Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kiyoshi Ichikawa

Shigeru Yamada

Akira Nakada

Teruo Hiyoshi

Sigeki Isii

Shigeki Ishii

Eisaku Okamoto

In an electronic musical instrument of a digital processing type, an operation of a key causes the generation of a digital value corresponding to the operated key and a tone having a frequency determined by that digital value is produced. The instrument comprises a key assigner which assigns the operated keys from among a large number of keys to a small number of channels, which small number is a number of maximum available tones to be produced simultaneously. The instrument further comprises a modifying value generator for generating modifying values for the respective channels, the value being a first value upon key operation and subsequently varying to a second value to provide an attack pitch fluctuation effect. The key assigner and the modifying value generator are of a time division multiplexing type with the channels being defined by the corresponding time slots.

Electronic musical instrument of digital processing type

In an electronic musical instrument of a numerical value processing type, an operation of a key causes the generation of a numerical value corresponding to the operated key and a tone having a frequency determined by the numerical value is produced. A vibrato effect is obtained by periodic modification of the value. The instrument comprises a circuit which generates a periodic signal having a portion in which the amplitude of the periodic signal increases at a predetermined rate, and a succeeding portion having a constant amplitude, and a circuit for varying the rate. The rate varying circuit sets the rate to be either a low rate that can be discriminated by human ears or a high rate that can not be discriminated by human ears.

Electronic musical instrument of numerical value processing type

In an electronic musical instrument comprising a keyboard including a plurality of keys, a frequency information memory device for storing frequency informations corresponding to respective keys, a plurality of musical tone forming means including a waveshape memory device for forming musical tones in response to the output of the frequency information memory device, and a shift circuit interposed between the frequency information memory device and the musical tone forming means for effecting a footage change of an octave unit, there is provided a preset circuit for applying a plurality of preset footage signals to the shift circuit and for applying another preset signals which are necessary to form musical tones to the musical tone forming means.

Electronic musical instrument of waveshape memory reading type

An envelope generator for use in an electronic instrument generates an envelope waveshape control voltage having separate attack, first decay and second decay sections. The control voltage representing each waveshape section is derived from a separate voltage divider network. The divider networks are connected in series, with separate voltages supplied to the ends and junctions thereof. These supplied voltages correspond to the initial, attack, sustain and final voltage levels of the generated control voltage. The output nodes of the separate divider networks are accessed at different clock rates. A scanning circuit sequentially enables consecutive pairs of gates associated with each divided voltage output node. These gates alternately are connected to separate first and second output lines which provide divided voltages from adjacent gate pairs to opposite ends of an interpolation circuit. This circuit interpolates the provided voltages to derive the envelope waveshape control voltage. As consecutive pairs of gates are enabled, the interpolation circuit reverses the order in which the interpolation is performed.

Envelope generator for an electronics musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument is of a type wherein musical tone waveforms are stored in a memory as their sampled amplitudes and sequentially and repetitively read out to constitute tone waveforms. A key depression brings forth key code in a digital representation. This key code is used for reading out frequency information from a frequency information memory. The frequency information is accumulated to make an address signal for reading out the waveform memory. When a key is depressed, a counter starts counting and opens a gate for a predetermined period of time. The gate passes a code representative of an interval of a grace note with respect to the note of the depressed key (i.e. principal note) to an addition and subtraction circuit for addition or subtraction between the key code and the code representative of the interval for the grace note. Accordingly, the key code is modified and the desired grace tone is produced. Upon completion of the operation of the counter, this modification of the key code is stopped and the key code is restored to the original key code resulting in production of the principal tone. In the foregoing manner, a grace tone preceding the principal tone can be played simply by depressing a single key. The counter is also arranged to start the counting operation upon release of the depressed key with a result that a grace tone following the principal tone can be played. Further, ornamentation called 'trill' can also be produced by alternately and repetitively opening and closing the gate by means of the output of the counter.

