JP3744608B2 - Automatic sound generator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic musical sound generating apparatus for generating a musical sound by means of musical sound generating means such as a synthesizer in response to the movement of an animal placed freely in a predetermined space.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There are performance devices such as a digital synthesizer, an analog synthesizer, a sampler, a hard disk recorder, and a CD player as devices that automatically generate and play musical sounds based on external input or information stored in storage means.
[0003]
The conventional performance devices described above generate information by processing information input by an input means such as a keyboard, and any of the performance devices is performed by the composer or the player's intention. On the other hand, apart from human intentions, for example, attempts have been made to generate sound based on natural phenomena, such as expressing the strength of radio waves coming from space as a change in sound volume.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional method for converting natural phenomena into sound, the sound itself is close to a very simple signal sound and lacks interest. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can generate a musical sound based on a natural phenomenon and perform an unexpectedly rich performance.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration. That is, an automatic musical sound generating device according to the present invention includes a container that accommodates an animal so that its movement can be observed from the outside, an imaging means that images and images the animal in the container every unit time, Determination means for determining in which position in the container the animal imaged by the imaging means exists, and storage means for storing performance data that can be selected in accordance with the positional information obtained by the determination means; Reading means for reading performance data from the storage means in accordance with the position information determined by the determination means; and music sound generating means for generating a musical sound based on the performance data read by the reading means for each unit time. as well as comprising a, the performance data, is characterized by a short sequence with a specific melody, tone, rhythm, and dynamics.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a specific configuration example of a musical tone generator 1 according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a central processing unit (CPU), to which an imaging means 5 having a video camera 5 a is connected via an input device (interface) 7. The imaging means 5 captures and images the animal A housed in the container C from the side of the container, and the image data is input to the CPU 2 through the input device 7 as external input data. The CPU 2 controls each part of the musical tone generator 1 by a control program stored in the ROM 8. The ROM 8 stores various fixed data for the CPU in addition to the control program.
[0007]
The CPU 2 is provided with a determination control unit 10 and a read control unit 12, and these are operated by software of the CPU 2. The determination control unit 10 processes image data input through the interface 7 and determines the current position of the animal in the container.
[0008]
The read control unit 12 sets the address of performance data to be read to the RAM 9 according to the external input data classified by the determination control unit 10, that is, the animal position information, and reads the corresponding performance data from the ROM 8. The RAM 9 temporarily stores performance data.
[0009]
The tone generator 20 is provided with a tone generator circuit, a waveform memory, etc., and reads out the tone waveform data and envelope data from the waveform memory based on the signal output from the CPU 2 and outputs it as a tone signal. This musical tone signal is input to a digital signal processor, subjected to appropriate processing, converted into an analog musical tone signal by a D / A converter, and then supplied to a speaker 25 through an amplifier. A musical sound is emitted by this speaker.
[0010]
The waveform memory of the musical tone generating means is composed of a ROM and stores musical tone waveform data such as timbre and pitch and envelope data. The CPU 2 determines the external input data (animal position information) to be input, reads out the corresponding musical sound signal from the ROM, and outputs it.
[0011]
The position information of the animal as the external input is obtained as follows. For example, when a fish such as a goldfish or a tropical fish is selected as an animal, a water tank is used as a container. FIG. 3 shows an image of the aquarium 30, and the actual aquarium 30 is made of a material such as glass with transparent side walls so that animals inside can be observed.
[0012]
The video camera 5a captures the entire surface of the transparent side wall surface W together with the animals inside, and the image information of the aquarium is input to the CPU 2, where the entire side wall surface is coordinated and determination means. The position of the current animal is expressed in coordinates. In this case, since the animal image has a certain extent, the position is represented by the position of the center of gravity on the animal image, for example. The position of the animal may be expressed as a coordinate range.
[0013]
As another method, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the photographed side wall surface W in the container C (in this case, the water tank 30) is divided into a plurality of small sections r,. Each of the minutes r,... Is assigned an identification number and stored in the memory. Then, based on the sequentially input image information, the determination unit determines and classifies which sub-section r the position of the internal animal is currently in. Depending on the size of the small section r and the size of the animal, it is rare for an animal to normally fit completely in one small section, and it exists over a plurality of small sections. Therefore, the position information of the animal may be represented as a simple subsection r number, but in many cases, it is represented as a combination of a plurality of subsections (r _i ,... R _n ). In that case, the performance data is stored in the storage means in association with the combination of a plurality of subsections, and the corresponding performance data is selected and read out according to the position information represented as the combination of the plurality of subsections. To. The performance data may be selected simply by the position of the animal, but the performance data may be selected by the moving speed, movement method, etc. of the animal or a combination of these and the position.
