Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha

Yamaha Corporation

Masahiko Koike

Takeshi Adachi

Toshiyuki Takahashi

Hiroyuki Toda

Katsuhiko Hirano

Haruyuki Suzuki

An automatic performance data conversion system having: a storage unit for storing a rule for converting automatic performance data from a first type into a second type, the rule indicating a correspondence between data strings of the automatic performance data of the first and second types; an input unit for inputting the automatic performance data of the fist type; a data converting unit for converting the automatic performance data from the first type into the second type by rearranging a data string contained in the automatic performance data of the first type input by the input unit in accordance with the rule; and an output unit for outputting the automatic performance data of the second type converted by the data converting unit.

Automatic performance data conversion system

The key scaling apparatus for an electronic musical instrument having a keyboard includes a memory unit having plural memory areas associated respectively with plural notes or note groups represented by plural keys or key groups of the keyboard; manipulator knobs for producing desired musical tone preparing instruction signals determining the characteristics of the musical tone to be produced; registering means for writing, in those memory areas corresponding to a desired note or note group designated by an operated key, the instruction signals produced by the manipulated knobs; and control means for controlling, when a performance mode is designated, the musical tone to be produced bearing the characteristics as designated by the instruction signals read out from the related memory areas upon operation of a key. This apparatus allows the user to arbitrarily set a desired key scaling characteristic curve, and to alter the preset curves by mere manipulation of knobs, wherein easily realizing musical performances on the electronic musical instrument which are close to those produced by natural musical instruments.

Apparatus for realizing variable key scaling in electronic musical

An electronic musical instrument with plural pitch data generating functions includes a keyboard, a plurality of tone generating units, a pitch designating unit, a plural pitch data generating unit, and a musical tone generating unit. The keyboard has a plurality of keys. The tone generating units generate at least two tone signals in response to operation of a key among the plural keys. The pitch designating unit designates a pitch of a musical tone to be produced. The plural pitch data generating unit generates at least two pitch data based on the pitch and in accordance with different scale characteristics. The musical tone generating unit generates at least two musical tone signals based on at least two pitch data respectively, so that at least two musical tone signals have the different scale characteristics.

Electric music instrument with the capability of memorizing and

An electronic musical instrument is capable of processing, by the same processing circuit, parameter control analog information signals defining the shape of control waveforms for the modulation of musical tone signals, and analog musical tone signal generation mode select signals for selecting, for example, a musical tone signal waveform and filter characteristic. The parameter control analog information signals and generation mode analog select signals are both optionally set by a player and are multiplexed in a time sharing manner by an analog multiplexer. The multiplexed analog signals are converted into digital signals, which are converted into analog signals, and further demultiplexed. In a write mode, the digital signals are stored in a memory, while, in a read mode, the digital signals are read out of the memory, converted into analog signals, and demultiplexed. The demultiplexed parameter control analog signals are coupled to control waveform generator circuits, and the analog select signals are coupled to voltage detector circuits to have their analog voltage levels detected. The generation mode of a musical tone signal depends on voltage levels of the analog select signals.

Electronic musical instrument with memory to store tone control

An electronic musical instrument comprises a keyboard circuit providing a pitch determining voltage signal whose magnitude corresponds to the note of a key depressed, a rectangular wave generation circuit generating a rectangular wave voltage signal, and a voltage controlled oscillator connected to receive the pitch determining voltage signal and the rectangular wave voltage signal to produce alternately first and second tone signals for trill performance. The tone pitch of the first tone signal depends on the magnitude of pitch determining voltage signal and the tone pitch of the second tone signal depends on the magnitudes of pitch determining voltage signal and rectangular wave voltage signal. The musical intervals between tone pitches of the first and second tone signals depends on the magnitude of rectangular wave voltage signal.

Electronic musical instrument with automatic trill performance function

An electronic musical instrument is provided with a keyboard circuit, a voltage-controlled tone signal generating circuit arrangement and a sequencer for sequentially coupling memorized pitch voltage signals to the voltage-controlled tone signal generating circuit arrangement, thereby realizing automatic arpeggio performance. The sequencer is so connected as to receive a pitch determining voltage signal from the keyboard circuit at a given timing and is so arranged that the magnitudes of pitch voltage signals coupled to the tone signal generating circuit arrangement are shifted in accordance with the pitch determining voltage signal from the keyboard circuit, thus achieving transposition of arpeggio.

