US 4,365,533 A · Musical instrument

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
wherein each of said tone generators includes means for varying the frequencies thereof and may be associated with any note and includes means for generating the frequencies of notes at least a semitone apart and said control means includes means for associating different ones of said tone generators with each note selected by said note selecting means for controlling the frequency of an associated tone generator in accordance with that of the associated note.

3 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
wherein a tone generator comprises,
a source of ungated frequency pulses of a frequency related to a note,
modulating means for modulating the amplitude of the output of said source of ungated frequency pulses,
said note selecting means including means for providing a speed signal representative of the speed at which selection of a note is actuated,
and an envelope generator responsive to said speed signal for controlling said amplitude modulator to modulate the amplitude of the output of said source of ungated frequency pulses in accordance with said speed of selection.

7 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least one octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
means for connecting two tone generators together when said note selecting means selects two notes to produce a composite tone frequency controlling signal dependent upon the degree of selection of the two notes,
wherein said apparatus comprises a glissando generator including first and second voltage-controlled resistors,
a first control unit having means for applying note selection frequency and note selection force signals to said first resistor,
a second control unit having means for applying note selection frequency and note selection force signals to said second resistor,
a voltage-controlled oscillator comprising a tone generator,
means for coupling the outputs of said first and second resistors to said voltage-controlled oscillator,
a greatest value selector having means responsive to the note selection force signals from said first and second control units for selecting the note selection force signal of greater magnitude as the note selection force signal of greater magnitude as the note selection force signal to control the amplitude of the signal produced by an associated tone generator,
busy gates associated with and coupled to each tone generator comprising means for providing an indication that an associated tone generator has been selected,
and an OR gate having input legs coupled to the outputs of the first and second control unit busy gates to provide a composite busy gate that is ON whenever the busy gate generator in either control unit is generating an assertion.

11 more elements

Sound generating apparatus including a glissando apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
said glissando apparatus comprising,
a gated integrator having its gate input coupled to said note selecting means and driven by a signal synchronous with the note selection and having its output connected to an adder,
a source of a frequency control signal,
a sample and hold gate having its output connected to said adder and its input receiving the frequency control signal,
an amplifier having a pair of inputs respectively coupled to the input and output of said sample and hold gate for amplifying the difference between the input and output of said sample and hold gate and providing an output for driving the integrated signal input of said integrator,
and means for switching the output of said glissando apparatus from said adder to said frequency control signal itself when the latter and the output from said adder become equal.

8 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
wherein a tone generator comprises a voltage-controlled oscillator,
a source of a frequency modulating signal coupled to said voltage-controlled oscillator,
and a pulse delay modulator having means for delaying the output of said voltage-controlled oscillator in response to said frequency modulating signal coupled to said voltage-controlled oscillator.

5 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
wherein a tone generator comprises,
a source of ungated frequency pulses of a frequency related to a note,
a source of gated frequency pulses and means for gating the latter source ON synchronously with the selection of a note by said note selecting means,
a modulator coupled to the source of ungated frequency pulses having means for modulating the amplitude of the ungated frequency pulses,
and an envelope generator coupled to the modulator and the source of gated frequency pulses having means responsive to said gated frequency pulses for generating a modulating signal applied to said modulator to control the intensity versus frequency, attack and decay transients of a musical tone.

7 more elements

Sound generating apparatus for an electrical musical instrument played by a performer producing selected musical tones in real time comprising,

note selecting means for providing note selection signals characteristic of notes then selected by a performer,
a tone generator coupled to said note selecting means and responsive to said note selection signals having means for producing only one note signal at a time that may characterize any note of a plurality corresponding to the sounds of a standard musical instrument over at least an octave,
said tone generator comprising a source of frequency pulses,
control means coupled to said tone generator for providing continuous data signals to said tone generator representative of the selected note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
an envelope generator having means for providing a note envelope signal associated with a note to be selected when the associated note selection signals is provided by said note selecting means,
and first modulating means coupled to said source of frequency pulses and said envelope generator for modulating said frequency pulses with said note envelope signal.

