JP7574583B2 - Electronic wind instrument, and control method and program for electronic wind instrument - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic wind instrument , and a control method and program for an electronic wind instrument .

There is known an electronic musical instrument that outputs a musical tone according to the contact position of a part of the player's body when that part comes into contact with a contact operation means that accepts contact operations by the player. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic musical instrument that has a mouthpiece that the player holds in his mouth and blows into, and that detects the contact position of the lips when the player's lips come into contact with a reed portion provided on the mouthpiece, and outputs a musical tone according to the detected contact position of the lips.

JP 2019-20504 A

The reed portion of the electronic musical instrument described in Patent Document 1 has a tip end, which is the end on the breath inlet side of the mouthpiece, and a heel end, which is the end opposite to the tip end. When a performer plays with his lips in contact with a position on the reed portion near the heel end, the electronic musical instrument described in Patent Document 1 may erroneously detect a position different from the actual lip contact position as the lip contact position. Furthermore, when a performer plays with his lips in contact with a position on the reed portion near the tip end, the electronic musical instrument described in Patent Document 1 may not be able to detect the minute movement of the lip contact position that should be detected when the performer plays while slightly changing the lip contact position. In such a case, the electronic musical instrument described in Patent Document 1 may output a musical tone corresponding to the erroneously detected lip contact position, which may result in outputting a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an electronic wind instrument , a control method for an electronic wind instrument , and a program that can reduce the possibility of outputting a musical tone different from the musical tone that the performer desires to output.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electronic wind instrument ,
a plurality of sensors arranged in a reference direction on a touch operation means for receiving a touch operation by a player, the sensors detecting a touch of a player's lower lip or thumb that comes into contact with the touch operation means;
a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of the player's lower lip or thumb based on output values of the plurality of sensors ;
a contact position correction means for correcting the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
Equipped with
the plurality of sensors includes a reference sensor provided so as not to be contacted by the player's lower lip or thumb;
the correction value is acquired based on the output value of the reference sensor and the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means.
It is characterized by:

The present invention reduces the possibility of a musical tone being output that is different from the tone the performer desires to be output.

1 is a front view of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a lead portion according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a correspondence relationship between a lip position and a coefficient according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a sensor output value, FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between a sensor, a value indicating a sensor position, and a sensor output value reduced according to a temperature drift correction value, and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between a sensor, a value indicating a sensor position, and a sensor output value reduced according to a temperature drift correction value corresponding to a lip position. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a musical tone generation process executed by an electronic musical instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a lip detection process executed by the electronic musical instrument according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a rear view of an electronic musical instrument according to a modified example of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a touch pad according to a modified example of the present invention.

The electronic musical instrument according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or equivalent components are given the same reference numerals.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, 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. The electronic musical instrument 1 has a tubular housing and is equipped with a tube section 2 that is held in the player's hand, controls 3 that are provided on the surface of the tube section 2 and are operated by the player's fingers, a mouthpiece 4 that is provided at one end of the tube section 2 and into which the player holds the mouth and blows air, 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 using the electronic musical instrument 1.

The operator 3 has a number of keys that accept operations performed by the performer using the fingers, detects the operation of the number of keys by the performer, and outputs key/switch information indicating the detection result to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 8 described later. The number of keys that the operator 3 has includes a performance key that accepts the pitch of the musical tone specified by the performer, and a setting key that accepts the setting operation by the performer. The setting keys include a power key that accepts the setting operation of switching the power of the electronic musical instrument 1 on/off, and a pitch adjustment key that accepts the setting operation of changing the pitch of the musical tone according to the key of the music piece. The performance keys are provided on the front surface of the tube unit 2, and the setting key is provided on the rear surface of the tube unit 2 opposite the front surface of the tube unit 2. On the rear surface of the tube unit 2, as shown in FIG. 2, a finger rest 20 that comes into contact with the player's fingers and helps the player to stably hold the electronic musical instrument 1, and a strap ring 21 through which a strap (not shown) passes to hang the electronic musical instrument 1 from the player's neck are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic musical instrument 1 includes, in addition to the above-mentioned components, 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, and a sound source 11. The controls 3, the breath pressure detection unit 6, the contact detection unit 7, the CPU 8, the ROM 9, the RAM 10, and the sound source 11 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. 3 shows only the components of the electronic musical instrument 1 that are related to the characteristic features of the present invention. The electronic musical instrument 1 may include any components not shown in FIG. 3. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may include a display unit that displays various images.

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 has a plurality of capacitive touch sensors that detect contact by the performer, detects contact of the performer's lower lip with the 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 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 brought into contact with the reed portion 41 during performance to stop the vibration of 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 to the RAM 10, and executes various processes by referring to the read programs and data. Furthermore, the CPU 8 temporarily stores data generated or acquired by executing various processes in 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 Integrated Circuit), and generates digital musical tone signals representing musical tones under the control of the CPU 8, and outputs the generated digital musical tone signals to the sound system 5. The sound system 5 generates musical tones according to the digital musical tone signals input from the sound source 11. Specifically, the sound system 5 includes a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), an amplifier, and a speaker. The DAC converts the digital musical sound signal input from the sound source 11 into an analog musical sound signal representing the musical sound, the amplifier amplifies the analog musical sound signal, and the speaker produces the musical sound represented by the amplified analog musical sound signal.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mouthpiece 4 includes a main body 40 that is attached to the tube 2 of the electronic musical instrument 1, a reed portion 41 that accepts a contact operation by the player using the lower lip and tongue, and a fixing bracket 42 that fixes the reed portion 41 to the main body 40. When the player is tonguing with the mouthpiece 4 in his mouth, the player's lower lip and tongue contact the reed portion 41. When the player is not tonguing with the mouthpiece 4 in his mouth, the player's lower lip contacts the reed portion 41, but the player's tongue does not contact the reed portion 41. The reed portion 41 is an example of a contact operation means. As will be described later, the electronic musical instrument 1 outputs musical tones having a tone color corresponding to the contact operation by the player using the lower lip on the reed portion 41 and a volume corresponding to the contact operation by the player using the tongue on the reed portion 41. One end of the reed portion 41 is fixed to the main body portion 40 by a fixing metal fitting 42 and is configured not to vibrate, while the other end of the reed portion 41 is not fixed and is configured to vibrate. The reed portion 41 is assembled to the main body portion 40 so that the end of the reed portion 41 that is not fixed by the fixing metal fitting 42 and the blowing port side end portion 40a of the main body portion 40 form a blowing port 43 through which the player blows air.

The pressure sensor 60 of the breath pressure detection unit 6 is provided at the tube side end 40b of the main body 40 facing the blowing port 43. The pressure sensor 60 detects the pressure of the performer's breath blown into the blowing port 43 of the mouthpiece 4. The breath pressure detection unit 6 acquires 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.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, 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.

On the lead substrate 44, a number of sensors S0 to S12 of the contact detection unit 7 are arranged at equal intervals in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44. The direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 is an example of a reference direction. 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.

Of the sensors S0 to S12 included in the contact detection unit 7, the sensors S0 to S11 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 S11, which are the capacitances detected by the sensors S0 to S11, as the 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 located closest to the tip 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 the capacitance detected by the sensor S0, as the detection result 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.

Each of the sensors S0 to S11, which are lip sensors, is uniquely assigned in advance as an identifier an integer from 1 to 12. Specifically, each of the sensors S0 to S11 is assigned as an identifier an integer from 1 to 12 such that the closer the sensor S0 to S11 is positioned in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, the larger the identifier value is assigned to the sensor S0 to S11. In other words, each of the sensors S0 to S11 is assigned as an identifier such that the farther the sensor is positioned in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, the larger the identifier value is assigned to the sensor S0 to S11. For example, the largest integer number from 1 to 12, 12, is assigned as an identifier to the sensor S11 that is closest to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, i.e., the sensor S11 that is located at the farthest position in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44. On the other hand, the smallest integer number from 1 to 12, 1, is assigned as an identifier to the sensor S0 that is closest to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44, i.e., the sensor S0 that is located at the farthest position in the direction from the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44.

When the player's lips and tongue are in contact with the reed portion 41, the player's body heat is transferred to the reed portion 41, causing the temperature of the reed portion 41 to rise, resulting in a phenomenon called temperature drift, in which the output values of all sensors S0 to S12, which are capacitive touch sensors arranged on the reed substrate 44 of the reed portion 41, increase, including sensors arranged at positions not in contact with the player's lips or tongue. As will be described later, the electronic musical instrument 1 calculates the lip position, which is the contact position of the player's lower lip on the reed portion 41, based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, which are lip sensors. However, if the lip position is calculated based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 that have increased due to the effect of temperature drift, there is a risk that a position different from the actual contact position of the player's lower lip will be erroneously calculated as the lip position. In consideration of these circumstances, as described below, the electronic musical instrument 1 uses the contact detection unit 7 to detect the effect of temperature drift, i.e., the increase in the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 caused by temperature drift, and performs processing to remove the detected effect of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, and calculates the lip position based on the output values after this processing, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the lip position.

The sensor S12, which is located closest to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 among the sensors S0 to S12 provided in the contact detection unit 7, i.e., the sensor S12 located at the farthest position in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, is covered with a cover (not shown) so that the player's body does not come into contact with it, and functions as a temperature drift sensor that detects the influence of temperature drift. That is, the contact detection unit 7 obtains the output value of the sensor S12, which is the electrostatic capacitance detected by the sensor S12, as the detection result of the influence of temperature drift, and outputs data indicating the output value to the CPU 8 as temperature drift information indicating the detection result. The sensor S12 is an example of a reference sensor. Note that in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the sensor S12 is illustrated in a state where it is not covered with a cover for ease of understanding, but in reality, the sensor S12 is covered with a cover. On the other hand, the sensors S0 to S11 are not covered with a cover and are configured so that the player's body can come into contact with them.

In this 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 contact by the performer. For example, the sensors S0 to S12 may be resistive touch sensors. Alternatively, the sensors S0 to S12 may be pressure sensors. Furthermore, in this 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 this 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. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, is described as being configured to be covered so that the player's body does not come into contact with it, but this is merely one example, and the sensor S12 may be configured in any manner so that the player's body does not come into contact with it. For example, the sensor S12 may be configured to be configured so that the player's body does not come into contact with it by being placed in a position on the lead substrate 44 where the player's body does not come into contact with it.

As shown in FIG. 6, the electronic musical instrument 1 having the above-mentioned physical configuration functionally includes a key/switch information acquisition unit 100, a breath pressure information acquisition unit 101, a tongue detection information acquisition unit 102, a lip detection information acquisition unit 103, a temperature drift information acquisition unit 104, a pitch determination unit 105, a volume determination unit 106, a lip position calculation unit 107, a lip position correction unit 108, a tone color determination unit 109, and a musical tone output unit 110. The key/switch information acquisition unit 100 to the musical tone output unit 110 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 key/switch information acquisition unit 100 to the musical tone output unit 110. Note that FIG. 6 shows only the functional configuration related to the characteristic parts of the present invention among the functional configurations of the electronic musical instrument 1. The electronic musical instrument 1 may include any functional configuration not shown in FIG. 6. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may include a display control unit that controls the display of images by the above-mentioned display unit.

The key/switch information acquisition unit 100 acquires, from the operator 3, key/switch information indicating the detection result of the operation of the multiple keys provided on the operator 3, including the performance keys and the setting keys. The breath pressure information acquisition unit 101 acquires, from the breath pressure detection unit 6, data indicating the output value of the pressure sensor 60 as breath pressure information indicating the detection result of the pressure of the performer's breath blown into the mouthpiece 4. The tongue detection information acquisition unit 102 acquires, from the contact detection unit 7, data indicating the output value of the sensor S0, which is a tongue sensor, as tongue detection information indicating the detection result of the performer's tongue contacting the reed section 41. The lip detection information acquisition unit 103 acquires, from the contact detection unit 7, data indicating the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, which are lip sensors, as lip detection information indicating the detection result of the performer's lower lip contacting the reed section 41. The temperature drift information acquisition unit 104 acquires, from the contact detection unit 7, data indicating the output value of the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, as temperature drift information indicating the detection result of the effect of temperature drift.

The pitch determination unit 105 determines the pitch of the musical tone according to the key/switch information acquired by the key/switch information acquisition unit 100. The volume determination unit 106 determines the volume of the musical tone according to the breath pressure information acquired by the breath pressure information acquisition unit 101 and the tongue detection information acquired by the tongue detection information acquisition unit 102. In this embodiment, the volume of the musical tone is determined according to the tongue detection information acquired by the tongue detection information acquisition unit 102, but this is only one example, and the CPU 8 may determine the execution state of tonguing based on the output value of the sensor S0, which is a tongue sensor indicated by the tongue detection information, and control the note-on and note-off of the musical tone according to the result of the determination. The lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position, which is the contact position of the player's lower lip that contacts the reed part 41, based on the lip detection information acquired by the lip detection information acquisition unit 103 and the temperature drift information acquired by the temperature drift information acquisition unit 104. The lip position is an example of the contact position of a part of the player's body. The lip position calculation unit 107 is an example of a contact position calculation means. The lip position correction unit 108 corrects the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 using a correction value according to the calculated lip position. The lip position correction unit 108 is an example of a contact position correction means. Details of the calculation of the lip position by the lip position calculation unit 107 and the correction of the lip position by the lip position correction unit 108 will be described later. The timbre determination unit 109 determines the timbre of the musical sound according to the lip position corrected by the lip position correction unit 108.

