Electronic musical instrument having a plurality of tone generation modes

• US 5,206,446 A
• Filed: 01/16/1990
• Issued: 04/27/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Yoshino, Jun, Matsumoto, Naoaki, Kato, Hitoshi, Ando, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoop, Jr., William M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey W.
• Application Number:
  US07/465,039
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 84/600-603, 84/609, 84/615, 84/622, 84/624-626, 84/645, 84/647, 84/649, 84/653, 84/659, 84/660, 84/662, 84/629
• US Class Current: 84/624
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/18 Selecting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/201 Vibrato, i.e. rapid, repetitive and smooth variation of amplitude, pitch or timbre within a note or chord discontinuities, note sequences or separate note onsets during the variation G10H2210/161; tremolo, i.e. stepwise pitch alternation G10H2210/191
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/295 Spatial effects, musical uses of multiple audio channels, e.g. stereo Helmholtz resonance effects G10H2210/275; reverberation or echo G10H2210/281
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/311 MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence

Abstract

An electronic musical instrument has a tone generation mode selecting switch capable of selecting a tone generation mode associated with an arbitrary one of a keyboard instrument play mode, a stringed instrument play mode and a wind instrument play mode, and a CPU for controlling the tone generation mode for a tone generator in accordance with the selection. This electronic musical instrument serving as a so-called tone generator module, can be driven by a MIDI signal supplied to a MIDI circuit from an external unit.

Claims

1. An electronic musical instrument supplied with a music play data via MIDI channels, comprising:

tone generating means having a plurality of tone generating modules each generating a tone signal based on given music play data;

tone generation mode selecting means for selecting an arbitrary one of a plurality of tone generation modes corresponding to a plurality of musical operation modes including a keyboard instrument play mode and a stringed instrument play mode; and

control means for permitting said tone generating means to generate a tone signal corresponding to input music play data in accordance with a tone generation mode selected by said tone generation mode selecting means;

said control means, when said keyboard instrument play mode is specified by said tone generating mode selecting means, assigning one MIDI channel commonly to said plurality of tone generating modules of said tone generating means to thereby control generation of a tone signal for said keyboard instrument play mode, and when said stringed instrument play mode is specified by said tone generation mode, assigning respective MIDI channels to said plurality of tone generating modules of said tone generating means for each string, to thereby control generation of a tone signal independently for said music play data input for individual MIDI channels.

2. An electronic musical instrument supplied with a music play data via MIDI channels, comprising:

tone generating means having a plurality of tone generating modules each generating a tone signal based on given music play data;

tone generation mode selecting means for selecting an arbitrary one of a plurality of tone generation modes corresponding to a plurality of musical operation modes including a wind instrument play mode and a stringed instrument play mode; and

control means for permitting said tone generating means to generate a tone signal corresponding to input music play data in accordance with a tone generation mode selected by said tone generation mode selecting means;

said control means, when said wind instrument play mode is specified by said tone generating mode selecting means, assigning one MIDI channel commonly to said plurality of tone generating modules of said tone generating means to thereby control generation of a tone signal for said wind instrument play mode, and when said stringed instrument play mode is specified by said tone generation mode, assigning respective MIDI channels to said plurality of tone generating modules of said tone generating means for each string, to thereby control generation of a tone signal independently for said music play data input for individual MIDI channels.

3. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

tone generating means for generating a tone signal based on given music play data including a tone generation start command;

tone generation mode selecting means for selecting an arbitrary one of a plurality of tone generation modes corresponding to a plurality of musical operation modes;

control means for permitting said tone generating means to generate a tone signal corresponding to input music play data in accordance with a tone generation mode selected by said tone generation mode selecting means;

said control means performing a control operation to change a modulation effect state to be imparted to a tone signal whose generation from said tone generating means starts based on said music plate data in accordance with a tone generation mode selected by said tone generation mode selecting means; and

said tone generating means including;

first modulation imparting means for imparting a low frequency modulation to a tone signal whose generation starts for each tone generation start command in such a manner that a modulation degree of said low frequency modulation gradually increases from a tone generation start time and reaches a given degree after a predetermined time; and

second modulation imparting means for imparting a low frequency modulation according to which a modulation degree gradually increases from said tone generation start time and reaches a give degree after a predetermined time, to a first tone signal to be generated based on a first tone generation start command from a state in which all tone signals are rendered off, and for imparting a low frequency modulation to those tone signals to be generated in response to tone generation start commands following said first tone generation start command in synchronism with said low frequency modulation imparted to said first tone signal being generated; and

said control means including selecting means for selectively driving said first modulation imparting means and said second modulation imparting means in accordance with a tone generation mode specified by said tone generation mode selecting means.

4. An electronic musical instrument according to claim 3, wherein:

said tone generation mode selecting means includes means for selecting an arbitrary one of the plurality of tone generation modes including a stringed instrument play mode and a keyboard instrument play mode; and

said selecting means drives said first modulation imparting means when said stringed instrument play mode is selected by said tone generation mode selecting means, and drives said second modulation imparting means when said keyboard instrument play mode is selected by said tone generation mode selecting means.

5. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

tone generating means having a plurality of tone generating modules each generating a tone signal based on given music play data including pitch bend data;

tone generation mode selecting means for selecting an arbitrary one of a plurality of tone generation modes corresponding to a plurality of musical operation modes including a keyboard instrument play mode and a stringed instrument play mode; and

control means for permitting said tone generating means to generate a tone signal corresponding to input music play data in accordance with a tone generation mode selected by said tone generation mode selecting means;

said control means, when said keyboard instrument play mode is selected to specify a tone generation mode for said tone generating means by said tone generation mode selecting means, performing a control operation so as to give a pitch bend effect commonly to said plurality of tone generation modules of said tone generating means in accordance with said pitch bend data, and when said stringed instrument play mode is selected to specify a tone generation mode for said tone generating means by said tone generation mode selecting means, performing a control operation so as to give a pitch bend effect only to that tone generating module which is associated in advance with a string that has produced said pitch bend data.

6. An electronic musical instrument capable of generating musical tones by selecting an arbitrary one of a plurality of tone generation modes corresponding to a plurality of musical operation modes, said instrument comprising:

tone generating means for independently generating a plurality of tone signals in accordance with note ON commands;

first modulation imparting means for imparting a low frequency modulation to each independent tone signal generated according to each note ON command in such a manner that a modulation degree gradually increases starting from a note ON start time and reaches a given degree after a predetermined time for each independent tone signal generated;

second modulation imparting means for imparting a low frequency modulation to a first tone signal generated according to first note ON command from a state in which all tone signals are rendered off in such a manner that a modulation degree gradually increases starting from said ON start time and reaches a given modulation degree after a predetermined time, and for imparting a low frequency modulation to each subsequent tone signal generated according to each subsequent note ON command in such a manner that said low frequency modulation imparted to each subsequent tone signal is immediately in synchronism with said low frequency modulation imparted to said first tone signal at the time each subsequent tone signal is generated; and

selecting means for selectively driving one of said first and second modulation imparting means in accordance with a tone generation mode selected in association with a musical operation mode.

7. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

tone generating means having a simultaneous tone generation mode for simultaneously generating a plurality of tone signals having different timbres for respective note ON start commands, said tone generating means being able to select an arbitrary one of a plurality of tone generation modes corresponding to a plurality of musical operation modes to independently generate a plurality of tone signals;

first modulation imparting means for imparting a common low frequency modulation to a plurality of tone signals having different timbres to be simultaneously generated by said tone generating means for each note ON start command;

second modulation imparting means for imparting to a musical tone generated in a tone generation mode different from said simultaneous tone generation mode, a low frequency modulation according to said tone generation mode;

first selecting means for selectively driving one of said first and second modulation imparting means depending on whether said tone generation mode in said tone generating means is said simultaneous tone generation mode or said tone generation mode different therefrom;

third modulation imparting means for imparting a low frequency modulation to a tone signal for each note ON start command in such a manner that a modulation degree gradually increases starting from a note ON start time thereof and reaches a given modulation degree after a predetermined time;

fourth modulation imparting means for imparting a low frequency modulation according to which a modulation degree gradually increases starting from said note ON start time and reaches a given modulation degree after a predetermined time, to a first one of tone signals to be generated based on a first note ON start command from a state in which all tone signals are rendered off in said tone generating means, and for imparting a low frequency modulation to those tone signals to be generated in response to note ON start commands following said first one in synchronism with said low frequency modulation imparted to said first tone signal generated; and

second selecting means for selectively driving one of said third and fourth modulation imparting means in accordance with a tone generation mode selected in association with a musical operation mode.