IMPROVEMENTS IN VIOLINS
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Daniel Semple at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
November 1873.
I, DANIEL SEMPLE, of New Monkland, Airdrie, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of my said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VIOLINS," to be as follows :—
My Invention relates to an improved construction of the finger-board
of violins, and consists in making the finger-board with projecting
points, which assist the fingers by the sense of touch. in. the correct
stopping of the notes on the strings and finger-board of the violins, and,
as the points advance near the bridge they may be placed so as to take.
the whole tones, leaving the semi-tones without points.
The Drawing accompanying this Provisional Specification has been
carefully marked with dots where the notes are to be taken on the
strings by the assistance of a pair patent chromatic tuning forks, the
scale being accurately divided on mathematical principles, but the
principal object to be noticed here is the projecting points and where
they are to be placed. They are intended to be easily felt by the inner
.

page_text: part of the fingers and to act as a guide in feeling them and stopping
the notes on the strings correctly both at one and the same instant.
The projecting points must be fixed neither too high nor too low on the
finger-board, but so placed that the fingers will easily feel them without
the least impediment and slide over them up or down upon the string.
The distance between these points will be made to form a convenient
notch for the fingers to feel where to stop the notes correctly on the
strings. By this convenient notch or guide being fixed parallel with the
strings the sense of touch by the fingers feeling them when pressed upon
the string is brought to assist the sense of hearing when the notes are
correctly played; still the ear must be the principal guide in violin
playing. By these projecting points being fixed into the finger-board
the fingers will have to perform two things at the same time, videlicit,
to press the string and feel the projecting points which are to guide the
finger where to stop the notes correctly. There are only three strings
here to be supplied with the projecting points, as the inner part of the
fingers are intended to feel these when pressing on the fourth, the third,
and the second strings, the first string will be taken by the finger feeling
on the outer part or the opposite side of the finger equally well as the
inner part in stopping the notes correctly.
The finger-board is by preference fluted, so that the string may not be
on the same level as the projecting points, and not be so near to touch
or interfere with the strings when playing as they would be on the
common finger-board. The fluting also prevents the strings from sliding
from one side of the finger-board to the other, whichever way pressed.
The depth of the fluting allows also of the projecting points being
placed parallel with the strings and at a proper distance from the
strings.
The projecting points may be made of iron or silver wire or other wire
of a proper thickness bended into two closely together so as to form a
nice oval point not likely to hurt the fingers when pressed upon; or the
points may be made of any suitable metal or material.