Electronic musical instrument, and control method and program for electronic musical instrument

Abstract

To provide an electronic musical instrument, a control method of the electronic musical instrument, and a program that do not give an effect to a musical sound when a performer does not want to give the effect, and gives the effect to the musical sound only when the performer wants to give the effect, in a state where an effect application function using contact operation means is set valid.SOLUTION: An electronic musical instrument 1 includes a thumb contact determination unit 109 that determines whether a contact state when a player's thumb touches a touch pad is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state. The thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state is the operation state, when the thumb is in contact with the touch pad and the contact state is the first contact state, and when the thumb is in contact with the touch pad and the contact state is not the second contact state. The electronic musical instrument 1 gives the effect to a musical sound, when it is determined that the contact state is the operation state by the thumb contact determination unit 109.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument, a control method for an electronic musical instrument, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known an electronic musical instrument that outputs a musical tone according to the contact position of a part of a player's body when the part of the player's body contacts a contact operation means that accepts a contact operation by the player. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic musical instrument that includes a touch pad, and when the player's thumb contacts the touch pad, detects the contact position of the thumb and produces a musical tone with an effect applied according to the detected contact position of the thumb. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-61542 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When playing the electronic musical instrument described in Patent Document 1, the performer typically keeps his or her thumb on the touchpad on the back of the main unit at all times. Therefore, if the performer wishes to output musical tones without effects applied, it is necessary to disable the effect application function using the touchpad by performing complicated operations such as setting operations using a setting means provided separately from the touchpad.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an electronic musical instrument, a control method for an electronic musical instrument, and a program for controlling an electronic musical instrument, which, when an effect application function using a contact operation means is enabled, does not apply an effect to a musical sound if the performer does not want the effect to be applied, and applies an effect to a musical sound only if the performer wants the effect to be applied. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the electronic musical instrument according to the present invention comprises: a determination means for determining whether a contact state when a part of a player's body contacts the contact operation means is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state, the determination means determines that the contact state is the operation state in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, When the determining means determines that the contact state is the operating state, an effect is applied to the musical sound. death, The area of ​​the part of the body that contacts the touch operation means when the part is in the first contact state and when the part is not in the second contact state are different from the area when the part is in the second contact state. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, when the effect application function using the contact operation means is set to active, an effect is not applied to the musical sound if the performer does not wish to apply an effect, and an effect is applied to the musical sound only if the performer wishes to apply an effect. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a side view of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the electronic musical instrument according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a lead portion according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]FIG. 1 illustrates a touchpad according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram for explaining generation of a digital musical tone signal by an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 10] (a) to (d) are diagrams showing examples of actual measured values ​​of the sensor output value. (a) is a diagram showing an example of the actual measured value of the sensor output value when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad and the contact state is the second contact state. (b) shows an example of the actual measured value of the sensor output value when the tip of the thumb is in contact with the center position of the touchpad and the contact state is the first contact state. (c) shows an example of the actual measured value of the sensor output value when the tip of the thumb is in contact with the first position of the touchpad and the contact state is the first contact state. (d) shows an example of the actual measured value of the sensor output value when the tip of the thumb is in contact with the second position of the touchpad and the contact state is the first contact state. [Figure 11] 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the correspondence relationship between thumb positions and pitch change amounts according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a musical tone generation process executed by an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 5 is a flowchart illustrating a thumb detection process executed by the electronic musical instrument according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a thumb detection process executed by an electronic musical instrument according to a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or equivalent components are given the same reference numerals.

[0010] An electronic musical instrument 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a shape that imitates the shape of a saxophone, which is an acoustic wind instrument, as shown in Figures 1 to 3. The electronic musical instrument 1 has a tubular housing and includes a tube section 2 that a player holds in his / her hand, controls 3 that are provided on the surface of the tube section 2 and that the player operates with his / her fingers, a mouthpiece 4 that is provided at one end of the tube section 2 and that the player holds in his / her mouth and blows into, and a sound system 5 that is provided at the other end of the tube section 2 and produces musical tones. The player is a user who performs music using the electronic musical instrument 1.

[0011] The operator 3 has a number of keys that accept operations performed by the performer using the fingers, detects the operations performed by the performer on the number of keys, and outputs key / switch information indicating the detection results to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 8, which will be described later. The number of keys that the operator 3 has includes performance keys that accept the pitch of a musical tone designated by the performer, and setting keys that accept setting operations performed by the performer. The setting keys include a power key that accepts a setting operation to switch the power of the electronic musical instrument 1 on / off, a pitch adjustment key that accepts a setting operation to change the pitch of a musical tone according to the key of a song, and an effect setting key that accepts a setting operation to switch an effect application function enabled / disabled using a touch pad 13, which will be described later. The performance keys are provided on the front surface of the tube section 2, and the setting keys are provided on the rear surface of the tube section 2 opposite the front surface of the tube section 2. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the rear surface of the tube section 2 is provided with a finger rest 20 that comes into contact with the player's fingers and helps the player to hold the electronic musical instrument 1 steadily, and a strap ring 21 through which a strap (not shown) can be passed to hang the electronic musical instrument 1 around the player's neck.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, a display 160 and a touch pad 13 are provided on the surface on the rear side of the tube section 2. The display 160 is a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, and displays various images. The display 160 is provided in a display unit 16, which will be described later. The touch pad 13 is provided at a position where the thumb of the player's right hand touches it when the player holds the electronic musical instrument 1 with both hands. That is, when performing using the electronic musical instrument 1, the player holds the electronic musical instrument 1 in his / her hand by touching the thumb of his / her right hand to the touch pad 13 and touching the fingers other than the thumb to the surface on the front side of the tube section 2. The touch pad 13 accepts touch operations using the player's fingers. The touch pad 13 is an example of a touch operation means. As will be described later, when the effect application function using the touchpad 13 is enabled and the tip of the performer's thumb touches the touchpad 13, the electronic musical instrument 1 detects the thumb position, which is the contact position on the touchpad 13 of the tip of the thumb, and outputs an effect according to the detected thumb position, i.e., a musical sound with an effect applied.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic musical instrument 1 includes a breath pressure detection unit 6, a contact detection unit 7, a CPU 8, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 9, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 10, a sound source 11, a voice detection unit 14, a thumb detection unit 15, and a display unit 16 in addition to the above-mentioned components. The operator 3, the breath pressure detection unit 6, the contact detection unit 7, the CPU 8, the ROM 9, the RAM 10, the sound source 11, the voice detection unit 14, the thumb detection unit 15, and the display unit 16 are connected to each other via a system bus 12 which is a transmission path for commands and data. The CPU 8, the ROM 9, the RAM 10, and the sound source 11 are built into the tube unit 2. Note that FIG. 4 shows only the components related to the characteristic parts of the present invention among the components of the electronic musical instrument 1. The electronic musical instrument 1 may include any components not shown in FIG. 4. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may include an output port for outputting data to an external information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a smartphone.

[0014] The breath pressure detection unit 6 detects the pressure of the breath blown into the mouthpiece 4 by the performer, and outputs breath pressure information indicating the detection result to the CPU 8. The contact detection unit 7 includes a plurality of capacitive touch sensors for detecting the contact by the performer, detects the contact of the performer's lower lip with a reed portion 41 of the mouthpiece 4 described later, and outputs lip detection information indicating the detection result to the CPU 8. Furthermore, the contact detection unit 7 detects the contact of the performer's tongue with the reed portion 41, and outputs tongue detection information indicating the detection result to the CPU 8. When the performer performs tonguing, which is a performance action in which the tongue is in contact with the reed portion 41, the contact detection unit 7 detects the contact of the tongue with the reed portion 41. Details of the detection of the contact of the performer's lower lip and tongue by the contact detection unit 7 will be described later. The CPU 8 controls each part of the electronic musical instrument 1 according to the programs and data stored in the ROM 9. Furthermore, the CPU 8 executes various processes according to the programs and data stored in the ROM 9. The ROM 9 non-temporarily stores programs and data used by the CPU 8 to execute various processes. The RAM 10 functions as a work area for the CPU 8. That is, the CPU 8 reads out the programs and data stored in the ROM 9 into the RAM 10, and executes various processes by referring to the read out programs and data. Furthermore, the CPU 8 temporarily stores data generated or acquired by executing various processes into the RAM 10, and executes various processes by referring to the stored data. The sound source 11 is a synthesizer such as a sound source LSI (Large Scale Integration), generates digital musical sound signals representing musical sounds under the control of the CPU 8, and outputs the generated digital musical sound signals to the sound system 5. The sound system 5 generates musical sounds according to the digital musical sound signals input from the sound source 11. Specifically, the sound system 5 includes a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), an amplifier, and a speaker, and converts the digital musical sound signals input from the sound source 11 into analog musical sound signals representing musical sounds by the DAC, amplifies the analog musical sound signals by the amplifier, and generates musical sounds represented by the amplified analog musical sound signals by the speaker.

