Abstract: A keyboard system in a keyboard controlled musical instrument includes a pair of spaced apart electrode members and a pickup movable in the space intermediate the electrode members. Respective voltages are impressed on the electrodes to establish an electric field therebetween and the voltage impressed on the movable pickup is a function of its position relative to the two electrodes. The pickup is actuated by the playing key which contacts a resilient, yieldable stop. The force with which the playing key is depressed is measured by sensing when the key is fully depressed, initiating a count at that point and counting a predetermined period. At the end of the predetermined period the voltage on the pickup is detected which gives an indication of the amount of overtravel of the key beyond its normal depressed position. This detected voltage is used to alter the quality of the tones produced by the musical instrument.

Abstract: Disclosed is a sound source apparatus which is composed of a plurality of sound component pattern generators each capable of providing a predetermined pattern, and a sound component picking circuit for sweeping the plurality of sound component pattern generators repeatedly in such a rapid sequence that the sound component thus provided and taken may constitute a musical sound at a desired pitch.

Abstract: The realism by which the sound produced by various musical instruments may be electronically simulated is enhanced by the storage of digital data commensurate with scanning values of several periods of a note including the release portion thereof. Command words are also memorized and, in response to the reading of a command word and the state of the input command to the instrument by the player, indicative of whether the note is to be sustained or terminated, the reading of a command word may cause the addressing of the waveform memory to be jumped to the release portion where the read-out will be continued from a scanning value approximately equal to the value read immediately prior to the reading of the command word. The waveform memory may contain a segment of the sustain portion of the note which will be repetitively read so long as the player's input command indicates that the note is to be sustained, the repetition also being in response to memorized command words.

Abstract: A method of (and apparatus for) extracting the fundamental pitch period of a complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t), that includes the serial steps of deriving a time varying reference signal V.sub.ref (t) from the complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t), which reference signal V.sub.ref (t) adapts continuously (i.e., each cycle of the complex electrical signal) to peak amplitude excursions of the complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t); sensing ascending values of the signal V.sub.2 (t) to a first point at which the maximum magnitude of the signal V.sub.2 (t) of one polarity is reached and reversal of direction thereof occurs; storing the first substantially instantaneous difference in magnitude between the complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t) and the time varying reference V.sub.ref (t) at the point of maximum magnitude of the signal V.sub.2 (t); thereafter sensing a point at which the magnitude of the signal V.sub.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating acoustic or visual effects by human body actions, including transducer for generating electrical signals upon influence of human body actions attached to various portions of the human body and, upon a dancing movement and/or rhythmic touching of at least one of the transducers, signal generating means are selectively activated via a logic means for driving predetermined means for creating acoustic and/or visual effects.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument are provided a plurality of tone production channels to produce musical tones polyphonically. Each of the tone production channel includes a first counter which divides clock pulses by either one of N and N+1 to deliver an output pulse. A second counter and a control circuit are further provided in the instrument, which are commonly used for respective tone production channels. The second counter counts, on the time division basis, the output pulses from the first counters, and the control circuit designates the dividing number of the first counter is relation with the counted value of the second counter. Each of the tone production channels produces a tone signal having a frequency predetermined by the combination of N and N+1. By time divisionally using the second counter and the control circuit, the construction of the instrument is simplified.

Abstract: Two electronic musical instruments are supported in combination on a stand. The electronic musical instruments have respective switch sections each for setting a plurality of different timbres which are different from those which can be set by the other. When transfer mode switches of both the instruments are "on", timbre data set in one electronic musical instrument is transferred to the other electronic musical instrument through a cable, so that tones with the same timbre are sounded from loudspeakers connected to the respective instruments.

Abstract: A plastic card mounting an IC memory of a credit card size called a music card stores encoded digital music information including tone, musical interval, musical length and loudness of each musical note and pause, and said music information actuates a synthesizer which generates music sound signal. The music card also stores a character code for indicating title of music on said synthesizer. As music note is encoded and stored in a digital form, a small capacity of IC memory is enough for storing a long play music.

Abstract: In an electronic musical instrument which generates a musical waveform by calculating the waveform amplitude value at each sample point through Fourier synthesis, there is provided a musical waveform generator for caculating and synthesizing a temporally varying musical waveform at a plurality of sample points, memory circuits for storing two kinds of musical waveforms obtained by the musical waveform generator one after the other and an interpolation circuit for interpolating the two musical waveforms at time intervals shorter than the time intervals used in the musical waveform generator.

Abstract: In response to the data input from a keyboard, a tone clock generator generates a tone clock signal. The tone clock signal is counted by a waveform step counter. The output of the counter is used for making an access to a waveform memory. The waveform memory stores first and second waveform data of which the periods respectively are divided into a different number of addresses. One of the first and second waveform data read out from the waveform memory by the output of the counter is selected, according to the key-in data.

