IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WHOSE SOUNDS ARE TUNED TO FIXED PITCHES, OR WHICH HAVE FIXED ARRANGEMENTS OF FINGER KEYS " PROVISIONAL SP
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Dunlop of Glasgow in the County of Lanark
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WHOSE SOUNDS
ARE TUNED TO FIXED PITCHES, OR WHICH HAVE FIXED ARRANGEMENTS OF
FINGER KEYS
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Dunlop at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th December 1883.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
ANDREW DUNLOP, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WHOSE SOUNDS ARE TUNED TO FIXED PITCHES, OR WHICH
HAVE FIXED ARRANGEMENTS OF FINGER KEYS;"
Instruments with sounds tuned to fixed pitches, such as pianofortes, harps,
organs, harmoniums, concertinas, and other similar instruments, have hitherto
generally been made to be tuned to what is known as tempered pitches and to
have from eight to thirteen sounds in every octave according as they are intended for
diatonic or chromatic music; or they have been made to be tuned to pitches of
perfect intonation, but that only in a few cases and within about fifty years past;
and in all these cases of instruments with perfectly tuned sounds they have been
made with a far greater number of sounds in every octave than the ordinary
instruments with tempered sounds; for example they have been made, as in
Liston's organ, with 39 sounds in every octave, as in Col. Perronet Thompson's
organ, with 41 sounds, and, as in Bosanquet's harmonium, with 53 sounds in
every octave, all to play in 24 different keys; or at least, as in Colin Brown's
harmonium (Patent No 3719 of 1875) with 29 sounds in every octave to play in
eight major keys and their relative minors; and they have all been too
complicated and costly for common use, and with very intricate key-boards, or more
than one.
The present Invention consists in constructing musical instruments having fixed
sounds (that is, sounds not being capable of variation at will by the performer like
the sounds producable from violins and trombones) to play in eight major keys
and their relative minors with only about 15, 16, or 17 perfectly tuned, non-
tempered sounds in every octave, and not requiring more than one very simple
key-board, and only a few more finger keys than usual in tempered instruments
and with little complication.

page_text: "
"
The advantages of having musical instruments with perfectly tuned sounds are
well known to those who have perused the Rev. Mr Liston's Essay on "Perfect
Intonation or Col. Perronet Thompson's work on Just Intonation," or Mr Ellis'
translation of Helmholtz' great work on the "Sensations of Tone," and these
advantages are secured to performers and hearers by my Invention in a satisfactory
way and with less expensive instruments.
If for example it is a harmonium that is to be constructed with my improve-
ments, with fifteen sounds in every octave, fifteen reeds, instead of twelve, as in
ordinary instruments, are used for every octave and are arranged in the same way
and order as the twelve are usually arranged; the three additional ones being
placed thus, one of them next to the second of the twelve to the right hand
from C or Ut, one of them next to the sixth of the twelve to the right from C
or Ut, and the third one next to the tenth of the twelve to the right from C or Ut;
but instead of tuning these fifteen reeds in the usual tempered way, I tune them
as follows: (1) I tune C or Ut to agree perfectly with a C tuning fork, and
(2) another C a perfect diatonic eighth above it; (3) then the reed that is ninth to
the right counting from the lower of these C's to be a perfect diatonic fifth above
it; (4) then the reed sixth to the right of the lower C to be a perfect diatonic fifth
below the upper C; (5) then the reed fifth to the right of the lower C to be
perfect diatonic major third above it; (6) then the reed tenth to the right of the
lower C to be perfect diatonic major third below the upper C; (7) then the reed
fifth to the left of the lower C to be perfect diatonic eighth below the reed tenth
to the right of said C; (8) then the reed fourth to the right of the lower C to be
perfect diatonic fifth above the reed fifth to the left of said C; (9) then the reed
fifth to the right of the upper C to be perfect diatonic eighth above the reed fifth
to the right of the lower C; (10) then the reed eleventh to the right of the lower C
to be perfect diatonic fifth below the reed fifth to the right of the upper C;
(11) then the reed sixth to the left of the lower C to be perfect diatonic eighth
below the reed ninth to the right of said C; (12) then the reed third to the right
of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above the reed sixth to the left of
said C; (13) then the reed second to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic
fifth below the reed eleventh to the right of said C; (14) then the reed thirteenth
to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above the reed fourth to the
right of the said C; (15) then the reed sixth to the right of the upper C to be
perfect diatonic eighth above the reed sixth to the right of the lower C;
(16) then the reed twelfth to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic
fifth below the reed sixth to the right of the upper C; (17) then the
reed fourteenth to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above
the reed fifth to the right of the lower C; (18) then the reed first to the
right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth below the reed tenth to the right
of said C; (19) then the reed first to the left of lower C to be perfect diatonic
eighth below the reed fourteenth to the right of said C; (20) then the reed seventh
to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above the reed first to the
left of said C; (21) then the reed first to the right of the upper C to be perfect
diatonic eighth above the reed first to the right of the lower C; (22) then the reed
eighth to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth below the reed first
to the right of the upper C. There will thus be tuned fifteen sounds in the
octave above the lower C till the upper C is reached and the sounds in the other
octaves in the instrument can be tuned by perfect octave intervals from the octave
already tuned. All these sounds or reeds are to be tuned quite perfect till free of
beats. These fifteen reeds are by preference arranged in two rows from left to
right;
those in the row nearest to the key-board to be actuated by the short finger
keys altermentioned, and those in the row furthest from the key-board to be
actuated by the long finger keys after-mentioned.
