Abstract:
A device relieves the weight on the thumbrest of a woodwind instrument that does not have a curved neck near the mouthpiece, thereby avoiding muscular strain and soreness in the right hand and thumb of the instrument player without altering negatively the instrument playing in the conventional ways. This device includes a strap  20  that suspends on the player&#39;s chest an enclosure  30  housing a constant-force spring  34  coupled with a coil of cord  40  which terminates outside of this enclosure in a snap-hook  60  that is secured onto the thumbrest ring  70  of the instrument. In usual playing positions that point the instrument to the ground, the device creates a physical force component on the thumbrest in line with but opposite to the weight of the instrument on the thumbrest and thus diminishes in a perceivable manner the stress of the instrument weight on the right-hand of the player.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     This application relates to a novel method and device to provide a perceivable relief from the weight on the right thumb of a player of a woodwind musical instrument that does not have a curved neck near the mouthpiece. 
     2. Prior Art 
     A particular group of reed woodwind musical instruments characterized by the oboe, clarinet, oboe d&#39;amore, English horn, basset clarinet and straight soprano saxophone are small enough to be made essentially rectilinear from one end to the other. However, due to the intricate amount of key work, the weight of these instruments in playing position is usually greater than the amount that occurred in their primitive ancestors. In present-day forms, they are all made with a conventional thumbrest located on each instrument at a location that approximately allows the right-hand thumb of the player to support the instrument while allowing the other fingers of the right hand to manipulate the different keys or tone holes of the instrument in playing. The left-hand thumb in playing these instruments is assigned the task of acting on at least one key that produces the higher-register notes in combination with the action of the other fingers of both hands. Thus, the left-hand thumb provides practically none of the support against the weight of the instruments, because its position on the instruments is completely away from the center of gravity of the instruments in the usual playing positions. The left-hand thumb initiates the instruments into playing position. In addition, it assists the player&#39;s embouchure, defined in the art as the formation of the player&#39;s lips and teeth around the mouthpiece of the instruments, thus stabilizing the instruments during playing. It is well known to any player that balancing one of these instruments with the delicate embouchure and the fingers of both hands against the weight of the instrument requires a great amount of skill to be acquired through hours of practice and constantly increasing pain in the right-hand thumb that has to support the majority of the weight of the instrument. 
     Further analysis reveals that the player&#39;s embouchure cannot contribute generally to support the weight of the instrument because it is far away in all usual playing positions from the center of gravity of the instrument. Practically the total weight of an instrument in this particular group during playing is supported by the thumb of the player&#39;s right hand. Consequently, with just a conventional thumbrest on an instrument of the group, considerable strain in the right hand and its thumb is felt by the professional, amateur or student musician players, during prolonged musical performances or practice sessions. The strain may become so unbearable that it hinders the ability to play the instrument. Continuous strain can cause severe repetitive-strain syndrome in the right wrist and known to have compromised or terminated promising musical careers or cause considerable frustration of many players who are unable to produce the unique musical sounds that they aspire for themselves in playing one of these instruments. 
     One of the most obvious and successful methods of relieving the weight of any woodwind musical instrument in playing position is to use a supporting strap. One way is to anchor the strap comfortably around the neck. Another way is to wear the strap around the back on one or both shoulders such as found on a class of very heavy bassoons, contra-bassoons, bass clarinets or saxophones of any size with a pronouncedly curved neck near the mouthpiece. These successful straps include a hook which fits through a ring integrally formed on the thumbrest of this class of instruments. The length of the straps is adjustable into a fixed amount by each experienced individual player before playing and would not need any further adjustment during playing. However, when these successful straps are similarly designed into straps for the group of instruments characterized by an oboe and a clarinet, these latter straps are known to be rejected by any experienced player as not helpful at all, and even considered dangerous. The cause of this peculiar poor performance becomes obvious when the players have had the time or a chance to evaluate these latter straps with some engineering analysis. The cause of success of the straps of the group characterized by the bassoons and saxophones with a curved neck is that the mouthpiece on all of these instruments is oriented in a way that when a strap&#39;s length is properly adjusted by an experienced player for the proper angle or any other angle of playing, the right thumb of the player just has to push the thumbrest away from the player&#39;s body to reduce the pressure of the weight on the right thumb. Because of the strap, these curved-neck instruments can only move the mouthpiece up in an arc in front of the player and into the player&#39;s embouchure more or less precisely for playing but not haphazardly to the point of jamming the reed into the player&#39;s lips or teeth in an unexpectedly constrained manner. 
     Observing the success of this group of straps leads to the understanding of the real cause of poor performance of the straps designed for the group characterized by the oboes and clarinets: that is, the lack of a curved neck near the mouthpiece on these instruments. Regardless of being adjusted by an experienced or novice player, when the fixed length of the strap of this group of instruments is determined, the weight relief on the right thumb is perceived only through a definite small arc described by the thumbrest around one point on the back of the neck of the player with the radius defined by the already-fixed length of the strap. The only way to continue to perceive the weight relief on the right thumb and to suitably position the instrument mouthpiece to the player&#39;s embouchure is governed by two constraints. First, move the thumbrest so that it would be at the maximum distance from the back of the player&#39;s neck determined by the already-fixed length of the strap. Next, make the angle of the straight body of the instrument and the straight line formed by the strap between the back of the player&#39;s neck and the thumbrest to be the same angle that was chosen during the preliminary adjustment of the strap. It can be appreciated that satisfying both of these constraints at the beginning and during playing one of these instruments with the correct embouchure is very difficult and exasperating. Moreover, one can imagine intuitively that satisfying strictly the first constraint while not satisfying the second can lead easily to the danger of jamming the reed into the player&#39;s lips or teeth accidentally with regrettable consequences. 
     To counter the detrimental effect of the weight of the instruments on the playing, prior art pointed to some solutions. A few embodiments concentrate on providing maximum comfort in the thumbrest by way of suitable cushioning or ergonometrically orienting the right-hand thumb in playing position. These embodiments are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,983 to Dowling, No. 2,847,892 to Laas et al, No. 2,933,968 to Hearne, Jr, No. 3,988,958 to Brunkow, and No. 4,348,935 to Bay. A few others such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,817 to Schmidt, No. 4,841,829 to Lehmann, and No. 6,759,584 to Sundstrōm proposed to shift the weight of the instrument in playing from the right-hand thumb to another part of the body of the player. Some of these embodiments are improvements upon the conventional thumbrest, but the main problem of the instrument&#39;s weight on the right thumb and right arm is still there. 
     Other U.S. Patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,827 to Christie, and No. 3,357,666 to Smith et al proposed to shift the weight of the instrument onto an extendable monopod support which is attached to the instrument to project straight to the floor, The rigid support constrains the instrument to be playable only in a stationary position which restricts in a conspicuous manner the players who naturally would like to express artistic style by moving while playing the instrument and forces their embouchure to be changed from the best formation most of the time. 
     Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,758 to Smith, proposed to shift the weight of the instrument onto an extendable monopod strut device that bears in its lower end on a seating facility upon which the player is seated or on a pouch located on the body of the player in later commercial embodiments. This patent allows only very limited movements of the head and upper body of the players in playing sessions even in the most advanced embodiment. It requires precision assembly of thin telescopic tubings and complicated adjusting mechanisms in all its embodiments and thus is fragile and expensive. It also requires different sizes for different age groups of users. 
     In spite of several attempts in prior art, no one can provide the complete solution to the problem of relieving the weight on the right-hand thumb of a player in playing one of the musical woodwind instruments that do not have a curved neck near the mouthpiece such as oboes, clarinets, oboes d&#39;amore, English horns, basset clarinets or straight soprano saxophones. This complete solution includes the low cost of ownership, simplicity and non-intrusiveness in use, reliability, durability, fast set up before use, instantaneous adjustment to differences in size and changes in player&#39;s natural position and movements during playing, resting or going on stage, and aesthetically blending into the appearance of the instrument. The present invention aims at providing this complete solution without causing any hindrance to the playing of these instruments in other respects. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one embodiment a weight-relieving device for woodwind instruments comprises a neck strap suspending at its two ends a housing of force potential that provides a suitable pulling force toward this housing on a hook when this hook which terminates a cord contained in this housing is extended out to be secured onto a ring which is attached onto the conventional thumbrest of a woodwind musical instrument of a group that does not have a curved neck near the mouthpiece that includes an oboe, a clarinet, an oboe d&#39;amore, an English horn, a basset clarinet or a straight soprano saxophone. 
     The reader can appreciate more completely the present invention and its scope from the accompanying drawings that are briefly described below, from the following detailed description of different embodiments of the invention, and from the appended claims. 
     In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       Figures 
         FIG. 1  shows a player of a modern B-flat clarinet using one embodiment of the application. 
         FIG. 2A  magnifies the details of this embodiment. 
         FIG. 2B  shows a practical arrangement inside the cord housing of this embodiment. 
         FIG. 3A  shows a second embodiment of the application. 
         FIG. 3B  shows the details of one implementation of this second embodiment. 