Abstract: A guitar synthesizer has a guitar body (10) and a synthesizer portion (20). The body (1) of the guitar extends toward a head (3) in a direction so that an end (11) serving as a first vibratory member in the body base to which a neck (2) is connected, intersects with the neck. A second end (13) serving as the second vibratory member may also intersect with the neck. A non-vibratory portion (12) is interposed between the first and the second vibratory members (11, 13). A reinforcing frame (4) is attached to the head and body to interconnect them with the shortest distance for providing a firm connection from the non-vibratory portion of the body to a part of the head closer to a nut (5) than to the head end. Thus, the connection between the head and the frame is located below the central point of the distance between the nut and the top end of the head. Such a structure suppresses vibrations of the neck and an early attenuation of the fundamental frequency due to the vibration of the strings (7), are avoided.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument for reading out and performing musical tone data previously stored in a memory is disclosed. In the musical instrument, pitch data of a musical piece or pieces are previously stored in the memory. Desired pitch data stored are read out by operating a corresponding key arranged on a keyboard. A tone generator forms a musical tone signal on the basis of the pitch data for sounding the musical tone. When the keyboard is functionally divided into two groups, the musical tone for melody and/or accompaniment of the musical piece may be read out through the operation of the functionally divided keyboard.

Abstract: Apparatus for synchronizing playback rates of a plurality of music sources includes a reference generator generating a reference signal including beats, a music source producing a music signal representative of music, a discriminating circuit operative in response to the music signal for extracting beats involved in the music signal to produce a beat signal representative of the extracted beats, and control circuitry interconnected to the reference generator and music source for determining the time difference between the occurrence of beats involved in the reference signal and the occurrence of the beat signal to regulate the music source so as to make the time difference substantially constant. The music source will thereby produce the music signal with a phase difference of the beats involved in the music signal substantially constant with respect to the beats involved in the reference signal.

Abstract: An automatic performing apparatus for use in an electronic musical instrument stores chord name data and chord generation timing data to carry out an automatic chord performance. In spite of frequent variations of a chord during the progression of a music piece, repetitive storage of a same chord name data is not required so that the amount of stored data can be reduced, allowing utilization of a memory of a small capacity.

Abstract: Rhythm sound data which represents a rhythm sound such as a percussion sound, is synthesized with envelope data by a gate circuit which functions as a multiplier. The synthesized data is supplied to a D/A converter and converted to an analog signal. A percussion sound with a rhythm pattern corresponding to the analog signal is produced at a speaker.

Abstract: In an electronic musical instrument, a tone generation designating circuitry provides, upon depression of each playing key, a set of parameter signals designating properties such as pitch and timbre of a tone to be generated and a key-on signal indicating the depression of the key, and in response to these parameter signals and key-on signal, a tone generator generates a vibratory wave signal having the designated tone properties at the designated timing as a tone signal for the depressed key. The tone generation designating circuitry includes a microcomputer to control and perform data processing. There are further provided a first clock pulse generator which generates time frame clock pulses defining consecutive time frames, and a second clock pulse generator which generates pitch clock pulses defining fundamental frequencies of human voice for the respective time frames.

Abstract: In a magnetic pickup for stringed musical instruments at least one coil is associated with each string and at least one magnet produces a magnetic field passing through the coil which is varied by the vibration of the string to induce a signal in the coil, the magnet being movable relative to the coil in such a manner that both the strength and the phase of the induced signal may be varied.

Abstract: A musical tone generation device of waveshape memory type stores, in its memory, waveshape data of an entire part of a rising portion of a musical tone waveshape and waveshape data of only a part of a remainder portion succeeding to the rising portion. The rising portion data is read out once while the remainder portion data is repetitively read out from the memory thereby to reproduce the entire musical tone waveshape. By changing a rate for the repetitive readout operation, a pitch of the musical tone waveshape at the portion succeeding to the rising portion can be changed with passage of time.

Abstract: An electronic musical instrument includes a fingerboard having a plurality of switches which are player-actuated to produce musical tones through electronic tone-generating means. The fingerboard, which is on an elongate neck, has, underneath its exterior surface, one or more rows of cavities, each cavity containing a pressure-actuable membrane switch. The surface of the fingerboard above each cavity is flexible, and each switch is closeable in response to a localized deformation of the flexible fingerboard area above the cavity in which the switch is located. A continuous flexible bar is situated on the fingerboard above each row of cavity enclosed switches. Pressure applied to the bar by a player at a location above a selected cavity results in a localized deformation of both the bar and the underlying fingerboard, thereby transmitting sufficient pressure to the switch in the selected cavity to close it. The deformation is sufficiently localized to result in the closing of only one selected switch.

Abstract: A through hole is formed in the top wall of an inhalation hole which communicates with the outside by means of an elongate channel. The through hole is closed by an elastic member having a bulging portion. A projection is formed in the center of the bulging portion, and retains the extreme end of a movable contact of a contact mechanism. A fixed contact is fixed on a circuit board. When the bulging portion is depressed downward by inhalation, the movable contact is brought into touch with the fixed contact to produce an input signal.