Music system, tone generator and musical tone-synthesizing method

A tone generator comprising:

• first memory means having a memory capacity and being capable of having waveform data read therefrom and written thereinto in a parallel manner;
• second memory means storing waveform data, said second memory means having a larger memory capacity than said memory capacity of said first memory means;
• packet-determining means for determining packets into which waveform data to be transferred from said second memory means to said first memory means for generation of musical tones is to be divided, based on a writing time period required for a unit data to be written into said first memory means and a reading time period required for said unit data to be read from said first memory means;
• transfer means for sequentially reading waveform data from said second memory means in said packets determined by said packet-determining means, and for sequentially writing the read waveform data into said first memory means at areas thereof from which previously stored waveform data have been read;
• and
• musical tone-synthesizing means for sequentially reading waveform data from said first memory means in an order in which said waveform data have been written into said first memory means, and for synthesizing musical tones based on the read waveform data.

In a method of synthesizing musical tones, which uses a main system including second memory means storing waveform data,

• the improvement wherein:
• said method uses a subsystem including first memory means having a memory capacity and being capable of having waveform data read therefrom and written thereinto in a parallel manner, said second memory means having a larger memory capacity than said memory capacity of said first memory means, and musical tone-synthesizing means for sequentially reading waveform data from said first memory means in an order in which said waveform data have been written into said first memory means, and for synthesizing musical tones based on the read waveform data;
• and
• said method comprises:
• a first step of determining packets into which waveform data to be transferred from said second memory means to said first memory means for generation of musical tones is to be divided, based on a writing time period required for a unit data to be written into said first memory means and a reading time period required for said unit data to be read from said first memory means;
• and
• a second step of sequentially reading waveform data from said second memory means in said packets determined by said first step, and sequentially writing the read waveform data into said first memory means at areas thereof from which previously stored waveform data have been read.