IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR TUNING PIANOFORTES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street,
in the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUSES FOR TUNING PIANOFORTES."-A communication from abroad
by François Delsarte, of Paris, France.
Sealed the 31st July 1863, and dated the 5th February 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald
Broonan at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th February 1863.
I, RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR TUNING PIANOFORTES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the tuning of pianofortes. The
apparatus forming the subject of this Invention may be fitted inside or outside
the pianoforte, and I will first proceed to describe its arrangement as applied
to the inside of the instrument.
According to this Invention the longest string in the pianoforte is supported
on a movable nut placed at the front in grand pianofortes, and at the top in
upright pianofortes. This nut is guided in a longitudinal direction by a
register for indicating externally the sound the type of which is required. The

page_text: string lengthened or shortened according to the proportions of the sonometer
by means of an additional pedal, gives successively the typical sound in the
score to be produced. Thus to tune an instrument the typical string and the
string to be tuned are simultaneously struck, one with the foot, (because the
pedal moves a hammer,) the other with the left hand, while the right
hand acts on the peg of the second string to raise or lower it in unison with
the first. The tuner proceeds with these strings as if they belonged to the
same key. It is not sufficient that two strings harmonize, they must possess
homogeneity of sound, and to obtain this it is necessary, 1st, that the strings
be made to vibrate simultaneously; 2nd, that their vibrations run together in
the same sounding board (reflecteur); 3rd, that they follow the same circum-
volutions, and that they are reverberated by the same surfaces. The sonometric
string is laid paralled to the strings of which it is the type; it also rests on the
same bridge, and acts on the same sounding board.
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying Drawings are views of so much
of a pianoforte as will be necessary to show how the Invention may be
carried into effect when the tuning apparatus is fitted to the interior of the
instrument.
A is the bar or sonometric bridge fixed on the sounding board B by
brackets A', A¹; C, sonometric string adjoining the strings C, C', Figure 2;
D, sonometric register divided inversely from that of the bridge A, on which
it is free to slide longitudinally to shorten or lengthen the string C, according
to the sign given by the index Figure 1; E is a guide forming the base of the
nut carrier F, embracing the bridge A on which it slides to divide the string C,
which it supports; G, nut caused to press against the string C by means of
the pressure screw f; H, bridge; I, hammer worked by the pedal Q; K, string
pegs; L is a neck acting at one and the same time as a means of sliding as a
point of support, and as an index to the register D; N, external sides of the
pianoforte P; Q, pedal acting as a key for working the hammer I; R, bell
on the sonometric bridge A, vibrating sympathetically with the string each
time that "la" is sounded, and thus acting as diapason and regulator.
The following are the characteristic features of the first part of this Inven-
tion: 1st, the apparatus forms a portion of the piano; 2nd, its internal
arrangements with respect to the strings with which it is intimately connected
and nearly identified as much by its proximity and by its parallelism as by the
homogeneity of its sound; 3rd, the additional pedal, which sets it in vibration;
4th, the register, which governs it and indicates its progression outside.
Arrangement with the apparatus fitted outside the pianoforte.-This
consists in the employment of a monochord or string carrier formed of a long

page_text: and thin plank, on which a string is stretched. This string carrier is sono-
metrically divided, and fitted with a pinching nut or clip, and with a pedal
hammer fixed under the key-board to produce by the aid of the foot the typical
sound to be obtained. The string carrier, by the direction imparted to its
vibrations, partakes from the sides of the pianoforte to which it is attached,
and, as it were identified, a sonority, the special qnalities of which could not
be equalled by the best sonometer hitherto constructed.
Figure 5 is a view of the monochord. A is the string carrier; b, the pegs ;
c, strings. Figure 6 is a view of the tuning apparatus or monochord, with its
accessories fitted thereto; D, movable nut; E, pedal; F, F, supporting bars
and conductors for the vibrations resting on the side of the front panel of the
pianoforte, shewn in Figures 7 and 8; M is the agent for the transmission of
the vibrations. The sound board of the tuning guide apparatus is a lengthened
piece of wood, the transmissive function of which is analogous to that of what.
is called in violins the "sound post," it is bevilled towards the side, with which
the action of its springs puts it in contact; it transmits to this side the vibra-
tions of the cord carrier, almost the whole of which it receives, although it is
sufficiently distant from it as only to touch it by the extremity of its springs,
see Figure 10; G, G, are forks screwed under the key-board to support the
string carrier, as shewn at Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 represents the tuning
guide apparatus under the key-board. h, branch of the pedal; J, panel on
which the supporting bars F, F, Figures 7 and 8, rest, and which puts the
sounding board M in vibration. Figure 8 is a side view of the pianoforte,
provided, as in the preceding Figure, with its tuning-guide apparatus. A,
string carrier; G, string; F, supporting bar communicating to the side; J,
the vibrations of the string carrier A; G, side view of the fork fixing the
turning-guide apparatus under the key-board K. Figure 9, string carrier.
Figure 10, section of the string carrier at the height of the nut and sounding
board; D, side of pinching nut, embracing at the same time the string carrier
and its string; M, sounding board (see the definition Figure 6); n, bilateral
spring pressing the sounding board M toward the panel J, Figure 7, by
means of the pressure it exerts on the string carrier; o is a spring receiving
from the string carrier, which it embraces, the vibrations, which it transmits
to the panel J by the sounding board. Figure 11, damper bars, partly in
section. They are intended to expose to the eye of the operator all the
strings hidden by the mechanism which offers a great obstacle to amateurs
desiring to tune their own pianos. This bar fixed at its ends to the internal
sides of the case of the piano, must be substituted for the mechanism every
time the tuning is effected. To effect the tuning easily it is necessary, 1st, to

page_text: present the bar in such manner that the dampers with which it is provided
bear equally on all the strings; 2nd, to draw towards the operator the damper
of the note to be tuned, so as to allow free vibration to the strings for producing
it; 3rd, to sound the typical note by means of tuning-guide pedal; 4th, to
make the string which is to be tuned vibrate while loose by the nail of the left
hand, or by an instrument for the purpose. This string then gives a clear
sound altogether similar to that produced by the pedal. In Figure 11, P is
the body of the bar carrying its dampers, only a portion is shown; r, holes
forming grooves or slides for the dampers, shown at Figure 12; C, strings,
which the bar embraces transversely; Q, damper heads; t, rod or sliding
portion of the damper; S, spring for pushing the damper forward and on to
the string; U, dampers; the upper damper in Figure 12 is withdrawn, and
fixed at the rear by a pin.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
or "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUSES FOR TUNING PIANOFORTES," (communicated
to me from abroad by François Delsarte, of Paris, France,) upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :--
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the tuning of pianofortes. In
order to tune two strings or make two strings agree, they must be of the same
nature and possess homogeneity of sound, and to obtain this result it is
necessary, first, that they be made to vibrate simultaneously; second, that
the vibrations run together in the same sounding board; third, that they
follow the same circumvolutions, and that they are reverberated by the same
surfaces.
The apparatus which forms the subject of the present Invention fulfils these
conditious. I arrange a sonometric string parallel to the strings of which it is
the type. It rests on the same bridge and acts on the same sounding board.
The longest string in the pianoforte is supported on a movable nut guided in
a longitudinal direction by a register for indicating externally the sound the
type of which is required. The string lengthened or shortened according to
the proportions of the sonometer by means of an additional pedal, gives suc-
cessively the typical sound in the score to be produced. Thus to tune an
instrument, the typical string and the string to be tuned are similtaneously
struck, one with the foot (because the pedal moves a hammer), the other
with the left hand, while the right hand acts on the peg of the second string
to raise or lower it in unison with the first. The tuner proceeds with these
strings as if they belonged to the same key. This turning apparatus may be
fitted inside or outside the pianoforte. I will first proceed to describe its
arrangement as applied to the inside of the instrument.
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, of the accompanying Drawings are views of so much
of a pianoforte as will be necessary to show how the tuning apparatus is
fitted.
a is the sonometric bridge fixed on the sounding board 6 by brackets a', a';
c, sonometric string adjoining the strings c', c¹, Figure 2; d, sonometric
register divided inversely from that of the bridge a, on which it is free to slide
longitudinally to shorten or lengthen the string c, according to the sign given
by the index m, Figure 1; e is a guide forming the base of the nut carrier f,
embracing the bridge a, on which it slides to divide the string c which it

