CA2828355A1 - Stringed instrument played with keys that touch harmonic points - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to keyed stringed instruments like clavichords and clavets, and strummed instruments like a guitars or mandolins. Guitar players use a technique to raise the pitch and change the tone of a note by touching a nodal point on a vibrating string;
this technique is known as playing a harmonic. This patent is for a component of a musical instrument that allows a performer to play a harmonic with the use of a lever called a tangent which is engaged when a note is played with a key. An instrument made with this component can be played like a guitar with the exception that the fretting finger depresses keys onto a string, rather than touching the string directly. It is not essential that a strumming hand be used to sound a note, but this technique will add to the volume and complexity of music being played.

Description

Stringed Instrument Played with Keys that Touch Harmonic Points This invention is for a component of a stringed instrument that creates a unique method for playing harmonics. A technique, known as playing a harmonic, is played on a stringed instrument by touching a fractional point on the speaking length of a string. This changes the pitch of the note. For example, a harmonic point that is touched halfway down the string's length will raise the pitch by an octave. If the string is touched at a third of its speaking length, the resulting note is seven semitones, or a perfect fifth above the base note. A string touched at a nodal point that is a fifth of the length of the string will sound a major third above the base note, and a string touched at five ninths along its length will create a flattened seventh. Harmonics are well known to proficient guitar players, but can be difficult for beginners.
Some stringed instruments produce sound when a key is used to strike a string.
Clavichords are played by using a key to hammer a string, and the note sounds for as long as the key is held. The key is attached to a lever known as a tangent which is the part that touches the string. Clavichords usually produce one tone per key, and often include felt to dampen an open string when a key is at rest. Alternately, they may be fretted, which means that tangents are placed in series along a single string; different keys may be used to play the same string. Clavichords, like pianos, have strings and keys that lie parallel to each other, which are mostly played with both hands.
Akkordolias or benjus make use of buttons to shorten the speaking length of a string to play a desired note. One string may have multiple buttons in series spanning the entire chromatic scale.
These instruments can be held and played like a guitar or autoharp; one had plays notes while the other strums.
This patent expands on prior art, and is for an instrument that touches a harmonic point when a note's key is pressed while the strings are and strummed or plucked. Unlike the frets of a guitar which are a stationary part of the fingerboard, the frets of an instrument that employs this inventive idea are attached to the keys. Engaging a key frets the desired note on its string, and moves a tangent to touch a string at a nodal point; the key determines the note and activates a lever to play a harmonic. This allows for continuous playing, and will create a unique playing technique, style, and sound. A player will be able to use one hand to sound base notes and harmonics while the other hand plucks, strums, mutes, or otherwise plays the strings. This instrument should inspire and

2 facilitate a musician to better understand the nature of harmonics.
Figure 1 is a cross section that shows five keys and tangents in series along a single string as if one were being played. The figure's right and left edges are shown as jagged lines indicating that the string 3, stopping plate 6, and body 7 extend past the image. This figure includes only the essential aspects of this patent when keys are in series, while figure 3 shows a single key. These two figures do not show a bridge, nut or string bearer. They also omit muting felt, resonator boxes, chambers, bouts, headstocks, tuning pegs, or tuning pins. These aspects of a stringed instrument are incidental to this patent; a luthier will chose how to construct the body of an instrument that uses harmonic playing keys to achieve various timbres, aesthetics, and playing styles.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are various examples of how this patent is added to prior art. Figure 4 shows the patentable idea being used in an instrument similar to an autoharp; figure 5 is made to depict an instrument that is similar to a guitar; and Figure 6 emulates a ukulele's design. The arrangement of keys, tangents, and instrument body will influence how an individual will comfortably hold the instrument, including like a banjo, stoessel lute, or bulbul tarang. The macro-build of the instrument is incidental; the harmonic utility of the key and tangent is the inventive idea, not the shape of the instrument.
Figure 1 shows a fragmentary longitudinal cross section of five keys in series. This cross section could be taken along the length of a string from figure 5, in which the instrument has five keys per string. In figure 1, the fourth key 1 has been depressed so that its fret 2 is touching the string 3 which runs the length of the instrument. Further down the speaking length of the string, the key's tangent 4 is touching the string at a nodal point to create a harmonic. This tangent may be made to touch the string simultaneously with the fret, or only with complete compression of its key's spring 5. The latter option would result in both the base note, and the harmonic note being played at the players discretion. The degree of freedom that the key and tangent will have will be dependant on the shape of the tangent, as well as the distance between the stopping plate 6 and the body 7 that houses the keys. The distance that the key must move will emulate the action of a guitar or other similar stringed instrument. It is beneficial for the key to be allowed to be depressed further once the tangent has touched the string, because a distinct bebung unique to this instrument will be possible.
Figure 1 shows a layout of tangents when five keys are placed in series on a single string. This layout is included to show how to arrange the tangents so that they will not interfere with one

