GB2411042A

GB2411042A - Holder for a stringed musical instrument plectrum

Info

Publication number: GB2411042A
Application number: GB0403010A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Luke Fraser Shingler
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-02-11
Filing date: 2004-02-11
Publication date: 2005-08-17
Also published as: GB0403010D0

Abstract

A plectrum holder in the form of a member 3 made of resilient material and having a shallow recess 11 formed therein for receiving the main body 8 of the plectrum 2, the recess emerging at one side of the member as an open slot 9 for leaving the pick portion of the plectrum exposed. The holder may be easier to hold and more comfortable for a user than the bare plectrum. Using soft stretchy rubber as a material of for member 3 transmits pressure from the fingers of the user to the plectrum itself and serves to hold it securely so that it can be used to sound the guitar strings whilst in use.

Description

24 1 1 042

A HOLDER FOR A STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PLECTRUM

This invention relates to a holder for a plectrum for a stringed musical instrument, for

example a guitar.

Some musical instruments, for example guitars, have strings which may be sounded i.e. plucked or strummed using a plectrum gripped by the player between the thumb and one or more fingers. A plectrum consists of a thin piece of material such as rigid plastics material which is generally triangular with the sides and corners somewhat rounded. One corner is more acute than the others and this corner is used to pick or pluck the strings. The other two corners bound the main body of the plectrum which is gripped by the fingers of the player's hand.

It is easy to drop a plectrum whilst playing - during a concert, a player may carry several so that, if he drops one, he can quickly pick up another. However, it would be more convenient if it were not so easy to drop the plectrum in the first place. Also, because it is quite thin and the player may tend to grip it quite hard, the use of the plectrum may, in time, cause the player to develop repetitive strain injuries (RSI).

An object of the invention is to provide a holder by which a plectrum can be more comfortably and securely held by a player.

According to the invention there is provided a holder for a plectrum comprising a member made of resilient material, for example synthetic silicon-based rubber, and having a slit formed therein for receiving the body of the plectrum within the holder and leaving the pick portion of the plectrum exposed.

Advantageously, the member is generally oblong with two rounded ends, a rounded side and, opposite the rounded side, a relatively straight segment side into which the slot enters the member. The member may be generally rectangular but with dished top and bottom surfaces for being grasped by the thumb and one or more fingers of the user's hand.

Preferably, the member is generally oblong in plain view and relatively narrow in front and rear view.

Advantageously, the member is moulded in two halves having matching recesses therein, each recess having the general shape in plan view of the main body of a plectrum and said two halves being adhered together after moulding with the recesses facing one another to form a space for receiving said main body of said plectrum.

The member may be made of relatively soft material so that the plectrum is gripped by the member when the top and bottom surfaces of the member are squeezed together.

The member may have grip-improving pimples or dimples on the top and/or bottom gripping surfaces of the member.

The member may be about 8mm between the top and bottom surfaces at least around the peripheral portions of those surfaces and, in plan view, the member may be oblong and about 31 mm by 22mm.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a holder as described above and a musical instrument plectrum fitted in the holder.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for playing a stringed musical instrument comprising using a plectrum held in a holder as described above for sounding e.g. strumming or plucking the said strings.

For a better understanding of the invention, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a plectrum holder; Figure 2 is a side view of the holder; Figure 3 is a plan view of the holder; and Figures 4 and 5 are respective sectional views on the line M in Figure 1 Figures 2, 3 and 4 each show a guitar plectrum 2 in place within the holder 1. The plectrum is not present in Figures 1 and 5.

The illustrated holder 1 comprises a member 3 made of relatively soft and stretchy silicon-based synthetic rubber. In plan view, the member 3 is oblong and about 31mm by 22mm. One side 16 is relatively straight, i.e. so that in plan view the member looks somewhat oval but with a segment removed. As shown in the front view of Figure 1, the member 3 is thicker around its periphery 4. Here, the thickness is about 8mm as shown by the dimension arrows B. The top and bottom surfaces 5 and 6 are dished as shown and each of these surfaces could be dimpled or pimpled to improve grip. Within the member, there is a shallow recess 7 adapted to receive the body portion 8 of the plectrum 2. The recess opens as a slot 9 in the side 16 of the member 3. The recess 7 and slot 9 are about 0.5mm thick.

