US566388A - eschemann - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. ESGHEMANN.

AUTOHARP.

No. 566,388. Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WfBSOHEM ANNL AUTOHARP.

No. 566,388. Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

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W. ESOHEMANN.

AUTOHARP NO. 566,388. Patented Aug. 25,1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

lVILLIAlVl ESOHEMANN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

AUTOHARP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,388, dated August 25, 1896.

Application filed September 13, 1895. Serial No. 562,427. (No model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ESCHEMANN,

a citizen of the United States of America, re'

siding at 31 B, Old 'Street, in the county of London, England, have invented Improvements Relating to Autoharps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of musical instruments usually known as autoharps, (or in Germany as acc0rd-citherns,) in which the strings not needed in any particular chord are damped and consequently rendered mute by means of a series of dampers arranged upon vertically-movable bars. By my arrangement of the damper or chord bars I am enabled, if desired, to produce every harmonic chord known in the theory of music, namely, all the major chords, all the relative minor chords, all the major seventh or dominant seventh chords, and all the minor seventh or diminished seventh chords.

In order that my said invention may be clearly understood, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings accompanying this specification, in Which Figure 1 shows a plan of an autoharp fitted with my improvements. In this case there are twenty bars, so as to enable the chords of every key to be played. Fig. 2 shows a section through one-of the damper-bars (or chordbars) with a bar depressed; Fig. 3, a plan of one octave of a damper-bar, showing the arrangement of dampers for producing a maj or chord; Fig. 4, a like view for producing a minor chord; Fig. 5, a like view for producing a dominant seventh chord. Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the chart placed under the strings of the instrument to indicate the notes corresponding thereto.

The same letters denote the same parts i all the views.

a shows the instrument, which is constructed in the ordinary way.v b shows a bridge, case, or frame in which the damper or chord bars it are fitted and arranged as hereinafter described. The bridge I? is secured to the instrument a by means of the projecting ends of the bars 0, capable of sliding under the flanged pieces cl d. The pieces d d are pivoted at 6, so as to be capable of being turned out of position, as shown dotted in Fig. 1, in order that the bridge may be removed if required. f is a metal plate inserted in the woodwork of the instrument, such plate being provided with three holes 75, into one or other of which the spring-pin 9 takes, in order to lock the bridge I) in one of the three positions for forming the chords to be played. One of the plates d has a hole It therein, through which one of the numbers 1, 2, 3, indicated on the extension of one of the bars 0, is exhibited, so as to show in which of the three positions the bridge I) is locked, and hence the keys which will be formed by the dampers in that position.

t' shows a shifting or adjustable diagram of a keyboard (as on a pianoforte) having thereon numbers and letters representing the notes, as shown. This diagram is placedunder the strings of the instrument and moves with the bridge by means of the projecting pieces 0 0 coming against the ends of the said diagram 1'. Z shows the buttons for depressing the chord or damper harsh, (M denoting the majors; S, the sevenths; N, the minors; D, the diminished sevenths.) These bars are kept in their normal positions by means of the spiral springs m, as shown on Fig. 2. at shows tablets fiXed over the chord-bars 7a, which tablets may be suitably marked for indicating what chords will be formed by the chord-bars 7c in each position of the bridge 19.

The diagram 2' is arranged so that it may be readily understood by those familiar with the ordinary musical notation or by those entirely unfamiliar with the theory of music. I have both a keyboard like that of a pianoforte and in addition to this a system of numbers hereinafter to be explained.

The white or natural notes have the proper letters marked upon them thus: A, B, O, &c., and the black notes are marked with sharps or flats; or, if desired, with both sharps and flats.

For the numerical system, for the use of those unacquainted with the theory of music, I number the O of each octave 1, the D 2, the E .3, and so on up to B, which is denoted by '7. In order to indicate the sharps and flats, I use a different kind of figures, preferably dotted or outline figures, as shown in the drawings. Thus denotes Cit or D 2 denotes D11 or Eb.

In order to fix the octave in which the note occurs, I draw a dotted line under every number on the music. If this line alone is to be seen, the player knows that he is to play the note in the middle octave. The notes in the higher octaves have one, two, &c., lines drawn over the dotted line, according to the number of octaves higher. The notes in the lower octaves have one, two, &c., lines drawn under the dotted line. Thus 2 is the middle higher, &c., 2 is the D one octave lower,

the D two octaves lower, and so on.

The action is as follows: Supposing it is re quired to play in the key of E major, the bridge would he slid into and locked in the position 3, as shown in the drawings, the spring-pin g taking into the third hole in the plate f, which hole is not visible on the drawings. It will be seen that the three other chords necessary to the key-viz. ,Cfi minor,B dominant seventh, and A major, the subdominant-will be formed without shifting the bridge 7). Thus in each position of the bridge 7) there will be five major and five minor keys formed, and consequently all the thirty keys can be formed by suitably shiftin g the bridge 1) into the three positions. It will be seen that the total number of chords formed by the chord or damper bars in the three positions is sixty, (where twenty bars are used,) but this is suflicient to produce all the keys with the necessary variations and modulations, since some of the keys and chords are repeated in taking the whole series. It will also be seen that the damper-bars are so arranged that their relative positions to one another are constant ones. For example, the relative minor to any major is the next bar to the right, the subdominant is the third to the left, and the dominant seventh is the third on the left. In the case of the minor keys the corresponding major is the first to the left, the subdominant the third to the left, and the diminished seventh is one of the three minor sevenths, here shown at the extreme left.)

By my improvements a person unacquainted with the theory of music can transpose out of one key into from two to four other keys by shifting the bridge Z) accordingly and playing from the old music according to the notes upon the diagram 1'. I have a lesser number of damper-bars 7t if itis not required to form all the keys.

I am aware that it has been proposed to produce the chords of the various keys by the performer adjusting each damper-bar separately to suit the key which it is desired to form, but I lay no claim to this arrangement.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In autoharps the combination with the instrument proper of a sliding bridge containing damper-bars, linger-pieces for pressing said damper-bars in contact with the strings, flanged pieces (Z fixed to the instrument and similar flanged pieces cl pivoted to the instrument, under which flanged pieces the bridge is arranged to slide, a plate f fixed to the instrument, a pin 9 in the said bridge to en gage openings in the plate j", and an indicator to show the position of the bridge, substantially as described.

WILLIAM ESCIIEMANN. lVitnesses KATIE ESCHEMANN, A. E. VIDAL.

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