US110719A - Improvement in musical notations for accordeons - Google Patents

Description

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Letters Patent No. 110,719, dated January 3, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN. MUSICAL NOTATIONS FOR ACCORDEONS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making parl: of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CARL FRIEDRICH ZIMMER` MANN, of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new System of Self-Instruction for Accordcons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact de-I scription of the same, reference heilig had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists of a system ot' lines and iigures which can be played in the same time as notes; and also of a method whereby the said system ot' lines and and figures can be applied to the various German accordeons.

On reference to the accompanying drawing making part of this speciticationm Figure l' indicates the motion ofthe bellows of the German and French accordeons;

Figure 2 shows rthe figures and rests in their various divisions of time; and

Figure 3 represents the key-board otV an accordeon, and shows the method whereby the system oi' lines and iigures can be applic-dto all kinds of German accordeons.

By my new system the keys of an accordeon are numbered as shown at iig. 3. The keys produce two different notes, one in drawing, and one in pressing. When to draw and when to press is shown in tig. l. The division between the air and tenor figures and the bass is either a heavy line, A, or two parallel lines, B. They indicate the motion of the bellows, that is, whether to draw or press.r The heavy lineA indicates to press the German accordeon, and the parallel lines B to draw the same. In the French aecordeon the heavy line A indicates to draw and the parallel lines B to press. The motionv of the air or tenor and the bass remains invariably the same.

In this new-line system, the duration ot' sound and of all the rests, O, iig. 2, each one, precisely upto the next following, is indicated by an exact division of the space.

To accomplish this, every piece of music is divided as nearly as possible into equal spaces, x y., iig. 2, by heavy verticalbars or lines, a, and subdivided by light lines', b, for quarter time; for instance, a whole note requires four spaces, f g h k one-half note requires two spaces, Z m one-quarter note requires one space, a; one-eighth note requires one-half space o; and one-sixteenth note requires one-quarter space, p; in the substitution of iigurcs for notes the iigures correspond with the keys of the accordeon, which are numbered, and also with the notes in the music; for instance, in the 4quarter notes figure 6 corresponds with e in the quarter time, with (l, with c, and' again with d.

The relation of the German accordeon to my system of linesand gures is a matter ot' paramount im portance, but not with regard to the French accordeon or flutina, all thc varieties of which are founded on the same principle, and arranged according to one and the same scale. It .is only among German manufacturers ot' accordeons that there are three different ways of selecting the starting-point of a piece of music for the iirst key; for instance, some start with the iifth note in their scale on the irst key, which is numbered one; some are started with the third note in their scale on the iirst key, which is numbered one;

and others are started with the first note in their scale on the iirst key, which ris also numbered one. My system ofliues and figures is designed for thc first above-described accordeon, (that which is started with the fifth note in its scale and numbered one.) Io make it applicable to the second kind of accordeon, (that which is started with the third note in its scale on the rst key, numbered one,) it will be necessary to arrange the lower row of the supplemental draw ing marked supplemental View No. l of the accompanying drawing, over the keys of the accordeon,

shown at iig. 3, placing O of the row over l of the keys.

To make my system applicable to the third description of German aceordeons, (or that which is started with the irst note in the scale on the first key, numbered one,) arrange the upper row marked supplemental view No. 2, placing O O, over key l of the accordeon.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to'securc by Letters Patent, is

l. The system of musical not-ation, consisting of the three-lined staff, iig. l, and adaptable to either French or German accordeons, as shown and described.

2. In connection with the abovestati, the measure divided by equal space-marks y, iig. 2, between which the key-unilibers are indicated, substantially as described.

In testimony where-ot` I hereunto sign my name to this specification in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL FRIEDRICH ZIHMERMANN.

IVitnesscs:

C. G. Zimmermann, Faascrs D. IAs'romus.

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