Improved Fingering Device for Guitars and other Stringed Instruments.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 4th June, 1890-Accepted. 2nd Aug., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Fingering Device for Guitars and other Stringed
Instruments.
I, WILLIAM WILSON HORN, of the Firm of Horn & Son, of 151 Strand, London,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention (a communication to me from abroad by William E. Page and Edward
Foster Swift, both of Kansas City, Mexico, U.S.A. Gentlemen) to be as follows:-
This my invention relates to an improved attachment for stringed instruments for
fretting chords.
I provide a light frame having set screws for clamping it to the neck of the instru-
ment. Suitable standards are secured to one side of the frame and have pivoted to
the upper ends thereof suitable keys or dampers. Depending guide-pins are pivoted
to the keys or dampers and operate in sockets at the opposite side of the frame.
Suitable springs are coiled on the said guide-pins to normally hold the free ends of the
keys or dampers elevated. The key dampers or levers are provided with depending
forked presser-fingers to engage and depress the respective strings. Each of the
key levers is provided with a small tablet or finger-piece whereby the lever may be
conveniently depressed. A suitable thumb-hold is secured to the said frame and
is provided at its free end with a ring or loop to receive the thumb of the
performer.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Fingering Device for Guitars and other Stringed
Instruments.
I, WILLIAM WILSON HORN, of the Firm of Horn & Son, of 151 Strand, London,
in the County of Middlesex. Patent Agent, (a communication to me from abroad by
William E. Page and Edward Foster Swift, both of Kansas City, Mexico, United
States of America, Gentlemen) 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 relates to a fingering attachment for stringed instruments, by means
of which the strings may be fretted without pressing the fingers directly thereon and
without the fingers coming in contact therewith.
It is my object to provide a simple device which may be readily and quickly
attached to or removed from the neck of a guitar, banjo, or other stringed instru-
ment, and which when in place, will nable two or more strings to be fretted
simultaneously by a single pressure of the finger, whereby chords may be more casily
played than when each string must be fretted by a different finger.
In the drawings, in which my attachment is shown applied to a guitar, Figuro 1
is a plan view, and Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line
Figure 1.
of
The drawings show only the head and the portion of the neck of the guitar in the
first figure, on which are arranged the strings bb, in the ordinary or any preferred
manner, and the attachment is secured to the neck of the instrument over the
strings.
The frame upon which the keys or dampers A A are mounted consists of side
bars CC, which lie parallel with the opposite sides of the neck of the instrument and
carry set-screws a a to impinge against the neck, and the end bars CC, which

page_text: connect th extremities of the side bars, and are arched to extend over the strings.
By means of the said sei-screws the frame carrying the keys may be readily secured
to and removed from the instrument.
In vertical threaded sockets e in one of the side bars Care fitted the lower
threaded ends of standards D D, to the upper ends of which are pivoted the ends of
the levers B of the finger-keys A A, above referred to. These levers are bent down-
ward or provided with an offset at to bring the keys into a position to be more
easily pressed by the fingers of the performer, and they are provided near the said
offsets with depending guide-pins G, which fit and operate loosely in sockets e e in
the adjacent side bar of the frame. On the said guide-pins are coiled the springs G
which hear at their lower ends on the upper surface af the side bar and at their upper
ends against projections on the pin, whereby the free ends of the levers are normally
held in their elevated positions. These lovers carry presser fingers F F which are
forked at their lower ends, as seen at ", to straddle and bear on the strings bb, as
shown clearly in Figure 2 of the drawings, whereby when one of the keys is depressed
by the finger of the operator each finger, which is carried by the lever of the said
key, depresses a string into contact with one of the frets It will be seen that
these presser-fingers are arranged close to the frets, so as to hold the string closely in
contact therewith when a key is depressed. It will be understood that by properly
arranging these presser-fingers any desired chord containing any number of notes,
from two up, can be played, and in order to facilitate the arrangement of said presser-
fingers they are affixed or formed integral with the arm and B', which are
extended laterally from the levers of the keys or dampers.
:
In order to give the performer a secure hold of the instrument while playing, I
provide a thumb-hold H, which extends from one side of the frame down beneath the
neck to about its centre. Through the ring or loop on the extremity of the thumb-
hold the thumb of the performer is placed.
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. An attachment for stringed instruments for fretting chords, for carrying keys or
dampers having laterally-projecting arms provided with two or more presser-fingers
to simultaneously engage and depress the strings, substantially as specified.
2. An attachment for stringed instruments having a frame provided with set-screws
for clamping the same to the neck of an instrument and carrying keys or dampers,
and having laterally-projecting arms provided with a series of presser-fingers to
engage the strings, substantially as specified.
3. The combination with a guitar, banjo, or other stringed instrument having frets,
of pivoted keys or dampers having their levers provided with depending forked
presser-fingers to engage and depress the strings, substantially as specified.
4. In an attachment for stringed instruments, the combination with a suitable
frame adapted to be clamped on the instrument, of the keys or dampers having levers
which are pivoted to the frame and are provided with depending guide-pins operating
in sockets in the frame and embraced by coiled springs which normally hold the said
keys or dampers elevated, substantially as specified.
5. In an attachment for stringed instruments, the combination with a frame
carrying clamping-screws, of the keys or dampers pivoted to the frame and provided
with operating springs to normally hold their free ends elevated, said keys or dampers
being provided near their free ends with offsets 6', substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
6. In an attachment for stringed instruments, the combination, with a frame
provided with clamping devices, of the standards secured to one side of the frame, the
keys or dampers pivoted to the upper ends of said standards, the depending guide-
pins pivoted to the keys or dampers and operating in sockets in the opposite side of
the frame, and the springs coiled on the said guide-pins to normally hold the free
ends of the keys or dampers elevated, substantially as specified.

page_text: 7. In an attachment for stringed instruments, the combination, with a frame
provided with clamping devices and carrying keys or dampers to engage the strings
of the instrument, of the thumb-hold H, secured to the said frame and provided at
its free end with a ring or loop to receive the thumb of the performer, substantially as
specified.
8. An attachment for stringed instruments, having a frame carrying keys or
dampers, the free ends of which are arranged close together in series at one side of
the neck of the instrument and are provided with depending offsets &¹ to bring said
free onds below the plane of the strings, and the arms carried by said keys or
dampers and provided with presser-fingers to engage the strings, substantially as
specified.
Dated this 4th day of June 1890
HORN & SON,
Applicant's Agents.