JPH0749684A - Automatic playing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a delay while distributing processes by immediately outputting a first kind of automatic playing data to a sound source when the first kind and a second kind automatic data are simultaneousely read and outputting the second kind automatic playing data to the sound source before a next no tone generation. CONSTITUTION:Automatic playing data are beforehand stored in a ROM 2 and a CPU 1 executes reading processes of the automatic playing data stored in the ROM 2. The data are stored for equivalent of 16 tracks, the data are read in parallel, a playing of plural parts is executed and outputted to a sound source circuit 8. At that time the event data which are imediately outputted to the circuit 8 after the reading and the event data, which are not immediately outputted, are separately handled. Namely, the data related to a real time sound generation are immediately outputted. However, the data, which become effective from a next no tone that follows the read out, are not immediately outputted and are outputted when the next no tone event is generated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic musical instrument in an electronic musical instrument, and more particularly to an automatic musical instrument capable of preventing a delay in processing when a large amount of musical performance data is processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, not only simple performance data (note-on data, note-off data) but also various control data (for example, tone color change data, volume change data, pitch change data, etc.) are played by an automatic performance device. By including it in the data, it is possible to make the performance highly expressive. These control data are stored in the automatic performance data memory together with timing data indicating the timing at which each control data should be generated.

[0003]

Since the conventional automatic performance device sequentially reads out the data stored in the memory over time, and outputs all the read-out data to the sound source. If a large amount of data is stored at the same timing, it takes a lot of time to process the data, and the sounding timing of the musical tone may be delayed.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, the first data including note-on data is used.
Storage means for storing the automatic performance data of the above type and the automatic performance data of the second type over time, and a reading means for sequentially reading the automatic performance data of the first and second types over time. The read first
The first output means for immediately outputting the automatic performance data of the above type to the sound source and the read second automatic performance data of the second type, after the data is read, the next note by the first output means. A second output means for outputting to the sound source until the on-data is output.

[0005]

When the automatic performance data of the first type and the automatic performance data of the second type are read simultaneously, the automatic performance data of the first type is immediately output to the sound source, but the second type. The automatic performance data of is output to the tone generator until the next note-on occurs. Therefore, the processing is distributed.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration according to the embodiment. The CPU 1 controls the operation of the entire apparatus and executes processing according to a control program stored in the ROM 2. Further, the CPU 1 and each unit are connected via a bus 3, and various data are transmitted and received. In addition to the control program, the ROM 2 stores in advance automatic performance data such as an auto bass code. RA
The M4 is provided with areas such as buffers, registers, and flags for temporarily storing various data generated during processing by the CPU. The timer 5 supplies an interrupt signal to the CPU 1 and generates an interrupt signal in a variable cycle according to the tempo. The interrupt signal generation cycle is
For example, it is a cycle in which a signal is generated 24 times per quarter note, that is, a cycle of every 96th note. The CPU 1 executes the reading process of the automatic performance data stored in the ROM 2 in accordance with the generation of this interrupt signal.

The keyboard 6 has a large number (61, for example) of keys and performance operators such as a pitch bend wheel and a modulation wheel. When the keyboard 6 is operated by a player, the keyboard detection circuit 7 detects the operation, Operation information is output to the CPU 1 via the bus 3. The CPU 1 creates note data such as note-on and note-off based on the key operation information, and also creates musical tone control data based on operation information such as a pitch bend wheel and outputs it to the tone generator circuit 8 via the bus 3. . The tone generator circuit 8 forms a tone waveform signal based on the supplied note data and tone control data. As the method of the tone generator circuit,
Well-known waveform memory reading method, FM method, physical model simulation method, etc. are used. Further, this tone generator circuit has a plurality of MIDI channels, and it is possible to generate a musical tone with an independent tone color for each channel.
The tone waveform signal formed in the tone generator circuit 8 is supplied to the sound system 9 to generate a tone. A panel switch 10 has a large number of switches for designating various functions such as start / stop instructions for automatic performance and tone color selection. The operation of these switches is detected by the switch detection circuit 11, and the operation information is transferred via the bus 3 to C
It is supplied to PU1. The CPU 1 executes various functions according to the supplied switch information. A display circuit 12 displays various data.

FIG. 2 shows the data format of the automatic performance data stored in the ROM 2. This automatic performance data is used, for example, for automatic bass chord performance, and consists of performance data of a plurality of tracks (16 tracks in the embodiment) corresponding to a plurality of parts (eg, chord backing part, bass part, drum part, etc.). , Each track corresponds to one of the MIDI channels in the sound source, and it is possible to play with a different tone color for each track. All 16 tracks are different MIDI
The tone colors of all tracks may be different depending on the channel, or a plurality of tracks may be the same MIDI channel. At the beginning of the automatic performance data of each track, program change data indicating tone color switching, pitch bend data indicating the tone pitch change amount, volume data controlling the tone volume, expression data that also controls the tone volume, and tone It stores modulation data for controlling the amount of modulation, panpot data indicating the localization position of a sound image, and tone control data such as reverb depth for controlling the depth of reverb. Following these musical tone control data, automatic performance data according to actual passage of time is stored. The automatic performance data is recorded as a set of event data (for example, note-on occurrence, note-off occurrence, pitch bend value change, program change occurrence, etc.) indicating the change in some state and the event data occurrence timing. The data is recorded in the order of timing data and then event data. When a plurality of events occur simultaneously at one timing, the event data is recorded continuously. In this embodiment, the timing data is described as data representing the interval between each event.
At the end of the automatic performance data, end data indicating the end of the data is stored. This automatic performance data is, for example, data for two measures, and when the end data is read out, the performance data for two measures is repeatedly read out so as to return to the beginning of the performance data and the auto bass chord performance is performed. I am trying. For the sake of simplicity, an example is shown in which the performance data for these two measures is repeatedly read and played, but intro performance data, fill-in performance data, ending performance data, etc. as in normal auto bass chord performance. Needless to say, it may be stored in memory and switched as the song progresses.

Such automatic performance data is stored for 16 tracks from track 1 to track 16,
The performance of a plurality of parts is executed by reading out the automatic performance data for 16 tracks substantially in parallel. In the present invention, when the automatic performance data is read and output to the tone generator circuit 8, the event data that is read out and immediately output to the tone generator circuit 8 and the event data that is not immediately output are handled separately. . In other words, note-on, note-off, pitch bend, and other data related to real-time pronunciation are read out and output immediately.However, program change, panpot, reverb depth, etc. are read from the next note-on after these are read out. The type of data that makes the data valid is not output immediately, but the data is output when the next note-on event occurs. By doing so, it takes too much processing time to output a large number of musical sound control data stored at the beginning of each track all together to the tone generator circuit 8 at the start of reading the performance data or at the time of repeated reading. Can be prevented. That is, the generation timing of the first note-on data is often different for each track. Therefore, if the tone control data is output at the generation timing of the first note-on data, a large amount of data at the beginning of each track will be recorded. Tone control data of the tone generator circuit 8
The output timing can be dispersed, and as a result, it is possible to prevent a delay (looseness) due to a large amount of data being output to the sound source circuit 8 at one timing. Data that requires real-time characteristics such as pitch bend, volume, and expression should normally be output to the tone generator circuit 8 at the timing of occurrence, but in the present embodiment, these data are available only at the start of automatic performance. Also does not output until the first note-on data generation timing. This is because these data are musical tone control data effective for the musical tone being generated, and it is meaningless to output these control data before the first note-on occurs.

Next, a flow chart of processing of the CPU 1 in the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. FIG. 3 shows the main routine. First, when a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the initialization process of step S1 is executed to initialize various registers and flags.
Then, in step S2, keyboard processing is executed. Here, processing relating to sounding and muting of musical tones is performed according to the operation information of the keyboard 6 output from the keyboard detection circuit 7. Also, during execution of the auto bass chord performance, a predetermined area of the keyboard is used as a chord designation area, and a chord is determined by a combination of keys pressed in this area, and is used for chord designation of the auto bass chord. .

Next, in step S3, panel switch processing is performed based on the switch operation information from the switch detection circuit 11. This detailed processing will be described later with reference to FIG. Then, in step S4, the automatic performance process is performed to read out the automatic performance data. Details of this automatic performance processing will be described later with reference to FIGS. Next, other processing such as display-related processing in step S5 is executed, and the process proceeds to the keyboard processing in step S2 again.
To S5 are repeatedly executed.

