An Improved Appliance for Teaching Musical Signatures.
Year: 1884

page_text: An Improved Appliance for Teaching Musical Signatures.
I, ELIJAH THEOPHILUS GREGORY of Number 49, forty nine, Hanover Gardens :
in the parish of Saint Mark, Kennington, S.E Schoolmaster, do hereby declare.
the nature of my invention for AN IMPROVED APPLIANCE FOR TEACHING MUSICAL
SIGNATURES to be as follows:-
c
A square or disc containing the names of all the notes of music, sharp flat and
natural with the intervals between them, and a second disc or circle carrying the
syllabic names of the notes of the scale The discs to be of paper, cardboard wood
china metal or other material, and one disc revolving on the other by means of a
pivot shews the sharps or flats required.
Dated this 13th day of November 1884

page_text: to Dp a tone-and-a-half Do to E sharpened from its normal condition ie to E
forms the distinguishing note and a semi tone from En to F completes the Minor
.Scale.
For convenience of turning the central disc may be either larger or smaller than
the outer discs which may be alike in size which may be alike in size.
The Explainer may be constructed in any shape size or material and may be
formed in relief for the use of the blind. The discs may be fastened together with
buttons rivets eyelets or other convenient fastening and may be made to rotate
either by hand rack screw crank handle or other applianco.
THE METHOD of using the Scale EXPLAINER.
1. As described above the Scale Explainer gives the form of the Major Scale on
the one side and of the Minor Scale on the other side together with the intervals
between the notes as tone semi tone &c and also the absolute names of the notes
themselves. Every scale must consist of every letter A BUDEF and G either
sharp flat or natural once only except the tonic which is repeated to complete the
octave The Major scale is composed of tone tone semi tone tone tone tone and
semi tone and the Minor of tone semi tone tone tone semi tone tone-and-a-half,
semi tone. Of course this represents the modern Minor as being at once the most
generally accepted form and also the only Minor containing the same notes both in
ascending and descending but with this Explainer any teacher will find no difficulty
in teaching any form of the minor that is preferred.
2. The number of flats or sharps in a piece of music being given this Invention
serves to ascertain the name of the Scale and gives the absolute names of the notes.
For instance suppose we have a piece of music in six sharps We take the Major
side of the Explainer and turn it till we get six sharps shewn in the largest orifice
that of the Tonic or Do. [In practice it will be found preferable to enumerate the
various scales as shewn round B. this will save time in looking for signatures For
instance we should simply look at Scales with Sharps and count G. DA. E. B.
F=
six] We find that it is either F Major or D Minor and turning over to
D Minor we see C x to be the distinguishing note If we find that note in the
piece the piece is Minor or that part at any rate where C × occurs but otherwise it
is Major.
3. The Invention also shews accurately any Interval-Major, Minor, diminished
Augmented or extreme For all that we have to remember is that all intervals are
reckoned upwards, that both notes are counted, that all intervals from the Major
Tonic are Major Intervals and all to the Tonic are Minor also that all from the
Minor Tonic (except the second ninth and other octaves which are major) are
Minor Intervals.
A Major interval has one semi tone more than a Minor of the same name.
An Augmented has one more than a Major.
An Extreme
A diminished
one
"
"
"
"
one less
33
Augmented.
Minor.
Some writers prefer to call firsts fourths fifths and octaves unison just or perfect,
instead of Major & unjust or imperfect instead of Minor.
To take the Explainer we ascertain the Major and Minor Intervals by inspection
and remember that an Augmented contains one semi tone more than a Major an
Extreme two more and a diminished two less than the Major.
Note, that an Interval does not depend on the sound but on the names of the
notes for example Gp to A‡ is extreme second but F to Gb is a Minor Fourth.
4. To construct any Interval as for instance a diminished Fifth on G+
Remembering that a diminished interval is a semi tone less than a Minor we
take the Minor side of the Explainer & find the key of G Minor Dis
the Minor Fifth then D is a diminished.
To construct an Augmented or Extreme we should have to take a semi tone
above that on which the interval is to be constructed as for example an Augmented

page_text: fourth on Ab. Here take A on Major side and we find the fourth to be D then D
is Augmented fourth on Ab and Dt would be the Extreme.
5. The relative Minor of any Major scale or vice versa is found on the Major side
of the Explainer without a possibility of mistake For instance it is required to
know the relative Minor of A turn to A and we find it marked "A Major"
"F# Minor."
6. The Invention shews only one thing at a time, as for example a Major scale,
or a Minor scale so that the pupil is not confused by complicated tables.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that 1
what I claim is
The construction of an improved appliance for teaching musical signatures, by
shewing the absolute notes to be used in their formation substantially as herein-
before described and represented.