Electronic musical instrument having a vibrato effecting capability

• US 4,957,030 A
• Filed: 05/23/1989
• Issued: 09/18/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Isao
• Primary Examiner(s): Perkey, W. B.
• Application Number:
  US07/355,555
• Time in Patent Office: 483 Days
• Field of Search: 84/604-607, 84/629, 381/62
• US Class Current: 84/604
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/053 during execution only voice controlled instruments G10H5/005
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 7/04 in which amplitudes are read at varying rates, e.g. according to pitch

Abstract

An electronic musical instrument capable of effecting vibratos with any of tones which may be produced by pressing down the keys of a keyboard. A key constant memory stores key constants each being assigned to a different tone, while a vibrato constant memory stores vibrato constants each being assigned to a different tone. The keyboard is provided with an exclusive switch for effecting vibratos. When this exclusive switch is pressed, a counter which counts clock pulses feeds its output to an adder/subtractor in the form of an addition/subtraction switchover signal and an addition/subtraction execution control signal. In response, the adder/subtractor periodically and alternately performs addition and subtraction with the key constant and vibrato constant associated with a key being pressed down.

Claims

1. An electronic musical instrument capable of effecting vibratos with a tone being produced, comprising:

a keyboard having a vibrato switch;

key detecting means for detecting a key on said keyboard which is pressed down;

key constant storing means storing predetermined key constants each being associated with respective one of tones which may be produced by said instrument;

address signal generating means for generating an address signal by performing, every predetermined period of time, an arithmetic operation with the key constant associated with the key which is pressed;

tone waveform storing means storing amplitudes of a tone waveform each being associated with respective one of a plurality of sampling points, in the form of digital values;

digital-to-analog converting means for sequentially converting the digital amplitudes read out of said tone waveform storing means in response to the address signals into an analog tone signal;

counting means for counting clock pulses which begin to appear when a power supply of said instrument is turned on;

vibrato constant storing means storing vibrato constant each being associated with respective one of the keys on said keyboard; and

adding and subtracting means for, when said vibrato switch is pressed, periodically performing addition and subtraction with the key constant and vibrato constant in response to an addition/subtraction switchover signal and an addition/subtraction execution control signal which are constituted by an output of said counting means.