Whistle synthesizer
First Claim
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1. An electronic musical instrument comprising:
- whistle processing means, responsive to a whistle signal representative of a human whistling, for producing a plurality of signals directly representative of said whistling, said signals including a square wave, referred to as the frequency reference signal, having zero crossings corresponding to the zero crossings of said whistle signal, a voltage level, referred to as the frequency of said whistle signal, an analog signal, referred to as the amplitude envelope signal, representative of the amplitude envelope of said whistle signal, and a digital signal, referred to as the note-on signal, which is asserted when said whistle signal is present above a particular threshold;
voice component generator means responsive to said frequency reference signal, said note-on signal, and said frequency voltage, for generating a set of signals, referred to as voice component signals, at selected subharmonics of said frequency reference signal, said set including at least one substantially sinusoidal signal and at least one non-sinusoidal periodic signal;
superposition means for providing a voice signal, which voice signal includes a combination of a predetermined subset of said voice component signals, said superposition means including first user control means for adjusting the relative proportions of voice component signals within said predetermined subset;
harmonic control means, responsive to said voice signal and said frequency voltage, for providing a filtered voice signal having altered harmonic content, said harmonic control means including a frequency-controlled filter operable to track the fundamental frequency of said frequency reference signal, and further controllable by the user to selectively pass a desired set of harmonics of said voice component signals;
amplitude modulation means, responsive to said filtered voice signal, said amplitude envelope signal, and said note-on signal, for shaping the time evolution of said filtered voice signal within the time interval during which said note-on signal is asserted; and
note prolongation means, responsive to the output of said modulation means, for shaping the time evolution thereof after said note-on signal is withdrawn.
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Abstract
A whistle synthesizer comprises a microphone, a housing, system electronics within the housing, and controls outside the housing. The player whistles into the microphone, the signals from which are processed to provide an instrument output signal suitable for communication to an external amplifier. The controls are located within easy reach of the player so that they may be manipulated all the while the player is whistling.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An electronic musical instrument comprising:
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whistle processing means, responsive to a whistle signal representative of a human whistling, for producing a plurality of signals directly representative of said whistling, said signals including a square wave, referred to as the frequency reference signal, having zero crossings corresponding to the zero crossings of said whistle signal, a voltage level, referred to as the frequency of said whistle signal, an analog signal, referred to as the amplitude envelope signal, representative of the amplitude envelope of said whistle signal, and a digital signal, referred to as the note-on signal, which is asserted when said whistle signal is present above a particular threshold; voice component generator means responsive to said frequency reference signal, said note-on signal, and said frequency voltage, for generating a set of signals, referred to as voice component signals, at selected subharmonics of said frequency reference signal, said set including at least one substantially sinusoidal signal and at least one non-sinusoidal periodic signal; superposition means for providing a voice signal, which voice signal includes a combination of a predetermined subset of said voice component signals, said superposition means including first user control means for adjusting the relative proportions of voice component signals within said predetermined subset; harmonic control means, responsive to said voice signal and said frequency voltage, for providing a filtered voice signal having altered harmonic content, said harmonic control means including a frequency-controlled filter operable to track the fundamental frequency of said frequency reference signal, and further controllable by the user to selectively pass a desired set of harmonics of said voice component signals; amplitude modulation means, responsive to said filtered voice signal, said amplitude envelope signal, and said note-on signal, for shaping the time evolution of said filtered voice signal within the time interval during which said note-on signal is asserted; and note prolongation means, responsive to the output of said modulation means, for shaping the time evolution thereof after said note-on signal is withdrawn. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An electronic musical instrument comprising:
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whistle processing means, responsive to a whistle signal representative of a human whistling, for producing a plurality of signals directly representative of said whistling, said signals including a square wave, referred to as the frequency reference signal, having zero crossings corresponding to the zero crossings of said whistle signal, a voltage level, referred to as the frequency voltage, corresponding to the fundamental frequency of said whistle signal, an analog signal, referred to as the amplitude envelope signal, representative of the amplitude envelope of said whistle signal, and a digital signal, referred to as the note-on signal, which is asserted when said whistle signal is present above a particular threshold; voice component generator means responsive to said frequency reference signal, said note-on signal, and said frequency voltage, for generating a set of signals, referred to as voice component signals, at selected subharmonics of said frequency reference signal, said set including at least one substantially sinusoidal signal and at least one non-sinusoidal periodic signal; superposition means for providing a voice signal, which voice signal includes a combination of a predetermined subset of said voice component signals, said superposition means including first user control means for adjusting the relative proportions of voice component signals within said predetermined subset; harmonic control means, responsive to said voice signal and said frequency voltage, for providing a filtered voice signal having altered harmonic content, said harmonic control means including second user control means for adjusting the nature of the alteration of the harmonic content; means for impressing said amplitude envelope signal on said filtered voice signal; means for generating a transient signal at the beginning of the assertion of said note-on signal; means for selectively impressing said transient signal on said filtered voice signal; and note prolongation means for shaping the time evolution thereof after said note-on signal is withdrawn.
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8. An electronic musical instrument comprising:
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microphone means, responsive to a human whistling, for producing an analog electrical signal representative of said whistling, said analog signal being referred to as the whistle signal; zero crossing detector means, responsive to said whistle signal, for producing a square wave, referred to as the frequency reference signal, having zero crossings directly corresponding to the zero crossings of said whistle signal; means, responsive to said frequency reference signal for providing a set of signals, referred to as voice component signals, at selected subharmonics of said frequency reference signal, said set including at least one substantially sinusoidal signal and at least one non-sinusoidal periodic signal; first superposition means for providing a first voice signal, which first voice signal includes a superposition of a first predetermined subset of said voice component signals, said first superposition means including user-controllable means for adjusting the relative proportions of voice component signals within said first predetermined subset and thereby provide a first filtered voice signal; second superposition means for providing a second voice signal, which second voice signal includes a combination of a second predetermined subset of said voice component signals, said second superposition means including user-controllable means for adjusting the relative proportions of voice component signals within said second predetermined subset and thereby provide a second filtered voice signal; envelope generator means, responsive to said whistle signal, for providing a signal, referred to as the whistle envelope signal, representative of the amplitude envelope of said whistle signal; means for impressing said amplitude envelope signal on said first and second filtered voice signals; means for generating at least one transient signal at the beginning of the assertion of said note-on signal; means for selectively impressing said at least one transient signal on said first and second filtered voice signals; and user-controllable prolongation means for shaping the decay characteristics of said modulated signals. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification