stage_tags
Musical tone synthesizing apparatus utilizing an all-pass filter having a variable fractional delay2010-03-29 00:00:00a tone pitch of said musical tone is continuously controlled by said control means.
6. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus comprising:
a signal producing portion for producing a signal;
a loop-circuit portion connected with said signal producing portion, said loop-circuit portion receiving said signal outputted from said signal producing portion so as to circulate it therethrough, resulting that said signal is modified in accordance with a characteristic of said loop-circuit portion while circulating through said loop-circuit portion,
said loop-circuit portion further including an integral-
stage delay means having an integral delay amount and a decimal-
stage delay means having a decimal delay amount, said integral-
stage delay means providing at least one delay means of which delay amount corresponds to an integral "1" while said decimal delay amount of said decimal-
stage delay means is smaller than said delay amount of said delay means,
wherein a whole delay amount of said loop-circuit portion is determined by a sum of said integral delay amount and said decimal delay amount; and
delay control means for controlling said integral-
stage delay means and said decimal-
stage delay means such that when said whole delay amount of said loop-circuit portion is continuously increased while said integral delay amount is incremented, said decimal delay amount is firstly set substantially equal to "0", and then, said decimal delay amount is gradually increased, whereas when said integral delay amount is decremented, said decimal delay amount is first set substantially equal to "1" corresponding to one sampling period, and then, said decimal delay amount is gradually decreased.
7. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said decimal-
stage delay means is embodied by an all-pass filter.
8. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said all-pass filter is configured by a delay circuit and an operation circuit, while said delay control means provides a coefficient generator which generates a coefficient to be supplied to said operation circuit so that said decimal delay amount is determined by said coefficient.
9. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said delay control means further provides an interpolation circuit which interpolates said coefficient in response to a variation of said integral delay amount so as to supply an interpolated coefficient to said all-pass filter.
10. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said decimal-
stage delay means is configured by a register and an operation circuit, while said delay control means provides a coefficient generator which generates a coefficient to be supplied to said operation circuit so that said decimal delay amount is determined by said coefficient.
11. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said delay control means controls said decimal-
stage delay means such that when said integral delay amount is increased, said register is reset while said coefficient generator is controlled to generate said coefficient by which said decimal delay amount is roughly set at "0" whereas when said integral delay amount is decreased, a value which was set at said register at a preceding moment which is one sampling period prior to a current moment is set to said register again while said coefficient generator is controlled to generate said coefficient by which said decimal delay amount is set substantially equal to "1".
12. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 6 further comprising an extracting means for extracting said signal circulating through said loop-circuit portion as a musical tone signal representing a musical tone to be produced.
13. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus comprising:
a signal producing portion for producing a signal;
a delay portion connected with said signal producing portion, said delay portion receiving said signal outputted from said signal producing portion so as to eventually delay it by a whole delay amount,
said delay portion further including an integral-
stage delay means having an integral delay amount and a decimal-
stage delay means providing at least one delay means of which delay amount corresponds to an integral "1" representing one sampling period, while said decimal delay amount of said decimal-
stage delay means is smaller than said delay amount of said delay means,
wherein said whole delay amount of said delay portion is determined by a sum of said integral delay amount and said decimal delay amount;
delay designating means for designating said whole delay amount to be embodied by said delay portion; and
delay control means for controlling said integral-
stage delay means and said decimal-
stage delay means such that when said whole delay amount is continuously increased while said integral delay amount is incremented, said decimal delay amount is firstly set substantially equal to "0", and then, said decimal delay amount is gradually increased, whereas when said whole delay amount is continuously decreased while said integral delay amount is decremented, said decimal delay amount is firstly set substantially equal to "1", and then, said decimal delay amount is gradually decreased.
14. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein said decimal-
stage delay means is embodied by an all-pass filter.
15. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein said all-pass filter is configured by a delay circuit and an operation circuit, while said delay control means provides a coefficient generator which generates a coefficient to be supplied to said operation circuit so that said decimal delay amount is determined by said coefficient.
16. A musical tone synthesizing apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein said delay control means further provides an interpolation circuit which interpolates said coefficient...
Method and apparatus for representing musical information2010-03-26 00:00:00musical information.
While the music processing devices presently available allow a user to print musical information more efficiently than traditional hand engraving of printing plates, they are far from an ideal music processing apparatus. An ideal music processing apparatus should be able to receive the musical information from its native environment (musical sound), represent the musical information in such a way that it may be automatically converted into its written language equivalent (musical notation), present the musical notation to the user so that it may be manipulated or edited, and then output the musical information, either as musical notation or as musical sound, exactly as it has been composed.
