Yamaha Corporation

Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha

Naota Katada

Kosei Terada

Masatada Wachi

Takeshi Adachi

Tetsuo Okamoto

Tsuyoshi Futamase

Akio Imamura

Takaaki Mutoh

Toshiaki Sato

Tadashi Yamada

An electronic musical instrument has a plurality of detectors, a plurality of converters and a selector. The plurality of detectors, which are arranged, respectively, at predetermined joints of a human body or in the vicinity thereof, detect angles formed by respective ones of the predetermined joints, and generate a plurality of angle data indicative of the respective detected angles. The plurality of converters have different input/output characteristics and thereby convert the plurality of angle data into respective single frequency data each indicative of a frequency of a musical tone. The selector selects desired one from among the plurality of converters.

Electronic musical instrument having selectable angle-to-tone conversion

An electronic musical instrument includes a first tone generator for generating a musical tone in response to each depression of key on an accompaniment keyboard and a second tone generator for generating a musical tone in accordance with the musical performance data read from the memory. In a specific mode, the player can cause the first tone generator to generate a musical tone through the accompaniment keyboard with the accompaniment being automatically played. In a mode for recording an accompaniment of a music into the memory in a step manner, a chord is detected from keys depressed on the accompaniment keyboard, and data representative of the detected chord is written into the memory together with data representative of a note-length designated by note-length selection switches. In a mode for recording an accompaniment in real time, each time keys are depressed, the chord data of the depressed keys is written into the memory together with the contents of a tempo clock counter. States of various control elements of a control panel for controlling the generation of the musical tone can also be stored into the memory. The control elements are automatically set to the stored states when the accompaniment is automatically played. If desired, only the control elements can be automatically set to the stored states so that the player can play an accompaniment without operating the control elements.

Electronic musical instrument with automatic music performance system

An electronic musical instrument having a keyboard, includes a plurality of keys, a plurality of musical tone signal generation systems, a touch detector for producing touch data representing a key touch accompanied by a key depression, a panel operation unit for setting a touch sensitivity representing a sensitivity with respect to a key touch for each of the musical tone signal generation systems, and a register unit for modifying the touch data in accordance with the touch sensitivity corresponding to each of the musical tone signal generation systems. Different tone groups are assigned to the musical tone signal generation systems, and a musical tone signal which has a tone color belonging to the corresponding musical tone group and a pitch corresponding to a key depression is produced from each of the musical tone signal generation systems. Each musical tone group includes at least two tone colors having a common attribute. The musical tone signals from the corresponding musical tone signal generation systems are controlled in accordance with the modified touch data corresponding to the musical tone signal generation systems obtained from the register unit.

Electronic musical keyboard instruments with variable touch sensitivity

An electronic musical instrument has a parameter setting system for setting a parameter necessary for controlling a musical characteristic which is a tone color or a musical effect such as a vibrato in a musical tone generating section. The parameter setting system comprises a memory (RAM) for storing a plurality of sets of parameters each set including, for example, a vibrato delay parameter and a vibrato speed parameter. When one of tone-color selection switches on a control panel is depressed, the set of parameters corresponding to the depressed tone-color selection switch are read and supplied to the musical tone generating section to thereby control the vibrato of the musical tone. The selected set of parameters in the RAM can be changed by the player through menu selection switches and data-up and data-down switches to desired values. The system may include a quit switch for restoring the set of parameters precedingly selected. The RAM may further store parameters for controlling another musical effect such as a tremolo. In this case, selection switches for selecting one of the vibrato and the tremolo are provided on the control panel, and parameters related to the selected musical effect are read from the RAM so that those parameters can be changed by the player.

Parameter setting system for electronic musical instrument

A tone control apparatus for use in an electronic musical instrument is responsive to an easily accessible switch such as a foot-lever switch to control conditions of muscial tone which include, for example, a tone pitch, a tone color, a tone volume and a tone effect. The tone control apparatus has a keyboard for designating a frequency of a musical tone to be generated and a musical tone generating circuit for generating a musical tone having a frequency designated by the keyboard. The tone control apparatus further has a memory for storing a plurality of groups of tone control data. Each time the foot-lever switch is operated by the performer, one of the tone control data group is read and supplied to the musical tone generating circuit to control the conditions of the generating musical tone. In a first mode, the plurality of tone control data groups are sequentially read in synchronization with the operations of the foot-lever switch. In a second mode, the tone control group designated by a group number, which has been preset by the operator, is read. Thus, the performer can change the conditions of the generating musical tone by operating the foot-lever switch with his foot even when performing music on the keyboard with his both hands.

Tone control apparatus for electronic musical instrument

An electronic musical instrument having its keyboard divided into plural key ranges with musical tones being generated with tone colors which are different one key range from another. For achieving this object, the instrument comprises channel processors, tone generators, additional tone generators for the lowest (or highest) key in each key range, a common key coder for obtaining key data of depressed keys and a control circuit for supplying key codes delivered out of the key coder to only a channel processor of a corresponding key range. The key coder delivers out key data of depressed keys sequentially one key data at one time slot. According to the invention, the lowest (or highest) tone in a predetermined key range is generated with a tone color corresponding to the key range and also with a different tone color. The time slot allotted to the lowest (or highest) key is divided into two halves and a key code of the lowest (or highest) key is applied to a corresponding channel processor during the first half and is applied to a tone generator for the lowest (or highest) key after being once stored in a register. A lowest key detection circuit generates a pulse defining the second half of the time slot.

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Hamamatsu, Japan

Naota Katada