Next, the details of the panel switch processing in step S3 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S11, it is determined whether or not a start / stop switch (not shown) on the panel switch 10 is turned on, and if it is turned on, the processing from step S12 is executed. Then, the process of other switches is executed. In step S12, the run flag R
It is determined whether or not UN is 1, and if it is 0, an automatic performance (auto bass chord performance) is started to start step S13.
From step S21 to step S21, if 1, the automatic performance being executed is stopped. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S22, the run flag RUN is cleared, and the process proceeds to step S23 where all MIDI channels to which the automatic performance data of the tone generator circuit is assigned. Outputs all note-off data to mute all tones that are sounding. When the start / stop switch is operated for the first time, it is an operation for starting the automatic performance, so the determination in step S12 is NO. Then, in step S13, the counter i is set to 1. This counter i indicates each track number from 1 to 16. Then, the process proceeds to step S14, and the head data of track i is read. Since the value of the counter i is 1 at the beginning, the data of the track 1 is read. As described above, various musical tone control data are stored at the beginning of each track, and one of the musical tone control data is read in the process of step S14. Then step S
15, the read tone control data is stored in the buffer Bi.
Write to Although the buffer Bi will be described in detail later, it is a buffer for storing musical tone control data that does not require real-time processing. Next in step S16
In step S17, it is determined whether the data is timing data or not. As a result, if NO is determined, the step S is performed again.
Returning to 15, the above processing is repeated. In this way, a plurality of tone control data stored at the beginning of each track are sequentially read and stored in the buffer Bi. When all the tone control data have been read, the timing data is stored next, so the determination in step S17 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S18 to read the read timing data into the time register T.
Store in IMEi. Then, the process proceeds to step S19, and it is determined whether or not the value of the counter i is 16. If it is not 16, the process proceeds to step S20 to increment the value of the counter i, and the processes of step S14 and thereafter are executed again. When the process proceeds to step S14 for the second time, the value of the counter i is incremented to 2 in step S20, and therefore the track 2 is used in the processes after step S14.
Data will be read. When these processes are repeated until the value of the counter i reaches 16, that is, until the reading of all the tracks from the track 1 to the track 16 is completed, NO is determined in the step S19, the process proceeds to the step S21, and the run flag RUN is set to 1. After setting, the process proceeds to the other switch process in step S24. When the process of step S24 ends, the process returns to the original main routine. In this way, when the start / stop switch is instructed to start the automatic performance, the tone control data stored at the beginning of each track is read out,
The tone control data read out is stored in the buffer Bi corresponding to each track. At this point, regardless of the type of tone control data, the data that is not output immediately is stored in the buffer Bi.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a timer interrupt process executed every time an interrupt signal is generated from the timer 5 will be described. In step S6, the process flag indicating that it is time to execute the automatic performance process in the main routine is set to 1, and the process returns.
In the main routine, the processes of steps S2 to S5 are repeatedly executed at high speed, and the automatic performance process only needs to be executed once in several times, and it is this process flag that indicates the timing of that one time. Is. Since the cycle of the timer interrupt changes according to the set tempo, the execution frequency of the automatic performance process also changes according to the tempo.

Next, the details of the automatic performance process in step S4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. First, in step S31, it is determined whether or not the processing flag is 1, and if it is 1, it is time to execute the automatic performance processing, so the processing proceeds to step S32 and subsequent steps. If the processing flag is 0, it is not time to execute the automatic performance processing, and therefore the process directly returns to the main routine. In step S32, the counter i
Is set to 1, and the process proceeds to step S33. In step S33, it is determined whether or not the value of the time register TIMEi is 0. If it is not 0, the process proceeds to step S34 to decrement the value of the time register TIMEi. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S33 that the value of the time register TIMEi is 0, it means that the time indicated by the timing data has passed and the timing for reading the event data has been reached. Read out. Then, in step S38, it is determined whether the read data is an event belonging to group A or an event belonging to group B. The group A is one that must be output to the tone generator circuit immediately after the event data is read, and the group B is one that does not need to be output until the next key-on data is read. Examples of events that belong to group A are note-on, note-off, pitch bend, volume, expression, aftertouch, modulation, etc., and events that belong to group B include program change, pan pot, reverb depth, etc. is there. The events of group A are stored in the buffer Ai in step S39, and the events of group B are stored in the buffer Bi in step S40. Then, the data in the buffer Ai is stored in the subsequent step S47.
Is always output to the sound source circuit 8. The data in the buffer Bi is output to the tone generator circuit 8 in step S46 only when note-on data exists in the buffer Ai.
It is not output at other times.