The musical tone output unit 110 outputs a musical tone having a pitch determined by the pitch determination unit 105, a volume determined by the volume determination unit 106, and a tone determined by the timbre determination unit 109. Specifically, the musical tone output unit 110 controls the sound source 11 to generate a digital musical tone signal representing a musical tone having the above-mentioned pitch, volume, and tone, and outputs the digital musical tone signal to the sound system 5, while controlling the sound system 5 to generate the musical tone represented by the digital musical tone signal input from the sound source 11. As described above, the timbre determination unit 109 determines the tone of the musical tone according to the lip position corrected by the lip position correction unit 108. That is, the musical tone output unit 110 outputs a musical tone having a tone determined by the timbre determination unit 109, thereby outputting a musical tone according to the lip position corrected by the lip position correction unit 108.

With this configuration, the electronic musical instrument 1 outputs musical tones with a pitch that corresponds to the player's operation of the fingers on the control 3, a volume that corresponds to the player's performance operation of blowing into the mouthpiece 4 and the player's contact operation with the tongue on the reed portion 41, and a tone color that corresponds to the player's contact operation with the lower lip on the reed portion 41.

In the present embodiment, the electronic musical instrument 1 is described as determining the timbre of the musical tone according to the lip position, but this is merely an example. The electronic musical instrument 1 may determine the volume of the musical tone according to the lip position. Alternatively, the electronic musical instrument 1 may determine the pitch of the musical tone according to the lip position. Alternatively, the electronic musical instrument 1 may determine multiple elements of the timbre, pitch, and volume of the musical tone according to the lip position. Furthermore, the electronic musical instrument 1 may be configured to accept an operation by a performer to set which of the timbre, pitch, and volume of the musical tone will be determined according to the lip position. For example, the setting keys provided on the manipulator 3 may be configured to include a selection key that accepts an operation by a performer to set which of the timbre, pitch, and volume of the musical tone will be determined according to the lip position, and the electronic musical instrument 1 may be configured to select which of the timbre, pitch, and volume of the musical tone will be determined according to the lip position according to the detection result of the operation on the selection key.

In this embodiment, the musical sound output unit 110 is described as outputting musical sounds by having the sound system 5 generate musical sounds, but this is merely one example, and the musical sound output unit 110 can output musical sounds in any manner. For example, the musical sound output unit 110 may output musical sounds by controlling the sound source 11 to generate digital musical sound signals representing musical sounds, and outputting the digital musical sound signals to an external information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or smartphone via an output port not shown.

The calculation of the lip position by the lip position calculation unit 107 will be described in detail below. The lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, which are lip sensors indicated by the lip detection information acquired by the lip detection information acquisition unit 103. However, as described above, the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 include an increase in the output value due to temperature drift, so if the lip position is calculated based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, there is a risk that an incorrect lip position will be calculated. In consideration of this situation, the lip position calculation unit 107 performs a process to remove the influence of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 according to the detection result of the influence of temperature drift indicated by the temperature drift information acquired by the temperature drift information acquisition unit 104, and calculates the lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the process, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the lip position.

Specifically, the lip position calculation unit 107 regards the output value of the sensor S12 indicated by the temperature drift information as the increase in the sensor output value due to the temperature drift, and acquires the output value as a temperature drift correction value, which is a correction value for removing the influence of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11. Then, in order to remove the influence of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 indicated by the lip detection information, the lip position calculation unit 107 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 according to the acquired temperature drift correction value. That is, the lip position calculation unit 107 subtracts the temperature drift correction value from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, and if the output value after the subtraction is 0 or more, acquires the output value after the subtraction as the output value after the subtraction, and if the output value after the subtraction is less than 0, acquires 0 as the output value after the subtraction. The decimal points of the sensor output value after the subtraction of the temperature drift correction value are truncated. Note that this is just one example, and the sensor output value after subtracting the temperature drift correction value may be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

The lip position calculation unit 107 removes the influence of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 by reducing the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 indicated by the lip detection information according to the output value of the sensor S12 acquired as the temperature drift correction value, and then calculates the lip position based on the reduced output values of the sensors S0 to S11. Specifically, the sensors S0 to S11 are previously associated with values indicating the positions of the sensors, and the lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position by taking a weighted average using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after reducing the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 according to the temperature drift correction value as weights, according to the following formula (1). In formula (1), Xg represents the lip position, and Xi represents a value indicating the position of the sensor S0 to S11 to which the number i is associated as the above-mentioned identifier. Furthermore, in formula (1), Mi represents the output value of the sensor S0 to S11 to which the number i corresponds as an identifier, reduced according to the temperature drift correction value, and N represents the number of lip sensors provided in the electronic musical instrument 1. As described above, the electronic musical instrument 1 has 12 sensors S0 to S11 as lip sensors, so N is 12.

Each of the sensors S0 to S11 is uniquely assigned in advance to one of the integers from 0 to 11 as a value indicating a position. Specifically, each of the sensors S0 to S11 is assigned to one of the integers from 0 to 11 as a value indicating a position such that the closer the sensor is positioned in a position of the sensors S0 to S11 closer to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, the larger the value is assigned to the sensor. In other words, each of the sensors S0 to S11 is assigned to a value indicating a position such that the farther the sensor is positioned in a direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 toward the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, the larger the value is assigned to the sensor. For example, the sensor S11, which is located closest to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 among the sensors S0 to S11, i.e., the sensor S11 located at the farthest position in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, is assigned the largest integer value of 11 from 0 to 11 as a value indicating its position. On the other hand, the sensor S0, which is located closest to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 among the sensors S0 to S11, i.e., the sensor S0 located at the farthest position in the direction from the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44, is assigned the smallest integer value of 0 from 0 to 11 as a value indicating its position.

The lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position as a value in the range of 0 to 11 inclusive by weighting the output values of each sensor after reducing the integers from 0 to 11, which are values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11, according to the above-mentioned formula (1), using as weights the output values of each sensor after reducing the integers from 0 to 11 according to the temperature drift correction value. Note that in this embodiment, the sensors S0 to S11 are described as being associated with integers from 0 to 11 as values indicating the positions of each sensor, but this is merely an example, and any value can be associated with the sensors S0 to S11 as values indicating the positions of each sensor. For example, the distance from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to each sensor may be associated in advance with the sensors S0 to S11 as values indicating the positions of each sensor.

As explained above, in order to improve the accuracy of detecting the lip position, the lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after processing to remove the effects of temperature drift. However, even if the above processing is performed, if the player's lower lip is in contact with a position near the heel end 44b of the reed substrate 44, or if the contact position of the lower lip changes slightly while the player's lower lip is in contact with a position near the tip end 44a of the reed substrate 44, the lip position calculation unit 107 may calculate an incorrect lip position.

Specifically, when the player's lower lip is in contact with a position near the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, that is, near the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, the output value of the sensor S12 may include an increase in the sensor output value due to the influence of temperature drift as well as an increase in the sensor output value due to the contact of the player's lower lip. In such a case, if the lip position calculation unit 107 regards the output value of the sensor S12 as the increase in the sensor output value due to temperature drift and acquires it as a temperature drift correction value, and reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 according to the temperature drift correction value, the reduction in the output value will exceed the increase in the sensor output value due to the actual influence of temperature drift. In such a case, if the lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after reducing them according to the output value of the sensor S12, which is the temperature drift correction value, there is a risk that the lip position will be erroneously calculated as a position different from the actual contact position of the lower lip.

