JP2003084760A - Repeating installation for midi signal and musical tone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) signal repeating installation which is capable of easy synchronizing the MIDI clocks of respective musical tone devices and is capable of utilizing the existing musical tone devices, etc. SOLUTION: When a real time message of MIDI signal is received, an electronic musical instrument or the like to which the real time message is first sent is set at a master musical instrument and another electronic musical instrument or the like is set as a slave musical instrument and the timing clock of MIDI signal sent from the master musical instrument is sent to the slave musical instrument.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to MIDI (Musica
The present invention relates to a MIDI signal relay device and a tone system for connecting a plurality of electronic musical instruments and the like to each other according to the Instrument Digital Interface) standard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, MIDI has been used in electronic musical instruments such as electronic pianos, electronic keyboards and synthesizers.
(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard allows multiple electronic musical instruments to be connected to each other, and a musical tone can be generated from a slave musical instrument by key operation on the master musical instrument, and performance information sent from a master musical instrument that has an automatic performance function and an automatic accompaniment function. Some accompaniment information allows a musical tone to be generated from a slave musical instrument. In this type of electronic musical instrument, it is also possible to perform an ensemble with a plurality of electronic musical instruments by controlling automatic performance and automatic accompaniment in synchronization with a MIDI timing clock (MIDI clock) sent from a master musical instrument.

In addition, the MIDI standard electronic musical instrument is sent from the outside by connecting a normal mode in which the internal device generates its own clock to play by itself and another electronic musical instrument connected via a MIDI terminal. It has a synchronous mode for performing an ensemble and the like using an incoming MIDI clock. The switching of these modes is performed by operating a predetermined operator provided on the operation panel of the electronic musical instrument.

Therefore, when performing an ensemble by external synchronization using a MIDI clock, not only a plurality of electronic musical instruments are connected by a MIDI cable, but also a command menu displayed on the display of each electronic musical instrument is specified. It is necessary to perform an operation of setting the synchronous mode by sequentially selecting the operation elements.

[0005]

However, the operation for setting the mode is complicated, not limited to the synchronous mode.
If there is a beginner who is unfamiliar with the operation among the performers who play each electronic musical instrument, there is a problem that the ensemble cannot be started easily.

In addition, when performing an ensemble using a MIDI clock, it is necessary to perform an operation to match the set tempo speed of the master instrument in each slave instrument and an instruction to start / stop automatic accompaniment or automatic performance. In this case, when a beginner, an elderly person, or a physically handicapped person who is not accustomed to the operation of the electronic musical instrument performs the operation, the timing of the start instruction may be too early or too late, and the MIDI clock may be properly synchronized. There is also the problem that it cannot be taken.

Therefore, a special signal for specifying the master / slave relationship among a plurality of musical instruments is defined, and a setting switch for setting as a master musical instrument and a MIDI signal when the setting switch is turned on. There is an electronic musical instrument provided with a transmitting means for transmitting the special signal to the other electronic musical instrument so that the connected other electronic musical instrument becomes a slave musical instrument. When a system is constructed by connecting a plurality of electronic musical instruments, the electronic musical instrument is set as a master musical instrument by turning on a setting switch of the electronic musical instrument, and another electronic musical instrument MIDI-connected to the electronic musical instrument is set. The special signal is transmitted to the musical instrument, and the other electronic musical instrument is automatically set as the slave musical instrument. Therefore, in the system constructed by connecting a plurality of the electronic musical instruments, the MIDI clocks of the respective electronic musical instruments can be easily synchronized.

However, in the above system, each of the electronic musical instruments is provided with the above-mentioned setting switch and the transmitting means, and by correctly recognizing the special signal for specifying the above-mentioned master / slave relationship, these functions are achieved. There is a problem that the existing electronic musical instrument cannot be used because it must be a dedicated electronic musical instrument capable of fulfilling the above requirements.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a MIDI signal repeater capable of easily synchronizing the MIDI clocks of respective musical tone devices and utilizing existing musical tone devices and the like. And to provide a musical tone system.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a MIDI signal relay device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a MIDI connection means for MIDI connection with a plurality of musical tone devices, and the M connection.
Transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving a MIDI signal to / from a plurality of IDI-connected musical tone devices, and a musical tone apparatus that first transmits the real-time message when the real-time message of the MIDI signal is received by the transmitting / receiving means. And a setting means for setting another musical tone device as a slave, and the transmitting / receiving means,
The timing clock of the MIDI signal transmitted from the musical tone device set as the master is transmitted to the musical tone device set as the slave.

