US3413884A

US3413884A - Reed type musical instrument and improved mouthpiece therefor

Info

Publication number: US3413884A
Application number: US548504A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sciacca Giuseppe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-05-09
Filing date: 1966-05-09
Publication date: 1968-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1985-12-03

Description

United States Patent 3,413,884 REED TYPE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND IMPROVED MOUTHPIECE THEREFOR Giuseppe Sciacca, 148 W. th St., New York, N.Y. 10011 Filed May 9, 1966, Ser. No. 548,504 10 Claims. (Cl. 84--383) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates in general to improvements in a reed type musical instrument, and more specifically, to an improved mouthpiece in which the size of the air intake orifice and the frequency of vibration of the reed can be varied over a predetermined range to effect reproduction of truer tones from the instrument. This invention also contemplates the utilization of means to effect optimum fidelity of sound reproduction from a reed type musical instrument.

Heretofore, a musician of a reed type musical instrument, as for example, a saxophone or a clarinet, controlled or influenced the tone qualities of the instrument by the selection of an appropriate reed. Generally such reeds are constructed so as to have a predetermined degree of hardness and/or softness. Depending upon a particular tone characteristic a musician desired, an appropriate reed of predetermined hardness or softness had to be selected. Accordingly, such musician would have on hand a wide selection of reeds from which he would choose and according to the result desired. The selected reed would then have to be interchanged with the reed in the mouthpiece of the instrument. Such interchanging of the reeds for varying selections of tone and pitch constitutes a relatively tedious and time consuming operation. Normally, during a musical session, such instrument player is frequently not afforded the time necessary to effect such an interchange of reeds. Accordingly, the instrumental or music resulting from such instance does not achieve the optimum sound effect.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved mouthpiece for a reed instrument which is specifically constructed and arranged so as to enable the musician or player of such instrument the opportunity to effect the adjustment of the tone qualities of the instrument in a relatively simple and expedient manner, and without the necessity of effecting an interchange of reeds.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mouthpiece of a reed instrument with a means for varying the frequency or pitch of a given reed thereby enabling the same reed to impart varying tone qualities to the instrument as may be required from instrumental to instrumental.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mouthpiece for a reed instnument with means for adjusting the reed for varying degrees of hardness and/ or softness.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mouthpiece for a reed instrument in which the tone qualities of the associated instrument can be varied in a relatively simple, expedient and positive manner.

It is another object of this invention to provide a reed instrument with means for enhancing the tone qualities of 'ice the instrument so as to render the sounds produced thereby more soft and smooth, and therefore more melodious.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improvement in a reed type musical instrument which enables a player to attain the higher and/or lower notes with greater ease.

The foregoing objects, and other features and advantages are attained by a mouthpiece for a reed type instrument that comprises essentially of a means for varying the vibration frequency of the reed. This is attained by a fixture which is clamped to the body of the mouthpiece and which is arranged to operate on the reed in a variable manner. The fixture comprises a housing which has adjustably mounted therein a pressure plate which is adapted to bear against the reed at varying points longitudinally thereof. A means is operatively connected to the pressure plate to effect longitudinal adjustment of the pressure plate relative to the reed. Another means is provided for securing the pressure plate in the adjusted position thereof. By varying the position of the pressure plate longitudinally of the reed, the frequency of the reed vibration is adjusted accordingly. By so doing, a desired optimum sound is attained. If desired, the housing may be provided with a resilient pad at the bottom thereof to bear against the heel portion of the reed. In this manner, the housing may be accommodated or readily adapted to any given reed.

To further enhance the tone qualities of the instrument, means may be inserted into either the register hole or the thumb hole of the instrument to render the sounds produced thereby more soft, more smooth and thereby more melodious. This is attained by securing an element in the nature of a screen insert in either the register key hole and/ or thumb hole. Depending upon the mesh sizes of the screen insert, the sound of the instrument can be varied accordingly. 4

A feature of this invention resides in the utilization of a fixture secured to the mouthpiece and its reed having means for varying the frequency of the reed vibration so that a variation of desirable tones may be attained with a given reed.