[0015] The voice detection unit 14 detects the performer's voice entering the mouthpiece 4, and outputs voice detection information indicating the detection result to the CPU 8. When the performer performs a growl, which is a performance action in which the performer produces a voice while blowing into the mouthpiece 4, the performer's voice entering the mouthpiece 4 is detected by the voice detection unit 14. The thumb detection unit 15 has a plurality of capacitive touch sensors that detect contact by the performer, detects contact of the performer's thumb with the touch pad 13, and outputs thumb detection information indicating the detection result to the CPU 8. The display unit 16 has the above-mentioned display 160, and displays various images on the display 160 according to the control of the CPU 8.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 5, the mouthpiece 4 includes a main body 40 that is attached to the tube 2 of the electronic musical instrument 1, a reed 41 that receives a touch operation using the player's lower lip and tongue, and a fixing metal fitting 42 that fixes the reed 41 to the main body 40. When the player holds the mouthpiece 4 in his mouth, the player's lower lip and tongue come into contact with the reed 41. One end of the reed 41 is fixed to the main body 40 by the fixing metal fitting 42 and is configured not to vibrate, while the other end of the reed 41 is not fixed and is configured to vibrate. The reed 41 is attached to the main body 40 so that the end of the reed 41 that is not fixed by the fixing metal fitting 42 and the blowing port side end 40a of the main body 40 form a blowing port 43 through which the player blows air.

[0017] A pressure sensor 60 of the breath pressure detection unit 6 is provided at the tube portion side end 40b of the main body 40 facing the blowing opening 43. The pressure sensor 60 detects the pressure of the player's breath blown into the blowing opening 43 of the mouthpiece 4. The breath pressure detection unit 6 obtains the output value of the pressure sensor 60, i.e., the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 60, as the detection result of the pressure of the breath blown into the mouthpiece 4, and outputs data indicating this output value to the CPU 8 as breath pressure information indicating the detection result.

[0018] A voice sensor 140 of the voice detection unit 14 is provided in a cavity 45 formed inside the main body 40 by the main body 40 and the reed 41. The voice sensor 140 is a sound sensor that detects the voice of the performer through a microphone or the like, and detects the voice of the performer entering the cavity 45, i.e., the inside of the mouthpiece 4, from the mouthpiece 4's air inlet 43. The voice detection unit 14 obtains an output value of the voice sensor 140 as a detection result of the performer's voice entering the inside of the mouthpiece 4, and outputs data indicating the output value to the CPU 8 as voice detection information indicating the detection result.

[0019] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the lead portion 41 has a plate-shaped lead substrate 44 made of an insulating material. The lead substrate 44 has a tip end 44a and a heel end 44b. The tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 is the end that is not fixed by the fixing metal fitting 42 of the lead portion 41. The heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 is the end that is fixed by the fixing metal fitting 42 of the lead portion 41.

[0020] On the lead substrate 44, a plurality of sensors S0 to S12 of the contact detection unit 7 are arranged at equal intervals in a direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44. The sensors S0 to S12 are capacitive touch sensors that detect contact by the player. Each of the sensors S0 to S12 has an electrode that is rectangular in plan view as a sensing pad.

[0021] The sensors S0 to S12 included in the contact detection unit 7 function as lip sensors that detect the contact of the player's lower lip with the reed portion 41. That is, the contact detection unit 7 acquires the output values ​​of the sensors S0 to S12, which are capacitances detected by the sensors S0 to S12, as detection results of the contact of the player's lower lip with the reed portion 41, and outputs data indicating the output values ​​to the CPU 8 as lip detection information indicating the detection results. Of the sensors S0 to S12 included in the contact detection unit 7, the sensor S0 arranged at a position closest to the tip-side end 44a of the reed substrate 44 functions as the lip sensor described above, and also functions as a tongue sensor that detects the contact of the player's tongue with the reed portion 41. That is, the contact detection unit 7 acquires the output value of the sensor S0, which is capacitances detected by the sensor S0, as detection results of the contact of the player's tongue with the reed portion 41, and outputs data indicating the output value to the CPU 8 as tongue detection information indicating the detection results.

[0022] In the present embodiment, the sensors S0 to S12 are described as being capacitive touch sensors, but this is merely an example, and the sensors S0 to S12 may be any sensor capable of detecting a touch by a player. For example, the sensors S0 to S12 may be resistive touch sensors. Alternatively, the sensors S0 to S12 may be pressure sensors. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the electrodes of the sensors S0 to S12 are described as being rectangular in plan view, but this is merely an example, and the shape of the electrodes may be any shape. For example, the electrodes of the sensors S0 to S12 may be V-shaped or wavy in plan view. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the sensors S0 to S12 are described as being 13 sensors arranged on the lead substrate 44, but this is merely an example, and the number of sensors may be any number.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of sensors S13 to S22 of the thumb detection unit 15 are arranged on the touchpad 13. The sensors S13 to S22 are capacitive touch sensors that detect touch by the performer. Each of the sensors S13 to S22 has an electrode that is rectangular in plan view as a sensing pad. For ease of understanding, an x-coordinate axis shown in FIG. 7 is set below. Hereinafter, the positive direction of the x-axis is referred to as "right" and the negative direction of the x-axis is referred to as "left". The sensors S13 to S22 are arranged at equal intervals on the touchpad 13 in the right direction, that is, in the direction from the left end 13a of the touchpad 13 to the right end 13b of the touchpad 13. The right direction is an example of a reference direction. The sensors S13 to S22 of the thumb detection unit 15 function as thumb sensors that detect the touch of the performer's thumb on the touchpad 13. That is, the thumb detection unit 15 acquires the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, which are the capacitances detected by the sensors S13 to S22, as the detection results of the contact of the performer's thumb with the touchpad 13, and outputs data indicating the output values ​​to the CPU 8 as thumb detection information indicating the detection results.

[0024] Each of the sensors S13 to S22, which are thumb sensors, is uniquely assigned in advance as an identifier an integer from 1 to 10. Specifically, each of the sensors S13 to S22 is assigned as an identifier an integer from 1 to 10 such that a sensor that is closer to the right end 13b of the touchpad 13 among the sensors S13 to S22 is assigned an identifier an integer from 1 to 10.

[0025] In this embodiment, the sensors S13 to S22 are described as being capacitive touch sensors, but this is merely an example, and the sensors S13 to S22 may be any sensor capable of detecting a touch by a player. For example, the sensors S13 to S22 may be resistive touch sensors. Alternatively, the sensors S13 to S22 may be pressure sensors. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the electrodes of the sensors S13 to S22 are described as being rectangular in plan view, but this is merely an example, and the shape of the electrodes may be any shape. For example, the electrodes of the sensors S13 to S22 may be V-shaped or wavy in plan view. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the sensors S13 to S22 are described as being ten sensors arranged on the touch pad 13, but this is merely an example, and the number of sensors may be any number.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 8, the electronic musical instrument 1 having the above-mentioned physical configuration functionally comprises a breath pressure information acquisition section 100, a voice detection information acquisition section 101, a lip detection information acquisition section 102, a tongue detection information acquisition section 103, a key / switch information acquisition section 104, a synthesis ratio determination section 105, a volume determination section 106, a pitch determination section 107, a thumb detection information acquisition section 108, a thumb contact determination section 109, a thumb position calculation section 110, an effect determination section 111, and a musical tone output section 112. The breath pressure information acquisition section 100 to the musical tone output section 112 are realized by the CPU 8. That is, the CPU 8 executes a program stored in the ROM 9 to control the electronic musical instrument 1, thereby functioning as the breath pressure information acquisition section 100 to the musical tone output section 112. Note that Fig. 8 shows only the functional configuration related to the characteristic section of the present invention among the functional configuration of the electronic musical instrument 1. The electronic musical instrument 1 may include any functional configuration not shown in Fig. 8. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may include a display control unit that controls the display of images by the display unit 16 described above.

[0027] The breath pressure information acquisition unit 100 acquires data indicating the output value of the pressure sensor 60 from the breath pressure detection unit 6 as breath pressure information indicating the detection result of the pressure of the breath of the performer blown into the mouthpiece 4. The voice detection information acquisition unit 101 acquires data indicating the output value of the voice sensor 140 from the voice detection unit 14 as voice detection information indicating the detection result of the voice of the performer entering the inside of the mouthpiece 4. The lip detection information acquisition unit 102 acquires data indicating the output values ​​of the sensors S0 to S12, which are lip sensors, from the contact detection unit 7 as lip detection information indicating the detection result of the contact of the performer's lower lip with the reed section 41. The tongue detection information acquisition unit 103 acquires data indicating the output value of the sensor S0, which is a tongue sensor, from the contact detection unit 7 as tongue detection information indicating the detection result of the contact of the performer's tongue with the reed section 41. The key / switch information acquisition unit 104 acquires key / switch information indicating the detection result of the operation of a plurality of keys provided on the operator 3, including the performance keys and the setting keys, from the operator 3.

[0028] In this embodiment, four types of sound data, normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data, are stored in advance in the ROM 9, and the electronic musical instrument 1 generates a digital musical tone signal by synthesizing these sound data according to the synthesis ratio of these sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105, and generates a musical tone represented by the generated digital musical tone signal. The normal sound data is sound data representing a musical tone generated by the electronic musical instrument 1 during normal performance. The growl sound data is sound data representing a musical tone generated by the electronic musical instrument 1 when the performer is performing growl. The subtone sound data is sound data representing a musical tone generated by the electronic musical instrument 1 when the performer is performing subtone performance. The subtone performance is a performance method in which the mouthpiece 4 is held shallower than during normal performance and a softer tone is generated by blowing into the mouthpiece 4. The percussive tone sound data is sound data representing a musical tone generated by the electronic musical instrument 1 when the performer is performing percussive tone performance. Percussive tone performance is a performance method in which the mouthpiece 4 is held deeper in the mouth than in normal performance, and then the mouthpiece 4 is blown into to produce a musical tone with a clearer tone than in normal performance. The normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data are generated by an external information processing device such as a PC or smartphone by recording with a microphone the musical tones produced from a saxophone, which is an acoustic wind instrument, when normal performance, growl, subtone performance, and percussive tone performance are performed, respectively, using the saxophone, which is an acoustic wind instrument, and then the data is imported into the electronic musical instrument 1 and pre-stored in the ROM 9.

