JP2007171682A - Harp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a harp which has rich sound volume and sound quality although the harp is compact and lightweight. <P>SOLUTION: A resonance box of the harp has a flank part in the same surface with a surface where a plurality of tuning pegs of a head are fitted, a thin and long bridge having a plurality of string holes where a plurality of strings are mounted, and the strings are tensed between the tuning pegs and string holes. A bracing is fitted inside the flank part of the resonance box in parallel to the plurality of strings. Further, the bridge is divided into parts for high-pitched strings and low-pitched strings and they are provided on a resonance hole high-pitched side and a low-pitched side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

Field of use

  The invention according to the present application relates to a plucked string instrument having many strings such as a harp.

  Increasing number of lovers enjoy music by playing their own musical instruments because of their leisure time. For such enthusiasts, it is desirable that the musical instrument to be played is as small and light as possible in consideration of convenience such as carrying around. However, being able to play with loud sounds is even more important.

  In a stringed instrument that emits sound by causing the vibration of a string to resonate on the resonance cylinder, the volume produced by the instrument depends on the size of the resonance cylinder. In other words, for musical instruments with the same pitch, a stringed instrument with a large resonance body can produce richer sound than a small instrument.

  The pitch (frequency of sound) played by a stringed instrument is determined by the length of the string, the mass per unit length of the string, and the tension applied to the string. That is, in order to generate a sound with a low frequency, a structure in which a thick string with a large mass per unit length is stretched is used. On the other hand, in order to produce a sound with a high frequency, a structure in which a thin string with a small mass per unit length is shortly stretched is employed.

  In a stringed instrument that has a resonance drum and causes the vibration of multiple strings to sound on the resonance drum, the overall size of the stringed instrument depends on the length of the string that emits the lowest note and the size of the resonance drum that sounds the vibration of the string. .

  If a thick string with a large mass per unit length is stretched long so that a low tone can be produced, and if the resonance body is small, even if the frequency of the sound produced from the string is a predetermined low tone, it will resonate. Because of the small body, it is not possible to get rich sounds from the entire instrument.

  As an example of a typical stringed instrument, a cello that emits a bass has a much larger resonance cylinder than a violin that produces a treble. That is, in order to produce a sufficient volume up to a bass like a cello, a small resonance cylinder such as a violin cannot provide a sufficient volume.

  The same applies to plucked instruments such as harp, where multiple strings are arranged in scale and played by playing the strings.

The structure of a conventional harp will be described with reference to a partially broken side view shown in FIG. 1 and a perspective view shown in FIG.
The harp shown here is not a large grand harp having a pedal, but a relatively small harp having no pedal called an Irish harp or an Indian harp.

This harp is composed of a resonance cylinder 2, a neck 5 having a pillar 5a, and a plurality of strings 1 stretched between the neck 5 and the resonance cylinder 2.
The resonance cylinder 2 is a substantially rhombus-shaped box composed of a pair of side plates 7, 7 ′, a front plate 3, a back plate 3 ′, an upper plate 8 and a bottom plate 9. The front plate 3 functions as a soundboard.

The back plate 3 'is usually provided with one or a plurality of resonance holes.
One end of the neck 5 on the high-pitched string side is fixed to the upper plate 8, and the other end on the low-pitched string side is fixed to the bottom plate 9.

One end of the plurality of strings 1 is wound around a tuning peg 6 embedded in a hole formed in the neck 5 at a predetermined interval by frictional engagement, and the other end is a string formed on the front plate 3 at a predetermined interval. It penetrates the hole 4 and is connected to the back side of the front plate 3.
A plurality of strings are arranged in a scale between the lowest string 1-L and the highest string 1-H, and tuning is performed by turning the tuning peg 6 to apply a predetermined tension to the string 1. Done.

  As described above, since one end of the string 1 is connected to the front plate 3 constituting the resonance cylinder 2, the front plate 3 also vibrates when the string 1 vibrates, and the entire resonance cylinder vibrates due to the vibration. A rich sound is produced.

  In the case of a small harp in which 22 strings are stretched between the neck 5 and the front plate 3, the total value of the string tension is about 170 kg. These tensions act as a force that pulls the central portion of the front plate 3 upward. Therefore, the front plate 3 needs a high strength.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross section of one string of the harp shown in FIG. Since the tension of the string 1 acts as a force for pulling the center portion of the top plate 3 upward, if the width of the top plate 3 is increased in order to secure a large area of the top plate 3, a large bending moment is applied to the top plate 3. Works. In order to make the surface plate 3 withstand the bending moment, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the surface plate. As a result, the surface plate 3 becomes difficult to vibrate, and a rich sound cannot be expected. Therefore, the size of the front plate 3 has a limit in relation to the material strength, and the entire size of the resonance cylinder 2 is restricted.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows the state of the bending moment M acting on the front plate 3. When the average width of the front plate 3 is 1 and the total tension of the plurality of strings is W, the magnitude M of the bending moment acting on the front plate 3 can be approximated as M = (Wl) / 8. When the width of the front plate 3 is large, the bending moment increases accordingly, and the front plate 3 may be bent greatly as illustrated.

  For this reason, the area of the front plate 3 and the volume of the resonance cylinder 2 necessary for the lowest tone string 1-L cannot be secured, and a rich sound volume cannot be obtained. In addition, in order to secure the strength of the front plate 3, if the front plate 3 is made of thick members to form a large resonance drum, the musical instrument becomes larger and the weight is increased even though a rich volume can be obtained. Because it becomes large, carrying becomes difficult.

  An object of the present application is to obtain a plucked string instrument that emits a rich sound in spite of being reduced in size and weight, which cannot be obtained with a plucked string instrument having a conventional structure.

In order to solve this problem, in this application,
It consists of a head, a pillar, and a resonance cylinder. A plurality of strings are stretched between the head and the resonance cylinder, and a plurality of tuning pegs for winding a plurality of strings are attached to the head. A harp that has a side portion in the same plane as the surface to which the peg is attached, and has an elongated bridge fixed to the side portion with a string hole for connecting a plurality of strings, and a side portion of the resonance cylinder A harp in which a force tree is attached in a direction parallel to the direction of a plurality of strings, and a harp provided with a bridge divided into a bridge for a high string and a bridge for a low string, and a side part A harp structure is provided in which a high-pitched resonance hole and a low-pitched resonance hole are provided.

  Since the bending moment applied to the top plate can be reduced even if the surface plate that contributes to vibration for sound generation among the members constituting the resonance cylinder is ensured, the instrument itself can be used without the need to use a thick plate. Can be made lighter, making it possible to obtain a plucked string instrument with greatly improved convenience in carrying.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A harp that is an embodiment of the invention according to the present application will be described with reference to the side view shown in FIG. 5 and the perspective view shown in FIG.

The harp includes a resonance cylinder 12, a neck 15 having a pillar 15a, and a plurality of strings 11 stretched between the neck 15 and the resonance cylinder 12.
The resonance cylinder 12 is a substantially pentagonal box composed of a pair of pentagonal side plates 17, 17 ', a front plate 13, a back plate 13', an upper plate 18, a bottom plate 19, and a front plate 19 '.
One or a plurality of resonance holes are formed in the side plate 17 or the side plate 17 ′.

  One end of the neck 15 on the high-pitched string side is fixed to the upper plate 18, and the other end on the low-pitched string side is fixed in a state of being placed far from the upper plate 18 of the side plate 17. The bridge 10 is fixed to the side plate 17.

One end of each of the plurality of strings 11 is wound around a tuning peg 16 embedded in a hole formed in the neck 15 at a predetermined interval by frictional engagement, and the other end is wound on the bridge 10 at a predetermined interval. 14 is connected to the bridge 10.
A plurality of strings are arranged in a scale between the lowest string 11-L and the highest string 11-H, and tuning is performed by turning the tuning peg 16 to apply a predetermined tension to the string 11. Done.