A MIDI signal relay device according to a second aspect of the present invention is
2. The MIDI signal relay device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting / receiving unit receives a timing clock of a MIDI signal transmitted from the musical tone device set as the slave, and the setting unit receives the received MIDI signal. The timing clock is blocked so as not to be transmitted to the plurality of MIDI-connected musical tone devices.

A MIDI signal relay device according to claim 3 is
The MIDI signal relay device according to claim 1 or 2,
The real-time message is Start (FA),
It is characterized by being either one of a stop (FC) and a continue (FB).

A musical tone system according to a fourth aspect comprises the MIDI signal relay device according to any one of the first to third aspects and a plurality of musical tone devices connected to the MIDI signal relay device. And

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a musical tone system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The musical sound system according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises a MIDI standard electronic musical instrument 1, 2, a MIDI standard sequencer 3, and a repeater 4 MIDI-connected to these electronic musical instruments 1, 2 and sequencer 3. It has and.

In the figure, "IN" provided in each of the electronic musical instruments 1 and 2, the sequencer 3 and the repeater 4 is MID.
It is an input interface of I signal, and "OUT" is M
This is an output interface for the IDI signal.

The electronic musical instruments 1 and 2 and the sequencer 3 are a sound source, a keyboard, and means necessary for automatic performance, such as a CPU,
It is equipped with a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, a display device, and the like, and can perform performance data and the like generated by its own device to other devices as appropriate and perform processing based on the received data, for example, musical tone forming processing. Further, when performing ensemble, one of the electronic musical instruments 1, 2 and the sequencer 3 becomes a master musical instrument, and the other two become slave musical instruments. At this time, the master instrument is MID for each slave instrument
A real-time message of the I signal, specifically, a timing clock (F8) and, if necessary, start (FA), stop (FC), or continue (F)
B) and are output, and each slave musical instrument plays according to this timing clock (F8) and the like.

The timing clock (F8) is
It is a clock that serves as a reference when synchronizing devices that perform time management independently such as MIDI-compliant electronic musical instruments and sequencers. Start (FA), stop (FC), and continue (FB) are MIDI standards. When playing electronic musical instruments, sequencers, etc. synchronously, start playing,
It is MIDI information for transmitting each operation of stop and continue. Both start and continue are information to start playing, but start is information to start playing from the beginning of the performance, and continue is information to start playing from a position previously designated by the song position pointer. .

The repeater 4 has an input interface "I".
N ”and the output interface“ OUT ”are connected to the port (1) 5, the port (2) 6 and the port (3) 7 and the input interface“ IN ”and the output interface“ OUT ”of each port, and , And a control unit 8 for controlling input / output of MIDI signals in each interface. The control unit 8 is provided with a timer 9 for measuring time in order to execute an interrupt process described later at every predetermined time. Each input interface “IN” of each port has an input buffer (not shown), and each output interface “OUT” of each port has an output buffer (not shown).

The repeater 4 receives the MIDI signal input from the input interface "IN" of one port from the other two.
It has the function of a MIDI through box that outputs from the output interface “OUT” of one port. The numerical values in parentheses of port (1) 5, port (2) 6 and port (3) 7, that is, 1 to 3 are concrete values of the port designation variable n for designating the port, and interrupts described later. Used to perform processing.

Further, the repeater 4 simply receives the MIDI signal input from the input interface "IN" of one port and simply outputs the MIDI signal of the other two ports "OU".
However, in the real time message of the MIDI signal, the timing clock (F
Regarding 8), control is performed so that reception is exclusively received. That is, priority is given to first-come-first-served basis, and only the timing clock input from the port that receives the start (FA) is validated, and even if the timing clock is transmitted from another port, it is ignored.