4 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

a plurality of tone generators for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means, which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means,
each tone generator comprising a source of ungated frequency pulses of a frequency related to a note,
a source of gated frequency pulses and means for gating the latter source on synchronously with the selection of a note by said note selecting means,
a modulator coupled to the source of ungated frequency pulses having means for modulating the amplitude of the ungated frequency pulses,
and an envelope generator coupled to the source of gated frequency pulses having means responsive to said gated frequency pulses for generating a modulating signal applied to said modulator to control the intensity versus frequency, attack and decay transients of a musical tone,
a spectral envelope filter energized by and coupled to said modulator and controllable by a note selection signal provided by said note selecting means,
said spectral envelope filter means including a plurality of outputs each corresponding to a different part of the audio frequency spectrum,
individual gain control means associated with each of the latter outputs,
and summing means for cumulatively combining the signals on the respective gain-controlled outputs for providing a signal whereby the individual segments of the audio spectrum may be separately controlled.

9 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

a source of a signal having audio frequency components,
envelope modulating means coupled to said source for modulating said signal having audio frequency components,
spectral envelope filter means having an output and an input coupled to and energized by the output of said envelope modulating means,
note selecting means coupled to said source of a signal having audio frequency components for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes provided at the output of said spectral envelope filter means,
energy storage means connected to the modulating input of said envelope modulating means,
means responsive to selection of an associated note by said note selecting means for storing energy in said energy storage means,
and means for discharging the energy in said energy storage means,
said means for discharging comprising gating means controlled by the frequency of said signal having audio frequency components.

5 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means, and
glissando circuit means including,
pulse generating means for energizing at least two of the note selecting means,
first and second force-to-voltage converting means each having an input connected to the output of a respective note selecting means,
first and second sample and hold gates each having gating inputs excited by said pulse generating means and sampling inputs coupled to and energized by outputs of said first and second force-to-voltage converting means respectively,
first and second voltage conyrolled oscillators coupled to said first and second sample-and-hold gate outputs respectively oscillating at first and second frequencies determined by the output signals on said first and second sample-and-hold gating means outputs respectively,
a third voltage controlled oscillator for providing an output signal,
first and second duty-cycle-controlled variable resistance means each comprising a field effect transistor having a gate electrode coupled to a respective output of said first and second voltage controlled oscillators,
the source of one of said field effect transistors being connected to the drain of the other and coupled to the third voltage controlled oscillator for providing a signal that controls the frequency of oscillation of said third voltage controlled oscillator.

10 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means, and
peak force derivative circuit means associated with and coupled to said note selecting means for providing a note selection signal representative of the speed of selection of a note comprising,
pulse generating means,
force sensitive keying means having an input excited by the pulse generating means output,
force-to-voltage converting means having a strobe input coupled to and excited by said pulse generating means output and having a force signal input coupled to and energized by the output of said force sensitive keying means,
differentiating means for providing a signal representative of the derivative of the potential provided at the output of said force-to-voltage converting means,
a univibrator coupled to and energized by the output of said pulse generating means,
and sample and hold circuit means having a gate input coupled to the output of said univibrator and a sampling input coupled to the output of said differentiating means for receiving said signal representative of the derivative of said potential.

