US794544A - Bowing device for zithers. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

J. VON PEIGHL.

BOWING DEVICE FOR ZITHBRS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1905.

a SHBBTS-SHEBT 1.

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J. VON PEIOHL. BOWING DEVICE FOR ZITHERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1905.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

$20675 Z6774 UJde v z ozz F2662 Z No. 794,544. PATENTED JULY 11, 1905. J. VON PEIGHL.

BOWING DEVICE FOR ZITHERS.

APPLIOATION FILED M123, 1905.

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PATENT @EETCE.

BOWING DEVICE FOR ZITHERS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 794,544, dated July 11, 1905.

Application filed January 23, 1905. Serial No. 242,391- I To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, J OSEPH VON PEICHL, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, residing at Triest, Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bowing Devices for Zithers and Similar Stringed Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is abowing device for Zithers and similar instruments by which it is rendered possible to produce by one and the same instrument the notes of a bow or string instrument, the play of the strings or chords of accompaniment, (accord and bass strings,) and, furthermore. to cause the strings to vibrate by directly plucking or twanglingthem by means of a quill or plectrum.

The said bowing device consists in its essence of a series of bow bands or strands made of horsehair or of a similar appropriate material and which are guided by means of rollers or spools over a fret-board string or over several such strings of an ordinary zither or of a zither constructed for the special purpose or of any similar instrument, the arrangement comprising a footboard imparting to the said bands or strands a to-and-fro motion which causes the fret-board strings to vibrate and sound. WVhile the bowing device is in operation, the lengthening and shortening of the strings may be effected, as usual, by the left hand of the player, and the accompaniment may be played by the right hand, the thumb of which may be employed for playing the fret-board strings, as well as the accompaniment strings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show a bowing device involving my invention in sideand front elevation. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a part of the bowing device. Figs. 4 and 5 show in plan some details of the device.

The instrument (in the instance shown in the drawings a zither Z) rests on a table A, the latter carrying on its front part the bowing device proper and below its board the pedal device. The latter device may also be arranged on a separate frame placed below the table. As a rule the device comprises four vrangennent of the roller 9 ers which are independent of one another and are mounted in a frame R. The latter is vertically adjustable and is shown as adapted to be held in an adjusted relation by means of a set-screw la in a clamping device K, which is adapted to be lixed to the front edge of the table-board. As a rule the four bands are symmetrically distributed in the frame R- that is to say, two of them at the right and two at the left side ofthe frame. This frame R supports with its upper bracket-arms 1 four rollers 7', each pair of which is preferably arranged coaxially, as shown in the drawings. A forked support 2 is pivotally connected to the other side of the frame, facing the instrument. This support is extended over the fret-board of the instrument Z and serves to carry four rollers 7*, Figs. 1 and 4:, arranged in alternating order and is provided with a slot-guide 3, Fig. 1, adapted to be engaged by the lower end of a sliding piece 5, movable along the guide-bar 4: of the frame. The forked support 2 is raised by adjusting the sliding piece 5 from the right to the left and lowered by the inverse motion of the said piecethat is to say, by shifting the same from the left to the right. Furthermore, four slotted'arms 6, Figs. 1 and 5, are disposed on the two side parts of the frame B. These arms independent of each other are movable in horizontal guides, and set-screws 7 serve to hold the said arms in the desired position. Each of these arms 6 extends below the fretboard strings and carries aroller 1 and these rollers r are, as shown in Fig. 5, arranged in alternating order corresponding to the ar- Four guide-rollers r are arranged on the frame or on a part laterally connected with the frame, each pair of these rollers being disposed ,coaxially.

Over the said rollers the bowing bands or strands b 7) I) b" are guided in such a manner that every band passes over an upper roller r, a roller '1" on the adjustable forked support 2, then passes the corresponding fret-board string, and over one of the rollers r and o in a downward direction. The two ends of the bands are connected with cooperating pullingstrings 2 .2 .2 in such a manner that every band in connection with the corresponding string constitutes an endless pulling device. Each of these pulling devices be 1/2 W2 W) passes over one of the rollers 1", journaled in the base R of the frame, over guide-rollers r at the front part of the table, and over an other of the rollers r back to the frame. The base or lower part R" of the frame, which is provided with four pairs of such guide-rollers r for the four pulling-strings 2 2 2 .2, may be connected with the frame R, rigidly or adjustably or in some cases with the tableboard or the table-frame.

