Music – Instruments – Electrical musical tone generation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-22
2002-04-09
Donels, Jeffrey (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Electrical musical tone generation
C084S616000, C084S619000, C434S30700R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06369311
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 11-180859, filed Jun. 25, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by this reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for generating harmony tones based on given voice signals and performance data, and more particularly to such an apparatus and a method in which a voice wave signal is given as a reference voice signal and performance data are inputted in plural kinds of performance data as note pitch designating data from plural kinds of performance devices and in which the pitch of the voice wave signal is modified based on the performance data, so that harmony voice tone signals are generated in a voice determined by the given voice wave signal and with tone pitches determined by the inputted performance data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have conventionally been known in the art such an apparatus of a data processing type as receives a voice wave signal and performance data and generates harmony voice tones in a voice determined by the voice wave signal and with tone pitches determined by the performance data. For example, where a singer's or a talker's human voice signal or a musician's instrumental voice signal is being inputted to the apparatus, a player designates note pitches or chords by manually performing music on a musical keyboard of the apparatus, and then the apparatus generates another voice signal whose voice (timber) is determined by the inputted human voice or instrumental voice and whose tone pitch is determined by the performance data representing the player-designated note pitch or chord, thus the generated voice signal make a harmony voice with respect to the inputted voice. An example of such an apparatus has a vocal harmony function operating in a vocoder harmony mode and/or in a chordal harmony mode. Under the vocoder harmony mode, when a voice signal is given such as by singing a song, speaking words or playing a musical instrument, and concurrently the keys on the musical keyboard are manipulated, the apparatus produces a harmony tone in the voice of the inputted voice but with such different pitches than the given voice as are designated by the manipulated key in the keyboard. Under the chordal harmony mode, when a voice signal is given and a chord is played on the keyboard, the apparatus recognizes the played chord and produces harmony tones in the voice of the inputted voice but with pitches of the chord constituent notes. The generated harmony tones may be produced as musical sounds together with the original voice sound to present harmonious sensation, or may be produced alone as musical sounds to present a second melody line with respect to the original melody line. The second melody line thus produced will give harmonious sensation if performed afterward simultaneously with the original melody line, and therefore may be termed as a harmony melody line.
There have conventionally been known in the art various types of musical tone producing apparatus from the viewpoint of performance data supply, such as a type in which the performance data are inputted or supplied by manipulating keys in a keyboard for a direct real time performance, a type in which the performance data are obtained by reading out recorded performance data from an automatic performance data storage device, and a type in which the performance data are received from an external MIDI apparatus or other musical apparatus connected to the musical tone producing apparatus. But, there has never been known in the art, as far as the inventor is aware of, a musical tone producing apparatus in which a limited number of resources such as harmony tone generating channels are used concurrently in common to a plurality of different performance data supplying modules to generate harmony tones.
On the contrary, with a known type of musical tone producing apparatus having a function of generating harmony tones, a particular performance channel is fixedly assigned for designating tone pitches of the harmony tones to be produced. This type of apparatus is not flexible in harmony addition according to various performance data from various performance channels. Further, even though there may be provided some increased number of harmony tone generating channels, there may be a situation in which not all the intended harmony tones are generated or even some of the designated performance tones will not be generated, in case there are supplied performance data (pitch designating data) of too many performance notes in excess of a given number of tone generating channels.
Further, generation of harmony tones or the like will require the provision of such exclusive function modules in the apparatus, and hence the provision of so many of such special modules is hardly permitted for an apparatus of the normal size system configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks involved in such a conventional apparatus or method of generating harmony tones and to provide improved music performing apparatus and method having a harmony tone generating function capable of generating harmony tones concurrently responsive to a plurality of different types of performance data supplying fashions such as a manual performance on a music playing keyboard containing manipulating keys for music performance, an automatic performance by reading out the stored music performance data from a storage device, and an externally controlled performance by MIDI data supplied from an external musical device so that harmony tone generation can be surely conducted in well balanced response to plural types of performance data flexibly.
In order to accomplish the object of the present invention, the invention provides a harmony tone generating apparatus comprising: a voice signal input module which receives a voice wave signal bearing tone pitches; a performance data input module which receives plural kinds of performance data from plural kinds of performance sources, the performance data containing plural data pieces, each defining a musical note having a pitch; a performance data capture module which captures a performance data piece that has been received latest among the data pieces contained in the performance data received from the plural kinds of performance sources; and a harmony tone data generating module which generates harmony tone data representing a tone pitch determined by the note pitch defined by the data piece as captured by the performance data capture module to be used for generation of harmony voice signal with respect to the received voice wave signal.
The present invention further provides a storage medium for use in an apparatus for generating harmony tones, the apparatus being of a data processing type comprising a computer, the medium containing a program that is executable by the computer, the program comprising: a module of receiving a voice wave signal bearing tone pitches; a module of receiving plural kinds of performance data from plural kinds of performance sources, the performance data containing plural data pieces, each defining a musical note having a pitch; a module of capturing a performance data piece that has been received latest among the data pieces contained in the performance data received from the plural kinds of performance sources; and a module of generating harmony tone data representing a tone pitch determined by the note pitch defined by the data piece as captured by the performance data capture module to be used for generation of harmony voice signal with respect to the received voice wave signal.
The present invention still further provides a method for generating harmony tones comprising: a step of receiving a voice wave signal bearing tone pitches; a step of receiving plural kinds of performance data from plural kinds of performance sources, the performance data containing plural data pieces, each
Donels Jeffrey
Morrison & Foerster / LLP
Yamaha Corporation
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