Patent ID: 6979768

Claim:
An electronic musical instrument comprising: an operation panel that is operated by a user; at least one connection terminal connectable with a keyboard originally designed for use in a computer, said keyboard having a plurality of key regions each including a plurality of keys; a first connection interface for use as a MIDI interface; a second connection interface for connecting said keyboard directly to said electronic musical instrument; a first assigning device that assigns function modules respectively to the key regions of said keyboard connected via said connection terminal and said second connection interface; a second assignment device that assigns characters, symbols, or numerical values respectively to the keys of said keyboard connected to said electronic musical instrument; and an execution device that is responsive to operation of any of the key regions of said keyboard, for executing a function corresponding to one of the function modules assigned to the operated key region; wherein said execution device causes an operated key to input a character, a symbol, or a numerical value assigned to the operated key, and wherein when one of the function modules is assigned to the operated key region, said execution device causes the input character, the input symbol or the input numerical value to be delivered to the function module assigned to the operated key region.