JP2858764B2 - Electronic musical instrument - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a musical tone control method for an electronic musical instrument that generates musical tones electronically, and more particularly to a musical tone control method based on a playing technique such as legato or staccato.

(B) Conventional technology Various electronic musical instruments that generate musical tones electronically have been put to practical use at present. In addition to conventional keyboards (keyboards), wind instruments and string instruments (guitars) Has also been put to practical use. These electronic musical instruments have various playing operation units (key switches and the like) and control musical tones generated according to the operation (performance) state of the playing operation units. For example, in the case of a keyboard-type electronic musical instrument, a keyboard of about 4 to 7.5 octaves (each key has a pitch (C, C, C, C)
D, E ...)), each key has a key-on sensor that detects key on / off, an initial touch sensor that detects keying strength (initial touch), and a key pressing strength during key-on (after Touch) is provided. Furthermore, in addition to this keyboard, it also has a pedal and a wheel-type operation unit. On the other hand, in the case of a wind instrument type electronic musical instrument, a key system and a blowing port similar to a woodwind instrument are provided as operation units, and a sensor for detecting the operation state of each key and a press sensor and a lead for detecting the strength of breath to be blown are provided. It has a lip sensor for detecting the applied pressure. Various tone control parameters such as pitch, pitch (small frequency within the same pitch) displacement, level (volume), waveform, additional effect (vibrato, etc.) based on the detection value (operation state) of such a sensor To determine. By causing the tone generator to generate sound using the musical tone control parameters, a musical tone with a rich expression can be generated.

By the way, as a musical instrument playing technique, for example, a playing technique relating to sound load or phrasing such as legato, tenuto, staccato, a playing technique relating to level (volume) such as crescendo, decrescendo, ritardando,
There are various performance techniques such as a performance technique related to tempo such as acceleland. In a conventional electronic musical instrument, such a playing method (except for a part) is expressed by a direct operation of a player. For example, in the case of tenuto, the aftertouch is gradually increased, and in the case of decrescendo, the aftertouch is gradually reduced to express them.

(C) Problems to be solved by the invention However, the mechanism of the playing operation unit and the function of the sensor are
In some cases, it is not enough to accept the performer's intention (for example, the performer could not play portamento at an arbitrary speed on a keyboard-type electronic musical instrument), and in the case of a conventional electronic musical instrument, Performance techniques that cannot be detected by the performance operation unit or sensor have the drawback that they cannot be expressed at all or can only be expressed by a preset fixed expression. For this reason, it was not possible to emit a musical tone with a rich expression.

On the other hand, there are cases where the playing technique cannot be sufficiently expressed due to insufficient performance of the performer (for example, when performing the vibrato or pitch bend playing technique with aftertouch or breath control, if the operation is not accurate, The sound is unstable due to the instability of the volume and the pitch shift, which makes it unsuitable as a musical tone.) However, conventional electronic musical instruments cannot compensate for this, and the disadvantage is that the musical tone is emitted as an inappropriate musical tone as it is. there were.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such conventional drawbacks, and provides a musical sound control method for an electronic musical instrument capable of accurately expressing a playing technique by determining a playing technique based on the operating state of a playing operator. The purpose is to:

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is directed to a performance operator, an ON detecting means for detecting the ON operation of the performance operator, and a duration of the ON operation of the performance operator. , An operation intensity detector for detecting the operation intensity of the performance operator, and a duration detected by the duration detector and an operation intensity detected by the operation intensity detector. And a tone control means for controlling a tone that is generated in response to the on operation in accordance with the playing technique detected by the playing means detecting means. It is characterized by.

The invention according to claim 2 of the present application includes a performance operator, an ON detection means for detecting the ON operation of the performance operator, a duration detection means for detecting the duration of the ON operation of the performance operator, Operation intensity detection means for detecting the operation intensity of the performance operator; and a degree of a predetermined performance technique is detected based on the duration detected by the duration detection means and the operation intensity detected by the operation intensity detection means. And a musical performance control means for controlling a musical tone generated in response to the on operation in accordance with the performance technique detected by the musical performance means detecting means. .

(E) Function In the present invention, a performance technique or the degree of a predetermined performance technique is detected based on the duration and operation intensity of the ON operation of the performance operator, and based on this, the ON operation of the performance operator is handled. To control the tone that is being pronounced. The playing technique represented by the duration of the ON operation can be accurately detected, and the musical tone control accurately representing the playing technique can be performed.

