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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auto-play apparatus and, more
particularly, to an auto-play musical instrument capable of obtaining
auto-play tones having different tone-up levels by modifying programmed
auto-play data.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an auto-play musical instrument capable of obtaining auto-accompaniment
tones having a tone-up level intended by a player by modifying programmed
auto-play data, for example, a musical instrument described in Japanese
Patent Application No. 3-58188 has been proposed. In the musical
instrument described in this patent application, when a dial-like
operation member provided to the auto-play musical instrument is rotated,
the intonation value is changed upon rotation of the operation member, and
tone parameters of auto-play data are modified according to the change in
intonation value. In consideration of operability, and the like, when the
dial-like operation member is rotated through more than a 1/3 revolution,
the intonation value is incremented/decremented by one.
The musical instrument of the above-mentioned patent application is
suitable for gradually providing a tone-up state of play tones. However,
when the tone-up level is to be sharply changed, the dial-like operation
member must be rotated a number of times. Thus, a timing for setting an
intonation value capable of obtaining a tone-up level of play tones
intended by a player is delayed. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain play
tones having a tone-up level intended by a player at his or her intended
timing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an
auto-play musical instrument, which can obtain auto-play tones having a
tone-up level intended by a player at his or her intended timing when the
player wants to give a sharp change to the tone-up state of auto-play
tones.
According to the present invention, there is provided an auto-play musical
instrument for generating tones on the basis of programmed auto-play data,
comprising a dial-like operation member for changing an intonation value
indicating a tone-up level of play tones, intonation value
incrementing/decrementing means for incrementing/decrementing the
intonation value according to a rotational angle of the dial-like
operation member, tone parameter modifying means for modifying tone
parameters of the auto-play data according to the intonation value set
upon operation of the dial-like operation member, rotational speed
detection means for detecting a rotational speed of the dial-like
operation member, play pattern memory means for storing auto-play patterns
for tone generation of fill-in pieces, which patterns are used for sharply
changing the tone-up level of play tones, direction means for, when it is
determined as a result of detection by the rotational speed detection
means that the rotational speed of the dial-like operation member is
higher than a predetermined speed, directing an auto-play operation based
on the auto-play pattern for tone generation of the fill-in piece, and
for, when it is determined that the rotational speed of the dial-like
operation member is lower than the predetermined speed, directing the
intonation value incrementing/decrementing means to increment/decrement
the intonation value, and tone generation means for, when the direction
means directs the auto-play operation based on the auto-play pattern for
tone generation of the fill-in piece, reading out the auto-play pattern
from the play pattern memory means, and performing the auto-play operation
on the basis of the readout auto-play pattern.
The auto-play musical instrument may further comprise rotating direction
detection means for detecting a rotating direction of the dial-like
operation member, and designation means for designating a type of
auto-play pattern for tone generation of the fill-in piece to be read out
from the play pattern memory means according to the rotating direction of
the dial-like operation member detected by the rotating direction
detection means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an auto-play
musical instrument for performing an auto-play operation on the basis of
programmed auto-play data, comprising a dial-like operation member for
changing an intonation value indicating a tone-up level of play tones,
intonation value incrementing/decrementing means for
incrementing/decrementing the intonation value according to a rotational
angle of the dial-like operation member, rotational speed detection means
for detecting a rotational speed of the dial-like operation member,
direction means for, when it is determined as a result of detection by the
rotational speed detection means that the rotational speed of the
dial-like operation member is higher than a predetermined speed, directing
to set a preset value as the intonation value, and for, when it is
determined that the rotational speed of the dial-like operation member is
lower than the predetermined speed, directing the intonation value
incrementing/decrementing means to increment/decrement the intonation
value, intonation value setting means for setting the intonation value
according to a direction from the direction means, and tone parameter
modifying means for modifying tone parameters of the auto-play data
according to the intonation value set by the intonation value setting
means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an auto-play
musical instrument for performing an auto-play operation on the basis of
programmed auto-play data, comprising a dial-like operation member for
changing an intonation value indicating a tone-up level of play tones,
intonation value incrementing/decrementing means for
incrementing/decrementing the intonation value according to a rotational
angle of the dial-like operation member, rotational speed detection means
for detecting a rotational speed of the dial-like operation member,
direction means for, when it is determined as a result of detection by the
rotational speed detection means that the rotational speed of the
dial-like operation member is higher than a predetermined speed, directing
to add a predetermined value to the intonation value set at that time, and
for, when it is determined that the rotational speed of the dial-like
operation member is lower than the predetermined speed, directing the
intonation value incrementing/decrementing means to increment/decrement
the intonation value, intonation value setting means for setting the
intonation value according to a direction from the direction means, and
tone parameter modifying means for modifying tone parameters of the
auto-play data according to the intonation value set by the intonation
value setting means.
