JPH03116096A - Electronic musical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To generate a musical tone by an intrinsic sounding form caused by playing of a natural musical instrument by selecting a playing program of the natural musical instrument corresponding to a tone color in accordance with a selected tone color, and instructing a sounding form of a musical tone in accordance with a condition of a relation of a musical tone generated therefrom and a sound generated previously, etc. CONSTITUTION:When a tone color corresponding to some natural musical instrument is selected by a tone color selecting means, in accordance therewith, a playing program for imitating the playing of the natural musical instrument corresponding to the tone color is selected by a playing program selecting means, and the playing program selected by a program executing means is executed. As for the playing program, under the condition of a relation of a musical tone to be generated and a sound generated previously and a relation of other sound sounded simultaneously with the musical tone, etc., a sounding form of a musical tone corresponding to this condition is programed, information for instructing a musical tone to be generated is inputted at any time, and in accordance with this input, the condition is decided, and a sounding form corresponding to the condition is instructed. In such a way, the musical tone can be generated in the same sounding form as that which imitates playing of the natural musical instrument.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument that can automatically imitate the playing style of natural musical instruments such as violins, brass instruments, and guitars.

[Conventional technology]

With electronic musical instruments, it is possible to imitate not only the tones of keyboard instruments such as piano tones and organ tones, but also the tones of various natural instruments such as standard instruments such as violins, plucked string instruments such as guitars, and brass instruments. can. However, simply imitating the timbre of a musical tone using overtone components does not fully bring out the musical instrument's character. Each natural musical instrument has a unique playing style that makes it unique, and it is desirable to be able to imitate the sound characteristics resulting from this unique playing style. There has been no conventional electronic musical instrument that can automatically imitate the playing style of natural instruments.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Therefore, in order to create a feeling that is even slightly similar to playing a natural instrument, some experienced performers use electronic instrument keyboards to subtly control the timing of key presses, or use pitch wheels to create a feeling similar to playing a natural instrument. Some people try to bring out the "instrument-likeness" inherent in a desired natural musical instrument through manual operations such as skillful use of the fA'1llI manual operator. but.

This is something that can be called a special skill and cannot be easily achieved by performers of a normal level.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument that can automatically imitate the playing style of a natural musical instrument.

[Means to solve the problem]

The electronic musical instrument according to the present invention includes a timbre selection means for selecting a timbre corresponding to a natural musical instrument, and a method for imitating the playing method of a natural instrument corresponding to the timbre according to the timbre selected by the timbre selection means. rendition style program selection means for selecting a rendition style program;

A rendition style program selected by the rendition style program selection means is executed, and this rendition style program includes:
It is a program in which the pronunciation form of musical tones is programmed according to the conditions such as the relationship between the musical tone that is about to be generated and the previous tone, and the relationship between other tones that are to be generated at the same time as the musical tone. When executing the rendition style program, 1) a program execution means is configured to input information indicative of musical tones to be generated as needed, determine the conditions according to the input, and instruct the pronunciation form according to the conditions; and a musical tone generating means for producing a musical tone specified by the information in the tone color selected by the tone color selection means and in the pronunciation form specified by the program execution means. This is illustrated in FIG. 1.

[For production]

When a timbre corresponding to a natural musical instrument is selected by the timbre selection means, a rendition style program that imitates the rendition style of the natural instrument corresponding to the timbre is selected by the rendition style program selection means. The program execution means executes one selected rendition style program. This playing style program programs the pronunciation form of musical tones according to the conditions such as the relationship between the musical tone that is about to be generated and the previous tone, and the relationship between other tones that will be sounded at the same time as the musical tone. This is what I did. When executing the rendition style program, information indicative of musical tones to be generated is inputted at any time, the conditions are determined in accordance with this input, and the pronunciation form is specified in accordance with the conditions. In the rendition method program, the relationship between the conditions and the pronunciation form is programmed to match the characteristics of the pronunciation form of the natural instrument resulting from the rendition method of the natural instrument so as to imitate the rendition method of the natural instrument. As a result, it is possible to automatically imitate the playing style of the natural musical instrument. That is, as a result, musical tones can be generated in a manner similar to that imitating the playing method of the natural musical instrument.