Another feature of this invention resides in a fixture for adjusting and maintaining the adjustment of the frequency vibration of the reed in a relatively simple and expedient manner.

Another feature of this invention resides in the provision of an insert for use in either the key hole register or the thumb hole of the instrument for effecting or enhancing the softness and/or smoothness of the sound produced thereby.

Another feature of this invention resides in the provision of providing the fixture with a resilient pad to accommodate the same to the contour of the reed when placed in operation.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent when considered in view of the drawings and specification in which,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of the improved mouthpiece for a reed type musical instrument.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is a detail sectional view of the mouthpiece construction of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail sectional side View of the fixture for effecting adjustment of the frequency of vibration of the reed.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 on FIG. 3.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged detail showing of the screen insert means for use in either the thumb hole and/ or register hole of the instrument.

FIGURE 7 is a modified detail.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a cover for the mouthpiece.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a fragmentary or upper end portion of a reed type instrument 10, as for example, a clarinet, saxophone and the like, and the connected mouthpiece 11 of the instant invention. As shown, the mouthpiece 11 comprises a tubular like body 12 having a longitudinal bore 13 extending therethrough. One end of the body 12 is shaped to provide a tipped end portion 12A which is placed in the mouth of the player. The other end of the mouthpiece 12 is defined with a neck portion 123 by which the mouthpiece 12 is detachably secured to the upper end of the instrument 10. The upper end of the body 12 adjacent the tip end 12A of the mouthpiece is provided with a cut away portion to define opposed parallel edges 14 against which the reed 15 rests as is customary with mouthpieces of such instruments.

The reed 15 rests on the body of the mouthpiece in a manner similar to that of the conventional imouthpieces, that is, with the heel portion 15A of the reed 15 disposed away from the tip end 15B of the mouthpiece and with the feathery end of the reed overlying the cut away end portion 14 of the body so that the feathery tip most end of the reed defines with the tip of the body an orifice 1 6 through which the air is permitted to flow when the instrument is being played.

Heretofore, it has been customary to vary the size of the orifice opening 16 to control the tone qualities of the instrument. This was attained by utilizing reeds of varying degrees of hardness and/or softness. Depending upon whether the musician selected a hard reed or a soft reed, or a reed having a degree of hardness or softness ranging therebetween, the desired sound characteristics of the instrument could be adjusted within a given range.

In accordance with this invention, a means or fixture 17 is provided which when applied to the mouthpiece 11 can be used to effectively control the size of the orifice opening and/or the frequency of vibration of the reed, and thereby attain the tone or sound variations which the player desired.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the fixture or means 17 comprises a housing 18 which is secured to the body portion 12 of the mouthpiece, and the reed 15 associated therewith by means of a clamp 19. In the illustrated form of the invention, the clamping means 19 comprises a C shaped clamp or strap which embraces the fixture or housing 18 and the body portion 12 of the mouthpiece 11 to secure therebetween the reed 15. Conventional thumb screws 20 may be provided for securing the clamp 19 about the fixture 17 and the body 12 of the mouthpiece. If desired, the sides of the mouthpiece 11 may be provided with cut out portions or grooves 11A to accommodate the clamp or strap 19. In this manner, the clamp 19 can be positively positioned with respect to the body, and also the grooves 11A will prohibit the clamp 19 from sliding relative to the body. As best seen in FIG. 2, the upper end of clamp 19 is provided with a cutout or notch 21 for accommodating a set screw 22, as will be hereinafter described. Thus, as it will be hereinafter noted, the notch 21 provides a means for positioning the fixture or adjusting means 17 relative to the clamping means 19 or body 12 to assure that the fixture or adjusting means 17 is properly disposed with respect to the mouthpiece 11.

The housing 18 of the adjusting means 17 may be defined of any suitable material, as for example, plastic and/ or metal and it is provided with a bore 23 extending longitudinally thereof. As shown, one end of the housing is defined by an end wall 24 which has an aperture 25 formed therein. The bottom 26 of the housing 18 is slotted to receive a resilient pad 27, e.g. a cork, rubber or the like by which it is cushioned against the reed 15. With the housing 18 of the adjusting means 17 positioned on the mouthpiece 11 of the instrument, resilient pad 27 is brought to bear against the heel portion 15A of the reed, and thus functions to accommodate the housing 18 thereto. Because reeds 15 are usually formed of bamboo, the dimensions or contours of the heel portions 15A will vary from one to another. Thus the resilient pad 27 in the bottom of the housing provides the means or cushion whereby the housing 1 8 will accommodate itself to the given contour of heel portions 15A of a given reed.