Electronic musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument capable of producing an attack repeat effect. The attack repeat effect is a musical effect produced by repeated occurrences of attack and decay during a single continued sounding of a musical tone, giving to an audience an impression as if the tone started and stopped repeatedly. According to the invention, a complete envelope shape starting by an attack portion and ending by a decay portion is stored in a memory. When a key on the keyboard is depressed, the stored envelope shape is read from the memory and, upon completion of reading of one cycle of the envelope shape, reading of the envelope shape is resumed from the beginning. A time division multiplexed reading out of the envelope shape is conducted with respect to a plurality of channels. The read out envelope shape is used for controlling the amplitude of the musical tone signal. If the key is released, reading of the envelope shape is no longer repeated for a next and subsequent cycles.

Electronic musical instrument with attack repeat effect

An electronic musical instrument is of a type wherein musical tone waveforms are stored in a memory as their sampled amplitudes and sequentially and repetitively read out to constitute tone waveforms. A key depression brings forth key code in a digital representation. This key code is used for reading out frequency information from a frequency information memory. The frequency informaton is accumulated to make an address signal for reading out the waveform memory. The read out waveform is reproduced as a musical tone through a tone-color and volume control circuit. This tone-color and volume control circuit is controlled keyboard by keyboard. The key code produced upon depression of the key contains a signal representing the kind of the keyboard to which the depressed key belongs. This signal is applied to a conversion circuit and converted to a signal representative of a different kind of keyboard. The output signal of the conversion circuit operates the tone-color and volume control circuit in a manner corresponding to the keyboard designated by the converted signal while the original signal representing the kind of the keyboard of the depressed key is applied directly to the tone-color and volume control circuit to operate it in a manner corresponding to the keybord of the depressed key. The manner of conversion of the signal representing the keyboard can be selected as desired. There is disclosed an example of a coupler effect between the upper and lower keyboard which can be produced by converting a signal for the upper keyboard to a signal for the lower keyboard while directly using the upper keyboard signal. Also disclosed is an example of a coupler effect between the lower keyboard and the pedal keyboard produced by converting a signal for the lower keyboard to a signal for the pedal keyboard while directly using the lower keyboard signal.

Electronic musical instrument having a coupler effect

An electronic musical instrument is of a type wherein musical tone waveforms are stored in a memory as their sampled amplitudes and sequentially and repetitively read out to constitute tone waveforms. A key depression brings forth frequency information in a digital representation. The frequency information is accumulated to make an address signal for reading out the waveform memory. When a depressed key is moved laterally, a touch detection circuit produces an analog detection signal representing the amount of displacement of the key. In the meanwhile, a clock pulse is counted by an up-down counter and the counting output is converted by a D-A converter to an analog signal to obtain a triangular wave function signal. When the analog detection signal coincides, in amplitude, with the triangular wave function signal, the digital signal from the up-down counter is sampled and held by a sample and hold circuit. Thus a digital signal representing the key displacement is obtained. This digital signal is multiplied with a frequency information in a multiplier and, accordingly, the musical tone frequency is modulated in response to the lateral movement of the key. Thus, the touch vibrato effect is obtained.

Electronic musical instrument having a touch vibrato effect

An electronic musical instrument includes a pitch determining voltage signal generating circuit adapted to produce one of 12 pitch determining voltage signals having different magnitudes corresponding to 12 notes in one octave in response to any of keys belonging to different octave ranges in a keyboard and having the same note name. A pitch determining voltage signal common to the different octave ranges is converted by a voltage converting circuit and taken out as a voltage signal having a magnitude corresponding to the note of a key being depressed on the keyboard. The voltage converting circuit includes a voltage dividing network having a plurality of output points and gate circuits connected to the output points, respectively. Each gate circuit is enabled in response to the depression of a key belonging to a corresponding octave range. Alternatively, the voltage converting circuit is constructed of a variable gain amplifier whose voltage gain is controlled dependent upon the octave range to which a key being depressed belongs.