That is, each type of natural musical instrument has its own unique playing style mainly due to the structural characteristics of the instrument, or in other words, there is a tendency to be forced to play the musical instrument's unique playing style. For example, considering the violin, when changing the sound played within the same string, it is common to change the position of the finger pressing the string while playing the string with a bow. In that case, the sound changes without interruption, Produces a portamento-like effect. Also.

In that case, if you do not switch the finger that presses the string, but change the position by moving the same finger, the layered sound will not be interrupted and the portamento effect will be strong.On the other hand, if you change the string to be played to another string, Because both the fingers and the bow move away from the string, the sound changes intermittently, and portamento-like effects cannot easily occur.

Furthermore, due to the characteristics of the playing method in which one of the four strings is played with one bow, the number of simultaneous sounds is not large, and is about one or two notes. In this way, the characteristics resulting from the unique playing style of the violin are cursed as characteristics of the way the sound is produced (that is, as characteristics of the form of pronunciation), such as the way it connects with the previous note or the number of simultaneous sounds. Not only the violin, but also other natural instruments such as brass instruments and guitars, the characteristics resulting from the playing method unique to that instrument are the characteristics of the way the sound is produced (that is, the characteristics of the form of pronunciation). It appears in terms of the way it is connected to, the number of simultaneous pronunciations, etc.

In this way, considering that the characteristics of the pronunciation form resulting from the playing method unique to natural instruments appear, for example, in terms of how they are connected to the previous note and the number of simultaneous pronunciations, we Performance programs are prepared for various natural instruments so as to imitate the characteristics of such pronunciation forms according to the relationship with the sound generated at the same time, the relationship with other sounds produced at the same time as the musical sound, etc. Just leave it there.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic musical instrument according to the present invention. In this example, a central processing unit (CPU) 10. Program ROMl1. Key press detection under the control of a microcomputer containing data and working RAMI 2.

Various processes such as pronunciation assignment are executed. Keyboard circuit 14 via data and address bus 13. Various other circuits such as an operation panel 15 are connected to the microcomputer.

The keyboard circuit 14 is provided corresponding to a keyboard having a plurality of keys for specifying the pitch of a musical tone to be generated, and is a circuit including a key switch corresponding to each key of the keyboard.

The operation panel 15 allows you to select and select tone, volume, pitch, effect, etc.
It includes various devices for setting and controlling. It includes a timbre selection section 16 for selecting timbres corresponding to various natural musical instruments such as pianos, organs, violins, brass instruments, guitars, and other various timbres.

Tone generator 17 connects data and address bus 1
Key code KC given via 3.

It generates musical tone signals based on the key-on signal KON, tone data TC, and other data.

Musical tone signals can be generated using n channels. Any musical tone signal generation method may be used in the tone generator 17. For example, musical waveform sample value data stored in the waveform memory may be generated in accordance with address data that changes in accordance with the pitch of the musical tone to be generated. A method of reading out sequentially (memory read method), or a method of obtaining musical sound waveform sample value data by executing a predetermined frequency modulation calculation using the above address data as phase angle parameter data (FM
Any known method may be used, such as a method (AM method) in which musical waveform sample value data is obtained by executing a predetermined amplitude modulation calculation using the address data as phase angle parameter data.

The digital musical tone signal generated by the tone generator 17 is converted into an analog musical tone signal by a digital/analog converter 18, and is outputted via a sound system 19.

Next, an example of the process executed by the microcomputer will be explained with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 to 6.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the main routine. In the "panel scan process," various operators and switches on the operation panel 15 are scanned to detect whether they are on or off, and various processes are performed based on the detection. One of the processes executed in this ``panel scan process'' is ``tone switch event process'', an example of which is shown in FIG.

