In an electronic musical instrument, a tone generation designating circuitry provides, upon depression of each playing key, a set of parameter signals designating properties such as pitch and timber of a tone to be generated and a key-on signal indicating the depression of the key, and in response to these parameter signals and key-on signal, a tone generator generates a vibratory wave signal having the designated tone properties at the designated timing as a tone signal for the depressed key. The tone generation designating circuitry includes a microcomputer to control and perform data processing. There are further provided a first clock pulse generator which generates time frame clock pulses defining consecutive time frames, and a second clock pulse generator which generates pitch clock pulses defining fundamental frequencies of human voice for the respective time frames. In a human voice mode, the microcomputer provides for each time frame a plurality of parameter signals designating a plurality of formant frequencies of a human voice and controls to feed the pitch clock pulses to the tone generators in place of the key-on signals to initialize the respective vibrations at every arrival of the clock pulse. Thus many harmonies exhibiting the designated formant pattern are produced above the designated fundamental, and such pattern is varied with time to simulate speech by human voices.
ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT