GB254395A - Improvements in wood-wind and like musical instruments - Google Patents

Abstract

254,395. McAvoy, J. W. April 3, 1925. Wood and like wind instruments. - Flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, saxophones &c. are provided with bar levers each opening or closing a number of tone holes by acting simultaneously on their pad-keys, thus freeing other fingers; transposition is also facilitated. As shown for a flute of 16 holes, the keys c of the pads controlling the four lowest holes 1 - - 4 are brought near the holes 9 .. 12, and the keys f of the pads controlling the four highest holes 13 - - 16 are brought near the holes 5 - - 8. The pads 9 - - 12 can be simultaneously depressed by a bar h, with finger-piece h<1>, which lies over them. The pads 5 - - 8 are depressed by a bar g lying over them, which bar is pivotted co-axially with, and also lies over, the bar h, so that pads 9 - - 12 are also depressed by the bar g. The pads 13 - - 16 are normally held closed by a 'bar i lying under the outer parts of the keys f. On depression of the bar i, pads 13 - - 16 are permitted to rise and can be closed by independent finger action. To prevent bars h, i from being operated at the same time, a rocking lever may be placed with its arms under their finger-pieces. Adjustable bearing screws may be provided at the points of engagement of the bars and padlevers. These screws may be brought out of contact when desired in transposing. The bearing parts of the bars may also be formed of arms which are movable out of contact with the pad-levers when desired in transposing. The invention permits the adoption of a simple fingering on a chromatic basis for all notes not requiring cross-fingering.