Music – Accessories – Teaching devices
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-21
2002-05-14
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Accessories
Teaching devices
C084S47000P, C084S478000, C084S47900R, C084S483100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06388182
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for teaching music to a musical novice and a novel music sheet for implementing the method. More specifically, it relates to a method for teaching the playing of a piano for introducing the world of music to people who have never played music before. It relates to a method of teaching a young child or other musical novice, including but not limited to people who are mentally or physically handicapped, who could benefit from successfully playing the piano virtually immediately, and who have no knowledge of musical instruments or of sheet music, how to read sheet music and to play the music written thereon on the keys of a keyboard instrument, particularly a piano.
2. Description of Related Art
The teaching of music is centuries old, as old as music itself. It is not surprising, therefore, to find elements of any novel teaching method in the prior art (much as one would find screws, nuts and bolts, cams, and gears as prior art of mechanical devices), most often in combinations too complex for introducing children to music.
The broad concept of writing music on a staff consisting of a single line is shown by Glenn (U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,271) in FIG.
1
and described in column
2
, lines
54
-
57
. However, the single line in Glenn comprises a reference line for a single octave with the notes of the octave being represented in both spaced relationship relative to the single line and by lines associated with each note. Glenn does not use the staff line to separate notes to be played by the left and right hands nor are her notes in the form of numbers corresponding to the fingers of the hands. Glenn also marks her keyboards for use with her notation system, but Glenn does not mark the keys with the notes themselves.
The broad concept of numbering the fingers and thumbs of the two hands by the numbers
1
-
5
is not novel. This is shown by Von Unshuld-Lazard (U.S. Pat. No. 1,133,074), Miller (U.S. Pat. No. 1,473,495), and Leonard (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,733,956, 3,888,155, 3,890,875, and 4,041,828).
Von Unshuld-Lazard shows (
FIG. 1
) a staff
10
having characters
11
printed adjacent thereto, the characters
11
, comprising the numbers
1
,
2
, and
3
, and teaches (page
1
, lines
90
-
100
) that the numbers identify the fingers (thumb, index, and middle, respectively) which are to play the notes. Von Unshuld-Lazard also shows the numbers for the right hand printed above the staff and the numbers for the left hand printed below the staff. However, Von Unshuld-Lazard shows the conventional staff with conventional musical notes thereon and relates the numbers only to the notes to be played by the fingers designated by the characters
11
. The notes per se are not identified with particular numbers, nor are the keys corresponding to the notes numbered; indeed, the depiction of the keys does not contain any numbers. As a result, the thumb, index finger, and middle finger (
1
,
2
, and
3
) are associated with different notes along the staff, since they play
1
5
different keys while ascending the scale.
Miller, like Von Unshuld-Lazard, labels each of the fingers with a number (page
2
, lines
7
-
11
) but does not label any single key or note with the same number. The notes are associated with a staff consisting of lines designating the black keys and spaces therebetween for designating the white keys.
Leonard (U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,956) discloses a slide rule for teaching music. Portions thereof which are related to this invention are particularly unclear, but the paragraph consisting of column
2
, lines
17
-
29
, suggests that the fingers of the right hand only are associated with the numbers
1
-
5
. Like Miller and Von Unshuld-Lazard, Leonard does not label any single key or note with the same number. In addition to being limited to a slide rule, Leonard also lacks any teaching of a notation system including a staff associated with a portion of a piano keyboard.
Leonard (U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,155) shows a slide rule for teaching the playing of music to a very young child. The fingers of both hands are labeled (column
1
, lines
25
-
26
and
65
-
66
) from thumb to pinkie with the numbers
1
-
5
, respectively. The slide rule associates a pictorial of a hand having these numbered fingers with the alphabetical note names of five consecutive notes which are to be played on five consecutive white keys on a piano keyboard (implied in column
2
, lines
35
-
41
and FIG.
3
); notes corresponding to the note names may or may not be printed on a staff. This association is done individually and separately for each hand; compare
FIGS. 1 and 3
. Music is written (
FIG. 3
) as a series of letters designating note names with numbers indicative of the fingers of one and only one of the hands printed adjacent the note names. The student is to play the note indicated by striking the key known to correspond thereto with the finger indicated by the number. Leonard further states: “One of the first things that a child must learn when beginning the study of music is basic keyboard fingering, which is generally taught by providing the student with simplified sheet music having the individual notes numbered in accordance with the numbering of the fingers used to play them.” (Column
1
, lines
5
-
10
.) Thus, for each hand individually and exclusively of the other, Leonard numbers the fingers, associates the finger numbers with a set of note names (and possibly notes on a staff), and provides a music sheet having the numbers and note names printed sequentially therealong. As such, Leonard ('155) is essentially a music system for only one hand at a time with no means for coordinating both together. The invention disclosed and claimed herein differs in many respects: Leonard does not number the keys of a keyboard, but rather relies on the child to identify the key from a prior knowledge of the correspondence between note name and key. Leonard does not provide a music sheet which teaches the use of both hands simultaneously. And, she does not teach a single-lined staff having numbers, exclusively, positioned on the staff which show not only which key is to be struck and which finger is to be used, but also which hand has the finger in question.
Leonard (U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,875) shows a slide rule for teaching the relationship between notes, note names, and the corresponding keys on a piano keyboard.
FIG. 1
shows left and right hands numbered from thumb to pinkie with the numbers
1
-
5
, respectively, but the text does not indicate a use for the display other than to represent which hand (usually) plays which octaves of a piano keyboard. Leonard does not show a single lined staff, nor does she number the keys of the keyboard.
Leonard (U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,828) shows a slide rule for teaching scales and chords. Of interest is the numbering of the fingers of the left and right hands from thumb to pinkie with the numbers
1
-
5
, respectively. The numbers show which finger is to be used to play the note of the scale or chord on the keyboard; see column
1
, lines
39
-
45
, and column
3
, lines
6
-
10
. Leonard states that so numbering the fingers is according to “conventional elementary music teaching techniques” (column
3
, line
18
) and represents “the proper numbering of the fingers” (column
3
, lines
20
-
21
). However, only the fingers are numbered. The keys, in particular, are not, as shown in
FIG. 1
, for instance, by the note C being played by both finger
5
or
2
, depending on which scale or chord is being considered. Leonard does not show a single lined staff, nor does she number the keys of the keyboard.
The broad concept of displaying notes as numbers on a staff on a piece of sheet music, specifically including the numbers
1
-
5
among others, is not novel. This is shown by Eschemann (U.S. Pat. No. 566,388) and Guilford (U.S. Pat. No. 608,771).
Eschemann shows a diagram of a keyboard including permanent designations of the seven natural notes of the C-Major scale (C-B) of each
Franklin Lawrence R.
Hsieh Shih-Yung
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