Year: 1885

page_text: I WILLIAM MARSHALL, of Sutherland House, Abbey Road, Malvern, in the
county of Worcester, Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention.
to be as follows:-
In this invention whereby I so alter and transform the Piano-forte whether the
upright piano-forte, or the horizontal grand piano-forte by change of its outer
shape and by addition to it of inner structure giving to it more resonance as to
form it into a new musical instrument, which I name Chordarmia" from chord
and harmony.
"
I, in the instance of an upright grand chordarmia, by which I' mean an.
instrument from six to eight feet or more in height, lower the right side, that is to
say the space of the three or four octaves of the treble side of an upright grand-
piano as much as is possible, whilst at the same time not only not lowering the left
side of the instrument, that is to say the space of the remaining octaves, but even
raising it to more than the usual height.
•
I make all the strings on the treble side of the instrument pure unspun steel
strings doubling their length by octaves even though they reach the second c, on
the bass side.
I shape the top of the exterior of the instrument somewhat to the shape
indicated by the ends of the strings; so that for three or four octaves on the treble
side a player, sitting on an ordinary music stool set on the floor of a room, shall
have his head and shoulders higher than that side of the instrument; and so that
only the left or bass side of the instrument shall be higher than his head; or, in
other words, so that the only part of the instrument which is higher than his head
shall be at the side of him, occupying there only about two feet of width.
I make the back part of the exterior of the instrument ornamental, instead of
making the left or bass part of it so, and I do this with the design of enabling the
instrument to stand with its left or bass side rather than with its back to the wall,
for by thus standing it has its only lofty part put out of the way of being unsightly,
and of intercepting view and light across the room, whilst the Chordarmist sitting at
the centre of the keyboard of his instrument, faces his audience, sees them, is seen
by them, and has his voice directed to them without impediment.

page_text: I furnish the instrument with a resonant chest modelled in every respect as
much as possible on the principles of a violin chest, that is to say: I furnish it
with a chest air tight except at the proper soundholes, and not resting solidly
against the tension bars, but rather being outside them, so that the down-pressure
of the resonant bridge is neither on a soundboard like that of the piano nor on a
sound-board backed by tension bars but on the belly of a chest somewhat similar
to that of a violin supported by sound posts, which rest on the back of the chest
just as a violin's sound-post rests on the back of a violin's chest. But since the
chest of the Chordarmia responds to the whole compass of musical notes, I divide
it by three partitions, each made of belly-wood, and extending in their several
places from the top to the bottom of the chest, into four part-chests, answering
severally in the quantity of cubic air which they contain somewhat to that which
is contained respectively in a violin, viola, violoncello, and bass-viol. These
partitions are glued to the back and sides of the chest but do not reach its belly
at any point by about half an inch. Thus the belly's resonancy is not injured by
the partitions, and since the resonant air of one part-chest may slightly pass into
the adjoining part-chest the breaks between the two are saved from being too
sudden. Each partition lies immediately under one of the chest's sound holes.
The back and sides of the chest are like a violin's made of sycamore or of some
such hard and sound-repelling wood, and the belly, blocks, bass-bars and sound
posts are made of some such wood as swiss-pine. The sides, in order to support
the frame, are thick, and may at least on the right side of the instrument which
describes a curved flowing line, be composed of thin layers of wood moulded into
shape by heat without one break, and all glued together.
string the instrument on a frame preferably made of mild steel bars, put
together by bolts and screws, the bars standing edge-ways towards the front and
.back. The first or outermost bar on the bass side touches the perpendicular side
of the chest at the top; but in descending takes an inclination to the right. This
inclination, in a grand chordarmia eight feet high, amounts to the bar being, when
it reaches the bottom of the frame, at one foot distance from the bottom of that
side. The inclination, thus made by the bar, is followed by all the other bars, and
is taken up by all the strings every one of which is parallel the one to the other.
