Improvements in Musical Notation or Symbolizing Musical Sounds, to be Printed or Represented on Paper or other Material, with a view to Facilitate the Reading, Writing, and Learning of Music.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Jan. 1892-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1-892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Musical Notation or Symbolizing Musical Sounds,
to be Printed or Represented on Paper or other Material, with
a view to Facilitate the Reading, Writing, and Learning of
Music.
I, JOSEPH GRAVE of York Cottage Epsom Manager of Trust Co. do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has reference partly to the musical notes & other characters
employed on the lines or in the spaces of the staff, and partly to the staff itself.
My improvements in the notes & other characters consist in the production, for
use on the present staff, of a series of signs of duration based upon that period of
time allotted by the character of the music to a "beat" & of fractions thereof; an
uniform sign of sound; an uniform sign of silence; signs of prolongation or sustenta-
tion of sound & of silence; the sign of sound when joined with a sign of duration
becoming a note, & the sign of silence when similarly joined becoming a "rest";
said series including a special provision of distinctive characters to represent the
fractions one-third, one-sixth, & one-twelfth of a beat which I call tierce, semi-tierce
& demi-semi-tierce respectively; also uniformity of duration in groups of notes linked
together so that every group shall invariably equal a beat.
In practice I consider that further to facilitate the reading of music, by avoiding
the use of new characters & names, the uniform sign of sound should be a black
disc, & the sign of duration for a whole beat should be a stem or tail, so that when
joined, these two may present the familiar appearance of, & be known as, the
crotchet. In pursuance of this plan for the fractions one-half, one-fourth & one-
eighth, the quaver, semiquaver & demi-semiquaver will present their old form &
retain their old names.
By this system I dispense altogether with the ordinary symbols termed semibreve,
minim, rests, binds, triplets & sestelets, and with the use of dots for increasing the
value or duration of notes. I dispense also with time-marks based upon fractions
of a semibreve. I wish it, moreover, to be understood that all music written in my
improved notation must necessarily be in its simplest form of duple, triple or
quadruple time much resembling in appearance-though based on a principle
different from--existing notation in &C time. All musical signs characters &
terms now in use will be retained except when they conflict with the foregoing.
My improvement relating to the staff is to substitute for it a combination of the
use of the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 with certain parts of my hereinbefore
described improvements, said combination forming a numeral-notation enabling
music to be played in any key. In this improvement I proceed as follows;-
I dispense with the use of the staff, clefs, signatures & uniform sign of sound.
The numerals 1 to 7 with 1 repeated for the eighth note will in their usual sequence
represent the notes of any major diatonic scale; the same numbers beginning at 6
& ending at 6 will represent any minor diatonic scale, subject to such sharp & flat
signs as the particular form of minor may require. Octave signs of position will
identify the note on the instrument. A sharp or flat sign will recur at every
departure incidental or otherwise from the ordinary intervals of the major scale.
A key-mark at the beginning of the piece names the key-note selected by the
composer. A key-bridge-mark will, upon a change of key of sufficient length,
indicate the first note to be played in such change firstly by the numeral it would
have borne had the key not been changed, & secondly by the numeral it bears in
the new key. The sign of duration is placed over, but not quite joined, to a
numeral-note, except in the case of a crotchet, the absence of any sign of duration
implying that a crotchet is equal to one whole beat.

page_text: I consider that inasmuch as these numerals are used for instruction in the theory
of music, yet cannot be conveniently employed in substitution for the ordinary &
variously-shaped notes with the staff, a numeral-notation such as the foregoing is
intended briefly to describe would greatly facilitate the reading of music, its
performance in any key a player may prefer, the learning of tonic relations & of
the theory of music; also that the study of such numeral-notation would curtail
the subsequent study either of my improved staff-notation or of ordinary music.
But I do not claim to be the first to employ numerals for the representation of
musical sounds.
Generally I consider. that the first part of my said improvements constitute a
system of improved staff-notation which would largely facilitate the reading, writing
& learning of music.
I wish it to be understood that any other method of performing my invention or
any part thereof may be adopted by varying the details, so long as the nature or
distinctive character of my invention or any part thereof be retained, and I would
remark that the printing or representation on paper or other material of my
improved musical notation, or symbolizing of musical sounds, may be effected by
the processes ordinarily employed such as lithographing, type-printing, manuscript
writing, or in any convenient manner, & that I believe music so printed or repre-
sented may be read & learnt with greater facility than if printed or represented in
the ordinary manner; and I also wish it to be understood that the use of special
distinctive characters for fractions one-third, one-sixth & one-twelfth can be applied
to corresponding fractions of a semibreve & other notes in existing musical notation
in lieu of dotted notes or their equivalents.
Dated this 5th day of August 1891.
JOSEPH GRAVE.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Musical Notation or Symbolizing Musical Sounds,
to be Printed or Represented on Paper or other Material, with
a view to Facilitate the Reading, Writing, and Learning of
Music.
