A NEW METHOD OR METHODS OF FORMING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, IN WHICH CONTINUOUS SOUNDS ARE PRODUCED FROM STRINGS, WIRES, OR SPRINGS
Year: 1836

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
WHEATSTONE, of Conduit Street, in the County of Middlesex, Musical Instru-
ment Manufacturer, and JOHN GREEN, of Soho Square, in the same County,
Musical Instrument Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of July, in the seventh year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Charles Wheatstone and John Green, His special licence that we,
the said Charles Wheatstone and John Green, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Charles Wheatstone and John
Green, our executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our Invention of "A NEW
METHOD OR METHODS OF FORMING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, IN WHICH CONTINUOUS
SOUNDS ARE PRODUCED FROM STRINGS, WIRES, OR SPRINGS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging us, the said Charles Wheatstone
and John Green, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Charles Wheatstone and John Green, do hereby declare that the nature
of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are particularly described and ascertained, as herein-after set forth, with the
aid of the Drawing hereunto annexed.
In our new method of forming musical instruments, continuous sounds are
produced from strings, wires, or springs (stretched between fixed supports at
their ends), by means of a current of air, which is directed upon a limited
portion of the vibrating length of the particular string, wire, or spring, from
which continuous sound is for the time being required to be produced by our
method; and note, by continuous sounds we mean those sounds which may be
continued so long as the exciting cause is applied, as those of the organ or
violin, in contradistinction to abrupt and evanescent sounds, as those of the
pianoforte or harp. The aforesaid limited portion of the vibrating length of
the string, wire, or spring must be adapted or adjusted, as herein-after described,
to a slit or linear aperture through which the current of air passes, and the
width of which must be a little greater than the diameter or breadth of the
said string, wire, or spring. If a string be used, it may be of gut, of silk, or
of any other flexible and elastic material capable of vibrating when stretched;
if a wire be used, it may be of any metal capable of being drawn into elastic
wire, and may be either cylindrical or flat; and if a spring be used, it may be
of that kind commonly known as watch spring.
Figure 1 represents a string or wire, or it might be a flat watch spring,
stretched over a board, a portion of its length being adapted or adjusted, in
the manner herein-after described, to a slit or aperture made in the top of a
box (c) through which the current of air passes, which box projects sufficiently
to prevent the string, wire, or spring jarring in any part of its length against
the board. The string, wire, or spring must be placed just outside (whether
above or below) the slit or aperture, for if the string, wire, or spring be too
far from or be too much within the aperture, no sound will be produced.
The wind (which word we shall herein-after employ synonymously with a
current of air, must be so directed as to act on the string, wire, or spring
before it passes through the aperture, for if it acts in the opposite direction,
that is to say, if the wind passes through the aperture before it reaches the
string, wire, or spring, no sound will be produced; and note, the relative
position of the string, wire, or spring, in respect to the aperture (which relative
position is necessary to the production of the sound), we shall herein-after

page_text: it
call the adjustment; and note, also the word string is understood by musical
instrument makers to signify a length of any suitable, flexible, and elastic
material capable of producing sound when stretched. We shall therefore
employ the word string to signify either a watch spring, stretched between
fixed supports, and applied in the manner of what is termed a string by
makers of musical instruments, or a metal wire, or a string of any flexible and
elastic material capable of vibrating when stretched. In Figure 1, the string
a, b, in its position of rest, is situated above the aperture in the box (c); and ·
the wind must therefore pass from above, in the direction indicated by the
arrow. In Figure 2, the string a, b, in its position of rest, is represented
situated below the aperture; and therefore, to cause it to sound, the wind must
pass in a contrary direction to that required for Figure 1, that is to say,
must pass from below, as indicated by the arrow. The length of the aperture
may vary according to the power or the quality of the sound required in the
instruments herein-after described; that length never exceeds two thirds, and
is in many cases less than one fourth of the length of the vibrating portion of
the string. When the aperture is too long, much wind is wasted, and the
sound produced by the string is not so strong as when the same quantity of
wind is directed upon it through a shorter aperture. Respecting the particular
portion of the vibrating length of the string against which the wind should be
directed, in order to excite it to sonorous vibration with the greatest effect, no
precise rule can be given, neither is exactitude of proportion between the
length of the aperture through which the wind passes, and the vibrating length
of the string, of much consequence; in general, the middle part of the length
of the aperture should be nearer to the middle of the vibrating length of the.
string than to either of the supports or bridges upon which it is stretched.
The aperture to which the string is adjusted may have its sides parallel, as
shewn in the section at a, Figure 3, or diverging, as at b. c shews the section
of an aperture, narrowed in the middle, to which the string may be adjusted
either above or below the narrowed part, provided the wind passes through
the aperture from that side on which is placed the largest portion of the
section of the string. In Figure 3 above described, cylindrical strings are
represented. Figure 4, a, b, and c, shews flat strings properly adjusted to
apertures of the same form.
We now proceed to explain the method of forming different kinds of
musical instruments, in which continuous sounds are produced from strings,
wires, or springs, as herein-before set forth.
Figure 5 represents a musical instrument somewhat similar in shape and
appearance to that known by the name of the seraphine. The bellows and

page_text: arrangement of the keys, being the same, require no particular description;
neither does the external case, the form of which may be varied according to
convenience or taste. The top or lid of the case is supposed in this Figure to
be removed, and the upper portion of the wind chest is represented lifted up,
and resting on its edge for the purpose of shewing the arrangement of the
strings attached to its interior surface. A separate string is employed for
each note, and all are arranged parallel to each other, and to the sides d, e,
and f, g, of the case. The apertures through which the wind passes, and to
which the strings are adjusted, are shewn in a row c, c', and are projected
from the board sufficiently to prevent the strings touching anywhere except
at the supports or bridges on which the ends of their vibrating portions rest.
Figure 6, l, m, n, o, is a section of the wind chest belonging to the instru-
ment represented at Figure 5. The string a, b, within it is fastened at one
end by a loop on a pin h, and at the other end to a turning pin i. The
bridges p, p', limit the vibrating portion of the string, which is adjusted to an
aperture in the box c, in the manner shewn at Figure 1. The external opening
of the wind passage is closed by a valve k. r is that part of the key which
is touched by the finger; s, the fulcrum of the lever; t, a spring which
returns the key to the position in which it should remain when not pressed
by the finger; u, a screw to adjust the level of the key, and to connect it with
the valve; i, the tuning pin, which passes through the board, the end of it
which appears on the outside being square, for the purpose of applying the
tuning hammer.
Figure 7 shews a portion (enlarged) of the top of the wind chest, near the
side d, e, of Figure 5. r, r, r, r, are the keys which raise the valves k, k, k, k;
q is a rail which forms a bearing for the springs, which return the keys to their
proper positions after having been pressed down; w, w, w, are the wind
passages, the valves being removed for the purpose of shewing them. The
dotted lines indicate the places of the strings beneath the board.
Figure 8 shews the appearance of the upper part of the instrument Figure 5,
with its key board, when the top of the wind chest is shut down. The precise
proportions of the strings are not given, as we do not confine ourselves to any
particular rules or ratios in this respect; generally speaking, the same rules
apply here as are usually observed in the stringing of the harp and piano-
forte. The strings must be thinner and shorter, as the sounds or notes to be
produced are higher in the musical scale or acuter, and thicker and longer as
the sounds are to be lower or graver; yet, the absolute lengths and thicknesses
may be almost indefinitely varied, in order to produce the quality of tone
which may be preferred for each particular instrument. When gut strings

