WO2001071705A1

WO2001071705A1 - Collar bone rest for a stringed instrument

Info

Publication number: WO2001071705A1
Application number: PCT/GB2001/001296
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Benham
Original assignee: William Benham
Priority date: 2000-03-23
Filing date: 2001-03-23
Publication date: 2001-09-27
Also published as: AU3943301A; GB0006905D0

Abstract

The present invention provides an attachment for a stringed instrument comprising a carrier block (240) to which is fitted a collarbone rest (250) and, optionally, an adjustable chin rest (390). The carrier block is mounted on a stand-off (230) which in turn is mounted against a support member (220). This support member sits over a stud screw (214) extending rearwardly from the vertical face (290) of the sound box (110) where the button of a violin or viola is normally located. The collarbone rest thus extends rearwardly from the violin by a length that a player can select according to his physique, playing technique or the instrument (violin or viola). Injuries to the soft tissue around the shoulder are also reduced.

Description

COLLAR BONE REST FOR A STRINGED INSTRUMENT

This invention relates to an attachment for a stringed instrument such as a violin or viola. Musical instruments such as violins or violas comprise a sound box attached to a neck. The strings of the instrument are held under tension between a tailpiece, attached to the sound box, and rotatable pegs affixed to the end of the neck distal from the sound box.

In order to play such instruments, it is important that the player should have maximum freedom to move one hand up and down the neck part, while the other hand bows. For more advanced techniques, the hand must move up and down the neck part with great speed. It is usually necessary that the instrument be held under firm control under these situations. Players traditionally hold the instrument by resting their lower jaw bone or chin on a chin rest on an upper surface of the sound box, and resting the instrument on the medial end of the collarbone. In the last fifty years, players have increasingly been using a shoulder rest attached underneath the instrument, so that the contact is very often with the soft tissue of the shoulder, with little or no contact with the medial end of the collarbone.

Figure 1 shows a side view and an end-on view of a violin fitted with the first recorded chin rest (1832) which Spohr called a "violin-holder" at 1 and 2. It was attached to the violin by means of a peg "a" in the opening previously occupied by the button. Figure 2 shows an end-on view of a part of a violin 100 including a sound box 110 with a tailpiece 120, J, button 130, tail-gut 140 and a conventional chin rest 150. The chin rest 150 is clamped firmly to the sound box by a screw-threaded clamping arrangement indicated at 160. A shoulder rest is shown at 170. Referring to Figure 2, the player rests his or her chin, or mandible, on the chin rest 150 and the shoulder rest 170 rests on the shoulder, and may rest on a part of the collarbone as well. By pressing the chin downward towards the collarbone, and pushing the shoulder upwards, the instrument is firmly gripped.

A problem with the arrangements in Figures 1 and 2 is that longer-necked persons, in particular, have difficulty gripping the instrument. They frequently develop the habit of raising the shoulder to bring the chin rest up to the chin, and to put a suitable tilt on the instrument. If they use a high shoulder rest underneath, this usually raises the instrument off the medial end of the collarbone, and the shoulder rest is resting mainly on the soft tissue of the shoulder. This frequently leads to fibrositis in the upper fibres of the trapezius, levator scapulae, scalenes and/or the muscles of the rotator cuff. It can also lead to such conditions as thoracic outlet syndrome or "frozen shoulder".

A considerable step towards solving these problems was taken in the adjustable chin rest proposed in Patent Application GB-A-2, 334, 367. However, even when using such a high adjustable chin rest, a few problems exist :-

Firstly, it was necessary to use a small pad or rolled-up duster, placed under clothing halfway along the collarbone, to attain a suitable tilt on the instrument. This is not a very satisfactory solution as pressure is still exerted on soft tissue, and ladies in particular do not want pads under clothing when wearing evening dresses. Also, there can be wear on the instrument where the clothing touches it. If the pad is attached to the underside of the sound box, it will only work if the instrument is held in one position. In either case, there is a dampening of the vibrations of the instrument. If a shoulder rest such as is shown in Figure 2 is used with the adjustable chin rest of GB-A-2, 334, 367, it only works in one position of the instrument, and soft tissue damage can occur . Secondly, when the player has long arms, it has been found advantageous to extend the length of the violin so that the bowing position is like a viola position.

Also, clamping the chin rest, or the violin extension to the sound box generates two further problems. Firstly, to the instrument can always occur. The ribs of instruments may be crushed ^'by the pressure of over-tightened clamps. Secondly, the sound of the instrument may be adversely affected by such clamping. It is an object of the present invention at least to alleviate these problems with the prior art. Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides an attachment for a stringed instrument such as a violin or viola, the instrument having a body. The attachment comprises an attachment member adapted to be attached to the body of the instrument and a collarbone rest coupled, in use, to the attachment member. The collarbone rest is so shaped that it rests, in use of the instrument, on the medial end of the collarbone of a player of the instrument. By shaping the collarbone rest as described, the present invention prevents undue pressure being applied on the soft tissue of the shoulder and allows the player to tilt the instrument at a suitable angle for playing without having to strain the neck or muscles of the upper body.

