Patent ID: 7227067

Claim:
Tarpin, a string musical instrument comprising: a. a body having a front, a back, a top, a bottom, a left side, a right side, and a hole in the center of the front for sound resonance; b. an upper bridge at the top of the body and horizontal to the length of the body; c. a lower bridge near the bottom of the body attached on the front of the body and horizontal to the length of the body and parallel to the upper bridge; d. plurality of long frets connected with the top of the body and running horizontally along the length of the body and parallel to the upper and lower bridge, directly below the upper bridge whereby the long frets are distanced so as to produce sounds that are a half note apart; e. plurality of tuning boxes attached to the bottom of the body, made of a bolt, a nut, a tailpiece, a clapper, and a grooved metal covering, wherein the clapper is fixed on the nut and placed in the groove of the metal covering; and f. plurality of strings, equal in number to the tuning boxes, connected with the body and running vertically along the length of the body from the top to the bottom running through the upper bridge and lower bridge and perpendicular to the long frets secured from the top on the back of the body by indentation in the back of the upper bridge and from the bottom on the bottom of the body connected to the bolt of the tuning box, wherein winding the bolt, will move the nut and tune the string; whereby a performer holds the body with the bottom on his lap and places one hand on the top over the upper bridge with fingers projected over the frets to change the pitch and with the fingers of the other free hand plucks the string to produce music.