Music – Instruments – Electrical musical tone generation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-06
2002-05-21
Donels, Jeffrey (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Electrical musical tone generation
C084S659000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06392135
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
In the present invention, a musical data modification apparatus/method in electronic musical sound generation system is introduced. It has an object of generating “realistic” musical sound to human ear by modifying music data consisting of a series of musical note data stored in memorizing device to designate pitch and duration of plural musical notes. Therefore, this invention relates to: (1) musical sound modification apparatus, (2) musical sound modification method and (3) storage device which can store necessary program and can be read out by machine(computer) for musical sound modification, to realize the method to generate time-variant and rich musical sound signal by modifying previously prepared data for musical sound characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to add “realistic” characteristics to an electronically generated musical sound originated from a series of music performance data, typical musical sound parameters such as pitch, amplitude, timbre are often provided with time-variant characteristics in accordance with control signals from envelope generator, low frequency oscillator etc. However, as this method can give only monotonous time-variance in musical sound characteristics, it is difficult to bring sufficiently “realistic” feeling to human ear like that of natural musical instruments. It is particularly impossible to reproduce musical sound with which enough vivid and variegated musical expression is realized.
In some advanced cases, a few characteristics of reproduced musical sound signal could be time-variant by embedded control data in said performance data. And, in order to embed said control data, inputting process by hand took place for each musical note data, or over a plurality of musical notes when sound volume is controlled only by linear characteristics. It is yet impossible by this simple method of control data inputting to make musical sound and performance enough “rich and realistic”.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a musical sound modification apparatus/method which generates musical sound of enough rich and realistic quality by introducing ample time variant property to musical sound characteristics of each one of musical notes in music data.
For this sake, a plurality of Musical Sound Modification Data are prepared to bring time-variance, after having been appropriately fitted according to a previously determined rule, to characteristics of one musical note. Selected one set of Musical Sound Modification Data among plural Musical Sound Modification Data sets is pasted to each one of musical notes which together compose a set of music data memorized in a storage device.
In particular, Musical Sound Modification Data are obtained from analysis of natural musical instrument sounds, and prepared for each one of musical sound characteristics such as pitch, amplitude, spectrum, etc. Each of said plural Musical Sound Modification Data takes the form of data divided into plural parts on a time axis. When the Musical Sound Modification Data are pasted in said music data, proper plural parts corresponding to different positions on the time axis are selected from among said prepared plural parts. The selected plural parts are joined together so as to smoothen their pasting process. When pasted to music data, the Music Sound Modification Data are to be compressed or expanded on time axis depending on tempo data.
Applying this invention, it becomes easy to paste Musical Sound Modification Data to music data in order to generate “rich and realistic” musical sound to human ear, with a quality as variegated as the sound of natural musical instruments.
Another aspect of the present invention involves the case when music data include plural musical notes data that sound simultaneous;y. To assign time-variance to plural characteristics of said plural musical notes, a common set of Musical Sound Modification Data can be pasted to the plural musical notes. Alternatively, a set of synthesized Musical Sound Modification Data originated from each Musical Sound Modification Data prepared for said plural musical notes can be applied to the simultaneously sounding plural musical notes. It is also possible to divided the portion of music data that generates plural simultaneous sound into plural and still smaller sets of music data, and to paste different Musical Sound Modification Data to each one set of the divided music data.
This invention also covers the case when, according to Musical Sound Modification Data (=Template) selection data, proper one among said plural Templates is to be selected, so that proper modification can be exercised for said selected Template, according to supplied Template control data, and proper control can be exercised, according to said modified Template, in modification of the musical sound characteristics based on music performance information (=music data). In the last case, both of said Template selection data and Template control data are formed from music performance information. Said Template selection data and said Template control data might be firstly embedded into music performance information (=music data), and when performance information is reproduced, said Template selection data and said Template control data are then separated from performance data in order to be utilized to control musical sound characteristics. Through all such processes, musical sound of “rich and realistic” feeling, and of variegated response to music performance information, can be generated.
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Donels Jeffrey
Morrison & Foerster / LLP
Yamaha Corporation
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