The pedal device, by means of which the to and fro movement of the pulling device is eficcted, comprises generally a number of .pedals 1, corresponding to the number of strands pivoted around the axis 8 with controllable friction. These pedals, in the present case four in number, are provided with levers 1/19 fp, which preferably are adapted to be lengthened or shortened. It is preferable to have these four levers arranged close together midway the table, Fig. 2, and directly connected to the corresponding pulling-strings .2 .e' .2 e". The position and the size of the pedal is such that two of the same are adapted to be moved by the right foot and the two others by the left foot, either separately or simultaneously. As a rule the lower part of the levers 1) p p p is bent or cranked, as shown in Fig. 1, and the connecting-pieces of the levers and pedals are placed below the axis 8, by which arrangement the advantage is obtained that the player is able to let his feet slide laterally over all the pedals without meeting with any obstacle. The described arrangement of the levers p p p p renders it possible by modifying the shape of the bent upper ends of these levers, Fig. 2, to connect the bowing-bands of the left part of the framefor instance, to the rightside pedals, or vice versa. This is an advantage which may be of importance with relation to the musical standpoint. By operating the pedals an alternating to-and-fro motion is imparted to the bowing-bands, and the strings of the musical instrument, which in the present case is a Zither, are caused to sound. If it is possible to guide the bands 6?) in astraight line from the rollers 9" of the forked support 2 to the rollers 7 as is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, then the before-mentioned slotted arms 6 may be dispensed with, whereas the rollers 9*" must be arranged adjustably. It will be remembered that the pulling-bands have been described as having theiropposite ends connected with the pedal-levers, (see, for example, Fig. 8,) so that when the foot portions of said pedallevers are depressed the upper portions thereof will be swung toward the front of the device in order to impart longitudinal movement to said pulling-bands and a corresponding movement to the bow bands in order that the latter will wipe along the strings of the musical instrument with which the device is for the time being cooperative.

In order that the tones or notes produced by the swept strings be pure and true, the relative position of the strings and bands must be well adjusted. This adjusting is effected by raising or lowering the system of rollers or by laterally shifting the same, and the exact and minute adjusting is obtained by means of the sliding piece 5 in cooperation with the su 'iportingarms 6. By shifting the sliding piece 5, Fig. 1, from left to right an increase of the pressing of the band upon the strings, and therefore an increase of the body or fullness of the tones, is obtained. The shifting in opposite direction produces a decrease of the body of the tones. This adjusting device is arranged in such a manner that by shifting the sliding piece to the left beyond a determined limit the bands may be lifted off the strings, so that in such a case the possibility is afforded to play the fretboard strings in the usual manner by means of the quill or plectrum. By this arrangement a new mode of playing is rendered possible that is, a combination of tones produced by sweeping and by plucking the strings. The guide-bar 4 of the sliding piece 5 may also be pivotally connected with the frame R, as shown in Fig. 1, and adjustably fastened in the desired position, whereby the manipulating of the device for regulating the body of the tones is facilitated.

The supporting-arms 6 of the rollers r being independently and separatelyadjustable, the possibility is afforded to control the pressure of each single bowing-band upon the corresponding string quite independently from the other bands. The same result may be obtained by journalingthe rollers 1', which are located above the fret-board strings in separate and independently-adjustable supporting parts instead of arranging these rollers in a common forked support, (2.) In the same manner the lower guiding-rollers1-" may be arranged adjustable, each independ' ently from the others, by guiding the bands, as mentioned before, from the rollers 1* up to the guide-rollers r in a straight line.

If a separate table constructed for the present purpose is not available, a special preferably dismountable frame supportingthe pedal arrangement and the rollers 1''" may be placed under an ordinary table supporting the instrument.

The aforesaid and described controlling deas the supporting device for rollers r formed of the separate and independently-adjustable parts 6, and the pedal arrangement may also be employed in case that the bowing-bands are not in direct connection with the pullingstrings, but pass separately each over a corresponding system of rollers. In this case the rollers are actuated with the aid of corresponding transmission devices of any known type by means of the pedal-levers p 19 19 39*.

I claim 1. A bowing device for musical instruments comprising a plurality of bow-bands, a swinging member provided with guide-rollers over which the bands to engage the strings or a musical instrument travel, means for holding the swinging member in an adjusted position, and mechanism for operating the bow-bands longitudinally to cause them to act upon the said strings.

2. Abowingidevice for musical instruments comprising a plurality of bow-bands, aswinging member provided with guide-rollers for the bands, a sliding member arranged, on its movement, to adjust the swinging member, and mechanism for moving the bow bands back and forth to cause them to sound said strings. I i

3. A bowing device for musical instruments comprising a plurality of bow-bands, a swinging member provided with guide-rollers over which the bands travel, a swinging guide member, means for holding the swinging guide member in an adjusted position, a slide for adjusting said first-mentioned swinging member and carried by said swinging guide member, and means for moving the bowbands back and forth to cause them to sound the strings of the instrument.

4. In a bowing device for musical instruments, a plurality of bow-bands, pullingstring for the bow-bands, and pedal-levers for operating the pulling-strings in a direction to cause an endwise or back-and-forth motion of the bow-bands, to sound the strings of the instrument, the pedals of the levers being, when the latter are at rest, in a common plane, to permit thefree sliding of the foot from one pedal to another. 7

5. A bowing device for musical instruments involving a plurality of bow-bands for sounding the strings upon a musical instrument, adjustable guiding means for the bow-bands, pulling-strings for the bow-bands, and pedal mechanism arranged to act upon the pullingstrings to cause an endwise movement of the bow-bands.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH VON PEICHL.

VV'tnesses:

ANTONIO GHEZRo, G IsEPPE KtiRcH.

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