The member 3 is sufficiently soft to enable to plectrum 2 to be pushed through the slot 9 and engaged in the recess 7 such that the pick portion 1 O. i.e. the more acute corner, emerges from the slot 9. The length of the exposed part of the plectrum, i.e. dimension C could be about 8 to 10mm. As well as the plectrum 2 being able to be pushed into member 3, it can be removed by gripping portion 10 and pulling the plectrum out of the member, the material of the member being sufficiently soft and resilient to allow this.

To make the member 3, two halves are made each shown in Figure 5. Each half has a shallow recess 11 about half the depth of the plectrum recess 7. The two halves are then adhered together.

Ideally, the recess 7 has a shape which closely matches the body part of a standard size and shape of plectrum. In the illustrated case this comprises a generally triangular shape with rounded sides 12 and 13 and corners 14 and with one corner missing as shown.

For preference, the periphery of the member 3 also matches, more or less, the shape of the recess 7 and body part 8 of the plectrum 2, i.e. the width of the land 15 between the recess 7 and edge of member 3 is generally uniform.

The holder 1 could be made by making a mould and filling it with commercially available moulding rubber dyed with cellulous ink, the moulding then be allowed to cure and the two halves fixed together with a suitable rubber adhesive. This is given only as a possible method of making the holder. For mass production purposes, a better method of manufacture would use appropriate moulding methods.

Because the land 15 around the recess 7 is able to stretch, and because the illustrated member 3 is relatively soft and resilient, it can be used to hold a plectrum which is thicker than the recess 7 and/or which is larger than the plan view dimensions of the recess 7 and/or which has a somewhat different shape to that of the illustrated plectrum. In other words, at least to a degree, the same illustrated plectrum holder can be used for a range of different sizes and shapes of plectrum. In addition of course, the holder could be used with a plectrum which is somewhat smaller than the one illustrated provided of course that it is not so small that it is not retained properly in use.

The use of a recess 7 and slot 9 which is about 0.5mm thick would be suitable for use with a typical thickness of plectrum of 0.5mm. However, a thicker plectrum up to 1.0mm perhaps would also fit a 0.5mm thick recess. For thicker plectrums, the recess 7 could be made wider than 0. 5mm.

Claims

1. A holder for a plectrum comprising a member made of resilient material and having a slit formed therein for receiving the body of the plectrum within the holder and leaving the pick portion of the plectrum exposed.

2. A holder according to Claim1 wherein, in plan view, the member is generally oblong with two rounded ends, a rounded side and, opposite the rounded side, a relatively straight segment side into which the slot enters the member.

3. A holder according to Claim 2 wherein, in front and rear view, the member is generally rectangular but with dished top and bottom surfaces for being grasped by the thumb and one or more fingers of the user's hand.

4. A holder according to any preceding claim wherein, the member is generally oblong in plan view and relatively narrow in front and rear view.

5. A holder according to any preceding claim wherein, the member is moulded in two halves having matching recesses therein, each recess having the general shape in plain view of the main body of a plectrum and said two halves being adhered together after moulding with the recesses facing one another to form a space for receiving said main body of said plectrum.

6. A holder according to any preceding claim made of relatively soft material so that the plectrum is gripped by the member when the top and bottom surfaces of the member are squeezed together.

7. A holder according to any preceding claim, wherein the member is made of synthetic silicon-based rubber material.

8. A holder according to any preceding claim, wherein grip-improving pimples or dimples are provided on the top and/or bottom gripping surfaces of the member.

9. A holder according to any preceding claim, wherein the member is about 8mm between the top and bottom surfaces at least around the peripheral portions of those surfaces and, in plan view, the member is generally oblong and about 31 mm by 22mm.

10. A holder for a plectrum substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. A holder according to any preceding claim and a musical instrument plectrum fitted in the holder.

12. A method for playing a stringed musical instrument comprising using a plectrum held in a holder according to any preceding claim for sounding e. g. strumming or plucking the said strings.