[0029] The synthesis ratio determination unit 105 determines synthesis ratios of normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data according to the breath pressure information acquired by the breath pressure information acquisition unit 100, the voice detection information acquired by the voice detection information acquisition unit 101, and the lip detection information acquired by the lip detection information acquisition unit 102. The volume determination unit 106 determines the volume of the musical sound according to the breath pressure information acquired by the breath pressure information acquisition unit 100 and the tongue detection information acquired by the tongue detection information acquisition unit 103. The pitch determination unit 107 determines the pitch of the musical sound according to the key / switch information acquired by the key / switch information acquisition unit 104.

[0030] The thumb detection information acquisition unit 108 acquires data indicating output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, which are thumb sensors, from the thumb detection unit 15 as thumb detection information indicating the detection result of the contact of the performer's thumb with the touchpad 13. The thumb contact determination unit 109 determines whether the contact state when the performer's thumb contacts the touchpad 13 is an operation state or a non-operation state, which will be described later, based on the thumb detection information acquired by the thumb detection information acquisition unit 108. The thumb contact determination unit 109 is an example of a determination means. The thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates a thumb position, which is the contact position of the tip of the performer's thumb that contacts the touchpad 13, based on the thumb detection information acquired by the thumb detection information acquisition unit 108. The thumb position is an example of the contact position of the tip of the performer's finger on the contact operation means. The thumb position calculation unit 110 is an example of a contact position calculation means. The effect determination unit 111 determines an effect to be applied to a musical sound according to the key / switch information acquired by the key / switch information acquisition unit 104, the result of the determination by the thumb contact determination unit 109, and the thumb position calculated by the thumb position calculation unit 110. Details of the determination by the thumb contact determination unit 109, the calculation of the thumb position by the thumb position calculation unit 110, and the determination of the effect by the effect determination unit 111 will be described later.

[0031] The musical sound output unit 112 outputs a musical sound generated by synthesizing the normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data stored in the ROM 9 according to the synthesis ratio of each sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105, the musical sound having a volume determined by the volume determination unit 106 and a pitch determined by the pitch determination unit 107, and to which an effect determined by the effect determination unit 111 has been applied. Specifically, the musical sound output unit 112 controls the sound source 11 to generate a digital musical sound signal representing the above-mentioned musical sound, outputs the digital musical sound signal to the sound system 5, and controls the sound system 5 to generate the musical sound represented by the digital musical sound signal input from the sound source 11.

[0032] In this embodiment, the musical sound output unit 112 outputs musical sounds by making the sound system 5 generate musical sounds, but this is merely an example, and the musical sound output unit 112 can output musical sounds in any manner. For example, the musical sound output unit 112 may control the sound source 11 to generate a digital musical sound signal representing a musical sound, and output the digital musical sound signal to an external information processing device such as a PC or a smartphone via an output port (not shown), thereby outputting the musical sound.

[0033] Hereinafter, the details of the generation of the digital musical sound signal executed by the sound source 11 under the control of the musical sound output unit 112 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The sound source 11 operates under the control of the musical sound output unit 112, thereby functioning as the first multiplier P1, the second multiplier P2, the third multiplier P3, the fourth multiplier P4, the fifth multiplier P5, and the adder Q1 shown in Fig. 9.

[0034] The sound source 11 reads out normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data and percussive tone sound data prestored in the ROM 9, at pitches determined by the pitch determination unit 107, under the control of the musical sound output unit 112. The first multiplier P1 multiplies the read out normal sound data by a multiplier corresponding to the synthesis ratio of the normal sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105. The second multiplier P2 multiplies the read out growl sound data by a multiplier corresponding to the synthesis ratio of the growl sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105. The third multiplier P3 multiplies the read out subtone sound data by a multiplier corresponding to the synthesis ratio of the subtone sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105. The fourth multiplier P4 multiplies the read out percussive tone sound data by a multiplier corresponding to the synthesis ratio of the percussive tone sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105. The adder Q1 adds the output value of the first multiplier P1, the output value of the second multiplier P2, the output value of the third multiplier P3, and the output value of the fourth multiplier P4 to each other. As a result, the normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data read from the ROM 9 are mixed according to the synthesis ratio of each sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105.

[0035] The sound source 11, under the control of the musical sound output unit 112, applies the effect determined by the effect determination unit 111 to the output value of the adder Q1. The fifth multiplier P5 multiplies the output value after the effect is applied by a multiplier corresponding to the volume determined by the volume determination unit 106. The sound source 11, under the control of the musical sound output unit 112, outputs the output value of the fifth multiplier P5 to the sound system 5 as a digital musical sound signal representing a musical sound generated by synthesizing normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data according to the synthesis ratio of each sound data determined by the synthesis ratio determination unit 105, having a volume determined by the volume determination unit 106 and a pitch determined by the pitch determination unit 107, and having the effect determined by the effect determination unit 111 applied thereto. The sound system 5 outputs musical tones to which the effect determined by the effect determination section 111 has been applied in accordance with the digital musical tone signal input from the sound source 11 under the control of the musical tone output section 112 .

[0036] The details of the contact state determination by the thumb contact determination unit 109 will be described below. The thumb contact determination unit 109 determines whether the contact state when the performer's thumb contacts the touchpad 13 is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state, based on the thumb detection information acquired by the thumb detection information acquisition unit 108. Specifically, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is the operation state at least when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is a first contact state described below, and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not a second contact state described below. On the other hand, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is the non-touch operation state at least when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is a second contact state.

[0037] The first contact state is a state in which the performer bends the thumb of the right hand toward the palm of the right hand, and the tip of the thumb of the performer touches the touchpad 13. The second contact state is a state in which the performer naturally extends the thumb of the right hand, and the pad of the thumb of the performer touches the touchpad 13. The area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 differs between the first contact state and the second contact state. Specifically, the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is smaller when the thumb is in the first contact state than when the thumb is in the second contact state. More specifically, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the thumb contact state is the first contact state, the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined first reference area. In other words, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is larger than the first reference area, the thumb contact state is not the first contact state. The first reference area is a value obtained by multiplying the average value of the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the tip of the thumb of the performer is in contact with the touchpad 13 with the thumb of the right hand bent toward the palm of the right hand, which is obtained by an experiment, by a predetermined first multiplier (1.1 in this embodiment). On the other hand, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state, the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is larger than a predetermined second reference area that is larger than the above-mentioned first reference area. In other words, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is equal to or smaller than the second reference area, the contact state of the thumb is not the second contact state. The second reference area is a value obtained by multiplying the average value of the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the tip of the thumb of the performer is in contact with the touchpad 13 with the thumb of the right hand naturally extended, which is obtained by an experiment, by a predetermined second multiplier (0.9 in this embodiment).

[0038] In this embodiment, if the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is equal to or smaller than the first reference area, the contact state of the thumb is the first contact state, and if the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is greater than the first reference area, the contact state of the thumb is not the first contact state; however, this is merely an example. If the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is smaller than the first reference area, the contact state of the thumb may be the first contact state, and if the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is equal to or larger than the first reference area, the contact state of the thumb may not be the first contact state. In addition, in this embodiment, if the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is greater than the second reference area, the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state, and if the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is equal to or smaller than the second reference area, the contact state of the thumb is not the second contact state; however, this is merely an example. If the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is equal to or larger than the second reference area, the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state, and if the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is smaller than the second reference area, the contact state of the thumb is not the second contact state.

[0039] In this embodiment, the first reference area is described as a value obtained by multiplying the average value of the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the tip of the thumb of the performer touches the touchpad 13 with the thumb bent toward the palm of the right hand, which is obtained by experiment, by the first multiplier, but this is merely an example. The first reference area can be set arbitrarily according to the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the tip of the thumb of the performer touches the touchpad 13 with the thumb bent toward the palm of the right hand. For example, the first reference area may be a value obtained by multiplying the median value of the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the tip of the thumb of the performer touches the touchpad 13 with the thumb bent toward the palm of the right hand, which is obtained by experiment, by the first multiplier. In addition, in this embodiment, the second reference area is described as a value obtained by multiplying the average value of the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the performer's right thumb is naturally extended and the ball of the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13, which is obtained by experiment, by the second multiplier, but this is merely an example. The second reference area can be set arbitrarily according to the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the performer's right thumb is naturally extended and the ball of the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13. For example, the second reference area may be a value obtained by multiplying the median value of the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 when the performer's right thumb is naturally extended and the ball of the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13, which is obtained by experiment, by the second multiplier.

[0040] When a performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect corresponding to the thumb position is applied when playing the electronic musical instrument 1, the performer bends the thumb of the right hand toward the palm of the right hand and touches the tip of the thumb to the touch pad 13. That is, when a performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect corresponding to the thumb position is applied when playing the electronic musical instrument 1, the performer brings the thumb into contact with the touch pad 13 in a first contact state. In contrast, when a performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect corresponding to the thumb position is not applied, the performer brings the pad of the thumb into contact with the touch pad 13 in a naturally extended state. That is, when a performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect corresponding to the thumb position is not applied when playing the electronic musical instrument 1, the performer brings the thumb into contact with the touch pad 13 in a second contact state. Alternatively, when a performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect corresponding to the thumb position is not applied, the performer holds the tube unit 2 in the hand so that the thumb of the right hand does not come into contact with the touch pad 13.