[0014]
These input data are read at a set time by the clock signal of the CPU 2 and subjected to discrimination processing. That is, the external input data p is read at every time t, and the performance data (musical sound data) q corresponding to the category determined by the determination control unit 10 of the CPU is read from the ROM 8. Then, a sound is generated from the speaker 25 based on the performance data.
[0015]
Each performance data (musical sound data) stored in the ROM 8 may be a sound itself having a specific pitch, tone, and strength, but it is like a short piece of music with a specific melody, tone, rhythm, strength, etc. A simple sequence may be used. Further, a desired tone color and rhythm may be selected by switching means provided on the operation panel.
[0016]
FIG. 2 conceptually shows an example in which a conventionally known apparatus is used as a musical sound generating means. An image signal from the imaging means 55 is inputted to the determining means 57 through the interface 56, and the musical sound generating means 50 is used as position information. Is input. The musical tone data corresponding to this position information is read out, processed, and produced from the speaker 56. Reference numeral 58 denotes an amplifier or the like. The determination means 57 obtains position information from the image signal, and a computer is used. As the musical sound generating means 50, an analog synthesizer, a digital synthesizer, a sampler, a hard disk recorder, a CD player, or the like can be used.
[0017]
Among them, the analog synthesizer uses the VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) as the principle of pronunciation, and the position information is input in analog. An analog synthesizer that can be controlled by MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) replaces position information with MIDI signals on a computer.
[0018]
Further, since the digital synthesizer is a digitally controlled synthesizer, the position information is replaced with a MIDI signal for control. Both of these analog synthesizers and digital synthesizers can obtain more complicated changes in sound by inputting a plurality of pieces of position information. In this case, the proportion of music played by the composer is less than that of other systems.
[0019]
A sampler is a device that samples a sound that already exists, such as a human voice, and plays it back by operating a keyboard or the like, and is mostly controlled by MIDI. In this case, it is possible to change not only the change of the sound itself but also the type and combination of samples to be reproduced and pronounced. Depending on the capacity of the RAM, music (sequence) composed in a certain unit can be recorded in the same way as a hard disk described later, so that music that changes in real time according to position information in the form of a combination of sequences can be taken out. Can do.
[0020]
The basic principle of a hard disk recorder is the same as that of the sampler and has a larger capacity. The method of extracting music follows the sampler, but there is a possibility that there is no standardized control method and MIDI may be used.
[0021]
In the case of media that can select music randomly, such as CD players and MDs, music and sequences suitable for the purpose can be extracted by replacing the position information with the music selection method via the interface.
[0022]
Since this musical sound generator generates musical sounds based on the movement of animals in the container, it has a higher chance of being more contingent than ordinary music performance by human intentions and is likely to be interesting music. Moreover, since the movement of the animal can be recognized as a musical sound by hearing, it is considered that the interest in the movement of the animal increases.
[0023]
In the above description, the fish in the aquarium has been described as an example, but it is also possible to generate a musical sound corresponding to the movement of an animal in a cage, an actor on the stage, a dancer, or the like. In this case, the stage screen shot by the imaging means may be coordinated or subdivided as described above to determine the positions of actors, dancers and the like that are animals. In the case of the aquarium, stage, etc., the image is usually taken from the front, but the image may be taken from another direction, for example, from above. Furthermore, the animal in the present invention may include not only an animal as a living thing but also a balloon, a water bubble, a toy and the like that move according to a random or fixed rule.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As apparent from the above description, the tone generator apparatus according to the present invention, since it is intended to convert the movement of the captured animals per unit of time the tone, unlike the music being composed by human intention, animals It is possible to enjoy musical sounds rich in randomness that change in real time according to the movement of the music. In addition, since the movement of animals can be recognized by hearing as music, it is expected to increase the interest and interest of children in a zoo or the like, for example.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a known device is used as a musical sound generating unit.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the position of an animal in coordinates.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when a spatial image is subdivided and the position of an animal is represented as a combination of subsections.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Musical sound generator 2 CPU
5,55 Imaging means 8 ROM
9 RAM
10 Judgment Control Unit 12 Read Control Unit

Claims (2)

A container that accommodates an animal so that its movement can be observed from the outside, an imaging means for photographing and imaging the animal in the container every unit time, and an animal imaged by the imaging means in the container According to the position information determined by the determination means, storage means for storing performance data that can be selected according to the position information obtained by the determination means, and the position information determined by the determination means said reading means for reading the performance data from the storage means, as well as and a musical tone generating means for generating musical tones based on the performance data read out for each unit time by said read means, said performance data, specific Te An automatic musical tone generator characterized by a short sequence with melody, tone, rhythm and strength.   The automatic musical tone generator according to claim 1, wherein a known thin sensorizer is used as the musical tone generator.

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