The key-board is made with fifteen finger keys in every octave, long white ones
and short black ones somewhat like the finger keys of an ordinary harmonium or
pianoforte, but arranged differently, viz., first, a single long white one for the

page_text: lowest C reed; then a short black one for the first reed to the right of it; two
long white ones for the second and third reeds; a short black one for the fourth
reed; a long white one for the fifth; a short black one for the sixth; two long
white ones for the seventh and eighth; a short black one for the ninth; a long
white one for the tenth; a short black one for the eleventh; two long white ones
for the twelfth and thirteenth; a short black one for the fourteenth; and a long
white one for the fifteenth or the upper C.
In cases where one or two extra finger keys and a little extra cost are not
objected to the following are what I would prefer to add; where sixteen sounds
are wanted in an octave an additional reed is inserted between the ninth and tenth
reeds to the right before-mentioned to be tuned perfect diatonic major third above
the fifth reed before mentioned with a round finger knob or button, or a lever,
projecting up between the finger keys of the ninth and tenth reed to the right
before mentioned; and where seventeen sounds are wanted in an octave, another
additional reed is inserted between the third and fourth reeds to the right before
mentioned to be tuned a perfect diatonic major third above the reed first to the left
of the lower C before mentioned with a round finger knob or button, or a lever,
projecting up between the finger keys of the third and fourth reeds to the right
before mentioned. These two additional reeds are by preference placed in the
instrument in a position nearer to the key-board than the nearest, row of reeds
before mentioned.
The long finger keys might be black and the short ones white if preferred.
An harmonium constructed in this way provides (with the help of enharmonic
changes from sounds or reeds 2 to 3 and 7 to 8 and 12 to 13, or vice versa) all the
chords commonly used in eight major keys and their relative minors all tuned
quite perfect; and will delight the hearers with a perfect harmony of sweet sounds
unattainable with ordinary instruments having tempered sounds; and at a cost
and with a complication very little more than those of tempered instruments.
Organs, pianofortes, and other instruments are constructed and tuned in the same
way, only substituting pipes or tubes, strings or wires, for reeds.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Andrew Dunlop in the Patent Office on the 26th June 1884.
ANDREW DUNLOP, of Glasgow, in the county of Lanark "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WHOSE SOUNDS ARE TUNED TO FIXED PITCHES, OR WHICH
HAVE FIXED ARRANGEMENTS OF FINGER KEYS."
Instruments with sounds, tuned to fixed pitches, such as pianofortes, harps,
organs, harmoniums, concertinas, and other similar instruments, have hitherto
generally been made to be tuned to what is known as tempered pitches, and to
have from eight to thirteen sounds in every octave, according as they are intended
for diatonic or chromatic music; or they have been made to be tuned to pitches of
perfect intonation, but that only in a few cases and within about fifty years past;
and in all these cases of instruments with perfectly tuned sounds they have been
made with a far greater number of sounds in every octave than the ordinary
instruments with tempered sounds; for example, they have been made, as in
Liston's organ, with 39 sounds in every octave, as in Col. Perronet Thompson's
organ, with 41 sounds, and, as in Bosanquet's harmonium, with 53 sounds in every
octave, all to play in 24 different keys; or at least, as in Colin Brown's harmonium
(Patent N° 3719 of 1875) with 29 sounds in every octave to play in eight major
keys and their relative minors; and they have all been too complicated and costly
for common use, and with very intricate key-boards, or more than one.
The present Invention consists in constructing musical instruments having fixed
sounds (that is, sounds not being capable of variation at will by the performer like
the sounds producable from violins and trombones) to play in eight major keys
and their relative minors with only about 15, 16 or 17 perfectly tuned non-tempered
sounds in every octave, and not requiring more than one very simple key-board,
and only a few more finger keys than usual in tempered instruments, and little
complication.
The advantages of having musical instruments with perfectly tuned sounds are
well known to those who have perused the Revd M* Liston's essay on
" Perfect
Intonation," or Col. Perronet Thompson's work on "Just Intonation," or Mr Ellis'
translation of Helmholtz's great work on the "Sensations of Tone," and these
advantages are secured to performers and hearers by my Invention in a satisfactory
way, and with less expensive instruments.