[0041] The above-mentioned operation state, including a state in which the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state, and a state in which the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state, is a contact state of the thumb of the performer on the touchpad 13 when the performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect according to the thumb position is applied. In contrast, the above-mentioned non-operation state, including a state in which the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and a state in which the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state, is a contact state of the thumb of the performer on the touchpad 13 when the performer desires to output a musical sound to which an effect according to the thumb position is not applied. The thumb contact determination unit 109 can determine whether the contact state when the thumb of the performer contacts the touchpad 13 is the operation state or the non-operation state, thereby determining whether the performer desires to apply an effect according to the thumb position to the musical sound.

[0042] The thumb contact determination unit 109 performs a process of removing noise from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, which are thumb sensors indicated by the thumb detection information acquired by the thumb detection information acquisition unit 108, and determines whether the contact state of the thumb is an operating state or a non-operating state based on the magnitude relationship between the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after the noise removal and a determination threshold value described later. Specifically, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb on the touch pad 13 is an operating state when the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after the noise removal is equal to or greater than the determination threshold value. On the other hand, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb on the touch pad 13 is a non-operating state when the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after the noise removal is smaller than the determination threshold value. Details of the process of removing noise from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 will be described later.

[0043] Experiments conducted by the inventors of the present invention have revealed that the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is in contact with touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state and when the thumb is in contact with touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state is greater than the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is not in contact with touchpad 13 and when the thumb is in contact with touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state. That is, the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise removal in a second contact state where the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is larger than that in the first contact state and the thumb is in contact with a plurality of sensors among the sensors S13-S22 is smaller than the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise removal in a first contact state where the area of ​​the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 is smaller than that in the second contact state and the thumb is in contact with a single or a small number of sensors among the sensors S13-S22. Also, the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise removal in a state where the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13, i.e., where the thumb is not in contact with any of the sensors S13-S22, is smaller than the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise removal in a first contact state where the thumb is in contact with a single or a small number of sensors among the sensors S13-S22.

[0044] The above-mentioned determination threshold is preset according to the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state, and the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state. Specifically, the determination threshold is preset to a value smaller than the average value of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state, which are obtained by an experiment, and larger than the average value of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state, which are obtained by an experiment.

[0045] With this configuration, the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal is greater than the judgment threshold when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is a first contact state described below, and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not a second contact state described below. Therefore, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is an operation state when the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal is equal to or greater than the judgment threshold, thereby determining that the contact state of the thumb is an operation state at least when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is a first contact state described below, and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not a second contact state described below. On the other hand, the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal is smaller than the judgment threshold when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is a second contact state. Therefore, when the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal is smaller than the judgment threshold, the thumb contact judgment unit 109 judges that the contact state of the thumb is a non-operation state, and thereby judges that the contact state of the thumb is a non-operation state at least in the cases where the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and where the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state.

[0046] In this embodiment, the judgment threshold is described as being preset to a value that is smaller than the average value of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state, as determined by experiment, and is greater than the average value of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state, as determined by experiment, but this is merely one example. The judgment threshold can be arbitrarily set according to the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state, and the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state. For example, the judgment threshold may be set to a value that is smaller than the median of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state, which are obtained by an experiment, and is larger than the median of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when the thumb is not in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state, which are obtained by an experiment.

[0047] The following describes in detail the process of removing noise from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, executed by the thumb contact determination unit 109. The thumb contact determination unit 109 obtains a useful offset value, which is a correction value for removing noise from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, based on the thumb detection information acquired by the thumb detection information acquisition unit 108, and removes noise from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 by reducing the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 indicated by the thumb detection information in accordance with the obtained useful offset value.

[0048] Specifically, the thumb contact determination unit 109 calculates the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 indicated by the thumb detection information, and detects the minimum value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 indicated by the thumb detection information. Then, the thumb contact determination unit 109 calculates a useful offset value according to the calculated average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 and the detected minimum value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 according to the following formula (1). In formula (1), U represents the useful offset value, Savg represents the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, and Smin represents the minimum value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22. Furthermore, in formula (1), Wght represents a useful offset coefficient, which is a predetermined coefficient for calculating the useful offset value. In this embodiment, the accuracy of noise removal when various values ​​are used as the useful offset coefficient is obtained by experiment, and a value that provides the highest accuracy of noise removal is set in advance as the useful offset coefficient. Specifically, in this embodiment, the useful offset coefficient is set to 0.5. U=Savg+(Savg-Smin)×Wght ···(1)

[0049] The thumb contact determination unit 109 reduces the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 in accordance with the acquired useful offset value, thereby removing the influence of noise from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22. Specifically, the thumb contact determination unit 109 subtracts the useful offset value from the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, and if the output value after the subtraction is 0 or greater, it acquires the output value after the subtraction as the reduced output value, and if the output value after the subtraction is less than 0, it acquires 0 as the reduced output value.

[0050] When the thumb is in contact with the touch pad 13 and the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state, the number of sensors S13 to S22 in which the thumb is in contact is greater than when the contact state of the thumb is the first contact state, and the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 is greater. On the other hand, when the thumb is in the second contact state, the difference between the output value of the sensor S13 to S22 that the thumb is not in contact with and the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 is greater than when the contact state of the thumb is the first contact state, so the useful offset value calculated according to the above formula (1) is larger. Therefore, when the thumb is in the second contact state, the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after reduction according to the useful offset value is smaller than when the thumb is in the first contact state. When the thumb is not in contact with the touch pad 13, i.e., when the thumb is not in contact with any of the sensors S13 to S22, the output values ​​of the sensors are all the same, and the useful offset value calculated according to the above formula (1) is the same as the output value of each sensor. Therefore, the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after being reduced according to the useful offset value are all 0, and the sum of these output values ​​is also 0.

[0051] Hereinafter, an explanation will be given using examples of actual measurement values ​​of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(a) to Fig. 10(d) as specific examples. Fig. 10(a) shows an example of actual measurement values ​​of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state. Fig. 10(b) shows an example of actual measurement values ​​of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 when the tip of the thumb is in contact with the center position of the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state. Fig. 10(c) shows an example of actual measurement values ​​of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 when the tip of the thumb is in contact with the first position to the right of the center position of the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state. Fig. 10(d) shows an example of actual measurement values ​​of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 when the tip of the thumb is in contact with the second position to the right of the first position of the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state.

[0052] The average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in FIG. 10(a) is 94. On the other hand, the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in FIG. 10(b) is 76, the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in FIG. 10(c) is 73, and the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in FIG. 10(d) is 59. That is, the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 is larger when the thumb is in contact with the touch pad 13 shown in FIG. 10(a) and the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state than when the contact state of the thumb is the first contact state shown in FIG. 10(b) to FIG. 10(d). The useful offset value calculated according to the above formula (1) based on the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in FIG. 10(a) is 121. On the other hand, the useful offset value calculated based on the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(b) is 94, the useful offset value calculated based on the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(c) is 89.5, and the useful offset value calculated based on the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(d) is 68.5. That is, the useful offset value is larger when the thumb is in contact with the touch pad 13 shown in Fig. 10(a) and the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state than when the contact state of the thumb is the first contact state shown in Fig. 10(b) to Fig. 10(d). The sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(a) after reduction according to the useful offset value is 36. On the other hand, the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(b) after reduction in accordance with the useful offset value is 84, the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(c) after reduction in accordance with the useful offset value is 102, and the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 shown in Fig. 10(d) after reduction in accordance with the useful offset value is 94.5. That is, the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after reduction in accordance with the useful offset value is smaller when the thumb is in contact with touchpad 13 shown in Fig. 10(a) and the contact state of the thumb is the second contact state than when the contact state of the thumb is the first contact state shown in Figs. 10(b) to 10(d).Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the above-mentioned determination threshold is preset to 60 based on examples of actual measured output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 shown in Figs. 10(a) to 10(d).

[0053] As described above, thumb contact determination unit 109 acquires a useful offset value based on the thumb detection information, performs a process of removing noise from the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 using the acquired useful offset value, and determines whether the contact state of the thumb is an operating state or a non-operating state based on the magnitude relationship between the sum of the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal and the determination threshold.

[0054] The calculation of the thumb position by the thumb position calculation unit 110 will be described in detail below. The thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, which are sum sensors after noise has been removed by the above-mentioned process. Specifically, the sensors S13 to S22 are previously associated with values ​​indicating the positions of the sensors, and the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the sum position by weighted averaging the values ​​indicating the positions of the sensors S13 to S22 using the output values ​​of the sensors after noise removal as weights according to the following formula (2). In formula (2), Xg represents the thumb position, and Xi represents a value indicating the position of the sensor that is associated with the number i of the sensors S13 to S22 as the identifier described above. Furthermore, in formula (2), Mi represents the output value after noise removal of the sensor that is identified and associated with the number i of the sensors S13 to S22, and N represents the number of thumb sensors that the electronic musical instrument 1 has. Since the electronic musical instrument 1 has ten sensors S13 to S22 as sum sensors, N is ten.

