Electronic musical instrument having a ryhthm performance function

Abstract

An electronic musical instrument having a rhythm performance function includes a first memory for pre-storing plural rhythm tone kinds, rhythm selecting switches each capable of designating one of said rhythm tone kinds and a rhythm tone generator having plural channels. The selected rhythm tone kind is assigned to each channel of the rhythm tone generator. A rhythm tone corresponding to the selected rhythm tone kind is generated by each channel so that continuous rhythm tones will be generated by plural channels based on time division system. In addition, before playing a rhythm performance, rhythm patterns can be arbitrarily programmed and then stored into a second memory by operating the rhythm selecting switches and other switches corresponding to the predetermined rhythm tones of plural musical instruments. Further, the roll of rhythm tones can be continuously generated, wherein volume information stored in the first memory is determined such that tone volume of the roll of rhythm tones is set smaller than that of the normal rhythm tones.

Description

.Iadd.This is a reissue of application Ser. No. 07 / 291,275 filed Dec. 28, 1988 and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,486..Iaddend.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument having a rhythm performance function, and more particularly to an electronic musical instrument having plural rhythm tone source channels to which rhythm tone kind designating information is applied.2. Prior ArtThe known first conventional rhythm performance apparatus having plural rhythm tone source channels (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 59-191) assigns plural rhythm tone kinds to be performed (e.g., rhythm tones of bass drum, cymbal, snare drum, ...) to plural rhythm tone source channels. By selectively driving these rhythm tone source channels in accordance with rhythm patterns concerning the rhythm kind (e.g., march) to be performed, the rhythm performance is automatically done.However, the above-mentioned first conv...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an electronic musical instrument having a rhythm performance function whose number of channels is relatively small but which can do the variable rhythm performance.

Problems solved by technology

However, the above-mentioned first conventional rhythm performance apparatus is disadvantageous in that the rhythm kinds to be performed must be fixed.

In such case, it is impossible to use sixteen rhythm tone kinds (which is larger than the number of channels) and thereby do the rhythm performance whose contents is complicated and variable.

In order to do such complicated rhythm performance in the conventional rhythm performance apparatus, the number of channels must be increased, so that its constitution must be complicated.

For this reason, the second conventional apparatus is disadvantageous in that the memory having large memory capacity must be required as the recording means.

Hence, in order to increase the number of rhythm tone kinds which can be generated, the number of rhythm tone source channels must be increased, so that the third conventional rhythm performance apparatus is disadvantageous in that its constitution must be complicated.

However, in the case where the rhythm tones in eight channels are all generated, it is impossible to simultaneously generate a new rhythm tone.

For this reason, the third conventional rhythm performance apparatus is disadvantageous in that performance expression must be limited in the rhythm performance having high speed tempo or in the rhythm tone generation with short time interval.

For this reason, this fourth conventional rhythm performance apparatus is disadvantageous in that its operation is very troublesome.

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