The present invention may also provide an attachment in which the body of the instrument has a top surface and an end surface generally perpendicular to the top surface, the attachment being arranged to extend away from the end surface of the instrument when attached thereto. By extending the collarbone rest away from the end of the instrument, it is possible to provide a rest which sits more comfortably on the collarbone of the player. This again prevents undue pressure on the soft tissue of the shoulder and allows the player to tilt the instrument at a suitable angle for playing.

Preferably, the attachment member is insertable into a hole in the end surface of the instrument. This avoids the need to clamp the collarbone rest to the instrument with possibly damaging pressure, or in a manner which could dampen the vibrations of the instrument .

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention an adjustable spacing element may be provided between the attachment member and the collarbone rest and arranged to space the attachment member from the collarbone rest. By using this adjustable spacing element, the distance between the instrument and the player may be increased to enable a longer armed player to more comfortably play a smaller instrument, such as a violin, in the manner that they would play, for example, a viola.

In another especially preferred embodiment of the present invention, the collarbone rest comprises a carrier member removably attached to a collarbone member. In that case, the collarbone member may be attachable to the carrier member by cooperation of a projection on one of the carrier member and collarbone member with a hole in the other of the collarbone member and carrier member.

In that case, preferred embodiments of the invention provide an adjustable chin rest, such as that disclosed in GB-A-2, 334, 367, couplable, in use, to the carrier member. With this arrangement, users of a wide range of different physiques may comfortably play either the violin or the viola without risking strain on the neck or upper-body muscles through over stretching.

Further preferred features of the invention are listed in the dependent claims annexed hereto.

The invention may be put into practice in a number of ways and one preferred embodiment will now be described by way of an example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view and an end-on view of a violin fitted with the first recorded chin rest (1832);

Figure 2 shows an end-on view of a part of a violin having a modern prior art chin rest;

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of an end of a violin/viola, with an exploded view of the parts of an attachment embodying the present invention and including a carrier block;

Figure 4 shows a side view of the end of a violin/viola with the attachment of Figure 3; and Figures 5a and 5b show a top view of the violin/viola of Figures 3 and 4, with two exemplary designs for the carrier block respectively.

Referring first to Figure 3, a part of a stringed instrument is shown. The instrument may be, for example, a violin or viola. For ease of reference, the instrument will hereinafter be referred to as a violin. The violin comprises, as will be familiar to those skilled in the art, a sound box 110 and a tailpiece 120 which holds strings 135. The tailpiece 120 is in turn attached to tailgut 140 which is ordinarily held by a button (not shown) mounted to or through an end part 190 of the sound box 110. To hold the strings 135 under tension, keys at the end of the neck of the violin or viola (not shown) are tightened over a bridge 200. Because the strings are held by the tailpiece 120, they can in turn be maintained under tension.

To permit mounting of the attachment embodying the present invention, the button conventionally employed in a violin or viola is instead replaced by a modified tailgut attachment member shown generally in Figure 3 at 210. The modified tailgut attachment 210 comprises a peg 212, a head 180 and a screw stud 214. The peg is formed of a strong, resilient material and has a slight taper (such as MORS1) . The head is also formed of a strong material and is shaped as a washer so that, in use, the tailgut 140 is able to wrap around it. The head 180 is affixed to the peg 212 by the stud screw 214.

The arrangement shown in Figure 3 also comprises a support member 220, a stand-off 230, a carrier block 240 and a collarbone rest 250. The arrangement of Figure 3 is assembled as follows. Firstly, the tension in the strings 135 of the violin is released by unscrewing the pegs at the end of the neck of the violin. Once the tension has been completely released, such that the tailgut 140 is no longer taut, the button normally found on the end face 190 of the sound box 110 is removed. Next, the peg 212 of the assembled tailgut attachment 210 is inserted into the hole vacated by the button, and tapped lightly with a mallet to ensure a snug fit. Once the face of the head 180 of the tailgut attachment member 210 abuts the rear face 190 of the sound box 110, the tailgut 140 is wrapped around that head 180 and the strings of the violin can then be re-tuned. The tension then existing in the tailgut 140 assists in stabilising the stud screw 214 of the tailgut attachment member 210 which then protrudes rearwardly of the rear face 190 of the violin sound box 110.

The stand-off 230 is formed of a hollow ^• cylindrical spacer 260 with two flanges 270, 280 coaxially mounted thereon. The first, basal flange 270 is fixed at one end of the hollow spacer 260, and the second, distal flange 280 is, in the presently preferred embodiments, fixed to the hollow spacer a short distance away from the distal end thereof. The short length of the hollow spacer 260 extending beyond the distal flange 280 is inserted into an aperture 290 formed through the carrier block 240 as seen in Figure 3. The rearward face of the flange 280 abuts against the forward face of the carrier block 240 and the part of the hollow spacer 260 that extends into the aperture 290 preferably has a flat 295 on its exterior lower surface. The standoff 230 is held in place against the carrier block 240 by inserting the end part of the hollow spacer 260 into the aperture 290 and then tightening a grub screw 300 in a radial direction relative to the axis of the hollow spacer 260.

