Automatic wind instrument playing device

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a technique for automatically playing a wind instrument based on data for generating musical sounds such as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically playing a recorder according to performance data. According to this technique, each finger hole of the recorder is opened and closed according to each pitch shown in the performance data, and compressed air is supplied to the mouthpiece. Further, by adjusting and supplying the flow rate and the direction of the compressed air, a good sound can be generated from the recorder.

【0003】

[Patent Document 1]

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-269771 [0004]

However, with this technology, it is not possible to automatically play a wind instrument (so-called lip reed wind instrument) that vibrates the lips to produce sound, such as a trumpet.

【0005】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wind instrument automatic performance device that automatically plays a wind instrument that produces a sound by vibrating the lips according to music generation data. ..

【0006】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has an artificial lip that is attached to a mouthpiece of a wind instrument and generates vibration that imitates a human lip according to the inflowing air, and the air that discharges and discharges the air flow. The cross-sectional area of the air flow path in the artificial lip and the flow rate of the air flow discharging means according to the air flow discharging means for flowing the flow into the artificial lip and the music sound generating data indicating the pitch and intensity of the musical sound. Provided is an automatic wind instrument playing apparatus, which comprises a control means for controlling the air conditioner.

【0007】

According to this wind instrument automatic playing device, an air flow is made to flow into an artificial lip that is attached to the mouthpiece of a wind instrument and generates vibration that imitates a human lip in response to the inflowing air, and the pitch and intensity of the musical tone are high. By controlling the cross-sectional area of the air flow path and the flow rate of the air flow in the artificial lip according to the musical sound generation data indicating the above, the sound shown in the musical sound generation data is generated from the wind instrument.

【0008】

In a preferred embodiment, the control means is further provided with a performance operation means for operating a performance operator provided on the wind instrument according to the music generation data indicating the pitch and intensity of the music sound. Is also good.

【0009】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (1) Configuration (1) Mechanical configuration Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the mechanical configuration of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The wind instrument automatic performance device 1 is the part surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line, and 2 is the trumpet.

【0010】

In the figure, the air compressor 6 generates compressed air, and the air pipe 4 is an air flow path for flowing the compressed air generated by the air compressor 6 toward the trumpet 2. A solenoid valve 5 is arranged in the middle of the air pipe 4.

【0011】

10, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12 are views showing a cross section of the solenoid valve 5. In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a piston integrated with the plunger of the solenoid 50, which can move in the vertical direction in the cylinder 51c. The air pipe 4 on the entry side communicates with the side surface of the cylinder 51c, and the air pipe 4 and the discharge pipe 52 on the exit side communicate with the side surface facing the side surface. The air pipe 4 and the discharge pipe 52 on the outlet side are provided at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction.

【0012】

Further, the piston 51 is provided with two flanges 51a and 51b. The distance between these flanges 51a and 51b is set wider than the distance between the air pipe 4 on the exit side and the discharge pipe 52. The piston 51 is urged downward by the spring 51d, and when the solenoid 50 is not energized, the piston 51 moves downward and the flange 51a blocks the air pipe 4 on the exit side (Fig. 10). State shown). On the other hand, when the solenoid 50 is energized, the piston 51 moves upward against the spring force according to the current value. When the piston 51 moves upward, the flange 51a that has blocked the air pipe 4 on the exit side also moves upward, and the air pipe 4 on the outlet side and the cylinder 51c communicate with each other (see FIG. 12). In this case, the opening degree of the communication passage changes according to the amount of energization of the solenoid 50. Further, when the solenoid 50 is energized and the piston 51 moves upward, the flange 51b also moves upward and gradually closes the discharge pipe 52. When the energization current value reaches a predetermined value, the discharge pipe 52 is completely closed. It will be closed (see Fig. 11). That is, the amount of air escaping from the discharge pipe 52 to the outside is adjusted by the amount of electricity supplied to the solenoid 50, whereby the flow rate of air flowing from the inlet side air pipe 4 to the outlet side air pipe 4 is adjusted.