  The surface of the neck 15 in which the tuning peg 16 is embedded and the side plate 17 are on the same surface.

  Although the front plate 13 is located near the center of the string 11, the position where the string is hit with a plucked instrument such as a harp is almost in the center of the string, so that the performance is not hindered.

FIG. 7 shows an attachment structure of one string 11 of the harp shown in FIG.
Since the string 11 is stretched between the tuning peg 16 and the string hole 14 of the bridge 10, string tension acts in the direction of the tuning peg 16 on the bridge 10 fixed to the side plate 17. When the dimension h from the surface of the side plate 17 to the string hole 14 is large, the sum of the tensions of the plurality of strings is set to W, and a bending moment of M = Wh acts on the side plate 17 to which the bridge 10 is fixed.

  When the average width l of the front plate 3 of the harp having the conventional structure shown in FIG. 4 is compared with the dimension h from the surface of the side plate 17 of the harp according to the embodiment of the present invention to the chord hole 14, one embodiment of the present invention is compared. Since the dimension h from the surface of the side plate 17 of the embodiment to the chord hole 14 is much smaller than the average width l of the front plate 3 of the conventional harp shown in FIG. 1, the bending moment M acting on the side plate 17 is very high. It becomes a small value.

  In the case of a small harp in which 22 strings are stretched between the neck 15 and the bridge 10, the total tension of the strings is about 170 kg as in the case of the conventional harp shown in FIG. However, these tensions do not act perpendicularly to the surface as in the prior art shown in FIG. 4, but act as a lateral force parallel to the surface at the center of the surface. Therefore, a lateral tensile force acts on the side plate 17, but a large bending moment does not occur.

Therefore, since the side plate 17 can be made a large area with a thin material, a harp that can be played with rich sounds with good sound can be obtained.
Furthermore, since it is possible to increase the width of the side plate 17, it is possible to configure the large resonance cylinder 12 and obtain a richer volume without increasing the weight.

  Even if the bending moment acting on the side plate 17 is small, the possibility that the side plate 17 slightly deforms after a long time cannot be denied. In order to prevent such a situation, a number of timbers 24 having a narrow width and a long length are pasted on the back side of the side plate 17 in a string pulling direction or an oblique direction to increase the bending rigidity of the side plate 17. Is desirable.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment.
In this embodiment, an example of a harp with 17 strings is shown.
The pitch of the sound played by the stringed instrument is determined by the length of the string, the mass per unit length of the string, and the tension applied to the string. In this embodiment, the low pitched strings 21-L1, 21-L2, For four of 21-L3 and 21-L4, strings with metal windings and resin windings such as nylon and increased in mass per unit length are used. By using such a string, a low sound can be obtained with a short string length, so that the entire instrument can be made compact.

  In the case of the harp having the conventional structure shown in FIG. 1, the length of all the strings is a string hole in the front plate 3 which is formed in one plane obliquely from the tuning peg 6 embedded by frictional engagement with the neck. It is uniquely determined step by step by the dimension up to 4.

  In such a case, it is not possible to make only the low-pitched strings short and to make the overall size of the instrument small. Since the front panel is constructed in a single plane, if you try to make the entire instrument small by shortening the bass string, the treble string will also be proportionally shortened at the same time. When trying to obtain the frequency of sound), it is necessary to lower the tension of the strings, and as a result not only the volume of the sound that is pronounced is reduced, but also the timbre is impaired.

  In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the bridge constituting one end of the string is divided into a high-frequency bridge 10-1 and a low-frequency bridge 10-2, and the low-frequency strings 21-L1, 21-L2, The length of the bass string can be shortened by using strings of 21-L3 and 21-L4 with metal windings and resin windings such as nylon to increase the mass per unit length. The entire instrument can be made compact.

