Electronic musical instrument capable of generating tone signals having the pitch frequency, tone color and volume envelope varied with time

Claim 2

An electronic musical instrument comprising: a keyboard section including means for generating in response to key operation a pitch determining voltage having a magnitude representing the note of any operated key and a trigger signal indicating the at least one of a depression and release operation of the key; voltage controlled oscillator means coupled to said keyboard section for generating in response to the pitch determining voltage a tone signal having a pitch frequency corresponding to the note of the operated key; voltage controlled filter means connected to the output of said voltage controlled oscillator means for imparting a tone color to the output signal of said oscillator means; control voltage generating means for generating in response to the trigger signal from said keyboard section control voltages the amplitude values of which vary as a function of time, said control voltages being coupled to said oscillator means and filter means to control the oscillator frequency and frequency characteristics thereof respectively; the control voltages from said control voltage generating means representing controlled parameters which include an initial level, normal level, attack level, attack time from the initial level to the attack level during a key depression time, first decay time from the attack level to the normal level, and second decay time from the normal level to the initial level during a key release time; parameter controlling voltage generating means coupled to said control voltage generating means for controlling the parameters of the control voltages of said control voltage generating means; and sound reproducing means connected to the output of said voltage controlled filter means.

Claim 3

An electronic musical instrument comprising: a keyboard section including means for generating in response to key operation a pitch determining voltage having a magnitude representing the note of any operated key and a trigger signal indicating the at least one of a depression and release operation of the key; voltage controlled oscillator means coupled to said keyboard section for generating in response to the pitch determining voltage a tone signal having a pitch frequency corresponding to the note of the operated key; voltage controlled filter means connected to the output of said voltage controlled oscillator means for imparting a tone color to the output signal of said oscillator means; control voltage generating means for generating in response to the trigger signal from said keyboard section control voltages the amplitude values of which vary as a function of time, said control voltages being coupled to said oscillator means and filter means to control the oscillator frequency and frequency characteristics thereof respectively; the control voltages from said control voltage generating means representing controlled parameters which include an initial level, normal level, attack level, attack time from the initial level to the attack level during a key depression time, first decay time from the attack level to the normal level, and second decay time from the normal level to the initial level during a key release time; parameter controlling voltage generating means coupled to said control voltage generating means for controlling the parameters of the control voltages of said control voltage generating means; and sound reproducing means connected to the output of said voltage controlled filter means.

Claim 4

An electronic musical instrument comprising: a keyboard section including means for generating in response to key operation a pitch determining voltage having a magnitude representing the note of any operated key and a trigger signal indicating the at least one of a depression and release operation of the key; voltage controlled oscillator means coupled to said keyboard section for generating in response to the pitch determining voltage a tone signal having a pitch frequency corresponding to the note of the operated key; voltage controlled filter means connected to the output of said voltage controlled oscillator means for imparting a tone color to the output signal of said oscillator means; control voltage generating means for generating in response to the trigger signal from said keyboard section control voltages the amplitude values of which vary as a function of time, said control voltages being coupled to said oscillator means and filter means to control the oscillator frequency and frequency characteristics thereof respectively; the control voltages from said control voltage generating means representing controlled parameters which include an initial level, normal level, attack level, attack time from the initial level to the attack level during a key depression time, first decay time from the attack level to the normal level, and second decay time from the normal level to the initial level during a key release time; parameter controlling voltage generating means coupled to said control voltage generating means for controlling the parameters of the control voltages of said control voltage generating means; and sound reproducing means connected to the output of said voltage controlled filter means.

Claim 5

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 further comprising voltage controlled amplifier means coupled to said voltage controlled filter means and connected between said voltage controlled oscillator means and said sound reproducing means; and further control voltage generating means coupled to said keyboard and to said voltage controlled amplifier means for generating in response to the trigger signal from said keyboard a control voltage for controlling the gain of said voltage controlled amplifier means to thereby control the envelope of the tone signal.

Claim 6

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 further including a voltage memory circuit means coupled to said keyboard section for storing the magnitude of the pitch determining voltage which is coupled to said voltage controlled oscillator means.

Claim 7

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 3 in which said voltage memory circuit means comprises integrator circuit including a resistor coupled with a capacitor.

Claim 8

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 4 further comprising a switch means connected in parallel with said resistor.

Claim 9

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 2 in which the control voltage from said further control voltage generating means represents controlled parameters which include a sustain level, attack time from a cutoff level to an attack level during a key depression time, first decay time from the attack level to the sustain level, and a second decay time from the sustain level to the cutoff level during a key release time; and said parameter controlling voltage generating means being coupled to said further control voltage generating means for controlling the parameters of the control voltage of said further control voltage generating means.