I, JOSEPH GRAVE, of York Cottage, Epsom, Manager of Trust Co., 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 partly to the musical notes & other characters
employed on the lines & in the spaces of the staff, & partly to the staff itself.
My improvements in the notes & characters consist in the production, for use on
the present staff, of a series of signs of duration, based upon that period of time
allotted by the character of the music to a "beat," & of fractions thereof; an
uniform sign of sound; an uniform sign of silence; signs of prolongation or
sustentation of sound & of silence; the sign of sound, when joined with a sign of
duration, becoming a note; and the sign of silence when similarly joined becoming
a ❝ rest ; said series including a special provision of distinctive characters to
represent the fractions one-third, one-sixth & one-twelfth of a beat, which I call
tierce, semi-tierce, & demi-semi-tierce respectively; also uniformity of duration in
groups of notes linked together, so that every group shall equal a beat, and so as
more clearly to indicate the incidence of the beat & accent.
In practice, further to facilitate the reading of music, by avoiding the use of new
characters & names, I prefer that the uniform sign of sound should be a black disc,
and the sign of duration for a whole beat should be a stem or tail; so that, when
joined, these two may present the familiar appearance of, & be known as, the
crotchet. In pursuance of this plan for the fractions one-half, one-fourth & one-
eighth, the quaver, semiquaver & demi-semiquaver will present their old form &
retain their old names.

page_text: By this system I dispense altogether with the ordinary symbols termed semibreve,
minim, rest, bind, triplet & sestelet, & with the use of dots for increasing the value
or duration of notes. I dispense also with time-marks based upon fractions of a
semibreve. I wish it, moreover,
to be understood that all music written in my
improved notation must necessarily be in its simplest form of duple, triple or
quadruple time, much resembling in appearance-though based upon a principle
different from existing notation in 2, & C time, except as to rests. All musical
signs characters & terms now in use will be retained, except when they conflict
with the foregoing.
My improvement relating to the staff is to substitute therefor a combination of
the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 with certain parts of my hereinbefore described
improvement, the said combination forming an improved numeral-notation enabling
music to be played in any key. In this improvement I proceed as follows;-
I dispense altogether with the use of the staff, clefs, signatures & uniform sign of
sound. The numerals 1 to 7 with 1 repeated for the eighth note will, in their
usual sequence, represent the notes of any major diatonic scale; the same numbers
beginning at 6 & ending at will represent any minor diatonic scale, subject to
such sharp & flat signs as the particular form of minor may require. Octave signs
of position will identify the note on the instrument. A sharp or flat sign will recur
at every departure incidental or otherwise from the ordinary intervals of the major
scale. A key-mark at the beginning of the piece names the key-note selected by
the composer. A key-bridge mark will, upon a change of key of sufficient length,
indicate the first note to be played in such change, firstly by the numeral it would
have borne had the key not been changed, & secondly, by the numeral which
becomes the new key-note. The sign of duration is placed over, but not quite
joined to, a numeral, except in the case of a crotchet, the absence of any sign of
duration implying that a numeral is equal to a whole beat.
Inasmuch as these numerals are used for instruction in the theory of music, yet
cannot be conveniently employed in substitution for the ordinary & variously-shaped
notes with the staff, I consider that an improved numeral-notation, such as the
foregoing is intended briefly to describe, would greatly facilitate the reading of
music, its performance in any key a player may prefer, the learning of tonic
relations & of the theory of music; also that the study of such numeral-notation
would curtail the subsequent study either of my improved staff-notation or of
ordinary music. But I do not claim to be the first to employ a numeral-notation
or numerals for the representation of musical sounds.
I also apply my signs of duration to the series of syllabic notes, do, re, mi, fa,
sol, la & si, and to the lettered series of notes C, D, E, F, G, A & B, in a
manner similar to that explained for numeral-notation.
Generally I consider that the first part of my said improvements constitutes a
system of improved staff-notation which would largely facilitate the reading,
writing & learning of music.
And in order that my said invention may be particularly described & ascertained,
reference is hereby made to the accompanying illustrations.
Fig. 1 illustrates my improved method of indicating the duration of sound or
silence. 1, Fig. 1 indicates 4 beats; 2 indicates 3 beats; 3 indicates 2 beats;
4 indicates one beat; 5 half a beat; 6 one quarter of a beat, & 7 one-eighth of a
beat. When added to the disc (1 Fig. 4) these become the following notes
respectively four-beat-crotchet, three-beat-crotchet, two-beat-crotchet, crotchet,
quaver, semiquaver & demi-semiquaver.
In Fig. 2 other signs of duration are shown, being the special distinctive
characters to represent the fractions one-third, one-sixth & one-twelfth of a beat.