【0013】

The artificial lip 3 shown in the figure is made of a flexible material such as rubber or plastic, and is arranged between the air pipe 4 and the trumpet 2. The artificial lips 3 can reproduce the state in which a human blows and vibrates the lips. Therefore, when air is sent to the artificial lips 3, the human lips according to the flow velocity of the air. The vibration state is reproduced. The artificial lips 3 may have a structure that uses an elastic member to generate vibrations of the human lips, and the vibration state may change depending on the flow rate and flow velocity of the air sent into the artificial lips 3. One example is as shown in US Pat. No. 3,339,444.

【0014】

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the mouthpiece 21 of the artificial lip 3 and the trumpet 2. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the artificial lip 3 has a tubular portion 30 having an opening similar to or slightly larger than the mouthpiece 21 of the trumpet 2. The tubular portion 30 closely covers the mouthpiece 21. Further, from the tubular portion 30 to the other end of the artificial lip 3, the tubular portion 31 is formed in a tubular shape that is elongated and flatter than the tubular portion 30. The pipe portion 31 closely covers the outer periphery of the tip of the air pipe 4.

【0015】

Further, the tube portion 31 is provided with solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips, respectively, at an upper portion and a lower portion located close to the tubular portion 30. The solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips are arranged so as to be perpendicular to the tube portion 31 and to face each other. Then, the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips are configured to be capable of pressing toward the tube portion 31 at the same time. Further, the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips are arranged so as to sandwich the artificial lips 3 from above and below, and the solenoids 32b for artificial lips are supported by the stand 1B.

【0016】

The trumpet 2 is connected to the air pipe 4 via the artificial lip 3. In addition to the mouthpiece 21, the trumpet 2 includes three piston valves, a first piston valve 20a, a second piston valve 20b, and a third piston valve 20c. Piston valves 22a, 22b, and 22c are arranged above each of the first piston valve 20a, the second piston valve 20b, and the third piston valve 20c, respectively. They are arranged in the same direction. As a result, the piston solenoids 22a, 22b, and 22c are configured so that the corresponding piston valves can be pressed. The piston solenoids 22a, 22b, and 22c are arranged so as to face the first piston valve 20a, the second piston valve 20b, and the third piston valve 20c, respectively. The trumpet 2 is also supported by the stand 1C. Since this trumpet 2 is a generally used trumpet, the description of each other part configuration will be omitted.

【0017】

The housing 1A shown in FIG. 1 includes a media driving device 10 for driving media such as an FD, and an operation unit 13. The user sets the FD in which the desired MIDI data is recorded in the media drive device 10, and operates the operation unit 13 to start the automatic performance of the trumpet 2 according to the MIDI data recorded in the FD. Can be done.

【0018】

As described above, the air pipe 4, the artificial lip 3, and the mouthpiece 21 are connected in this order, and the compressed air generated by the air compressor 6 flows in this order as shown by the arrow shown in FIG. It has a good structure. Then, the air vibration caused by the vibration of the artificial lip 3 passes through the trumpet 2 via the mouthpiece 21, and a sound is generated from the trumpet 2. Further, the pitch of the generated sound is adjusted by pressing the piston valve or pressing a part of the pipe portion 31.

【0019】

(2) Electrical configuration Next, the electrical configuration of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1. The media drive device 10 reads MIDI data for controlling automatic performance from the FD and supplies it to the controller 11 in accordance with a command from the controller 11. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the MIDI data is a time series consisting of an event instructing performance control such as sound pronunciation or mute, and a delta time indicating the time interval between the preceding event and the succeeding event. This is data for generating musical sounds. This event includes instructions for pitch, volume, and sound effects. The controller 11 repeats the process of waiting for each event of MIDI data supplied from the media drive device 10 for the time indicated by the delta time after the event, and reading the subsequent event.

【0020】

The automatic performance electronic circuit 12 is a circuit that receives an event from the controller 11 and controls the trumpet 2 for automatic performance. According to the event received from the controller 11, drive control is performed on the solenoid valve 5, the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips, and the solenoids 22a, 22b and 22c for pistons with reference to the information stored in the storage unit 14.