Reckoning the intervals between these perpendicular bars in every case from the
treble side of each and at the line at which the keys cross them, the second bar is
approximately at one foot distance from the first, the third bar is at the distance
of six inches from the second, the fourth bar is at eight inches distance from the
third, the fifth at eleven inches distance from the fourth, and the sixth, which is
the outer bar on the treble side, is at eleven inches distance from the fifth. The
first and second bars extend from the top to the bottom of the frame, but the third
bar extends only from the bottom of the frame up to the height of about five feet
ten inches. The first three bars are about two inches by seven eighths of an inch
thick whilst the fourth, fifth and sixth bars are all about two inches by three
fourths of an inch thick; these thicknesses however might be possibly somewhat
reduced safely. The bars for those strings which are less than about four feet six
inches long namely the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth bars sometimes have their
lower ends cut short by a cap of stout iron bevilled towards the strings which
forms the unresonant bridge for those strings, and the hitch-pin plate for those
same strings is fastened to that cap so as to be at a right angle with the bars,
whilst the corresponding wrestplank for all these same strings lies on a suitable
iron plate, flanged in order to support them which is stretched across the face of
those bars. This wrestplank towards the bass end of it ceases to be horizontal,
and ascending rises to the height of about five feet ten inches from the bottom of
the instrument following in its course the curve formed by the chest on its right
side. For the chest, on that side, quitting the second upright bar at the top of it,
describes a bow outwards, and then curving inwards in descending it joins the
third bar at about four feet six inches from the bottom, after which with a curve
first concave towards the treble wrestplank and then convex to enclose the top of

page_text: the treble side of the instrument and again concave down that side it reaches the
bottom. The longer strings start from hitchpins at the top of the instrument and
descending to the bottom cross the unresonant bridge which there lies across the
face of the first two bars, after which they are tuned on a wrestplank which lies
on the face of those bars near the floor and parallel with it; for those two bars are
after bearing the lower bridge lengthened sufficiently and bent outwards at about
a right angle so as to be parallel with the floor of the room; and the bend is
strongly supported by angle pieces. Then at their bend lies inverted a strongly
made rack of gun-metal, with as many partitions in it as there are strings to cross
it, and with a grooved wheel of gun-metal or brass between each partition, and
moreover with a strong steel spindle driven through all the partitions of the rack
at the centre of them. The diameter of the wheels is about three fourths of an
inch, and that of the steel spindle which is their axle is about three sixteenths of
an inch. The wrest-plank lies beyond this rack upon the face of the bent bars,
and the long strings after passing the unresonant bridge, travel down under the
inverted rack each along its own wheel to its own tuning pin upon the wrestplank.
By these means the wrestplank although lying almost on the floor, is within sight
of the tuner, and is more within his reach. But the beads of these tuning pins
may be varied so as to enable him to distinguish them by the touch.
The hammers of an upright grand chordarmia all strike below the keys, and the
resonant bridge therefore throughout is the upper bridge. This bridge in any
chordarmia stands higher in reference to the line of strings than does that of the
piano. It in fact stands there as high as the instrument can bear even to the
giving to the strings about one inch down-pressure or more.
The chest is deeper on the bass than on the treble side, and the belly is set
within it, so that that part of the chest which is between the belly and the back
is about six or seven inches deep at the extreme bass, and about two or three
inches deep at the extreme treble side, and the part of the chest, which is between
the belly and the ornamental curtain in front, is on every side about five or six
inches deep, but within this latter space lie the steel frame the suspended bridge
and the strings.
Although in order to shift the centre of the key board (and thus the position of
the chordarmist) as much as possible away from the higher parts of the instrument,
the strings, in passing from the top to the bottom, incline slightly towards the
right, the planks of the belly and of the back do not so, they are perpendicular.
If the resonant bridge carries pure strings up to the D of seven feet four inches,
or the C of eight feet, then I find it advantageous that it carries its covered strings
not all at its furthest extremity, but on a branch issuing from the main bridge at
about a foot distance from that extremity and at such an angle of direction from
the course of the main bridge that the branch bridge may for eight notes or more
carry each load-number of the covered strings by duplicates; that is to say, the
same load-number string may be used twice, serving thus for two notes, by its
having on the second occasion of using it a rise giving about two and a half inches
length, thus, if load-number-string No 1 were C#, then this string, being carried by.
the bridge two and a half inches higher, would be C. Then load-number-string
No 2, being of the same length as the string of C, would be B, and if carried by
the bridge two and a half inches higher, would be A, and so on until it was
found inconvenient to double the effect of the increase of loading with the effect of
increase of length of string, after which the bridge should take the horizontal turn
usual for the covered strings and the load-number strings should follow in ordinary
progression:
The planks of the belly are preferably about five inches wide. Their joints
are each throughout its whole length on the outer side covered by an inch wide
bar of belly-wood thinned-away to its extremities from the resonant bridge, and:
are; on the inner side covered equally for a short distance near the resonant bridge
by such a bar, in like manner thinned away. Every such. inch wide inner bar
lying as it does, immediately under the outer bar; rests on a sound post which is

page_text: set so as to leave at least three eighths of an inch clear between it and the pillar.
