US 4,998,960 A · Music synthesizer

Abstract

A music synthesizer is constructed according to a modular scheme with plural, substantially interchangeable voice units. During operation, these voice units are used to simulate different instruments. The voice units operate under control of a master computer, and take waveform data from a common memory through a common digital data bus. The actions of each voice unit in simulating a note are controlled according to a plurality of control parameters. These control parameters are derived by interpolating between plots of each control parameter versus time for a weak actuation (soft note) and a strong actuation (hard note) condition. The synthesizer is arranged to simulate the effects caused by the interactions between closely spaced excitations of the same instrument such as closely spaced strikes upon a drumhead, by varying the qualities of the sound. The synthesizer may also serve as a mixer or as a multichannel signal processing device.

Claims51

Dependent claims

A synthesizer comprising:

(a) reproduction means for accepting input signals and producing, responsive to said input signals, output signals simulating sounds emitted by a vibratory element of a musical instrument so that each said output signal simulates the sound emitted by said vibratory element in response to one excitation thereof;
and
(b) overlap means operative when said input signals call for said reproduction means to produce overlapping output signals simulating overlapping sounds emitted by said vibratory element upon closely-spaced excitations thereof for altering at least one of said output signals to change the individual sound simulated by each said altered output signal and thereby simulate a change in sound produced by said vibratory element occasioned by said closely spaced excitations.

A music synthesizer comprising:

(a) actuation means for providing input signals so that each such input signal includes an actuation strength value in a range between a weakest-actuation value and a strongest actuation value;
(b) generation and processing means for generating signals representing waveforms responsive to said input signals and processing said waveform-representing signals to derive output signals representing sounds and varying in accordance with a plurality of control parameters;
(c) storage means for storing, for each of said plurality of control parameters, weakest-actuation and strongest-actuation plots of the control parameter versus time each including a series of values of the control parameter;
and
(d) interpolation means responsive to said input signals for interpolating between said weakest-actuation and strongest-actuation plots of each said control parameter to derive an interpolated plot of each said control parameter against time so that the interpolated plot for each said control parameter approaches said weakest-actuation plot for such parameter as the actuation strength value in the input signal approaches the weakest-actuation value and approaches the strongest-actuation plot for such parameter as the actuation strength value in the input signal approaches the strongest-actuation value and providing a series of values of each said control parameter defined by the interpolated plot thereof as values of the control parameter to said generation and processing means.

2 more elements

A synthesizer comprising:

(a) reproduction means for accepting input signals calling for sounds simulating sounds emitted by a plurality of different musical instruments and emiting output signals representing sounds responsive to said input signals, said reproduction means being capable of emitting at most a predetermined maximum number of output signals simultaneously;
(b) priority means for calculating and attributing a value to a score for each output signal depending upon a plurality of factors for each said output signal including the identity of the instrument simulated determining whether input signals will require said reproduction means to emit more than said predetermined maximum number of output signals simultaneously and, if so, causing said reproduction means to emit one or more output signals having the lowest valued scores so that the number of output signals remaining is no greater than said predetermined maximum number.

A synthesizer comprising:

(a) a plurality of voice units, each having means for generating a voice signal simulating any of several instruments;
(b) a plurality of output units;
(c) switchable connector means for selectively interconnecting said output units and said voice units;
and
(d) command means for allocating said voice units to instruments, actuating each said voice unit to generate a voice signal simulating the instrument allocated thereto and altering said allocating from time to time while controlling said switchable connector means to route said voice signals simulating particular instruments to particular ones of said output units according to a predetermined pattern of correlation between instruments and output units.
whereby each said voice unit will produce voice signals simulating different instruments from time to time but voice signals simulating a particular instrument will be routed to a particular one or to particular ones of said output units according to said pattern of correlation.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Music synthesizer

Life of this patent

Music synthesizer

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims51