IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OF MEANS FOR FACI- LITATING THE PERFORMANCE OF CHURCH AND OTHER MUSIC ON ORGANS, HAR- MONIUMS, PIANOS, AND OTHER SIMILAR KEYED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OF MEANS FOR FACI-
LITATING THE PERFORMANCE OF CHURCH AND OTHER MUSIC ON ORGANS, HAR-
MONIUMS, PIANOS, AND OTHER SIMILAR KEYED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS."—A
communication from Francois Guichené.
Sealed the 27th June 1856, and dated the 3rd January 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on, the
3rd January 1856.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MEANS FOR
FACILITATING THE PERFORMANCE OF CHURCH AND OTHER MUSIC ON ORGANS, HAR-
MONIUMS, PIANOS, AND OTHER SIMILAR KEYED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," a commu-
nication from Francois Guichené, a foreigner resident abroad, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
apparatus to be fitted over the keys of an organ, harmonium, piano, or other

page_text: similar keyed instrument, whereby any performer who is capable only of reading
or playing one note at a time may, by depressing such notes singly, produce
any of the chords or harmonies required in church music or in the performance
of other musical pieces. The apparatus consists of a square frame, which is
placed vertically over the keys of the instruments to be played upon. This
frame is fitted with a number of horizontal bars of wood or other suitable
material, placed one above the other, and moving vertically in the frame.
Through each of these horizontal bars are passed loosely a series of vertical
rols or wires, having small stop pins passed transversely through them at certain
places for the purpose herein-after described. These rods or wires project
through the lower side of the frame, and rest with their lower ends upon the
several keys of the organ, if that be the instrument to be played. Imme-
diately behind the horizontal moveablo bars are arranged a number of vertical
bars attached to or suspended at their upper ends to spiral or other springs,
whilst their lower extremities are connected to a set of keys which are fitted
into the apparatus, and which are to be operated upon by the performer.
These, vertical bars are each connected with one of the horizontal bars. by con-
necting rods and suitable attachments, so that on depressing any one of the
keys in the apparatus, the corresponding vertical bar will be simultaneously
lowered, bringing down with it the horizontal bar attached to it, which will in
its descent depress a certain number of the rods or wires, according to the
arrangement of the stops or small transverse pins in such wires. .As those rods
or wires correspond with the keys of the organ, it follows that all those keys
will be depressed which.correspond to the depressed rods or wires' of the appa-
ratus, thus producing the chord in harmony with the single note or key which
has been depressed by the single finger of the performer. When the key is
released, the vertical bar is drawn up by its spring, and the whole mechanism
resumes its original position again.
The apparatus may of course be-modified considerably in size, so as to admit
of being played upon by two hands, if desirable; and by simply moving it to
one side
or the other over the key board of the instrument, it may be made
to transpose a piece by playing it either in a higher or lower key, according
to the position of the apparatus...

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd July 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date. the Third day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant. unto me,
the said John Henry Johnson; Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time, agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all tinies
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE PERFORMANCE OF
CHURCH AND OTHER MUSIC ON ORGANS, HARMONIUMS, PIANOS, AND OTHER SIMILAR
KEYED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS," a communication from Francois Guichenè,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performned, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following.
statement, reference being bad to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
apparatus to be fitted over the keys of an organ, harmonium, piano, or other
similar keyed instrument,, whereby when a single key is struck the notes which,
are chords of the note represented by the key will be sounded also, so as to
produce musical harmony. The apparatus consists of a square frame, which
This
is placed vertically over the keys of the instrument to be played upon.
franie is fitted with a number of horizontal bars of wood or other suitable
T S