(F) Embodiment In this embodiment, performance techniques such as legato, tenuto, and staccato are detected and controlled by fuzzy inference.

Here, the fuzzy inference is performed with respect to "what kind of musical tone is the current operation state (what kind of playing technique)", and a plurality of fuzzy rules for this are determined. Fuzzy rules are generally expressed in the form if (x = A, y = B,...) Then (u = R). In the present invention, for example, "If the after touch (x) is large (A) and the key-on time (y) is long (B), it is a tenuto performance, and the level and pitch (u) are slightly increased (R). "If the initial touch (x) is large (A) and the key-on time (y) is short (B), it is a staccato performance and release (u) is slightly applied (R). "If the aftertouch (x) continues to drop (A), since the decrescendo performance is performed, the level (u) is smoothly lowered (R) regardless of the fluctuation of the aftertouch strength. (However, in this rule, the underlined portion is a fuzzy measure obtained by another fuzzy inference, so the fuzzy set representing this proposition is an ultra-fuzzy set.)

Here, a general fuzzy inference method will be described with reference to FIG. This method is called the mini, max rule. In this example, two fuzzy rules “if (x =
A ₁ ) then (u = R ₁ ), if (x = A ₂ , y = B ₂ ) then (u =
R ₂ )]. Each proposition (x =
A ₁ , x = A ₂ , y = B ₂ , u = R ₁ , u = R ₂ ) are represented by a membership function. The membership function of the conditional part (the proposition below “if”) indicates how much the input variable value (x ₀ , y ₀ ) belongs to the given fuzzy set (A ₁ , A ₂ , B ₂ ) This is a function for obtaining a function value (membership values: α _x , β _x , β _y ), and the output of the condition part is the minimum one of the obtained membership values (α _x , β _x ). Conclusion (“tn
The membership function of "en" is a function to output the conclusion of this rule. The membership function is defined as a value that has a spread in the control amount direction (u-axis direction) limited (truncated) by the output value of the condition part. The final control amount (u ₀ ) is the logical sum of the conclusions of a plurality of fuzzy rules and is taken as the value of the center of gravity.

By using such inference for detecting a playing technique, inference processing in which the operation state of the playing operation unit is considered in a complex manner is facilitated, and delicate tone control can be performed with a simple circuit configuration. Also in this case, the processing speed does not decrease. Further, by variously changing the fuzzy rules and the membership functions, it is possible for the player to sufficiently express his or her intention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic musical instrument in which a musical tone control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is used.

The keyboard 1 has keys corresponding to a plurality of pitches. Each key is provided with a key-on sensor for detecting on / off of the key, an initial touch sensor for detecting an initial touch intensity (speed), and an after touch sensor for detecting an after touch intensity. The initial touch sensor turns on continuously with the key-on operation 2
The photo sensor which is turned on later also serves as a key-on sensor. The states of these sensors are detected by the key-on detection circuit 2, the initial touch detection circuit 3, and the after touch detection circuit 4. Key-on detection circuit 2 is always keyboard 1 (photo sensor)
Is scanned to monitor the on / off of each key. When there is a key-on, the key code (code representing the pitch: KC), a key-on signal (KON), and a key-on time signal (KONT) are output. When a key is turned on, the initial touch detection circuit 3 detects the strength of the keystroke and outputs an initial touch intensity signal (INT). Further, the after touch detection circuit 4 detects the pressing strength of the key that is turned on and outputs an after touch strength signal (AFT). The key code (KC) is input to the synthesizer 7, and the key-on signal (KON) is transmitted to the parameter inference circuit 5, the tone generator 8
And the key-on time signal (KONT) is input to the parameter inference circuit 5. Further, an initial touch intensity signal (INT) and an after touch intensity signal (AFT) are also input to the parameter inference circuit 5, the tone generator 8, and the envelope generator 9. The parameter inference circuit 5 detects a performance technique from the input operation state of the operation unit, and outputs a corresponding tone control parameter. The tone control parameters are input to the signal generation circuit 6. The signal generation circuit 6 inputs a pitch displacement signal and a level displacement signal to the synthesizer 7 and the envelope generator 9 based on the input tone control parameters. The synthesizer 7 is a circuit that converts the input key code (KC) into a frequency signal (F number: digital value representing frequency) and modulates this frequency signal with a pitch displacement signal. In this way, the frequency signal of the musical tone is determined every moment and input to the tone generator 8. The sound source circuit 8 accumulates the frequency signal at a predetermined timing, generates a digital signal representing a predetermined waveform (tone color) using the accumulated value as a phase, and inputs the digital signal to the multiplication circuit 10. The envelope generator 9 is connected to the multiplication circuit 10. The envelope generator 9 generates a basic envelope signal having a level waveform such as rising and attenuating based on an initial touch signal, an after touch signal, a key-on time, and the like, and a level displacement signal input from the signal generating circuit 6 to the basic envelope signal. Are superimposed to generate an envelope signal. This envelope signal is output to the multiplication circuit 10. In the multiplication circuit 10, the digital signal is amplitude-modulated by the envelope signal to generate a digital tone signal. Digital tone signal with envelope is D / A
It is input to the conversion circuit 11. In the D / A conversion circuit 11, a digital tone signal is sampled / held and converted into an analog tone signal. The analog tone signal is input to the amplifier 12.

