JP2756888B2 - Electronic musical instrument - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument, and is particularly suitable for use in simulating a stringed musical instrument.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, recent electronic musical instruments are configured to simulate various musical instruments. For example, a sound produced when a string of a stringed instrument is played can be produced by pressing a keyboard. Here, for example, when simulating the tone of a guitar with an electronic keyboard instrument, in the case of a conventional electronic keyboard instrument, the waveform of a guitar sound having a pitch corresponding to the pitch specified by a pressed key is considered. The method of sampling and reproducing is a commonly used method.

[0003]

However, in the case of a guitar, there are six strings, and as shown in FIG. 2, a sound having the same pitch as the sound specified by one key of the keyboard can be produced. Strings can be as high as 5 strings. These five strings have different timbres even at the same pitch. Particularly, in the case of a classical guitar, in the usual configuration, the material and structure of the first to third strings and the fourth to sixth strings are different. Are different. Therefore, even when the same pitch is generated, the first to third strings and the fourth to sixth strings are selected.
The tone is different in quality than when the string is selected.

[0004] In view of this, when playing the guitar, the performer selects the string to be played in consideration of the difference in tone and ease of playing. But,
In the case of a conventional electronic musical instrument, considerations specific to stringed instruments, such as differences in timbre and ease of playing, have not been taken into consideration.

In view of the above-described problems, the present invention estimates the optimal fingering position within a specified fret range when there is a scale that can be pronounced over a plurality of strings. It is an object of the present invention to be able to generate a musical tone with a tone color or a parameter according to the type of the tone.

[0006]

An electronic musical instrument according to the present invention is constructed so as to be able to simulate the performance of a stringed musical instrument by pressing a keyboard. Corresponding musical sound waveform data,
And storage means for storing control parameters for sounding by strings of different timbres on the same scale, playing position indicating means for indicating a fret position in the stringed instrument, and pitch of the simulated stringed instrument A key portion for inputting key data for designating, fret position indication information designated by the flipping position designation means,
And the best fingering position estimating means for estimating the optimal string type and fret position in the simulated stringed musical instrument based on the key data input from the keyboard section, and the optimum fingering position estimating means. And a tone control unit for controlling a tone based on the key data input from the keyboard using tone waveform data and control parameters corresponding to an optimal string. Another feature of the present invention is that the optimum fingering position estimating means estimates that it is inappropriate to newly set key-on for a string that is already key-on.

[0007]

Since the present invention has the above-described technical means, in a portion where a scale that can be pronounced exists over a plurality of strings,
Based on the key data sent by operating the keyboard and the fret position indicating information indicated by the flicking position indicating means, the optimum string type and fret position in the simulated stringed musical instrument are estimated. Using the musical tone waveform data and control parameters corresponding to the optimal string, the musical tone based on the input key data is controlled so as to generate a musical tone, thereby simulating the performance of a stringed instrument. It is possible to simulate a stringed instrument in consideration of ease and the like.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of an electronic musical instrument showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a playing position indicating means, 2 is a keyboard section, 3 is a tone control section, 4 is a tone generating section, 5
Is a tone color control data storage means, 6 is a waveform ROM, 7 is D /
A conversion circuit, 8 denotes an amplifier, and 9 denotes a speaker.

When playing a stringed instrument, such as a guitar or a violin, to be simulated by the electronic musical instrument of this embodiment, the playing position indicating means 1 allows the player (user of the electronic musical instrument) to determine the position of the stringed instrument. It is provided to instruct whether to play with. Way of indication, the player is not repelled and outputs the instruction information based on the position information S ₁ inputted by operating the operation element provided in the electronic musical instrument (not shown), or so far The instruction is performed by automatically generating and outputting the instruction information in consideration of the position and the like.

When the playing position (string playing position) of the stringed instrument is determined in this way, the playing position indicating means 1
Position indicating signal S ₂ to play the musical tone control unit 3 is derived from. The tone control unit 3 receives key data S ₃ (key code for designating pitch) from the keyboard unit 2, and inputs the played position indicating signal S ₂ and the key data S for requesting sound. Position determination signal S to be played based on _3
4 is generated and supplied to the tone generator 4.

The tone generating section 4 reads out data from the tone color control data storage means 5 and the waveform ROM 6 based on the playing position determination signal S ₄ given from the tone tone control section 3, and specifies a designated pitch and tone. generating a tone signal S ₅ of. The tone color control data memory 5, tone color control data D _C consisting parameter value or waveform data for sounding the sound of the stringed instrument to be simulated is stored. When the ranges that can be pronounced by each string of the stringed instrument overlap, parameter values or waveform data for causing the sound of the overlapping range to be sounded with a tone corresponding to each of the strings are also stored. I have.

