Improvements in Musical Notation.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Aug., 1892-Accepted, 26th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Musical Notation.
I MARY ANN COOPER, Beethoven Villa, 19 Forest Road East, Nottingham,
Professor of Music, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
To abolish all flats, sharps, double flats, double sharps, and naturals which are
now used to contradict them. To provide a new system of the present scales, and
to abolish the figured basses, augmented and diminished intervals now used in
harmony, and to provide an improved system of writing thorough bass and
modulation.
Instead of employing different names to the lines of the treble and bass staves
I propose to use the same alphabetical names to the lines of both staves.
The treble stave of five lines to have a new clef signature and be suitable for
all treble voices, all orchestral treble instruments, and the right hand part for the
organ, harp and piano.
Likewise the bass stave of five lines to have a new clef signature and be suitable
for all bass voices, all orchestral bass instruments and the left hand part of the
piano, harp, and the left hand and pedal part of the organ.
When notes have to be played one or two octaves higher than written in the
treble stave I propose to use the figures and initial letters 1. O. H. to indicate
one octave higher, 1 and 2. O. H. to indicate one and two octaves higher, and 2
and 3. O. H. to indicate two and three octaves higher.
When notes have to be played one or two octaves lower than written in the bass
staves I propose to use the figures and initial letters 1. O. L. to indicate one octave
lower, 1 and 2. O. L. to indicate one and two octaves lower, 2 and 3. O. L. to
indicate two and three octaves lower.
If single notes are written and octaves are intended to be played in either cleft,
I propose to use the initial letters O. S.
The above described improvements may without any difficulty be applied to all
voices, all orchestral instruments, as well as to the organ, harp and piano.
Any existing compositions of music no matter how difficult may be transposed
according to the improvements above described. And the system of harmony
now in use may be applied to the above improvements by transposing certain parts
of it.
For instance all minor, major, perfect, imperfect, augmented, diminished, and
inverted intervals, and figured basses, but using the figures that are now in use
only.
In place of the sign of the turn, to write in small notes what is intended to be
played for the same.
The sign for the shake or trill to remain as now in use, but to write a small note
intended to be played with the given note of the shape or trill.
The keys which now represent three sounds by the above described improvements
will only represent one sound.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1891.
H. W. GOUGH, C.E.,
Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Musical Notation.
1 MARY ANN COOPER, Beethoven Villa, 19 Forest Road, East, Nottingham,
Professor of Music, 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 :-
In order to illustrate my invention Figure 1 will show my new clef signatures;
Figure 2 will show my new chromatic scale, which enables me to abolish all flats, sharps,
double flats, double sharps and naturals which are now used to contradict them
in order to make my plan easy to understand, I wish it to be understood, that I
have reduced the present flats and sharps to five sharps; which are represented by
space notes, on the staves and legers below and above; the said space notes
represent the following black keys on the pianoforte C. D. F. G. and A. sharps,
all through the keyboard, both ascending and descending; the notes on the lines on
the staves and legers below and above represent the following white keys on the
pianoforte C. D. E. F. G. A. and B. all through the keyboard, both ascending and
descending. When transposing existing compositions to my new plan, for D. flat
I write C. sharp, for E. flat I write D. sharp, for F. flat I write E. natural,
for E. sharp I write F. natural, for F double sharp I write G natural, for A double
flat I write G natural; and the same method with the others. This my new scale
has only one name for each note it represents on the pianoforte, with my new plan
I have strictly endeavoured to avoid having two names for one thing.
Figure 1. shows the new clef signatures, initial letter T. indicates treble, initial
letter C indicates clef, initial letter B. indicates bass, initial letter C. indicates clef.
Figure 2. shows the new chromatic scale of 4 octaves, ascending and descending
by sharps, which will hereafter be called spaces, because space notes represent
them, so that every space note is a sharp.
It will be seen in Figure 2. that the leger notes above the stave in the treble
clef, commence a sixth below the scale now in use, which is very favourable for
writing an octave lower, as from middle C, and placing the initials 1. O. H. over
them, the same applies to the leger notes below the bass stave.
I wish it to be understood that when notes are desired to be played higher than
written, the figures and initial letters 1. O. H. 1 and 2. O. H. or 2. and 3. O. H.
must be written above the stave; and when notes are desired to be played lower
than written the figures and initial letters 1. O. L. 1 and 2. O. L. or 2. and 3. O. L.
must be written below the stave; in organ, harp, or pianoforte music, when notes
are desired to be played higher or lower at the same time with both hands, the
figures and initial letters must be written between the treble and bass staves; in
all cases a line must be made to the end of where the notes are desired to be
played higher or lower than written. If single notes are written and octaves are
intended to be played in either clefs, I write the initial letter O, if more than
1. octave O. S. (octaves), and draw a line to the end of where the single notes are
desired to be played in octaves, if the octave is desired to be played higher than
the note, I write the initials above the note, if lower I write the initial below the
note.