For example, in the input interface "IN" of the port (2) 6 to which the electronic musical instrument 2 is connected,
When the start (FA) is received first, the timing clock (F8) transmitted by the electronic musical instrument 2, that is, the timing clock (F) received by the port (2) 6 is received.
8) is output from the output interface “OUT” of the ports (1) 5 and (3) 7, and the input interface “IN” of the ports (1) 5 and (3) 7 receives the timing clock (F8). Also shuts off this timing clock to prevent it from being sent to port (2) 6, etc.

Next, the processing executed by the control unit 8 of the repeater 4 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the timer interrupt processing executed by the control unit 8 of FIG. This interrupt processing is
It is executed for each clock of the MIDI signal, and is executed for all ports included in the repeater 4 at one interrupt.

The timer interrupt processing is roughly divided into
The following four processes are executed. (1) First processing: MIDI signal acquisition processing (step S
1 to step S3). (2) Second process: a process in which the electronic musical instrument or the like connected to the port that receives the start (FA) is set as the master and the other electronic musical instruments or the like are set as the slaves on the first-come-first-served basis (steps S4, 5). (3) Third processing: processing for transmitting the timing clock of the master musical instrument and the MIDI signal other than the timing clock to all ports except a specific port (YES in step S6 → NO in step S8, step S6)
→ YES in step S7 → step S8), processing for shutting off the timing clock of the slave musical instrument (NO in step S6 → NO in step S7). (4) Fourth processing: processing for causing all the ports included in the repeater 4 to execute the processing of steps S2 to S8 (steps S9 and S10).

Each process will be described in detail below.

(1) First process (steps S1 to S3) First, the port designation variable n is initialized (step S).
1). Specifically, since there are ports (1) to (3), 1 is set in the port designation variable n.

Next, it is determined whether or not the port (n) receives the MIDI signal (step S2). Specifically, first, it is determined whether or not the port (1) is receiving the MIDI signal, and when the loop is made in NO in step S10 described later, the port (2) receives the MIDI signal. It is determined whether or not there is, and then NO in step S10.
Every time it loops in, port (3) ... port (n)
For (n is an integer), it is determined whether or not a MIDI signal is received.

As a result of the determination in step S2, port (n)
Does not receive the MIDI signal, the process proceeds to step S9 described later.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S2, when the port (n) receives the MIDI signal, the reception buffer provided in the port (n) fetches the MIDI signal (step S3).

(2) Second process (steps S4, 5) Next, the M data stored in the reception buffer in step S3.
It is determined whether the IDI signal is the start (FA) and the F8 lock designation is not received (step S).
4). Here, the F8 lock designation means designating a port for which the timing clock (F8) is valid. Therefore, an electronic musical instrument or the like connected to a port that receives the F8 lock designation will
Since 8) is valid, it becomes a master musical instrument, and an electronic musical instrument or the like connected to a port that does not receive the F8 lock designation becomes a slave musical instrument. The determination in step S7 is made on a first-come-first-served basis so that only the timing clock input from the port that has received the start (FA) is valid.

If the result of the determination in step S4 is that the MIDI signal captured in the reception buffer is start (FA) and F8 lock has not been designated (YES in step S4), start (FA) is received. The designated port is designated as an F8 locked designation port, that is, the timing clock (F8) is validated (step S5).

If the result of the determination in step S4 is that the MIDI signal fetched in the reception buffer is not start (FA) or F8 lock has already been designated (NO in step S4), step S5 is skipped. , And proceeds to the next step S6.

(3) Third Process (Steps S6 to S8) In step S6, the MIDI signal taken into the receiving buffer in step S3 is the timing clock (F8).
It is determined whether it is not.

As a result of the determination in step S6, step S3
If the MIDI signal captured in the receiving buffer in step S6 is not the timing clock (F8) (YES in step S6), the MIDI signal captured in the receiving buffer in step S3 is output to a port other than the port including the receiving buffer. The data is written in the transmission buffers of all other ports (step S8). Therefore, for example, when the MIDI signal captured in the reception buffer in step S3 is stop (FC), the real-time message of stop (FC) is transmitted to all ports other than the port including the reception buffer. Written to the buffer. As a result, the electronic musical instruments etc. connected to all these ports will be M
IDI performance will be stopped.

