Abstract: An apparatus for achieving the effect of air movement in instruments during replication and sounding of complex musical instruments by separating unstable frequency components, the quasi-periodic components, from stable fundamental and harmonic components, the periodic components, of compound voice waveforms, storing the respective component information pertaining to the quasi-periodic and periodic components in separate memory locations, and recombining the quasi-periodic component with one or more periodic components in appropriate fashion to form and sound the compound voice waveforms.

Abstract: A method for achieving the effect of air movement in instruments during replication and sounding of complex musical instruments by separating unstable frequency components, the quasi-periodic components, from stable fundamental and harmonic components, the periodic components, of compound voice waveforms, storing the respective component information pertaining to the quasi-periodic and periodic components in separate memory locations, and recombining the quasi-periodic component with one or more periodic components in appropriate fashion to form and sound the compound voice waveforms.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reproducing the complete attack transient and steady state portions of a waveform is disclosed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interpolating between the harmonic structures of a waveform stored in memory during portions or the entire transient periods of said waveform. In an electronic musical instrument having a greater number of selectively actuable switches than note generators to cause the production of sounds corresponding to the respective notes of a musical scale, the present invention interpolates between the harmonic structures of a waveform stored in memory during portions or the entire transient periods of said waveform. This is accomplished through the use of memory units having a number of locations or zones within each memory where the number of zones is equivalent to the number of discrete harmonic structures.

Abstract: The string snub effect functions so as to introduce a different set of parameters for the harmonic content, envelope amplitude, shape and rate of decay and pitch of the resulting sound upon key release when a percussive string-type voice is selected in an electronic musical instrument. The apparatus for causing a snubbing of the resulting tone comprises a means for selecting a percussive string-type waveform and for generating a signal indicative of such selection, a means for detecting the release of a depressed key and the presence of the signal indicative of the selection of a percussive string-type waveform and for generating a signal indicative of such detection, a means for halting further interpolation of the selected waveform and switching to a preselected harmonic structure of said selected waveform, means for shifting the pitch of the generated tone of said selected waveform, and means for variably controlling the envelope amplitude, shape and rate of decay of the selected waveform.

Abstract: A keyboard teaching device for the self-instruction of a student of keyboard musical instruments is provided which enables the student to correlate the positions of the keys on a musical instrument keyboard with the positions of the notes on a musical scale. A keyboard having a plurality of keys corresponding to the notes of a musical scale for generating a first set of control signals in an initialization or set-up mode and key-note correlation signals in an instruction or game mode, at least one storage means having a predetermined combination of logical signals providing a source for a random sequence of one or more notes over a predetermined range in the game mode for generating a second set of control signals in response to the actuation of one or more keys in either mode and a means for generating audio tones and displaying video images in accordance with the first and second sets of control signals enables the student to visually and audibly check his or her selection of one or more of the keys.

Abstract: In an electronic musical instrument having at least one keyboard with keys corresponding to the notes of a musical scale apparatus for controlling the dynamic frequency modulation of tones reproduced from key pulses associated with active keys of the keyboard including a tonal effect control for selecting one of the desired modulation effects, vibrato, delayed vibrato or decayed vibrato, a multiplexed counter having a plurality of distinct sequential time periods for creating a delay proportional to its counting rate for generating output signals for controlling the time variant parameters of the modulation effects, a triggering means for initiating individually a count in each of the time periods of the counter in response to the generation of a key pulse, at least one count source for controlling the counting rate of the counter, a comparator for disabling the count in any of the time periods of the counter and timing alignment means for realigning the output signals of the counter with the corresponding ke

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interpolating between the harmonic structures of a waveform stored in memory during the transient periods of said waveform. In an electronic musical instrument having a greater number of selectively actuable switches than generators to cause the production of sound corresponding to the respective notes of the musical scale the present invention interpolates between the harmonic structures of a waveform stored in memory during the transient period of that waveform. This is accomplished through the use of memory units having a number of locations or zones within each memory where the number of zones is equivalent to the number of discrete harmonic structures. The first of the memory units contains a discrete fixed harmonic structure in each of its zones, and a second of the memory units contains a difference value in each of its zones where the difference value is equal to the difference between the discrete fixed harmonic structure in adjacent zones of the first memory.

Abstract: An asynchronous interface includes two memories which store multiplexed keyboard information such that while one memory is writing in newly acquired key information from one musical instrument system at the clock rate of that system, the other memory is reading out previously acquired key information to a second musical instrument system at the clock rate of the second system. Periodically, based on timing signals derived from both systems, the read/write roles of the two memories are reversed. Any number of asynchronously clocked systems, each connected to an associated asynchronous interface, may be keyed by a single key multiplexing device or by the multiplexing information from another asynchronous interface.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for introducing transient voices in an electronic musical instrument. It is the nature of some musical instruments such as a piano, harpsichord, or guitar to produce tones having a transient characteristic; however, instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet and pipe organ, which are considered to produce steady state tones, also exhibit transient characteristics at times. In general, transient effects in musical instruments can be characterized as combinations of harmonic and amplitude variations over some time period.In order to more closely synthesize the sounds of musical instruments, the present invention employs a scheme whereby a sequence of voices, which may have different harmonic and amplitude characteristics, are generated during the transient time period. This is accomplished through the use of a transient voice memory divided into "n" voice zones. Each zone may contain the same or a different voice from every other zone in the memory.

Abstract: Packets of redemption coupons are distributed from a dispensing cabinet installed in a store selling at least some of the products for coupons in the packet. A packet is dispensed in response to a depositor inserting a coin into a coin receptacle of the cabinet and a depositor inserting a coupon card into a coupon card receptacle of the cabinet. The coupon card includes a magnetic strip having magnetic indicia representing the last time the coupon card was inserted into a coupon card receptacle. While the card is in the receptacle, magnetic indicia representing the time when the card is in the receptacle are written onto the magnetic strip. In response to a mechanism in the cabinet determining whether the coin value in the receptacle is correct and whether the indicia on the card indicates that the card was last used more than a predetermined time ago, i.e., that the card indicia are correct, a dispensing mechanism of the cabinet dispenses one of the packets.