JPH06195084A - String synthesizer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a timbre from varying unnaturally, to generate a sound close to that of a natural musical instrument and to enable processing which can not be performed by a conventional stringed instrument by providing a driving means which drives strings on the basis of the output signal of a signal processing means. CONSTITUTION:A piano string 1 is made of iron and struck with a hammer to vibrate and generate a musical sound. The output signal of a pickup 2 which transduces the vibration of the string 1 into an electric signal is processed by a signal processing circuit 13. When a driver 14 is driven with the output of an amplifier 12, the string 1 vibrates with an AC magnetic field produced around the iron core of the driver 14. A sound is generated by this vibration and the vibration of the struck string. A pickup 15 is arranged opposite the driver 14 across the string 1. This pickup 15 transduces the vibration of the string into an electric signal and outputs it to the outside, thereby outputting a sound or recording the signal. Therefore, various processes for adding effects to the sound of the natural musical instrument or giving an envelope can be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a string synthesizer which performs signal processing on a signal picked up by a pickup provided close to a string of a stringed instrument such as a piano and feeds it back to the string again.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in stringed instruments such as guitars and pianos, a sound picked up by a pickup or a microphone is subjected to various signal processing and then emitted from a speaker, or recorded on a CD, a magnetic tape or the like. It is stored in a medium.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional stringed instrument, since the signal processing is performed by the electrical processing,
The signal-processed timbre must be different from the natural timbre of the natural musical instrument, which sometimes gives the listener an unnatural impression. In addition, since the vibration is successively attenuated after the string is played, the volume is also attenuated, so that the length of the sounding time cannot be controlled and the envelope control cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to prevent an unnatural timbre change due to conventional signal processing and generate a sound close to a natural musical instrument.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a completely new string synthesizer capable of performing a process which cannot be performed by a conventional string instrument, such as attaching a free envelope or controlling a decay time.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a detecting means for detecting a sound generated by a string, a signal processing means for processing an output signal of the detecting means, and Drive means for driving the strings based on the output signal of the signal processing means.

[0006]

In the above structure, the sound detected by the detecting means is processed by the signal processing means. And
The processed signal drives the string and the vibration of the string produces a sound.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of the first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a piano string, which is made of iron and vibrates by striking a string with a hammer (not shown) to generate a musical sound. 2 is a pickup (PU) that converts the vibration of the string 1 into an electric signal
And its output signal is A / D (analog / digital)
It is output to the converter 3. The A / D converter 3 converts the electric signal into a digital signal, and outputs a non-linear (Non Li) signal.
(near) output to the circuit 4.

The non-linear circuit 4 is a circuit for distorting a tone signal and adding a harmonic component, and for example, a non-linear table is used. The output of the non-linear circuit 4 is output to the equalizer (EQ) circuit 5. The equalizer circuit 5 is a circuit that controls the frequency, and increases or attenuates a signal component of a specific frequency and outputs the signal component to the delay circuit 6.

The delay circuit 6 delays the output of the equalizer circuit 5 for a predetermined time to effector.
Output to the circuit 7. The effector circuit 7 is a circuit for adding a reverb (reverberation) effect or a chorus effect (effect like chorus) to the musical tone signal, and the output thereof is output to the multiplier 8. An EG (envelope generator) 9 creates envelope data based on parameters supplied from the outside and outputs it to the multiplier 8.

The multiplier 8 multiplies the output of the effector circuit 7 and the envelope data output from the EG 9 and multiplies the multiplication result by the D / A (digital / analog) converter 1.
Output to 1. The D / A converter 11 converts the output of the multiplier 8 into an analog signal and outputs it to the amplifier 12. Amplifier 1
2 amplifies the output of the D / A converter 11 and supplies it to the driver 14. The driver 14 is composed of an electromagnetic coil having an iron core, and the iron core is arranged close to the strings. As a result, when the driver 14 is driven by the output of the amplifier 12, the string 1 vibrates due to the AC magnetic field generated in the iron core of the driver 14. Sound is generated by this vibration and the vibration of the string caused by striking the string.

A pickup 15 is arranged at a position opposed to the driver 1 with the string 1 interposed therebetween. The pick-up 15 converts the vibration of the string into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to the outside to emit a sound or record it. Also,
The outputs of the circuits 3 to 6 and 8 described above are appropriately mixed by the mixer circuit 10 on the basis of the parameters supplied from the outside, and are output as a tone signal to be emitted or recorded. Parameters are externally supplied to the circuits 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 described above, and the circuits perform various processes based on the parameters. The parameters will be described later in detail. Then, the circuits 3 to 1 described above
The signal processing circuit 13 is composed of 2. In addition, the structure except the string 1 in each structure shown in FIG.
It is provided in addition to the grand piano or upright piano which is a natural musical instrument. According to the above configuration, the sound that has been subjected to the signal processing is returned to the string again, and the sound is generated based on the vibration of the string. In other words, if the signal-processed musical tone signal is supplied to the speaker as it is to be sounded, the waveform distortion due to the electrical processing will be sounded as it is,
In this way, when the strings are returned to the strings, the strings act as a kind of filter, and the unnatural distortion due to the electric processing is attenuated, while the frequency components characteristic of the piano sound are emphasized, and a very preferable sound can be obtained. .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an 88-key piano synthesizer using the signal processing circuit 13 shown in FIG. In this figure, 20 is an 88-key keyboard,
A sensor 21 such as a key on / off detection sensor, a key pressing speed detection sensor, and an after-touch sensor is provided for each key. 22 is an interface (I / F)
That is, the output signal of the sensor 21 provided corresponding to each key is scanned to detect the on / off state of each key, the key pressing speed, the after touch, etc., and based on the detection result,
The key code KC, the key-on signal KON, the key pressing speed data Vel, and the after touch data AT are formed and output.

