Yamaha Corporation

Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha

Tokuji Hayakawa

Takeo Shibukawa

Eiichiro Aoki

Akira Nakada

Motoichi Tamura

Mitsumi Katoh

Hiroshi Munekawa

Masatada Wachi

Tadahiko Ikeya

Masao Ishibashi

Yorihisa Yamaguchi

Hidemichi Kimura

Plural pieces of music data (performance data) each corresponding to each of plural music pieces are stored in a rewritable external storage device. Further, tone range restriction data indicating a sound generable range of a tone is stored in the external storage deviceas associated with each piece of performance data or each piece of tone color data for controlling a tone color of a tone. A CPUtransposes the music piece corresponding to the selected performance data by the inputted transposition amount by the program process. In case where a part of the pitch of the transposed music piece is outside the sound generable range indicated by tone range restriction data corresponding to the selected performance data or to the selected tone color data, the transposition amount of all of or a part of the music piece including at least a note corresponding to the aforesaid part of the pitch is changed. Accordingly, a sound generable range is changed depending upon a music piece or according to a taste of a user even if a tone is generated with a same tone color.

Electronic musical apparatus for transposing musical piece

In a fingering information analyzer, tone pitch information indicative of each tone pitch of a series of musical notes supplied from a flexible disc or a performance information memory is analyzed to produce fingering information indicative of a performance finger for each of the musical notes. The fingering information is mixed with the tone pitch information and memorized in a fingering memory. When the fingering information is reproduced, a performance finger for each of the musical notes is determined in accordance with a changing direction or variation width of the tone pitch information continual in time series and a changing condition of white and black keys based on the tone pitch information. The tone pitch information and fingering information memorized in the fingering memory is read out in accordance with progression of a musical tune and adapted for performance of the keys on a keyboard and for indication of the performance finger.

Fingering information analyzer, electronic musical instrument including fingering information analysis and method therefore

Fingering information analyzer and electronic musical instrument with

An automatic accompaniment apparatus stores a plurality of chord variety progression patterns corresponding to the respective types of chords. Each chord variety progression pattern is constituted by a subprogression of plural chords provided for the corresponding chord type. When a player designates chords in progression to be used for an automatic accompaniment performance, the chord type of each designated chord is detected, and each single chord will be substituted by a chord variety progression pattern for the chord type which is the same as such a designated single chord, under the condition that the chord variety progression function is made operative for such a designated chord and that such a designated chord is of a type for which a chord variety progression pattern is provided correspondingly. As the player performs a chord progression of a slower change, the apparatus realizes a modified complex chord progression with a faster chord change to enhance the variousness in chord progressions. The chord variety progression pattern may further include on/off control data for the accompaniment pattern and wavy control data for performance volume variation, thereby adding further variety in accompaniment performance.

Automatic accompaniment apparatus and method with chord variety

An electronic musical instrument capable of providing an optimum sound field localization, such as key scale panning, suitable for a tone color selected from a plurality of tone colors by a player. A panning data for dividing a tone signal into right and left tone signals is generated in accordance a selected tone color and tone pitch of a tone signal to be generated. The panning is executed by using the panning data.

Electrical musical instrument providing sound field localization

A playing musical data processor is provided with a specified punch-in/punch-out timing storage device and punch-in record device. During the period between the punch-in timing and the punch-out timing, the previously recorded musical playing data in that period is replaced with the musical playing data of the music played in real time. Also, the same recording operation can be done again as many times as desired. Also, the playing musical data processor is provided with a specified phrase timing storage device for storing timing data by clock number so as to more easily specify timing in music. During the period between the specified phrase timing and next phrase timing, the playing musical data in that period is reproduced repeatedly even if the phrase timings coincide with the timing of a bar end. Also the playing musical data processor is provided with a tempo data record device for recording tempo data in the midst of a musical time as a rate of change from an initial tempo value of the music.

