JP4183354B2 - Electronic musical instruments - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument that generates musical tones with various timbres, and more particularly to a technique for improving operability when setting a timbre for a sound source that employs an overtone addition synthesis method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a synthesizer, an electronic keyboard, and the like having a sound source employing a harmonic overtone synthesis method (also referred to as a sine wave synthesis method or a Fourier synthesis method) have been developed. As one of such sound sources, one that generates a tone signal by adding and synthesizing a fundamental tone and its harmonics and further filtering with a formant filter is known. According to this sound source, musical tone signals of various tones can be generated by appropriately adjusting the signal level of each overtone and the characteristics of the formant filter. A technique related to the formant filter is disclosed as “adaptive speech enhancement device” in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-93776.
[0003]
By the way, in this conventional electronic musical instrument, the signal level of each overtone and the characteristics of the formant filter are set using a display device and an operator provided on the operation panel. For example, when changing the overtone signal level, first, an editing switch provided on the operation panel is used to call up the overtone signal level setting screen and display it on the display device. As a result, the signal level of each overtone from the currently set fundamental to the 64th overtone is displayed on the display device as a vertical bar. In this state, the cursor movement switch is operated to move the cursor to the position of the overtone to be changed, and the dial is operated to change the overtone signal level.
[0004]
On the other hand, when changing the characteristics of the formant filter, first, an editing switch is used to call a formant filter characteristic setting screen and display it on the display device. As a result, the currently set formant filter characteristic is displayed on the display device as a broken line as the formant filter level of each frequency band. In this state, the cursor movement switch is operated to move the cursor to the position of the frequency band to be changed, and the dial is operated to change the formant filter level.
[0005]
When the overtone signal level and the formant filter level are set by the above operation, data representing them is sent to the sound source. The sound source generates a musical sound signal by filtering data representing the signal level of each overtone with a characteristic according to data representing the formant filter level. Therefore, the user can generate a musical tone having an arbitrary tone color by appropriately setting the signal level of the overtone and the formant filter level.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described conventional electronic musical instrument has the following problems. That is, the sound source generates a musical tone signal according to the harmonic signal level obtained by filtering the set harmonic signal level with a formant filter. Therefore, the user can know the final harmonic structure only by looking at both the signal level of each harmonic that is currently set and the characteristics of the formant filter (formant filter level).
[0007]
However, as described above, since the overtone signal level setting screen and the formant filter characteristic setting screen are different, the following problems occur. For example, even if you set so that there are many harmonics on the higher order side on the harmonic signal level setting screen, you cannot see this on the formant filter characteristics setting screen, so the harmonics that exist on the higher order side The formant filter level may be set so as to have a characteristic to be cut. If such a setting is made, the higher harmonics set on the harmonic signal level setting screen are not generated.
[0008]
On the other hand, since the signal level of overtones cannot be seen on the formant filter characteristic setting screen, the formant filter level may be changed in a frequency band where no overtones exist. In this case, even if the formant filter level is set so that the formant filter characteristics change, the timbre does not change. As described above, a setting error of the user is easily caused, so that it is difficult to obtain a desired tone color, and there is a problem that the user misunderstands that the electronic musical instrument is out of order.
[0009]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic musical instrument that can easily and reliably set a timbre desired by a user.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an electronic musical instrument according to the present invention filters a harmonic overtone level setting unit that sets a signal level of a harmonic overtone that forms a musical tone, and a harmonic over which the signal level is set by the harmonic overtone level setting unit. A filter characteristic setting unit for setting a filter characteristic of the harmonic, and a harmonic signal level generated based on a harmonic signal level set by the harmonic level setting unit and a filter characteristic set by the filter characteristic setting unit And a display for displaying a figure on the screen.
[0011]
In this electronic musical instrument, the display unit represents a harmonic signal level obtained by filtering the harmonic signal level set by the harmonic level setting unit according to the filter characteristic set by the filter characteristic setting unit. It can be configured to display graphics on the screen. In this case, the filtering can be performed by multiplying the harmonic signal level set by the harmonic level setting unit by the filter level representing the filter characteristic set by the filter characteristic setting unit.