page_text: are used for the instrument just described, the same lengths may be adopted
as those usually employed to produce the same notes in the harp, but we
recommend that in thickness they should be two or three sizes smaller. We
do not confine ourselves to strings of any particular form or material, for the
same sound as far as regards the pitch, may be produced by strings of various
materials, lengths, and thicknesses; yet those sounds, though the same in
pitch, will differ from each other, both in the quality of the tone, and also
in the facility and readiness with which they are produced; from some strings
more flexible than others, the sound will be immediately elicited so soon as
the wind acts upon them, while less flexible strings will require the wind to
act upon them some sensible time before it can impel them into a sonorous
vibration.
To remedy this imperfection, as well as to produce a novel and pleasing
effect, we have formed another musical instrument somewhat resembling the
one last described, but with the addition of hammers and dampers similar to
those of the pianoforte. The hammer strikes the string at the moment the
the wind is admitted to act upon it, and thus starts it into immediate vibration.
The damper prevents the sound continuing longer than the valve remains
open. In this instrument, represented at Figure 9. the strings are arranged
outside and above the wind chest (not inside as in the instrument last
described with reference to Figures 5, 6, 7, 8); they are however arranged
in a similar manner, but the adjustment of each to its aperture must be as
shewn at Figure 2. The instrument with its lid removed is represented at
Figure 9. The strings are parallel to the sides d, e, and f, g; c, c', shews the
portion of the row of wind passages, to the aperture of which the strings are
adjusted; 1,, is the front edge of the wind chest, leaving a space before it
for the hammers and dampers to act upon the strings in the same way as in
the grand pianoforte. The strings are attached to the tuning pins imme-
diately in front of the bridge p, p'. The key board, bellows, and external
case, do not necessarily differ from those of the preceding instrument.
Figure 10 represents a section of the wind chest, and of what is technically
called the action of a single key belonging to the instrument shewn at
Figure 9. The string passes over the bridges p, p', and is stretched by means
of the tuning pin i; a valve k, within the wind chest l, m, n, o, closes the wind
passage, and is connected with the end of the key by a wire passing through
the bottom of the wind chest. When the finger key r is pressed down, the
valve k opens, the hammer v strikes the string, and the damper x is raised.
When the key is released, the valve and hammer resume their former position,
and the damper, falling on the string, immediately stops its vibration.
We

page_text: recommend flat metal wire or steel watch spring for stringing an instrument
of this description. When steel watch spring is used, it will be necessary to
soften the ends in order to attach them more easily for the purpose of
stretching and tuning it; when so softened, one end may be inserted into a
slit in the tuning pin, by which the spring may be tuned, and the other end
may be fastened in any convenient manner. Although the two instruments
above described are represented as being five octaves in compass, the
number of notes and keys, and consequently the size of the instruments, may
be increased or diminished, if desired, to suit particular purposes. The two modes
of adjusting the relative position of a string in respect to its aperture, shewn at
Figures 1 and 2, may be applied together to the same string, as represented
at Figure 11. When thus adjusted, one portion of the length of the string
will be above the aperture, and another portion below, and the string will
sound whether the wind be directed from one side of the board or from the
other. To prevent any unnecessary escape of wind, one leather valve is
placed on the outside of the box at c, and another on the inside at c¹; the
box need not project more than sufficient to prevent the string jarring against
the board. Musical instruments, similar to those above described, may be
formed with strings, each having this double adjustment, in which case a
bellows without valves (such as is employed in the instrument commonly
called the accordion) must be substituted for the ordinary bellows of the
organ or the seraphine. In the instruments herein-before described, a separate
string is employed to produce each separate sound; but instruments may
be formed analogous to the violin or guitar, in which a series of different
sounds may be produced from the same string, by stopping it at different
points, so that the vibrating portion be thereby shortened. In forming instru-
ments of this last-mentioned description, it is necessary that, however the
vibrating portion of the string be shortened, its relative position or adjustment in
respect to the aperture should be accurately preserved, otherwise the string will
not sound. We have effected this requisite in several different ways. The
modes of preserving the adjustment of the string to the aperture are of two kinds.
In one kind the string alone is pressed to the aperture, as in Figure 12, 14, 15,
and 16, and in the other kind the string and the aperture are moved together,
as in Figures 19 and 20. In Figure 12 the string a, b, is stretched parallel
to the board, but the top of the raised box c, in which the aperture is made, is
a little inclined downwards towards where the string will be pressed. A bar
er finger board z, having the same inclination, extends half the length of the
string from the box c to the bridge p. This bar is fixed by the side of the
string, very near and a little below it, in such manner that at whatsoever point