         FIG. 3C  shows the details of another implementation of this second embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  shows a third embodiment of the application. 
         FIG. 5  shows a fourth embodiment of the application. 
         FIG. 6  shows a fifth embodiment of the application. 
         FIG. 7  shows one implementation of a thumbrest ring attachment that is used by all embodiments of the application, to be mechanically secured onto the instruments&#39; thumbrest which does not have an inherent metal ring soldered on. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     First Embodiment 
     One embodiment of the weight-relieving device for woodwind instruments is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . An average adult is shown to play a clarinet of the size called B-flat type, while using this first embodiment to relieve the strain on his right thumb. This B-flat clarinet is the single most popular reed woodwind instrument among different age groups of players. Its weight and size is exactly the same for all sizes of players, from grade-school kids to any of the big-size adults. The weight of this instrument is about the average of that of all the reed woodwind instruments which are small enough to be made economically in a relatively straight form from one end to the other. The heaviest among this group of instruments, the soprano saxophones, are still thought to be within the range of weight that can be supported by a right-hand thumbrest placed at about the middle of each instrument. 
     The details of this first embodiment are magnified in  FIG. 2A . The weight-relieving device has a strap  20  of suitable width and length, and of suitable material to be comfortable in contact with the skin, at the same time strong, durable, flexible but not substantially extensible, and aesthetically blending into the look of the player and instrument. In the preferred embodiment, this strap is wrapped around the player&#39;s neck and one or both ends  22  and  24  of this strap can be easily and quickly secured onto or removed from a cord housing  30  located on the chest of the player. Referring to  FIG. 2B  this cord housing contains within its enclosure a bobbin  36  that is attached within its cylindrical cavity and at one point on its cylindrical wall the outermost end of a coil of flat spring material in the configuration of a constant-force spring. The innermost end of this spring is attached to an axial rod  38  which is parallel to the rectilinear direction of cylindrical bobbin  36 . This axial rod is a fixed part of the cord housing and made in a way that would allow bobbin  36  to rotate freely and without too much play around it. A cord  40  is arranged to be wound in an orderly manner around bobbin  36 . This cord is of suitable length, is strong, and flexible enough to support in multiple times the weight of a typical instrument of the group with great durability. It can be made of a material such as steel braid enrobed in a formulation of plastic commonly known as nylon. When rotating, the bobbin will allow the cord to extend up to its maximum length or retract the cord completely inside the housing. Bobbin  36 , made with a low-friction material such as acetal or polyethelene, is to rotate in the direction of retracting the cord into the housing on the urging of constant-force spring  34 . In the preferred embodiment, this constant-force spring is made of material of suitable durability and strength to make the bobbin rotate to exert in turn a practically constant pulling force F 1 , shown as a vector in  FIG. 2A , on the cord at any of its extent with the design of retracting the cord back into the housing if the cord is allowed to do so intentionally by the user of the embodiment. In this preferred embodiment, this constant pulling force is calibrated to be always less than the force of the weight of the instrument by a calculated amount. Cord  40  is made to exit the housing through an aperture  32  of the housing and terminate securely at its end  42  in a snap-hook base  50  as shown in  FIG. 2A . This snap-hook base is made with material of suitable strength, durability and configuration so that it will conveniently secure onto itself a snap-hook  60  through a closed loop of this snap-hook. Snap-hook  60  can be acquired as one of the readily available items provided by the industries in different metal technologies or different kinds of plastics of suitable strength. Snap-hook  60  has a clip-tab  62  that can be actuated by the right-hand index finger tip to open its hook to wrap part of the hook around the ring  70  and then to snap-close the hook completely around ring  70  securely when clip-tab  62  is released by the finger tip. Ring  70 , or an equivalent part described later on, is attached securely onto the thumbrest, conventional or otherwise, of the instrument to be played, by brazing, soldering or mechanical assembly. Clip-tab  62  can be actuated by an index finger of a hand to open the snap-hook subsequently at the right time to release the snap-hook from ring  70  while the other fingers of the hand hold securely the other parts of the snap-hook  60 . In this first embodiment, cord housing  30  can be considered technically as a force potential source. When designed correctly, it has the potential of pulling on the snap-hook  60  via cord  40  with a relatively constant force regardless of whether snap-hook  60  is closest to housing  30  or a few feet away from it. 
     Operation— FIGS. 2A and 2B   
     The manner of using the weight-relieving device on a woodwind instrument of the group of instruments that include oboes, clarinets, oboes d&#39;amore, basset clarinets, English horns, and straight soprano saxophones comprises quick steps of assembly that can be varied or simplified further when experience in using the embodiment is increased. Referring to  FIG. 2A , the steps are as follows: 
     One, secure strap end  24  onto a designated part (not shown) of the housing  30 . 