A sound-hole long, thin and straight; extending over one fourth or one fifth of the
distance between the extremities of the belly at the line of its course, and having
its centre as near as possible to the resonant bridge, lies between each bar and the
bar adjoining it on either hand.
The back of the chest having to support the strain of the sound-posts should be
strengthened and may be double. If it be so, the inner back consists of half inch
sycamore planks about half an inch thick and five inches each in width, this being
the width of the planks of the belly, and the outer back consists of half inch
planks of black walnut or other ornamental wood or else of some such wood as
sycamore veneered crossing the inner planks of sycamore diagonally, whilst an
inch wide bar of half inch sycamore, covering each joint of the inner sycamore
planks, intervenes between the two backs, and whilst care is taken that these bars
shall lie not immediately under the bars of the belly but rather shall lie midway
between them, so that each sound post shall rest on a part of the back which is
resonant and whose resonance is not injuriously affected by the outer back which
crosses its fibres. These backs and the intervening bar should either of them or all
of them be supported by bars of tee steel which may be applied in various ways.
In setting up the resonant bridge upon its pillars great care is necessary to avoid
any side bearing of the strings towards the concave side. The down bearing being
great there need be no side-bearing at all especially if studs are used on the
bridge instead of pins.
The chest needs no case except in front. The left or bass side, standing against
the wall may be of sycamore, spruce fir, or any other plain wood, and all that is
necessary is that the ornamental wood or the veneer of the back and of the left or
treble side should be in keeping with the veneer of the case covering the action
and the whole of the front of the instrument.
In order to prevent the sound posts when set up from shifting from their places
each sound post may at either end be furnished with a very thin and short spike,
consisting of a thin screw with the head filed off to the thickness of a stout needle.
Then the posts being, by means of their lower spikes, set in their proper places
(which places are discovered by a pierced scale modelled on the belly and adjusted
to the shape of the chest) they will, when the belly is carefully laid down upon
them, pierce it with their upper spikes at the proper places and there will remain
firmly fixed.
The pillars on which the bridge is suspended consist of Swiss pine. They are
about two inches square so as to carry the bridge firmly, but they are perforated
with as many holes from top to bottom as they can well bear without sinking.
These holes are arranged on the principle of the cuttings in a violin bridge, so as
to free the fibres of the wood. The bars of the belly, on which the pillars rest, are
widened at the precise spot which these pillars cover so as to give them steadiness,
and the pillars are fixed to these bars not only by glue but by a short dowel.
They are in like manner by a dowel equally short (say three eighths of an inch in
all) fixed to the suspended bridge.
The varnish used for every part of the instrument on which resonance depends,
but especially for the belly, is compounded of oil and not of spirits.
The cheeks of the keyboard are preferably fastened to two iron flanges the one
projecting from the second and the other from the sixth upright bar. From these
flanges the cheeks the keyboard, and the whole front case covering the action, are
in one piece detachable from the remaining body of the instrument so that the
whole instrument, having its thickness thus halved may be the more easily brought
into the room of a private house.
At the back of a grand chordarmia's chest, resting on the floor should be a
moulding of about three inches depth at one foot distance from the extreme width on
the treble side, and of about six inches depth at one foot distance from the extreme
width on the bass side. This moulding on the treble side should end in a depth of
about half an inch but on the bass side in a depth of about one foot, where, close to.

page_text: the wall, it would incommode no passers by; and whilst firmly attachable to the
chest, it should be entirely detachable from it, so as to enable the instrument to be
carried the more easily-It is carried of course like a grand piano by means of
webbing.