page_text: of the string between the box c and the bridge p a stop may be pressed down,
its motion will be arrested by the bar, and the part of the stop which over-
hangs the bar will press down the string to the degree only which is necessary
to adjust it properly to the aperture. When the string is not pressed down it
is out of adjustment, and consequently will not sound. Figure 13 is a
bird's-eye view of the same, shewing more clearly the position of the bar or
finger board. Instead of the string being parallel to the board and the bar,
and the top of the box inclined, the string may be inclined by raising its
end b, and the top of the box and the bar may be parallel to the board. Also,
instead of a raised box and bar, the aperture may be cut in the surface of the
board itself, in which case a groove must be made in the board under that
part of the string on which the fingers or stops are to act, in order to allow
the string to be pressed into proper adjustment with the aperture, and that the
sides of the groove may limit the pressure of the stops. This mode of pre-
serving the adjustment is shewn at Figure 14.
An aperture
Another mode of preserving the adjustment is shewn at Figure 15, in which
the string moves parallel to the board instead of to and from it.
y is made in the board, and a string a, b, is stretched so that in its impressed
position it is inclined to the line of this aperture; its end a being elevated, a
bar z is placed parallel to the aperture, and projecting a little from the board,
so that when a string is pressed by a stop the string shall not touch the bar,
the use of the bar being merely to limit the depression of the stop. Thus,
when the string is pressed down until the stop is resisted by the bar, the string
will be placed immediately over the aperture in the proper position for
producing sound. In Figures 12 and 14 the adjustment of the string to the
aperture requires that the wind should be directed upon the string from the
sile on which the stops act upon it, but in some cases it may be more
convenient that the wind should be directed upon the string in the opposite
direction. To effect this the string in its adjusted position, instead of being
above the aperture, must be below it, as in Figure 2. This mode of preserving
the adjustment is shewn at Figure 16, in which the dotted line shews the
adjusted position of the string when pressed down by a stop.
Figures 17, 18, and 19 represent one of the modes of preserving the adjust-
ment, in which the string and the aperture to which it is adjusted move
simultaneously. a, b, Figure 17, is a string stretched parallel to the board.
z is a bar or finger board immediately beneath the string, and inclined down-
wards from the point a. Upon any part of this bar the string may be pressed
down to prevent any lateral deviation of the string when so pressed down; and
to secure it in its proper place a groove is cut along the upper edge of the bar.

page_text: w shews the situation of the aperture in the board through which the wind
passes.
Figure 18 is the moveable piece which is to be attached by the wire h to the
center j, Figure 17, on which it moves as a hinge. The openings in the
moveable piece fits to the bar z. y is the aperture to which the string is
adjusted, and u is a groove or portion cut away to permit the string to vibrate
freely without jarring against the wood.
Figure 19 shews this mode of preserving the adjustment complete. The
moveable piece is kept by the spring in adjustment with the open string,
that is to say, the string when not pressed down. m is a small bag of pliable
leather, which prevents the escape of wind between the board and the moveable
piece. When the string is pressed down upon the finger board the moveable
piece is pressed down at the same time, and however the length of the
vibrating portion of the string is altered, the aperture is always preserved in
adjustment with it. By this mode of preserving the adjustment the sound of
the open string is obtained, whereas by those described above at Figures 12,
14, 15, and 16, no sound can be produced until the string be brought into
adjustment by being pressed down. We recommend the mode of preserving
the adjustment just described when the string is to be stopped by the
fingers.
Figure 20 is another mode of preserving the adjustment, not so generally
applicable as the preceding one. The moveable piece n, instead of moving to
and from the board (as it does in Figure 19), moves parallel to it upon a
center j, and is retained by a spring t in its ordinary position (that is to say,
in its position when not pressed). The string is fastened at one end at h, and
at the other to the tuning pin i. When the moveable piece is in its ordinary
position the aperture is immediately below the string. The bar or finger
board z is fixed at the side; its edge is not exactly parallel with the string,
but slants a little downwards, so that it is farther from the string towards the
middle than it is towards the end a. Stops must be employed to press the
string upon the bar or finger board z, and at the same time to move the
moveable piece n, so that the aperture in the moveable piece shall always
remain immediately beneath the string. One of these stops is shewn at v, and
also more clearly in the next Figure. Figure 21. is the stud, or that
part of the stop which is pressed by the finger; x, the part which presses
the string a, and at the same time the moveable piece n. z is a section of the
bar or finger board; and y is the aperture through which the wind passes
to the string.
We now proceed to shew how these different modes of preserving the