It for example it is a harmonium that is to be constructed with my improvements
with fifteen sounds in every octave, fifteen reeds instead of twelve as in ordinary
instruments, are used for every octave, and are arranged in the same way and
order as the twelve are usually arranged, the three additional ones being placed
thus, one of them next to the second of the twelve to the right hand from
C or Ut, one of them next to the sixth of the twelve to the right from C or Ut,
and the third one next to the tenth of the twelve to the right from C or Ut; but
instead of tuning these fifteen reeds in the usual tempered way, I tune them as
follows (1) I tune C or Ut to agree perfectly with a C tuning fork; and (2)
another C a perfect diatonic eighth above it; (3) then the reed that is ninth to
the right counting from the lower of these C's, to be a perfect diatonic fifth above
it; (4) then the reed sixth to the right of the lower C to be a perfect diatonic fifth
below the upper C; (5) then the reed fifth to the right of the lower C to be perfect
diatonic major third above it; (6) then the reed tenth to the right of the lower C
to be perfect diatonic major third below the upper C; (7) then the reed fifth to
the left of the lower C to be perfect diatonic eighth below the reed tenth to the
right of said C; (8) then the reed fourth to the right of the lower C to be perfect
diatonic fifth above the reed fifth to the left of said C; (9) then the reed fifth to
the right of the upper C to be perfect diatonic eighth above the reed fifth to the

page_text: right of the lower C; (10) then the reed eleventh to the right of the lower C to
be perfect diatonic fifth below the reed fifth to the right of the upper C; (11) then
the reed sixth to the left of the lower C to be perfect diatonic eighth below the
reed ninth to the right of said C; (12) then the reed third to the right of the
lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above the reed sixth to the left of said C;
(13) then the reed second to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth
below the reed eleventh to the right of said C; (14) then the reed thirteenth to
the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above the reed fourth to the
right of the said C; (15) then the reed sixth to the right of the upper C to be
perfect diatonic eighth above the reed sixth to the right of the lower C; (16) then
the reed twelfth to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth below the
reed sixth to the right of the upper C; (17) then the reed fourteenth to the right
of the lower C to be perfect diatonic fifth above the reed fifth to the right of the
lower C; (18) then the reed first to the right of the lower C to be perfect diatonic
fifth below the reed tenth to the right of said C; (19) then the reed first to the
left of the lower C to be perfect diatonic eighth below the reed fourteenth to
the right of said C; (20) then the reed seventh to the right of the lower C to be
perfect diatonic fifth above the reed first to the left of said C; (21) then the reed
first to the right of the upper C to be perfect diatonic eighth above the reed first
to the right of the lower C; (22) then the reed eighth to the right of the lower C
to be perfect diatonic fifth below the reed first to the right of the upper C. There
will thus be tuned fifteen sounds in the octave above the lower C till the upper C
is reached and the sounds in the other octaves in the instrument can be tuned by
perfect octave intervals from the octave already tuned. All these sounds or reeds
are to be tuned quite perfect till free of beats. These fifteen reeds are by
preference arranged in two rows from left to right; those in the row nearest
to the key-board to be actuated by the short finger keys aftermentioned, and
those in the row furthest from the key-board to be actuated by the long finger
keys aftermentioned.
The key-board is made with fifteen finger keys in every octave, long white ones
and short black ones somewhat like the finger keys of an ordinary harmonium or
pianoforte, but arranged differently, viz, first, a single long white one for the
lowest C reed; then a short black one for the first reed to the right of it; two
long white ones for the second and third reeds; a short black one for the fourth
reed; a long white one for the fifth, a short black one for the sixth, two long white
ones for the seventh and eighth ; a short black one for the ninth; a long white one
for the tenth, a short black one for the eleventh; two long white ones for the
twelfth and thirteenth; a short black one for the fourteenth; and a long white one
for the fifteenth or the upper C.
In cases where one or two extra finger keys and a little extra cost are not
objected to, the following are what I would prefer to add: Where sixteen sounds
are wanted in an octave an additional reed is inserted between the ninth and tenth
reeds to the right beforementioned to be tuned perfect diatonic major third above
the fifth reed before-mentioned with a round finger knob or button, or a lever
projecting up between the finger keys of the ninth and tenth reed to the right
before mentioned; and where seventeen sounds are wanted in an octave, another
additional reed is inserted between the third and fourth reeds to the right before-
mentioned to be tuned a perfect diatonic major third above the reed first to
the left of the lower C before mentioned with a round finger knob or button, or a
lever, projecting up between the finger keys of the third and fourth reeds to the
right before mentioned. These two additional reeds are by preference placed in
the instrument in a position nearer to the key-board than the nearest row of reeds
before mentioned.