The action of an upright Chordarmia is simply that of an upright piano-forte
lowered so as to take effect below the keys. The lowering process is effected by a
wire or other such conductor hooked into the end of each key, and passing down
from the level of the key board to a sufficient depth to take up the action at the
proper place below the key.
In the case of a chordarinia of only about six feet in height, I act precisely as in
the instance of a grand chordarmia, except that here of course the pure strings are
fewer in number and that all of them may be tuned above the keys.
In the instance of a horizontal chordarmia, I convert a grand piano-forte into a
horizontal chordarmia by an adaptation to it, as far as possible of all the principles
and processes described in this specification as employed in the conversion of an
upright piano-forte into a grand chordarmia, but either the chest of the horizontal
chordarmia will need to be above the strings, or else its hammers will have to
strike downwards.
-
In the instance of a chordarmiette, by which I mean a chordarmia of less height
than four feet, I convert a cottage piano into a chordarmiette by the adaptation
described in the instance of the horizontal chordarmia except that, in this instance
as well as in that, the original outer shape of the pianoforte need not be much
altered.

page_text: Piano Class.
I WILLIAM MARSHALL, of Sutherland House, Abbey Road, Malvern, in the
county of Worcester, Gentleman 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:-
My invention relates to the construction of an improved musical instrument of
the piano class which I name Chordarmia from "chord" and "harmony" and in
order to enable the same to be fully understood I will describe it by reference to
the accompanying drawing in which figure 1 is a sectional elevation illustrating
my improvements applied to an instrument of the piano class; figure 2 is a vertical
section on the line A B of figure 1, and figure 3 is a horizontal section on the
line CD of Figure 1. In the drawing for the purpose of avoiding complication I
have generally shewn only examples of parts of the instrument referred to in the
description. Similar letters of reference throughout the drawing are used to
indicate similar parts.
This instrument in respect of everything else but its sound board, may be
constructed like an upright piano or a horizontal grand piano, but preferably its
hammers (one of which is shewn in figure 2) strike (in an upright form of the
instrument) below the keyboard and preferably also its outer form, which is that
given in the drawing, is composite; that is to say it is somewhat like that of a
horizontal grand piano set up on end with the keyboard b (see figure 2) and keys
of an upright piano placed in its front; the top of the right or treble side being
so lowered (as shewn at e,) that a player sitting at the centre of the keyboard b,
at the ordinary height of the seat of a chair from the floor of the room or upon an
ordinary music stool standing on the said floor, may look horizontally over that
aforesaid right or treble side at his audience, and may, if a vocalist, have his voice
directed to them without impediment; whilst the left or bass side d, has its top
raised high enough to allow of the employment of bass strings of about four feet in
length, or even if desired high enough to allow of the employment of bass strings of
eight feet in length all running parallel with the treble strings. In every form of
the instrument each set of strings (only one of which sets is shewn in figure 1) runs
about parallel with the grain of the belly-wood, an advantage which cannot be
attained by overstringing; and in this novelty the instrument differs from the
ordinary piano; as also in the more important novelty of the chest f, with which,
in lieu of a sound board, it is furnished. g, g, are the bracings, h, is the belly bridge.
The belly f¹, of the chest f, may be either in front of the bracings g, so that these
bracings are within the said chest, or it may be behind them as shewn in the
drawing. The chest f, is divided by partitions i, into four or more part-chestsj,
which nearly correspond severally to a violin, viola, violoncello and bass viol, in
respect of the quantity of air which they contain; each partition is preferably made
of very thin belly wood and has a narrow lath of the same wood glued along each
side at both the back and the front enabling it to be both glued and screwed

page_text: severally to the chest's back f2, and the chest's belly f'. It is made of such thin
wood in order that it may help the sound-post k, by communicating the vibration
of the cheat's belly to the back, whilst it also supports the belly and strengthens
the back. The part chests are not only divided by partitions from each other, but
preferably by similar partitions i³, from the sides of the chest f, distance pieces ƒ³,
being placed between those sides and the partitions. Each part chest is perfectly
airtight except at the proper sound holes; and the whole chest is necessarily
deeper on the bass than on the treble side (as shewn in figure 3). The belly-bridge
is arched out into piers h2, (as seen in figure 3). It preferably crosses the bracings,
if these are outside the belly, by passing under them at the piers as shewn at u
figure 3, but it may cross them by passing over them at the arches as shewn at u².