[0055]

number

[0056] The sensors S13 to S22 are uniquely assigned in advance to numbers in increments of 1 / 9 from 0 to 1.0 as values ​​indicating their positions. Specifically, the sensors S13 to S22 are assigned to numbers in increments of 1 / 9 from 0 to 1.0 as values ​​indicating their positions such that the closer the sensors S13 to S22 are positioned at the right end 13b of the touch pad 13, the greater the value is assigned to the sensors. The thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates a value in the range of 0 to 1.0 as the thumb position by taking a weighted average of the numbers in the range of 0 to 1.0 indicating the positions of the sensors S13 to S22 according to the above-mentioned formula (2) using the output values ​​of each sensor after noise removal as weights. Note that in this embodiment, the sensors S13 to S22 are assigned to numbers in increments of 1 / 9 from 0 to 1.0 as values ​​indicating the positions of the sensors, but this is merely an example, and any value can be assigned to the sensors S13 to S22 as values ​​indicating the positions of the sensors. For example, the distance from the left end 13a of the touch pad 13 to each of the sensors S13 to S22 may be previously associated with each of the sensors as a value indicating the position of each sensor.

[0057] The details of the effect determination by the effect determination unit 111 will be described below. When the tip of the thumb of the performer contacts the touchpad 13 in a state where the effect application function using the touchpad 13 is enabled, the electronic musical instrument 1 outputs a musical tone to which a pitch bend is applied according to the thumb position, which is the contact position of the tip of the thumb. The pitch bend is an effect that continuously changes the pitch of the musical tone. The effect determination unit 111 determines whether or not the effect application function using the touchpad 13 is enabled based on the detection result of the operation on the above-mentioned effect setting key indicated by the key / switch information acquisition unit 104. When it is determined that the effect application function is not enabled, that is, the effect application function is disabled, the effect determination unit 111 determines not to apply a pitch bend to the musical tone. On the other hand, when it is determined that the effect application function is enabled, the effect determination unit 111 determines the pitch bend to be applied to the musical tone according to the result of the determination by the thumb contact determination unit 109 and the thumb position calculated by the thumb position calculation unit 110.

[0058] Specifically, when it is determined that the effect applying function is enabled and the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the thumb contact state is an operating state, the effect determination unit 111 refers to pitch bend determination information pre-stored in the ROM 9, specifies the pitch change amount corresponding to the thumb position calculated by the thumb position calculation unit 110, and determines the pitch bend according to the specified pitch change amount as the pitch bend corresponding to the thumb position to be applied to the musical sound. The pitch bend determination information is data representing the correspondence between the thumb position and the pitch change amount by the pitch bend. The pitch bend determination information is generated by accepting an operation by an external information processing device such as a PC or a smartphone to set the correspondence between the thumb position and the pitch change amount by the user, and is then imported into the electronic musical instrument 1 and pre-stored in the ROM 9.

[0059] As described above, the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates a value in the range of 0 to 1.0 as the thumb position by taking a weighted average of the numbers from 0 to 1.0 indicating the positions of the sensors S13 to S22 using the output values ​​of each sensor after noise removal as weights according to the above-mentioned formula (2). When the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact condition is established, the effect determination unit 111 determines the pitch bend to be applied to the musical tone according to the value in the range of 0 to 1.0 calculated as the thumb position by the thumb position calculation unit 110. Note that the thumb position calculation unit 110 may convert the value in the range of 0 to 1.0 calculated according to the above-mentioned formula (2) by multiplying the value by 16383 and rounding down the decimal points of the resultant value to an integer value in the range of 0 to 16383 and expressed as 14 bits, which is equivalent to two 7-bit parameters corresponding to the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard, and obtain the value expressed as 14 bits as the thumb position. In this case, when thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact condition is met, effect determination unit 111 determines the pitch bend to be applied to the musical tone according to the value represented by 14 bits acquired as the thumb position by thumb position calculation unit 110. Since the parameter of a pitch bend message in the MIDI standard is 14 bits, the most significant 7 bits of the acquired 14-bit value are set as the MSB (Most Significant Bit) of the pitch bend message, and the least significant 7 bits are set as the LSB (Least Significant Bit) of the pitch bend message.

[0060] FIG. 11 shows the correspondence between the thumb position and the pitch change amount represented by the pitch bend determination information described above. The correspondence shown in FIG. 11 is set so that a negative pitch change amount is associated with a thumb position to the left of 0.5, which is the center position of the touch pad 13, i.e., a thumb position indicated by a value smaller than 0.5, and a positive pitch change amount is associated with a thumb position to the right of 0.5, i.e., a thumb position indicated by a value larger than 0.5. When the pitch change amount corresponding to a thumb position is a positive value, the effect determination unit 111 determines a pitch bend that raises the pitch of a musical tone as the pitch bend corresponding to the thumb position. On the other hand, when the pitch change amount corresponding to a thumb position is a negative value, the effect determination unit 111 determines a pitch bend that lowers the pitch of a musical tone as the pitch bend corresponding to the thumb position. A pitch bend that raises the pitch is sometimes called a bend up. A pitch bend that lowers the pitch is sometimes called a bend down.

[0061] The correspondence shown in FIG. 11 is set so that the pitch change amount with a larger absolute value is associated with a thumb position farther from 0.5, which is the center position of the touch pad 13. The effect determination unit 111 determines a pitch bend that changes the pitch of a musical tone by an interval according to the absolute value of the pitch change amount corresponding to the thumb position as the pitch bend corresponding to the thumb position. In FIG. 11, Gmax indicates the maximum pitch change amount of a musical tone by the pitch bend determined by the effect determination unit 111. The effect determination unit 111 determines a pitch bend to be applied to a musical tone in a range from a pitch bend that lowers the pitch of the musical tone by Gmax, which corresponds to the thumb position being 0, to a pitch bend that raises the pitch of the musical tone by Gmax, which corresponds to the thumb position being 1.0, according to the correspondence shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, Gmax is set to a value corresponding to an interval of one octave. Note that this is merely an example, and Gmax can be set to any value. For example, Gmax may be set to a value corresponding to an interval of two octaves. As shown in Fig. 11, the pitch change amount corresponding to 0.5, which is the center position of the touchpad 13, is set to 0. When the thumb position is 0.5, the effect determination unit 111 determines that no pitch bend is to be applied to the musical tone by identifying the pitch change amount corresponding to the thumb position as 0 according to the correspondence relationship shown in Fig. 11. That is, in this embodiment, 0.5, which is the center position of the touchpad 13, is set as a neutral position where no pitch bend is applied to the musical tone.

[0062] As described above, when it is determined that the effect applying function is enabled and the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is an operating state, the effect determination unit 111 refers to the pitch bend determination information to identify the pitch change amount corresponding to the thumb position calculated by the thumb position calculation unit 110, and determines the pitch bend corresponding to the identified pitch change amount as the pitch bend corresponding to the thumb position to be applied to the musical sound. On the other hand, when it is determined that the effect applying function is enabled and the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is a non-operating state, the effect determination unit 111 acquires 0.5, which is a neutral position where no pitch bend is applied to the musical sound, as the thumb position, regardless of the actual contact position of the tip of the player's thumb on the touch pad 13. In this case, the effect determination unit 111 refers to the pitch bend determination information to identify the pitch change amount corresponding to the acquired thumb position of 0.5 as 0, thereby determining that no pitch bend is applied to the musical sound. In other words, when it is determined that the effect application function is enabled, if the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the thumb contact state is a non-operation state, the effect determination unit 111 acquires the neutral position of 0.5 as the thumb position and thereby determines not to apply a pitch bend to the musical sound.

[0063] When the effect applying function is enabled and thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is an operating state, effect determination unit 111 determines a pitch bend according to the thumb position calculated by thumb position calculation unit 110 as the pitch bend to be applied to the musical sound, and musical sound output unit 112 outputs the musical sound to which the pitch bend determined by effect determination unit 111 has been applied. On the other hand, when the effect applying function is enabled and thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is a non-operating state, effect determination unit 111 determines that a pitch bend is not to be applied to the musical sound by acquiring 0.5, which is a neutral position where no pitch bend is applied to the musical sound, as the thumb position, and musical sound output unit 112 outputs the musical sound to which no pitch bend is applied in accordance with the determination by effect determination unit 111. According to such a configuration, when the effect application function using the touch pad 13 is set to be active, if the performer does not wish to apply a pitch bend, no pitch bend is applied to the musical tone, and a pitch bend is applied to the musical tone only when the performer wishes to apply a pitch bend.

[0064] When the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is an operating state, and the musical sound output unit 112 outputs a musical sound to which a pitch bend according to the thumb position is applied. On the other hand, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is a non-operating state, and the musical sound output unit 112 outputs a musical sound to which a pitch bend is not applied. With this configuration, when the effect application function is enabled, the performer can switch whether or not to apply a pitch bend to a musical sound by performing an intuitive and simple operation of switching the contact state of the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 between the first contact state, i.e., the performer bends the thumb toward the palm and the tip of the performer's thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13, and the second contact state, i.e., the performer naturally extends the thumb and the pad of the performer's thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13. In other words, with this configuration, it is possible to switch whether or not to apply pitch bend to a musical sound, without the need for the cumbersome operation of switching the effect application function on / off by operating the effect setting key provided on the operator 3. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to improve convenience for the performer.

[0065] As described above, the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of the multiple sensors S13-S22 that are arranged in the right direction on the touchpad 13 and detect contact by the player. The thumb contact determination unit 109 also determines whether the contact state of the thumb is an operating state or a non-operating state based on the magnitude relationship between the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise has been removed and a determination threshold. With this configuration, the contact state of the thumb is determined using the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22, which are thumb sensors used to detect the thumb position, so that the configuration of the electronic musical instrument 1 can be simplified and the manufacturing costs of the electronic musical instrument 1 can be reduced compared to a case in which a dedicated sensor for determining the contact state of the thumb is provided in addition to the sensors S13-S22.