The support member 220 is next placed centrally over the end of the violin. The support member 220 comprises two arms 310, 310' on whose underside is mounted respective soft pads 320, 320' formed of a cork material or the like. The support member 220 also has a central slot 330. The stud screw 214 of the tailgut attachment member 210 passes through the central slot 330 and the pads 320, 320' on the arms 310, 310' rest against the upper face of the sound box 110 as may best be seen from Figure 4. The basal flange 270 on the hollow spacer 260 sits within two rails 340 on the rearward face of the support member 220. To hold the carrier block 240 to the violin, an internally threaded bolt 350 passes through the aperture 290 in the carrier block 240, through the centre of the hollow cylindrical spacer 260, through the central slot 330 in the support member 220 and threads onto the stud screw 214. The central slot 330 allows the support member 220 to be moved vertically relative to the violin so that the pads 320, 320' sit correctly against the top face of the sound box regardless of the dimensions of the violin or viola. Three holes 360 are formed in the upper surface of the carrier block 240 to receive a chin rest 390 (see Figure 4). The particularly preferred chin rest is the adjustable chin rest described in

GB-A-2, 334, 367, although in this case the telescoping arms of the chin rest insert directly into the carrier block 240 rather than into a separate part attached directly to the violin body. Of course, any other known chin rest could be used instead.

Two further holes are formed in the undersurface of the carrier block 240 and these receive lugs 380 which protrude from the collarbone rest 250. In order to ensure that the collarbone rest does not drop off the carrier block, the lugs 380 are preferably formed so as not to be parallel to one another. They can then be effectively wedged into the holes 370 in the carrier block 240.

The lower surface of the collarbone rest 250 is shaped to rest on the collarbone of a player of the stringed instrument continuously for a distance of approximately 10 or 11 cm from the medial end thereof. It is so shaped that a certain amount of lateral and vertical movement of the instrument can be made, without the support being lost. A small amount of padding may be glued to this lower surface for increased comfort.

The arrangement of Figure 3 is shown, assembled, in side view in Figure 4. Figures 5a and 5b show top views of the arrangement of Figure 3 when assembled, again without the chin rest 390 shown, for clarity. In Figure 5a, the aperture 290 in the carrier block 240 is shown formed centrally along the length of the carrier block 240, with the holes 360 to receive the chin rest being generally equidistantly spaced about that centrally-formed aperture 290. In Figure 5b, by contrast the aperture 290 is offset relative to the centre of the carrier block 240. The holes 360 are also offset relative to the aperture 290 in a lengthwise direction.

It will be appreciated that the stand-off 230 may be of any length. A violinist with long arms might choose to have a stand-off perhaps 3 to 2te cm long, whereas a viola player would choose to have it as short as possible. The length can be adjusted either by using different lengths of stand-off, by adjusting the internally-threaded bolt 350, or even by forming the outer surface of the hollow spacer 260 with a thread which co-operates with an internal thread in the distal flange 280. By moving the distal flange 280 along the thread, the spacing between the distal and basal flanges can be reduced or increased as desired. The arrangement of Figure 4 in particular provides for a complete violin or viola holding se-up, which reduces the risk of injury caused by bad playing habits, and which can be adjusted to suit players of widely different physiques.

Claims

Claims :

1. An attachment for a stringed instrument such as a violin or viola, the instrument having a body, the attachment comprising an attachment member adapted to be attached to the body of the instrument and a collarbone rest coupled, in use, to the attachment member, the collarbone rest being so shaped that it rests, in use of the instrument, on the medial end of the collarbone of a player of the instrument.

2. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, in which the body of the instrument has a top surface and an end surface generally perpendicular to the top surface, the attachment being arranged to extend away from the end surface of the instrument when attached thereto.

3. An attachment as claimed in claim 2, wherein the attachment member is insertable into a hole formed in the end surface of the instrument.

4. An attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment member further comprises a spacing element provided between the attachment member and the collarbone rest and arranged to space the attachment member from the collarbone rest.

5. An attachment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the spacing element has an adjustable length to adjust the spacing between the attachment member and the collarbone rest.

6. An attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the collarbone rest comprises a carrier member removably attached to a collarbone member.

7. An attachment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the collarbone member includes at least one projecting finger and the carrier member includes at least one hole in a first surface thereof, to receive the or

> each projecting finger of the collarbone member.

8. An attachment as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a chin rest removably coupled to the collarbone rest.

9. An attachment as claimed in claim 8, wherein the orientation of the chin rest is adjustable relative to the carrier member.

10. An attachment as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the chin rest includes at least one projecting finger and the carrier member further comprises at least one hole in a second surface thereof to receive the or each projecting finger of the chin rest, the second surface of the carrier member being opposed to the first surface thereof.

11. An attachment as claimed in either one of claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the attachment member further comprises a resilient pad arranged to rest against the top surface of the instrument when the attachment is attached to the instrument.

12. An violin or viola including an attachment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

13. An attachment substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 3, 4, 5a or 5b.