  The resonance cylinder 22 is formed by side plates 27 and 27 ′, a curved front plate 23, a curved back plate 23 ′, and an upper plate 28. The side plate 27 has a high-pitched resonance hole 30-1 and a low-pitched resonance hole 30-2. One end of the neck 25 is fixed to the upper plate 28 and the other end is fixed to the bottom plate. The surface of the neck 25 in which the tuning peg 26 is embedded and the surface of the side plate 27 are formed on the same surface.

  The high-frequency bridge 10-1 and the low-frequency bridge 10-2 are fixed to predetermined positions on the side plate 27. The length of the string locked to the treble bridge 10-1 is set to the same length as that of the harp of the conventional structure, so there is no need to lower the tension of the treble string and the sound to be produced There is no drop in volume. In order to prevent the deformation of the side plate 27 due to the bending moment acting on the front plate 3 due to the tension of the strings, four timbers 31 having a narrow width and a long length in the longitudinal direction are attached to the back side of the side plates 27 in the string pulling direction. Bending rigidity is increased.

  In the harp shown in the embodiment, the plurality of strings are connected to the string holes of the bridge. Instead of this structure, it is also possible to adopt a structure that is connected to a back plate or a member attached to the back plate, as is done with instruments of the violin genus.

  Although the string length of some strings is shortened to make the entire instrument small, the position of the surface plate 27 can be increased to a position close to the center of the string, so the surface area of the side plate 27 is the conventional structure. It can be secured up to 1.5 times larger than that of the harp.

  Although the harp of the conventional structure had a height of 765 mm, a front width of 230 mm, a depth of 500 mm, and a weight of 3.2 kg, the harp of the embodiment of the present invention having equivalent ability has a height of 600 mm and a front width. : 110 mm, depth: 400 mm, weight: 2.4 kg.

The harp according to the present invention can constitute a resonance cylinder having the same volume as the harp of the conventional structure even if the thickness of the resonance cylinder is smaller than that of the harp of the conventional structure, and can be played with a rich sound with good sound. Can be configured.
In addition, if the thickness of the resonance cylinder is increased to the same level as the harp of the conventional structure, the volume of the resonance cylinder can be increased to about 1.5 times that of the harp of the conventional structure. Can compose a simple instrument.

  As is apparent from the above description, the harp according to the present invention can be reduced in size and weight, and the convenience of carrying a musical instrument and the like is greatly improved and the sound quality of the sound to be generated is not impaired.

A side view of a conventional harp. The perspective view of the harp of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the internal structure of the harp of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the force which acts on the harp of FIG. The side view of the harp of an example of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the harp of FIG. 5. Explanatory drawing of the force which acts on the harp of FIG. The harp perspective view of the further another Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1,11,21 string 11-L lowest tone string 11-H highest tone string 2,12,22 resonance drum 3,13,23 front plate 3 ', 13', 23 'back plate 4,14 string hole 5,15 , 25 Neck 5a, 15a Pillar 6, 16, 26 Tuning peg 7, 7 ', 17, 17', 27, 27 'Side plate 8, 18, 28 Top plate 9, 19, 29 Bottom plate 10 Bridge 10-1 Treble side bridge 10-2 Bass side bridge 24,31 Rikigi 30-1 Treble side resonance hole 30-2 Bass side resonance hole

Claims (4)

A harp composed of a head, a pillar, and a resonance cylinder, and a plurality of strings are stretched between the head and the resonance cylinder,
A plurality of tuning pegs for winding the plurality of strings are attached to the head,
The resonance cylinder has a side surface that is in the same plane as the surface to which the tuning peg of the head is attached;
A harp in which an elongated bridge having string holes for connecting the plurality of strings is fixed to the side surface portion. The harp according to claim 1, wherein a force tree is attached to the inside of the side surface portion of the resonance cylinder in a direction parallel to the direction of the plurality of strings. The harp according to claim 1, wherein the bridge is divided into a treble string bridge and a bass string bridge. The harp according to claim 3, further comprising a high-frequency resonance hole and a low-frequency resonance hole in the side surface portion.

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