Yamaha Corporation

Masashi Hirano

Masatada Wachi

Hideo Suzuki

Hideo Yamada

Masahiro Shimizu

Hideyuki Masuda

Yoshimasa Isozaki

Motoichi Tamura

Takeshi Adachi

Akira Yamauchi

Yoshio Fujita

Shinichi Ohta

Tomomi Miyata

Kenji Itakura

Manually-operable and automatically-driveable fader operators are provided in corresponding relation to a plurality of channels, and a plurality of the fader operators are grouped in such a manner that the fader operators in a same group are operable collectively in an interlocked fashion. On a display screen, a window of a given group is opened in response to selection operation by a user, and a graphic image indicative of settings of the individual fader operators belonging to the given group is displayed. In response to operation by the user on the image displayed on the window of the given group and indicative of the settings of the individual fader operators, an image for effecting a change in the settings is displayed, and the individual fader operators belonging to the given group are automatically driven, to thereby change the settings. Such arrangements allow a grouping state of the operators to be identified visually with an increased ease and also facilitate setting operation.

Audio mixer group fader graphical user interface

A sound source apparatus has operation blocks composed of softwares used to compute waveforms for generating a plurality of musical tones through a plurality of channels according to performance information. In the apparatus, a setting device sets an algorithm which determines a system composed of selective ones of the operation blocks systematically combined with each other to compute a waveform specific to one of the musical tones. A designating device responds to the performance information for designating one of the channels to be used for generating the musical tone. A generating device allocates the selective operation blocks to the one channel and systematically executes the allocated selective operation blocks according to the algorithm so as to compute the waveform to thereby generate the musical tone through the channel. The generating device responds to a variable sampling frequency for executing the operation blocks to successively compute samples of the waveform in synchronization to the variable sampling frequency so as to generate the musical tone, and sets the variable sampling frequency according to process of computation of the waveform by the operation blocks.

Sound source system based on computer software and method of generating acoustic waveform data

In an apparatus for creating musical performance data according to operations of a user, a screen display section displays an input screen having a data input area for use in inputting of musical performance data. A position indication section operates when a first operation is taken by the user for indicating a desired position on the data input area. A display enlargement section operates when a second operation is taken eventually by the user for enlarging a local portion of the data input area around the indicated position and displaying the enlarged local portion over the data input area, thereby allowing the user to take a supplemental first operation on the enlarged local portion more easily than the first operation such that the position indication section responds to the supplemental first operation for indicating a desired position on the enlarged local portion of the data input area. A data input section is responsive to a third operation of the user for inputting musical performance data corresponding to the position indicated by the first operation when the supplemental first operation is not taken by the user, or corresponding to the position indicated by the supplemental first operation when the supplemental first operation is taken by the user.

Musical performance data creating apparatus with visual zooming assistance

A musical sound generating apparatus creates a waveform to generate a musical sound according to performance information. In the apparatus, a first waveform generator is operable for creating a waveform. A second waveform generator is operable independently from the first waveform generator for creating a waveform. An input device provides performance information. A designating device designates at least one of the first waveform generator and the second waveform generator in correspondence with the provided performance information. A controller selectively operates the designated one of the first waveform generator and the second waveform generator to create the waveform according to the provided performance information. An output device generates the musical sound based on the created waveform. The second waveform generator, the input device, the designating device and the controller are integrated with each other to constitute a main part composed of a computer, while the first waveform generator alone constitutes a supplementary part which is separate from the main part and which is optionally installable in the computer.

Computerized music system having software and hardware sound sources

A method is disclosed which edits a tonal-characteristic defining parameter by use of at least two computers, such as client and server computers, interconnected via a communication network. The client computer itself need not be equipped with an editor, i.e., an editing program, and it can utilize a desired editor or editing program on an on-line basis via the communication network. That is, desired editing data is input to the client computer, so that the editor or editing program of the server machine is run on-line in response to the editing data input and a result of editing by the editing program is sent back to the client computer via the communication network. For example, when a desired editor is selected via the client computer, an editing screen is supplied from the server computer to the client computer, so that the client computer carries out a desired editing input operation with reference to the supplied editing screen and then the server machine executes editing processing using the selected editor and in response to the editing input and transmits a result of the editing processing to the client computer. The edited result can be used by the client computer in tone generation or other tone- or music-related processing etc. In case the server is not equipped with the selected editor, the server conducts a relay such that the editing processing is executed via another computer on the network equipped with the selected editor.

System and method for editing tone parameter by use of a communication network

To allow a general-purpose processor and dedicated tone generator device to execute an ensemble with their tone generating timing properly matched with each other, tone synthesizing processing based on performance information is assigned to either the general-purpose processor or the dedicated tone generator device. The general-purpose processor, after completion of the tone synthesizing processing thereby, performs control to cause the dedicated tone generator device to execute the tone synthesizing processing assigned to the device. By the time the dedicated tone generator device starts the tone synthesizing processing, a time necessary for the general-purpose processor to execute the processing has already passed away, so that tones synthesized by the processor and tone generator device can be generated at properly matched timing.

