Electronic musical instrument

• US 4,336,736 A
• Filed: 01/28/1980
• Issued: 06/29/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Kawai Gakki Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Kawai Gakki Seisakusho
• Inventors: Mishima, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Rubinson, Gene Z.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Application Number:
  US06/116,000
• Time in Patent Office: 883 Days
• Field of Search: 84/1.26, 84/DIG. 12, 84/1.13, 84/1.03, 84/1.01, 364/718
• US Class Current: 84/635
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0575 using a data store from which the envelope is synthesized tones synthesized from a data store G10H7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/06 in which amplitudes are read at a fixed rate, the read-out address varying stepwise by a given value, e.g. according to pitch
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/12 Side; rhythm and percussion devices

Abstract

An electronic musical instrument in which rhythms are each subjected to digital processing and provided uniformly with out variations in volume and tone quality and respective envelope waveshapes are given different periods of attack and decay which are obtained with the same system by calculating attack and decay coefficient for the respective rhythms on a time divided bases.

Claims

1. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a rhythm pattern generator producing an external attack signal;

an attack/decay coefficient memory having stored therein coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of external attack signals;

an accumulator for accumulating the coefficients at a constant speed to output the accumulated output signal in response to a clock and outputting attack and decay end signals;

an envelope control circuit for controlling the accumulated output signal from the accumulator by the external attack signal and the attack and decay end signals from the accumulator;

an envelope waveshape memory having stored therein envelope waveshapes, which are read by the accumulated output signal; and

means for inverting the output signal from the envelope waveshape memory by the attack end signal from the accumulator.

2. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a rhythm pattern generator producing an external attack signal;

an attack/decay coefficient memory having stored therein coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of external attack signals;

an accumulator for accumulating the coefficients at a constant speed to output the accumulated output signal in response to a clock and outputting attack and decay end signals;

an envelope control circuit for controlling the accumulated output signal from the accumulator by the external attack signal and the attack and decay end signals from the accumulator;

accumulation stopping means for temporarily stopping the accumulation of the coefficients by the accumulator by means of a control signal from the envelope control circuit;

an envelope waveshape memory having stored therein envelope waveshapes, which are read by the accumulated output signal; and

means for inverting the output signal from the envelope waveshape memory by the attack end signal from the accumulator.

3. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

first and second rhythm pattern generators respectively producing a first and second external attack signal;

an attack/decay coefficient memory having stored therein coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of external attack signals;

an accumulator for accumulating the coefficients at a constant speed to output the accumulated output signal in response to a clock and outputting attack and decay signals;

first and second envelope control circuits for controlling the accumulated output signal from the accumulator by said first and second external attack signals and the attack and decay end signals respectively corresponding thereto;

accumulation stopping means for temporarily stopping the accumulation of the coefficients by the accumulator by means of a control signal from the second envelope control circuit;

an envelope waveshape memory having stored therein envelope waveshapes, which are read by the accumulated output signal; and

means for inverting the output signal from the envelope waveshape memory by the attack end signal from the accumulator.

4. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

an attack/decay coefficient memory for storing coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of time shared channels and outputting the coefficients on a time shared basis;

an accumulator for accumulating the coefficients at a constant speed;

an envelope waveshape memory addressed by the accumulated output signal from the accumulator to read out envelope waveshapes;

an envelope amplitude value memory for storing an envelope amplitude value for each of the time shared channels and outputting the amplitude value on a time shared basis; and

a D-A converter for converting the output signal from the envelope waveshape memory to an analog quantity proportional to the output signal from the envelope amplitude value memory.

5. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a musical tone generator for reading a musical tone from a musical waveshape memory by accumulating frequency information for determining a tone frequency;

an attack/decay coefficient memory having stored therein coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of time shared channels;

an envelope generator for reading out an envelope waveshape from said coefficient memory by accumulating said coefficient at a constant speed for determining an envelope time;

a cross point detector for detecting the neighborhood of each point where a musical waveshape from the musical tone generator crosses a 0 and generating a signal; and

control means for controlling, by each of said signals from the cross point detector, the accumulation of the coefficient by the envelope generator to read the envelope waveshape from the envelope memory for each crossing.

6. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a musical tone generator for reading out a musical tone from a musical waveshape memory by accumulating frequency information stored in a tone source addition coefficient memory;

an attack/decay coefficient memory having stored therein coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of time shared channels;

an envelope generator for reading out an envelope waveshape at a constant speed;

an address counter for performing address assignment so that the musical tone generator and the envelope generator may operate on a time shared basis; and

a plurality of address converters for converting the output signal from the address counter to an address corresponding to a predetermined tone stored in the tone source addition coefficient memory and the attack/decay coefficient memory, the plurality of address converters being selectively designated by rhythm select means.

7. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a musical tone generator for reading out a musical tone from a musical waveshape memory by accumulating frequency information stored in a tone source addition coefficient memory;

an attack/decay coefficient memory having stored therein coefficients relating to attack and decay times respectively for each of a plurality of time shared channels;

an envelope generator means for reading out an envelope waveshape from an envelope waveshape memory by accumulating a coefficient from said coefficient memory at a constant speed;

an address counter for performing address assignment so that the musical tone generator and the envelope generator may operate on a time shared basis;

a clock for producing beats of a rhythm pattern;

a bar counter for counting said beats and coordinating them into units of bars;

address assigning means supplied with the output from the address counter and responsive to the bar counter to select for each bar or separated part thereof a predetermined tone stored in the tone source addition coefficient memory and an envelope from said envelope generator means.