9 more elements

Sound generating apparatus comprising,

output means,
a plurality of tone generators coupled to said output means for providing note signals with each including means for producing any of a large common plurality of frequencies characterizing respective musical notes over at least an octave,
a plurality of note selecting means for selecting note signals characteristic of selected notes for production by said tone generators where each note selecting means includes means upon selection for providing a note selection signal representing a unique contribution to a signal waveform on said output means which note selection signal is representative of at least one of note pitch, speed of note selection and force applied to note selecting means,
control means coupled to said tone generators for providing continuous data signals to said tone generators representative of the selected note signals and for selecting which of said tone generators coupled to said output means is to provide said note signals,
and scanning means responsive to said note selecting means for coupling the selected note selection signals to said control means, and
said scanning means including means responsive to said note selecting means for providing a first number of control signals representative of selected notes and means responsive to said control signals for providing a second number less than said first number of time sequenced control signals,
second means for coupling said time sequenced control signals to selected ones of said tone generators,
wherein said scanning means comprises a temporal sequencer having means for sequentially sampling the states of said note selecting means,
a note address generator having means for indicating the note status to be sensed,
a note-selected detector having means for indicating the state of selection of a note,
a note address tolerance generator having means for establishing a predetermined region of acceptable note addresses,
and gating means responsive to a signal from said note-selected detector indicating selection of a note,
wherein said gating means comprise octave gates each associated with a particular octave in which a selected note may occur and note gates each associated with the order of all notes that may be selected separated by an octave for designating any note by enabling only one octave gate and only one note gate in response to a signal from said note-selected detector,
a note frequency generator and means for coupling the outputs of said octave and note address gates to said note frequency generator for controlling any designated note frequency,
a source of a variable tuning potential,
a tapped first attenuator,
a first multivibrator chain,
a plurality of first gates each having one input leg coupled to a respective first attenuator tap and a second leg for receiving a first designation from said first multivibrator chain,
a tapped second attenuator,
an impedance buffer amplifier having its input coupled to the outputs of all said first gates comprising means for providing a first potential for application to said tapped second attenuator,
a second multivibrator chain,
a plurality of second gates each having one leg coupled to a respective tap of said second attenuator and a second input leg for receiving respective enabling signals from said second multivibrator chain,
and an output buffer amplifier having its input coupled to the outputs of all said second gates for providing a frequency designating signal.

20 more elements

Sound generating apparatus having a tone generator for simulating trumpet tones comprising,

means for manually selecting tones for be generated having means for providing a force signal representative of the force with which a tone is manually selected,
a source of ungated frequency pulses,
a source of gated frequency pulses,
a pulse-width modulator coupled to the source of ungated frequency pulses for injecting burple by modulating the ungated frequency pulses with a burple signal,
a source of a burple generator coupled to said pulse-width modulator for providing said burple signal at a frequency of the order of 150 Hz and characterized by a decay time constant of the order of 20 milliseconds,
a pulse-height adder modulator having a signal input coupled to said pulse-width modulator and a modulating input for receiving a modulating signal,
an intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator coupled to said source of gated frequency pulses for increasing the amplitude of said gated frequency pulses as a function of frequency that increases by the order of 1.5 times over 2 octaves,
an attack and decay generator coupled to the output of said intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator for providing a modulating signal coupled to said pulse-height adder modulating input characterized by of the order of 10 cycles of attack transient and a decay time constant of the order of 20 milliseconds,
spectral envelope filters including a high-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 750 Hz falling off at of the order of 6 decibels per octave and a pair of low-pass filters each with a 3 db down frequency of the order of 1.8 kHz, the first falling off thereabove at substantially 12 decibels per octave and the second at substantially 24 decibels per octave,
a differentiator coupled to the source of said force signal characterized by a time constant of the order of 20 milliseconds for providing a differentiated force signal to said burple generator,
means coupled to said burple generator for providing an FM control signal for causing of the order of 0.5% peak frequency modulation to the frequency of said gated and ungated frequency pulses,
voltage controlled amplifying means coupled to the output of said spectral envelope filters for controlling the amplification thereof in accordance with the magnitude of said force signal for controlling the amount of signal from the first low-pass filter within the range of zero to twice the amount of signal provided by the second low-pass filter,
linear adding means for adding the outputs provided by said voltage controlled amplifying means coupled thereto,
a source of wideband noise,
filtering means for coupling said source of wideband noise to a line carrying said FM control signal including a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency at substantially 2 Hz and the response thereabove falling off at 12 decibels per octave,
and second filtering means coupling said wideband noise source as a component of a control signal for controlling the gain of said voltage controlled amplifying means and including a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 1.5 Hz, the response thereabove falling off at substantially 6 decibels per octave.