Synthesizer type electronic musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument is of a type wherein an envelope to be imparted to a musical tone is stored in a memory as its sampled values and sequentially read out to constitute an envelope shape. A key depression causes the read-out of the memory. The instrument is improved to provide a rich sound effect of legato performance by successively and smoothly shifting the tone of the former key to that of the latter key while maintaining a predetermined constant tone volume. This legato effect can be carried out by successively maintaining the sustain level of the musical tone envelope from the tone of the former key shifted to the latter key. The musical tone envelope is read from the envelope memory by an address which is shifted by a clock pulse. After the key has been depressed, the address continues to be shifted by the clock pulse until it has reached a predetermined value, whereupon the supply of the clock pulse is prohibited to cause the envelope memory to produce a sustain level corresponding to the address. Thereafter, this address is held to maintain the sustain level of tones of subsequently depressed keys regardless of whether the initially depressed key ash been released or not, or whether the subsequently depressed keys are being depressed or have been released. An embodiment in which the legato effect is produced with respect to a pedal keyboard is described.

Electronic musical instrument having legato effect

In this electronic musical instrument, two separate tone generators of different type each produce a tone corresponding to an actuated key switch. Advantageously, one of the tone generators is of the Fourier synthesis type. In the other tone generator, a source waveshape having abundant harmonic components is processed by a tone color and volume control system which modifies the frequency spectrum and amplitude of the source waveshape in a time variant manner. The two generated tones are combined to produce the desired musical note. Actuation of each key switch produces, in an assigned time slot, frequency information corresponding to the selected note, and designating the phase angle between successive sample points to be read from a waveshape memory. In the Fourier synthesis type generator, plural waveshape memories store harmonically related sinusoids, all of which are accessed simultaneously and weighted by harmonic coefficients to produce the first tone. In the other tone generator, a waveshape having abundant harmonics is read from a waveshape memory and is processed by that one of a plurality of tone color and volume control systems which is assigned to the corresponding time slot.

Electronics musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument wherein, by merely depressing one key, the tone pitch corresponding to that key varies periodically with cyclic repetition at a specific rate. The pitch variation is made on the octave basis by periodically shifting digits of binary signals of plural bits which designate readout addresses of a musical tone waveform. Various patterns of the pitch variation can be obtained by suitably setting a pattern of shifting of the digits of the binary signals. The patterns include an 'up mode' in which the pitch slides successively toward higher pitches one octave interval at a time and then, upon reaching a predetermined octave, immediately returns to the original pitch and subsequently the same operation is repeated, and a 'turn mode' in which the pitch slides successively toward higher pitches one octave interval at a time and, upon reaching a predetermined octave, slides successively in the reverse direction until it returns to the original pitch and subsequently the same operation is repeated. The patterns further include a 'jump mode' in which, when a plurality of keys are successively depressed, the pitches of the succeedingly depressed keys slide in conformity with the octave slide of the first depressed key and a 'random mode' in which, when a plurality of keys are successively depressed, the octave slide of the respective keys is made independently and separately from each other. In a case where plural keys are depressed, the 'up mode' or the 'turn mode' can be selectively combined with the 'jump mode' or the 'random mode'. The speed of the octave slide is determined by the rate of the clock pulse employed in the instrument and, accordingly, a clock pulse of a rate corresponding to a note to be played is selectively used.

Electronic musical instrument having octave slide effect

An electronic musical instrument of a type wherein a plurality of systems are provided each system comprising memories storing respective harmonic component waveshapes which are read at the same reading rate and the read out harmonic waveshapes are suitably mixed to obtain a desired musical tone. Each system also comprises a circuit for controlling the envelope of the waveshapes read from the memories. In the first system, the envelope control is made in such a manner that the envelope will rise upon depression of a key, thereafter maintain a constant level as long as the key is kept depressed and decay upon release of the depressed key. In the second system, the envelope is controlled so that the envelope will rise in a short time and immediately decay thereafter. The respective harmonic waveshapes thus controlled in envelope in the respective systems are then suitably selected and mixed together. As an example of the envelope control in the second system is shown a structure for producing a so-called 'chiff' effect by providing the fractional period during which the envelope rises and subsequently falls at the attack portion of the musical tone. Desired waveshape or waveshapes are selected from among the harmonic waveshapes controlled in the envelope in the second system for mixing with the harmonic waveshapes read from the first system. By this arrangement, amplitudes of the frequency components of the selected harmonic waveshapes are emphasized during the fractional period.

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Hamakita, Japan

Kiyoshi Ichikawa