Improvements in Musical Notation.
Year: 1897

page_text: DIEUTICATION.
Improvements in Musical Notation.
I, ARCHIBALD GALBRAITH, of Dalton Schoolhouse, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire,
N.B., Schoolmaster, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for improve-
ments in musical notation to be as follows:-
My invention has reference to a new or improved musical notation, which com-
prises both the ordinary notation and the tonic solfa notation, and which will
have the great advantage, that all music printed or written in it may be played
from on the instrument for which it is set, by any musical performer, and at
the same time be sung from after a few lessons by any young person or singer
who understands the solfa notation, thus giving such music the double advantage,
and value, of being easily performed by those who understand either of these
well-known notations.
My invention or improvements consists in a new or special simple construction
of printed and written signs for all the notes of the gamut, and certain changes
connected with the signs of the sharps, flats, and naturals, of the ordinary nota-
tion, and in the arrangement of these new or altered signs for the notes, and the
changes of or connected with them, which will all be so little altered from, and
so essentially kept in accordance with, the ordinary system of musical notation-
of the five lines, or E, G, B, D, and F, and of the four spaces, F, A, C, and E, of
the stave that the music set and represented in this new notation will be as
easily read, and performed from, as the ordinary notation; while the signs of
this new notation which represent the corresponding notes of, or on, the tonic
solfa notation, are all so simple that any singer understanding these will be able
to read and sing any piece of music in my new notation in a very short time, as
the mind can easily comprehend and retain the simple forms and equivalents of
the solfa scale and notation.
66
In my new notation, the tonic, or key-note, doh," is of circular form, and
exactly the same as in the old or staff notation. All the other notes of the scale
also retain the circular form of the staff notation notes, and only differ from them
in having certain marks, or signs, within them, the sign for " re," the second
note of the scale, being a small, white, circular mark, to the right of the note;
that for "mi," the third note of the scale, a similar mark in the middle of the
note; and for "fa," the fourth note of the scale, "la," the sixth note, and "te,"
the seventh, the circular marks are at the foot, the left, and the top, of the notes,
respectively. "Soh," the fifth note of the scale, has two circular marks, one at
each side of the note.
"Mi," may also be written with a line bisecting the note; and "soh" may
also have a slanting, or sloping line through the note.
The eighth note of the scale, or the octave, "doh," is an exact duplicate of the
first note of the scale.
All the notes are open, or white, for the semibreves, minims, &c., and close, or
black, for the crotchets, quavers, semiquavers, &c.,-the same as in the staff
notation.

page_text: 23
In this new notation, the sharps, flats, and naturals, when written in the usual
way, are to be used by both vocalists and instrumentalists, but when blackened,
are not to be used by the singer, although necessary for the player. The dotted
natural is used to lower to its original pitch, an interval raised "accidentally
half-a-tone, and the common, or unaltered natural, to raise an accidentally
flattened note, to its original pitch. The signs for the various rests are the
same as in the ordinary notation.
It will be seen by the foregoing description that the essential feature of
the invention is to indicate the key-relationship of the intervals, in any key, by
the marks, or signs, in the notes, in this notation.
Dated this 2nd day of October 1897.
ARCHIBALD GALBRAITH,
Inventor.
I, ARCHIBALD GALBRAITH, of Dalton Schoolhouse, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire,
N.B., Schoolmaster, 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:-
My invention has reference to a new or improved musical notation, which com-
prises both the ordinary notation and the tonic sol-fa notation, and which will
have the great advantage, that all music printed or written in it may be played
from, on the instrument for which it is set, by any musical performer, and at
the same time be sung from, after a few lessons, by any young person or singer
who understands the sol-fa notation, or the ordinary staff notation, thus giving
such music the double advantage and value of being easily performed by
those who understand either of these well-known notations. My inven-
tion or improvements consists in a new or special construction of
.printed and written signs for all the notes of the gamut, and certain changes
connected with, the signs of the sharps, flats and naturals of the ordinary nota-
tion, and in the arrangement of these new or altered signs for the notes, and the
changes of or connected with them, which will all be so little altered from, and
so essentially kept in accordance with, the ordinary system of musical notation-
of the five lines, or E, G, B, D, and F, and of the four spaces, F, A, C, and E of
the stave that the music set and represented in this new notation will be as
easily read and performed from, as the ordinary notation, while the signs of
this new notation which represent the corresponding notes of, or on, the tonic
sol-fa notation are all so simple that any singer understanding this will be able
to read and sing any piece of music in my new notation in a very short time, as
the mind can easily comprehend and retain the simple forms and equivalents of
the sol-fa scale and notation.
In my new notation, the tonic, or key-note, "doh," is of circular form, and
is exactly the same as in the old, or staff notation. All the other notes of the scale
also retain the form of the staff notation notes, and only differ from them
in having certain marks. or signs within them, the sign for " re," the second
note of the scale, being a small circular mark-white or black-to the right of
the note; that for "mi," the third note of the scale, a similar mark in the middle,
or centre of the note; and for "fa," the fourth note of the scale; "la," the sixth,
and "te," the seventh, similar circular marks, at the foot, the left, and the top

page_text: of the notes, respectively. "Soh," the fifth note of the scale, has two circular
marks, one at the left, and the other at the right side of the note.
"Mi" may also be written with a white or black line bisecting the note per-
pendicularly; and "soh" may also have a white or black slanting or sloping
line drawn through the note.
The eighth note of the scale, or the octave, "doh," is an exact duplicate of the
first note of the scale.
In this new notation when the usual sharps, flats, and naturals of the staff
notation are filled up-in black, or otherwise-they are not to be observed by the
singer, although necessary for the instrumentalist; and when a natural has a dot
inserted in it, it is used to lower to its original pitch; a note which has been pre-
viously accidentally raised in pitch half-a-tone; whilst the common or unaltered
natural has the opposite effect, that is to say, in this notation it raises to its
original pitch, a note which has been previously accidentally lowered half-a-tone.
It will be seen from the foregoing description that the essential feature of the
invention is to indicate to the singer the key-relationship in any key of the various
intervals of the scale by the marks or signs in the notes in this notation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
First. The construction and use of a musical notation comprising the combina-
tion of the ordinary and the tonic sol-fa notation, substantially as, and for the
purposes herein described.
Second. The construction and arrangement of printed and written signs or
notes in a system of musical notation substantially as herein described.
Dated this 6th day of June 1898.
ARCHIBALD GALBRAITH.