Improvements in or relating to Musical Instruments and Musical Notation for the same.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Musical Instruments and Musical
Notation for the same.
I, ANTON RICHARD BREINL, of Graslitz, Kingdom of Bohemia, Empire of Germany,
Manufacturer of Musical Toys, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The present invention relates to new musical instruments especially adapted for
children and consists chiefly, of a number of bells, tubes or sounding devices tuned
to certain notes or scales. This instrument not only affords great amusement, but
is also useful for teaching purposes as by its use children learn to read music by the
use of a specially devised system of notation.
On a foundation plate are secured two columns or supports, the upper ends of
which are connected by a bar. The latter is provided with annular grooves which
are filled up with windings of cotton-threads or the like. The bells tubes or sounding
devices are suspended by means of threads to the rod in such manner that their lugs
enter into the cotton, whereby an efficient insulation of the sound is attained. The
bells are either themselves marked with corresponding notes or letters, or a rail on
which the notes are indicated in letters may be arranged in front of the rod.
The sheet of music is placed on an inclined board or stand having a ledge,
beneath the bells.
The lines of music are arranged in parallel serpentine form and may be marked
with music-notes as well as with letters corresponding to the sounds. But of course
either system of marking may be used alone. In this way the air to be played is
written in the serpentine line, the order in which the bells are to be struck being
indicated by the music being read continuously along the serpentine line.
bells corresponding to given notes are found very easily as the sheet of music
is arranged under the bells in such manner that each note to be played is
written directly under its corresponding bell.
The
The coils of the music serpentine are therefore of different length. If one bell is to
be struck several times consecutively then this sound is marked by the corresponding
letter and by usual music notes repeated the desired number of times. If for
instance the note E is to be repeated three times consecutively the notation is
as follows:-

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Musical Instruments and Musical
Notation for the same.
I, ANTON RICHARD BREINL, of Graslitz, Kingdom of Bohemia, Empire of Germany,
Manufacturer of Musical Toys, 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 :-
The present invention relates to new musical instruments especially adapted
for children and consists chiefly of a number of bells, tubes or sounding devices
tuned to certain notes or scales. This instrument not only affords great amusement,
but is also useful for teaching purposes as by its use children learn to read music by
means of a specially devised system of notation.
In the accompanying drawings the invention is shown in Figure 1 is front
elevation and in Figure 2 in side elevation, Figures 3 and 4 being detail views.
On a foundation plate a are secured two columns or supports b, the upper ends
of which are connected by a bar c. The latter is provided with annular grooves d,
which are filled up with windings of cotton-threads or the like e. The bells tubes
or sounding devices g are suspended by means of threads f to the rod c in such
manner that their lugs enter into the packing e, whereby an efficient insulation
of the sound is attained. The bells g are either themselves marked with correspond-
ing notes or letters, or a rail k on which the notes are indicated in letters may
be arranged in front of the rod c as shown in the drawing.
The sheet of music i is placed on an inclined board or stand h having a
ledge beneath the bells.
The lines of music are arranged in parallel serpentine form and may be marked or
printed with music notes as well as with letters corresponding to the sounds. But
of course either system of marking may be used alone. In this way the air to be
played is written in the serpentine line, the order in which the bells are to be struck
being indicated by the music being read continuously along the serpentine line (in
the direction of the arrow). The bells corresponding to given notes are indicated
and found very easily as the sheet of music is arranged under the bells in such
manner that each note to be played is written directly under its corresponding bell.
The coils of the music serpentine are therefore of different length. If one bell is to
be struck several times consecutively, then this sound is marked by the corresponding
letter and by usual music notes repeated the desired number of times. If for
instance the letter E is to be repeated three times consecutively the notation is as
follows:-
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. A musical instrument consisting of bells, tubes or sounding devices tuned to a
scale or intervals, and arranged in a supporting bar, the ends of lugs of said sounding
devices entering into cotton or similar packing, substantially as described.
2. In combination with a musical instrument of the character described, a sheet
of music having music lines arranged in a continuous serpentine, the notes to be

page_text: played being written under their corresponding bells and marked with letters or
music-notes, or both, substantially as described.
3. A musical instrument consisting of a base carrying vertical supports for a
circumferentially grooved rod, the grooves of which are filled with cotton or similar
packing, tuned bells, tubes or sounding devices being hung in the grooves, in
combination with an inclined table or support for the music sheet substantially as
described.
Dated this 13th day of December 1807