Patent ID: 6969798

Claim:
An apparatus for imparting tone effects to tone signals comprising: a tone signal providing device which provides tone signals; a music performance data signal receiving device which receives a music performance data signal containing tone effect control messages including tone effect selection codes and/or tone effect parameter codes, each of said tone effect selection codes nominating a tone effect and each of said tone effect parameter codes determining a property of the corresponding tone effect where the tone effect with said property is available in a first rank of a tone producing apparatus; a tone effect conversion rule providing device which provides tone effect conversion rules for converting a tone effect selection code nominating a tone effect, which is available in said first rank but not available in a second rank of a tone producing apparatus, to a tone effect selection code nominating a tone effect of similar nature, which is available in said second rank, and for converting a tone effect parameter code for said first rank to a tone effect parameter code which is usable in said second rank where the tone effect parameter code for said first rank is not compatibly usable in said second rank; a tone effect control message converting device which converts a tone effect selection code contained in said received music performance data signal for said first rank to a tone effect selection code for said second rank where the tone effect selection code for said first rank is not available in said second rank, and converts a tone effect parameter code contained in said received music performance data signal for said first rank to a tone effect parameter code for said second rank, according to said tone effect conversion rules, said tone effect control message converting device not converting a tone effect selection code or a tone effect parameter code contained in said received music performance data signal for said first rank where the tone effect selection code for said first rank nominates a tone effect available in said second rank or the tone effect parameter code for said first rank is compatibly usable in said second rank, thereby outputting the converted and unconverted tone effect selection codes and tone effect parameter codes; and a tone effect imparting device which imparts to said tone signals the tone effects according to the tone effect selection codes and the tone effect parameter codes outputted from said tone effect control message converting device.