page_text: supports; g, nut caused to press against the string c by means of the pressure
screwj; h, bridge; i, hammer worked by the pedal g; k, string pegs; lis a
neck acting at one and the same time as a means of sliding, as a point of
support, and as an index to the register d; n, external sides of the pianoforte p;
q, pedal acting as a key for working the hammer i; r, bell on the sono-
metric bridge a, vibrating sympathetically with the string each time that "la"
is sounded, and thus acting as diapason and regulator.
The following are the characteristic features of the tuning apparatus when
fitted inside the pianoforte :-First, the apparatus forms a portion of the
piano; secondly, its internal arrangements with respect to the strings with
which it is intimately connected and nearly identified as much by its proximity
and by its parallelism as by the homogenity of its sound; third, the addi-
tional pedal which sets it in vibration; fourth, the register which governs it
and indicates its progression outside.
I now proceed to describe the arrangement when the tuning apparatus is
fitted outside the pianoforte. In this arrangement the apparatus consists of a
monochord or string carrier formed of a long and thin plank on which a string
is stretched. This string carrier is sonometrically divided and fitted with a
pinching nut, or clip, and with a pedal hammer fixed under the key board, to
produce by the aid of the foot the typical sound to be obtained. The string
carrier, by the direction imparted to its vibrations, partakes from the sides of
the pianoforte, to which it is attached, and as it were identified, a sonority, the
special qualities of which could not be equalled by the best sonometer hitherto
constructed.
Figure 5 is a view of the monochord; Figure 6 is a view of the tuning
apparatus or monochord, with its accessories fitted thereto; Figure 7 shews
the tuning apparatus placed under the key-board; Figure 8 is a side view of
the pianoforte provided with its tuning apparatus; Figure 9 is the string
carrier; Figure 10 is a section of the string carrier at the height of the nut
and sounding board; Figures 11 and 12 are respectively an elevation and view
of a bar provided with dampers..
A is the string carrier; B, the pegs; C, string; D, (Figure 6) movable
nut. In Figure 10 the nut D embraces both the string carrier and its string.
E, pedal; F, F, supporting bars and conductors of the vibrations, resting on
the side of the front panel J of the pianoforte, as seen in Figures 7 and 8;
G, G, forks screwed under the key-board K to support the string carrier; H,
Figure 7, branch of the pedal E; J, panel on which the supporting bars F, F,
rest, and which puts the sounding board M in vibration. These bars F, F,
communicate to the panel J the vibrations of the string carrier A. K is the

page_text: key-board, and L the case of the pianoforte; M is the agent for the trans-
mission of the vibrations. It is a lengthened piece of wood (see Figure 6), the
transmissive function of which is analogous to that of what is called in violins
the "sound post." It is bevilled towards the side with which the action of its
springs puts it in contact. It transmit to this side the vibrations of the cord
carrier almost the whole of which it receives although it is sufficiently distant
from it as only to touch it by the extremity of its springs, see Figure 10. N,
Figure 10, is a spring pressing the sounding board M toward the panel J,
and supported by the string carrier A; 0, 0, is a spring receiving from the
string carrier A, which it embraces, the vibrations, which it transmits to the
panel J by the sounding board M; P, Figures 11 and 12, is a bar provided
with dampers; R, R, are holes forming grooves or slides for the dampers.
The bar P embraces the strings of the piano transversely. Q, damper heads;
T, rods or sliding portions of the dampers; S, springs for pushing the dampers
forward and on to the strings; U, dampers. The upper damper in Figure 12
is withdrawn and fixed at the rear by a pin. The bar P with its dampers, is
intended to expose to the eye of the operator all the strings hidden by the
mechanism, which offers a great obstacle to amatures desiring to tune their
own pianos. This bar, fixed at its ends to the internal sides of the case of the
piano, must be substituted for the mechanism every time the tuning is effected.
To effect the tuning it is necessary, first, to present the bar P in such manner
that the dampers with which it is provided bear equally on all the strings;
second, to draw towards the operator the damper of the note to be tuned so
as to allow free vibration to the strings for producing it; third, to sound the
typical note by means of the tuning guide pedal; fourth, to make the string
which is to be tuned vibrate while loose by the nail of the left hand or by an
instrument for the purpose. This string then gives a clear sound altogether
similar to that produced by the pedal.
The following are the characteristic features of the tuning apparatus when
fitted to the outside of the pianoforte :-First, the string carrier deprived
intentionally of its sonority; second, the mode of communication and adherence
of the string carrier with the sonorous sides of the piano, which thus
forms the vibrative case of the instrument; third, the fixing and position of
the string carrier under the key-board and the small space it occupies; fourth,
the arrangement of the movable nut; fifth, the pedal which is applied as a
key; sixth, the damper bar for exposing the strings.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the apparatus herein-before described with reference to Figures 1, 2,

page_text: 3, and 4 of the accompanying Drawings, applied to the interior of pianofortes
for tuning the same.
Second, the apparatus herein-before described with reference to Figures 5
to 12 of the accompanying Drawings, applied to the exterior of pianofortes for
tuning the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of August, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.B.)