[Key scan and assignment processing] scans each key switch in the keyboard circuit 14 to detect whether it is on or off, and then assigns the pressed key to one of a plurality of sound generation channels. "Assignment processing"
One of the processes executed in this process is "new key on event process J," an example of which is shown in FIG.

"New key-on event processing" is processing performed when a key is pressed anew. Furthermore, when it is detected that a key has been newly released, "new key off event processing" is performed, an example of which is shown in FIG.

The ``Tone color switch event processing'' will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. This ``Tone color switch event processing'' is executed when the timbre selection section 16 detects that a timbre selection operation has been performed. First, tone code T indicating the selected tone
C is stored in a register, and by referring to this register, it is possible to know which tone is currently selected.

Next, a process is performed to select a "playing style program" corresponding to the selected tone. This "playing style program" is for imitating the playing style of a given natural instrument tone. If the "playing style program" for the selected tone has been prepared in advance, the "playing style program J@: predetermined chord signal to be selected corresponding to the tone is stored in a register, and by referring to this register, the current This allows you to see whether the ``r performance program'' is selected. On the other hand, the selected tone is the "playing style program"
If it is unrelated, a code signal indicating that the "rendition style program" is not selected is stored in the register. Note that it may be possible to select a mode to automatically imitate the playing style of a natural instrument by operating a switch, etc. In that case, if the mode of "no" is selected, the "playing style program" Even if a tone color prepared in advance is selected, a code signal indicating that the "performance style program" is not selected is stored in the register.

Next, the tone color code TC stored in the register is supplied to the tone generator 17, and this routine is completed.

Next, the "new key on event process" will be explained with reference to FIG. 5. First, the key code KC of the newly suppressed key is stored in a register.

By referring to this register, it is possible to know what the new suppression key is currently being processed.

Next, it is checked whether or not some "playing style program" is selected, and if it is not selected, normal pronunciation assignment processing is performed. Execute the "Performance Program". That is, pronunciation assignment processing is performed according to the "performance style program".

For example, if a violin playing style program is selected, the corresponding routine will be executed, if a brass instrument playing style program of some kind is selected, the corresponding routine will be executed, and a guitar playing style program will be executed. If a "rendition style program" is selected, a routine corresponding to it is executed, and so on, a routine corresponding to the selected "rendition style program" is executed. In FIG. 5, as an example, a routine for executing a "performance program" for a violin is clearly shown.

fjS5 violin “performance program” shown in diagram
Before explaining the routine, we will explain how to set up the ``playing style program'' for this violin.

First, considering the natural way of playing the violin, if you want to change the sound within the same string, you usually change the position of the fingers pressing down on the string while playing the string with the bow. In that case, the sound is interrupted. No change.

Produces a voltament-like effect. Also, in that case 1
If you don't switch the finger that presses the string, but change the position by moving the same finger, the - layer tone will not be interrupted, and the voltament effect will be strong. On the other hand, if you want to change the string you are playing to another string,
Because both the fingers and the bow move away from the string, the sound changes intermittently, and voltament-like effects do not easily occur. Also, due to the characteristic of playing one of the four strings with one bow,
The number of simultaneous sounds is not large, about one or two sounds.

Also, you cannot play more than two notes on the same string at the same time.

Therefore, the following rules can be set to imitate the violin playing style with the above-mentioned characteristics.

Rule 1: If the previous note and the note to be produced belong to the range corresponding to the same string, a portamento effect is automatically applied when switching from the previous note to the current note.

Rule 2: If the previously produced note and the note to be produced this time do not belong to the range corresponding to the same string, the current note is started without applying the portamento effect.

Rule 3: The number of notes that can be produced simultaneously is two. however.

If the two notes to be sounded at the same time do not belong to the same string, but belong to two adjacent strings, and the timings of the key presses of the two notes are close in time, the two notes are Simultaneous sound generation is possible, and only one sound is produced when the sounds belong to the same string or belong to two non-adjacent strings.