[0012] tone generating unit 4 reads the data from the tone color control data memory 5 based on the position determination signal S ₄ to play a given, using the read data,
A tone signal for generating a tone having a corresponding tone color is generated. At this time, if the timbre control data stored in the timbre control data storage means 5 is a timbre parameter value, the tone generator 4 reads the waveform read from the waveform ROM 6 from the timbre control data storage means 5. Processing is performed in accordance with the parameter values to form a tone signal for generating a tone having a corresponding tone color.

If the timbre control data stored in the timbre control data storage means 5 is waveform data,
Tone generating unit 4 forms a tone signal S ₅ by changing the waveform read out in response from the waveform ROM6 to the waveform data. The tone signal S ₅ generated by the tone generator 4 is output to a D / A conversion circuit 7, converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion circuit 7, and then supplied to a speaker 9 via an amplifier 8. As a result, the string sound of the pitch specified by the key operation of the keyboard 2 is generated from the speaker 9. And the string performance obtained from the speaker 9 in this way is
This is a performance very similar to that of a player actually playing a stringed instrument.

The above-mentioned playing position indicating means 1 and the musical sound control section 3 constituting the musical sound controlling means of the present invention are composed of a CPU and an R.
This is realized by a microcomputer system including an AM and a ROM.

Next, the case of simulating a guitar in the keyboard electronic musical instrument of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG.
Indicates the overlap between the sound range of each string of the guitar and the sound range of the keyboard, and indicates that the note names C3, F3, etc. temporarily assigned in FIG. 2 can be sounded with five strings.

Assuming now that the key C3 is played, in order to produce a musical tone designated by this key, a 20th fret of a 6th string, a 15th fret of a 5th string, and a 10th fret of a 4th string are used in a guitar. 5th fret of 3rd string, 1st of 2nd string
A total of five pitch designation positions, ie, 5
Has a variety of tones. Therefore, the electronic musical instrument of this embodiment has data indicating positions corresponding to the strings and frets of the guitar as shown in the plan view of the main part of the guitar in FIG.

Therefore, when playing the electronic musical instrument of this embodiment, the player inputs in advance which fret position he wants to play. Various means for performing this input can be considered. For example, one can consider things like a modulation wheel or a foot volume, and in such means, for example, MIN =
The playing position may be determined such as the 0th fret and the MAX = 20th fret. How to determine the playing position (play position)
It is also possible to specify which string the user wants to play the first sound on, or to preset the playing position. That is, any method can be freely selected. In this embodiment, an example in which a fret position is specified will be described.

Here, it is assumed that the 6th fret is designated and the key of C3 is played. In this case, there are five types of possible sounds as described above. In FIG.
Data indicating these five types of positions are represented by (Y, X). In the case of C3, the sixth string is (0, 14) and the fifth string is (1, 14).
F) The fourth string is (2, A), the third string is (3, 5), and the second string is (4, 1). These are collectively referred to as pronunciation candidate positions KDN
Call.

These values are arbitrarily set since they are weights for positions. In this case, since the performance position of 6 frets is designated, the relative position with respect to this performance position is calculated to determine the closeness. The 6th fret is represented in a (Y, X) data format having a value of X = 6 and 0 ≦ Y ≦ 5. The proximity to the designated fret PD is represented by the absolute value of the difference between the values of X. This is temporarily called a performance position matching number MNP, and is calculated by the following equation: MNP = | PDx−KDNx | (1) This is calculated for each value from the sixth string to the second string. If this value is small, it means that it is closer to the designated fret (subtraction only by X). In this case, the sixth string is E, the fifth string is 9, the fourth string is 4, the third string is 1, the second string is 5, and so on.

Next, the KD corresponding to the currently keyed-on string
If there is N, this C3 is likely to be pronounced with a string that is not the currently played string, so the key-on matching number MNK that is added to the currently played string is generated.
For example, if G2 is played at the fourth string, the MNK becomes 0 for the 6th string, 0 for the 5th string, F for the 4th string, 0 for the 3rd string, and 0 for the 2nd string. This weighting is arbitrary.