According to the present invention, when the dial-like operation member is
rotated at a speed higher than a predetermined speed (sharply) during an
auto-play operation is performed based on programmed auto-play data, an
auto-play operation based on an auto-play pattern for tone generation of a
fill-in piece stored in the auto-play pattern memory means. Thus, the
tone-up level of the music piece played so far can be sharply changed.
When the auto-play musical instrument is arranged such that the type of an
auto-play pattern for tone generation of a fill-in piece to be read out
from the auto-play pattern memory means can be designated by the
designation means according to the rotating direction of the dial-like
operation member, if the dial-like operation member is rotated clockwise,
an auto-play pattern for tone generation of a fill-in piece, which pattern
sharply increases the tone-up level of the play tones, is designated; if
it is rotated counterclockwise, an auto-play pattern for tone generation
of a fill-in piece, which pattern sharply suppresses the tone-up level of
the play tones, is designated.
When the auto-play musical instrument is arranged such that a preset value
is set as an intonation value when the dial-like operation member is
rotated at a speed higher than a predetermined speed, if a large value is
set as the preset value, the intonation value can be largely changed at a
time, thus providing a sharp change to the tone-up state of the play
tones.
Furthermore, when the auto-play musical instrument is arranged such that a
predetermined value is added to the current intonation value to set a new
intonation value when the dial-like operation member is rotated at a speed
higher than a predetermined speed, if a large value is set as the
predetermined value, the intonation value can also be largely changed at a
time, thus providing a sharp change to the tone-up state of play tones.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic musical instrument
according to an embodiment of an auto-play musical instrument of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing elemental features of the auto-play
musical instrument of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a memory table of intonation preset values;
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining memory tables of intonation pattern data;
FIG. 5 is a view showing data formats of the intonation pattern data; and
FIGS. 6 to 8 are flow charts showing auto-play control based on the
intonation pattern data.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing principal part of an electronic musical
instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. This
electronic musical instrument comprises a keyboard 11, an operation panel
12, and a display 13. A dial 10 for directing the tone-up level of play
tones is arranged aside the keyboard 11.
The circuit portion of the electronic musical instrument comprises a
microcomputer consisting of a CPU 21, a ROM 20, and a RAM 19, which are
connected through a bus 18. The CPU 21 detects operation information of
the keyboard 11 from a key switch circuit 15 connected to the keyboard 11,
and detects operation information of panel switches from a panel switch
circuit 16 connected to the operation panel 12. The dial 10 is connected
to a pulse generator 14. The CPU 21 counts pulses generated by the pulse
generator 14 according to the operation of the dial 10, thus obtaining
tone-up level information (intonation value).
The rhythm and type of instrument selected at the operation panel 12, the
intonation value corresponding to the dial operation, and the like are
displayed on the basis of display data supplied from the CPU 21 to the
display 13 through a display drive 17.
The CPU 21 sends note data corresponding to the keyboard operations, and
parameters such as the rhythm, tone color, and the like corresponding to
the panel switch operations to a tone generator 22. The tone generator 22
reads out PCM tone source data from the ROM 20 on the basis of these data,
processes the amplitude or envelope of the readout data, and outputs the
processed data to a D/A converter 23. Tone signals obtained from the D/A
converter 23 are supplied to a loudspeaker 25 through an amplifier 24.
The ROM 20 stores auto-accompaniment (auto-play) data. The CPU 21 reads out
auto-accompaniment data corresponding to an operation of an
auto-accompaniment selection button on the operation panel 12, and
supplies the readout data to the tone generator 22. The tone generator 22
reads out waveform data such as chord, bass, drum data, and the like
corresponding to the auto-accompaniment data from the ROM 20, and supplies
the readout data to the D/A converter 23. Therefore, auto-accompaniment
tones, i.e., chord, bass, and drum tones are obtained from the loudspeaker
25 together with tones corresponding to key operations.