As described above, the above-mentioned rules are created as appropriate in consideration of the general playing method of the violin, and a "playing method program" for the violin is created using these rules as conditions.

The violin “performance program” shown in Figure 5 is
This takes into consideration Rules 1 to 3 as described above. First, in the assignment channel determination process (step 20), the number of sound generation channels is limited to two channels, and the channel to which the sound of the newly pressed key is assigned is determined to one of these two channels. In that case, apply Rule 3 above, if there is a key that has already been assigned and that key is being pressed,
Furthermore, if the key press timing and the new key press timing are close in time, the pitches of the assigned key (preceding key) and the currently pressed key (this time'R) are compared and determined. It is determined whether to allow time allocation between notes or to allocate only one note.

For example, the tonal range of the neck part corresponding to each string of a violin is as shown in Table 1 below, so in order to only allow simultaneous sounding of adjacent strings, the relationship between the previous key and the current key that can be played simultaneously is an example. can be set as shown in Table 2 below.

Table 1 Table 2 If the simultaneous pronunciation conditions in Table 2 above are not met, or even if the simultaneous pronunciation conditions in Table 2 are met, the key pressing timings of the previous key and the current key are temporally distant. For example, by introducing the idea of giving priority to the last arrival, the assignment of the preceding key is canceled and the current key is assigned to the same channel as the channel to which the preceding key was assigned. To achieve this, the process may proceed to step 21 to pseudo-generate the key code KC and key-off event signal of the preceding key in order to pseudo-key-off the preceding key, and then proceed to step 22. In this case, the processes from step 22 onward, which will be described later, are performed for the current key, and the "new key off event process" shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later, is performed for the preceding key that has been pseudo-keyed off.

Of course, this step 21 may be omitted.

Note that if the keys to be pressed for the number of simultaneous polyphony have already been assigned, the assignment of the preceding two keys is canceled.

The key may be assigned to one of the channels this time. Even in that case, in order to pseudo-key-off the two preceding keys, go to step 21, pseudo-generate key codes KC and key-off event signals for the two preceding keys, and then proceed to step 22. Just do it.

On the other hand, if the current key satisfies the simultaneous sound generation conditions as shown in Table 2 above, or if there are no other simultaneously pressed keys, the current key is assigned to an appropriate channel in the process of step 2o, and a pseudo key-off is performed. The process (step 21) is not performed and the process proceeds to step 22 and subsequent steps.

In step 22, it is checked whether the previously assigned key is currently being sounded in the channel to which the key is currently assigned, and if so, the process proceeds to step 23 and subsequent steps in order to control the application of the portamento effect.

Otherwise, control for applying the portamento effect is not performed and the process jumps to step 26.

The processing after step 23 follows rules 1 and 2 above.

First, considering the range of each string of the violin as shown in Table 1 above, first, consider the range of the note that was sounded just before (the previous key) and the range of the note that is to be produced this time (previously; the same as the current key above). If it looks like Cloth 3 below.

Following Rule 1, it is assumed that the ^; 1st note 8th note belongs to the range corresponding to the same string, and a portamento effect is applied.

Table 3 The process of determining the range of the current sound to which portamento is applied according to Table 3 is performed in steps 27 to 32 during the new key-on event process of the previous unit. Enter the key code of the lower limit pitch of the current pitch determined here in register R1.
and store the key code of upper 1'JL7f high in register R2. For example, when processing the second knee key-on event for the previous unit, if the previous unit's tone range is 03-CN3, key code G3 is stored in register R1, and key code G4 is stored in register R2.

In steps 23 and 24, it is determined whether the key code KC of the current sound falls within the range of the lower limit key code and upper limit key code in the registers R1 and R2.

If it belongs, go to step 25; if it does not belong,
Go to step 26.

In step 25, the key code KC, key-on signal KON, and voltament instruction signal FOR of the current sound are stored and sent to the tone generator 17, corresponding to the channel to which the current sound is assigned.