The parameter inference circuit 5 infers the degree of legato during key-on, infers the degree of tenuto during key-on, and
Infer staccato degree at key-off. Here, the legato playing technique is a playing technique used when a continuous sound is smoothly connected to give a relaxed feeling or a phrase feeling. The tenuto playing technique is a playing technique that extends the sound without reducing the volume as much as the sound load (the length of the note), and is used when a clear and powerful feeling is produced. The staccato playing technique is a technique that is used when the sound is shorter than the note value and gives a light feeling. The inference is performed by fuzzy inference, and the following three types of fuzzy rules are used for the inference.

`` If the difference between the after touch of the last key pressed and the initial touch of this time is small, and this key on overlaps the previous key on, it is legato playing, and the attack is reduced and the envelope is connected smoothly,
Put a little portamento. That is, the rising edge of the musical tone has an attack, especially a large pulse-like moment, but in legato playing, this attack is unnecessary, so this is dulled and the pitch is slightly smoothed.

"If the key-on time is long and the aftertouch is large, the level and pitch are gradually increased because of the tenuto performance. In other words, when the sound is extended with the tenuto, the impression of "pressing the sound" is accompanied, but the level and pitch are gradually increased to emphasize this impression.

"If the initial touch is large and the key is turned off immediately after the key is turned on, the release time is slightly increased at a low level because of staccato playing. The ideal staccato is not only to cut the sound short, but also to have a light lingering sound like when hitting an object. For this reason, when staccato playing is detected, a low level release is added.

In order to execute these inferences, a circuit as shown in FIG. 2 is configured, and the membership functions shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are set.

Of these, normalization circuits 101 and 102, adder 107, gate circuit
108, a table IC 109 and FIGS. 3A to 3C are circuits for inferring the degree of legato and a membership function. The normalization circuit 102 receives an initial touch intensity signal (INT) and The circuit 101 receives an aftertouch intensity signal (pre AFT) of a key that is turned on immediately before the current key-on (hereinafter referred to as a “previous key”). The normalization circuits 102 and 101 generate the membership functions shown in FIGS. 3B and 3A, respectively, and normalize the input INT and preAFT (convert them to numerical values between 0 and 1). Normalization circuit 10
1 and 102 are both connected to the adder 107 and output normalized INT and pre AFT. In adder 107, pre-A from INT
Subtract FT and find out. The adder 107 is a gate circuit 108
Is connected to the table IC 109 via the. Gater circuit 1
08 is a gate signal that is opened and closed by a key-on signal (pre KON) of the immediately preceding key. The table IC109 generates the membership function of FIG. 3 (C), and calculates and outputs the degree of legato from the difference between INT and preAFT. This value is input to the signal generation circuit 6 via the switch 114. Switch 114
Is supplied with a key-on signal (KON), and the table IC is connected to the signal generation circuit 6 when KON rises (at the time of initial touch). The output (degree of legato) of the table IC 109 is used as a parameter for smoothly connecting the envelope and the pitch.