13 more elements

Sound generating apparatus including a tone generator for simulating flute tones comprising,

means for manually selecting tones to be generated having means for providing a force signal representative of the force with which a tone is manually selected,
sources of gated and ungated frequency pulses,
pulse-width modulating means for expanding the width of input pulses from substantially 2 microseconds to 150 microseconds,
a pulse-height adder modulator having a signal input coupled to the output of said pulse-width modulator and a modulating input for receiving a modulating signal,
an intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator coupled to the source of said gated frequency pulses for increasing the amplitude of said gated frequency pulses as a function of frequency that increases of the order of 1.5 times per octave,
an attack and decay generator coupled to the output of said intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator for providing substantially 40 cycles of attack transient and 0.1 second decay time constant to provide a modulating signal coupled to the modulating input of said pulse-height adder modulator,
spectral envelope filters coupled to the output of said pulse-height adder modulator including a high-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency at substantially 900 Hz with a fall-off in response therebelow of substantially 6 decibels per octave in series with a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency at substantially 900 Hz and a falloff in response thereabove of substantially 24 decibels per octave and a bandpass filter centered at substantially 1.1 kHz with a Q of substantially 3,
means responsive to said force signal for providing an FM control signal for controlling the frequency modulation of said gated and ungated frequency pulses to .+-.0.5%,
low-pass filter means coupled to the output of said attack and decay generator characterized by a time constant of substantially one second and a falloff in response of the order of 6 decibels per octave above its 3 db down frequency for providing a filtered output signal,
a tremolo generator coupled to the output of the latter low-pass filter means for providing a tremolo signal,
means for coupling said tremolo signal of frequency within the range of 1-7 Hz to the line carrying said FM control signal,
voltage controlled amplifying means coupled to the output of said spectral envelope filters and responsive to said force signal for varying the amount of 1.1 Hz primary effect,
a source of wideband noise,
first noise filtering means coupling said source of wideband noise to said line carrying said FM control signal and including a high-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 400 Hz and a falloff in response therebelow of the order of 6 decibels per octave,
second noise filtering means coupling said source of wideband noise to said voltage controlled amplifying means including a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 10 Hz and falling off in response thereabove at substantially 6 decibels per octave,
and a linear adder coupled to said voltage controlled amplifying means for providing as an output the sum of the signals provided by said voltage controlled amplifying means.

13 more elements

Sound generating apparatus including a tone generator for simulating French horn tones comprising,

means for manually selecting tones to be generated having means for providing a force signal representative of the force with which a tone is manually selected,
a source of gated and ungated frequency pulses,
a pulse-width modulator coupled to said source of gated pulses and to the source of said force signal for providing output pulses of duration within the range of 100 to 600 microseconds controlled by said force signal,
a burple generator for providing a burple signal of substantially 50 Hz with a decay time constant of substantially 50 milliseconds,
a pulse-height adder modulator having a signal input coupled to the output of said pulse-width modulator and a modulating input for receiving a modulating signal,
an intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator coupled to the source of said gated frequency pulses for increasing the amplitude of said gated frequency pulses as a function of frequency that increases substantially 1.75 times per octave,
an attack and decay generator coupled to said intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator for providing substantially 7 cycles of attack transient and a decay time constant of substantially 20 milliseconds coupled to the pulse-height adder modulator modulating input,
spectral envelope filters coupled to the output of said pulse-height adder modulator comprising a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 1 kHz and a falloff in response thereabove of substantially 6 decibels per octave in series with a bandpass filter having a center frequency of substantially 450 Hz with a Q of substantially 3,
a differentiator characterized by a time constant of substantially 50 milliseconds coupling said force signal to said burple generator,
means for coupling a burple signal provided by said burple generator to a line providing an FM control signal with the burple causing of the order of 1% FM peak deviation,
a wideband noise source,
and filter means coupling said source of wideband noise to the line carrying said FM control signal including a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency at substantially 2 Hz and falling off in response thereabove at substantially 12 decibels per octave coupling said wideband noise source to the line carrying said FM control signal for producing FM deviation of the order of 0.3% rms.