page_text: adjustment may be applied in forming musical instruments. The instrument
shewn at Figure 22 has a bellows like that of the accordion. It has one
octave of finger keys like those of the pianoforte, including the semitones.
Figure 23 shews the way in which the finger keys act to shorten the
vibrating portion of the string. a, b, is the string, the adjustment of which may
be either of those represented at Figures 12, 14, 16, or 19. The stops are
placed exactly over those points of the string necessary to be pressed in order
to produce the various notes of the scale. The upper end of the stop, being
close under the finger key, is immediately acted upon when the latter is
pressed by the finger of the performer, and when that pressure is removed the
stop is returned to its ordinary situation by a spring.
Figure 24 shews the action of one of these stops separately. is the key
to be pressed by the finger; a, that part of the stop which presses the string;
t, the spring which returns the step and key to their ordinary positions; u, a
small roller on the top of the stop to diminish the friction between it and
the key.
Figure 25 is a transverse section of the wind chest and bellows of the same
instrument, and shews the arrangement of the valves by which the current of
air is forced always in the same direction through the aperture to which the
string is adjusted, whether the bellows be pressed in or be drawn out. The
partition d divides the wind chest into two portions, and the string a is
stretched over an aperture y. In this partition k, l, m, n, shew the four
valves, the arrows indicating the direction in which the wind passes through
them. and m open when the wind issues out of the bellows; k and n open
when the wind passes (in the contrary direction) into the bellows. These
valves are strips of thin leather, fastened down at each end of the airholes, which
they cover; two of these airholes open into the bellows, and the other two
open to the external air. In order that the sounds may be produced with
more certainty and facility, openings are made in the sides of the wind chest,
which are covered air-tight with some thin elastic material: we find very thin
sheet indian rubber well stretched to answer the purpose very efficiently. Two
of these openings are shewn at d. These openings, covered as above described,
are equally serviceable in all the instruments subsequently described, in which
a divided wind chest, with double passage valves, is employed, more than the
compass of one octave of notes not being conveniently to be obtained from a
single string. When we desire to encrease the compass of an instrument to
two octaves, we employ two strings, to each of which is adapted one octave of
keys. The external appearance of an instrument with two octaves does not
necessarily differ from that of the one last described, except in its having an
extra octave of keys, and being of greater length; but as the case and the

page_text: bellows admit of many modifications, their forms may be changed if it be found
convenient to do so.
Figure 26 shews the partition d, which divides the wind chest of an instru-
ment with two octaves into two portions. It contains on its upper side two
strings, with their separate adjustments placed parallel to each other, one
commencing at the middle of the length of the other. The mode of preserving
the adjustment represented in this Figure is the same as the one shewn at
Figure 19, but either of those shewn at Figure 12, 14, and 16 is equally
applicable.
Figure 27 shews the partition in its place in the wind chest, and the two
rows of stops which act on the two strings (the front of the case being
removed). One of these rows is in a line a little behind the other, but the two
octaves of finger keys which act upon these stops are all regularly disposed, as
in the pianoforte, as it is important that neither of the strings shall sound
until a finger key be pressed down. This object is effected in the following
manner :-Each of the two openings in the partition through which the wind
passes when it sets the strings in vibration is provided (on the side opposite to
to the string) with a valve which entirely closes it. These valves are shewn in
the Figure 27, at k, k. They are connected by means of two pins *
passing through the partition, with two levers o, o (shewn also at o, o,
Figure 26), which are placed alongside the two strings; so that when a stop is
pressed down, it presses upon the lever at the same instant that it presses
upon the string, by which means the valve which closes the wind passage
belonging to that string is at the same instant opened and the wind admitted.
In the same manner may be formed instruments with the compass of three or
four octaves by the addition of a third or a fourth string, with the accompany-
ing key, stops, valves, levers, &c. In the instruments represented in the
Drawing, from Figure 22 to 27 inclusive, the double passage valves may be
dispensed with, and the wind may be propelled constantly in the same direction
on the string by means of a bellows with a condensing wind chamber, or with
a double feeder. An instrument thus constructed will not be so portable as
one with a single bellows and double passage and valves, but it will be
preferred when that quality of tone is desired which results from the
string vibrating in immediate contact with the open air; and in this case
either of the modes of preserving the adjustment represented at Figures 15
and 20 may be employed, as well as the others above described with reference
to Figures 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21.
The instruments above described are performed on live means of fincan kana