     Two, loop the strap around the left side of the player&#39;s neck so that it falls down over the player&#39;s right shoulder. 
     Three, secure strap end  22  onto another designated part (not shown) of housing  30 . 
     Four, with the housing  30  hanging by the strap  20  around the neck and in front of the chest of the player&#39;s, manipulate the strap  20  so that it will lie flat around the player&#39;s neck, benefiting from the swiveling arrangements (not shown) at ends  22  and  24  of strap  20 . 
     Five, holding the instrument with the left hand, expose the area of thumbrest ring  70 . 
     Six, grab snap-hook base  50  together with snap-hook  60  with the right hand, index finger tip of the right hand being on clip-tab  62 . 
     Seven, move the right hand so that the snap-hook is near the ring  70 , extending in the process the cord  40  from housing  30  by a necessary length with the right hand feeling drastically a resisting force along the cord against the moving of the snap-hook away from housing  30 . 
     Eight, exercise the index-finger tip on the clip-tab  62  to open snap-hook  60 , then hook it around thumbrest ring  70 , before closing the snap-hook by removing the index-finger tip from the clip-tab  62 . 
     All these eight steps can be taken by a teacher to assemble this embodiment of the weight-relieving device on a young student&#39;s body and instrument for the first few times, or by any player who can follow the written instructions accompanying the commercial implementation of the embodiment. 
     Now, the player can hold the instrument with both hands in the familiar manner and put the instrument into playing position by raising the whole instrument with the right-hand thumb and by tilting the instrument around the thumbrest, naturally, with the left hand, and by visually guiding with total freedom the mouthpiece of the instrument with both hands into the embouchure. Owing to the combination of the suitable length of strap  20 , the suitable constant pulling force on cord  40  on the thumbrest, and the generally adopted playing positions of the instruments pointing to the ground, this total freedom is realizable for the player. This freedom experienced by the player in raising the instrument into playing position and during playing at any angle pointing the instrument to the ground, is the sensation of no strange force in any direction on the two hands except the familiar force of the weight pushing down on the right thumb. However, this force would be drastically diminished due to the real physical force resulting between of the original force on the thumb before the adoption of the embodiment, and the well calculated up-pulling force that the embodiment is vigilantly exerting now on the thumbrest. This up-pulling force creates physically a component force in line with but opposite to the gravity force of the weight of the instrument on the thumbrest, and thus will diminish the weight gravity force by an intended amount to provide a perceivable relief on the right thumb of the player. 
     Players of the commercial form of the embodiment would be cautioned about using the embodiment while playing with the instruments pointing into any direction above their horizontal position. Intuitively, the reader can see that in these playing positions, a component of the resulting force between the weight of the instrument on the thumbrest and the pulling force of the embodiment on the thumbrest is directed toward the embouchure. The player should then consciously control the instrument with the embouchure and stabilizing the instrument with at least a thumb and a finger of the left or right hand in a way that the playing still can be continued in the presence of this force toward the embouchure. This last force is essentially higher than the same directional force in those positions before the adoption of the embodiment. These measures of precaution should not be any problem for experienced players who may go into these angles of playing only during some particular moments of music presentation. 
     The combination of a suitable length of strap  20  and the size of the cord housing governs the manner in which the same components of the embodiment serve all users of different ages and body sizes. This combination should have the provision for the snap-hook base  50  to have the chance to be pulled away from the cord housing a few inches in all playing angles of the instrument when played by the smallest foreseeable player. This provision is for the embodiment to provide the beneficial up-pulling constant force on the thumbrest in all the most usual playing positions while the length of the cord adjusts itself instantly to any necessary extension to balance the delicate embouchure formation against the moving angles of the instrument with respect to the body of the player. Such a combination, in turn, would naturally provide this beneficial weight relief on the thumbrest for all other larger-sized players who play necessarily the exact same size of instrument due to the precise construction of the instrument to have the same tuning range and same tonality of timbre. 