Reference numeral 23 is a signal processing channel assigning section, which detects a key which is turned on based on a key code KC and a key-on signal KON output from the interface 22, and processes the tone signal of the key. 1 in 28
The process of assigning to any of the 6 signal processing channels is performed, and the key code KC of the key and the channel data CD indicating the assigned channel number are output. The allocation method is the last-arrival priority method.

A parameter supply unit 24 forms parameters on the basis of key depression speed data Vel supplied from the interface 22, aftertouch data AT and pedal switch data and wheel data output from a parameter forming circuit (not shown). Signal processing unit 2
16 signal processing channels in 8 are supplied. The signal processing unit 28 is provided with 16 signal processing circuits 13 shown in FIG. That is, each of the 16 signal processing channels is constituted by the signal processing circuit 13 shown in FIG. Further, the signal processing unit 28 uses the signal processing circuit 13 based on the parameter generated according to the setting operation of the switch (not shown).
The outputs of the respective circuits constituting the above are mixed and output to the outside as a tone signal.

The distribution unit 25 is a switching circuit, and among the outputs of 88 pickups 2 (FIG. 1) provided corresponding to each string 1, the key code KC output from the signal processing ch assignment unit 23 is The output of the pickup 2 of the designated string is connected to the input end of the signal processing circuit 13 designated by the channel data CD in the signal processing unit 28. Similarly,
The distribution unit 26 is also a switching circuit, and the driver 1 provided corresponding to the string 1 designated by the key code KC to output the signal processing circuit 13 designated by the channel data CD.
Connect to 4.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, when one of the keys on the keyboard 20 is turned on,
The output of the sensor 21 corresponding to the turned-on key is read by the interface 22, and the key code KC,
The key-on signal KON is output to the signal processing ch assignment unit 23, and the key pressing speed data Vel and the after-touch data AT are output to the parameter supply unit 24.

The signal processing channel assigning section 23 uses the key code K.
Upon receiving C and the key-on signal KON, key assignment is performed, and the key code KC and channel data CD based on the assignment are output. The parameter supply unit 24 forms parameters based on the key pressing speed data Vel, the after-touch data AT, etc., and outputs the parameters to the signal processing circuit 13 in the signal processing unit 28 instructed by the channel data CD. On the other hand, the distribution unit 25 outputs the output signal of the pickup 2 provided corresponding to the turned-on key to the signal processing circuit 13 instructed by the channel data CD, and the distribution unit 26 outputs the same channel data CD. The output end of the instructing signal processing circuit 13 is connected to the driver 14 provided corresponding to the string 1 instructed by the key code KC.

As a result, the output of the pick-up 2 of the string that is turned on is processed by the signal processing circuit 13, the driver 14 is driven by the processed signal, and the string 1 is driven by the driver 14. Ie, the string 1
Is driven by the signal processed signal, which
Various effects or envelopes are added to the generated musical sound. Further, since the generated musical tone is generated by the vibration of the string 1, the signal of the unique vibration frequency of the string 1 is emphasized,
On the other hand, signals of other frequencies are attenuated.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the difference from FIG. 1 is that the driver 14 is removed, the output of the signal processing circuit 13 is connected to one end of the string 1, and the other end of the string 1 is grounded. In this way, the output of the signal processing circuit 13 may be passed through the string 1 to directly drive the string 1 and control the output of the pickup 2.

In the first embodiment, the signal output from the signal processing circuit 13 is supplied to the driver 14 corresponding to the string 1 on which the key is pressed, but the driver corresponding to another string is not limited to this. Or to multiple drivers. Also, if you do not press the damper pedal, the strings other than the one being pressed are not dumped and vibrate.
The other strings may be driven only when the damper pedal is depressed. Moreover, although there are usually a plurality of strings of a piano corresponding to one key, in this case, a sensor or a driver may be provided in correspondence with the number of strings. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the piano has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any musical instrument may be used as long as it is a stringed musical instrument.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the detecting means for detecting the sound generated by the strings, the signal processing means for processing the output signal of the detecting means, and the output of the signal processing means. Since the drive means is provided for driving the strings based on the signal, the unnatural distortion due to the electric processing is attenuated. Further, according to the present invention, it becomes possible to apply various effects to the sound of a natural musical instrument, to increase the decay time, to add an envelope, and the like, and to provide a new musical instrument that has never existed before. Is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an 88-key piano synthesizer using the configuration of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Pickup, 13 ... Signal processing circuit, 1
4 ... Driver

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G10H 1/18 Z 4236-5H 101 4236-5H

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A detection means for detecting a sound generated by a string, a signal processing means for processing an output signal of the detection means, and a driving means for driving a string based on the output signal of the signal processing means. A built-in string synthesizer.