Chord fingering coordinator

The invention is a teaching and practicing aid for music students which graphically displays the relationship of the dominant, tonic, and subdominant scales in a particular key signature and as they relate to the diatonic scale in that key signature, the device structurally comprising a backing sheet optionally having the scale tones of a diatonic scale named in a row along the bottom, and three preferably reversible panels disposed in staggered horizontal slits cut in the backing sheet, these panels having portions visible above the slit with indicia thereon indicating by fingering number or scale tone name musical notes representing chords or scales, these notes being spaced proportionally to the key spacing of a piano keyboard. There is an optional insert card having two selectively displayable portions which represent the left and right hand, respectively, with the fingers thereof numbered in accordance with conventional elementary teaching techniques.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
One of the difficulties encountered by the beginning music student is 
understanding the inter-relationship of chords and scales and particularly 
comprehending the structure of certain chords which ordinarily occur in a 
given sequence in music composition. These difficulties are encountered at 
least in part because in conventional music instruction, the student is 
simply shown the correspondence between a particular note or set of notes 
on a score and the related keys on the keyboard without attaining any 
general comprehension of the structure of music behind the rote fingering. 
It is therefore encumbent upon the student to memorize chord after chord 
and multiple scales and the notes of musical scores which correspond to 
the keys to be used to play these chords and scales without the benefit of 
an overall framework within which to work. 
There is need for a musical teaching aid which displays in graphic form the 
relationship of the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords and scales as 
related to a particular key signature so that the student may understand 
the overlapping nature and fixed structure of these important related 
chords and scales. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention comprises a backing sheet provided with staggered horizontal 
slits in which are inserted panels having displayed thereon indicia 
indicating the notes of chords or scales to be played by the student on a 
keyboard instrument. These panels are preferably reversible, and in one 
embodiment the scale tone names of a triad are indicated along one edge, 
and along another edge a scale is displayed, and it is preferable that 
three slits and three panels be provided to represent the tonic, 
subdominant and dominant scales. 
The triads and scales may be indicated on the panels by means of numbers 
corresponding with the fingers to be used to play the triad or scale, and 
an insert card having selectively exposeable left and right hands with the 
fingers numbered may be provided to indicate to a student which hand will 
be used for a particular exercise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The invention is best shown in FIG. 1, wherein a base member or backing 
sheet 10, composed of stiff paper or plastic, is provided with a row of 
scale tones 12 preferably along the bottom which form a chromatic scale, 
in the illustrated embodiment the chromatic scale being in the key of C, 
as indicated at 14 and by the Delta provided beneath the scale tone C at 
16. It is preferred that the spacing of the scale tones in the row 12 be 
such that the individual named scale tones will register with the 
corresponding keys of a piano keyboard when the backing sheet 10 is 
inserted behind the keys. 
Above the row 12 are three parallel slits 18, 20, and 22, the direction of 
which will be taken as horizontal for the purpose of this specification 
and the appended claims, although clearly the device would work in any 
orientation. It is clear from FIG. 1 that these slits overlap horizontally 
and that slit 18 encompasses in vertical registration the scale tones G 
through D of the diatonic scale and the slits 20 and 22 similarly 
encompass a series of scale tones in the diatonic scale displayed in row 
12. It will also be noted that the beginning scale tone encompassed by 
each slit is tagged by indicia 24, 26, and 28, respectively, which 
indicates the name of the chord when the respective scale tone is used as 
the root of a triad, as well as the Roman numeral above each chord name 
which identifies the position of the root scale tone in the cycle of 
fourths. 
Although the teaching aid could be used to familiarize the student with the 
chord structure of any chord or scale occupying a given portion of a 
chromatic scale, in the present embodiment, it is intended that the tonic, 
dominant, and subdominant chords and their respective scales be emphasized 
as they relate to the diatonic scale of the chosen key signature. There 
are thus provided a series of panels which are inserted in the slits 18-22 
which are provided with indicia visible above the respective slits which 
register with selected scale tones from the row 12 to form chords and 
scales in the tonic, dominant, and subdominant modes. 
