Improvements relating to Auto-harps.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th July, 1895-Accepted, 25th July, 1896
Improvements relating to Auto-harps.
1, WILLIAM ESCHEMANN of 31 Old Street, in the County of London, Musical
Instrument Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :—
This invention relates to the class of musical instruments usually known as
auto-harps (or in Germany as accord-zithers), in which the strings not needed in
any particular chord are damped and consequently rendered mute, by means of a
series of dampers arranged upon vertically moveable bars.
With instruments of this class as at present constructed, it has been hitherto
impossible for a performer to play in any required key, and one having no
knowledge of the theory of music could only play a limited number of tunes, on
account of the complexity of the system upon which the damper bars, or equivalent
devices, were shifted.
By my arrangement of the damper (or chord) -bars, I am enabled if desired to
produce every harmonic chord known in the theory of music, e.y. all the major
chords all the relative minor chords, all the major seventh (or dominant seventh)
chords, and all the minor seventh (or diminished seventh) chords.
And in order that my said invention may be more clearly understood, I will now
proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings accompanying this
specification, in which Fig. 1 shews a plan of an auto-harp fitted with my improve-
ments. In this case there are twenty bars, so as to enable the chords of every key
to be played. Fig. 2 shews a section through one of the damper (or chord) -bars
with a bar depressed. Fig. 3 shews a plan of one octave of a damper bar, shewing
the arrangement of dampers for producing a major chord. Fig. 4 a like view for
producing a minor chord, Fig. 5a like view for producing a dominant seventh
chord. The minor seventh chord bar is shewn depressed in Fig. 2.
The same letters denote the same parts in all the views.
ashews the instrument, which is constructed in the ordinary way with the
wires in a chromatic scale, shews a bridge, case or frame, in which the damper
or chord bars are fitted and arranged as hereafter described. The bridge b is
secured to the instrument a by means of the projecting ends of the bars e C, which
are capable of sliding under the flanged pieces d, d. The pieces d', d' are pivotted
at e so as to be capable of being turned out of position, as shewn dotted in the
case of one of them in Fig. 1, in order that the bridge may be removed if
required; is a metal plate inserted in the wood-work of the instrument, such
plate being provided with three holes t, into one or other of which the spring pin g
takes, in order to lock the bridge in one of the three positions for forming the
chords to be played.
One of the plates & has a hole h therein, through which one of the numbers 1. 2. 3
indicated on the extension of one of the bars c is exhibited, so as to shew in which
of the three positions the bridge is locked, and hence the keys which will be
formed by the dampers in that position; shews a shifting or adjustable diagram
of a key board (as on a pianoforte) having thereon numbers and letters representing
the notes, as hereafter fully explained. This diagram i is placed under the strings
of the instrument, and moves with the bridge, by means of the projecting pieces c c
coming against the ends of the said diagram i, shews the buttons for depressing
the chord or damper bars k (M denoting the majors, S the dominant sevenths,
N the minors and D the diminished seventh chords). The bars k are kept in their

page_text: n shews
normal positions by means of the spiral springs m, as shewn on Fig. 2.
tablets fixed over the chord bars k, for indicating what chords will be formed by
the chord bars in each position of the bridge b. The arrangement of numbers
and letters on the tablet n is fully described hereafter.
In the diagram i and the tablet n a notation is adopted, which is calculated to
be equally easily understood, both by those familiar with the ordinary musical
notation, and by those entirely unfamiliar with the theory of music.
With regard to the diagram i, I have both a key-board like that of a piano-
forte, and in addition to this the system of numbering hereinafter explained.
On the diagram i, it will be seen that the notes have the ordinary letters marked
upon them thus: A. B. C. etc., and the black notes are marked with sharps or
flats, or may be left plain, as shewn on the drawing. For the numerical system
for the use of those who are entirely ignorant of musical notation, I number C in
each octave 1, the D, 2, the E, 3, and so on up to B, which is denoted by 7. In
order to denote the sharps or flats, I use a different kind of figures from those
employed for the naturals. In the drawing dotted figures are shewn for this
purpose.
With reference to the diagram n, shewn on Fig. 1. The two halves of the
tablet are intended to convey the same information-the upper half being for the
use of those having some acquaintance with musical notation, and the lower half
being furnished with the same system of numerical notation used on the key-board
diagram.