3 another; the more keys added to a string, the more complicated the tangent arrangement. The first key 8, is shown at rest so that its tangent 9 is also in its resting position.
This tangent passes through the other keys and lies next to the other tangents, which makes it appear in the front in this image.
The tangent 9 also sits on top of the other tangents. Figure 2 clarifies how this if accomplished from a different perspective. The fifth key 10 is also shown at rest, and it can be seen that its tangent 11 does not pass through any other key.
Figure 2 illustrates a fragmentary cross section inside the fifth key 10 along the line 13 ¨ 13, looking in the direction of the arrows. This shows how the tangents rest next to each other, and how the string 3 is strung through the keys. The first tangent 9 is on the opposite side of fifth tangent 11.
These tangents rest on top of the fifth tangent's fulcrum 14, which is held in place by the fulcrum pin 15. The pin runs through the key's hole 16 and is firmly attached to the body 7. The instruments illustrated in this document have several strings that run parallel to each other in the direction of the fragmentation of figure 2, and each string has it's own key or series of keys.
Figure 4 has thirteen strings each with a single key; figure 5 has six strings with five keys each;
and figure 6 has four strings and a total of 20 keys.
Figure 3 is a detailed cross section on the fifth key 10 and its tangent 11 beneath it. This diagram shows how a key and tangent work together. The key has a hole 16 which the fulcrum pin 15 runs through. The height of this hole, along with the distance between the stopping plate 6 and the body 7 shown in figure 1, will determine the distance that the key will be able to move. The fulcrum pin is attached to the instrument's body, and is what the tangent 11 rotates around. The tangent has a wide part called the fulcrum 14 which the fulcrum pin runs through, and other tangents rest upon.
The fulcrum spans the distance between the key's sides, and keeps the tangent aligned. The key has an attached effort bar 17 which connects both sides of the key, and is what the butt 18 of the tangent fits on. The effort bar is what applies force on the tangent to make the head of the tangent 19 move.
The tangent has a curve 20 which prevents it from hitting other tangent heads when the key is engaged. This curve is not necessary when the keys are not placed in series like in figure 4.
Figure 4 is a drawing that shows a thirteen stringed instrument with a single key and tangent on each string. This figure includes a truss band 21, which is made to make the instrument more sturdy.
This instrument has a single fulcrum pin 22 which runs through both the truss band and the instrument's body 23 which is a large sounding box. The shortest string 24, like all the other strings,

4 can be seen running between its key 25 and the bridge 26. From the bridge, every string passes into the body 23, and to a tuning pin which cannot be seen from the given perspective. Hidden away at the other end of the strings, beneath the face 27 of the instrument is where the strings are anchored and rest on a nut. This figure shows that the keys span a chromatic scale, and each tangent will bisect its own string. To reiterate from earlier, to make each key play a major third, perfect fifth, flattened seventh, or full octave harmonic, the tangent needs to touch the string at a one fifth, one third, five ninths or halfway nodal point respectively. However, the halfway harmonic is preferred because it has a distinct timbre. Figure 4 is a simple example of this patent idea being utilized because its keys only run parallel to each other, and each play an individual string. This example is played like an autoharp; a player holds it across their chest or lap, playing the keys with one hand while strumming with the other.
Figure 5 depicts the inventive component of this patent included in an instrument that is made to emulate a guitar. There are six strings, each with five identically sized keys. The strings are attached to a soundboard 28 via a bridge 29. This example is included to show how this patent can be used to make a lute. A tress band 30 runs the length of the instrument, and is attached to the bridge inside of the body by bridge nuts 31 on the face of the instrument.
Notably, this instrument does not include a typical guitar headstock or machine heads. This is to fortify the assertion that it can be played like a bulbul tarang; with the hands curled around the head 32.
Only the screws 33 that hold the tuning pins to the bottom of the instrument's head are shown.
Fulcrum pins 34 are shown passing through the tress band 30, and are equally spaced apart because the keys are made to be the same size; this is congruent with figure 1. The sound hole 35 is made large enough so that the tangents will be seen moving inside the instrument when it is played. Between the sound hole and the bridge are non-essential holes 36 that are placed where an open string's pinch harmonics can be played; this is to add to the educational function of this instrument.
Electronic pickups may also be placed in this location.
Figure 6 is a drawing of an instrument that has four strings which is made to be played like a ukulele. This diagram shows that the keys are made in different sizes to emulate the shape of frets on a ukulele. That is, the keys 36 closest to the headstock 37 are larger than the keys 38 closest to the sounding box 39. Figure 6 shows machine heads 40 and tuning pegs 41. This figure also depicts a tress bolt 42 that both holds the tress band 45 firmly in place, and acts as a nut for the strings inside the instrument. The strings of the instrument pass through holes 43 onto the nut, and then span to the bridge 44. The bridge is attached firmly to the tress band 45 through the sounding box 39, which makes this instrument a zither; the strings are not attached to a soundboard. This lack of soundboard makes the tangents 46 highly visible beneath the strings, and affects the timbre of this instrument.

Claims (4)

Claims The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A stringed instrument that utilizes a key that both includes a fret to determine a note and a tangent that touches a fractional point along the string to achieve a harmonic.

2. A stringed instrument that utilizes a key that both includes a fret to determine a note and a tangent that touches a fractional point along the string to achieve a harmonic that includes electronic or acoustic pickups to amplify the sound being played.

3. A stringed instrument that utilizes a key that both includes a fret to determine a note and a tangent that touches a fractional point along the string to achieve a harmonic with the body of a lute, zither or keyboard.

4. A stringed instrument that utilizes a key that both includes a fret to determine a note and a tangent that touches a fractional point along the string to achieve a harmonic which uses one key per string, or numerous keys in series on individual strings.