An expression pedal 26 is an operation member, which is operated when a
player depresses it with his or her foot like a piano pedal. The
expression pedal 26 is a pedal having a seesaw-like structure. When the
player depresses one of the end portions of the pedal with respect to the
fulcrum at the central portion of the pedal, the tone-up level of play
tones is directed. When the expression pedal is depressed, the value of a
resistor (not shown) connected to the pedal changes, and this resistance
is converted into digital data by an A/D converter 27. The digital data is
supplied as intonation value setting information to the CPU 21.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing elemental features of the present
invention. An intonation operation member 32 corresponds to the dial 10
and the pulse generator 14 shown in FIG. 1. A rhythm selector 33 comprises
ten-key switches 12a provided to the operation panel 12. The operation
panel 12 is also provided with a plurality of push-button switches 12b for
directing insertion of a sub-phrase pattern of a single phrase consisting
of a note data string for several bars such as an introduction pattern, an
ending pattern, a fill-in pattern, and the like. These push-button
switches 12b constitute a sub-phrase selector 30 shown in FIG. 2.
When the dial 10 is operated according to the tone-up state of play tones,
a rotational speed detector 60, a rotating direction detector 61, and a
rotational angle detector 62 respectively detect the rotational speed,
rotating direction, and rotational angle of the dial 10 on the basis of
output pulses from the pulse generator 14. If it is determined as a result
of detection by the rotational speed detector 60 that the rotational speed
of the dial 10 is lower than a predetermined speed, a director 63 directs
a value changer 64 to increment/decrement the intonation value according
to the rotational angle of the dial 10; if it is determined that the
rotational speed of the dial 10 is higher than the predetermined speed,
the director 63 directs a pattern selector 65 to select a soft or loud
fill-in pattern (to be described later).
The value changer 64 increments/decrements the current intonation value by
one according to the rotational angle of the dial 10, e.g., in response to
a 1/3 revolution of the dial 10. Whether the value is incremented or
decremented is determined according to the rotating direction of the dial
10. That is, when the dial 10 is rotated clockwise, the value is
incremented; when it is rotated counterclockwise, the value is
decremented.
The pattern selector 65 sends selection direction information of a fill-in
pattern to an intonation value setter 31 according to the rotating
direction of the dial 10. For example, when the dial 10 is rotated
clockwise, the selector 65 sends selection direction information of a loud
fill-in pattern to the intonation value setter 31; when it is rotated
counterclockwise, the selector 65 sends selection direction information of
a soft fill-in pattern to the setter 31.
The intonation value setter 31 receives a selected rhythm number from the
rhythm selector 33, and also receives sub-phrase selection information
from the sub-phrase selector 30. The intonation value setter 31 has an
intonation preset table 41 allocated on the ROM 20, as shown in FIG. 3.
This table 41 has intonation preset values in units of rhythms. For
example, an intonation level "2" is assigned to a rhythm "1". The
intonation preset value is incremented/decremented by the value changer 64
according to the dial operation. The intonation value and the rhythm
number are supplied to an intonation pattern memory 34. When the pattern
selector 65 selects a soft or loud fill-in pattern according to the
direction from the director 63, the intonation value setter 31 sets an
intonation value (OAH, OCH) for specifying the selected pattern.
The intonation pattern memory 34 is allocated on the ROM 20, and has a
plurality of levels (e.g., 16; 0 to 15) intonation pattern tables 42
corresponding to intonation values in units of rhythms, as also shown in
FIG. 4. Intonation pattern data 34a of a predetermined level corresponding
to the selected rhythm and the input intonation value is read out from the
memory 34, and is supplied to a tone controller 35. For example, when the
selected rhythm number is "1", and the intonation value is "2", the
intonation pattern data 34a of the corresponding level "2" is read out.
The intonation pattern data is partially used as a sub-phrase pattern 34b.
The sub-phrase pattern 34b is read out when a sub-phrase (single phrase)
such as an introduction pattern, an ending pattern, a fill-in pattern, or
the like is inserted.
FIG. 5 shows formats of intonation pattern data for one rhythm. Sixteen
intonation pattern data 43 to 58 are arranged in the order of intonation
values INTO to INTF (F=15) corresponding to intonation levels. The
intonation pattern data 43 to 50 having the intonation values INT0 to INT7
are used for controlling the intonation. The intonation pattern data 51 to
58 having the intonation values INT8 to INTF are used as sub-phrase
patterns including introduction patterns (51 and 52), soft fill-in
patterns (53 and 54), loud fill-in patterns (55 and 56), and ending
patterns (57 and 58).
The intonation pattern data 34a for one level consists of data for
designating a tone volume, tone color, type of instrument, and the like,
and play pattern data for obtaining an auto-play pattern for several bars.