page_text: material placed one above the other, and moving vertically on hinges in the
frame. Through or in front of each of these horizontal bars are passed loosely
a series of vertical rods or wires, having small stop pins passed transversely
through them at certain places for the purpose herein-after described. These
rods or wires project through the lower side of the frame, and rest with their
lower ends upon the several keys of the organ, if that be the instrument to be
played. Immediately in front of the horizontal moveable bars is arranged a
number of vertical bars attached to or suspended at their upper ends to spiral
or other springs, whilst their lower extremities are connected to a set of keys
which are fitted into the apparatus, and which are to be operated upon by the
performer. These vertical bars are each connected with one of the horizontal
bars by connecting rods or pins and suitable attachments, so that on depressing
any one of the keys in the apparatus, the corresponding vertical bar will be
simultaneously lowered, bringing down with it the horizontal bar attached to
it, which will in its descent depress à certain number of the rods or wires,
according to the arrangement of the stops or small transverse pins in such
wires. As these rods or wires correspond with the keys of the organ, it follows
that all those keys will be depressed which correspond to the depressed rods or
wires of the apparatus, thus producing the chord in harmony with the single
note or key which has been depressed by the single finger of the performer.
When the key is released, the vertical bar is drawn up by its spring, and the
whole mechanism resumes its original position. The apparatus may of course
be modified considerably in size, so as to admit of being played upon by two
hands, if desirable; and by simply moving it to one side or the other over the
key board of the instrument, it may be made to transpose a piece by playing it
either in a higher or lower key, according to the position of the apparatus.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe. the same; and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed; the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the apparatus, from
which the outer covor has been removed in order to show the internal
mechanism Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the same, taken along the
line 1, 2; Figure 8 is a transverse vertical section, taken through the line 3, 4;
and Figure 4 is an external elevation of a portion of the apparatus at the
key-board.
This apparatus is composed of a case or frame A, in the interior of which is
arranged a vertical row of horizontal bars a, furnished with hinges a¹. Each:

page_text: of these bars carries a metal arm or pin m, having an eye at the extremity,
through which eye is passed a vertical rod c; suspended from above by a
spring d. Each bar a has a corresponding rod c in front of it, and the end of
the arm m of each bar' projects between two small washers or collars n fixed
on the corresponding rod c, so that each descending or ascending movement of
the rod c causes its corresponding bar a to oscillate upwards or downwards on
its hinges or pivots a' at each extremity.
.
The lower end of each of the rods c is attached to one of the keys of the
apparatus, which I term a symphonista. The number of these keys is 26, a
number which I think sufficient, as it comprises two complete octaves, together.
with their semi-tones. Thus, if a.key.B is depressed,. the corresponding bar a
is simultaneously lowered, that is, it is caused to oscillate on its hinge. or pivot
at a¹.
In front of the bars a is a range of vertical rods 6, the extremity of
each of which rests upon one of the keys of the pianoforte or organ, to
which the symphonista is applied. These rods carry each of them a
small pin o,. by means of which they are caused to descend when pressed
by one or other of the horizontal bars a. These pins are so arranged
that they depress at the same time all those rods which are required to
produce the chords. By pressing one of the keys B of the symphonista,
the corresponding perpendicular rod c is lowered, forcing the spring d' to
give way, and causing its corresponding transverse bar a to move down-
wards, or turn partly on its centres a³, and encounter the pins of those
rods b, which correspond to the notes forming the chord to which the key
corresponds; when the finger is removed, the spring raises the perpendicular
rod c, and the rest of the mechanism resumes its original position. Thus, by
the pressure only of one key an arrangement of rods is put in motion, which
can so act upon the mechanism of an orgau that the notes composing the
chord of the note struck are simultaneously struck in the same way that they
would be depressed by a musician with his fingers, with this difference, that in
the latter case the number of notes producing the chord is limited by that of
the fingers of the performer, whilst in the former case the bar a may act
upon any number of notes, thus increasing the power of the instrument to an
indefinite extent. This apparatus may be applied to any organ or harmonium
by means of two supports, whilst the use of the ordinary key-board is not thereby
prevented. With this mechanism the transposition of a piece from one key to
another is simple and easy, it being only necessary to displace the symphonista
to the right or the left a certain number of notes, representing a certain
number of semi-tones, whereby a similar movement of the rods is effected. To
.