9 more elements

Sound generating apparatus wherein there is a tone generator for simulating aboe tones comprising,

means for manually selecting tones to be generated having means for providing a force signal representative of the force with which a tone is manually selected,
a source of gated frequency pulses,
a pulse-height adder modulator,
an intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator coupled to the source of gated frequency pulses for increasing the amplitude of said gated frequency pulses as a function of frequency of the order of 1.2 times per octave,
an attack and decay generator coupled to said intensity versus frequency pulse height modulator for providing of the order of 5 cycles of attack transient and a decay time constant of the order of 30 milliseconds,
means for coupling the output of the attack and decay generator to said pulse-height adder modulator,
spectral envelope filters coupled to the output of said pulse-height adder modulator comprising a first bandpass filter having a center frequency at substantially 1.1 kHz and a Q of substantially 5,
a second bandpass filter having a center frequency of substantially 3 kHz and a Q of substantially 5 and a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 700 Hz and falling off in response thereabove at substantially 18 decibels per octave,
means for coupling the force signal to a line carrying an FM control signal for varying the frequency of said gated frequency pulses within the range of .+-.0.5%,
voltage controlled amplifying means coupled to the output of said spectral envelope filters and having a control input coupled to said force signal for varying the amount of the signals provided by said bandpass filters from 20% to 200% of the amount provided by said low-pass filter whose output remains substantially constant,
and a linear adder for providing as an output signal the sum of the signals provided by said voltage controlled amplifying means.

8 more elements

Sound generating apparatus wherein a tone generator includes means for simulating trombone tones comprising,

means for manually selecting tones to be generated having means for providing a force signal representative of the force with which a tone is manually selected,
sources of ungated and gated frequency pulses,
a pulse-width modulator coupled to said source of ungated frequency pulses and having a modulating input,
a burple generator coupled to the pulse-width modulator modulating input providing a burple signal of frequency substantially 75 Hz with substantially a 50 millisecond decay time constant,
a pulse-height adder modulator having a signal input coupled to the output of said pulse-width modulator and a modulator input for receiving a modulating signal,
an intensity versus frequency pulse-height modulator could to the source of said gated frequency pulses for increasing the amplitude of said gated frequency pulses as a function of frequency by substantially 1.5 times per octave,
an attack and decay generator coupled to the output of said intensity versus frequency height modulator for providing an attack transient of substantially 8 cycles and a decay of substantially 30 milliseconds time constant coupled to the modulating input of said pulse-height adder modulator,
spectral envelope filters including a high-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency at substantially 350 Hz and a falloff in response therebelow of substantially 6 decibels per octave, a pair of low-pass filters each having a 3 db down frequency at substantially 800 Hz with a falloff in response therebelow of substantially 12 and 30 decibels per octave respectively,
a differentiator coupled to the source of said force signal having a time constant of substantially 50 milliseconds for providing a differentiated force signal,
means for coupling said force signal to a line carrying an FM control signal for providing frequency modulation of said frequency pulses within the range of substantially .+-.1%,
means for coupling said burple generator to the line carrying said FM control signal for producing frequency modulation of substantially 0.1% with burple,
voltage controlled amplifying means coupled to the output of said spectral envelope filters coupled to the source of said force signal for controlling the amount of signal from the first of said low-pass filters within the range of zero to twice the amount provided by the low-pass filter with the response that falls off at 30 decibels per octave,
a source of wideband noise,
a first noise filter means for coupling said source of wideband noise to the line carrying said FM control signal including a low-pass filter having a 3 db down frequency of substantially 2 Hz and falling off in response thereabove at substantially 12 decibels per octave for providing substantially 0.1% rms frequency modulation of said frequency pulses,
second noise filter means coupling said source of wideband noise to said voltage controlled amplifying means,
a passive adder coupled to the output of said spectral envelope filters for providing an output signal that is the sum of the signals provided by said voltage controlled amplifying means,
and post generator filter muting circuits coupled to the output of said linear adder including a bandpass filter having a center frequency of substantially 1.0 kHz and a Q of substantially 6, a second bandpass filter having a center frequency of substantially 2.5 kHz and a Q of substantially 6, and a third bandpass filter having a center frequency of substantially 6 kHz and a Q of substantially 6, the ratio of gains thereamong being substantially 1:1.5:2.