[0066] As described above, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines whether the contact state of the thumb is an operating state or a non-operating state based on the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal. With this configuration, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the determination regarding the contact state of the thumb, and reduce the possibility that a musical tone different from the musical tone desired by the performer will be output.

[0067] As described above, the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position using the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal. This configuration improves the detection accuracy of the thumb position and reduces the possibility that a musical tone different from the musical tone desired by the performer will be output.

[0068] In this embodiment, the electronic musical instrument 1 is described as applying a pitch bend to a musical tone according to the thumb position, but this is merely an example, and the electronic musical instrument 1 can apply any effect to the musical tone according to the thumb position. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may apply a modulation to the musical tone, which is an effect that periodically changes the pitch or volume of the musical tone according to the thumb position. In this case, the effect determination unit 111 may specify a change period corresponding to the thumb position, and determine a modulation that increases or decreases the pitch or volume of the musical tone at the specified change period as the modulation corresponding to the thumb position to be applied to the musical tone. The modulation may also be called vibrato. Alternatively, the electronic musical instrument 1 may apply a reverb to the musical tone, which is an effect that adds reverberation to the musical tone, according to the thumb position. In this case, the effect determination unit 111 may specify a reverb send value corresponding to the thumb position, that is, the amount of musical tone to be sent to the reverb addition unit, and determine the degree of reverb applied to the musical tone, that is, the intensity, with the specified reverb send value. Alternatively, the electronic musical instrument 1 may impart a delay effect, which is an effect that synthesizes a delayed sound to a musical sound according to the thumb position, to the musical sound. In this case, the effect determination unit 111 may determine a delay time corresponding to the thumb position, and determine a delay that synthesizes a delayed sound, which is generated with a delay from the musical sound by the specified delay time, to the musical sound as the delay that corresponds to the thumb position to be imparted to the musical sound.

[0069] In this embodiment, the neutral position is set to 0.5, which is the center position of the touchpad 13, and the pitch bend with a larger pitch change is applied to the musical tone as the thumb position is farther to the right or left from the neutral position of 0.5. However, this is merely an example, and any position can be set as the neutral position where no pitch bend is applied to the musical tone. For example, the neutral position may be set to 0, which is the position corresponding to the left end 13a of the touchpad 13, and the pitch bend with a larger pitch change is applied to the musical tone as the thumb position is farther to the right from the neutral position of 0. Alternatively, the neutral position may be set to 1.0, which is the position corresponding to the right end 13b of the touchpad 13, and the pitch bend with a larger pitch change is applied to the musical tone as the thumb position is farther to the left from the neutral position of 1.0. In addition, when 0 or 1.0 is set as the neutral position, it is sufficient to set in advance that either a pitch bend that raises the pitch of the musical tone or a pitch bend that lowers the pitch of the musical tone is applied to the musical tone depending on the thumb position.

[0070] In this embodiment, when the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the thumb contact state is a non-operating state, the effect determination unit 111 acquires the neutral position of 0.5 as the thumb position and determines not to apply a pitch bend to the musical sound, but this is merely an example. When the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the thumb contact state is a non-operating state, the effect determination unit 111 may determine not to apply a pitch bend to the musical sound without acquiring the neutral position of 0.5 as the thumb position.

[0071] The musical tone generation process executed by the electronic musical instrument 1 having the above-mentioned physical and functional configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 12. Note that Fig. 12 shows only the processes related to the characteristic features of the present invention, among the processes that the electronic musical instrument 1 can execute. The electronic musical instrument 1 can execute any process not shown in Fig. 12. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may execute a display control process that controls the display of an image by the above-mentioned display unit 16. When the performer turns on the power of the electronic musical instrument 1 by operating the above-mentioned power key provided on the operator 3, the CPU 8 starts the musical tone generation process shown in the flowchart in Fig. 12.

[0072] When the musical sound generation process is started, first, the CPU 8 executes an initialization process to initialize various settings of the electronic musical instrument 1 (step S101). After executing the process of step S101, the key / switch information acquisition unit 104 acquires key / switch information indicating the detection result of the operation on the multiple keys of the operator 3 from the operator 3 (step S102). After executing the process of step S102, the pitch determination unit 107 determines the pitch of the musical sound according to the detection result of the operation on the multiple keys indicated by the key / switch information acquired in step S102 (step S103).

[0073] After executing the process of step S103, the breath pressure information acquisition unit 100 acquires from the breath pressure detection unit 6 breath pressure information indicating the output value of the pressure sensor 60 that detects the pressure of the performer's breath blown into the mouthpiece 4 (step S104). After executing the process of step S104, the voice detection information acquisition unit 101 acquires from the voice detection unit 14 voice detection information indicating the output value of the voice sensor 140 that detects the performer's voice that has entered the mouthpiece 4 (step S105). After executing the process of step S105, the lip detection information acquisition unit 102 acquires from the contact detection unit 7 lip detection information indicating the output values ​​of the sensors S0 to S12 that are lip sensors (step S106). After executing the process of step S106, the tongue detection information acquisition unit 103 acquires from the contact detection unit 7 tongue detection information indicating the output value of the sensor S0 that is a tongue sensor (step S107). After the process of step S107 is performed, the synthesis ratio determination unit 105 determines the synthesis ratio of each of the normal sound data, the growl sound data, the subtone sound data, and the percussive sound data according to the breath pressure information acquired in step S104, the voice detection information acquired in step S105, and the lip detection information acquired in step S106 (step S108). After the process of step S108 is performed, the volume determination unit 106 determines the volume of the musical sound according to the breath pressure information acquired in step S104 and the tongue detection information acquired in step S107 (step S109).

[0074] After the process of step S109 is executed, the effect determination unit 111 judges whether or not the effect application function is enabled according to the detection result of the operation on the above-mentioned effect setting key indicated by the key / switch information acquired in step S102 (step S110). If it is determined that the effect application function is disabled (step S110; No), the effect determination unit 111 decides not to apply pitch bend to the musical tone (step S111). On the other hand, if it is determined that the effect application function is enabled (step S110; Yes), the CPU 8 executes thumb detection processing to obtain the thumb position (step S112). The details of the thumb detection processing executed in step S112 will be described later. After the process of step S112 is executed, the effect determination unit 111 determines the pitch bend to be applied to the musical tone according to the thumb position acquired in step S112 (step S113).

[0075] After the process of step S111 or step S113 is executed, the musical sound output unit 112 controls the sound system 5 to generate a musical sound generated by synthesizing the normal sound data, growl sound data, subtone sound data, and percussive tone sound data stored in the ROM 9 according to the synthesis ratio of each sound data determined in step S108, has the volume determined in step S109 and the pitch determined in step S103, and has the effect determined in step S111 or step S113 added thereto (step S114). Specifically, in the process of step S114, the musical sound output unit 112 controls the sound source 11 to generate a digital musical sound signal representing the above-mentioned musical sound, outputs the digital musical sound signal to the sound system 5, and controls the sound system 5 to generate the musical sound represented by the digital musical sound signal input from the sound source 11. In the process of step S114, if a musical tone is being generated and the volume determined in step S109 is 0, a process is performed to mute the generated musical tone. In contrast, in the process of step S114, if a musical tone is not being generated and the volume determined in step S109 is 0, a process is performed to maintain the state in which the musical tone is not generated, that is, the silent state.

[0076] After executing the process of step S114, the CPU 8 judges whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied (step S115). In this embodiment, the end condition is satisfied when the performer turns off the power of the electronic musical instrument 1 by operating the power key provided on the operator 3. Note that this is merely an example, and the end condition can be set arbitrarily. For example, the end condition may be configured to be satisfied when the occurrence of an operational error is detected. If it is determined in step S115 that the end condition is not satisfied (step S115; No), the process returns to step S102. On the other hand, if it is determined that the end condition is satisfied (step S115; Yes), the CPU 8 terminates the musical sound generation process. With this configuration, the CPU 8 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S102 to S115 until it is determined in step S115 that the end condition is satisfied (step S115; Yes).

[0077] The thumb detection process executed in step S112 of the musical sound production process will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0078] When the thumb detection process is started, first, the thumb detection information acquisition unit 108 acquires thumb detection information indicating the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22, which are thumb sensors, from the thumb detection unit 15 (step S201). After executing the process of step S201, the thumb contact determination unit 109 calculates the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 indicated by the thumb detection information acquired in step S201 (step S202). After executing the process of step S202, the thumb contact determination unit 109 detects the minimum value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 indicated by the thumb detection information acquired in step S201 (step S203).

[0079] After executing the process of step S203, thumb contact determination unit 109 acquires a useful offset value according to the average value calculated in step S202 and the minimum value detected in step S203 (step S204). Specifically, in the process of step S204, thumb contact determination unit 109 calculates a useful offset value according to the average value calculated in step S202 and the minimum value detected in step S203 according to the above-mentioned formula (1).

[0080] After executing the process of step S204, thumb contact determination unit 109 removes noise from the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 indicated by the thumb detection information acquired in step S201 by reducing the output values ​​according to the useful offset value acquired in step S204 (step S205). Specifically, in the process of step S205, thumb contact determination unit 109 subtracts the useful offset value from the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22, and if the output value after the subtraction is 0 or greater, acquires the output value after the subtraction as the reduced output value, and if the output value after the subtraction is less than 0, acquires 0 as the reduced output value.