     The use of a constant-force spring to cause the up-pulling force on the thumbrest affords the unique opportunity to provide this embodiment with a cord of more than 30 inches easily, long enough to allow a soloist to assemble the embodiment securely hooked to the thumbrest of an instrument and go on stage naturally, walking elegantly with the instrument on hand in front of the chest or on the side of the body. Then, at the right moment, this soloist can raise the instrument and begin to play without any further awkward steps of assembly of the instrument or accessories. In general, this long cord allows a player to rest the instrument on the knees without having to unhook the snap-hook from the thumbrest, while waiting to begin to play again. In all situations where the cord is extended at any length, the weight of the instrument on the thumbrest which is practically its center of gravity, still is a little bit greater than the pulling force of the embodiment on the thumbrest, so that even when a player carelessly lets go of the instrument, it would not be falling easily onto the ground or getting pulled up suddenly without the intentional manual raising action of the player. 
     FIG.  3 A,  3 B,  3 C 
     Additional Embodiments 
     Another embodiment of the application is depicted in  FIG. 3A . This figure shows another way of providing the weight relief on the thumbrest comprising a strap  120  suspending around the neck of a player an elongated cylindrical tubing  80  by way of its two ends  122  and  124  attachments (not shown). This tubing is of any convenient section such as square, rectangular, triangular or preferably circular as depicted in  FIG. 3A ,  3 B or  3 C. Tubing  80  houses inside a practical arrangement that exerts a suitable pulling force F 2  on a cord  90  via its end inside the tubing (not shown) that in turn will exert a pulling force on its other end  92  attached securely onto snap-hook base  50  that will exert ultimately on the thumbrest ring  70  pulling force F 2  via snap-hook  60  similar to the one assembly used in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A . Cord  90  is made of similar material as cord  40  of  FIG. 2A . 
       FIG. 3B  shows one such practical arrangement comprising an extension spring  82  of such characteristic as to provide the suitable pulling force F 2  on the thumbrest ring  70  when extended to a certain length. Spring  82  has at one of its ends a loop engaged through an anchor  84  to be limited to the upper end of tubing  80 . The remaining end of spring  82  has a loop secured to one end of cord  90  inside the tubing by way of a loop of cord  90  and a mechanical attachment such as crimping  83 . 
       FIG. 3C  shows another such practical arrangement comprising an elongated loop  86  of elastically extensible material characterized by silicone, latex, neoprene rubber or better still, a material of high elasticity and durability such as the synthetic fiber known with the trade name Lycra or Spandex. The upper end of the elongated loop  86  is engaged through anchor  84  to be limited to the upper end of tubing  80 . The remaining end of loop  86  is secured to one end of cord  90  inside the tubing by way of a loop of cord  90  and a mechanical attachment such as crimping  87  suitably made so that not so much pressure on the loop is concentrated at the point of attachment. Loop  86  is to provide the suitable pulling force F 2  on the thumbrest ring  70  when extended to a certain length. 
     The suitable pulling force F 2  on the thumbrest ring  70  when spring  82  of  FIG. 3B  or elongated loop  86  of  FIG. 3C  is extended to a certain length is calibrated similar to the pulling force F 1  shown in  FIG. 2A  to be always less than the weight of the instrument by a calculated amount to provide the beneficial weight relief on the thumbrest in all practical playing angles of the instrument pointing to the ground. The only exception is that F 2  can be only designed practically for a relatively narrow range of extends of cord  90 . This range is enough to cover one-same-embodiment-for-all-sizes-of-players desirability, but not the extend that would allow walking, instrument on hand with arm fully extended, or resting the instrument on the knees, when the instrument is secured at the thumbrest to the embodiment which is already set up for playing. 
     FIG.  4   
     Another Embodiment 
       FIG. 4  shows another embodiment comprising a strap  130  of elastically extensible material characterized by silicone, latex, neoprene rubber or better still, a material of high elasticity and durability such as the synthetic fiber known with the trade name Lycra or Spandex. The two ends  132  and  134  of this strap are secured together with one loop at one end of a cord  100  into a crimped assembly  140 . The other end  102  of cord  100  is secured onto snap-hook base  50 . Cord  100  is made of similar material as cord  40  of  FIG. 2A . Strap  130  is made such that the loop created by the joint at crimp  140  is large enough to wrap around the neck of a player by slipping it through the player&#39;s head. Snap-hook base  50  is linked to snap-hook  60  and thumbrest ring  70  similarly to the way shown in  FIG. 2A . Strap  130  and cord  100  are designed in such a way as to allow a player of any size to cause the elastic strap  130  to provide a suitable up-pulling force F 3  on the thumbrest in all the practical playing positions. 
