System for generating sample tones on an electronic musical instrument

• US 4,387,619 A
• Filed: 08/13/1981
• Issued: 06/14/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Kashio, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Truhe, J. V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Application Number:
  US06/292,697
• Time in Patent Office: 670 Days
• Field of Search: 84/1.01, 84/1.03, 84/1.19, 84/1.24
• US Class Current: 84/618
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/182 Key multiplexing G10H1/185 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/201 Vibrato, i.e. rapid, repetitive and smooth variation of amplitude, pitch or timbre within a note or chord
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/04 in which amplitudes are read at varying rates, e.g. according to pitch

Abstract

In an electronic musical instrument which is arranged to produce musical tones belonging to the selected one of many different types of musical instruments and having a number of player-operable selection keys respectively corresponding to the number of types of musical instrument sounds desired, the improvement wherein means is provided for generating a sample tone belonging to that type of musical instrument specified by one of the above-mentioned selection keys at a prescribed pitch and period simply by depressing only once a particular selection key, without taking the trouble of successively depressing individual performance keys, thereby facilitating the selection of a desired type of musical instrument by the player.

Claims

1. A sample tone-generating system for an electronic musical instrument for generating one sample tone corresponding to a selected musical tone color out of a plurality of different types of musical tone colors comprising:

specifying means for selectively specifying a given one of said different types of musical tone colors,

means for setting respective different types of said musical tone colors in response to said specifying means;

performance keys for playing a musical performance in accordance with the specified type of musical tone color,

tone producing means coupled to said setting means for producing said specified type of musical tone color which corresponds to the tone color specified by said specifying means by operation of said performance keys, and

sample tone generating means coupled to said specifying means and responsive only to the operation of said specifying means for generating a sample tone having a prescribed pitch, said sample tone corresponding to the specified tone color which corresponds to said given one of the different types of musical tone colors.

2. A sample tone-generating system according to claim 1 wherein said specifying means is a player operable specifying means.

3. A sample tone-generating system according to claim 2 wherein said player operable specifying means comprises a plurality of player operable tone selection keys, said sample tone generating means being responsive to operation of only a single one of said tone selection keys for generating said sample tone.

4. A sample tone-generating system according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of different musical tone colors correspond to sounds produced from a plurality of different types of musical instruments.

5. A sample tone-generating system according to claim 1, further comprising control means coupled between said specifying means and said setting means for causing a musical tone color specified by said specifying means to selectively correspond to one of the plurality of different types of tone colors which are settable by said setting means.