[0081] After executing the process of step S205, the thumb contact determination unit 109 calculates the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after being reduced in step S205 (step S206). After executing the process of step S206, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines whether or not the sum calculated in step S206 is equal to or greater than a determination threshold (60 in this embodiment) (step S207). If it is determined that the sum calculated in step S206 is smaller than the determination threshold (step S207; No), the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb on the touch pad 13 is a non-operation state (step S208). After executing the process of step S208, the effect determination unit 111 acquires 0.5, which is a neutral position where no pitch bend is applied to the musical tone, as the thumb position (step S209), and ends the thumb detection process. After the process of step S209 is executed, in step S113 of the musical sound generation process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the effect determination unit 111 refers to the pitch bend determination information pre-stored in the ROM 9 and determines that the pitch change amount corresponding to the acquired thumb position of 0.5 is 0, thereby determining that no pitch bend is to be applied to the musical sound.

[0082] Returning to Fig. 13, if it is determined in the process of step S207 that the sum calculated in step S206 is equal to or greater than the determination threshold (step S207; Yes), thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb on touchpad 13 is an operating state (step S210). After executing the process of step S210, thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after the reduction in step S205 (step S211), and ends the thumb detection process. Specifically, in the process of step S211, thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position by taking a weighted average of the values ​​indicating the positions of sensors S13 to S22 using the output values ​​of sensors S13 to S22 after the reduction in step S205 as weights, in accordance with the above-mentioned equation (2). After the processing of step S211 is executed, in step S113 of the musical sound generation processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the effect determination unit 111 refers to the pitch bend determination information to identify the amount of pitch change corresponding to the thumb position calculated in step S211, and determines the pitch bend according to the identified amount of pitch change as the pitch bend to be applied to the musical sound.

[0083] As described above, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines whether the contact state when the player's thumb contacts the touchpad 13 is an operating state or a non-operating state. Specifically, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state is an operating state when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state, and when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is not the second contact state. When the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is the operating state, the electronic musical instrument 1 imparts a pitch bend to a musical tone. With this configuration, in a state in which the effect imparting function using the touchpad 13 is set to be active, if the player does not wish to impart a pitch bend, the pitch bend is not imparted to the musical tone, and the pitch bend is imparted to the musical tone only if the player wishes to impart a pitch bend.

[0084] As described above, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the first contact state, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is an operating state, and the musical sound output unit 112 outputs a musical sound to which a pitch bend has been added according to the thumb position. On the other hand, when the thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13 and the contact state is the second contact state, the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is a non-operating state, and the musical sound output unit 112 outputs a musical sound to which no pitch bend has been added. With this configuration, when the effect application function is enabled, the performer can intuitively and simply switch the contact state of the thumb in contact with the touchpad 13 between a first contact state, i.e., a state in which the performer bends his / her thumb toward the palm and the tip of the performer's thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13, and a second contact state, i.e., a state in which the performer extends his / her thumb naturally and the pad of the performer's thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13, thereby making it possible to switch whether or not to apply a pitch bend to a musical sound, thereby improving convenience for the performer.

[0085] As described above, the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of multiple sensors S13-S22 that are arranged rightward on the touchpad 13 and detect contact by the performer. The thumb contact determination unit 109 determines whether the contact state of the thumb on the touchpad 13 is an operating state or a non-operating state based on the magnitude relationship between the operation output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise has been removed and a determination threshold. With this configuration, the configuration of the electronic musical instrument 1 can be simplified and the manufacturing costs of the electronic musical instrument 1 can be reduced.

[0086] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0087] For example, in the above embodiment, it has been described that the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of all of the sensors S13 to S22 which are sum sensors, but this is merely one example, and the thumb position calculation unit 110 may calculate the thumb position based on the output values ​​of some of the sensors S13 to S22. Below, a modified example in which the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of some of the sensors S13 to S22 will be described, focusing on the differences from the above embodiment.

[0088] In this modification, when the sum position calculation unit 110 accumulates the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise has been removed by the method described in the above embodiment in order to the right, the sum position is calculated by weighting the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise has been removed from the sensor that outputs an output value that causes the accumulated value to exceed a predetermined contact threshold value first in the accumulation and all the sensors S13 to S22 that are located to the left of the sensor, using the output values ​​of these sensors after noise has been removed as weights. That is, in this modification, when the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise has been removed from the sensors S13 to S22 are accumulated in order to the right, the output values ​​of the sensors that are located to the right of the sensor that outputs an output value that causes the accumulated value to exceed a predetermined contact threshold value first in the accumulation are not used to calculate the sum position. In this modification, as in the above embodiment, values ​​indicating the positions of the sensors S13 to S22 are previously associated with each other. Specifically, a number in 1 / 9 increments from 0 to 1.0 is uniquely assigned in advance to each of the sensors S13 to S22 as a value indicating a position. The contact threshold is set in advance according to the sum of output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when only the tip of the player's thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13. Specifically, the average value of the sum of output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when only the tip of the player's thumb is in contact with the touchpad 13, which is obtained through experiments, may be set in advance as the contact threshold.

[0089] In this modified example, the average value of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when only the tip of the thumb of the performer is in contact with the touchpad 13, which is found by experiment, is set in advance as the contact threshold, but this is merely one example. The contact threshold can be set arbitrarily according to the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when only the tip of the thumb of the performer is in contact with the touchpad 13. For example, the median value of the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when only the tip of the thumb of the performer is in contact with the touchpad 13, which is found by experiment, may be set in advance as the contact threshold.

[0090] When a performer touches the tip of the thumb of the right hand to a position near the left end 13a of the touchpad 13 in order to output a musical tone to which an effect corresponding to the thumb position has been applied during a performance, the base of the thumb of the right hand may touch a position near the right end 13b of the touchpad 13 without the performer's intention. In such a case, when the thumb position calculation unit 110 calculates the thumb position based on the output values ​​of all the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal, there is a risk that a position different from the actual contact position of the tip of the performer's thumb may be erroneously calculated as the thumb position due to the influence of an increase in the output value of the sensor provided at a position near the right end 13b of the touchpad 13 among the sensors S13 to S22 caused by the contact of the base of the thumb. In this case, there is a risk that an effect corresponding to the erroneously calculated thumb position is applied to the musical tone, and thus a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output may be output.

[0091] In this modification, when the thumb position calculation unit 110 accumulates the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal in order from the sensors S13 to S22 to the right, the thumb position is calculated by weighting the values ​​indicating the positions of the sensor that outputs an output value that causes the accumulated value to exceed a preset contact threshold value according to the sum of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when only the tip of the thumb of the performer is in contact with the touch pad 13, and all the sensors among the sensors S13 to S22 that are arranged at positions away from the sensor in the left direction, using the output values ​​of these sensors after noise removal as weights. In this modification, similarly to the above embodiment, when the effect application function is enabled and the thumb contact determination unit 109 determines that the contact state of the thumb is an operating state, the effect determination unit 111 determines the effect to be applied to the musical sound according to the thumb position calculated by the thumb position calculation unit 110, and the musical sound output unit 112 outputs the musical sound to which the effect determined by the effect determination unit 111 is applied.

[0092] With this configuration, when the performer touches the tip of the thumb of the right hand to a position near the left end 13a of the touchpad 13, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the thumb position being calculated erroneously due to the base of the thumb accidentally touching a position near the right end 13b of the touchpad 13. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the thumb position and reduce the possibility of a musical tone different from the musical tone that the performer desires to be output.

[0093] The electronic musical instrument 1 according to this modification executes thumb detection processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 14 in place of the thumb detection processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 13 in step S112 of the musical tone generation processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 12. The thumb detection processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 14 will be described below, focusing on the differences from the thumb detection processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 13.

[0094] The processing of steps S201 to S210 in the flowchart of Fig. 14 is the same as the processing of steps S201 to S210 in the flowchart of Fig. 13 described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. In the processing of step S210, after it is determined that the contact state of the thumb on the touch pad 13 is an operating state (step S210), thumb position calculation unit 110 selects the leftmost sensor S13 of sensors S13 to S22, i.e., the sensor S13 provided at the position furthest to the left (step S301). After executing the processing of step S301, thumb position calculation unit 110 integrates the output values ​​of the currently selected sensor of sensors S13 to S22 and all sensors provided to the left of the currently selected sensor, which have been reduced in accordance with the useful offset value in step S205 and from which noise has been removed (step S302). The sensor provided to the left of the currently selected sensor among sensors S13 to S22 is, in other words, a sensor provided at a position away from the currently selected sensor to the left among sensors S13 to S22.

[0095] After executing the process of step S302, thumb position calculation unit 110 judges whether the integrated value calculated in step S302 is greater than the contact threshold (step S303). If it is judged that the integrated value calculated in step S302 is equal to or less than the contact threshold (step S303; No), thumb position calculation unit 110 selects a new sensor to the right of the currently selected sensor from sensors S13 to S22 (step S304), and the process returns to step S302. On the other hand, if it is judged that the integrated value calculated in step S302 is greater than the contact threshold (step S303; Yes), thumb position calculation unit 110 uses the output values ​​of the currently selected sensor from sensors S13 to S22 and the sensor provided to the left of the selected sensor, which were reduced in step S205, as weights to calculate the thumb position by taking a weighted average of the values ​​indicating the positions of these sensors (step S305), and ends the thumb detection process.