Tone synthesizing apparatus and method based on ensemble of arithmetic

Sound source system based on computer software and method of generating

In each of terminal devices, there is stored user profile information on the corresponding device. The user profile information includes data identifying the user, type and name of the device, information regarding a CPU, memory and operating system (OS) provided in the device, and information regarding various data and program stored in the device. When desired musical information data is to be downloaded from a host computer, a request for downloading optimum data is sent to the host computer. This permits efficient loading of data most suitable for system conditions. When data or program is to be loaded from a recording medium, such as a CD-ROM, rather than a communication network, efficient loading is permitted in a similar manner.

Musical information processing system with automatic data transfer

In a musical tone synthesis apparatus, a sequencer provides a sequence of event data effective to command generation of musical tones. A generator operates according to the event data to generate the musical tones. A detector detects when either of the sequencer and the generator suffers from misoperation which would cause abnormal generation of the musical tone. A blocking device operates when the misoperation is detected for blocking the generator to prevent the abnormal generation of the musical tone.

Music computer saving abnormal tone generation by hangup

An electronic musical apparatus employs a tone-generator section containing a plurality of tone-generator channels, each consisting of a vowel generation unit and a consonant generation unit which operate based on formant sound synthesis, so that a song is automatically swung based on lyric data and performance data. If a syllable within words of a lyric designated by the lyric data consists of a consonant and a vowel, the consonant generation unit generates the consonant with respect to a consonant sounding time which is set in advance whilst the vowel generation unit generates the vowel to follow the consonant. If generation of multiple syllables is allocated to a desired single note within notes corresponding to a melody designated by the performance data, the multiple syllables are sequentially generated during a sounding time of the desired single note. A human operator is capable of inputting words of a lyric to form the lyric data by using a computer keyboard. Or, the human operator is capable of editing the contents of the lyric data by using the computer keyboard. Incidentally, programs and/or the lyric data and performance data can be stored in an internal memory of the electronic musical apparatus; or they can be transferred to the electronic musical apparatus from an external storage device or an external system.

Electronic musical apparatus using vocalized sounds to sing a song

In a sound source apparatus, a display unit displays a block diagram containing various functional blocks which represent corresponding elementary functions selectively usable for synthesis of a desired musical tone. A secondary memory provisionally stores a pair of an effective elementary program and an ineffective elementary program for each functional block such that the effective elementary program is designed to effectuate the corresponding elementary function while the ineffective elementary program is designed to ineffectuate the corresponding elementary function. An editor unit graphically treats the displayed block diagram so that each functional block is selected if the corresponding elementary function is necessary for the synthesis of the desired musical tone and is otherwise nonselected if the corresponding elementary function is unnecessary for the synthesis of the desired musical tone to thereby edit an algorithm which defines an arithmetic procedure for the synthesis of the desired musical tone. An assembler unit retrieves from the secondary memory an effective elementary program for each selected functional block so as to enable the corresponding elementary function, and retrieves an ineffective elementary program for each nonselected functional block so as to disable the corresponding elementary function to thereby assemble the retrieved ones of the effective and ineffective elementary programs into a complete program according to the edited algorithm. A primary memory stores the complete program. A generator unit is connected to the primary memory for executing the edited arithmetic procedure according to the stored complete program to thereby generate the desired musical tone.

Computerized sound source programmable by user's editing of tone

A musical tone synthesizing apparatus provides a closed loop containing an adder, a delay circuit, a filter and a gain control portion. The delay circuit has a delay time which is set responsive to a tone pitch of a musical tone to be produced. An excitation signal is produced in response to the musical tone to be produced and is introduced into the closed loop through the adder, so that the excitation signal circulates through the closed loop. The gain control portion is provided to control a loop gain of the closed loop on the basis of a preset parameter and another parameter which is controlled responsive to a tone color of the musical tone to be produced. The signal circulating through the closed loop is picked up as a musical tone signal representing the musical tone to be produced. By controlling the loop gain of the closed loop, an attenuation characteristic of the musical tone signal is controlled. Hence, it is possible to freely control a sounding time of a decay sound such as a guitar sound.

Musical tone synthesizing apparatus including loop gain control

A desired offset value is set and difference between this offset value and touch data is obtained. A touch response control is performed in either of positive and negative directions. This difference data may be changed and adjusted by a desired touch sensitivity parameter. In a case where data used for a tone control is transferred from suitable reference data to control data corresponding to touch data, following interpolation from the reference data to the control data is made and a tone control is made in response to data obtained by this interpolation. In this case, coefficients for the following interpolation are caused to change gradually so that tone control data obtained by the interpolation will change smoothly. An abrupt change in a tone control signal thereby can be prevented and a touch response control which is not accompanied by unnaturalness can be realized.

Growing community of inventors

Hamamatsu, Japan

Masashi Hirano