page_text: similar to and arranged like those of the pianoforte, but instruments may also
be formed having the stops or keys otherwise arranged.
Figure 28 is a box attached to a bellows similar to that of the accordion, or
to that shewn at Figure 22. One half of the box is narrower than the other
half, and on the narrow half are placed four rows of stops, which pass through
the top of the box into its interior, and act upon four strings placed imme-
diately below them. Each row contains an octave of stops, including the
semitones. In the Figure the front of the box is removed for the purpose of
shewing the way in which the stops act on the front string. The four tuning
pins by which the strings are stretched are shewn at i. In this instrument
the wind passage to each of the strings must be furnished with a valve and
lever so disposed that no string shall sound until one of its stops be pressed
down, when its valve will be opened and the wind admitted.
Figure 29 shews the complete action belonging to one string. k is the
valve; h, the connecting pin; o, the lever; 8, the stop which presses simul-
taneously on the string and the lever; and i is the tuning pin.
Figure 30 is a view of the partition or board seen from above. a, b, shew
the four strings laid side by side; z, the bars on which the stops bear when
they press down the strings and the brass levers o, on which levers the stops
act at the same time that they act on the strings. A transverse section at f
of this partition is shewn at Figure 31. a is the string; 2, the bar; o, the
lever; and k, the lever of the valve. The wind chest, partition, and double-
passage valves are disposed in the same manner as shewn in the transverso
section, Figure 25.
The most convenient mode of tuning this instrument is that adopted in the
violin, each string being tuned a fifth above the one next to it, the string which
is farthest from the bellows being the highest. The pitch may be varied at
pleasure by varying the tension or thickness of the strings.
The mode of preserving the adjustment represented in the above Figure 29
is the one shewn at Figure 12, but the others shewn at Figures 14, 16, and
19 are equally applicable.
The instrument above described, and represented at Figure 28, is a treble
instrument, the musical scale of which corresponds with that of the violin;
but tenor and bass instruments may be similarly formed by varying the lengths
of the strings, and encreasing the dimensions of the various parts.
The following is our method of forming a musical instrument similar to the
violin, excepting that the strings are sounded by wind instead of a bow. The
shape and size of the instrument represented at Figure 32 are the same as
those of the violin. The four strings occupy their usual situations on its front,

page_text: or belly, and are fastened in the usual manner to the tail piece at one end, and
to the tuning pegs at the other. Each string is furnished with its aperture, to
which it is adjusted in the manner represented at Figure 1, so that it will
sound only when the wind passes from without into the instrument. The
length of the aperture which we prefer is about an inch and a half, and it
should not extend towards the top or head of the instrument farther than the
middle of the string. The mode of preserving the adjustment best suited to
this instrument is the one described at Figure 19, but the forked end of the
moveable piece (Figure 18) ought to be made of metal; for, the strings being
very near each other, there is scarcely space for wood sufficiently strong. To
this instrument is attached a double bellows, one part being placed at cach
side of the instrument, as represented in Figure 32. A rod passes through
the center of both these parts of the bellows, and is fixed to the extreme
or outward end of each. A part (r) of this rod projects at one end, so
as to serve as a handle by which the right hand of the performer moves
both parts at the same time, so that when one part collapses the other
expands. Each part of the bellows is provided with two valves, one by which
the air enters, the other by which it is expelled. The drawing valves (or
those by which the air enters the bellows) are situate in the wind chest which
is formed by the inside of the violin, and the ejecting valves (through which
the air is forced out of the bellows) communicate with the external air. A
similar contrivance to that shewn at Figure 29 is adopted to prevent any
string sounding except the one upon which the performer desires to play.
Figure 33 represents an inside view of the front of the violin. k, k, k, k,
are four valves which close the wind passages, on the other side of which the
strings are adjusted to the apertures. The levers u, v, v, v, of these valves
extend within the neck of the violin (which is hollow). They are hinged at e,
and are connected by wires at h with corresponding brass levers placed exter-
nally alongside the respective strings, so that the finger can press down the
string with its adjustment and the adjacent lever at the same moment. A
string a, b, with its adjustment as above described, and its lever O, which
raises the valve within, is shewn at Fig. 34.
Several variations of the parts above described may be adopted in the
forming of this instrument consistently with our method of producing con-
tinuous sounds, which we have explained. For instance, another mode of
preserving the adjustment may be substituted for the one particularized, or the
form of the instrument and the mode of applying the bellows may be changed,
the sole object here aimed at being to produce an instrument in which the
strings are, in the same manner as in the violin, stopped by the immediate