In addition, when the output value of the lip sensors S0 to S11 changes due to a change in the contact position of the lower lip during playing, as is clear from the above-mentioned formula (1) used in the calculation of the lip position by the lip position calculation unit 107, the smaller the value associated with the sensor as a value indicating the position, the smaller the change in the calculated lip position due to the change in the output value of the sensor. As described above, the sensors S0 to S11 that are located closer to the heel-side end 44b of the reed substrate 44 are associated with larger values as values indicating the position. For this reason, if the contact position of the lower lip changes slightly while the player's lower lip is in contact with a position near the tip-side end 44a of the reed substrate 44, that is, a position near the sensor S0 that is associated with the smallest value indicating the position among the sensors S0 to S11, there is a risk that the small change will not be captured as a change in the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107.

In view of the above circumstances, the lip position correction unit 108 acquires a correction value corresponding to the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 in order to remove the effect of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, and calculates the corrected lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 reduced according to the correction value, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the lip position. Hereinafter, the above-mentioned correction value corresponding to the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 acquired by the lip position correction unit 108 is referred to as the "temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position" to be distinguished from the above-mentioned "temperature drift correction value" acquired by the lip position calculation unit 107.

The lip position correction unit 108 determines the coefficient corresponding to the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 by referring to the coefficient determination information stored in advance in the ROM 9, and calculates the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position by multiplying the output value of the sensor S12 indicated by the temperature drift information by the determined coefficient. The coefficient determination information is data that indicates the correspondence between the lip position and the coefficient. Details of the correspondence between the lip position and the coefficient represented by the coefficient determination information will be described later. The coefficient determination information is generated by experimentally determining the coefficient that outputs the musical tone that the performer desires to output when playing with the electronic musical instrument 1 for each lip position, and is then stored in advance in the ROM 9. Note that the above-mentioned method of generating the coefficient determination information is merely an example, and the coefficient determination information can be generated by any method. For example, the coefficient determination information may be generated by determining the coefficient that outputs the musical tone that the performer desires to output when playing with the electronic musical instrument 1 for each lip position by computer simulation.

The lip position correction unit 108 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position in order to remove the effect of temperature drift from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 indicated by the lip detection information. That is, the lip position correction unit 108 subtracts the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, and if the output value after the subtraction is 0 or more, the output value after the subtraction is acquired as the output value after the subtraction, and if the output value after the subtraction is less than 0, 0 is acquired as the output value after the subtraction. Note that the decimal points of the sensor output value after subtracting the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position are rounded down. Note that this is only one example, and the decimal points of the sensor output value after subtracting the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position may be rounded up.

The lip position correction unit 108 calculates the corrected lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position. Specifically, the lip position correction unit 108 calculates the corrected lip position by weighted averaging the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position as weights according to the following formula (2). In formula (2), Xg' represents the corrected lip position, and Xi represents a value indicating the position of the sensor that is associated with the number i of the sensors S0 to S11 as an identifier. Also, in formula (2), N represents the number of lip sensors provided in the electronic musical instrument 1, and M'i represents the output value of the sensor that is associated with the number i of the sensors S0 to S11 as an identifier, reduced according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position.

The lip position correction unit 108 calculates a value in the range of 0 to 11 as the corrected lip position by weighting the output value of each sensor after reducing the integers from 0 to 11 indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 according to the above-mentioned formula (2) according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position. The above-mentioned timbre determination unit 109 determines the timbre of the musical tone according to the value in the range of 0 to 11 calculated as the corrected lip position by the lip position correction unit 108. The lip position correction unit 108 may convert the value in the range of 0 to 11 calculated according to the above-mentioned formula (2) into an integer value in the range of 0 to 127 and represented by 7 bits corresponding to the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard by multiplying the value by 127/11 and rounding down the decimal point of the value obtained, and obtain the value represented by the 7 bits as the corrected lip position. In this case, the tone color determination unit 109 may determine the tone color of the musical tone according to the value represented by 7 bits acquired as the corrected lip position by the lip position correction unit 108. For example, the tone color of the musical tone may be determined by using the value represented by 7 bits acquired as the corrected lip position as a parameter for modulation depth, which is one of the control change messages of the MIDI standard. Note that the lip position correction unit 108 may convert a value in the range of 0 to 11 calculated according to the above-mentioned formula (2) into a value represented by 7 bits by multiplying the value by 127/11 and rounding up the decimal point of the obtained value, and may acquire the value represented by 7 bits as the corrected lip position.

Figure 7 shows the correspondence between the lip position and the coefficient represented by the coefficient determination information described above. The correspondence shown in Figure 7 is set so that the coefficient when the lip position is the second position closer to the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, than the first position is smaller than the coefficient when the lip position is the first position. For example, in the correspondence shown in Figure 7, the coefficient is set to 1.0 when the lip position is 5.5, which is an example of the first position, while the coefficient is set to 0.9, which is smaller than 1.0, when the lip position is 10.0, which is an example of the second position. As described above, the sensor S12 is provided at the farthest position among the sensors S0 to S12 in the direction from the tip side end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel side end 44b of the lead substrate 44. Furthermore, as described above, the sensors S0 to S11 are each associated with a value indicating a position such that the sensor located further away in the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 toward the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 is associated with a value indicating a position with a larger value. In other words, the correspondence relationship shown in FIG. 7 is set so that the coefficient when the lip position is a second position that is farther away from the first position in the direction in which the value indicating the sensor position increases is smaller than the coefficient when the lip position is the first position.

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is a second position closer to the sensor S12 than the first position, the lip position correction unit 108 multiplies the output value of the sensor S12 by a coefficient corresponding to the second position that is smaller than the coefficient corresponding to the first position to obtain a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position that is smaller than the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the first position. For example, when the output value of the sensor S12 is 150 and the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is 5.5, which is an example of the first position, the lip position correction unit 108 multiplies the output value of the sensor S12, 150, by the coefficient corresponding to the lip position, 1.0, to obtain 150 as the temperature drift value corresponding to the lip position. On the other hand, if the output value of sensor S12 is 150 and the lip position calculated by lip position calculation unit 107 is 10.0, which is an example of the second position, lip position correction unit 108 multiplies 150, the output value of sensor S12, by 0.9, which is a coefficient corresponding to that lip position, to obtain 135 as the temperature drift value corresponding to the lip position.

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is a second position closer to the sensor S12 than the first position, the lip position correction unit 108 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 by a reduction amount smaller than the reduction amount when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the first position, in accordance with a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position that is smaller than the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the first position. Then, the lip position correction unit 108 calculates the corrected lip position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 using the reduced output values of the sensors S0 to S11 as weights, according to the above-mentioned formula (2).

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is near the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, i.e., near the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, the lip position correction unit 108 reduces the possibility that the amount of reduction will exceed the amount of increase in the sensor output value due to the actual effect of temperature drift when the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 are reduced to remove the effect of temperature drift, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the lip position. With this configuration, when a performer plays with his or her lower lip in contact with a position near the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, the detection accuracy of the lip position, which is the contact position of the lower lip, can be improved, and the possibility of a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output can be reduced.