【0021】

The storage unit 14 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like, and stores information such as data and a table used in the automatic performance electronic circuit 12.

【0022】

<Relationship between playing trumpet and pronunciation> Here, the relationship between playing trumpet 2 and the sound emitted from trumpet 2 will be explained. When a human plays the trumpet 2, he vibrates his lips while breathing into the mouthpiece 21 of the trumpet 2. As a result, the vibration of the air is transmitted to the trumpet 2, and the sound is produced. And the pitch changes depending on the shape and size of the mouth that blows. Further, the pitch also changes depending on the combination of the first piston valve 20a, the second piston valve 20b, and the third piston valve 20c to be pressed. In addition, the volume of the generated sound changes depending on the amount of breath blown. The larger the amount of breath you blow, the louder the sound, and the smaller the amount of breath you blow, the quieter the sound. Therefore, the volume of the generated sound is determined according to the amount of breath blown.

【0023】

In the present embodiment, the vibrating lip state is realized by the artificial lip 3, the opening degree of the mouth is adjusted by changing the cross-sectional area of the artificial lip 3, and the amount of breath blown is adjusted by the solenoid valve 5. To do.

【0024】

Next, the drive control for each solenoid valve of the automatic performance electronic circuit 12, the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips, and the solenoids 22a, 22b and 22c for pistons will be described. <Control for Solenoid Valve 5> The automatic performance electronic circuit 12 determines the flow rate of air to be flowed through the mouthpiece 21 according to the volume value instructed by the event instructing the sounding. Then, the piston 51 of the solenoid valve 5 is driven so that air flows through the mouthpiece 21.

【0025】

The value of the drive current of the solenoid valve 5 corresponding to this volume value is determined in advance by an experiment, and this is stored in the table of the storage unit 14. In this embodiment, the initial setting is such that air does not flow when the drive current amount = 0. On the other hand, for the event instructing mute, do not allow current to flow through the solenoid valve 5 so that air does not flow through the mouthpiece 21. By controlling the energization of the solenoid valve 5 as described above, the flow rate of the compressed air flowing from the air compressor 6 to the trumpet 2 is adjusted.

【0026】

<Control for solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips> The automatic performance electronic circuit 12 controls the amount of protrusion of the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips according to the volume value and pitch indicated by the event that instructs pronunciation. By controlling this protrusion amount, the cross-sectional area of the air flow path in the artificial lip 3 is controlled. The drive current values of the artificial lip solenoids 32a and 32b corresponding to the volume value and the pitch are determined in advance by an experiment and stored in the table of the storage unit 14. In the present embodiment, when the drive current amount = 0, the cross-sectional area of the pipe portion 31 is set to the maximum area.

【0027】

Next, the specific operating states of the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips will be described with reference to FIG. 5 (A), (B), and (C) are views showing a cross section of the pipe portion 31. Here, for the sake of brevity, it is assumed that the same amount of air flows through the pipe portion 31 in FIGS. 5 (A), (B), and (C). When the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips do not protrude, the tube portion 31 is not pressed and its cross-sectional area is maximum, as shown in FIG. 5 (A). When the protrusions of the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips are small, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the tube portion 31 is slightly pressed and slightly bent, so that the area of its cross section becomes small and the air flowing through the trumpet 2 becomes small. Speeds up. When the amount of protrusion of the solenoids 32a and 32 for artificial lips increases, the tube portion 31 is considerably pressed and flattened as shown in FIG. 5 (C). Therefore, when the same flow of air flows through the trumpet 2, a high sound can be produced in the state of FIG. 5 (A), and a low sound can be produced in the state of FIG. 5 (C). In the state of 5 (B), a high-pitched sound between a high-pitched sound and a low-pitched sound can be pronounced.

【0028】

As described above, the pitch is adjusted by changing the cross-sectional area of the tube portion 31 of the artificial lip 3.