Musical playing data processor

In a case where a fill-in pattern is temporarily inserted during an automatic performance, not only a main pattern to which the performance pattern should be shifted but also a main pattern which has been performed immediately before are taken into account and a fill-in pattern is automatically determined in accordance with a combination of the two main patterns. In a case where an introduction pattern is inserted at the beginning of the automatic performance, an introduction pattern is automatically determined depending upon which main pattern is performed after the introduction performance. In a case where an ending performance is inserted at the end of the automatic performance, an ending pattern is automatically determined depending upon which main pattern has been performed immediately before the ending. In a case where, during a fill-in performance, an operation for designating another fill-in performance has been made, the fill-in performance which is being performed is continued and, as to the main pattern to which the pattern should be shifted, one which is designated later is given priority. Transient performance patterns such as fill-in, introduction and ending are automatically determined in these manner and an automatic performance which is rich in variety can be realized.

Automatic performance device

An automatic performance apparatus output key data to different kinds of first and second internal or external sound sources and causes the first and second sound sources to synchronously generate tones. Key data is outputted to the first sound source after the lapse of a first delay time data is outputtted to the second sound source after the lapse of a second delay time. When the first sound source, which immediately starts tone generation in response to a tone generation instruction, and the second sound source, which starts tone generation with a delay time from the tone generation instruction, are caused to perform tone generation, a tone generation instruction to the first sound source is delayed from that to the second sound source, thus allowing synchronous musical tone generation between the two sound sources.

Automatic performance apparatus for causing different kinds of sound

A soft pedal effect applying apparatus is utilized in an electronic musical instrument in order to apply a soft pedal effect to a musical tone to be generated when a soft pedal is operated, wherein this soft pedal effect is set quite similar to that of a non-electronic musical instrument such as a grand piano. Before operating the soft pedal, a generated musical tone has a reference tone volume and a reference tone color which are determined based on a touch operation intensity applied to a depressed key in a keyboard. By operating the soft pedal, a tone volume of the generated musical tone is softened due to the soft pedal effect by slightly lowering the tone volume by the predetermined tone volume attenuation value, wherein this lowered tone volume can be clearly discriminated from the reference tone volume. Such attenuation value can be arbitrarily varied in response to the tone volume level. In addition, a tone color of the generated musical tone is softened due to the soft pedal effect by giving a desirable filter characteristic to the tone color, wherein this softened tone color is different from the reference tone color. Thus, when the soft pedal is operated, the tone volume and the tone color of the generated musical tone are independently softened.

Soft pedal effect applying apparatus

The present invention provides a tone color control so that the tone color in an attack portion of a tone to be generated differs depending upon whether or not a slur effect is to be imparted. If, for example, the slur effect is not imparted, a tone color for an attack portion of a tone which is rich in variation is used, whereas if the slur effect is to be imparted, a stable tone color which is the same as the sustain portion of a tone is used. In another aspect of the invention, in the case of imparting the slur effect, a tone signal is distributed to two channels and envelopes of signals in the respective channels are separately and independently controlled by separate control signals. In one channel, a control signal of decay characteristics is used whereas in the other channel, a control signal of attack characteristics is used. The changing rate of the control signal of the attack characteristics is made greater than that of the control signal of the decay characteristics.

Slur effect pitch control in an electronic musical instrument

A note clock generation circuit generates note clock pulses in correspondence to a note name of a tone to be generated. An octave rate data generation circuit generates rate data in correspondence to the octave range to which the tone to be generated belongs. By performing addition or subtraction of the rate data at the timing of generation of the note clock pulses, an address signal is generated. A tone generator generates a tone waveshape in the form of amplitude sampled values in response to an integer section of this address signal. An interpolation circuit performs interpolation between adjacent amplitude sampled values thus generated in response to a decimal section of the address signal. The rate of change of the decimal section of the address signal is changed in accordance with the tone range so that a finer interpolation is made as the tone range becomes lower. By this arrangement, decrease in an effective sampling frequency in the lower tone range can be prevented. The interpolation circuit receives the amplitude sampled values and the interpolation parameter (i.e., the decimal section of the address signal) respectively in a pitch synchronized state and performs the interpolation operation in the pitch synchronized state. The timing of the interpolation operation thereby is synchronized with the pitch of the generated tone so that inharmonic noise components are substantially removed.

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Hamamatsu, Japan

Tokuji Hayakawa