US604761A - Jan andries jonkhoff - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) J. A. JONKHOFF;

STRINGBD INSTRUMENT.

No. 604,761. 'Patented May/31, 1898.

Jay 1.

fkwlwl@ Inventor: l] l 4 61M/ AwwA JAN ANDRIES JONKHOFF, OF DRESDEN, GERlWIANY, ASSIGNOR TO ALFRED GRUNERT, OF NEW GRUNA, GERMANY.

STRINGED BNSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 604,761, dated May 31, 189.8. Application iiled June 1l, 1897. Renewed April 29, 1898. Serial No. 679,255. (No model.)

To aZZ whom t may concern: distributed on both sides of the bar, so that Be it known that LJAN ANDRIES J ONKHOFF, the levers for the first, third, iifth, dac., strings instrument-maker, a subject of the Queen of are on one side, and those for the second, the Netherlands, residing at Dresden, in the fourth, sixth, dac., are on the other side of the 5 5 5 Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire, have bar. The distribution ofthekey-levers on the invented certain new and useful Improvesides of the bar may of course be varied in mentsin orRelating to Stringed Instruments, any other desired way. It may, for instance, of which the following is a speciiication. be determined by musical considerations,

The present extremely simple pleetruml and instead of one bar two or more may be 6o xo device for citherns, mandolins, guitars, and used. Each lever is provided with an operstringed instruments generally, such as are ating-head, Fig. 4, preferably hollowed out played by plucking the strings, is characteron its upper surface, while at its lower end ized by its convenient and easy manipulation, there is provided a (preferably elastic) finger whereby playing of the instrument is renc' of some material that does not produce a 65 dered extremely leasy to learn. Its special metallic sound-for instance, vulcanized rubadvantages are the possibility of producing a ber, horn, tortoise-shell, or the like. single note or the same note several times in The stroke of the key-levers is limited by quick succession, thereby obtaining a manfixed stops, which in the construction shown dolin-like tremolo effect, which cannot be obin the drawings are formed by the slots in the 7o 2o tained at all on the accord-cithern, and on the top e of a casing E, placed over the bar A.

concerto-cithern can be obtained only by very The casing must of course be open at the botskilled persons, a simple natural regulation tom and not touch the strings. On one side of the strength of the sounds, and, lastly, the of the casing may project an end or extension ease with which individual sounds can be proof the bar, Figs. l and 2, on the right-hand 75 2 5 duced. side.

In the accompanying drawings the present The perpendicular distance of the bar from invention is shown as applied to an accordthe string is arranged so that when the bar is A cithern-that is to say, to a cithern in which in its normal position the fingers c', when the there is a separate string for each sound to be levers are caused to oscillate, do not touch 8o produced on the instrument, in contradisthe strings, or touch them very slightly, protinction to a concerto-cithern with its flngerducing pianissimo notes. By means of the board strings. The device can, however, be extension or projecting end of the bar the latalso applied to instruments of the latter kind. ter can be depressed when it is desired to ob- Figure lis a plan; Fig. 2, a front elevation, tain a greater sound; but this can also (and, 8 5

3 5 partly in section; Fig. 3, atransverse vertical as will be seen, in a much better manner) be section through the bar A, and Fig. 4: a sepproduced bythe key-levers themselves durarate view of a key-lever with finger or plecing their operation. trum. The key-levers are operated when it is de- Across the strings or a part of the strings sired to sound a note, say, only once by trans- 9o (in case all the strings of the instrument are ferring or pressing the corresponding key-lenot to be operated by the device) is placed a ver from its one extreme position (determined bar A, `vertically guided by means of pins a by the slot in e) to the other. The finger c', and resting on elastic compressible supports. which itself is slightly elastic, strikes the In the drawings the supports are shown as string, (Fig. 2, at the left-hand end, and Fig. 95

rubber buffers or springs a', through which 4,) bends it slightly, and allows it to spring pass the pins c. The latter are suitably seback, so that it vibrates and produces the cured to the top B of the instrument. required sound. The lever then simply re- On the side or sides of the bar A are pivmains in its new position until it is returned oted at c c key-levers O O, one for each string to its original position by a return operation roo 5o to be operated by the device. Owing to the of the string.

limited space generally available, they are In order to produce tremolo notes, the keylever is quickly moved to and fro, so that it passes over the string several times in quick succession and gives several short sounds as each new engagement of the finger and string interrupts the previous vibrations.

By means of the key-levers, operative during both the forward and backward stroke, the following results are therefore obtained: (a) ordinary or tremolo play, as desired; (b) the suppression of arrangements which were absolutely necessary with reciprocating keylevers in order to strike the string only once during the reciprocation, so that the return of the lever should be inoperative, consequently a much simpler manner of construction.

As regards the regulating of the strength of sound by the key-levers themselves, it must be pointed out that when it is intended to play forte the key-heads will be struck with much greater force. This would be done instinctively by the player, even were greater force unnecessary for louder play 5 but as the bar A is lowered according to the pressure upon the levers the string will be operated with greater force, and so the regulating may be called a natural automatic one not requiring previous study or attention.

I claim- 1. A plectrum device for stringed musical instruments consisting of one or more bars extending across the strings and resting on elastic supports and carrying pivoted key-le vers provided with operatin g-lin gers which in their oscillations, limited by fixed stops, can engage with the strings in either direction, and produce either a single note or the same note repeated, the strength of the sound being at the same time determined by the pressure exercised on the key-lever, substantially as described.

2. A plectrum device for stringed musical instruments consisting of a bar resting on elastic supports and extending transversely across above the strings of the instrument, said bar carrying pivoted key-levers provided with operating-lingers c and a casing provided with slots for accommodating and limiting the reciprocating' movement of the leylevers, substantially as described.

3. A plectrum device `for stringed musical. instruments consisting of a bar A, guided and supported on pins A and elastic supports a', key-levers C pivoted on said bar in combination with a slotted casing E, substantially as and `for the purposes described. ln testimony whereof l have hereto set my hand in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

JAN ANDRIES JONKIIOFF. lVitnesses:

Or'ro WoLFF, Huco INMONEY.

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