Membership function generator 103, 104, 110, arithmetic circuit 11
1 and FIGS. 4A to 4C show circuits and membership functions for inferring the degree of tenuto. Membership function generation circuits 103 and 104 input the membership value of the condition part to the arithmetic circuit 111 that executes fuzzy inference, and the membership function generation circuit 110 inputs the membership function of the conclusion part. Membership function generator
The aftertouch intensity signal (AFT) and the key-on time signal (KONT) are input to 103 and 104, and based on the membership functions shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the membership degree (aftertouch intensity) , Key-on time). This value is input to the arithmetic circuit 111. In the arithmetic circuit 111, the membership functions f (KT ₁ ) and f (AT) of the conclusion part are truncated based on the input membership values, and their centers of gravity are output as tenuto parameters (degrees of tenuto). The switch 114 inputs this value to the signal generating circuit 6 during the continuation of KON. This value is used as a parameter for envelope control and pitch control.

Membership function generation circuits 105, 106, 113, arithmetic circuit 11
2 and FIGS. 5A to 5C show a circuit and a membership function for inferring the degree of staccato. The membership function generating circuits 105 and 106 input the membership value of the condition part to the arithmetic circuit 112 for executing the fuzzy inference, and the membership function generating circuit 113 inputs the conclusion membership function. Membership function generator
The initial touch intensity signal (INT) and the key-on time signal (KONT) are input to 105 and 106, and their membership is determined based on the membership functions (IT ₂ and KT ₂ ) shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B). Determine the degree. This value is input to the arithmetic circuit. In the arithmetic circuit, the membership function f (KT ₂ ), f (I
T ₂ ) is truncated and their center of gravity is output as the release time (degree of staccato). This value is input to the signal generating circuit 6 when the switch 114 and KON fall. This value is used as a parameter for envelope control (release control).

By executing the above fuzzy rule with such an inference circuit and membership function, FIG. 6 (B)
To (D). Here, FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a normal key touch (when the above control is not performed) and a tone level. In FIGS. 9A to 9D, the upper row shows the initial touch intensity and the after-touch intensity over time, and the lower row shows the tone generation level of the musical tone. In FIG. 7A, an attack is formed at the beginning of the musical tone by the initial touch, and a certain level is maintained during key-on, and the musical tone stops along with the key-off.

FIG. 7B shows a case where legato processing is performed. The upper broken line indicates the aftertouch strength of the immediately preceding key. When the current key is pressed while the immediately preceding key is kept on, the attack by the initial touch (lower two-dot chain line) is weakened and the level is smoothly continued. At this time, the pitch is also smoothly connected by the portamento.

FIG. 9C shows a case where the tenuto process is performed. If aftertouch is continued strongly after key-on, the level and pitch will be raised little by little. As a result, the impression of "pressing a sound" peculiar to the tenuto performance can be emphasized.

FIG. 4D shows a case where the staccato process is performed. When the key is turned off from a key-on in a short time with a strong initial touch, a low level of reverberation is left to soften the sound.

The arithmetic circuits 111 and 112 can be composed of discrete circuits or microcomputers. 7 (A) to 7 (C) show flowcharts when the arithmetic circuit is constituted by a microcomputer.

FIG. 11A is a flowchart for truncating the membership function of the conclusion part based on the membership value of the condition part. First, i representing the value of the horizontal axis of the membership function is set to 0 in n7. When the value of i becomes equal to or larger than the size of the horizontal axis of the membership function (size), the operation ends with the determination of n8. At n9, the value (mem (i)) at i of the membership function is read, and it is determined whether or not this value is equal to or less than the membership value scl of the condition part (n10). me
If m (i) is equal to or less than scl, the value of mem (i) is buffered (b
uf) (n12). If mem (i) exceeds scl, the value of scl is written to the buffer (buf) (n11). After writing the value of this buffer into the conclusion memory memo (i) corresponding to i (n13), 1 is added to i (n14) and the process returns to n8.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart for executing the logical sum and the area calculation operation of the truncated membership function. First, 0 is set to the horizontal axis value i and the area accumulation memory acc at n15. When the value of i exceeds the size (size) of the horizontal axis of the membership function, the operation ends with the determination of n16. At n17, the function values (mem1 (i), mem2 (i), mem3 (i)) of the truncated membership function at i are read, and the largest one is determined at n18. mem1
If (i) is the maximum, mem1 (i) is written to the buffer (buf) (n19), and if mem2 (i) is the maximum, mem2
Write (i) to buffer (buf) (n20), mem3
If (i) is the maximum, mem3 (i) is written to the buffer (buf) (n21). At n22, the value of the buffer is written to mem0 (i) (n22), and the value of the buffer is added to the area accumulation memory acc (n23). Thereafter, 1 is added to i (n
24) Return to n16. This flowchart shows a case where the number of membership functions in the conclusion part is three, but the same applies to a case where there are two.