[0012]
The display unit is configured to display a graphic representing the filter characteristic set by the filter characteristic setting unit on a graphic representing the signal level of the harmonic set by the harmonic level setting unit. Can do.
[0013]
According to the electronic musical instrument of the present invention, since the overtone signal level reflecting the filter characteristics is displayed on the screen, the user can change either the overtone signal level or the filter characteristics. You can set any overtone structure just by checking the display content. As a result, the user can easily and reliably obtain a desired tone color.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, an electronic musical instrument that can control from a fundamental tone to a 64th harmonic will be described, but the number of harmonics is not limited to this and can be arbitrarily set.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic musical instrument includes a CPU 10, a program memory 11, a work memory 12, a keyboard device 13, an operation panel 14, and a sound source 15 connected by a bus 20. A speaker 16 is connected to the sound source 15.
[0016]
The CPU 10 controls the entire electronic musical instrument according to a control program stored in the program memory 11. The contents of the control by the CPU 10 will be described in detail later with reference to a flowchart. The program memory 11 is composed of, for example, a read only memory (hereinafter referred to as “ROM”), and stores various fixed data used by the CPU 10 in addition to the control program described above.
[0017]
The work memory 12 is composed of, for example, a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as “RAM”), and temporarily stores various data when various processes are performed by the electronic musical instrument. Further, in the work memory 12, a display buffer HDL, a harmonic level buffer HL, and a formant filter level buffer FL as shown in FIG. 2 are formed. The work memory 12 defines various registers, counters, flags, and the like for controlling the electronic musical instrument. These will be described as they appear below.
[0018]
The display buffer HDL provided in the work memory 12 stores data to be displayed on the display 30 (details will be described later) of the operation panel 14. The harmonic level buffer HL stores signal levels of fundamental to 64th harmonics set from the operation panel 14. The formant filter level buffer FL stores the formant filter level of each frequency band set from the operation panel 14. Each of the plurality of frequency bands corresponds to each of a plurality of overtones. Each of the display buffer HDL, the harmonic overtone level buffer HL, and the formant filter level buffer FL includes 64 storage areas corresponding to each overtone (frequency band).
[0019]
The keyboard device 13 is composed of a plurality of keys. Each key is instructed to sound by pressing the key and instruct to mute by releasing the key. As the keyboard device 13, for example, a two-contact type keyboard device can be used. The keyboard device 13 includes a key scan circuit (not shown). The key scan circuit generates key data indicating ON / OFF of each key and touch data indicating the pressing speed (key pressing strength) of each key. And send it to the CPU 10.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel 14 includes a display 30, a cursor movement key 31, and a dial 32. The display 30 is composed of, for example, an LCD. On this display 30, the signal level of overtones obtained by filtering 64 overtones with a formant filter 151 (described later) is displayed as a bar graph in the form of vertical bars. The display 30 is used not only to display the harmonic signal level but also to display various messages.
[0021]
The cursor movement key 31 includes a key 31a for moving the cursor on the display 30 to the left side and a key 31b for moving the cursor to the right side, and is used to select one of 64 harmonics. . The dial 32 is used to change the signal level of the overtone selected by the cursor movement key 31. In addition to the above, the operation panel of the actual electronic musical instrument is provided with various switches and LED indicators for displaying the setting states of these switches, but the illustration is omitted.
[0022]
The operation panel 14 includes a panel scan circuit (not shown). The panel scan circuit sends switch data representing ON / OFF of the keys 31a and 31b and dial data representing a value set by the dial 32 to the CPU 10. The panel scan circuit also sends display data sent from the CPU 10 to the display 30. As a result, a message according to the character data or graphic data sent from the CPU 10 is displayed on the display 30.