Present music processing apparatus cannot simulate an ideal music processing apparatus in large part because of the limitations imposed by the present methods and systems for internally representing musical information in these systems. The internal representation of musical information for a music processing apparatus is a problem that has challenged musicologists for more than twenty-five years with no single or satisfactory solution. Most music processing apparatus use a code-type representation that stores only the specific musical information needed to achieve the limited objectives of the system, i.e., information about pitch alone, about rhythm alone, or about pitch and rhythm without reference to dynamics or articulation. A few music processing apparatus have attempted to develop language-type representations that would enable the user to encode any element of musical information that is present in common musical notation. For example, the DARMS and MUSTRAN encoding languages were developed for mainframe computers. While flexible and more complete than the code-type representations, current music encoding languages are limited to textual-based entry of musical information and are not structured enough to provide a workable method and apparatus for representing musical information that could be used to create a device approaching the ideal music processing apparatus.
The Directory of Computer Assisted Research in Musicology, Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities, 1987, pp. 1-22, identifies five broad classifications that encompass the current methods and systems for representing musical information: music/machine-readable code; music/logic; music/parametric; music/graphic; and music/acoustic. These classifications provide a background for thinking about the various
stages of music data representation as the music data move from the input process to the various output processes of display, printing, analysis and sound in a music processing apparatus.
The first classification, music/machine-readable code, covers music processing apparatus that use a code-type representation, usually in the form of an unstructured character string, wherein each character represents, for example, the pitch or duration of the next role to be played in the sequence. The music/logical classification covers those representations that attempt to organize the musical information into logical records and, in this form, more closely represent the logical meaning or structure of the musical information itself. This is the general type of representation that is necessary for developing an ideal music processing apparatus. The next classification, music/parametric, includes all the information of the music/logical representation but presents this data as a list of objects (notes, rests, beams, etc.) whose attributes are determined by specific parameters. Most current music printing programs process their music data in this form. The last two classifications relate primarily to the output of musical information. The music/graphic classification covers representation forms that are closely related to the actual printing or display of the graphic musical information. Examples might include font-lists with X-Y coordinates or strings of redefined ASCII characters that translate directly into music graphics. The music/acoustic classification covers representation forms that are closely related to the actual generation of musical sound. The best known examples is the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Information) standard that is currently used by manufacturers of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments. For a more detailed explanation of the MIDI format, reference is made to Boom, Music Through MIDI, 1987, Chapter 5, pp. 69-94, which is fully incorporated by reference herein.
Although the various music processing apparatus currently available have enabled music publishers to produce higher quality printed music or enabled hobbyists to enter and print simplistic musical notation, none of these systems has a method or device for representing musical information that enables a musician or composer to easily and accurately transcribe complete musical acoustic information into complete musical graphic information and to reverse this process. Accordingly, there is a continuing need for the development of new tools to assist the musician and composer in the transcription of musical information by providing a method and apparatus for representing musical information that will allow the musician or composer to enter, manipulate and retrieve both the graphic and acoustic attributes of musical information from a common data structure in the memory means of a computer data processing system, whereby changes to one type of information may be automatically reflected in changes to the other type of information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention a method and apparatus for representing musical information are provided, utilizing a programmable data processing means having storage means for representing both acoustic and graphic musical information in a common data structure and input/output means operably connected to the data processing means for entering, editing and retrieving the musical information.
The method for electronically processing and storing musical information involves separating the musical information into a plurality of segments, each representing some portion of a measure, and assigning a sequential time dimension value to each segment and measure. The musical information is also separated into a plurality o...
Method and apparatus for teaching musical notation to young children2010-03-12 00:00:00/>
The prior art systems described above all employ some form of symbology, by associating colors and/or images with the notes of the musical scale. However, some of these systems (e.g. Searing) are overly complex for use by very young children, while others (e.g. Adams, Ney, and Sledge) are particularly adapted to teaching the use of a piano keyboard, which may or may not be the object of instructing the child.
More fundamentally, none of these earlier systems makes full use of the capabilities which symbolization offers in education of young children. Recently, it has come to be understood that children employ symbology in changing and increasingly complex patterns very early in life. It is now believed that, beginning at about the age of two, children pass through a series of developmental crests that have been termed "waves". As the child enters each wave, the use of symbolization becomes increasingly sophisticated. In particular, as children approach the more advanced
stages of symbolization (around three to five years of age), they commonly show an attraction toward what has been referred to as "second-order" symbolization, in other words, a set of symbols or marks that itself refers to a first set of symbols or marks. It is believed that the impulse to create second-order symbol systems is a deep-seated human inclination which emerges with little provocation. The systems described above generally employ symbology in only the most basic forms, and thus do not take advantage of the powerful, higher-order levels of symbolization towards which children in this age group are naturally inclined.
Moreover, the development of "second-order" symbolization skills is valuable in and of itself. Once the child has devised a symbol system that itself refers to other symbol systems, the possibility of embeddedness emerges; complete systems can be systematically absorbed as component parts into ever more powerful systems, as, for example, when multiplication presumes addition, or when algebra presumes arithmetic. Such high-order systems of notation lie at the very center of many scholastic activities, and the capacity to engage readily in such activities is key to the academic success of a child. As will be described below, the present invention not only takes advantage of higher-order symbolization to achieve the immediate goal of instructing the child regarding the notes of the musical scale, but it fosters the early and continued development of such symbolization for the more general benefit of the child.