On the other hand, in step 26, the key code KC of the current sound and the key-on signal K are
It stores ON and sends it to the tone generator 17. In this case, the voltament instruction signal FOR is not provided.

In the tone generator 17, the given key code K
C, key-on signal KON and voltament instruction signal FO
R is stored and held in correspondence with the assigned channel, and based on these, a musical tone signal is generated in the corresponding channel. That is, a musical tone signal having a pitch corresponding to the key code KC is generated with an amplitude envelope formed according to the key-on signal KON, and at this time, a tone color is imparted according to the tone color code TC. Further, when the voltament instruction signal FOR is given, the pitch of the beginning of the current sound is modulated to give a portamento effect. One way to give the portamento effect is to smoothly change the pitch from the pitch of the previous note to the pitch of the current note, for example. On the other hand, if the voltamento instruction signal POR is not applied, no portamento effect is applied.

In step 27, the pitch range of the previous note in each case of Table 3 is compared with the kill code of the current note to determine which case it corresponds to. Step 2 according to this judgment result
Proceed to any one of steps 8 to 32, and store the lower limit key code of the current tone range in the corresponding case in register R1, and store the upper limit key code in register R2. For example, if the key code for this time's sound is A3, G3-C3f
Since it belongs to the range of 4, it corresponds to case 1, and step 2
Proceed to step 8, store key code G3 in register R1,
Store key code G4 in register R2. after that,
The "new key on event processing" ends and returns to the main routine.

In this way, it is possible to control the sound generation form of the musical tone signal of the violin tone according to the conditions according to the rules 1, 2.3.

Of course, the above rule 1, 2.3 is not limited to violins,
It can also be applied to other standard instruments such as viola and chieguchi. Therefore, just by changing the ranges of Tables 2 and 3 as appropriate,
The above embodiment can also be applied to "playing style programs" for other standard instrument tones, such as viola and chieguchi.

Next, "new key off event processing" will be explained with reference to FIG. Here, first, the key code KC of the newly SS key is compared with the key code assigned to each channel, the channel to which the newly released key is assigned is detected, and the corresponding channel is supported. The key-off signal KOF is stored as a key-off signal KOF, and is sent to the tone generator 17.

The tone generator 17 stores the applied key-off signal KOF in correspondence with its assigned channel, and based on this stores the tone generation state of the musical tone signal generated in the channel as appropriate (for example, sets it to a decay state). ).

In the next step, check whether the violin's "playing style program" is selected or not, and if one is selected, check whether the key assigned to the other sound channel continues to be pressed. . If NO, the contents of the registers R1 and R2 are cleared to O, and if YES, the contents of the registers R1 and R2 are cleared according to the key code of a (key pressed continuously!!) assigned to that channel. 6. In other words, steps 27 to 3 in Figure 5
The same process as in step 2 is carried out, and the contents of registers R1 and R2 are reset by regarding the key that is being pressed as the previous sound. this is,
Registers R1 and R assume that the key released this time is the previous sound.
If the contents of 2 are set, this register R1,
This is to change the content of R2 to one in which the key being pressed is regarded as the previous sound.

In the above embodiment, an example of imitating the playing style of a violin has been explained in detail, but it is also possible to imitate the playing style of other musical instruments by creating an appropriate playing style program accordingly.

For example, a playing style program for brass instruments (excluding trompons) can be determined as follows.

First, considering the characteristics of the playing method, in brass instruments other than the trompon, when changing from one note to another,
If the measured sound has a harmonic relationship, it can be produced by changing the vibration mode of the lips without operating the valve, whereas if it does not have a harmonic relationship, it is necessary to perform a valve operation.

In that case, when changing the vibration mode of the lips to a sound related to overtones, the sound tends to change legato without interruption. On the other hand, when the valve is operated, the sound is interrupted. In this way, there are differences in playing methods depending on the pitch of the played notes, and the characteristics of the sounds produced also differ. Also,
The number of simultaneous pronunciations is one note.