A pressure plate 28 is adjustably mounted in the housing. As shown, the pressure plate 28 is arranged to bear upon the feathery end portion of the reed. Connected to the pressure plate 28 and extending to the rear thereof, is a threaded stem or screw 29 which extends through the aperture or opening 25 formed in the end wall 24 of the housing. A spring 30 in the form of a coil spring is disposed about the adjusting screw 29 between the end wall 24 of the housing and the shoulder 31 of the pressure plate 28. The arrangement is such that the spring 30 will normally urge the pressure plate 28 outwardly of the housing. An adjusting nut 32 is connected to the extended end of the threaded adjusting screw 29. The arrangement is such that depending on the rotation of the adjusting nut 32, the spring biased pressure plate 28 will move inwardly or outwardly of the housing a predetermined distance. Accordingly, the pressure plate 28 may be adjusted longitudinally of the feathery end reed a predetermined amount. In this manner the pressure point along the reed can be adjusted accordingly, and by so doing, vary the frequency or vibratory characteristic of the reed accordingly.

Means in the form of a holder33 extends about the pressure plate 28 and the body of the mouthpiece to secure the plate 28 in the set or adjusted position thereof. As shown, a thumb screw 34 secures the adjacent ends of the holding strap 33 and tightens the strap 33 about the pressure plate 28 and body 12. If desired, a lock screw 22 threaded through a tapped opening 22A in the top of the housing 18 can be brought to bear against the pressure plate 28 in the adjusted position thereof, and thereby functions to positively secure the pressure plate 28 in the adjusted position thereof. Accordingly, it will be noted that the orifice 16 and/or the length of the feathery end portion 15B of the reed may be adjusted depending upon the setting of the pressure plate 28 with respect thereto. By varying the distance between the pressure point, -i.e., the point at which the pressure plate 28 is brought to bear on the reed 15 and tip end of the reed, the tone qualities of the instrument may be adjusted as the softness of the reed varies accordingly. With the fixture described, a single reed can be utilized to attain all the tone qualities, which heretofore was possible only by an interchange of reeds of varying hardness and/ or softness. With the fixture of this invention, a musician has control over the tone or sound of the instrument depending upon the setting eifected by the pressure plate 28.

With the construction described, it will become readily apparent that the setting or adjustment of the pressure plate 28 can be etfected simply by loosening the lock nut 22 and the thumb screw 34 of the holding strap 33 thereby enabling the pressure plate 28 to be readily adjusted along the reed 15 by rotation of the adjusting nut 32 accordingly. With the pressure plate 28 in desired position, the position thereof can be quickly locked simply by tightening the thumb screw 34 securing the holding strap 33 and turning the lock nut 22 to positively bear upon the pressure plate 28. The adjustment of the reed 15 is thereby simply affected. Thus, a musician can quickly adjust the tone or sound of the instrument without effecting any removal or interchange of reeds 15.

To further add to the tone qualities or sound of the instrument to effect the desired degree of softness or smoothness of the instrument, a means is provided which can be inserted into either the register key hole 37 or the thumb hole 38 of the instrument 10. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, this means comprises an insert 39 formed of a screen-like material which can be readily fitted to either the register hole 37 and/or thumb hole 38. As shown, the insert or means 37 comprises a dimple or plug 39 of screen material which can be readily fitted into either of the

holes

37 or 38. To position and retain the screen material therein, the respective holes are provided with an annular groove 40 formed in the surrounding wall thereof. The screen dimple or plug 39 is provided with a circumscribing complementing bead 41 which is adapted to be received in the groove 40 when the insert 39 is positioned in the hole. Accordingly, the insert 39 may be readily snap fitted into its

respective hole

37 or 38.