After the processing of steps S39 and S40, the process proceeds to step S41 to read the next data of track i. In step S42, it is determined whether or not the read data is timing data. If it is timing data, the process proceeds to step S43, the timing data is stored in the time register TIMEi, and the process proceeds to step S35. If it is not timing data, the process proceeds to step S38 again to repeat the above process. After these processes, the process proceeds to step S35 to determine whether or not the value of the counter i is 16, and if it is not 16, the counter i is incremented at step S36 and the process proceeds to step S33 again to move to the next track. Data is read. In this way
The reading process of the automatic performance data of each track is executed. When it is determined in step S35 that the value of the counter i is 16, the process proceeds to step S44. In addition,
Although omitted in the above description, when the end data is read in the process of step 37, the process returns to the beginning of the track again and the reading is repeated. At this time, since a plurality of musical sound control data are stored at the head of the track, this data is read, but if the read data and the currently set state are the same, step S39 or step No event is written in S40. This is because in the same state, even if new musical tone control event data is output to the tone generator circuit 8, there is no change and the processing time is wasted.

As described above, when the data of each track 1 to 16 is read out and stored in the buffer A or B, a process of outputting the stored data to the tone generator circuit 8 is executed. In step S44, the counter i is set to 1 again.
, And proceeds to step S45 to determine whether or not there is a note-on event in the buffer Ai. If there is a note-on event, the process proceeds to step S46, and all the data stored in the buffer Bi is generated by the tone generator circuit 8
, To the MIDI channel corresponding to track i. After this process, or if NO is determined in step S45, all the data stored in the buffer Ai is output to the MIDI channel of the tone generator circuit 8 corresponding to the track i in step S47. At this time, the note-on and note-off event data is pitch-converted according to the chord specified at that time and output to the tone generator circuit 8. In this way, the event of group A is output to the tone generator circuit 8 immediately after being read, and the event of group B is not output until the next note-on event. Then, the process proceeds to step S48, and it is determined whether or not the value of the counter i is 16, and if it is not 16, the value of the counter i is incremented at step S49 and the process proceeds to step S45 again. In this way, the event data of tracks 1 to 16 is output to the tone generator circuit 8. On the other hand, if the value of the counter i is 16, the process proceeds to step S50, the processing flag is reset, and the process returns to the main routine.

In the embodiment, all the events of group B are output to the tone generator circuit 8 at the next note-on occurrence timing. It is determined whether or not the processing amount at this time exceeds a predetermined value, and if it exceeds, the event of group B is output to the tone generator circuit 8 without outputting the event of group B to the tone generator circuit 8 at this timing. If not, the predetermined amount of events of group B may be output to the sound source circuit 8 without waiting for the next note-on event. And the group B that has not been output yet when the next note-on event occurs
It is possible to judge whether there is an event of, and if there is, to collectively output at that time. Further, the type of data included in the automatic performance data is not limited to that of the embodiment. Also, the format of the automatic performance data may be any format. In the embodiment, the example in which the automatic performance data is read out in one electronic musical instrument and output to the tone generator circuit is shown. However, the data read out to the external tone generator is MI.
It may be output as DI data.
In the embodiment, the automatic performance data is the automatic bass chord performance data stored in the ROM in advance. However, the automatic performance data is not limited to the automatic bass chord performance and may be any automatic performance data created by the user.

[0018]

As described above, in the present invention, the storage means for storing the first type of automatic performance data including the note-on data and the second type of automatic performance data over time. Read-out means for sequentially reading the first and second types of automatic performance data over time, first output means for immediately outputting the read-out first type of automatic performance data to the sound source, and the read-out means. Second output means for outputting the second type of automatic performance data to the sound source between the time when this data is read and the time when the next note-on data is output by the first output means. Therefore, even when a large amount of data is generated at the same time, the processing is dispersed and the delay can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a storage format of automatic performance data in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a main routine in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of panel switch processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an automatic performance process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an automatic performance process in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... CPU, 2 ... ROM, 4 ... RAM, 5 ... Timer, 8
… Sound source circuit, 10… Panel switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing first-type automatic performance data including note-on data and second-type automatic performance data over time, and the first and second types of automatic performance. The reading means for sequentially reading data according to the passage of time, the first outputting means for immediately outputting the read first type automatic performance data to the sound source, and the read second type automatic performance data An automatic performance device comprising: a second output means for outputting the data to the sound source between the time when the data is read and the time when the next note-on data is output by the first output means.