As a result of the determination in step S6, step S3
If the MIDI signal fetched in the reception buffer in step S6 is the timing clock (F8) (NO in step S6), whether the port including the reception buffer in step S3 is a port that has received the F8 lock designation. Is determined (step S7).

As a result of the determination in step S7, step S3
If the port having the reception buffer of is the port that has received the F8 lock designation (YES in step S7)
S), the process proceeds to step S8. This series of flows (NO in step S6 → YES in step S7 → step S
8) is a timing signal of the MIDI signal taken into the reception buffer provided in the port that receives the F8 lock designation.
When it is the clock (F8), it means that this timing clock (F8) is written in the transmission buffers of all the ports other than the port that receives the F8 lock designation. That is, this means that the timing clock (F8) output from the master musical instrument is output to the slave musical instrument. As a result, the master musical instrument and the slave musical instrument can be synchronized and ensembled.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S7, if the port including the reception buffer in step S3 is the port that has received the F8 lock designation (Y in step S7).
ES), skip the step S8, and proceed to step S9 described later. This series of flow (N in step S6
O → NO in step S7) is the MI fetched in the reception buffer provided in the port not receiving the F8 lock designation.
When the DI signal is the timing clock (F8), it means that the timing clock is blocked from being transmitted to other ports. That is, it means that the timing clock (F8) output from the slave musical instrument is cut off.

(4) Fourth Process (Steps S9, 10) After the process of the above step S8, if NO in the above step S7 or NO in the above step S2, the port designation variable n is incremented by 1 (step S9), it is determined whether the port designation variable n is larger than the total number N of ports included in the repeater 4 (step S10).

If the result of the determination in step S10 is that the port designation variable n is not larger than the total number N of ports, there are still unprocessed ports, so the process returns to step S2 while the port designation variable n is all ports. If the number is larger than the number N, the processing for all the ports included in the repeater 4 has been completed, so the present timer interrupt processing is completed.

In the timer interrupt process, the MIDI signal captured in the receive buffer and the transmit buffer provided in each port is not erased, but the process of erasing the captured MIDI signal is performed in step S8 and subsequent steps. To be done in one of the steps.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
When a real-time message of a MIDI signal is received, the electronic musical instrument or the like that first transmits the real-time message is set as the master musical instrument, and another electronic musical instrument or the like is set as the slave musical instrument, and the MI transmitted from the master musical instrument.
Since the timing clock of the DI signal is transmitted to the slave musical instrument, the MIDI clock of each musical tone device can be easily synchronized. Further, since the master musical instrument and the slave musical instrument are automatically set without the need for a setting switch or the like for setting as the master musical instrument as in the conventional case, the existing musical tone device can be used. Also,
The user can easily switch the master / slave of the musical tone device by transmitting only the real-time message without any special knowledge.

Further, according to this embodiment, when the timing clock of the MIDI signal transmitted from the slave musical instrument is received, the timing clock of the received MIDI signal is transmitted to a plurality of electronically connected MIDIs. Since it is blocked so as not to be transmitted to a musical instrument or the like, the MIDI clocks of the musical tone devices can be reliably synchronized.

A modification of the above timer interrupt processing will be described below with reference to FIG.
Shown in. In this modification, step S of the timer interrupt process is performed.
The difference is that steps S11 and S12 are added between step 5 and step S6.

After the processing of step S5, the MIDI signal taken into the receiving buffer at step S3 is stopped (F
C) is determined (step S11), and the MIDI signal taken in the reception buffer is stopped (FC).
If it is, the F8 lock designation of the port that received the F8 lock designation in step S5 is released (step S1
2), go to step S6. On the other hand, when the MIDI signal taken in the reception buffer is not stop (FC), step S12 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S6.

Since this interrupt process is executed for all ports provided in the repeater 4 by one interrupt, step S11 is performed.
By adding the process of step S12, if the stop (FC) is received from any of the ports, the F8 lock designation is released.

In the above embodiment, the port that receives the start (FA) with the first-come-first-served priority is the port that has received the F8 lock designation (step S5), but the stop (FC) or continue (FB) is received with the first-come-first-served priority. The designated port may be the port that has received the F8 lock designation.