Claim 10

An electronic musical instrument comprising: a keyboard section having a plurality of keys and a plurality of key switches actuated by the keys; pitch determining voltage source means having output conductors equal in number to the number of said keys and generating pitch determining voltages having magnitudes representing the notes of said keys on said respective output conductors; key assigner means operatively coupled to said keyboard section and to the output conductors of said pitch determining voltage means and having a plurality of first output terminals less in number than the number of said keys and a plurality of second output terminals equal in number to the number of said first output terminals, said key assigner means supplying, upon the operation of some of said keys at the same time, pitch determining voltages corresponding to the operated keys to said first output terminals according to the operated order, and supplying trigger signals representative of key operation to said second output terminals; a plurality of musical tone signal producing circuit means each connected to the respective first and second output terminals of said key assigner means, said musical tone signal producing circuit means each including voltage controlled oscillator means coupled to a first output terminal of said key assigner means for generating in response to the pitch determining voltage on the first output terminal of said key assigner means a tone signal having a pitch frequency corresponding to the note of the operated key, voltage controlled filter means connected to the output of said voltage controlled oscillator means to impart a tone color to the output signal of said oscillator means, and control voltage generating means coupled to a second output terminal of said key assigner means for generating in response to the trigger signal on the second output terminal of said key assigner means control voltages whose amplitude values vary as a function of time, the control voltages being coupled to said oscillator means and filter means to control the oscillation frequency and the frequency characteristic thereof respectively; and sound reproducing means connected to the output of said plurality of musical tone signal producing circuit means.

Claim 11

An electronic musical instrument comprising: a keyboard section having a plurality of keys and a plurality of key switches actuated by the keys; pitch determining voltage source means having output conductors equal in number to the number of said keys and generating pitch determining voltages having magnitudes representing the notes of said keys on said respective output conductors; key assigner means operatively coupled to said keyboard section and to the output conductors of said pitch determining voltage means and having a plurality of first output terminals less in number than the number of said keys and a plurality of second output terminals equal in number to the number of said first output terminals, said key assigner means supplying, upon the operation of some of said keys at the same time, pitch determining voltages corresponding to the operated keys to said first output terminals according to the operated order, and supplying trigger signals representative of key operation to said second output terminals; a plurality of musical tone signal producing circuit means each connected to the respective first and second output terminals of said key assigner means, said musical tone signal producing circuit means each including voltage controlled oscillator means coupled to a first output terminal of said key assigner means for generating in response to the pitch determining voltage on the first output terminal of said key assigner means a tone signal having a pitch frequency corresponding to the note of the operated key, voltage controlled filter means connected to the output of said voltage controlled oscillator means to impart a tone color to the output signal of said oscillator means, and control voltage generating means coupled to a second output terminal of said key assigner means for generating in response to the trigger signal on the second output terminal of said key assigner means control voltages whose amplitude values vary as a function of time, the control voltages being coupled to said oscillator means and filter means to control the oscillation frequency and the frequency characteristic thereof respectively; and sound reproducing means connected to the output of said plurality of musical tone signal producing circuit means.

Claim 12

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 7 in which said musical tone signal producing means each further comprises voltage controlled amplifier means coupled to said voltage controlled filter means and connected between said voltage controlled oscillator means and said sound reproducing means; and further control voltage generating means coupled to said keyboard for generating in response to the trigger signal a control voltage the value of which varies as a function of time, said control voltage from said furter control voltage generating means being coupled to said voltage controlled amplifier means to control the gain thereof to thereby control the envelope of the tone signal.

Claim 13

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 7 in which said musical tone signal producing means each includes a voltage memory circuit means coupled to said key assigner means for storing the magnitude of the pitch determining voltage which is coupled to said voltage controlled oscillator means.

Claim 14

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 9 in which said voltage memory circuit means comprises an integrator circuit including a resistor coupled with a capacitor.

Claim 15

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 10 further comprising a switch means connected in parallel with said resistor.

Claim 16

An electronic musical instrument according to claim 7 in which the control voltages from said control voltage generating means represent controlled parameters which include an initial level, normal level, attack level, attack time from the initial level to the attack level during a key depression time, first decay time from the attack level to the normal level, and second decay time from the normal level to the initial level during a key release time; and there is further provided parameter controlling voltage generating means coupled to said control voltage generating means for controlling said parameters of the control voltages of said control voltage generating means.