Depending upon the mesh sizes or openings formed in the screen material of the plug 39, the tone qualities and/ or softness of the sound resulting thereby can be varied accordingly. In operation, the screen insert 39 functions as a mute to soften or dampen the tone qualities of the instrument. It has been noted that the screen insert 39 renders the instrument more responsive to the efforts of the musician in that smoother, clear sounding notes can be more readily attained thereby.

From the foregoing description, it will be readily apparent that the sound versatility of the instrument is greatly enhanced by utilizing the adjusting fixture 17 with the units 39. Experience has indicated that the tone and pitch of the instrument can be varied to suit the desire or taste of a particular musician and/or instrumental effect attainable thereby. The mouthpiece adjusting fixture 17 and the screen inserts 39 are relatively simple to fabr-icate and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The adjusting means enables a musician to attain the advantages with a single reed which was not heretofore possible. Also by complementing the adjusting fixture with the use of inserts, a wide variety of varying sounds can be effected by the musician.

FIG. 7 illustrates a slightly modified construction for applying a screen insert in hole 38. In this form the hole 38 is connterbored as at 38A to provide a shoulder 38B. The screen plug 39A is then fitted into the counterbore 38B and rests on the shoulder 383. The sides of the counterbore 38B and the screen plug 39A are provided with complementary tapers to provide for a positive seating of the plug 39A.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a cap or cover 60 for the mouthpiece. It comprises simply of a rubber or elastic tube 61 closed at one end 62 and open at its other end 63. Accordingly, the rubber or elastic cover can simply be fitted over the mouthpiece as disclosed in the dash line of FIG. 1 to protect the same.

While the instant invention has been described with respect to a particular embodiment thereof, it will be readily understood and appreciated that variations and modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mouthpiece for a reed type instrument comprisa body having a bore extending therethrough,

said body having a shaped tip end portion adapted to be received in the mouth of a player and a neck end portion by which said body connects to an instrument,

a reed overlying the shaped tip end portion of said body,

means adjusting the frequency vibration of said reed,

and means for clamping said adjusting means to said body and reed,

in combination with an instrument having a register keyhole and an adjacent thumb hole,

and means disposed in either of said holes to vary the tone of said instrument when being played.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said latter means includes a screen insert fitted in one of said holes.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 including means for detachably connecting said screen insert in its respective hole.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said screen insert comprises a concaved screen element which is fitted into its respective hole, and means for frictionally retaining said screen element into its respective hole.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein said frictional retaining means includes an annular groove circumscribing the wall of said hole, and a complementary projecting annular bead circumscribing said screen element adapted to register in said groove.

6. A mouthpiece for a reed type instrument comprisa body having a bore extending therethrough,

a reed overlying the shaped tip end portion of said body,

means adjusting the frequency vibration of said reed,

and means for clamping said adjusting means to said body and reed,

said adjusting means comprises,

a housing adapted to overlie the heel portion of said reed,

said housing having a bore therein,

a pressure plate,

a threaded stem connected to said pressure plate, said stem extending through the bore of said housing and extends through a threaded hole formed in the end of said housing,

an adjusted nut threaded to the end of said stem to effect longitudinal adjustment of said pressure plate along said reed,

a strap for clamping said pressure plate against said reed in the adjusted position thereof,

and a set screw threaded to the end of said housing overlying said pressure plate to positively secure said pressure plate in the adjusted position thereof.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said clamping means securing the housing of said adjusting means to said body is formed with a notch in the forward end thereof, said notch being adapted to receive the set screw to fix the housing relative to the body of said mouthpiece.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7 wherein said body includes grooves formed therein for accommodating and fixing said clamping means relative to said body.

9. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said housing includes a resilient pad disposed in the bottom thereof, whereby said pad is adapted to bear against the reed in the operative position thereof.

10. A reed instrument comprising the instrument body and a connected mouthpiece, and said instrument body having a register key hole and an adjacent thumb hole, the improvement of a means inserted into either of said holes to vary the tone of said instrument, said insert including a screen insert adapted to be retained in its respective hole.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,499,855 3/1950 Gamble 84383 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

G. M. POLUMBUS, Assistant Examiner.