Further, in the above embodiment, only the timing clock (F8) from other than a specific port is blocked (steps S6, 7), but other real-time messages may be blocked.

Further, in the above embodiment, the respective devices were directly connected by MIDI, but a telephone line, the Internet, USB, IEEE 1394, etc. may be interposed in the middle.
In this case, in order to allow the MIDI signal to be transmitted and received at the original timing, the data transmission rate is converted, the time stamp is added to the packet data, and the time axis is reconfigured based on the time stamp.

In the above embodiment, the repeater 4 has three ports, but the number of ports is not limited to this as long as there are a plurality of ports.

In the above description, the present invention is based on MIDI.
Although the description has been given with respect to the repeater 4 that relays signals, a software program that operates on a computer such as a personal computer or an electronic musical instrument that executes processing that implements the operation steps of the repeater 4 or the relay method, or the program is stored. It may be a storage medium. In this case, the port may be implemented as hardware in a personal computer or the like, or the telephone line,
Alternatively, signals corresponding to a plurality of ports may be multiplexed and transmitted on a transmission path such as the Internet, USB, and IEEE 1394 to be realized as a plurality of virtual ports.

The description has been made assuming that the signal to be relayed is the MIDI signal, but if the signal is a performance control signal having a clock for starting or stopping the performance and synchronizing the performance, as in the MIDI standard, that signal is the signal. Standard is MIDI
It is not limited to the standard.

[0054]

As described above in detail, according to the MIDI signal relay device of the first aspect, the MI signal is transmitted by the transmitting / receiving means.
When the real-time message of the DI signal is received, the tone device that first transmitted the real-time message is set as the master, the other tone devices are set as slaves, and the tone device set as the master transmits Since the timing clock of the incoming MIDI signal is transmitted to the musical tone devices set as slaves, the MIDI clocks of the respective musical tone devices can be easily synchronized. Further, since the master and slave of the musical tone device are automatically set without the need for a setting switch or the like for setting as a master musical instrument as in the prior art, the existing musical tone device can be used. Also, the user need only send real-time messages without special knowledge,
The master / slave of the musical tone device can be easily switched.

According to the MIDI signal relay apparatus of the present invention, the transmitting / receiving means receives the timing clock of the MIDI signal transmitted from the musical tone apparatus set as the slave, and the setting means receives the received MIDI signal. Since the timing clock of the signal is cut off so as not to be transmitted to a plurality of MIDI connected musical tone devices, the MIDI clocks of the respective musical tone devices can be reliably synchronized.

According to the musical tone system of claim 4, the MIDI signal relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided, and a plurality of musical tone devices are connected to the MIDI signal relay device. , MIDI clocks of the respective musical tone devices can be easily synchronized, and existing musical tone devices and the like can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a musical sound system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt process executed by a control unit 8 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a modification of the timer interrupt process executed by the control unit 8 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,2 electronic musical instruments 3 sequencer 4 repeaters 5 ports (1) (MIDI connection means, transmission / reception means) 6 ports (2) (MIDI connection means, transmission / reception means) 7 ports (3) (MIDI connection means, transmission / reception means) 8 Control unit (setting means) 9 timer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An MI for MIDI connection with a plurality of musical tone devices.
MID between the DI connection means and the plurality of MIDI-connected musical tone devices
A transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting / receiving an I signal, and when the transmitting / receiving unit receives a real-time message of the MIDI signal, sets the musical tone device that first transmits the real-time message as a master and sets another musical tone device as a slave. And a setting means for setting the timing clock of the MIDI signal transmitted from the musical tone apparatus set as the master, to the musical tone apparatus set as the slave. MIDI signal relay device. 2. The transmitting / receiving means receives the timing clock of the MIDI signal transmitted from the musical tone device set as the slave, and the setting means uses the timing clock of the received MIDI signal as the timing clock. MID
2. The MIDI signal relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the MIDI signal relay apparatus is blocked so as not to be transmitted to a plurality of I-connected musical tone apparatuses. 3. The MIDI signal relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the real-time message is any one of a start (FA), a stop (FC) and a continue (FB). 4. A musical tone system comprising the MIDI signal relay device according to claim 1 and a plurality of musical tone devices connected to the MIDI signal relay device.