     The suitable up-pulling force F 3  on the thumbrest ring  70  in  FIG. 4  is calibrated similar to the pulling force F 1  shown in  FIG. 2A  to be always less than the weight of the instrument by a calculated amount to provide the beneficial weight relief on the thumbrest in all practical playing angles of the instrument pointing to the ground. The only exception is that F 3  can be only designed practically for a relatively narrow range of extends of snap-hook  60  from the back of the neck of the player. This range is enough to cover one-same-embodiment-for-all-sizes-of-players desirability, but not the extend that would allow walking, instrument on hand with arm fully extended, or resting the instrument on the knees, when the instrument is secured at the thumbrest to the embodiment which is already set up for playing. 
     FIG.  5   
     Alternative Embodiment 
       FIG. 5  shows another embodiment for providing the weight relief on the thumbrest. The weight-relieving device has a strap  140  of suitable width and length, and of suitable material to be comfortable in contact with the skin, at the same time strong, durable, flexible but not substantially extensible, and aesthetically blending into the look of the player and instrument. In the preferred embodiment, this strap is wrapped around the player&#39;s neck and one or both ends  142  and  144  of this strap can be easily and quickly secured onto or removed from a counter-weight housing  150  located on the chest of the player. This counter-weight housing can be made as a cylindrical enclosure of any shape; but for practical and aesthetic purpose, it will be made as a cylinder of rectangular section as shown in  FIG. 5 . A weight unit  152  made of a high-specific-mass material such as lead, can move freely along the longest rectilinear directions inside counter-weight housing  150 . Weight unit  152  is attached by a crimping  157  at one end of cord  158  which is made of a material similar to that of cord  40  of  FIG. 2A . The other end  159  of cord  158  exits the counter-weight housing  150  at an aperture  156  of housing  150 , and ends up secured to snap-hook base  50  that will exert ultimately on the thumbrest ring  70  pulling force F 4  via snap-hook  60  similar to the one assembly used in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A . Before exiting housing  150 , cord  158  wraps itself around the rolling rod  154  which rotates freely around its longitudinal axis inside housing  150  when cord end  159  is moved farther or closer to aperture  156 . Due to gravity force on weight unit  152 , the reader can see that the arrangement in  FIG. 5  will provide an up-pulling force on the thumbrest ring. 
     Strap  140 , housing  150 , weight unit  152 , and cord  158 , are designed in such a way as to allow a player of any size to cause the embodiment to provide a suitable up-pulling force F 4  on the thumbrest in all the practical playing positions. 
     The suitable up-pulling force F 4  on the thumbrest ring  70  in  FIG. 5  is calibrated similar to the pulling force F 1  shown in  FIG. 2A  to be always less than the weight of the instrument by a calculated amount to provide the beneficial weight relief on the thumbrest in all practical playing angles of the instrument pointing to the ground when cord end  159  is extended through a range of lengths. The only exception is that F 4  can be only designed practically for a relatively narrow range of extends of snap-hook  60  from aperture  156 . This range is enough to cover one same-embodiment-for-all-sizes-of-players desirability, but not the extend that would allow walking, instrument on hand with arm fully extended, or resting the instrument on the knees, when the instrument is secured at the thumbrest to the embodiment which is already set up for playing. Another exception is the fact that this embodiment adds the noticeable force of the weight unit  152 , beyond anything else inherent with the first embodiment, to the stressing force on the neck of the player during playing. However, this additional amount of stressing force still is bearable by a player; or it can be alleviated with additional padding on the strap  140  (not shown). 
     FIG.  6   
     Another Alternative Embodiment 
       FIG. 6  shows another embodiment of providing the weight relief on the thumbrest. The weight-relieving device has a strap (not shown) that can be easily and quickly secured onto or removed from a counter-weight housing  160  to be located on the back of the player. This counter-weight housing can be made as a cylindrical enclosure of any shape; but for practical and aesthetic purpose, it will be made as a cylinder of rectangular section as shown in  FIG. 6 . Counter-weight housing  160  can be made similar to counter-weight housing  150  of  FIG. 5 , but beneficially longer. A weight unit  162  made of a high-specific-mass material such as lead, can move freely along the longest rectilinear directions inside counter-weight housing  160 . Weight unit  162  is attached by a crimping  167  at one end of cord  168  which is made of a material similar to that of cord  40  of  FIG. 2A . The other end  169  of cord  168  exits the counter-weight housing  160  by sliding back and forth inside a low-friction flexible tubing  166  which emerges from counter-weight housing  160  at an aperture  164  of housing  160 . Tubing  166  can be made of commercially-available 90-durometer vinyl or natural polyethylene. The other end  169  of cord  168  is secured to snap-hook base  50  that will exert ultimately on the thumbrest ring  70  a pulling force via snap-hook  60  similar to the one assembly used in the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 2A . Flexible tubing  166  guides cord  168  which slides freely inside it, around, for example, the right shoulder of the player. Due to gravity force on weight unit  162 , the reader can see that the arrangement in  FIG. 6  will provide an up-pulling force on the thumbrest ring. 
