US2027937A - Tone bar - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 14, 1936. Q T, gc c L 2,27,93?

TONE BAR Filed July 20, 1933 Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in tone bars the peculiarities of which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The present application is a continuation-inpart of my co-pending application Serial No. 607,071, filed April 23, 1932, for Guitar attachments, and allowed Feb. 15, 1933, which has matured into Patent No. 1,926,561, granted Sept. 12, 1933.

The main objects of my invention are to provide means first, for making contact of all the guitar strings with one fret and simultaneously of one string with the next fret, to raise the tone of said string without altering the tones of the other strings; second, for making contact of all the strings with one fret and simultaneously of two strings with the next fret while maintaining the tones of the other strings; third, for lowering the tone of said one, or two strings while maintaining the tones of the other strings; and fourth, for quickly alternating the higher and lower tones of one, or two strings, while maintaining the tones of the other strings.

In the accompanying drawing in which like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts,

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of a portion of the finger board of a Hawaiian guitar with my tone bar tipped back;

Fig. 2, a perspective view of my tone bar;

Fig. 3, a side View of a portion of the finger board with my tone bar covering two frets;

Fig. 4, a similar view with the bar tipped back and the extension raised as in Fig. 1, making the strings engage one fret under the body of the bar;

Fig. 5, lengthwise section of the extension and across the adjacent body portion; and

Fig. 6, a bottom view of Fig. 5.

A Hawaiian guitar has six strings tuned to major chords only, as used in Hawaiian music as follows: 1st string E, 2nd string Ct, 3rd string A, 4th string E, 5th string A, and 6th string E. The first three strings constitute the A-major chord; the other strings are duplicates of E and A. My said prior application showed means for quickly changing the tension of the second and third strings, or either string, and hence the corresponding tone, to alter the chords of a Hawaiian guitar. The tone bar described in my present application enables the performer to alter such chords at will. Thus he can play chords which cannot be obtained on the usual Hawaiian guitar, viz. those chords which are not on the Hawaiian guitar: all minor chords, all seventh chords, diminished and augmented chords,-as more fully described in said prior application.

I provide a tone bar of steel or other suitable material, instead of the ordinary straight bar. My flat, relatively thin, rectangular or other suitably shaped bar body 32, held across the strings by the thumb and first and second fingers as indicated in Fig. 1, is provided with a lateral projection 33 projecting intermediate of its ends from the right hand side, preferably nearer its outer end (Fig. 2), at right angles or otherwise to said body, and raised somewhat from the bodys bottom edge 34. This bottom edge makes its usual contact along of all six strings with an adjacent fret, when my projecting extension is raised by manually tilting the body as indicated in Fig. 4. This extension is wide enough at its outer end to cover two strings (Fig. 1), and is narrow enough to cover one string only without contact with adjacent strings, in the usual trans verse spacing of said strings. Its outer end 35 is preferably turned down somewhat and forms a rounded secondary contact bar, parallel to said bottom edge of the body. The length of this projecting extension is approximately the distance between two adjacent frets and spaces the secondary bars from the body accordingly. Said extension preferably includes a slide 33' carrying said secondary bar and given an outward tendency in the fixed portion by a spring 36, to span the longer spacing of some frets, and is shortened by means of a thumb rest 3'! carried by the slide in a slot 38 in the fixed portion.

These contact edges 34 and 35 of the body and secondary bars respectively, are straight, parallel, and lie in the same common plane substantially at right angles to the rectangular body 32 as shown; are of unequal length as stated, and are spaced rigidly apart corresponding to the frets brought in contact with the strings by engaging the strings with said edges, and releasing both the second and third strings, or either string, by tilting the secondary bar at the extension end about the body edge while contacting all the strings with a fret adjacent to the body edge.

Hence, by holding the bar body at substantially right angles to the strings as in Fig. 3, the secondary bar 35 will contact with one stringor two strings as desired-over the next fret and engage them to shorten the vibrating length of the stringor strings-and thus raise the tone.

In combination with the means for varying the tension of the second and third strings as described in my said prior application, this tone bar controls the tones of said extended strings, so that the performer can produce a large number of chords which are not available in the Hawaiian guitar; and can alter chords at will and instantly, and produce all minor chords, all seventh chords, diminished and augmented chords. This combined use of my tension changing means and my tone bar, enables the performer to alter and play many different chords on each fret; ordinarily in a Hawaiian guitar, only one chord on each fret can be played.

For example, by placing my bar body on all the strings at the fifth fret and the secondary bar at end of my said extension on the sixth fret, of the first string only, an augmented chord is obtained which is augmented D.

By placing said body over any fret and the secondary bar on my extension down on the first (or the fourth) string, the same augmented chord in a different position is obtained.

Further examples are given in my said prior application.

I do not limit the construction of my tone bar used with guitars or similar fretted stringed musical instruments, except by the following 5 claim.

I claim:

A tone bar comprising a body portion having a string engaging edge forming a contact bar for all the guitar strings, a secondary bar ex- 10 tending laterally from said body portion at substantially right angles thereto and comprising a fixed member ancl a cooperating sliding member supported thereby, said sliding member terminating in a string contacting surface, resilient 15 means normally and constantly urging said sliding member to its extended position from said body portion, and a manipulating thumb rest on saidislide to manually shorten the space between said contact bar and said secondary bar. 20

CARL TEMPLE SCHRICKEL.

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