Dynamic Attack and Release Envelope Control for Electronic Musical Instruments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic musical instruments fail to accurately simulate the characteristics of real acoustic instruments, particularly in terms of the time interval between key depressions and the attack waveform when multiple keys are pressed simultaneously, leading to unsuitable envelope settings for various performance methods.
Innovation Solution
An electronic musical instrument with an on-on time timer, gate time timer, attack characteristic setting device, and release characteristic setting device that dynamically adjust the attack and release times based on the intervals between key inputs, ensuring that each performance method receives a tailored envelope waveform.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the release characteristic is changed based on gate time only, then the release time can be adjusted for staccato performance, but the attack waveform and on-on time characteristics cannot be optimized for different performance methods
Solution Approach 1:
The envelope control is segmented into independent attack and release characteristics. The attack characteristic is controlled by on-on time (time from previous key depression to current key depression), while the release characteristic is controlled by gate time (time from key depression to key release). This segmentation allows each characteristic to be optimized independently for different performance methods, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and simulation fidelity.
Solution Approach 2:
The envelope characteristics are made dynamic by continuously adjusting attack and release times based on real-time performance parameters. The attack time varies according to on-on time measurements, and the release time varies according to gate time measurements. This dynamic adjustment enables faithful simulation of different acoustic instrument performance methods while maintaining adaptability to various playing styles.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed envelope is used for all performances, then the device complexity is low, but the envelope cannot suit different performance methods like staccato or legato
Solution Approach 1:
The envelope control system serves itself by automatically measuring performance parameters (on-on time and gate time) and adjusting the attack and release characteristics without external intervention. The system self-adapts to different performance methods by monitoring key depression patterns and dynamically modifying the envelope waveform accordingly, maintaining low device complexity while achieving high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring key depression timing (on-on time) and key release timing (gate time), then using this feedback information to adjust the envelope characteristics in real-time. This feedback mechanism enables the envelope to adapt to different performance methods while keeping the control system relatively simple, as it only requires basic timing measurements and conditional adjustments.
3Productivity
If the attack time is long, then the musical sound has a smooth onset, but overlapping sounds occur during rapid note playing
Solution Approach 1:
The attack time is made dynamic by adjusting it based on the measured on-on time. When notes are played rapidly (short on-on time), the attack time is shortened to prevent overlapping sounds and improve clarity. When notes are played with longer intervals, the attack time can be longer for a smoother onset. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between productivity and attack duration.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the release time is long, then the musical sound has a natural decay, but the sound persists too long during staccato performance
Solution Approach 1:
The release characteristic is segmented and controlled independently based on gate time measurements. For staccato performance (short gate time), the release time is shortened to ensure the sound stops quickly. For legato or sustained performance (long gate time), the release time can be longer for a natural decay. This segmented control resolves the contradiction between adaptability and release duration.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic musical instrument includes: an input device that inputs a sound generation instruction to start generating a musical sound and a stop instruction to stop the musical sound; an on-on time timer device that measures a time difference between a first and second sound generation instructions; a gate time timer device that measures a time difference between the second sound generation instruction and a stop instruction; an attack characteristic setting device that sets an attack characteristic of the musical sound to have a shorter attack time as the time difference measured by the on-on time timer device becomes shorter; and a release characteristic setting device that sets a release characteristic of the musical sound generated to have a shorter release time as the time difference measured by the gate time timer device becomes shorter.