Electronic musical instrument with sequencer for automatic arpeggio

A musical sound controlling apparatus preferably incorporated into a music synthesizer type electronic music instrument and capable of generating a musical sound controlling signal in accordance with vocal signals or musical sound signals produced by musical instruments other than the music synthesizer type electronic musical instrument. The apparatus comprises a voltage-controlled filter whose frequency characteristics is controlled in accordance with a control waveform applied thereto and a control waveform generator which produces a control waveform varying with time in response to a trigger signal applied thereto. An external musical sound signal is applied to a switching circuit having a hysteresis characteristic through a rectifier circuit. The switching circuit is arranged to produce a stabilized trigger signal to be applied to the control waveform generator and have first and second different input switching levels for switching the output of the switching circuit. The first input switching level is set higher than the second input switching level. When a rising DC output voltage of the rectifier circuit exceeds the first input switching level the output of switching circuit is switched to produce a trigger signal and when a falling DC output voltage of the rectifier circuit falls below the second input switching level the output of switching circuit is switched back to the original state.

Electronic musical instrument with external sound control function

An electronic musical instrument having the key range divided into upper and lower divisions, including a logical circuit converting the change-over position outputs of a key range dividing position selecting switch into gate control signals specifying corresponding key range dividing positions and a plurality of gates controlled by these gate control signals, thereby controlling the distributive mode of keyed tone signals to different tone color filters.

Key range dividing type electronic musical instrument

A pitch bend apparatus for electronic musical instrument having a voltage-controlled oscillator that works as a tone generator is provided with a first variable resistor for operating the pitch bend as well as a second variable resistor for setting a varying width of pitch bend or a maximum amount of pitch deviation. The varying width of the pitch bend is controlled by connecting the first and second variable resistors into an amplifier circuit to control the gain thereof, or by controlling the voltage applied to the first variable resistor by means of the second variable resistor.

Pitch bend apparatus for electronic musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument comprises first and second voltage-controlled frequency-variable oscillators responsive to application of a pitch determining voltage signal from a keyboard circuit to produce first and second audible frequency signals, respectively. The second audible frequency signal is coupled to the first voltage-controlled oscillator to produce a frequency-modulated tone signal to be sounded in which the first audible frequency signal is frequency-modulated with the second audible frequency signal. The content of harmonic components in a musical tone can be increased by sideband components resulting from frequency modulation. The second audible frequency signal may be amplitude-controlled to be proportional, in amplitude, to the magnitude of pitch determining voltage signal, amplitude-modulated with a time-varying control waveform, and/or waveform-modified to provide desirable modulation effects. The mixture of the pitch determining voltage signal and the second audible frequency signal may be coupled to the first voltage-controlled oscillator through an absolute value circuit. The second audible frequency signal may be also coupled to a sound system together with the frequency-modulated tone signal.

Electronic musical instrument with frequency modulation of a tone signal

An electronic musical instrument comprises a plurality of tone generators for independently producing tone signals having slightly different frequencies, though fundamentally corresponding to the note of a key depressed on a keyboard; and a mixing circuit coupled to the outputs of the tone generators. The respective tone generators are provided with a control input and are brought to start in the same phase in response to application of an initial synchronizing pulse to the control inputs, thereby attaining clear rise of musical sounds immediately upon key depression. The synchronizing pulse may be produced necessarily at the instant of key depression only when an output of the mixing circuit has a amplitude level lower than a predetermined level.

Electronic musical instrument having plural oscillators starting in phase

An automatic rhythm producing apparatus is capable of emphasizing a rhythm pattern of a desired percussion instrument among a plurality of rhythm patterns which constitute a rhythm. The rhythm producing apparatus has a pulse level control circuit for controlling the pulse level of a selected rhythm pattern signal among a plurality of rhythm pattern signals. This circuit is provided between a rhythm pattern forming circuit and a rhythm selection circuit. The apparatus also comprises control means for controlling the output of the rhythm selection circuit to prevent variation in the average level of the entire rhythm sound. Another example of the inventive apparatus further discloses means for controlling power voltage in a frequency dividing circuit.

Automatic rhythm playing apparatus

The automatic rhythm producing apparatus according to the invention is capable of providing a clock pulse used for obtaining a basic tempo of a rhythm sound with an irregular pulse period as desired. The apparatus comprises an oscillator for producing a saw-tooth wave signal, a plurality of comparators for comparing this saw-tooth wave signal and a set reference voltage, pulse generation circuits for producing pulses in response to the outputs of the comparators, voltage dividers for supplying the set reference voltages to the comparators, a variable voltage power supply for supplying a variable voltage to the voltage dividers and a pulse generation circuit for producing a pulse when the level of the saw-tooth wave signal drops to zero. The pulse period of a clock pulse obtained by combining the outputs of these pulse generation circuits can be made irregular by suitably varying the variable constant voltage.

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Hamamatsu, Japan

Masahiko Koike