The preceding section has discussed the importance of higher-order symbolization in general. With respect the present invention, there are additional reasons for exercising the musical abilities of a child by employing a symbolization process. Firstly, it is now believed that what is generally referred to as human intelligence is actually made up of a plurality of distinct but interrelated "intelligences", each of which appears to be somewhat localized in separate regions of the brain, and each of which is susceptible to capture in a symbolic system. In particular, some specialists have theorized that there are at least seven identifiable "intelligences", namely (i) use of the body to solve problems or to make things, (ii) an understanding of other individuals, (iii) an understanding of ourselves, (iv) language, (v) logical-mathematical analysis, (vi) spatial representation, and (with respect to the present invention in particular) (vii) musical thinking (e.g., see The Unschooled Mind, Howard Gardner, Basic Books, Inc. (1991); Frames of Mind, the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner, Basic Books, Inc. (1983)).
Although the first six "intelligences" listed above are reasonably well addressed by conventional education programs, there is relatively little emphasis on musical thinking, with the result that this particular intelligence tends to be widely undeveloped in modern Western society. In a broader context, musical intelligence is one of those intelligences which make up what is commonly referred to (from it location) as "right brain" thought; it has become recognized that, although traditional academic programs stress the development of "left brain" skills, it is in fact critical for both types of thought to become fully developed if the individual is to achieve their full potential.
Moreover, it is believed that, amongst all of the identifiable "intelligences", musical thinking is one of the first to be enabled in the development of a child (see references cited above). Therefore, to the extent that this particular intelligence is successfully developed as early as possible, the symbolization and other skills which the child thus acquires enable the other intelligences ...
Multi-stage musical instrument amplifier having distortion modes2009-11-09 00:00:00AbstractA first amplifier
stage receives electrical signals generated by a musical instrument and provides an output signal. A second amplifier
stage is driven by the output signal from the first amplifier
stage as switch selectively connects an attenuator to the first amplifier
stage to attenuate the output signal thereof and selectively connects a gain modifying circuit to the first
stage. In a first mode, the attenuator is connected to the first amplifier
stage and the gain modifying circuit is disconnected from the first amplifier
stage. As a result, an output signal from the first amplifier
stage has a level which drives the second amplifier
stage to provide a substantially linear output signal therefrom. In a second mode, the attenuator is disconnected from the first amplifier
stage and the gain modifying circuit is connected to the first amplifier
stage. As a result, an output signal from the first amplifier
stage has a level which will overdrive the second amplifier
stage to provide a non-linear saturated signal therefrom having a first desired amount of increased harmonic saturation.ClaimsWhat is claimed is:
1. In a preamplifier for audio frequency electrical signals generated by a musical instrument such as a guitar:
a first amplifier
stage for receiving electrical signals generated by the musical instrument and providing an output signal;
a second amplifier
stage adapted to be driven by the output signal from the first amplifier
stage;
means for attenuating the output signal of the first amplifier
stage;
gain modifying means for the first amplifier
stage; and
switch means for selectively connecting the attenuating means to the first amplifier
stage and for selectively connecting the gain modifying means to the first amplifier
stage to provide in a first mode an output signal from the first amplifier
stage having a level which drives the second amplifier
stage to provide a substantially linear output signal therefrom and to provide in a second mode an output signal from the first amplifier
stage having a level which will overdrive the second amplifier
stage to provide a nonlinear saturated signal therefrom having a first desired amount of increased harmonic content.
2. In the preamplifier of claim 1, said switch means comprising a first switch for selectively connecting the attenuating means to the first amplifier
stage and a second switch for selectively connecting the gain modifying means to the first amplifier
stage, and which further includes means for controlling said first and second switches whereby in the first mode the attenuating means is connected to the first amplifier
stage and the gain modifying means is disconnected from the first amplifier
stage and in the second mode the attenuating means is disconnected from the first amplifier
stage and the gain modifying means is connected to the first amplifier
stage.
3. In the preamplifier of claim 1, said first amplifier
stage comprising an electron discharge device having a control grid, an anode, a cathode and a cathode resistor and wherein said gain modifying means comprises means for selectively shunt-connecting a capacitor across at least a portion of the cathode resistor.
4. In the preamplifier of claim 3, said attenuating means comprising a resistance adapted to be selectively connected across the output circuit of the first amplifier
stage.
5. In the preamplifier of claim 1, further comprising means for modifying, for each mode of operation, the output level of the second amplifying
stage.
6. In the preamplifier of claim 5, the modifying means comprising a first mode volume control and a second mode volume control; said switch means comprising a first switch for selectively connecting the attenuating means to the first amplifier
stage, and a second switch for selectively connecting the gain modifying means to the first amplifier
stage; which further includes a third switch for selectively activating the first mode volume control, and a fourth switch for selectively activating the second mode volume control, and which further includes means for controlling said first, second third and fourth switches whereby in the first mode the attenuating ...