If any of the following letters C. D. E. F. G. A. B. are written over or under
in any part of a chord or arpeggio, the note which is the same name as the letter is
played at the pitch the letter shows, if the note is intended for a space note the
initial letter S. is written near the letter intended for the note; the above method
of writing will be seen in Figure 5 of the scales, also in Figure 6 of the transposition
of the first movement of Sonata Pathetique Beethoven, and if when transposing
existing compositions to my new plan, or writing new compositions, the above

page_text: method is adapted, it will be found that few leger notes will be needed, and still
less in vocal and orchestral music.
Figure 3. shows the new chromatic scale of 4 octaves ascending, for treble voices
and treble orchestral instruments.
Figure 4. shows the new chromatic scale of 4 octaves ascending, for bass voices
and bass orchestral instruments.
Figure 5. shows a new system of the present scales now used, I have reduced the
number now used to 24. 12. major and 12. minor, and have written them in
chromatic order, counted upwards from middle C. It will be seen by the key.
signature that I have written No. 1. C. major, No. 2. C. minor, No. 3. C space
major, No. 4. C. space minor, and so on to the end of 1. octave of the chromatic
scale; then I have written 2 octaves of the chromatic scale, also 1 of my own arrange-
ment of the scales; I have written them all for both hands for the pianoforte, and
given 2 octaves ascending and 2 octaves descending in all the scales. It will be
observed that some of my new scales do not follow in the same alphabetical order
as the scales now used, but they are written as they are played; it will also be
observed that the 3rd notes in the 3 minor scales C. F. and G. appear different to
those now used, for instance, in the scale of C. minor, the 3rd note appears as
D. space, but in the scale of C. minor now used the 3rd note appears as E. flat, but
as E. flat, and D. space in my new scale are both the same note, the D. space in
my new scale answers just the same purpose; the same is applied to the minor
scales of F. and G.
Figure 6. shows a transposition of the first movement of Sonata Pathetique
Beethoven, op. 13. No. 8. in C. minor, transposed from a printed edition of Paure's,
vol. 1. containing the complete 38 sonatas. London Augener and Co., price 6/- net.
Figure 7. shows a table of diatonic and chromatic intervals, counted upwards
from middle C. with the number of semitones, Figure 7. also shows a transposition
of the above table of diatonic and chromatic intervals.
I have written 12 tables of minor and major intervals, in chromatic order and
counted upwards from every note in the chromatic scale in chromatic order,
commencing from middle C. with the number of semitones in each interval; I have
also written 12 other tables of the same minor and major intervals, inverted; and
written in chromatic order and counted upwards from every note in the chromatic
scale, in chromatic order, commencing from middle C. I shall only give here 2.
tables in Figure 8. and 1. table in Figure 9. which will show how I intend
them to be written, and will also show that I have abolished all augmented and
diminished intervals; I have also abolished the names tonic, super-tonic, mediant,
sub-dominant, dominant, sub-mediant, leading-note, and propose to give an octave
commencing from any key note in the chromatic scale, the only names of 1st, 2nd.
3rd. 4th. 5th. 6th. 7th. and 8th. the 9th. 10th. 11th. 12th. and 13th. are repetitions
of the 2nd. 3rd. 4th. 5th, and 6th.
Figure 8. shows the 1st. and 2nd. of 12. tables of minor and major intervals
written in chromatic order, commencing from middle C. with the number of semi-
tones in each interval; the first table counted upwards from middle C. the second
table counted upwards from C. space.
Figure 9 shows the 1st. of 12. tables of minor and major intervals, inverted, and
written in chromatic order and counted upwards from every note in the chromatic
scale, in chromatic order commencing from middle C.
6
As I have abolished figured basses for the one purpose of avoiding two meanings
for one thing, I propose to do so for another purpose, which is to let the lowest bass
note wherever it moves be considered fundamental. Take for instance the
common chord of C major and by raising the bass one and two thirds to E. and G.
the second and third concords of the 6 and is produced, but instead of the
E. and G. being considered as the 6 and
I propose to let the E. and G. be considered fundamental; as they are bass to the
6
and derived from the fundamental bass,

page_text: same harmony, and by changing one or two notes of that harmony they at once
become fundamental to E. and G. minors and majors; the same to be applied to
the discords. When the composer ends the key; the lowest bass note must be
the same name as the key signature he is ending. The inverted intervals, in
Figure 9. are not for the purpose of deriving notes from the fundamental bass,
but are for the purpose of modulation, harmony, and melody. If the tables 8,
and 9, are freely used, and the lowest bass note wherever it moves be considered
fundamental; thorough-bass, and modulation will be much simplified.
system of harmony and figured basses now in use is applied to my new plan, the
sharps, flats, and naturals used with the figures, must be written in small notes;
small notes must also be written for the turn, the sign for the turn to be abolished.
The sign for the shake or trill to remain as now in use, but to write a small note
intended to be played with the given note of the shake or trill.
If the
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 improvements in musical notation substantially as described.
MARY ANN COOPER.