Thus 1 denotes a chord of C, 1 in dotted figures, a chord of C or Db, 2 denotes
a chord of D, and so on. On referring to the figure, it will be further seen that
certain symbols are placed under the figures, to denote the nature of the chord.
The major chords are distinguished by a dot, the minor chords by a plus sign or
cross, the dominant seventh chords by a straight line, and. the minor seventh
chords by a small circle.
The three rows of letters or symbols denote the chords formed in the three
positions of the bridge, the top line denoting those formed in the first position,
the second line those in the second position and the third line those in the third
position.
Thus looking at the tablet, we see that with the bridge in the third position, as
shewn, the first button when depressed will allow the strings forming B minor
seventh chord to sound. The fourth button (i.e. the first one marked M in the
middle row) corresponds with A on the diagram, we therefore obtain A major
chord, the next button gives G minor, the next B dominant seventh, and so on.
The action is as follows:--
Supposing it is required to play in the key of E major.
Looking for E or "3" on the tablet, we find that this key is formed in the third
position of the bridge. The bridge is therefore slid into and locked in the position
shewn in Figure 1, the spring pin g taking into the third hole in the plate, which
hole is shewn dotted on the drawing. It will then be seen that the corresponding
dominant seventh B, the relative minor C and the sub-dominant A major can all
be played without changing the position of the bridge b.
Thus in each position of the bridge there will be five major and five minor
keys formed (when twenty bars are employed), and sixty chords in all the positions:
which will be found to include all the major, minor, dominant seventh and diminished
seventh chords.
In Figure 6 a diagrammatic view of four damper bars and an octave of strings
is shewn, in order to illustrate the arrangement of the bars to one another along
the instrument. Thus when the major chord bar, marked M' on Fig. 6-corre
sponding to the bar on Fig. 1 depressed by the tenth button, in position 2-is
actuated, the strings of C major chord are left free to sound. The next bar N¹
will be seen from both figures to give A minor, the next, marked S', gives D,
dominant seventh to G major, which is formed by the bar M". The arrangement of
the bars is similar throughout the instrument.

page_text: The minor seventh bars, which allow every third string to sound may be
arranged in any order with respect to the other bars, care being necessary to
arrange them so that three different series of wires may be left to sound, and that
the tablet n is correspondingly lettered.
It will be observed that the damper bars are so arranged that the relative
positions of the damper bars to one another for the similar chords belonging to the
different keys are constant ones. For example the relative minor to any major is
the next bar to the right, the sub-dominant is the third to the left, and the
dominant seventh is the first on the left. In the case of the minor keys, the corre-
sponding major is the first to the left, the sub-dominant is the third to the left,
and the diminished seventh is one of the three minor seventh bars at the extreme
left.
By my improvements, a person unacquainted with the theory of music can
transpose out of one key into from two to four other keys, by shifting the bridge b
accordingly, and playing from the old music according to the notes upon the
diagram i.
I have a lesser number of damper bars kif it is not required to form all the
keys.
I am aware that it has been proposed to produce the chords of the various keys
by the performer adjusting each damper bar separately to suit the key which he
desires to form, but I lay no claim to this arrangement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In auto-harps, an adjustable bridge in combination with damper bars, so fitted
and arranged that at one adjustment of the bridge 5 complete major and 5 complete
minor keys are formed, substantially as herein before described and shewn on the
accompanying sheet of drawings.
2. In auto-harps, an adjustable bridge in combination with damper bars so fitted
and arranged that any desired harmonic chords may be formed at one or other
adjustment of the bridge substantially as described.
3. In auto-harps, an adjustable key-board diagram, for the purposes set forth.
4. In auto-harps the damper bars being so arranged that the relative position of
the bar forming one particular chord to the bar forming another chord of the key
is a fixed one and never varies, no matter in what key the music is played, or
in which of the positions the damper bridge is placed, substantially as set forth.
5. The improvements relating to auto-harps, substantially as described.
Dated this Twenty-fifth day of July 1895.
BROWNE & Co.,
9 Warwick Court, Gray's Inn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
BROWNE & Co.,
9 Warwick Court, Gray's Inn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.