Therefore, the following rules can be set when imitating the playing style of a brass instrument with the above-mentioned characteristics.

Rule 1: The sound that was pronounced just before (previous sound) and the sound that you are trying to pronounce this time (current sound) have an overtone relationship.

When the key of the current sound is pressed before the key of the previous sound is released, the sound is switched from the previous sound to the current sound without interruption, and a portamento effect is automatically given at the time of the switching.

Rule 2: If the note that was produced just before (previous note) and the note to be produced this time (current note) have no overtone relationship, - the key of the current note is pressed before the key of the previous note is released. Even if it is locked, the portamento effect will not be applied.

Rule 3: If the key of the current note is pressed after the key of the previous note was released, no portamento effect is applied, and the rise of the current note is given the characteristics of the beginning of a brass instrument.

Rule 4: The number of notes that can be produced simultaneously is one.

As mentioned above, brass instruments (excluding trompons)
The above-mentioned rules are appropriately created in consideration of the in-shell playing method, and a "playing method program" for a predetermined brass instrument is created using these rules as conditions.

Furthermore, for example, a playing style program for a guitar can be determined as follows. First, considering the characteristics of playing style, the number of strings is 6. In addition, since the strings are played with one hand, the number of simultaneous notes is about 5 to 6, and when there are many notes played at the same time, the notes are played sequentially rather than simultaneously from the beginning, such as in arpeggios, trills, or stroking. For example, if the number of keys pressed at the same time is 3 to 5, the pronunciation style is automatically set to Arpeggio, and if the number of keys pressed at the same time is 6 or more, the pronunciation style is automatically set to Arpeggio. It is advisable to set a rule such as setting the guitar to a sequential pronunciation style such as trill or stroking, and to create a guitar performance program J using this rule as a condition.

In the above embodiment, the playing style program for imitating the playing style of a natural musical instrument is created and executed by software processing of a microcomputer, but the program is not limited to this. A circuit for executing the rendition style program may be configured.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in Part 2, according to the present invention, a playing style program of a natural instrument corresponding to the selected timbre is selected, and 1) the musical tone that is about to be generated and the preceding musical tone are played according to the selected playing style program. Based on conditions such as the relationship with the sound generated by the musical sound and the relationship with other sounds produced at the same time as the musical sound, the pronunciation form of the musical sound is specified according to these conditions, so it is possible to change the method of playing the natural instrument. It is possible to generate musical tones in a unique sounding form, thereby producing an excellent effect of automatically obtaining a performance effect as if the playing method of the natural musical instrument was imitated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic musical instrument according to the invention, and FIG. 3 is the main unit executed by the microcomputer shown in FIG. Flowchart showing an example of a routine. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the ``tone switch event process j'' executed in the ``panel scan process'' in FIG. 3. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of "knee key on event processing." FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the "new key off event processing J" executed in the "key scan and assignment processing" of FIG. 3. 10... CPU, 14... Keyboard circuit, 15... - Operation panel, 16... Tone selection section, 17... Tone generator.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A timbre selection means for selecting a timbre corresponding to a natural instrument; and, according to the timbre selected by the timbre selection means, a playing method program for imitating the playing method of a natural instrument corresponding to the timbre; and a rendition style program selection means for executing the rendition style program selected by the rendition style program selection means.
It is a program in which the pronunciation form of musical tones is programmed according to the conditions such as the relationship between the musical tone that is about to be generated and the previous tone, and the relationship between other tones that are to be generated at the same time as the musical tone. In executing the rendition style program, a program execution means is configured to input information instructing musical tones to be generated as needed, determine the conditions according to the input, and instruct the pronunciation form according to the conditions. . An electronic musical instrument comprising: a musical tone generating means for producing a musical tone specified by the information in a tone color selected by the tone color selecting means and in a sounding form specified by the program executing means. (2) The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the control of the sound generation form by the rendition style program controls the way the sound rises, the way it connects with the preceding sound, the number of sounds that can be sounded simultaneously, etc.