     The length of counter-weight housing  160  and its-location-on the player&#39;s back, weight unit  162 , and cord  168 , are designed in such a way as to allow a player of any size to cause the embodiment to provide the suitable up-pulling force F 5  on the thumbrest in all the practical playing positions. 
     The suitable up-pulling force F 5  on the thumbrest ring  70  in  FIG. 6  is calibrated similar to the pulling force F 1  shown in  FIG. 2A  to be always less than the weight of the instrument by a calculated amount to provide the beneficial weight relief on the thumbrest in all practical playing angles of the instrument pointing to the ground when cord end  169  is extended through a range of distances from the player&#39;s neck. This range is enough to cover one-same-embodiment-for-all-sizes-of-players desirability. Due to the fact that counter-weight housing  160  is recommended to be located on the left side of the player&#39;s back, and thus hidden easily from the view of the player from the audience at a concert, the length of housing  160  can be made long enough to enable this range of distances to allow walking elegantly, instrument on hand in front of the chest or with arm fully extended, or resting the instrument on the knees, when the instrument is secured at the thumbrest to the embodiment which is already set up for playing. One exception is the fact that this embodiment adds the noticeable force of the weight unit  162 , and also of housing  160  when it is made long enough, beyond anything else inherent with the first embodiment, to the stressing force on the shoulder of the player during playing. However, this additional amount of stressing force still is bearable by a player; or it can be alleviated with additional padding on the strap and on the flexible tubing that slings around the shoulder (not shown). 
     A further embodiment for weight relieving on the thumbrest can be envisioned for the less popular instruments that comparably have double the weight of the instruments in the most popular and numerous group which the first embodiment aims at supporting commercially. That is the case of the straight soprano saxophones as compared to the clarinets and oboes. This embodiment (not shown) can be realized economically with two units of the first embodiment of  FIG. 2A  located side by side on the chest of a player, with their snap-hook  60  secured around the same thumbrest ring of one of these instruments during the playing. 
     FIG.  7   
     Provision of a Thumbrest Ring for Use with all Embodiments 
     Where a thumbrest ring does not exist on any of the instruments supportable by the embodiments of this application, an innovative ring attachment provides, as part of the embodiments, a reliable thumbrest ring to take the place of ring  70  in  FIGS. 2A ,  3 A,  3 B,  3 C,  4 ,  5 , and  6 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , this ring attachment comprises an essentially circular ring of nylon tie loop  74  enrobed with a plastic tubing  76 , and secured onto a conventional thumbrest  72  with another nylon tying loop  78 . Thumbrest  72  is shown already fixed onto the body  73  of an instrument as an example but not a necessity. Round loop  74  and tying loop  72  are preferably made with high-performance cable ties available under the trade name Ty-Rap. These ties are made with a good grade of nylon and have a built-in stainless-steel catch that allows a tying loop to stop at an infinite number of points along the body of the loop, and at the same time maintains the loop with proven great strength and durability. For tubing  76 , a commercially available 68-durometer vinyl is preferable as soft enough to allow the tying loop  78  to do the best job in immobilizing securely the round loop  74  onto the upper surface of the thumbrest, and at the same time, hard enough to work properly with snap-hook  60  of all embodiments. 
     ADVANTAGES 
     From the description above, a number of advantages of my weight-relieving device for woodwind instruments become evident: 
     [a] When made within the suitable design measurements, all embodiments of this application satisfy the primary goal of relieving in a perceivable manner the deleterious instrument weight pressure on the right thumb of the player of an instrument of the group that does not have a curved neck near the mouthpiece such as an oboe, a clarinet, an oboe d&#39;amore, an English horn, a basset clarinet or a straight soprano saxophone. 
     [b] The beneficial relieving of the deleterious pressure of the thumbrest on the right thumb by the weight of instrument is achieved with all embodiments of my invention while freeing the player to walk around the place or to move any body part instinctively when the player&#39;s spirit is in tune with the music. The benefit of weight relieving is there, yet the player still continues to enjoy the familiar raising of the instrument into playing position at any random angle of the instrument with respect to the player&#39;s body, as well as to enjoy all the techniques and habits of playing the instrument in any familiar position, usually with the instrument pointing to the ground. 