[0023]
The sound source 15 generates a musical sound signal in response to an instruction from the CPU 10. The sound source 15 employs a harmonic overtone synthesis method, and includes a sine wave generator 150 and a formant filter 151. The sine wave generator 150 includes 64 sine wave generators corresponding to the 64 harmonics described above and an adder (none of which is shown) that adds signals from the sine wave generators. Yes.
[0024]
The sine wave generator 150 generates a sine wave signal corresponding to 64 harmonics having a sound corresponding to the key data from the keyboard device 13 as a fundamental tone. The amplitude of each sine wave signal is determined by the overtone signal level set on the operation panel 14. The sine wave signals from the sine wave generators are added by an adder and supplied to the formant filter 151.
[0025]
The formant filter 151 is composed of 64 band-pass filters that filter the signal from the sine wave generator 150 for each of 64 frequency bands. The formant filter 151 filters the signal from the sine wave generator 150 for each of the 64 frequency bands, thereby controlling the level of the signal in each frequency band according to the formant filter level set from the operation panel 14. To do. Since the formant filter itself is well known, detailed description thereof is omitted. The output signal from the formant filter 151 is supplied to the speaker 16 as a musical sound signal. Thereby, a musical sound is generated from the speaker 16.
[0026]
Next, an operation for setting the harmonic signal level and the formant filter level in the above configuration will be described.
[0027]
In this electronic musical instrument, the harmonic signal level set as shown in FIG. 4A is filtered by a formant filter having a formant filter level as shown in FIG. A harmonic structure having a signal level as shown in (C) is displayed on the display 30.
[0028]
When the user changes the overtone signal level, first, the user uses the editing switch (not shown) provided on the operation panel 14 to display the overtone signal level setting screen on the call display 30. Then, while looking at the displayed screen, the cursor movement key 31 is operated to select one overtone. The selected overtone is displayed in a special form such as blinking, thick line, high brightness, and the like. In this state, the user operates the dial 32 to change the signal level of the selected overtone. In this case, for example, when the dial 32 is turned to the left, the signal level is reduced, and when the dial 32 is turned to the right, the signal level is increased.
[0029]
At this time, the change in the signal level of the harmonic overtone may be restricted by the formant filter level set at that time. For example, if the formant filter level corresponding to the selected harmonic is set to zero, the harmonic signal level remains zero even when the dial 32 is operated. If the formant filter level is set to a value greater than zero, the overtone signal level changes according to the operation of the dial 32. By performing the above operation for each overtone to be changed, a musical tone having a desired tone color can be obtained.
[0030]
Next, when the user changes the formant filter level, first, the user uses an editing switch (not shown) provided on the operation panel 14 to display a setting screen for the formant filter characteristics on the calling display 30. Then, while viewing the displayed screen, the cursor movement key 31 is operated to select a frequency band corresponding to one overtone. The selected frequency band is displayed in a special form such as blinking, thick line, high brightness, and the like. In this state, the user operates the dial 32 to change the formant filter level of the selected frequency band. In this case, for example, if the dial 32 is turned to the left, the formant filter level is decreased, and if the dial 32 is turned to the right, the formant filter level is increased.
[0031]
At this time, the display operation differs depending on whether the harmonic signal level set at that time is regulated by the formant filter level, that is, whether the harmonic signal level is higher than the formant filter level. For example, if the overtone signal level is set to zero, the overtone signal level remains zero even when the dial 32 is operated. If the overtone signal level is set to a value greater than zero, the overtone signal level changes according to the operation of the dial 32. By performing the above operation for each frequency band to be changed, a musical tone having a desired tone color can be obtained.
[0032]
As described above, if the user changes either the overtone signal level or the formant filter level by operating the dial 32 while looking at the screen of the display device 30, the overtone configuration actually used for musical tone generation can be changed. Since it is displayed on the display device 30, a desired harmonic structure can be set easily and reliably.
[0033]
Next, the operation of the electronic musical instrument configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
[0034]
(Embodiment 1)
In the electronic musical instrument according to the first embodiment, a graphic representing the harmonic structure actually used for musical tone generation is displayed on the display 30.