14 more elements

A music synthesizer comprising:

a plurality of M keys each capable of defining an open or closed state;
a plurality of N voice channel means where N -m;
keyboard scan means for cyclically sequentially sampling said M keys to produce a series of bit signals, each indicative of the state of a different one of said keys;
N channel logic means each including an address register;
channel selection means coupled to said channel logic means and responsive to each sampled key in a closed state for storing an address identifying that key in one of said N address registers;
each of said channel logic means including means responsive to said series of bit signals for producing a gate signal having a duration related to the number of successive scan means cycles in which the key identified by the address stored in said channel logic means is in a closed state;
each of said channel logic means including means responsive to the address stored in the address register means thereof for producing a control voltage having a level related to that stored address;
and
means for applying said gate signal and control voltage signal produced by each of said channel logic means to a different one of said N voice channels.

6 more elements

In a music synthesizer comprised of a keyboard of M keys and a plurality of N voice channels, where N <M, each voice channel being responsive to a control voltage and a gate signal applied thereto for producing a sound whose frequency and duration are determined respectively by said control voltage and gate signal, the improvement comprising a control system for monitoring the states of said keys to produce, with respect to each closed key, a control voltage and gate signal for application to one of said voice channels, said control system comprising:

counter means for cyclically producing a series of M unique addresses, each address identifying a different one of said M keys;
means responsive to each of said M addresses for sampling the state of the identified key to produce a data signal comprised of successive bit signals, each at a first or second level respectively indicative of an open or closed key state;
N channel logic means each connected to a different one of said voice channels, each of said channel logic means including register means capable of storing a key address;
channel selection means responsive to said data signal produced by said sampling means defining said second level indicative of a closed key state for storing the address identifying that key in one of said N channel logic means registers;
means in each of said N channel logic means for producing a gate signal with respect to the key identified by the address stored therein representing the time duration that the key remains in said closed state;
and
means in each of said N channel logic means for producing a control voltage having a level related to the address therein.

4 more elements

A music synthesizer comprising:

a plurality of M keys each capable of defining an open or closed state;
a plurality of N voice channel means where N<m;
keyboard scan means for cylically sequentially sampling said M keys to produce a series of bit signals, each indicative of the state of a different one of said keys;
N channel logic means each including an address register;
channel selection means coupled to said channel logic means and responsive to each sampled key in a closed state for storing an address identifying that key in one of said N address registers;
each of said channel logic means including means responsive to said series of bit signals for producing a gate signal having a duration related to the number of successive scan means cycles in which the key identified by the address stored in said channel logic means is in a closed state;
each of said channel logic means including means responsive to the address stored in the address register means thereof for producing a control voltage having a level related to that stored address;
and
means for applying said gate signal and control voltage signal produced by each of said channel logic means to a different one of said N voice channels,
means for sequentially producing M different key addresses in synchronism with said scan means sampling said M keys, said means for producing key addresses comprising a source of clock pulses;
address counter means responsive to said clock pulses for producing M unique digital addresses;
and
means coupling said address counter means to said N channel logic means address registers,
wherein each of said channel logic means includes a compare means for producing a match signal responsive to said address produced by said address counter means matching the address stored in the address register thereof,
means for defining a NON-REASSIGN mode;
and
means operative in said NON-REASSIGN mode and responsive to the production of said match signal for preventing said channel selection means from storing said address.

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Abstract

Claims111