The long finger keys might be black and the short ones white if preferred.
An harmonium constructed in this way provides (with the help of enharmonic
changes from sounds or reeds 2 to 3 and 7 to 8, and 12 to 13, or vice versa) all the
cords commonly used in eight major keys and their relative minors all tuned quite

page_text: perfect; and will delight the hearers with a perfect harmony of sweet sounds
unattainable with ordinary instruments having tempered sounds; and at a cost and
with a complication very little more than those of tempered instruments.
Organs, pianofortes, and other instruments are constructed and tuned in the
same way, only substituting pipes or tubes, strings or wires, for reeds.
By the aid of the accompanying diagrams, I will now proceed to describe one
mode of carrying out my Invention.
Figure 1 is a plan, and figure 2 is a sectional front elevation, shewing the
positions of the reeds, of the openings from them through the pan or sound-board,
of the levers valves or pallets covering these openings, and also the key-board, all
for one octave of a harmonium constructed according to this Invention with fifteen
reeds or sounds in every octave.
The positions are numbered from C on the left to the right and also from C on
the right to the left.
The reeds are attached by screws or otherwise as usual to the underside of the
pan or sound-board, either singly or on a series of metal plates. The openings in
the pan are shown by dotted lines. The under edges of the far ends of the levers
are covered with soft leather and are pressed down with springs as usual which
keep the openings shut till the near ends, or key-board ends, are pressed down by
the fingers. The fulcrum on which the levers rest and turn is the upper edge of a
longitudinal bar in the instrument crossing the levers below their under edges at
about the middle of their length, as indicated by the dotted line, and covered with
leather or other soft material. The levers are also kept from shifting sideways by
guide pins as usual.
The keys of the key-board are shown in these figures as fixed on the upper edge
of the near ends of the levers, but they might be on separate levers above the
others and hinged at their farther ends as they often are, and act by a projection
down from their near ends on the under levers on which the pallets are.
The keys
are numbered from left to right according to the number of usual chromatic steps
above C which each key represents and the figures have an acute (') or grave (`)
mark on those keys which represent enharmonic steps. The keys for the seven
diatonic steps in an octave above C are also each marked with the usual letter
name and the keys for the sharp or flat chromatic steps are each marked with the
usual letter name and sharp or flat sign, and the keys for the enharmonic sounds
are each marked with the usual letter name and sign and in addition with an acute
or a grave mark.
The usual long white levers on harmonium and pianoforte key-boards have
reference to the seven diatonic steps in an octave in the key of C major, and the
black ones to the five additional diatonic steps required for C minor. But the
present key-board has been invented with special reference first to the twelve
chromatic steps in an octave above any key note. That is to say, from a white
long lever to a black short one, is one semitone or step, and vice versa; from a
single long white one to either of the two (or double) long white ones, that have
no black between them, next to it is two semitones or steps, and vice versa, (the
difference between any one of the two, or double, ones and the other being only an
enharmonic difference) from a single long white one to the next single long white
one or from any double long white ones to the next double long white ones is four
semitones or steps; and from any black one to the next black one is two semitones
or steps. It has reference secondly to the additional enharmonic sounds required
to produce satisfactory harmonies in various other keys besides the key of C which
are ignored and confounded with one another in the usual equal tempered sounds
of ordinary instruments, but which all scientific musicians know to be absolutely
necessary to satisfy and gratify the generally perfect human perception of and
relish for concordant sounds. I therefore call this the "Scientific key-board."
Figure 3 is a plan and figure 4 is a sectional front elevation, shewing the
modifications required for a barmonium when constructed with seventeen sounds in
each octave according to this invention. The positions and numbering of the reeds,

page_text: notation," entered at Stationers Hall on 17 May 1882; and all the others can
be indicated on it by the sound mark having a tail pointing upwards for the acute
ones and a tail pointing downwards for the grave ones, as shown in figures 5 and 6,
and there is a broad line indented or coloured on the C keys of the key-board, and
a thin or narrow line on the E and Ah keys and the narrow spaces between D
and D and between B and Bb' represent two narrow lines and there is an inter-
rupted broad or dotted one on either For Gb keys or on both, all these lines are
indicated by similar broad and narrow lines on the new staff, and the black keys
on the key board are pointed out by the spaces between the similar lines of this
notation, indicating in a simple direct way which key of the key board to use for
any of these sounds. There is thus a correspondence between the sounds which
the composer can indicate precisely on this new staff and the keys on the key-board
by which the performer can produce these sounds in just intonation.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,-
The improvements in musical instruments herein described and illustrated.
In Witness whereof, I the said Andrew Dunlop have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Twenty third day of June, in the year of Our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty four.