[0035]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing main processing of the electronic musical instrument according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This main process is started by turning on the power or pressing a reset switch (not shown). In the main process, an initialization process is first performed (step S10). In this initialization process, the internal hardware of the CPU 10, registers, counters, flags, etc. defined in the work memory are set to the initial state.
[0036]
When this initialization process is completed, a panel process is then performed (step S11). In this panel processing, processing for realizing the function assigned to the operated switch is performed in accordance with the operation of various switches on the operation panel 14. Details of this panel processing will be described later.
[0037]
Next, keyboard processing is performed (step S12). In this keyboard process, in response to the operation of the keyboard device 13, a sound is generated with the tone color of the overtone structure set at that time. That is, when the CPU 10 supplies the key data from the keyboard device 13 to the sound source 15, the sound source 15 generates a musical tone signal composed of 64 harmonics based on the sound corresponding to the key data and sends it to the speaker 16. Thereby, a musical sound is generated from the speaker 16.
[0038]
Next, “other processing” is performed (step S13). In this “other process”, processes other than those described above, for example, a MIDI message transmission / reception process from a MIDI interface (not shown) are performed. Thereafter, the sequence returns to step S11, and the processes of steps S11 to S13 are repeated thereafter. In the process of repeated execution, when the keyboard device 13 and the operation panel 14 are operated, processing corresponding to them is performed, thereby realizing various functions as an electronic musical instrument.
[0039]
Next, the details of the panel processing performed in step S11 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0040]
In this panel process, first, it is checked whether or not there is an event of the cursor movement key 31 (step S20). When it is determined that there is an event, the cursor is moved (step S21). That is, if the event is the key 31a, the cursor is moved to the left side. If the event is the key 31b, the cursor is moved to the right side. As a result, one of the 64 harmonics is selected.
[0041]
Next, it is checked whether there is an event of the dial 32 (step S22). If it is determined that there is no event of the dial 32, other processing is performed (step S29). In this “other processing”, processing corresponding to an event of a switch (not shown) mounted on the operation panel 14 is performed. The process of shifting the operation mode of the electronic musical instrument to the overtone edit mode and the formant filter edit mode in response to an operation of an edit switch (not shown) is also performed in the “other process”. Thereafter, the sequence returns to the main processing routine.
[0042]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S22 that there is an event of the dial 32, it is then checked whether or not the overtone editing mode is set (step S23). When it is determined that the overtone editing mode is selected, it is recognized that a change in the overtone signal level is instructed in the overtone editing mode, and the dial data from the dial 32 represents data representing the overtone signal level (hereinafter referred to as the overtone signal level). (Referred to as “harmonic level data”) is sent to the sine wave generator 150 of the sound source 15 and stored in the harmonic level buffer HL (step S27). The position of the overtone level buffer HL where the overtone level data is stored is a storage area corresponding to the overtone selected by the cursor at that time. Next, display processing is performed (step S26). Although details will be described later in this display process, the signal level of the overtone after the change is displayed. Thereafter, the sequence returns to the main processing routine.
[0043]
If it is determined in step S23 that the mode is not the overtone editing mode, then it is checked whether the mode is the formant filter editing mode (step S24). When it is determined that the formant filter editing mode is selected, it is recognized that the change of the formant filter characteristics has been instructed, and the dial data from the dial 32 is data representing the formant filter level (hereinafter referred to as “formant filter level data”). Is sent to the formant filter 151 of the sound source 15 and stored in the formant filter level buffer FL (step S25). The position of the formant filter level buffer FL in which the formant filter level data is stored is a storage area corresponding to the frequency band (overtone) selected by the cursor at that time. Next, display processing is performed (step S26).
[0044]
If it is determined in step S24 that the mode is not the formant filter editing mode, other processing is performed (step S28). In this “other processing”, for example, timbre selection processing when the dial 32 is operated during the timbre selection mode, rhythm selection processing when the dial 32 is operated during the rhythm selection mode, and the like are performed.
