Sound synthesizer

• US 7,999,169 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2009
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Kayama, Hiraku
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher; Marlon T
• Application Number:
  US12/477,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20090308230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 84/622
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0091 Means for obtaining special acoustic effects combined with modulation G10H1/043
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/301 Soundscape or sound field simulation, reproduction or control for musical purposes, e.g. surround or 3D sound; Granular synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/027 Spatial or constructional arrangements of microphones, e.g. in dummy heads
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

A sound synthesizer has a storage unit, a setting unit and a sound synthesis unit. The storage unit stores a plurality of sound data respectively representing a plurality of sounds collected by different sound collecting points corresponding to the plurality of the sound data. The setting unit variably sets a position of a sound receiving point according to an instruction from a user. The sound synthesis unit synthesizes a sound by processing each of the plurality of the sound data according to a relation between a position of the sound collecting point corresponding to the sound data and the position of the sound receiving point specified by the user.

Claims

1. A sound synthesizer comprising:

a storage that stores a plurality of sound data respectively representing a corresponding plurality of sounds collected by a plurality of sound collecting devices positioned at different locations with respect to the location of at least one sound source, each of said plurality of sound collecting devices collecting at least one of said plurality of sounds;

a setting unit that variably sets a position of a sound receiving point with respect to the location of said at least one sound source according to an instruction received from a user; and

a sound synthesis unit that synthesizes a synthesized sound by processing each of the plurality of the sound data according to a positional relation between the position of each of the sound collecting devices corresponding to the sound data and the position of the sound receiving point as set according to the instruction received from the user.

2. The sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the sound synthesis unit synthesizes the synthesized sound by processing each of the plurality of the sound data according to a distance between the sound collecting device corresponding to the sound data and the sound receiving point.

3. The sound synthesizer according to claim 1,

wherein the setting unit variably sets a directionality attribute of the sound receiving point according to an instruction from a user, and

wherein the sound synthesis unit synthesizes the synthesized sound by processing each of the plurality of the sound data according to a sensitivity that the directionality attribute represents for a direction of the position of the sound collecting device corresponding to the sound data from the sound receiving point.

4. The sound synthesizer according to claim 3, wherein the setting unit sets at least one of a sound receiving direction and a directionality type as the directionality attribute of the sound receiving point.

5. The sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the sound synthesis unit weighs an envelope of a frequency spectrum of a sound represented by each of the plurality of the sound data by a factor according to a relation between the position of the sound collecting device corresponding to the sound data and the position of the sound receiving point, then calculates a new envelope by summing the weighted envelopes of the frequency spectrums of the sounds represented respectively by the plurality of the sound data, and synthesizes the sound based on the new envelope.

6. A machine readable recording medium for use in a computer having a processor and a storage that stores a plurality of sound data respectively representing a corresponding plurality of sounds collected by a plurality of sound collecting devices positioned at different locations with respect to the location of at least one sound source, each of said plurality of sound collecting devices collecting at least one of said plurality of sounds, the medium containing program instructions executable by the processor to perform:

a setting process to variably set a position of a sound receiving point with respect to the location of said at least one sound source according to an instruction received from a user; and

a sound synthesis process to synthesize a synthesized sound by processing each of the plurality of the sound data according to a positional relation between the position of each of the sound collecting devices corresponding to the sound data and a position of the sound receiving point as set according to the instruction received from the user.