Furthermore, the correspondence shown in FIG. 7 represented by the coefficient determination information is set so that the coefficient when the lip position is a fourth position away from the third position in the direction from the heel side end 44b of the lead substrate 44 to the tip side end 44a of the lead substrate 44 is larger than the coefficient when the lip position is the third position. For example, in the correspondence shown in FIG. 7, the coefficient when the lip position is 5.5, which is an example of the third position, is set to 1.0, while the coefficient when the lip position is 1.3, which is an example of the fourth position, is set to 1.3, which is larger than 1.0. In other words, the correspondence shown in FIG. 7 is set so that the coefficient when the lip position is a fourth position away from the third position in the direction in which the value indicating the sensor position becomes smaller is larger than the coefficient when the lip position is the third position. The direction from the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 is the opposite direction to the direction from the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44 to the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44, which is an example of the reference direction.

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is a fourth position away from the third position in the direction from the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44, the lip position correction unit 108 multiplies the output value of the sensor S12 by a coefficient corresponding to the fourth position that is greater than the coefficient corresponding to the third position, thereby obtaining a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position that is greater than the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the third position. For example, when the output value of the sensor S12 is 150 and the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is 5.5, which is an example of the third position, the lip position correction unit 108 multiplies the output value of the sensor 12, 150, by the coefficient corresponding to the lip position, 1.0, to obtain 150 as the temperature drift value corresponding to the lip position. On the other hand, if the output value of sensor S12 is 150 and the lip position calculated by lip position calculation unit 107 is 1.3, which is an example of the fourth position, lip position correction unit 108 multiplies 150, the output value of sensor S12, by 1.3, which is the coefficient corresponding to that lip position, to obtain 195 as the temperature drift value corresponding to the lip position.

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is a fourth position away from the third position in the direction from the heel end 44b of the lead substrate 44 to the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44, the lip position correction unit 108 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 by a reduction amount greater than the reduction amount when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the third position, according to a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position greater than the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the third position. Then, the lip position correction unit 108 calculates the corrected lip position by weighting the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the reduction as weights, according to the above-mentioned formula (2). The greater the reduction amount of the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 in the process of removing the effect of temperature drift, the smaller the sum of the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the reduction, which is the denominator of the right-hand side of the formula (2). As is clear from equation (2), the smaller the denominator on the right side of equation (2), the greater the change in the corrected lip position in response to the change in the output value of the sensor S0 to S11 that is associated with a smaller value indicating the position.

With this configuration, when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the position of the sensor S0 to S11 that is associated with a small value as a value indicating the position, i.e., a position near the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44, the lip position correction unit 108 increases the change in the corrected lip position according to the change in the output value of the sensor, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the change in the lip position. With this configuration, when a performer plays while slightly changing the contact position of the lower lip while touching the lower lip at a position near the tip end 44a of the lead substrate 44, the detection accuracy of the lip position is improved, making it possible to reproduce the performer's detailed performance expression and reducing the possibility of a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output.

As described above, the lip position correction unit 108 corrects the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 using a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the calculated lip position, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the lip position, enabling finely detailed performance expression, and reducing the possibility of a musical tone different from the one the performer desires to be output.

The calculation of the lip position by the lip position calculation unit 107 and the correction of the lip position by the lip position correction unit 108 will be described below with reference to Figures 8(a) to 8(c) using as an example a case where the performer's lower lip is in contact with 9.5, a position near sensor S12 on the reed portion 41. More specifically, the following description will be given using as an example a case where the output values shown in Figure 8(a) are output from sensors S0 to S12. Figure 8(a) shows the correspondence between the sensors and their output values.

The lip position calculation unit 107 acquires the output values of sensors S0 to S11 shown in FIG. 8(a) based on the lip detection information acquired by the lip detection information acquisition unit 103, and acquires the output value of sensor S12 shown in FIG. 8(a) based on the temperature drift information acquired by the temperature drift information acquisition unit 104. The lip position calculation unit 107 acquires 123, which is the output value of sensor S12, as a temperature drift correction value, and reduces the output values of sensors S0 to S11 according to the acquired temperature drift correction value. FIG. 8(b) shows the correspondence between the sensors, values indicating the sensor positions previously associated with the sensors, and the sensor output values after being reduced by the lip position calculation unit 107 according to the temperature drift correction value. The lip position calculation unit 107 calculates 10.03 as the lip position by taking a weighted average using the output values of sensors S0 to S11 after reducing the values indicating the positions of sensors S0 to S11 shown in FIG. 8(b) according to the temperature drift correction value shown in FIG. 8(b) as weights, in accordance with the above-mentioned formula (1).

The lip position correction unit 108 acquires the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 shown in FIG. 8(a) based on the lip detection information acquired by the lip detection information acquisition unit 103, and acquires the output value of the sensor S12 shown in FIG. 8(a) based on the temperature drift information acquired by the temperature drift information acquisition unit 104. The lip position correction unit 108 acquires 0.9 as a coefficient corresponding to 10.03, which is the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107, by referring to the coefficient determination information stored in the ROM 9. The lip position correction unit 108 multiplies 123, which is the output value of the sensor S12, by the acquired coefficient 0.9 to acquire 110.7 as a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107. The lip position correction unit 108 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 according to 110.7, which is the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the acquired lip position. 8(c) shows the correspondence between the sensors, values indicating the sensor positions previously associated with the sensors, and the output values of the sensors after being reduced by the lip position correction unit 108 according to the temperature drift correction values corresponding to the lip positions. The lip position correction unit 108 calculates 9.404 as the corrected lip position by calculating a weighted average using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 shown in FIG. 8(c) have been reduced according to the temperature drift correction values corresponding to the lip positions shown in FIG. 8(c) as weights, in accordance with the above-mentioned formula (2).

In the above example, the corrected lip position calculated by the lip position correction unit 108, 9.404, is closer to the actual contact position of the performer's lower lip, 9.5, than the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107, 10.03. In other words, the lip position correction unit 108 improves the detection accuracy of the lip position by correcting the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 using the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the calculated lip position.

The musical tone generation process executed by the electronic musical instrument 1 having the above-described physical and functional configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 9. Note that FIG. 9 shows only the processes that are 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 that is not shown in FIG. 9. For example, the electronic musical instrument 1 may execute a display control process that controls the display of an image by the above-described display unit. When the performer turns on the power of the electronic musical instrument 1 by operating the above-described power key provided on the operator 3, the CPU 8 starts the musical tone generation process shown in the flowchart in FIG. 9.

When the musical tone 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 100 acquires key/switch information from the operator 3 indicating the detection result of the operation of the multiple keys of the operator 3 (step S102). After executing the process of step S102, the pitch determination unit 105 determines the pitch of the musical tone according to the detection result of the operation of the multiple keys indicated by the key/switch information acquired in step S102 (step S103).