     [c] When made within the suitable design measurements, all embodiments present no danger for the player in jamming involuntarily the reed into the lips or teeth as with a fixed-length strap or an elastic strap which is designed in a way that has a pulling force toward the embouchure far beyond the weight of the instrument on the thumbrest at any instrument angle other than a unique and elusive optimum angle that is supposed to provide the weight relief at the thumbrest. 
     [d] Most if not all embodiments of this application can be appreciated as aesthetic, inconspicuous, non-intrusive, and artistically blending into the instrument and body of a player during a playing session. 
     [e] All embodiments come with one size-fits-all for any player of any age group, with no extra adjustments to be made. 
     [f] All embodiments are inexpensive and simple to make and to use, reliable, durable and fast in set up before use. 
     [g] No modifications on the instruments before one embodiment is put into use. 
     [h] When an instrument&#39;s thumbrest does not have a built-in ring to be used with any of the embodiment, a ring attachment will come as part of the embodiment that can be securely put on the thumbrest in a few minutes to provide a reliable and durable ring for use with the embodiment. Such ring attachment will not alter in any way the familiar feel of the thumb on the thumbrest, nor would it prevent all the parts of the instrument from being put back into its original case. This innovative ring attachment will save a player from the agony of having to spend a lot of time and money to have a metal ring soldered onto the thumbrest before being able to enjoy the benefits of this invention. 
     [i] Some of the embodiments allow the extra benefits of going naturally and elegantly on stage, instrument on hand in front of the chest or with arm fully extended, or resting the instrument on the knees while waiting to play again, when the instrument is secured at the thumbrest to the embodiment which is already set up for playing. 
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
     Accordingly, the reader will see that the embodiments of this invention can be used to relieve the deleterious weight on the right thumb of a player of an instrument of the particular group that does not have a curved neck near the mouthpiece such as an oboe, a clarinet, an oboe d&#39;amore, an English horn, a basset clarinet or a straight soprano saxophone. These effective embodiments point to a general method of relieving the weight on the right thumb of a player of an instrument of this group. This general method can have ramifications into other possible variations that would provide most if not all the benefits of the first embodiment of this application. For example, an embodiment (not shown) can provide a suitable up-pushing force on the thumbrest that creates physically a component force in line with but opposite to the gravity force of the weight of the instrument on the thumbrest, and thus will diminish the weight gravity force by an intended amount to provide a perceivable relief on the right thumb of the player. A mechanical arrangement that can provide this up-pushing force can be considered technically as a force potential source. 
     This up-pushing force is calibrated to be always less than the weight of the instrument by a calculated amount to provide the beneficial weight relief on the thumbrest in all practical playing angles of the instrument pointing to the ground. 
     Instead of a suitable up-pulling force on top of the thumbrest, this embodiment can be designed to provide equivalently a suitable up-pushing force on a snap-hook secured onto a ring located on top of the thumbrest which in turn will elevate the thumbrest by that up-pushing force to counter the down-pushing force of the weight of the instrument on top of the thumbrest. This last snap-hook is similar to snap-hook  60  and this last ring is similar to ring  70  of the first embodiment in  FIG. 2A . 
     This last embodiment can be implemented as a two-bar linkage jointed together at one single pivoting pin at the apex of a V-shape linkage (not shown). The two arms of this V-shape linkage are urged for example by a torsion spring to spread themselves away from each other with a suitable torque. One extremity of the V-shape linkage is stably resting on an area around the abdomen of the player; and the other extremity of the V-shape linkage is secured to the last snap-hook. This suitable torque will exert the suitable up-pushing force on this last snap-hook in all practical playing angles of the instrument to provide the beneficial weight relief on the right thumb of the player. 
     This last embodiment can be implemented also as a cylindrical tube (not shown) containing inside a compression spring designed to provide a pushing force when compressed. This cylindrical tube is closed at one end to limit one end of this compression spring to the inside of the tube. It has an aperture at the other end to allow the pushing force of this compression spring to be transferred securely and efficiently out of the tube and onto this last snap-hook by way of a rod, for instance. When the closed end of the tube is stably resting on an area around the abdomen of the player, and when the pushing force and the lengths of the tube and of the rod are suitably designed, this force will serve as the suitable up-pushing force on the snap-hook to provide the beneficial weight relief on the right thumb of the player in all practical playing angles of the instrument. 
     The up-pushing force of these last two embodiments is calibrated to be always less than the down-pushing force of the weight of the instrument at the thumbrest by a calculated amount. This force calibration is done for all practical playing angles of the instrument so that these last variations of embodiment provide all the benefits of the first embodiment except the ones provided by the great extensions of cord  40  of the first embodiment. 
     Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. 
     Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents, rather than by the examples given.