US644022A - Musical instrument. - Google Patents

Description

No. 644,022. Patented Feb. 20, I900. W. W. MGCALLIP. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM lVATERMAN MCCALLIP, OF COLUMBUS, OIllO.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,022, dated February 20, 1900.

Serial No. 728,706. (No modeh) 1'0 (066 Hf/I/O'ITZ/ it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WATERMAN MOOALLIP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Instruments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates more particularly to instruments that include in combination a cithern 0r cithern like instrument and a mouth-harp or harmonica, and the features of novelty are set forth in the claims appended to the following description.

In the accompanying drawings,showing one embodiment of my improvements, Figure 1 is a view of the right-hand side of the instrument. Fig. 2 is a View of the left-hand side of the instrument, the mouth-harp attachment being removed. Fig. 3 is a front view of the upper portion of the instrument. Fig. 4 is a top view. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, on a larger scale, through the mouthharp and its sound-chamber.

Like characters of reference in the several views designate corresponding parts.

1 designates the body of the stringed instrument, which is of the general form of a cithem, but is furnished on each of its larger flat sides with bridges and pins, as shown, to which strings can be attached in the usual manner, one set of the pins on each side being rotatable to permit the tuning of the strings. The strings on the right-hand side are shown to be sixteen in number, so that they may be tuned to form a diatonic scale of two octaves, while those on the left side are twelve in number, so that they may be tuned to form three common chords-as, for example, chords of the tonic, dominant, and subdominant, with their bases or fundamentals. The strings are thus arranged to suit the normal difference between the dexterity of the right and left hand, it being more clifficult to pick a melody than to pick chords.

2 designates the sound chamber or chest of the mouth-harp. This chest may be of the form shownthat is, with a substantially-rectangular portion or pocket adapted to receive a mouth-harp and a tapering portion, in the end of which is formed or fitted a screw. The upper side of the sound-chamber has a sliding cover 2"*, so that the chamber may be opened more or less to vary the volume and quality of the tone emitted. The mouth-harp is held in its seat in the'end of the soundchamber by means of a plate 3, having holes that correspond to and register with the airpassages of the mouth harp. Where the sound-chamber is of wood, this plate may be secured in place by means of nuts or small bolts passing through small holes in the ends of the plate and in small brackets fastened to ends of the sides of the sound-chamber.

The longitudinal edges of the perforated plate 3 project beyond the sides of the soundchamber, and upon these edges fit flanges of a mouthpiece 4. This mouthpiece is made with a hole, through which breath is blown or drawn to vibrate the reeds of the mouthharp, and the mouthpiece is capable of being slid back and forth across the plate 3 to bring the hole of the mouthpiece over any of the various air-passages of the mouth-harp. The inner side of the mouthpiece may be furnished with a padding of felt to preventthe escape of air at the sides. The screw on the end of the sound-chamber is designed to enter and frictionally engage a threaded socket 1 in the front edge of the cithern, so that, if desired, the sound-chamber, together with its contained mouth-organ, may be turned to stand in an inclined position with respect to the strung side of the cithern and enable the player to see the strings.

At any suitable place on the top of the cithem I place chart-holder 5, and by means of a pointer t, secured to the mouthpiece, and a suitable notation on a chart in the holder the mouthpiece may be guided to the proper position to play a melody. The rear side of the cithern will preferably have a loop or strap handle, into which the fingers of the left hand may be placed to hold the instrument, so that the thumb of the left hand shall be free to pick chords on the left side and the right hand be free to pick a melody on the right side.

As may readily be inferred, a variety of kinds of music may be produced with this instrument, to wit, a melody alone picked on the stringsa melody with chord accompaniment on the strings, a melody on the mouthharp with an accompaniment of chords on the strings, and a melody and chord accompaniment on the strings with an alto or tenor on the harp.

WVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Astringedinstrument of the cithern kind, combined with a holder having a seat for a harmonica or mouth-harp, With means for rotatably attaching the said holder to the stringed instrument, substantially as described.

2. A stringed instrument of the cithern kind having strings on one side adapted to be tuned in a diatonic scale and strings for fundamentals and their chords on the reverse side, combined with a holder having a seat for a harmonica or mouth-harp, with means for rotatably attaching the same to the stringed instrument, substantially as described.

3. A stringed instrument of the oithern kind having strings adapted to be tuned in a diatonic scale on one side and strings for fundamentals and their chords on the reverse side, combined With a sound-chamber having a seat for a harmonica or mouth-harp and an opening with a movable cover, and means for attaching said sound-chamber to the stringed instrument, substantially as described.

4. A stringedinstrument of the cithern kind, combined with an independent sound-chamber, a seat in said chamber for the mouthharp, and means attaching the sound-chamber to the stringed instrument, substantially as described.

5. In combination, a stringed instrument of the cithern kind, a chart-holder thereon, a mouth-harp stationarily attached to the cithern, a mouthpiece movable on the mouthharp, and a pointer attached to the m0uthpiece, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM WATERMAN MoCALLIl.

lVitnesses:

GEORGE M. FINOKEL, GEORGE W. ALFRED.

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