Electronic musical instrument with any key play mode

• US 5,276,274 A
• Filed: 11/26/1991
• Issued: 01/04/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Matsuyama, Shigeru, Akutsu, Takashi, Morokuma, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Witkowski, Stanley J.
• Application Number:
  US07/798,512
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 84/602, 84/609, 84/610, 84/615, 84/618, 84/634, 84/649, 84/650, 84/653, 84/656, 84/DIG. 2
• US Class Current: 84/615
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/18 Selecting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/26 for automatically producing a series of tones
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/02 Preference networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 84/07 Electric key switch structure

Abstract

In an electronic musical instrument with an ANY KEY mode which regards keys as a single one-key, an ON event in a non-operation state is valid, and a one-key play operation is advanced by one tone.

Claims

1. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

keyboard means including a plurality of black and white keys each of which designates a predetermined pitch;

pitch data storage means for storing pitch data indicating pitches of melody tones constituting a melody;

readout means for sequentially reading out the pitch data from said pitch data storage means;

tone generation processing means for executing tone generation processing on the basis of the pitch data read out by said readout means; and

control means, including a central processing unit, for enabling said tone generation processing means to execute the tone generation processing when at least one of said keys is operated when none of the other keys in a group including the at least one operated key is presently operated, and for disabling said tone generation processing means from executing the tone generation processing when at least one of the other keys in a group including the at least one operated key is presently operated.

2. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

keyboard means including a plurality of black and white keys each of which designates a predetermined pitch;

pitch data storage means for storing pitch data indicating pitches of melody tones constituting a melody;

readout means for sequentially reading out the pitch data from said pitch data storage means;

tone generation processing means for executing tone generation processing on the basis of the pitch data read out by said readout means; and

control means, including a central processing unit, for enabling said tone generation processing means to execute the tone generation processing (i) in a first case where at least one of said keys is operated when none of the other keys is presently operated, and (ii) in a second case where the number of operated keys is changed from a first range to second range, a lowest value of a number of the second range being greater than a highest value of that of the first range, and for disabling said tone generation processing means for executing the tone generation processing, except when said tone generation processing means is enabled.

3. An instrument according to claim 2, wherein:

the first range comprises a first number of keys which can be operated simultaneously by one hand of an operator; and

the second range comprises a second number larger than the first number of keys which can be operated simultaneously by two hands of an operator.

4. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

keyboard means including a plurality of black and white keys each of which designates a predetermined pitch;

pitch data storage means for storing pitch data indicating pitches of melody tones constituting a melody;

readout means for sequentially reading out the pitch data from said pitch data storage means;

tone generation processing means for executing tone generation processing on the basis of the pitch data read out by said readout means; and

control means, including a central processing unit, for enabling said tone generation processing means to execute the tone generation processing (i) in a first case where at least one of said keys is operated when none of the other keys is presently operated, and (ii) in a second case where one of said keys is operated whose pitch differs from that of a key which has previously been operated by not less than a predetermined value, and for disabling said tone generation processing means from executing the tone generation processing except when said tone generation processing means is enabled.

5. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

a plurality of pitch designation means divided into a plurality of groups, for designating pitches, said plurality of pitch designing means comprising a plurality of keys;

pitch data storage means for storing pitch data indicating pitches of melody tones constituting a melody;

readout means for sequentially reading out the pitch data from said pitch data storage means;

tone generation processing means for executing tone generation processing on the basis of the pitch data read out by said readout means; and

control means for enabling said tone generation processing means to execute the tone generation processing when at least one of said keys of said pitch designation means is operated when none of the other keys of said pitch designation means in a group including the operated pitch designation means is presently operated, and for disabling said tone generation processing means from executing the tone generation processing when at least one of the other keys of said pitch designation means in a group including the at least one operated key of said pitch designation means is presently operated.