After executing the process of step S103, the breath pressure information acquisition unit 101 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 tongue detection information acquisition unit 102 acquires from the contact detection unit 7 tongue detection information indicating the output value of the sensor S0, which is a tongue sensor (step S105). After executing the process of step S105, the volume determination unit 106 determines the volume of the musical tone according to the output value of the pressure sensor 60 indicated by the breath pressure information acquired in step S104 and the output value of the sensor S0 indicated by the tongue detection information acquired in step S105 (step S106).

After executing the process of step S106, the CPU 8 executes a lip detection process to acquire the lip position (step S107). Details of the lip detection process executed in step S107 will be described later. After executing the process of step S107, the tone color determination unit 109 determines the tone color of the musical tone according to the lip position acquired in step S107 (step S108).

After the process of step S108 is executed, the musical tone output unit 110 controls the sound system 5 to generate a musical tone having the pitch determined in step S103, the volume determined in step S106, and the tone determined in step S108 (step S109). Specifically, in the process of step S109, the musical tone output unit 110 controls the sound source 11 to generate a digital musical tone signal representing a musical tone having the pitch determined in step S103, the volume determined in step S106, and the tone determined in step S108, and outputs the digital musical tone signal to the sound system 5, and controls the sound system 5 to generate a musical tone represented by the digital musical tone signal input from the sound source 11. Note that in the process of step S109, if a musical tone is being generated and the volume determined in step S106 is 0, a process of muting the generated musical tone is performed. On the other hand, in the process of step S109, if no musical tones are being produced and the volume determined in step S106 is 0, a process is performed to maintain the state in which no musical tones are being produced, i.e., a silent state.

After executing the process of step S109, the CPU 8 judges whether or not a predetermined termination condition is satisfied (step S110). In this embodiment, the termination 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 termination condition can be set arbitrarily. For example, the termination condition may be configured to be satisfied when an operation error is detected. If it is determined in step S110 that the termination condition is not satisfied (step S110; No), the process returns to step S102. On the other hand, if it is determined that the termination condition is satisfied (step S110; Yes), the CPU 8 ends the musical tone sounding process. With this configuration, the CPU 8 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S102 to S110 until it is determined in step S110 that the termination condition is satisfied (step S110; Yes).

The details of the lip detection process executed in step S107 of the musical tone generation process are explained below with reference to the flowchart in Figure 10.

When the lip detection process is started, first, the lip detection information acquisition unit 103 acquires lip detection information indicating the output values of sensors S0 to S11, which are lip sensors, from the contact detection unit 7 (step S201). After executing the process of step S201, the temperature drift information acquisition unit 104 acquires temperature drift information indicating the output value of sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, from the contact detection unit 7 (step S202). After executing the process of step S202, the lip position calculation unit 107 acquires the output value of sensor S12, which is indicated by the temperature drift information acquired in step S202, as a temperature drift correction value (step S203).

After executing the process of step S203, the lip position calculation unit 107 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 indicated by the lip detection information acquired in step S201 according to the temperature drift correction value acquired in step S203 (step S204). Specifically, in the process of step S204, the lip position calculation unit 107 subtracts the temperature drift correction value from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, and if the output value after the subtraction is 0 or more, the lip position calculation unit 107 acquires the output value after the subtraction as the output value after the subtraction, whereas if the output value after the subtraction is less than 0, the lip position calculation unit 107 acquires 0 as the output value after the subtraction. Note that the decimal places of the sensor output values after subtracting the temperature drift correction value are rounded down.

After executing the process of step S204, the CPU 8 calculates the sum of the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced in step S204 (step S205). After executing the process of step S205, the CPU 8 determines whether the sum calculated in step S205 is equal to or greater than a predetermined contact threshold, thereby determining whether the performer holds the mouthpiece 4 in his/her mouth (step S206). Specifically, in the process of step S206, if the sum calculated in step S205 is equal to or greater than the contact threshold, the CPU 8 determines that the performer holds the mouthpiece 4 in his/her mouth, whereas if the sum is less than the contact threshold, the CPU 8 determines that the performer does not hold the mouthpiece 4 in his/her mouth. The contact threshold is preset to a value obtained by multiplying the average value of the sum of the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced according to the output value of the sensor S12 as a temperature drift correction value when the performer holds the mouthpiece 4 in his/her mouth by 0.8, which is experimentally obtained. Note that the above-mentioned method for determining the contact threshold is merely one example, and the contact threshold can be determined by any method. For example, the contact threshold can be set to a value obtained by multiplying the average sum of the output values of sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced according to the output value of sensor S12 as a temperature drift correction value when the performer holds the mouthpiece 4 in his mouth, determined by experiment, by 0.7.

In the process of step S206, if it is determined that the sum calculated in step S205 is smaller than the contact threshold, i.e., if it is determined that the performer does not hold the mouthpiece 4 in his mouth (step S206; No), the CPU 8 acquires a predetermined default position (5.0 in this embodiment) as the lip position (step S207) and ends the lip detection process.

On the other hand, in the process of step S206, if it is determined that the sum calculated in step S205 is equal to or greater than the contact threshold, i.e., if it is determined that the performer holds the mouthpiece 4 in his/her mouth (step S206; Yes), the lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the reduction in step S204 (step S208). Specifically, in the process of step S208, the lip position calculation unit 107 calculates the lip position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11, using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the reduction in step S204 as weights, in accordance with the above-mentioned formula (1).

After the process of step S208 is performed, the lip position correction unit 108 determines a coefficient corresponding to the lip position calculated in step S208 by referring to coefficient determination information previously stored in the ROM 9 (step S209). After the process of step S209 is performed, the lip position correction unit 108 calculates a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position calculated in step S208 by multiplying the output value of the sensor S12 indicated by the temperature drift information acquired in step S202 by the coefficient acquired in step S209 (step S210).

After executing the process of step S210, the lip position correction unit 108 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 indicated by the lip detection information acquired in step S201 according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position calculated in step S210 (step S211). Specifically, in the process of step S211, the lip position correction unit 108 subtracts the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position from the output values of the sensors S0 to S11, and if the output value after the subtraction is 0 or more, the output value after the subtraction is acquired as the output value after the subtraction, whereas if the output value after the subtraction is less than 0, 0 is acquired as the output value after the subtraction. Note that the decimal part of the sensor output value after subtracting the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position is rounded down.

After executing the process of step S211, the lip position correction unit 108 calculates the corrected lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced in step S211 according to the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position (step S212), and ends the lip detection process. Specifically, in the process of step S212, the lip position correction unit 108 calculates the corrected lip position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11, using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after being reduced in step S211 as weights, in accordance with the above-mentioned formula (2).

As described above, the electronic musical instrument 1 calculates the lip position based on the output values of the sensors S0 to S12, corrects the calculated lip position using a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the calculated lip position, and outputs a musical tone corresponding to the corrected lip position. This configuration improves the accuracy of detecting the lip position and reduces the possibility of outputting a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output.