In the latter case the bridge must stand higher than in the former. It is
preferably made of beech, about three inches in height, being three fourths of an
inch in thickness at the top and bottom but thinner in the middle. Its piers or
legs somewhat resemble those of a bass-viol's bridge, but are straighter. It must
on no account touch anything but the strings and the belly. It is not glued to the
belly but one or more of its piers may be fixed to it by short dowels or by small
wooden shoes. The strings preferably cross it on brass studs entering it by a
fourth or eighth of an inch. Ordinarily only two piers h², rest on a part chest j,
having a soundhole m, on the outer side of each pier within the part-chest as
shewn on the treble side of figure 3; whilst a sound-post k, stands behind one of the
piers, and a bass bar l, lies under the other; but if the bridge needs to rest upon
a part-chest on more than two piers, then the extra pier or piers may rest on an
extra sound post, or bass bar, or on a half partition made like a partition but only
as long as a bass-bar within the part-chest, or even on a partition itself of the
chest. Those sound-holes m, the centre of which is as near as possible to the belly
bridge, are (like those of the violin) about one fourth or fifth as long as the belly.
They are mostly straight but where possible they may have a slightly curving
form expanding fan-like at the end remote from the soundpost. Other sound-
holes n, however may lie bisecting the grain of the belly at one or even at both its
ends for the further vibration of that part of it on which the bridge rests or the
belly may at one or both its ends be left suspended for the same purpose.
The sound-posts k, are (as in the violin) placed behind and not exactly under the
bridge so that a clear inch or half inch, according to the thickness of the belly,
intervenes between the post and the bridge. These posts reach from the belly to
the back.
The bass-bars, like the sound holes have their centres as near as possible to the
belly bridge: They are quite unsupported so that each pier of the bridge within
the part chest rests on wood which (as in the violin) is made springy by the fact
that the soundposts and the bass-bars act and re-act vibratorily on each other.
The bass-bars are (as in the violin) half the length of the belly to which they are
glued on the underside (as shewn in figure 2).
The back f2, and the sides are made of sound repelling wood such as Sycamore.
The back may be double but in this case which I do not prefer rods of sycamore,
or distance pieces, lie along the grain of the wood between the two backs. If the
back is single its seams may be strengthened by such rods. In either case that
part of the back which is visible must be either ebonized or otherwise coloured or
else made of or veneered with ornamental wood or wood rendering it capable of
being the panel of a picture.
The bracings are preferably of cast iron like those in the ordinary iron frame of
a piano but deeper and stronger so as to make up for the want of the support of a
wooden back such as that of a piano. The bracings preferably incline downwards
to the right about one foot in eight and this inclination is followed by that of all
the strings and of all the planks in the belly and back. The iron frame which
includes the bracings is preferably constructed thus:-its lower end is a cap or bar
of iron p, which forms the unresonant bridge and which also serves as the plate
for the hitchpins of all the springs e¹; this plate is set at such an angle with the

page_text: strings that their resonance is fully stopped by the bridge. Its upper end is bound
together by the iron boxes q, made to hold the wrestplanks r. The iron frame is
firmly attached to the chest at the top and bottom by iron bars or flanges o, passing
from it down the inner part of the chest's sides.
I would observe that only oil varnish should be used on any resonant part of the
instrument.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood
that I am aware of Duguet's English Patent N° 1413 of 1861 for a composite
piano with high seat and also of Steward's Patent No 9023 of 1841 for a harp-
like piano with three chests and also of other like patents in which the form,
use, arrangement and composition of what are therein termed (contrary to the
acceptation of these words by violin makers) sound chests, sound posts, sound
holes, bass bars, double soundboards and enclosed sound boards like a violin, are
where they are clearly defined utterly different from mine as will be seen by a
comparison of the specifications; but I declare that what I claim is
The herein described construction use and arrangement of the several parts of
my instrument, namely, a sound chest, violin-like part chests, partitions, half
partitions, sound posts, sound holes, bass bars, belly bridge and bracings (the said
parts being constructed as far as possible on the principles of violin construction)
in combination with a musical instrument of the piano class the instrument being
preferably of the shape which I have described as composite substantially as and
for the purposes hereinbefore described and represented in the accompanying
drawing.