【0029】

<Control for piston solenoids 22a, 22b, 22c> The automatic performance electronic circuit 12 has the first piston valve 20a, the second piston valve 20b, and the third piston valve 20c of the trumpet 2 according to the pitch indicated by the event indicating the sound. Determine the piston valve to be pressed. Which piston valve should be pressed according to the pitch is stored in advance in the table of the storage unit 14. Then, a drive current is passed through the piston solenoids 22a to 22c corresponding to the determined piston valve to push the piston valve.

【0030】

(2) Operation FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to the present embodiment. The user sets the FD in which the desired MIDI data is recorded in the media drive device 10, operates the operation unit 13, and instructs the automatic performance of the trumpet 2. Then, the power of the air compressor 6 is turned on to generate compressed air. When the controller 11 of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 receives an instruction for automatic performance of the trumpet 2 from the operation unit 13, the controller 11 instructs the transfer of MIDI data according to this instruction (step S10). The controller 11 temporarily stores the MIDI data transferred from the FD, and sequentially reads out each event (step S11). As a result, the events in the MIDI data are sequentially supplied to the automatic performance electronic circuit 12 (step S13). The automatic performance electronic circuit 12 performs a process of analyzing the supplied event (step S14).

【0031】

A flowchart of this event analysis process is shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether or not this event is an event instructing pronunciation, and if this determination result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S141. In step S141, the amount of drive current to be passed through the solenoid valve 5 is determined so that the flow rate of air corresponding to the volume value indicated by the event flows through the air pipe 4.

【0032】

Next, the amount of drive current corresponding to the pitch indicated by the event is determined (step S142). As a result, the amount of drive current to be passed through the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips is determined.

【0033】

In addition, the piston valve to be pressed is determined among the first piston valve 20a, the second piston valve 20b, and the third piston valve 20c of the trumpet 2 according to the pitch indicated by the event (step S143). Then, the amount of drive current to be passed through the piston solenoid corresponding to the determined piston valve is determined (step S144). Then, the process proceeds to step S15 shown in FIG.

【0034】

In step S15, the automatic performance electronic circuit 12 causes the drive current determined in step S141 to flow through the solenoid valve 5, and the drive current determined in step S142 to flow through the artificial lip solenoids 32a and 32b, and the piston solenoid. The amount of drive current determined in step S144 is passed through 22a, 22b, and 22c. As a result, the trumpet 2 emits a sound corresponding to the event by the vibration of the air.

【0035】

If the determination result is negative in step S140, that is, if the supplied event is an event instructing mute, the process proceeds to step S148. In step S148, the amount of drive current to be passed through the solenoid valve 5 is set to 0 (step S145).

【0036】

As described above, the automatic performance electronic circuit 12 drives and controls the solenoid valve 5, the solenoids 32a and 32b for the artificial lip, and the solenoids 22a, 22b and 22c for the piston according to the events supplied in sequence, so that the trumpet 2 The music is played according to the MIDI data by.

【0037】

Therefore, the trumpet 2 can be automatically played without a performer, and the original sound of the musical instrument can be automatically generated instead of the electronic sound.

【0038】

(3) Modified Examples Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above-described embodiment is merely an example and can be implemented in various embodiments as follows.

【0039】

<1> The wind instrument automatic performance device 1 may be formed integrally with the trumpet 2. The automatically played musical instrument is not limited to the trumpet, and may be a wind instrument such as a cornet, tuba, euphonium, bass, trombone, or flute.

【0040】

<2> In the present embodiment, the musical piece is automatically played using the MIDI data recorded in the FD, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, MIDI data stored in a storage medium such as a CD or a memory card may be used. Further, instead of using these storage media, a storage means such as a ROM may be provided in the main body of the wind instrument automatic performance device, and the wind instrument may be automatically played according to the MIDI data stored in the storage means.

【0041】

<3> The automatic performance electronic circuit 12 determines the flow rate of air, adjusts the pressure on the artificial lip 3, and determines the piston valve to be pressed in this order, but it does not have to be in this order, and it is performed at the same time. Is also good.

【0042】

<4> Musical tone generation data is not limited to MIDI data, but may be data that indicates pitch, volume, pronunciation time, etc.

