The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-07
AN ELECTRIC PIANO.
The Promising Invention of New
York Telegrapher.

York Telegrapher.
From the Ne,c York Euen 10 Post
One of the foremost of our firms of piano
forte makers has recently become interested
in an electrical device which-may become
quite an important addition to the ordinary
piano, even if it does not displace hepianist
for all sorts of music. The device In ques-
ton is the invention of young telegrapher
of this city named Joseph Weber, who has
been at work upon his idea for the last year,
and has carried it so far that there is now
no trouble about obtaining every facility
for testing the experiment upon large
scale. The device itself is simple enough.
For every note i'll the piano is provided
piece of soft iron wound with wire in the
usual fa,hion and capable of becoming
magnet when influenced by an electric cur
rent. Each magnet attracts a lever at
tached to piano key, so that when cur
rent passes to particular magnet, the key
corresponding to this magnet is acted upon
and the hammer strikes the string more or
less forcibly, according to the strength of
the magnetic attraction. The wires run
ming from the magnets attached to each key
centre around a small cylinder provided
with metallic pins, somewhat like
the cylinder of music box, eX-
cept that the pins, instead of projecting
fro the surface of the cylinder, are
perfectly flat. 1t is easy to understand how
the current can be made to pass to partic-
ular note only when certain metallic point
on the surface of the cylinder comes i'll con
nection with comb, each metal tooth of
which corresponds to a note in the piano.
The chief difficulty to be met with was the
problem of giving notes different dynamic
values, one note being soft and the next
loud. This has been accomplished by intro
ducing resistance coils into the circuits ac-
cording to the power of the note wanted,
and the tone can be graduated in sutfi-
GENTLY accurate manner to allow some sur
prising effects.
The actual mechanical playing of such
piano by electricity offers no great mechani-
cal difficulties. Whether the inventor of
the present piano succeeds in making his
device so perfect as to give a performance
satisfactory to a critical ear, may be
doubted. So far, the piano has played moth
ing but few familiar airs in a rather slip
shod fashion. Nevertheless, it by no means
follows that the germ of very perfect work
may not be in the instrument, and the fact
that experts connected with an important
piano factory have reported in favor of the
possibilities of this electric piano is greatly
in favor of the instrument. For years such
devices have been constantly brought to the
attention of piano-makers, always without
results worth mentioning. The only mechan-
ical piano now in the market is a clumsy
and costly affair, which will be no rival to
the electric piano should the latter accom-
plish half of what is promised for it.
Many attempts have been made before
this to produce satisfactory electric piano.
Several Frenchmen, among them MN. Fro
ment, Hipp, Andrea and Spiess, having
worked at the problem. and Du Moncel, in
his book upon the applications of electricity,
devotes several interesting pages to what
has been done in this field So long ago as
1850 Froment made a piano in which cleo
tricity was used. In 1861 a patent was
taken out by Hipp for a piano in which
each note of the keyboard was provided
with an electromagnetic connected by wire
with a metallic comb which touched a small
metal cylinder covered with paper perfO-
rated with holes corresponding to the notes
needed. AS the cylinder moved a note was
| struck, whenever a tooth of the comb met
with an opening in the paper covering and
reached the metallic surface of the cylinder.
The movement of the cylinder was regu-
lated by clock work. In order to obtain in
| crease or diminution in the power of note,
a series of resistance coils were introduced.
| This piano was exhibited at several exhibit
| tions, but never reached sufficient perfection
to find profitable market
SpieSS, a Swiss, of Sumiswald, invented in
1854 an electric organ and piano which
diners but slightly from that or Hlpp. lie
used, however, very powerful battery of
thirty-six cells, which made the instrument
| too cumbrous and troublesome for ordinary
use. In the bulletin of one of the French
! scientific societies before which Spless
brought his piano is the following report
under the date OF July a. 1868: IN. Spiess,
having described his apparatus, made it
play several pieces The rapidity of its exc
cution and the clearness of its rapid pass
ages were noticeable, and the battery gave
sufficient strength to make the instrument
sound as loudly as under the hands of good
pianist" Spices also applied his system to
organ +, and it was used for some time in one
of the Paris churches with what appear, ac-
cording to the records of the day, to have
been satisfactory results. Mr.. Weber
claims to have obtained far more delicacy
in the dynamic graduation of notes than any
of his predecessors in the same field.