page_text: allow of this change being effected the symphonista is furnished with friction
rollers p, rolling: on. a. bar P fixed to the organ or piano. A lever Q, drawn in
red lines on. Figure 3, stops the instrument when necessary by engaging in the
teeth of a small fixed rack R. The lever Q is jointed to'a rod q, the upper
extremity of which is furnished with an arm r; this arm is fixed under a cross
piece S, oscillating like the bars a on fixed.centres. This cross piece projects
under a pin s, with which each rod 6 is furnished. The result of this is that
when the lever Q is raised to disengage and remove the apparatus, all the rods
.are. raised in order to disengage them from the small metal bearing pieces b',
by which they act.upon the keys. These rods fall back again when the lover
is released into. their places on the keys. The combination of pins. which pro-
duces the simultaneous.action of a certain number of rods upon the mechanism
of the organ can be varied according to the combinations of chords desired.
These pins should be so disposed that they will produce invariable harmonic
combinations. If holes are drilled along the whole height of the rools, equal
in number to the bars a, the harmonious combinations may be varied by placing
the pins in different holes. Suitable signs or marks of different colors may be
placed.at cach hole, which will enable the pins to be placed in a proper manner.
For example, the pins which are already fixed in all holes having a red
.mark can be removed and placed in. those having a blue mark, and so on.
I have also invented an arrangement, by which, by means of fixed pins, two
or even four different sets of chords can be obtained.
Figures 5 and 6 represent respectively in vertical and horizontal sections a
portion of an apparatus of this description for two sets of chords; Figures 7
and 8 represent similar views of an apparatus of four systems or sets of chords.
In the first arrangement, Figures 5 and 6, it will will be seen that the bars a
are double, that is to say, their width is double, and their hinges or pivots are
placed in the centre of their width, so that when the front portion of the
bars is lowered, the back part is raised. These bars a are. also furnished with
levers or arms m, which are connected with the vertical rods c fastened at the
'lower end to the keys of the symphonista.
There are two ranges of rods 6 and 6', situated the one in front, the other
behind the bars a; the rods balone however are in contact with the notes of
the key-board. The rods of cach range carry pins o, o, arranged according to
different systems of harmony. The bars a are not made large enough to act
at the same time upon the pins of both systems. These bars are mounted
upon a moveable framework M. When the arrangement of pins o is
required for use, the framework is left in the position shewn at Figure 5,
and. the apparatus works in a similar manner to that of Figure 3, but

page_text: if it is necessary to alter the arrangement, the frame M is pushed forward.
The bars a then act on the pins o', at the same time raising.the rods b',.and.as
they are attached to the levers N oscillating at x, and which are:connected
with the rods b, these last are caused to descend, but in a different-system of
harmony.
The arrangement with four systems is similar to the preceeding, with this
difference, that the bars a are indented or notched, as is shewn at Figure 8.
Each rod b and 6', occupies the space of a tooth and an interval, and is wide
enough to carry two pins side by side, if the two harmonious arrangements
both require a pin at this part. Thus as the rods b, as well as the. rods b',
carry two sets of pins, they will produce in all four sets of chords or systems
of harmony. The pins of. the arrangement required-for-action -are, placed
opposite the teeth of the bars a, and the pins, not required for action are
placed opposite the intervals or spaces. It is thus simply necessary to displace
the frame M laterally to an extent equal to the thickness of one of the teeth
of the bars a, in order to pass from one system to another; to pass to a
third, it is merely necessary to push the frame forward, as in the former case,
and a second lateral displacement will effect a change to the fourth system.
Each arrangement for an instrument of 26 keys allows of 39 different chords
being struck. It can also be applied to the system of simple antiphony, by so
placing the pins of the rods that they will only lower consonant notes at tho
same time, but then it is necessary that the instrument should be played upon
by a musician who is able either to strike the old chord with three fingers, or
the new one with four. It is also possible, by a similar arrangement of the
pins, to enable the apparatus to produce discords.
In both cases it is only necessary to arrange the pins in a suitable manner,
and to glue upon the indicating table a second list of instructions. The
musiciau may also, if desirable, make use of the old key-board for ordinary
purposes, reserving the new for grand movements and finales. Simple
directions for guiding any one ignorant of music may be inscribed on the
framework below the key-board.
I
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from
the principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider to
be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited. Letters Patent, is,-

page_text: First, the general construction an arrangement of apparatus for facilitating
the performance of music on organs, pianos, and other similar keyed musical
instruments, as herein-before described.
Second, the peculiar arrangements of rods and horizontal bars, whereby on
the striking of any single key certain chords of the note so struck will be pro-
duced, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or node of changing the systems or sets of chords, as
herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of transposing or performing a piece of music
in a higher or lower key to that in which it is written, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Third day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-six.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)