【0043】

<5> In the above-described embodiment, the one that adjusts the flow rate of the air generated by the air compressor 6 is not limited to the solenoid valve 5, and may have other configurations. Further, the configuration of the solenoid valve 5 is not limited to the above configuration.

【0044】

<6> The trumpet 2 may be automatically played using the musical sound generation data input in real time from the keyboard. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the keyboard 15 is connected to the controller 11 instead of the media drive device 10 in the above embodiment. By playing this keyboard 15, MIDI data events corresponding to the performance are supplied to the controller 11 in real time. The controller 11 supplies the supplied event to the automatic performance electronic circuit 12. After that, the sound corresponding to the MIDI data input from the keyboard 15 is emitted from the trumpet 2 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. According to such a configuration, even a person who cannot play the trumpet 2 can freely make a sound from the trumpet 2 simply by playing the keyboard 15.

【0045】

<7> The arrangement positions of the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips are not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, it may be arranged laterally to the left and right of the tube portion 31 of the artificial lip 3. Further, it may be arranged so as to be inclined so as to have a certain inclination angle instead of being perpendicular to the direction of air flow in the pipe portion 31. Further, the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips may be operated so as to have an inclination angle with respect to the direction of air flow in the tube portion 31. In such a configuration, the pitch corresponding to the tilt angle is determined in advance by experiment.

【0046】

<8> Instead of the solenoid for artificial lips and the solenoid for piston, other actuators may be used. For example, it may be a geared motor, a supersonic motor, or the like.

【0047】

<9> Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of solenoids for artificial lips may be arranged in the tube portion 31 of the artificial lips 3. For example, the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips may be composed of ones that move fast, and the solenoids 32a and 32b for artificial lips may be composed of ones that move slowly. The speed of movement is adjusted by the size of the coils and iron cores that make up the solenoid, the amount of current flowing through the solenoid, and the like. In addition, one set of upper and lower solenoids for artificial lips is arranged perpendicular to the direction of air flow in the tube portion 31, and the other pair of solenoids for artificial lips are arranged in the direction of air flow in the tube portion 31. It may be arranged so as to have a certain inclination angle with respect to the relative. Further, another set of solenoids for artificial lips may be operated so as to have an inclination angle with respect to the direction of air flow in the tube portion 31. In such a configuration, it is advisable to experimentally obtain the correspondence between the inclination angle and the pitch.

【0048】

<10> In the above-described embodiment, when an event instructing mute is supplied to the automatic performance circuit 12, the solenoid valve 5 is controlled to stop the air from flowing to the trumpet 2. In the MIDI standard, this mute-instructing event is usually a note-off message. However, the event may include an exclusive message that can instruct an arbitrary process, and the exclusive message may be instructed to temporarily stop the breathing, that is, the flow of air.

【0049】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to generate a musical tone corresponding to the musical tone generating data from the wind instrument according to the musical tone generating data.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mechanical configuration of a wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the mouthpiece 21 of the artificial lips 3 and the trumpet 2 according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing MIDI data according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a tube portion 31 of the artificial lip 3 according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an event analysis operation of the wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wind instrument automatic performance device 1 according to a modified example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a mouthpiece 21 of an artificial lip 3 and a trumpet 2 according to a modified example of the same embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a solenoid valve 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a solenoid valve 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a solenoid valve 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automatic wind instrument performance device, 1A Housing, 1B Stand, 1C Stand, 2 Trumpet, 20a 1st piston valve, 20b 2nd piston Valve, 20c 3rd piston valve, 21 Mouthpiece, 22a Solenoid for piston, 22b Solenoid for piston, 22c Solenoid for piston, 3 Artificial lip, 30 Cylinder part, 31 Pipe part, 32a Solenoid for artificial lips, 32b Solenoid for artificial lips, 4 Air piping, 5 Solenoid valve, 50 Solenoid , 51 Piston, 51a Flange, 51b Flange, 51c Cylinder, 51d Spring, 52 Discharge pipe, 6 Air compressor, 10 Media Drive device, 11 ... controller, 12 ... automatic performance electronic circuit, 13 ... operation unit, 14 ... storage unit, 15 ... keyboard.