FIG. 3C is a flowchart for executing the gravity center calculation operation. First, the area (ac
The half value of c) is stored in the storage area (half) (n2
Five). Next, j corresponding to the horizontal axis of the ORed conclusion function and 0 are set to the area integrated area hac (n26). Mem0 (j) is read into the buffer (buf) (n27), and this value is integrated into the area integration area hac (n28). Accumulated hac
Is compared with (half) (n29). If (hac) is equal to or greater than (half), the operation is terminated assuming that the value of j at that time is the center of gravity, and (hac) satisfies (half). If not, j is 1
Is added and (n30) returns to n27.

In the above embodiment, the processing of the legato, tenuto, and staccato performance techniques has been described, but the same can be applied to other performance techniques. The same control is possible not only for an electronic musical instrument that is played in real time, but also for an apparatus that stores performance information in advance and performs an automatic performance.

Although the after touch strength of the immediately preceding key is referred to at the time of inferring the legato degree in the above embodiment, the initial touch strength of the immediately preceding key may be referred to. ) May be referred to.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the fuzzy inference is used to detect the playing technique from the operation of the operation unit, the accurate playing technique can be detected with a simple circuit configuration. As a result, delicate tone control can easily be performed at a high speed, and a fine nuance can be added to the performance. Further, even when various playing techniques are performed with insufficient skills, it can be inferred and pronounced as a musical tone by an accurate playing technique. Further, by variously changing the fuzzy room and the membership function, it is possible to easily change the characteristics of the musical instrument, and to easily perform the characterization suitable for the player.

(G) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the performance technique or the degree of the predetermined performance technique is detected based on the duration of the ON operation of the performance operator and the operation intensity, and based on this, the performance is determined. By controlling the musical tone that is sounded in response to the ON operation of the operation element, it is possible to accurately detect the playing method such as tenuto or staccato expressed by the duration of the ON operation, and Music tone control that accurately expresses the above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic musical instrument using a musical tone control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a parameter inference circuit of the electronic musical instrument, and FIG. FIGS. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing membership functions used for legato degree determination in the parameter inference circuit.
5C is a diagram illustrating a membership function used for determining the degree of tenuto in the parameter inference circuit, and FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating a membership function used for determining the degree of staccato in the parameter inference circuit. FIGS. 6 (A) to 6 (D) are diagrams showing the relationship between general key touches and tone levels, and diagrams showing the relationship between key touches and tone levels when tone control according to the present invention is performed.
FIGS. 7A to 7C are flowcharts showing the operation when the arithmetic circuit of the parameter inference circuit is constituted by a microcomputer. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a general fuzzy inference technique. 1 ... keyboard, 2 ... key-on detection circuit, 3 ... initial touch detection circuit, 4 ... after touch detection circuit, 5 ... parameter inference circuit.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A performance operator, on-detection means for detecting an on-operation of the performance operator, duration detection means for detecting a duration of an on-operation of the performance operator, and operation of the performance operator Operation intensity detection means for detecting intensity; performance technique detection means for detecting a performance technique based on the duration detected by the duration detection means and the operation intensity detected by the operation intensity detection means; An electronic musical instrument comprising: a musical tone control unit that controls a musical tone that is generated in response to the on operation in accordance with a playing technique detected by the detecting unit. 2. A performance operator, on-detection means for detecting an on-operation of the performance operator, duration detection means for detecting a duration of an on-operation of the performance operator, and operation of the performance operator Operation intensity detection means for detecting intensity; performance technique detection means for detecting the degree of a predetermined performance technique based on the duration detected by the duration detection means and the operation intensity detected by the operation intensity detection means; An electronic musical instrument, comprising: tone control means for controlling a tone generated in response to the on-operation in accordance with the degree of the playing technique detected by the playing means detecting means.