Piano tuning mutes

A muting strip for use in tuning the un-wound three string unisons of the treble section in pianos consisting of a strip of muting material having on it a series of wedges spaced at a distance from each other so that they will fit into every other space between the unisons. In tuning, two mutes are used with one above the other and offset one unison so that all spaces between the unisons are muted as is normal. After the center string of each unison is tuned one of the mutes is removed and one outer string of each unison is tuned. Then the remaining mute is shifted over one space and the remaining strings are tuned.

FIELD OF INVENTION 
This invention relates to the mutes which are used in the tuning of pianos. 
DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART AND SUMMARY 
In the past the treble section of pianos has been tuned by using a 
continuous mute consisting of a strip of felt which is poked inbetween the 
three string unisons with a screwdriver or like instrument in order to 
allow the center string of each unison to be tuned. The continuous mute is 
then removed and the outer strings of each unison are tuned to the center 
string one at a time using a single wedge mute to mute out the outer 
string which is not being tuned. The single wedge mute must be relocated 
many times because there are commonly 120 outer strings to be tuned. In 
the invention I have designed a muting strip which can be quickly 
installed without a screwdriver and can be used to tune the outer strings 
of each unison as well as the center strings thus speeding up the tuning 
process by eliminating the use of individual wedge mutes in tuning the 
treble section of the piano.

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
In the FIG. 1 the three string unisons of the treble section of any piano 
are indicated by the FIG. 11. A section of the muting strip is indicated 
by the FIG. 13. The muting strip 13 consists of an elongated rectangular 
back section 14 and a series of wedges 16. The muting strip 13 should be 
preferably made of a soft rubber which has poor springing qualities and 
good damping qualities. Rubber tape which is commonly used for electrical 
work is an example of a suitable rubber and I have made mutes for myself 
out of rubber tape which have excellent muting properties and which always 
stay wedged between the strings even when the strings are struck hard 
during tuning. The wedges 16 are spaced on the muting strip back section 
14 at such a distance from each other that they will fit into every other 
space between the unisons 11. The wedges 16 may have small ridges 19 on 
their surface that contacts the outer strings 25 in order to better secure 
the wedges 16 between the unisons 11. In tuning, two muting strips are 
used with one above the other and offset one unison so that all spaces 
between the unisons are muted as is normal and as is shown in FIG. 1. The 
muting strip 13 is put in place by simply pressing along the muting strip 
back section 14. After the center string 22 of each unison 11 is tuned, 
one of the muting strips 13 is removed and one outer string 25 of each 
unison 11 is tuned. Then the remaining mute is shifted over one space and 
the remaining strings are tuned. The muting strip 13 may be supplied in 
extra long length which may be cut to length according to the needs of 
different pianos and different tuning methods. The primary object of the 
invention is to save time in tuning by spending less time changing mute 
positions however I have found that these mutes also provide superior 
muting of the strings, especially in poorly strung pianos with unevenly 
spaced strings.