An Appliance to Facilitate Pianoforte Teaching.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Oct., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 3rd July, 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Appliance to Facilitate Pianoforte Teaching.
I PACIFICO TAGLIACOZZO VOLPRIGNANO of 14, May Street Kensington W.
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
By means of a screen placed more or less in front & above the key board of any
instruments having such key-boards, I intend to hide wholly or partially from sight
the keys thereof in order that the pupil while, playing should not be able to look
at the keys, but devote all his or her attention to the written music & the judging by
the ear.
I call my invention the "Para-tasti."
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P. T. VOLPRIGNANO.
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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Appliance to Facilitate Pianoforte Teaching.
I PACIFICO TAGLIACOZZO 'VOLPRIGNANO of 14 May Street Kensington London W.
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:-
"
Hitherto one of the principal difficulties in teaching and learning how to play the
pianoforte well, has been the student's natural tendency to divide the action of
the eyes, between the music paper and 'the keyboard, in search of what notes to put
the fingers on Such a drawback not only retards the accomplishment of the study,
but becoming a constant habit, it annoys both the performer, and the audience; for
very unpleasant it is, often to see even the whole head moving to and from the
music paper, the ultimate result of which being the almost impossibility of any
sight-playing at all.
"
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Something therefore was badly wanted' to interfere in a material form, between the
keyboard and the student's sight, when this invention came forward to provide for it,
in a most positive manner and against the aforesaid common complaint, by furnishing
exactly what was wanted, viz.: "A requisite which combining efficiency with
elegance, screens the keyboard beneath, from the sight of the player who may thus
keep the eyes undisturbed on the music-paper above, whilst the hands run inde-
pendently under the screen on the keyboard of the instrument."
Subjoined is a full description of this invention which I call "Paratasti" from
the Italian words: para "screening and "tasti "-the keys of the keyboard.
Many such screens may be made to answer this same purpose in and of various
shapes, configurations, materials etc.; placed in different way and manners, but as
the principle of the invention is always the same in all its applications, the following
description will suffice for all of them, to ascertain how to proceed in such cases etc.
"I take a fringe or ribbon, flounce, curtain etc. of any material or a combina-
tion of any of them and totally or partially, single or double etc., hang it fixed
or removable on a rod, moulding, frame, wire, rope, cord etc., to be supported either
by brackets or uprights standing on the corresponding blocks at the two extremities
of the keyboard or it may be suspended from the music-stand or the sconces or the
upper part of upright pianos, harmoniums and the like. It may be a fixture on
hinges or otherwise to the instrument or a moveable commodity to be put on for
the occasion and taken away altogether when not wanted. It may also be adjusted
by moving it up and down, forward and backward as required, to screen more or less
of the keys of the keyboard, on which the hands play, partially or totally through
and under the said fringe, curtain, etc.”

page_text: To more clearly show how this invention is to be applied to the instrument, I accom-
pany this description with the drawing of only a couple of the aforesaid appliances,
whereby :
a-Is a pianoforte with the music-paper in its proper place. (parted lines).
Is a screen suspended from the upper part of the instrument, to cover with its
fringe only a few octaves.
c-Is another screen-standing on its own uprights d: d. and intending to cover
with its fringe all the octaves of the keyboard when in its proper place to rest on
the corresponding blocks E. at the two extremities of the keyboard; which screen. C,
when not in use, as now shown on the top of the piano, is an. ornament to. it, and to
cover the music books if there were any.
Several advantages will be derived by and from this invention; the following
however are the principal: 1st. The student having no opportunity of looking at the
keyboard, suffers no distraction from the music-paper. 2ly. Tho constant practise
of listening keenly for the purpose of judging the correctness of the sounds and
notes, trains the ear and improves it so, as to enable it to detect the most subtle
dissonance, what the Italians call: "Orecchio intonato." 3ly. The hands by the
constant independence and freedom acquire such a feeling of security and fearless
daring that enables them to run on the notes of the keyboard automatically at the
same speed as the eyes read them on the music-paper. 4ly. Hence the student
becomes a good "reader and player at sight," thus enabling him or her to devote all
his or her attention to the expression and the aesthetical part of the composition.
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 :
The total or partial screening of keyboards either by fringes or curtains etc., or
both, fixed or removeable etc., as hereabove duly specified, or otherwise arranged.
Dated this Third day of July 1890.
P. T. VOLPRIGNANO.