GB2294575A - A device to simplify and improve the teaching/learning of conventional musical notation - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to pre-formed musical symbols capable of being releasably secured, by some form of temporary mutual adhesion, to a board, comprising a portion marked with stave lines. The board and symbols could be made from various could be made from various materials, as long as they are mutually adhesive, forming a temporary bond. The device could be large for group use or small for personal use.

Description

A device to simplify and improve teaching/learning of conventional musical notation.

This invention relates to pre-formed musical symbols capable of being releasably secured to a board , comprising a section marked with stave lines On the whole , children (or adults) have little trouble with practical music making , but learning to read and write conventional notation , either for private music study or as proposed for key stage three of the national curriculum for music in schools , tends to be a problem . There is a derth of resources to tackle this .Some hardware is needed to give "hands-on" learning experience so that one may get used to the mechanics of the system It would then be much easier to progress to writing on manuscript paper This invention is a plurality of elements including a board (comprising a portion marked with stave lines) and pre-formed musical symbols (clefs; numbers for the signatures; straight lines for use as bar lines or for creating groups of notes; accidentals; rests, for indicating periods of silence , noteshapes , representing sounds of various duration , for rhythm work; and other shapes eg. small rounds , of a diameter comparable with the distance between the lines on the stave board , representing no fixed duration, together with pieces , each marked with one of the first seven letters of the alphabet , for pitch work, to indicate sounds of particular wavelengths ,) all being capable of being releasably secured to the aforementioned board and all in the conventionally acceptable proportions to the drawn stave .To be releasably secured the symbols and board would be temporarily mutually adhesive , including combinations such as a) Magnetic symbols on a metal board b) Vinyl shapes on a vinyl board c) Felt on a fuzzy board d) Velcro on suitably adhesive board One side of the board could be plain or ruled with one line , to be used with the various noteshapes for teaching/learning rhythmic representations .The other side or further section of the board , or a separate board , ruled with stave lines , could be used with the other shapes ( small rounds being most appropriate ) for working specifically with pitch , or with different combinations , chosen from the available symbols , to combine rhythm and pitch as the pupil becomes more proficient The device could be large , for group use or small , for personal use A simplified version of the device could be produced using less symbols than described above The clefs could be printed permanently on the board A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows board ruled with stave Figure 2 the two clefs in most frequent use Figure 3 shows examples of typical noteshapes indicating relative duration of sound Figure 4 shows suggested small round shapes and note-name pieces for pitch work Figure 5 shows examples of accidentals Figure 6 shows examples of rests Figure 7 shows typical numbers for time signatures Figure 8 shows suggested uses for straight sticks (marked in thick lines) - leger lines groupings or bar lines

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS This invention is a plurality of elements , including a board (comprising a portion marked with stave lines) and pre-formed musical symbols (clefs; numbers for time-signatures; straight sticks for use as bar lines or for creating groups of notes; accidentals; rests , for indicating periods of silence; noteshapes , representing sounds of various duration , for rhythm work; and other shapes , most appropriately small rounds of a diameter comparable with the distance between the lines on the stave board , representing no fixed duration together with pieces , each marked with one of the first seven letters of the alphabet , for pitch work , to indicate sounds of particular wavelengths when placed on the stave) all being capable of being releasably secured to the aforementioned board and all in the conventionally accepted proportions to the drawn stave .To be releasably secured , the symbols and board would be temporarily mutually adhesive , including combinations such as a) Magnetic symbols on metal board b) Vinyl shapes on vinyl board c) Felt shapes on a fuzzy board d) Velcro on suitably adhesive board One side/section of the board could be plain or ruled with one line , to be used with the various noteshapes for teaching/learning rhythmic representations . The other side or further section of the same board , or a separate board , ruled with the stave lines could be used with the other shapes (small rounds being most appropriate) for working specifically with pitch; or with different combinations , chosen from all the available symbols , as the pupil becomes more proficient , to combine rhythm and pitch The device could be large for group use or small for personal use A simplified version of the device could be produced using less symbols than described above. The clefs could be printed permanently on the board