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is a second position closer to the sensor S12, which is a temperature drift sensor, than the first position, the electronic musical instrument 1 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 by an amount smaller than the amount of reduction when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the first position, and calculates the corrected lip position by weighting the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the reduction as weights. With this configuration, when a performer plays with his or her lower lip in contact with a position near the sensor S12, the detection accuracy of the lip position, which is the contact position of the lower lip, can be improved, and the possibility of a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output can be reduced.

When the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is a fourth position away from the third position in the direction from the heel end 44b of the reed substrate 44 toward the tip end 44a of the reed substrate 44, the electronic musical instrument 1 reduces the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 by a reduction amount greater than the reduction amount when the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 is the third position, and calculates the corrected contact position by weighting the values indicating the positions of the sensors S0 to S11 using the output values of the sensors S0 to S11 after the reduction as weights. With this configuration, when a performer plays while slightly changing the contact position of the lower lip with the lower lip in contact with a position near the tip end 44a of the reed substrate 44, the detection accuracy of the lip position can be improved and the possibility of a musical tone different from the musical tone the performer desires to output can be reduced.

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.

For example, in the above embodiment, the touch operation means is described as the reed portion 41 that accepts touch operations by the player using the lower lip, but this is merely one example, and the touch operation means may be any configuration that accepts touch operations by the player. For example, the touch operation means may be a touch pad that is provided on the tube portion 2 that the player holds in his/her hand and accepts touch operations using the player's fingers.

Figure 11 is a rear view of an electronic musical instrument 1 according to a modified example of the present invention. As shown in Figure 11, a touchpad 13 is provided on the rear surface of the tube body 2 of the electronic musical instrument 1 according to this modified example, which accepts touch operations using the performer's finger. The touchpad 13 is an example of a touch operation means. The electronic musical instrument 1 according to this modified example detects the thumb position, which is the contact position of the performer's thumb when it touches the touchpad 13, and outputs musical sounds to which effects such as pitch bend and modulation have been applied according to the detected thumb position.

As shown in FIG. 12, multiple sensors S13 to S22 are arranged on the touchpad 13 in the direction from the left end 13a of the touchpad 13 to the right end 13b of the touchpad 13. The sensors S13 to S22 are capacitive touch sensors that detect touch by the player. The direction from the left end 13a of the touchpad 13 to the right end 13b of the touchpad 13 is an example of a reference direction. The sensor S13 is configured to be covered by a cover (not shown) so that the player's body does not come into contact with it, and functions as a temperature drift sensor. The sensor S13 is an example of a reference sensor. The sensors S14 to S22 are configured so that the player's body can come into contact with them, and function as thumb sensors that detect contact with the player's thumb. Each of the thumb sensors S14 to S22 is previously assigned a value indicating the position of the sensor.

In this modification, the CPU 8 calculates the thumb position based on the output value of the sensor S13, which is a temperature drift sensor, and the output values of the sensors S14 to S22, which are thumb sensors. The calculation of the thumb position can be performed by applying the method used by the lip position calculation unit 107 to calculate the lip position in the above embodiment. That is, the CPU 8 acquires the output value of the sensor S13 as a temperature drift correction value, and calculates the thumb position by weighting the values indicating the positions of the sensors S14 to S22 using the output values of the sensors S14 to S22, which are reduced according to the acquired temperature drift correction value, as weights. The CPU 8 corrects the calculated thumb position according to the calculated thumb position, and outputs a musical sound to which an effect according to the corrected thumb position has been applied. The correction of the thumb position can be performed by applying the method used by the lip position correction unit 108 to correct the lip position in the above embodiment. That is, the CPU 8 determines the coefficient corresponding to the calculated thumb position by referring to data indicating the correspondence between the thumb position and the coefficient, which is stored in advance in the ROM 9. The CPU 8 then multiplies the output value of the sensor S13 by the determined coefficient, reduces the output values of the sensors S14 to S22 according to the correction value obtained, and uses the output values as weights to calculate the weighted average of the values indicating the positions of the sensors S14 to S22 to calculate the corrected thumb position. This configuration improves the detection accuracy of the thumb position and reduces the possibility of a musical tone different from the one the performer desires to be output.

In the above embodiment, the electronic musical instrument 1 may be configured to accept an operation by the performer to set a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position, and the lip position correction unit 108 may be configured to correct the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107 using the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position set by the performer. For example, the setting key provided on the operator 3 may be configured to include a correction value setting key that accepts an operation by the performer to set a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position, and the lip position correction unit 108 may be configured to obtain a temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position according to the detection result of the operation on the correction value setting key indicated by the key/switch information input from the operator 3. In this case, the lip position correction unit 108 uses the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the acquired lip position to calculate the corrected lip position in the same manner as in the above embodiment, and the musical sound output unit 110 outputs a musical sound according to the corrected lip position calculated by the lip position correction unit 108. This configuration allows the performer to adjust the temperature drift correction value corresponding to the lip position, which is used to correct the lip position calculated by the lip position calculation unit 107, according to factors such as the performer's unique playing habits, the performer's unique lip shape, and the unique sensor characteristics of the electronic musical instrument 1, thereby reducing the possibility of a musical tone different from the one the performer desires to be output.

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.

Not only can a dedicated electronic musical instrument equipped with the configuration for realizing each function of the present invention be provided as the electronic musical instrument of the present invention, but by applying a program, an existing electronic musical instrument can be made to function as the electronic musical instrument of the present invention. In other words, by applying a program for realizing each function of the electronic musical instrument of the present invention so that it can be executed by a processor such as a CPU that controls an existing electronic musical instrument, the existing electronic musical instrument can be made to function as the electronic musical instrument of the present invention.

The method of applying such a program is arbitrary. The program can be applied by storing it on 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 distributed by posting it on a bulletin board system (BBS) 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 processing to be performed.

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

(Appendix 1)
a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of a part of the body of the player that has come into contact with a contact operation means that accepts a contact operation by the player, based on output values of a plurality of sensors that are arranged in a reference direction on the contact operation means and detect contact by the player;
a contact position correction means for correcting the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
Equipped with
1. An electronic musical instrument comprising:

(Appendix 2)
a musical sound output unit that outputs a musical sound corresponding to the contact position corrected by the contact position correction unit,
2. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1.

(Appendix 3)
The plurality of sensors includes a reference sensor configured so as not to be contacted by the body of a player,
a value indicating a position of the sensor is previously associated with each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor;
the contact position calculation means reduces an output value of each sensor other than the reference sensor among the plurality of sensors in accordance with an output value of the reference sensor, and calculates a weighted average of values indicating positions of the sensors using the output values of the sensors after the reduction as weights, thereby calculating the contact position;
the contact position correction means reduces the output values of the sensors other than the reference sensor among the plurality of sensors in accordance with a correction value obtained by multiplying an output value of the reference sensor by a coefficient corresponding to the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means, and calculates a weighted average of values indicating the positions of the sensors using the output values of the sensors after the reduction as weights to calculate a corrected contact position.
3. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 1 or 2.

(Appendix 4)
when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is a second position closer to the reference sensor than the first position, the contact position correction means reduces the output values of each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor by an amount of decrease smaller than the amount of decrease when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is the first position, and calculates a corrected contact position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of each of the sensors using the output values of each of the sensors after the decrease as weights.
4. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 3.

(Appendix 5)
a value indicating a position of the sensor is previously associated with each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor such that a larger value is associated with a sensor disposed at a position farther away in the reference direction,
when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is a fourth position away from the third position in a direction opposite to the reference direction, the contact position correction means reduces the output values of each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor by an amount greater than an amount of reduction when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is the third position, and calculates a corrected contact position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of each of the sensors using the output values of each of the sensors after the reduction as weights.
5. The electronic musical instrument according to claim 3 or 4.

(Appendix 6)
accepting an operation by a performer to set the correction value;
the contact position correction means corrects the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means by using the correction value set by a player.
6. An electronic musical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

(Appendix 7)
the touch operation means is included in a reed section that accepts touch operations using the lips of a player, or a touch pad section that accepts touch operations using the fingers of a player,
7. An electronic musical instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

(Appendix 8)
a contact position calculation step of calculating a contact position of a part of the body of the player that has come into contact with a contact operation means that accepts a contact operation by the player, based on output values of a plurality of sensors that are arranged in a reference direction on the contact operation means and detect contact by the player;
a contact position correction step of correcting the contact position calculated in the contact position calculation step by using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
Including,
13. A method for controlling an electronic musical instrument comprising:

(Appendix 9)
A computer that controls an electronic musical instrument
a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of a part of the body of the player who has come into contact with a contact operation means for accepting a contact operation by the player, based on output values of a plurality of sensors which are arranged in a reference direction on the contact operation means and which detect contact by the player;
a contact position correction means for correcting the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means by using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
To function as
A program characterized by:

1: Electronic musical instrument, 2: Tube section, 3: Controls, 4: Mouthpiece, 5: Sound system, 6: Breath pressure detection section, 7: Contact detection section, 8: CPU, 9: ROM, 10: RAM, 11: Sound source, 12: System bus, 13: Touchpad, 13a: Left end of touchpad, 13b: Right end of touchpad, 20: Finger rest, 21: Strap ring, 40: Main body, 40a: Air inlet side end of main body, 40b: Tube section side end of main body, 41: Reed section, 42: Fixing metal fitting, 43...Blowing port, 44...Lead board, 44a...Tip side end of the lead board, 44b...Heel side end of the lead board, 60...Pressure sensor, 100...Key/switch information acquisition unit, 101...Breath pressure information acquisition unit, 102...Tongue detection information acquisition unit, 103...Lip detection information acquisition unit, 104...Temperature drift information acquisition unit, 105...Pitch determination unit, 106...Volume determination unit, 107...Lip position calculation unit, 108...Lip position correction unit, 109...Tone color determination unit, 110...Musical tone output unit, S0 to S22...Sensors

Claims (10)

a plurality of sensors arranged in a reference direction on a touch operation means for receiving a touch operation by a player, the sensors detecting a touch of a player's lower lip or thumb that comes into contact with the touch operation means;
a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of the player's lower lip or thumb based on output values of the plurality of sensors ;
a contact position correction means for correcting the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
Equipped with
the plurality of sensors includes a reference sensor provided so as not to be contacted by the player's lower lip or thumb;
the correction value is acquired based on the output value of the reference sensor and the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means.
1. An electronic wind instrument comprising: a musical sound output unit that outputs a musical sound corresponding to the contact position corrected by the contact position correction unit,
2. The electronic wind instrument according to claim 1 . a value indicating a position of the sensor is previously associated with each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor;
the contact position calculation means reduces an output value of each sensor other than the reference sensor among the plurality of sensors in accordance with an output value of the reference sensor, and calculates a weighted average of values indicating positions of the sensors using the output values of the sensors after the reduction as weights, thereby calculating the contact position;
the contact position correction means reduces the output values of the sensors other than the reference sensor among the plurality of sensors in accordance with the correction value obtained by multiplying the output value of the reference sensor by a coefficient corresponding to the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means, and calculates a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of the sensors using the output values of the sensors after the reduction as weights to calculate a corrected contact position.
3. The electronic wind instrument according to claim 1 or 2. when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is a second position closer to the reference sensor than the first position, the contact position correction means reduces the output values of each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor by an amount of decrease smaller than the amount of decrease when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is the first position, and calculates a corrected contact position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of each of the sensors using the output values of each of the sensors after the decrease as weights.
4. The electronic wind instrument according to claim 3. a value indicating a position of the sensor is previously associated with each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor such that a larger value is associated with a sensor disposed at a position farther away in the reference direction,
when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is a fourth position away from the third position in a direction opposite to the reference direction, the contact position correction means reduces the output values of each of the plurality of sensors other than the reference sensor by an amount greater than an amount of reduction when the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means is the third position, and calculates a corrected contact position by taking a weighted average of the values indicating the positions of each of the sensors using the output values of each of the sensors after the reduction as weights.
5. The electronic wind instrument according to claim 3 or 4. an operator for receiving an operation for setting the correction value,
the contact position correction means corrects the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means by using the correction value set by operation of the operator .
6. An electronic wind instrument according to claim 1, wherein the electronic wind instrument is a wind instrument having a wind section. The reference sensor is covered with a cover.
7. An electronic wind instrument according to claim 1, wherein the electronic wind instrument is a wind instrument having a wind section. the touch operation means is included in a reed section that accepts touch operations using the lips of a player, or a touch pad section that accepts touch operations using the fingers of a player,
8. An electronic wind instrument according to claim 1, wherein the electronic wind instrument is a wind instrument having a wind section . 1. A method for controlling an electronic wind instrument having a plurality of sensors arranged in a reference direction on a touch operation means for receiving a touch operation by a player, the sensors detecting a touch of a player's lower lip or thumb in contact with the touch operation means, the method comprising:
a contact position calculation step of calculating a contact position of the player's lower lip or thumb based on output values of the plurality of sensors ;
a contact position correction step of correcting the contact position calculated in the contact position calculation step by using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
Including,
the correction value is obtained based on an output value of a reference sensor included in the plurality of sensors, the reference sensor being provided so as not to be contacted by the lower lip or thumb of the player, and based on the contact position calculated in the contact position calculation step.
13. A method for controlling an electronic wind instrument comprising the steps of: A computer for controlling an electronic wind instrument having a plurality of sensors arranged in a reference direction on a touch operation means for receiving a touch operation by a player, the sensors detecting the touch of the player's lower lip or thumb when the touch operation means is in contact with the touch operation means ,
a contact position calculation means for calculating a contact position of the player's lower lip or thumb based on output values of the plurality of sensors ;
a contact position correction means for correcting the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means by using a correction value corresponding to the calculated contact position;
Function as a
the plurality of sensors includes a reference sensor provided so as not to be contacted by the player's lower lip or thumb;
the correction value is acquired based on the output value of the reference sensor and the contact position calculated by the contact position calculation means.
A program characterized by:

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