound image becomes indefinite due to this phase difference, and the same effect as that of lowering the volume can be expressed as described above.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for explaining the operation. If the intensity data is larger than the set value F, the process proceeds to step SP2 and the read control data is output as it is. If the intensity data is smaller than the set value F, the process branches to step SP3, and the offset value (for example, 0 msec) is added to the left signal read start address in step SP3,
Go to step SP4. At step SP4, an offset value (for example, 4.2 msec) is set to the right signal read start address.
Is added, and the process proceeds to step SP2.

At step SP2, the left signal read start address and the right signal read start address to which the offset value has been added are sent to the read control means 3A. As a read start address offset value, for example, a method of giving an offset of 50 msec to the left signal and 50 msec to the right signal such as 54.2 msec can be considered. By giving a large offset to each of the left signal and the right signal in this way, it is possible to read out the portion of the waveform of the musical instrument sound from which the attack portion AT has been removed, as shown in FIG. In this way, when the attack part is removed and reproduced, a dynamic expression completely different from that of the natural musical instrument can be realized.

Although the read changing means 2B has been described above as operating only during weak performance, it may be configured to add an offset to the read control data during strong performance or during steady operation. FIG. 5 shows a case in which an offset is added to the read data of the left signal and the read signal of the right signal at the time of a strong performance to give a difference to the frequency of the sound to be reproduced. In this case, the offset value is +1 cent or more for the left signal and -1 for the right signal.
By giving a deviation equal to or more than a cent, it is possible to obtain a sound effect (chorus effect, strings effect, brass ensemble effect, etc.) as if performing in concert.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the offset is constantly added to the read control data regardless of the value of the intensity data. Also in this case, the chorus effect can be obtained by selecting a large offset value. Figure 7
Shows the case where when the intensity data value is larger than the set value F, the offset is added to the read initial address. Further, FIG. 8 shows a case where the offset is added to the read initial address regardless of the value of the intensity data.
These selections can be set by, for example, a setter provided on the operation board.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the controller 2 is provided with the weak play detection means 2A and the read change means 2B, and the value of the read control data sent to the read control means 3A at the time of weak play is changed. The strength can be expressed just by giving it. In other words, the hardware has nothing to change,
Since it is realized by software, there is no increase in cost. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is possible to provide an electronic musical instrument that can express the strength of the musical instrument in the same way as the conventional electronic musical instrument at a low price.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of the main part of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a waveform chart for explaining still another embodiment of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of the main part of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of the main part of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart similar to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart similar to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining a conventional technique.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining in detail the configuration and operation of a conventional read control unit.

11 is a waveform chart for explaining the operation of the read control means shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Performance Data Source 3D Envelope Control Means 2 Controller 4 Waveform Memory 2A Weak Play Detection Means 5L Left Signal Mixer 2B Read Change Means 5R Right Signal Mixer 3 Sound Source Circuit 6 D / A Converter 3A Read Control Means 7 Audio Amplifier 3B Filter 8 Output terminal 3C Multiplier

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A waveform memory in which waveform data of a musical instrument sound is separately stored as a right signal and a left signal, and B, pitch name data for designating a pitch name of a musical instrument sound to be pronounced and a designated pitch name. Performance data source for transmitting intensity data designating the strength and weakness of sound, C, reception of note name data and intensity data transmitted by the above performance data source, and reading corresponding to the note name according to the received note name data and intensity data A controller for generating control data and envelope control data for giving an amplitude corresponding to the designated intensity data; and D, the read speed of the waveform memory is determined according to the read control data output by the controller, and A plurality of read control means for generating a right signal and a left signal having a frequency corresponding to the name; and E, the plurality of read controls according to the envelope control data output by the controller. Envelope control means for controlling the envelope of the right signal and the left signal output by the stage, and F, which is provided in the controller, detects a weak performance in which the intensity data transmitted by the performance data source is smaller than a preset intensity value. And a read changing means for changing the read control data given to the plurality of read control means when the weak play detecting means detects a weak performance. An electronic musical instrument. 2. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the read change means gives a deviation to a read cycle of read control data given to the plurality of read control means. 3. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the changing means changes the read initial position to read control data given to the plurality of read controlling means.