The play pattern data consists of an array of addresses for reading out
auto-play data (note data) in the ROM 20. The pattern data 34a are set to
have different playback tone levels (tone volumes) and different accents
in respective parts (chord, bass, and drum parts) according to their
levels, i.e., are set to have larger tone-up levels of play tones as the
level is increased.
The data format of the sub-phrase pattern data 34b is the same as that of
the intonation pattern data 34a. The soft fill-in patterns (53 and 54) and
the loud fill-in patterns (55 and 56) are those for giving a sharp change
to the tone-up state of play tones. The loud fill-in pattern (55 or 56) is
set to be able to obtain a high tone-up level of play tones by setting the
tone volumes of chord, bass, and drum parts to be relatively high. The
soft fill-in pattern (53 or 54) is set to suppress the tone-up level of
play tones by generating only playback tones of the drum part in a
relatively low tone volume.
The tone controller 35 reads out auto-play pattern data from an auto-play
data memory 36 on the basis of the play pattern data in the intonation
pattern data, changes (modifies) the auto-play data based on the data for
designating the tone volume, tone color, type of instrument, and the like,
and outputs the modified data to a tone generator 37. The auto-play data
memory 36 is allocated on the ROM 20, and stores note data strings for
auto-accompaniment tones such as chord, bass, and drum tones in units of
rhythms. Each note data consists of key (pitch) number data, tone
generation timing data, tone generation duration data, tone volume data,
and the like.
The tone generator 37 reads out a corresponding PCM tone source waveform
from a waveform ROM 38 on the basis of tone data from the tone controller
35, thus forming tone signals. In this manner, auto-accompaniment tones
corresponding to the intonation level can be obtained. The intonation
level can be desirably changed by the dial operation.
Note that the intonation value setter 31, the detectors 60 to 62, the
director 63, the value changer 4, the pattern selector 65, and the tone
controller 35 are realized by a microcomputer system constituted by the
CPU 21, the RAM 19, and the ROM 20.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing auto-accompaniment control based on
the intonation pattern data.
In step S1, the overall electronic musical instrument is initialized. In
step S2, key processing is performed to scan all the keys on the keyboard
11, thus detecting ON or OFF keys. Similarly, in step S3, all the
operation members on the operation panel 12 are scanned to detect operated
operation members. It is checked in step S4 if an ON event of the
operation member on the operation panel 12 is detected. If YES in step S4,
it is checked in step S5 if a rhythm change operation is performed. If it
is determined in step S5 that the rhythm change operation is performed,
i.e., a new rhythm is selected, an address of the memory 34 where a
corresponding intonation pattern is stored is set according to the rhythm
directed by the operation member and the current intonation value (step
S6).
On the other hand, if it is detected in step S5 that the a rhythm start or
stop operation is performed, it is checked in step S7 if a rhythm play
mode (an auto-accompaniment play mode) is ON. If YES in step S7, the
rhythm is stopped and a flag indicating the rhythm play mode is cleared
(step S8). However, if NO in step S7, the rhythm play mode is started, and
the flag indicating the rhythm play mode is set. Thereafter, the control
advances to the next processing (step S9).
In processing in steps S10 to S13, whether a play operation based on the
soft fill-in pattern (53 or 54) or the loud fill-in pattern (55 or 56) is
directed, or it is directed to increment or decrement the intonation value
by "1" is determined with reference to corresponding flags. If it is
determined that the play operation based on the soft fill-in pattern (53
or 54) is directed, the start address of the soft fill-in pattern data is
set in step S14; if it is determined that the play operation based on the
loud fill-in pattern (55 or 56) is directed, the start address of the loud
fill-in pattern data is set in step S15. If it is determined as a result
of judgment in step S12 or S13 that it is directed to increment or
decrement the intonation value, the current intonation value is
incremented or decremented by "1" to set a new intonation value in step
S16 or S17. In step S18, the new intonation value is displayed on the
display 13. In step S19, an intonation value change flag indicating that
the intonation value is changed is set, and the flow then advances to step
S20.
In step S20, it is checked based on the flag set in step S9 if the
auto-accompaniment (rhythm play) mode is ON. If NO in step S20, the flow
returns to step S2; otherwise, the flow advances to step S21 to check if a
timing to read out data is reached.
If YES in step S21, it is checked in step S22 if the intonation value
change flag is set. If YES in step S22, an address for reading out the
intonation patterns 34a and 34b corresponding to the new intonation value
set in step S16 or S17 from the memory 34 is set (step S23). If NO in step
S22, the intonation pattern data selected at that time is read out from
the memory 34, and auto-play data (note data) is read out from the memory
36 on the basis of the readout intonation pattern data in step S24. In
step S25, tone generation/tone extinction processing of a corresponding
tone is performed. Thereafter, the flow returns to step S2, and the
above-mentioned processing is repeated.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining interrupt processing executed by the
CPU 21 upon operation of the dial 10.
In this processing, in step S30, the count value of output pulses from the
pulse generator 14, which value is counted in a predetermined period of
time, is read from a pulse counter. In steps S31 and S32, it is checked if
the count value is larger than 10 or is smaller than -10. If it is
determined that the count value is larger than 10, it is determined that
the dial 10 is rotated clockwise at a speed higher than a predetermined
speed, and a loud fill-in request flag for directing an auto-play
operation based on the loud fill-in pattern (55 or 56) is set in step S33;
if it is determined that the count value is smaller than -10, it is
determined that the dial 10 is rotated counterclockwise at a speed higher
than the predetermined speed, and a soft fill-in request flag for
directing an auto-play operation based on the soft fill-in pattern (53 or
54) is set in step S34.
If NO in steps S31 and S32, the flow advances to step S35, and the value of
a dial counter for detecting the rotational angle of the dial 10 is set to
be a value obtained by adding the current count value of the dial counter
and the count value read in step S30. The flow then advances to steps S36
and S37 to check if the value of the dial counter is larger than 7 or
smaller than -7. The count value "7" or "-7" corresponds a 1/3 revolution
of the dial 10.
If it is determined that the value of the dial counter is larger than 7, it
is determined that the dial 10 is rotated clockwise more than a 1/3
revolution, and a flag for directing to increment the intonation value by
"1" is set in step S38; if it is determined that the value of the dial
counter is smaller than -7, it is determined that the dial 10 is rotated
counterclockwise more than a 1/3 revolution, and a flag for directing to
decrement the intonation value by "1" is set in step S39. Thereafter, the
dial counter and the pulse counter are cleared in step S40, and the flow
returns to the main routine.
As described above, according to the above embodiment, when a player wants
to sharply change the tone-up level of auto-accompaniment tones, he or she
need only quickly (sharply) rotate the dial 10. Then, the soft fill-in
pattern (53 or 54) or the loud fill-in pattern (55 or 56) is selected, and
an auto-play operation based on the selected pattern is performed (steps
S31 to S34 in FIG. 8, and steps S10, S11, S14, and S15 in FIG. 7), thus
obtaining play tones having a high tone-up level or a considerably
suppressed tone-up level. Therefore, when the player wants to sharply
change the tone-up level, he or she need not rotate the dial 10 a number
of times to change the intonation value to be a large or small value,
resulting in easy operation of the operation member.
The present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment.
However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned
embodiment, and various effective changes may be made based on the
technical principle of the present invention. For example, in the above
embodiment, when the dial 10 is sharply rotated, a play operation based on
the soft fill-in pattern (53 or 54) or the loud fill-in pattern (55 or 56)
is performed, thereby giving a sharp change to the tone-up state of play
tones. Alternatively, when the rotational speed detector 60 detects that
the dial 10 is rotated at a speed higher than the predetermined speed, the
director 63 may direct the value changer 64 to replace the current
intonation value with a preset value having a large or small value,
thereby sharply changing the intonation value. In addition, the director
63 may direct the value changer 64 to add a positive or negative
predetermined large value to the current intonation value, thereby sharply
changing the intonation value.
In the above embodiment, when the intonation value is changed, the
different intonation patterns 34a and 34b are selected to change tone
parameters. Alternatively, auto-play data having different intonation
levels (tone volumes, accents, and the like) may be stored in the
auto-play data memory 36. When the intonation value is changed, auto-play
data according to the new intonation value may be directly read out from
the memory 36 without using the intonation patterns, and an auto-play
operation may be performed based on the readout data to change tone
parameters.
As described above, according to the present invention, when a player wants
to sharply change the tone-up level of play tones, he or she need only
rotate the dial-like operation member sharply (at a high speed), so that
the tone-up level of the play tones can be sharply changed. For this
reason, when the player wants to sharply change the tone-up level of play
tones, he or she need only rotate the dial-like operation member through a
predetermined angle at a speed higher than the predetermined speed in
place of rotating the dial-like operation member a number of times to
change the intonation value to be a large or small value. Therefore, an
operation for sharply changing the tone-up level of play tones can be
quickly performed within a short period of time, and hence, the tone-up
level of play tones intended by the player can be easily obtained at his
or her intended timing.
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