One form of the panel 30 is shown in FIG. 3 wherein scale tones G, B, and D 
indicated at 32 are provided along a strip 34 to indicate that the G Major 
triad should be played when the panel 30 is inserted into the slit 18. The 
scale tones 32 are in vertical alignment with their counterparts in the 
diatonic scale 12 and serve to reiterate the individual scale tones which 
appear in the triad. The reverse side of the panel 30 is shown in FIG. 4 
wherein a strip 36 is provided which has a scale 38 displayed thereon 
which is the first portion of the dominant scale in the key of C. The 
strips 34 and 36 engage the bottom edge of the slit 18 so that the panel 
will not fall through, and it can be seen that by simply reversing the 
panel, the student can switch from a G triad to a G "mini-scale", both 
being dominant to the key of C. 
Two other panels, not shown, are used in the slits 20 and 22 which are 
identical to the panel 30 except that the scale tones comprising the triad 
and mini-scale are those relating to the tonic and subdominant modes as 
opposed to the dominant represented on panel 30. By using these three 
panels, of which panel 30 is representative, the student may drill in the 
tonic, dominant, and subdominant modes in both chords and scales on the 
keyboard while the teaching aid establishes a reference framework so that 
while he is playing, the structure and inter-relationships of these chords 
and scales are fixed in his mind. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 represent the front and reverse side of a modification of the 
panel shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in which strips 40 are adhered to the top and 
bottom, front and rear, of the panel 42. One side of the panel is related 
to the right hand fingering of the triad and mini-chord explained in FIGS. 
3 and 4 and the other side relates the same information in the left hand. 
Unlike panel 30 the panel 42 can be duplicated, there ordinarily being 
three required, and used in all three of the slits. When exercising in the 
bass region of the keyboard, the left hand fingering sides of the panels 
would be forward and the numbers 44 each correspond to one finger on the 
hand and indicates to the student which finger should be used to play the 
scale tone in the chromatic scale with which the number registers. The 
fingers of the right hand are numbered in reverse order from the left 
hand, and the scales and triads played in the right hand would thus have 
reversed numbers as at 46. By turning the panels 42 upside down, the 
student changes between mini-scales and triads as with the panels 30. 
A fourth slit 48 may be used to insert a card 50 which is divided into two 
portions, representing the left and right hands having the fingers thereon 
numbered according to conventional elementary music teaching techniques. 
This card is used in conjunction with the panels 42 to remind the student 
of the proper numbering of the fingers. The transition from the hand, 
through the scale tone names of the notes, and then to the keys on a piano 
keyboard is complete. 
A modification of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 7, in which the base 
member or backing sheet 10 and slits 18 are similar to the previously 
described embodiment. The side of the backing sheet shown is directed 
toward the right hand as indicated at 58 and beneath each of the slits are 
the finger numbers 52 which are to be used to play the scale displayed on 
the cards 54. The backing sheet is reversible, and the rear side would be 
similarly arranged but directed toward the left hand so that the numbers 
indicated at 52 would be reversed. At the bottom of the backing sheet are 
a plurality of indicators 56 which are spaced to register with a diatonic 
scale on the piano keyboard so that a single backing sheet 10 can be used 
in any key signature and reversed to switch from bass to treble, so that 
only the insert cards need be presented as a set representing different 
key signatures, and the base member is universally applicable. 
The teaching aid can of course be used in all key signatures which would 
require a different backing sheet and a different set of panels 30, and as 
previously mentioned, relationships between other chord types and those 
proposed above could be emphasized, such as the minor chord and scale 
structure. The primary feature and advantage of the teaching aid is to 
permit the student to drill in a group of related chords and scales on a 
piano keyboard, the drilling being directed by the teaching aid to 
establish a framework within which the student is working as well as the 
structural relationships of the chords and scales used.