Next, the fingering matching number MNT is calculated. This is to judge the ease of fingering with respect to the key KDO played immediately before, and is represented by MNT = | KDO _X -KDN _X | + | KDO _Y -KDN _Y | (2) In this case, KDO = (2.5) because G2 of the fourth string is played immediately before. Therefore, the fingering matching number MNT is F + 2 = 11 for the 6th string, A + 1 = B for the 5th string, and 4
5 + 0 = 5 for strings, 0 + 1 = 1 for 3 strings, 4 + 2 = 6 for 2 strings
Becomes

When the optimum fingering position MNMP is estimated from the above, MNMP = (MNP + MNK + MNT) min (3) 6th string is E + 0 + 11 = 1F 5th string is 9 + 0 + B = 1
The 44th string is 4 + F + 5 = 183, the 3rd string is 1 + 0 + 1 = 22, and the 2nd string is 5 + 0 + 6 = B. Therefore, the min value is the third string, and it is understood that the third string C3 should be sounded. The method of estimation is not limited to such a method, and is arbitrary.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 4 shows the above-mentioned operations executed by the musical tone control section 3 and the musical tone generating section 4. When the operation starts, first, in step P1, the past key data KDO is cleared. You. Next, in Step P2, it is determined whether or not a key-on event (key pressing operation) has occurred. If the event is a key-on event, the process proceeds to Step P3. If the event is not key-on, the process waits until the key-on occurs.

Next, in step P3, the performance position data PD is fetched, and in step P4, the pronunciation candidate position KDN is fetched. Then, in step P5, the performance position matching number MNP is calculated. Next, in Step P6, it is determined whether or not the sound generation candidate position KDN is the same string as that during key-on. If they are the same, the key-on conformity number MNK is set to F in step P7, and the process proceeds to step P9. On the other hand, if the pronunciation candidate position KDN is not the same string as the key-on one, the key-on matching number MNK is set to 0 in step P8, and the process proceeds to step P9.

The process in step P9 is for calculating the fingering adaptation number MNT as described above, and is performed based on the above-described equation (2). When the fingering matching number MNT is obtained in this way, the optimum fingering position MNMP is estimated in step P10. This process is inferred by the above equation (3).

Next, in step P11, the key data KDO is set as the estimated optimum fingering position MNMP, and in step P12, the key data KDO (KDN MNMP) is obtained.
A parameter corresponding to the optimal fingering position MNMP based on
Alternatively, the waveform data is read out from the tone color control data storage means 5 and the tone generation processing is performed.

Then, when the sound generation process is completed, step P
By returning to step 2 and repeating the above-described operation, a string sound corresponding to the key operation is obtained from the speaker 9 and, when there are a plurality of strings capable of producing the musical sound specified by the key operation, It is possible to simulate a string performance in consideration of a difference in string timbre according to a player's request.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, according to the present invention, an optimal fingering position is estimated within a specified fret range in a portion where a scale that can be pronounced exists over a plurality of strings. Since the musical tone is generated using the musical tone waveform data and the control parameters corresponding to the above-estimated optimal string, even if the key data of the same pitch is received, if the optimal-estimated strings are different, the strings of different timbres Can be pronounced at As a result, it is possible to simulate the difference in timbre of the stringed instrument satisfactorily, and it is possible to realize a playing mode similar to actually playing the stringed instrument by operating the keyboard of the electronic musical instrument. Further, according to another feature of the present invention, since two sounds are not assigned to the same string, it is possible to perform a performance closer to a stringed instrument.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a main part of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overlap between a sound range of each string of a guitar and a sound range of a keyboard.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main part of the guitar showing strings and frets.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the electronic musical instrument.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Flip position indicating means 2 Keyboard section 3 Musical tone control section 4 Musical tone generation section 5 Tone control data storage means 6 Waveform ROM 7 D / A conversion circuit 8 Amplifier 9 Speaker S ₁ Position request signal S ₂ Flip position information signal S ₃ Sound generation request positioning signal S ₅ tone signal D _C tone color control data to play key data S ₄

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic musical instrument configured to simulate playing by a stringed instrument by pressing a keyboard, wherein musical tone waveform data corresponding to each string of the simulated stringed instrument and the same musical scale are provided. Storage means for storing control parameters for causing strings of different timbres to sound; playing position indicating means for indicating a fret position in the stringed instrument; and key data for specifying the pitch of the simulated stringed instrument Based on a keyboard portion for inputting the key, fret position indicating information indicated by the flicking position indicating means, and key data input from the keyboard portion. An optimal fingering position estimating means for estimating a position, and an optimal fingering position estimating means estimated by the optimal fingering position estimating means. Using tone waveform data and control parameters corresponding to the electronic musical instrument characterized by having a tone control means for controlling to produce musical sounds based on the key data inputted from the keyboard section. 2. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein said optimal fingering position estimating means estimates that it is inappropriate to newly set a key-on for a string that is already key-on.