[0045]
Next, details of the display process performed in step S26 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0046]
In this display process, first, “1” is set as an initial value in the harmonic overtone counter hn provided in the work memory 12 (step S30). Next, the contents of the storage area corresponding to the contents of the harmonic overtone counter hn in the harmonic overtone level buffer HL and the contents of the storage area corresponding to the contents of the overtone counter hn in the formant filter level buffer FL are multiplied, and the result is The data is stored in the storage area corresponding to the content of the harmonic overtone counter hn in the display buffer HDL (step S31).
[0047]
Next, the content of the overtone counter hn is incremented (+1) (step S32). Next, it is checked whether or not the content of the overtone counter hn is greater than “64” (step S33). When it is determined that the content of the harmonic overtone counter hn is not greater than “64”, the sequence returns to step S31. Thereafter, the processing of steps S31 to S33 is repeated 64 times in the same manner. When it is determined in step S33 that the content of the harmonic overtone counter hn is greater than “64”, the content of the display buffer HDL is The data is sent to the display 30 (step S34). The display 30 converts the content of the display buffer HDL into vertical bar image data and displays it on the screen. As a result, the signal level of the harmonics filtered by the formant filter 151, that is, the harmonic composition actually used is displayed on the display 30. Thereafter, the sequence returns to the panel processing routine.
[0048]
(Embodiment 2)
In the electronic musical instrument according to the second embodiment, both the graphic representing the set harmonic signal level and the graphic representing the formant filter level are simultaneously displayed on the display 30.
[0049]
FIG. 8 is a display example on the display 30 of the electronic musical instrument according to the second embodiment, and a part of the screen is enlarged. In the second embodiment, the harmonic signal level is indicated by a vertical bar, and the formant filter level is indicated by a short horizontal bar on the vertical bar.
[0050]
In the second embodiment, the display processing routine shown in FIG. 7 is different from the display processing routine of the first embodiment described above. The display process according to the second embodiment is shown in the flowchart of FIG. In this display process, first, the contents of the overtone level buffer HL are sent to the display 30 (step S40). Next, the contents of the formant filter level buffer FL are sent to the display 30 (step S41). As a result, the display 30 converts the harmonic overtone level data into vertical bar image data, and the formant filter level data into short horizontal bar image data, and displays the logical sum of these on the screen. Thereafter, the sequence returns to the panel processing routine.
[0051]
According to the electronic musical instrument according to the second embodiment, since the harmonic signal level and the formant filter level are displayed separately on the same screen, the user can change either the harmonic signal level or the formant filter level. You can recognize at a glance whether you should do it.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic musical instrument that can easily and reliably set a timbre desired by a user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a buffer provided in the work memory shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of an operation panel shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation of the electronic musical instrument according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a main processing routine of the electronic musical instrument according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart showing details of the panel processing shown in FIG. 5. FIG.
7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents in the first embodiment of the display processing shown in FIG. 6. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an operation of the electronic musical instrument according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing contents in the second embodiment of the display processing shown in FIG. 6;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 CPU
11 Program memory 12 Work memory 13 Keyboard device 14 Operation panel 15 Sound source 16 Speaker 20 Bus 30 Display 31 Cursor movement keys 31a, 31b Key 32 Dial 150 Sine wave generator 151 Formant filter hn Overtone counter HL Overtone level buffer FL Formant filter level Buffer HDL display buffer

Claims (1)

A harmonic level setting unit for setting the signal level of the harmonics forming the musical tone;
A filter characteristic setting unit for setting a filter characteristic for filtering the harmonic over which the signal level is set by the harmonic level setting unit;
Wherein on the figure representing the signal level of the set harmonic overtone level setting unit, a display unit to be displayed on the screen superimposed a figure representing a filter characteristic set by the filter characteristic setting unit,
And an electronic musical instrument.

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