[0096] As described above, thumb position calculation section 110 according to this modification repeats the processes of steps S302 and S303 while shifting a selected sensor from sensors S13 to S22 to the right (step S304) until it is determined that the integrated value calculated in step S302 is greater than the contact threshold (step S303; Yes). If it is determined that the integrated value calculated in step S302 is greater than the contact threshold (step S303; Yes), it calculates a thumb position based on output values ​​after noise has been removed from the currently selected sensor from sensors S13 to S22 and all sensors provided at positions away from that sensor to the left (step S305). With this configuration, the thumb position calculation unit 110 of this modified example calculates the thumb position by averaging values ​​indicating the positions of the sensor that outputs an output value that first causes the integrated value to exceed the contact threshold value as a result of the integration, and all of the sensors S13-S22 that are located away from that sensor to the left, using the output values ​​of these sensors after noise has been removed as weights, when the output values ​​of the sensors S13-S22 after noise has been removed by reducing them in accordance with the useful offset value are integrated in order to the right.

[0097] In the above embodiment, the judgment threshold used to judge the contact state of the thumb on the touch pad 13 has been described as being set in advance, but this is merely an example, and the judgment threshold may be set according to a setting operation by the performer. For example, when the performer performs a predetermined number of operations of touching the touch pad 13 with the thumb extended and touching only the tip of the thumb with the thumb extended, in a state in which the calibration mode for setting the judgment threshold is selected by operating a setting key provided on the manipulator 3, the CPU 8 may be configured to set the average value of the output values ​​of the sensors S13 to S22 after noise removal when these operations are performed as the judgment threshold. With such a configuration, an appropriate judgment threshold is set according to the difference in finger size specific to each performer, and a robust judgment of the contact state of the thumb is performed for the difference in finger size for each performer, thereby improving the judgment accuracy.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the performer's thumb is described as touching the touchpad 13, but this is merely one example. Any part of the performer's body can contact the touchpad 13 in any manner. For example, the performer may specify the contact position by clenching a fist and touching the second joint of the index finger to the touchpad 13. Alternatively, the performer may input a command to disable the effect application function by gripping the entire touchpad 13 with the palm of his / her hand. It is expected that these contact forms will be used as dramatic effects when the performer performs on stage.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the electronic musical instrument 1 has been described as having a shape that imitates a saxophone, but this is merely one example, and the shape of the electronic musical instrument 1 may be a shape that imitates the shape of any acoustic wind instrument. For example, the shape of the electronic musical instrument 1 may be a shape that imitates the shape of an acoustic wind instrument such as a flute or clarinet.

[0100] It is possible to provide a dedicated electronic musical instrument that is equipped with the components for implementing the functions of the present invention as the electronic musical instrument of the present invention, and also to make an existing electronic musical instrument function as the electronic musical instrument of the present invention by applying a program to the existing electronic musical instrument. In other words, by applying a program for implementing the functions of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention so that the program can be executed by a processor such as a CPU that controls the existing electronic musical instrument, the existing electronic musical instrument can be made to function as the electronic musical instrument of the present invention.

[0101] The method of applying such a program is arbitrary. The program can be applied by storing it in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or a memory card. Furthermore, the program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program can be posted and distributed on a bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board System) on a communication network. The program can then be started and executed under the control of an OS (Operating System) in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above-mentioned processing to be performed.

[0102] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and the present invention includes the inventions described in the claims and their equivalents. The inventions described in the original claims of this application are listed below.

[0103] (Appendix 1) a determination means for determining whether a contact state when a part of a player's body contacts the contact operation means is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state, the determination means determines that the contact state is the operation state in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, 23. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 22, wherein when said determining means determines that said contact state is the operating state, an effect is applied to musical tones.

[0104] (Appendix 2) 2. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the effect is an effect according to a contact position of the part of the body that contacts the contact operation means.

[0105] (Appendix 3) 3. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an area of ​​the part of the body that contacts the contact operation means is different when the contact state is the first contact state and when the contact state is the second contact state.

[0106] (Appendix 4) the first contact state is a state in which the tip of the player's finger is in contact with the contact operation means, 4. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the second contact state is a state in which the player extends his / her finger and the pad of the finger contacts the contact operation means.

[0107] (Appendix 5) a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of the part of the body based on output values ​​of a plurality of sensors arranged in a reference direction on the contact operation means and detecting contact by the player, The electronic musical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination means determines whether the contact state is the operation state or the non-operation state based on a magnitude relationship between the sum of output values ​​of the multiple sensors after noise has been removed and a determination threshold.

[0108] (Appendix 6) A value indicating a position of the sensor is previously associated with each of the plurality of sensors; the contact position calculation means calculates the contact position by taking a weighted average of values ​​indicating the positions of a sensor that outputs an output value that first causes an integrated value to exceed a contact threshold when output values ​​of the plurality of sensors after noise has been removed are integrated in sequence in the reference direction, and all of the plurality of sensors that are disposed at positions away from the sensor in a direction opposite to the reference direction, using as weights the output values ​​of these sensors after noise has been removed.

[0109] (Appendix 7) a determination step of determining whether a contact state when a part of a player's body contacts the contact operation means is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state, In the determination step, when a part of the body is in contact with the touch operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and when a part of the body is in contact with the touch operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, the contact state is determined to be the operation state; a control step of applying an effect to a musical tone when the contact state is determined to be the operating state in the determining step;

[0110] (Appendix 8) The computer that controls the electronic musical instrument functioning as a determination means for determining whether a contact state when a part of the player's body comes into contact with the contact operation means is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state; the determination means determines that the contact state is the operation state in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, The computer includes: a program for imparting an effect to a musical sound when the determining means determines that the contact state is the operating state. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1 electronic musical instrument, 2 body section, 3 controls, 4 mouthpiece, 5 sound system, 6 breath pressure detector, 7 contact detector, 8 CPU, 9 ROM, 10 RAM, 11 sound source, 12 system bus, 13 touchpad, 13a left end of touchpad, 13b right end of touchpad, 14 Voice detector, 15 Thumb detector, 16 Display, 20 Finger rest, 21 Strap ring, 40 Main body, 40a Air inlet end of main body, 40b Tube end of main body, 41 Lead, 42 Fixing bracket, 43 Air inlet, 44 Lead board, 44a Tip end of lead board, 44b Heel side end of lead board, 45... hollow portion, 60... pressure sensor, 100... breath pressure information acquisition section, 101... voice detection information acquisition section, 102... lip detection information acquisition section, 103... tongue detection information acquisition section, 104... key / switch information acquisition section, 105... synthesis ratio determination section, 106... volume determination section, 107... pitch determination section, 108... thumb detection information acquisition section, 109...thumb contact determination section, 110...thumb position calculation section, 111...effect determination section, 112...musical sound output section, 140...voice sensor, 160...display, P1...first multiplier, P2...second multiplier, P3...third multiplier, P4...fourth multiplier, P5...fifth multiplier, Q1...adder, S0 to S22...sensors

Claims

1. a determination means for determining whether a contact state when a part of a player's body contacts the contact operation means is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state, the determination means determines that the contact state is the operation state in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, when the determining means determines that the contact state is the operating state, an effect is applied to the musical sound; an area of ​​the part of the body that contacts the contact operation means when in the first contact state and when not in the second contact state are different from the area when in the second contact state.

2. 2. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the effect is an effect according to a contact position of the part of the body that contacts the contact operation means.

3. 3. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the area when the contact state is the first contact state and the area when the contact state is not the second contact state are smaller than the area when the contact state is the second contact state.

4. the first contact state is a state in which the tip of a player's finger is in contact with the contact operation means, 4. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the second contact state is a state in which the performer's finger is in contact with the touch operation means with the pad of the finger extended.

5. a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of the part of the body based on output values ​​of a plurality of sensors arranged in a reference direction on the contact operation means and detecting contact by the player, 5. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines whether the contact state is the operation state or the non-operation state based on a magnitude relationship between a sum of output values ​​of the plurality of sensors after noise has been removed and a determination threshold value.

6. A value indicating a position of the sensor is previously associated with each of the plurality of sensors; 6. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 5, wherein the contact position calculation means calculates the contact position by taking a weighted average of values ​​indicating the positions of a sensor that outputs an output value that first causes an integrated value to exceed a contact threshold value when output values ​​of the plurality of sensors after noise removal are integrated in sequence in the reference direction, and all of the plurality of sensors that are disposed at positions away from the sensor in a direction opposite to the reference direction, using the output values ​​of these sensors after noise removal as weights.

7. a determination step of determining whether a contact state when a part of a player's body contacts the contact operation means is an operation state or a non-operation state different from the operation state, In the determination step, when a part of the body is in contact with the touch operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and when a part of the body is in contact with the touch operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, the contact state is determined to be the operation state; When the contact state is determined to be the operation state in the determination step, an effect is applied to the musical sound; A method for controlling an electronic musical instrument, characterized in that an area of ​​the part of the body that contacts the contact operation means when the first contact state is present and the area when the second contact state is not present are different from the area when the second contact state is present.

8. A computer that controls an electronic musical instrument The contact state when a part of the player's body contacts the contact operation means is the operation state. a non-operation state different from the operation state; the determination means determines that the contact state is the operation state in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is a first contact state, and in a case where a part of the body is in contact with the contact operation means and the contact state is not a second contact state, The computer includes: when the determining means determines that the contact state is the operating state, an effect is applied to the musical sound; A program characterized in that an area of ​​a part of the body in contact with the contact operation means when in the first contact state and an area when not in the second contact state are different from the area when in the second contact state.

Images