Music – Instruments – Stringed
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-26
2004-08-17
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Stringed
C084S282000, C084S283000, C084S453000, C084S468000, C084S274000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06777600
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to bowed string instruments and more particularly concerns a teaching device for teaching players of these instruments how to properly grip a bow when playing a bowed string instrument.
Bowed string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and fiddles, comprise an instrument with one or more strings and a separate bow that is used create noise from the strings. By way of example only, the following background is directed to a violin. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the violin
10
comprises a substantially hollow body
12
, a substantially solid arm
14
connected to the body
12
, a fingerboard
15
, and a set of strings
16
. The body
12
has an end
18
distal to the arm
14
and the arm has an end
20
distal to the body
12
, wherein the distal end
18
of the body
12
and the distal end
20
of the arm
14
form opposite ends of the instrument. The fingerboard
15
runs substantially the entire length of the arm
14
and extends beyond the arm
14
to cover approximately half of the body
12
. The strings
16
have two ends,
22
and
24
, wherein the ends
22
are attached near the distal end
18
of the body
12
and the opposite ends
24
are attached near the distal end
20
of the arm
14
, such that the strings
16
run almost the entire length of the instrument
10
. A bridge
28
is attached to the body
12
between the point where the ends
22
of the strings
16
are attached to the body
12
and the fingerboard
15
, such that the strings
16
run over the bridge
28
. An aperture
32
in the body
12
is positioned between the bridge
28
and the fingerboard
15
such that the strings
16
run over the aperture
32
. A chin rest
26
is attached to the distal end
18
of the body
12
near the point where the strings
16
are attached.
As best shown in
FIG. 5
, a bow
50
has first and second ends
54
and
56
having a longitudinal axis
55
therebetween, wherein the end
56
is bent at an angle to form a tip
58
. A screw
60
is attached at the end
54
, a metal slide
62
is positioned adjacent the screw
60
, a grip
64
is positioned adjacent the slide
62
, and a stick
52
is positioned adjacent to the grip
64
and extends the remaining length of the bow
50
to the tip
58
. A frog
66
is attached near the end
54
of the bow
50
opposite the tip
58
and is positioned in a substantially parallel relation to the tip
58
. The frog
66
has a generally rectangular shape having two opposite surfaces
67
defined by an outer edge
68
proximal the screw
60
, an inner edge
70
opposite the outer edge
68
, an upper edge
72
attached directly to the slide
62
, and a lower edge
74
opposite the upper edge
72
. The frog
66
further includes an arm
76
that is located at the corner formed by the inner edge
70
and the upper edge
72
, such that the arm
76
is connected to the slide
62
. A ferrule
78
is attached to the corner of the frog
66
formed by the lower edge
74
and the inner edge
70
. An eye
80
is positioned on the surface
67
of the frog
66
. Finally, bow hair
82
is stretched between the ferrule
78
and the tip
58
. The bow hair
82
may be made of horsehair or other synthetic material. The screw
60
is attached to the frog
66
so that turning the screw
60
will tighten or loosen the tension on the bow hair
82
.
A player plays a bowed string instrument, such as a violin, as generally shown in FIG.
1
. The player's right hand grips the bow
50
near the end
54
about the slide
62
, the grip
64
, and the frog
66
. The player's left hand grips the distal end
20
of the arm
14
of the violin
10
such that the player's fingers may press the strings
16
against the fingerboard
15
on the arm
14
. The player uses the chin rest
26
to support the distal end
18
of the body
12
of the violin
10
between his or her chin and shoulder. The player moves the bow hair
82
of the bow
50
in a straight line across the strings
16
(i.e., perpendicular to the strings
16
) between the bridge
28
and the fingerboard
15
. A straight path is essential because it produces the clearest tone and enables the player to execute fast passages. The straight path is achieved by properly gripping the bow
50
so that the wrist leads the bow
50
across the strings
16
. In this way, the wrist acts like a pendulum to cause the bow
50
to move back and forth along an identical path.
A proper grip is shown in FIG.
1
. Specifically, the player's wrist should be positioned above frog
66
with the little finger resting on the slide
62
at an angle to the bow
50
. The player's middle and ring fingers should rest on the surface
67
of the frog
66
and the player's index finger should rest on the grip
64
. The player's thumb should rest of the surface
67
of the frog
66
opposite the surface
67
touched by the middle and ring fingers. The player should use his or her wrist to lead the bow
50
and should grip the bow
50
such that the stick
52
is tilted slightly toward the fingerboard
15
. Keeping the wrist above the frog
66
allows the bow
50
to travel in a straight line across the strings
16
, i.e. perpendicular to the strings
16
.
However, it is often difficult for new players of bowed string instruments, such as violins or cellos, to learn how to properly grip the bow
50
such that the wrist, and not the hand, leads the bow
50
across the strings
16
. Part of the difficulty in learning how to properly grip a bow
50
results from the fact that the proper grip goes against a person's natural tendencies for movement. That is, the natural tendency is for people to use their hands, and not their wrists, to move objects. For this reason, new players naturally grip the bow
50
with their wrist positioned at the same level or lower than frog
66
, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, which allows them to lead the bow
50
with their hand. But leading the bow
50
with the hand causes the bow
50
to travel across the strings
16
in an angled (i.e., not perpendicular) position, which adversely affects the tone and sound. Additionally, because the hand has a much greater range of motion than the wrist, the angled path of the bow
50
tends to change every time the bow
50
passes back and forth. This is not desired. An improper grip also makes it difficult for players to exert the right amount of pressure on the strings
16
. That is, too much pressure makes it difficult to move the bow
50
across the strings
16
and too little pressure will not produce enough sound. Further, even if the player begins with the proper grip, it is very difficult for them to maintain the proper grip as they move the bow
50
back and forth across the strings
16
. Again, this occurs because new players will lapse into the more natural improper grip as they concentrate on moving the fingers of their left hand over the strings
16
and on reading sheet music.
Accordingly, a bowed string instrument teaching device solving the aforementioned and other problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Against this backdrop the present invention has been developed to solve the above and other problems by using a teaching device attached to the bow.
The teaching device for bowed string instruments includes a hollow tubular base having an outer end and an inner end and an internal surface between these ends. The internal surface of the base defines a central opening that receives the bow to provide a secure attachment of the base to the bow. The base has a longitudinal axis between the outer end and the inner end that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bow when the base is attached to the bow. A finger support is connected to the base by a stem. The finger support has a closed lower end and an open upper end and a central cavity between the two ends. The finger support has a longitudinal axis that is positioned at an angle of less than 90° to the longitudinal axis of the base. The player's little finger is positioned within the central cavity of th
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