These, when added to the sign of sound (the disc, 1, Fig. 4) become the special
distinctive notes called tierce, semi-tierce & demi-semi-tierce, the use of which
largely enables dotted & tied notes, triplets & time-signatures to be dispensed
with. 1 in Fig. 2 indicating one-third of a beat; 2 one-sixth; & 3 one-twelfth of
a beat.

page_text: In Fig. 3 grouped signs of duration are shown, each group being equivalent to
one beat, in which manner nearly all my improved musical notation (except vocal
music) will generally he written, so as to indicate clearly the incidence of the beat
& accent.
In Fig. 3, 1 indicates two half-beats; 2 four quarter beats; 3 eight one-eighth
beats; 4 three one-third beats 5 & 6 indicate six one-sixth beats in groups of three-
twos & two-threes respectively; & 7, 8 & 9 indicate twelve one-twelfth beats in
three different groupings.
In Fig. 4, 1 indicates "sound," and 2 indicates "silence"; 3 is a horizontal wavy
line indicating the prolongation of a single note or part of a chord to the extent of
one beat or for the remainder of the beat; & 4 is a diagonal wavy line to indicate
the prolongation of the whole of a chord for one beat. "A prolongation of less or
more than one beat is expressed by a sign of given duration without either disc or
circle, said sign giving its value to the last preceding note or rest.
Fig. 5 is an example of ordinary notation; & Fig. 6 illustrates the same example
translated into my improved notation, dispensing with time-signature, dotted notes,
tied notes, bind & the series of characters called rests & with the use of semiquavers
in groups of three.
Fig. 7 is another example of ordinary notation; & Fig. 8 shows the same
example translated into my improved notation dispensing with time-signature,
semibreve, dotted note, tied notes & bind.
In practice I sometimes find it advantageous, chiefly for purposes of tuition, to
give the notes for the left-hand the same position on the staff as is allotted to notes
for music for the right-hand; substituting for the clefs the indications "R.H."
& "L.H.," or using the sign of the treble clef on both staves. But I do not claim
this as part of my invention.
Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 relate to notation without the staff.
In Fig. 9 signs of sound are shown, firstly by means of numerals, secondly by the
do, re, mi series, & thirdly by the lettered names of notes. "Do" may of course start
from C or any other note. I do not however claim this as part of my invention,
but only the combination of these various kinds of notes with my signs of
duration.
In Fig. 10, 1 is the zero sign of silence or rest; 2 is the upward sharp sign; and
3 is the downward flat sign, to precede or be drawn through the note affected,
except in the lettered series when the ordinary sharp, flat & natural signs will be
adopted. 4 is the key-mark, as it would be placed at the beginning of a piece
written in numeral-notation in the key of D. 5 is the key-bridge for use with
numerals when the key is changed in the text, say from D to G. G above the
oblong is the name of the coming key. The upper numeral 6 is the coming note 3
in the new key, but expressed in relation to its old key. The lower numeral is 4 of
the old key, which, becoming the new key-note is equal to 1. In transposing at
sight the Gabove the oblong must be disregarded, & the change is read by the
numerals only, which remain the same whether the music be played as it is
written or otherwise. In the do, re, mi & lettered notations use a similar
arrangement.
In Fig. 11 the relative octave signs of position are shown. 4 is a cross for the
central octave ranging upward from the selected key-note which lies nearest to the
middle C. The octaves above & below the relative central octave are represented
by curved signs; 3 representing one octave below, 2 two octaves & 3 three octaves;
and 5 represents one octave above, 6 two octaves & 7 three octaves above the
central. These octave signs of position may apply to their respective sections of
the key-board, but preferably to the various octaves in relation to the central key-.
note, as explained above. A sign of position is placed as occasion may require &
generally by the first note of each bar. Position is sometimes shown by a numeral
being placed above or below the general rank of numerals, in accordance with the
upward or downward progression of the melody.
In practice I find that, owing to the frequent recurrence of the unit of

page_text: duration, viz., one beat, its sign need not be placed over the signs of sound & silence
in the three notations without the staff.
Fig. 12 is an example of numerical notation.
Fig. 13 is an example of do, re, mi notation.
Fig. 14 is an example of notation by letters.
I wish it to be understood that any other method of performing my invention or
any part thereof may be adopted by varying the details, so long as the nature or
distinctive character of my invention or any part thereof be retained; & I would
remark that the printing or representation on paper or other material of my
improved notation or symbolizing of musical sounds, may be effected by the
processes ordinarily employed such as lithographing, manuscript writing, or in any
convenient manner, & that I believe music so written & represented may be read
& learnt with greater facility than if printed or represented in the ordinary
manner; and I also wish it to be understood that the use of special & distinctive
characters for the fractions one-third, one-sixth & one-twelfth can be applied to
corresponding fractions of notes in existing musical notation.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The several & respective improvements in musical notation, or symbolizing musical
sounds & indicating time & duration, substantially as hereinbefore described &
illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 of the drawings.
A
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