page_text: pressure of the fingers upon them, instead of by the pressure of fixed stops,
whilst the sounds are produced by wind instead of a bow acting on the strings.
In all the instruments herein-before described the strings are impellel into
vibration by wind directed upon them by means of bellows, but we also apply
our method in forming musical instruments in which the strings are impelled
into vibration by the force of the breath. In the instrument represented at
Fig. 35 the mode of preserving the adjustment is the same as that shewn at
Fig. 16, and stops are adapted exactly similar to those used in the instrument
represented at Fig. 28, which press upon the string, altering the length of its
vibrating portion. The string by which the sounds are produced is a metal
wire, either cylindrical or flat; and, though all metal strings will thus sound,
we prefer to use those which do not easily oxidate. To the side of the board
opposite to that on which the string is placed is attached a tube t, one end of
which covers the wind passage in the board, the other end being open for the
purpose of being blown into by the mouth. This instrument is held in both
hands, and the fingers press the stops in the same manner as they would
cover the holes of a flageolet; but it must be observed, that when the arrange-
ment is as here represented, more than one stop must not be pressed at the
same time.
Another instrument is shewn by Fig. 36. It differs from the one imme-
diately preceding in the employment of the mode of preserving the adjustment
represented at Fig. 19, instead of the one represented at Fig. 16; and, instead
of stops pressing on the string, the fingers alone are employed for that purpose,
pressing down simultaneously both the string and the moveable part of the
adjustment.
Having now described our said New Method or Methods of Forming
Musical Instruments in which Continuous Sounds are produced from Strings,
Wires, or Springs, we do hereby declare that what we claim as our new
Invention is as follows:-
The method herein-before described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11,
and also in reference to Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8, as well as to Figs. 9 and 10, of
forming musical instruments in which continuous sounds are produced from
strings, wires, or springs by means of a current of air which is directed upon a
limited portion of the vibrating length of the particular string, wire, or spring
from which a continuous sound is (for the time being) required to be produced
by our method. But note, we do not make claim to any means of producing
sound by a current of air which is directed upon the whole vibrating length of
the string, wire, or spring.
And likewise we claim the method herein-before described in reference to

page_text: Figs. 9 and 10, wherein, in addition to the last-mentioned method of producing
sound by means of a current of air directed upon a limited portion of the
aforesaid vibrating length, a hammer such as is used in pianofortes is caused
to strike each string, wire, or spring at the same instant that the valve is
opened to allow the wind to act upon the same string, wire, or spring.
And likewise we claim the method herein-before described in reference to
Figs. 12 to 21 inclusive, and also in reference to Figs. 22 to 25 inclusive, like-
wise to Figs. 26 and 27, as well as to Figs. 28 to 31 inclusive, also to Figs. 32,
33, and 34, also to Fig. 35, as well as to Fig. 36, wherein continuous sounds,
corresponding to different notes of the musical scale, are produced from the
same string, wire, or spring, in manner herein-before described in reference to
Figs. 12 to 21 inclusive, by means of a current of air which is directed upon
a limited portion of the vibrating length of such string, wire, or spring.
And likewise we claim the method herein-before described in reference to
Figs. 26 and 27, also to Figs. 28 to 31 inclusive, as well as to Figs. 32, 33,
and 34, wherein, in addition to the last-mentioned method of obtaining
different notes of the musical scale from the same string, wire, or spring, the
same pressure of the finger (with or without the intervention of a stop) which
causes the vibrating length of such string, wire, or spring to be shortened, also
causes a simultaneous opening of the valve by which the wind is allowed to
act on the string, wire, or sping.
And likewise we claim the method herein-before described in reference to
Figs. 22 to 25 inclusive, also to Figs. 26 and 27, likewise to Figs. 28 to 31
inclusive, wherein, in addition to the method already mentioned of obtaining
different notes of the musical scale from the same string, wire, or spring, the
wind chest is divided by a partition into two compartments, each furnished
with valves so arranged in respect to the bellows that the current or currents
of air by which continuous sounds are to be produced according to our method
will always be forced in the same direction through each aperture to which a
string, wire, or spring is adjusted, as well when the bellows is in the act of
being drawn out, as when it is being pressed in.
But note, although in the course of the aforesaid description, and in the
Drawing, we have necessarily mentioned and represented many parts of
musical instruments already known and used, we wish to be understood that
we make no claim in respect to the hammers and dampers herein-before
described and represented, the same being such as are used in pianofortes; nor
to the valves for allowing the wind to act on the strings, wires, or springs, the
said valves being such as are used in organs and other wind instruments; nor
in respect to the finger keys or stops herein-before described and represented