Music – Instruments – Stringed
Patent
1983-12-01
1985-10-08
Witkowski, Stanley J.
Music
Instruments
Stringed
84317, 84318, 84478, G09B 1502, G10D 300
Patent
active
045452814
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a device having shortening elements for string instruments, in particular guitars, lutes, banjos, mandolins, or the like. The device comprising shortening elements serves to adjust chords or tones by means of control elements for shortening of the strings. Devices of this sort are known and serve to make playing the aforementioned string instruments either easier or possible.
Chords, chord series or single tones on said string instruments are produced e.g. on the guitar by four fingers and, if necessary, the thumb of the so-called stopping hand, by shortening the strings which are being played by the playing hand. Many chords, e.g. on the six strings of the guitar, cannot be fingered or can be fingered only inadequately because the four stopping fingers and occasionally the thumb are not able to correctly finger all the chords possible.
This demonstrates that even for trained players there is a considerable difference between the playing possibilities of the instrument and the playing capacity. This difference is particularly burdensome for the beginner.
This is why various attempts have been made to ease the fingering of chords by the use of technical aids. DE-AS 25 38 366 discloses that a chord be assigned to each of the keys provided. By actuating a certain key, a corresponding shortening element which acts on the string is actuated via a fluid conduit. Thereby, various shortening elements can be actuated in parallel, so that chords can thus be set. Owing to the multiplicity of chords which can be attained in this way, however, the additional technical means becomes more complicated, occupying a correspondingly large space on the neck of the instrument. But it is still possible only to actuate a limited number of chords, and no runs or single strikes.
In the device disclosed in DE-OS 19 63 306, six chords at the most can be set in one position. For other chords, the device must be moved along the neck. This is complicated and presupposes wide theoretical knowledge, and is not easy to learn, even for the trained player.
The playing aid disclosed by DE-OS 19 40 660 also occupies the major part of the neck and comprises a multiplicity of keys and Bowden cables by which the strings are shortened, the pressure on the keys corresponding to the pressure on the shortening elements. Thereby, the tuning of the guitar is modified from normal tuning to C, small octave--G, small octave--e flat.sup.1 --g--c--e flat.
The device disclosed by DE-AS 10 76 475 has electromagnetically controlled shortening elements. For each chord, there is a particular electric circuit which is closed by pressure on the corresponding key, whereby the corresponding shortening elements are activated and the desired chord is set. Chords in different positions may be selected via relays. The shortening elements are mounted along the entire length of the neck.
The known prior art devices only allow setting of a small number of chords and the variations thereof on the instrument, as compared to the great multiplicity of possibilities. With all the devices, certain variations simply cannot be made, e.g. major chords with sixths or ninths, which are particularly attractive.
A separate key is required for each chord or variation, which leads to troublesome and complex control elements.
The selection of chords is determined when the devices are manufactured; the user cannot set other chords without considerable technical effort.
With the mounted or built-in devices, there is no chance or only a limited chance for conventional playing.
Electronic means are known (DE-OS 29 02 606), which store entire musical numbers during playing, which can be called up from the memories for automatic control of a key instrument, in particular a bell or a chime. These electronic devices control the playing of the instrument. The musical numbers in the memory are played without further human intervention, like mechanical-automatic instruments, in response to an outside pulse, e.g. from the timer which is connected thereto.
SUMMARY O
REFERENCES:
patent: 2906158 (1959-09-01), McBride
patent: 3433112 (1969-03-01), Bradt
patent: 3837255 (1974-09-01), Starnes et al.
patent: 3851558 (1974-12-01), Hopkins
patent: 4061069 (1977-12-01), Brackett
patent: 4204454 (1980-05-01), Severn
patent: 4228718 (1980-10-01), Smith
patent: 4295402 (1981-10-01), Deutsch et al.
patent: 4343218 (1982-08-01), Futamase
patent: 4388851 (1983-06-01), Hoskinson et al.
LandOfFree
Device for string instruments for adjusting chords does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device for string instruments for adjusting chords, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for string instruments for adjusting chords will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2213713