US253857A - Legato monitor for piano-forte players - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

S. A. EMERY. LEGATO MONITOR FOR PIANO FORTE lLAYERS. No. 253,857. Patented Feb. 21,1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN A. EMERY, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LEGATO MONITOR FOR PIANO-FORTE PLAYERS.

SPECIFICATION forrrring part of Letters Patent No. 253,857, dated February 21, 1882.

Application filed November 29, 1881.

To all whom at may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. EMERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Devices for Regulating the Movement of the Hand, \Vrist, and Forearm inPlayingthePiano-Forte, which Idenominate Emerys Legato Monitor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful device for aiding players on the piano-forte andother musical instruments having a keyboard to acquire a proper touch in playing legato (or smooth) passages of music.

All teachers of players on the piano-forte are aware that an essential point to be gained is to secure the playing of legato (smooth) passages of music by the use of the fingers without an accompanying upward and downward movement of the wrists. In playing such passages the motive power acting on the keys of the instrument should proceed from the thumb and fingers and not noticeably from the hand, wrist, or forearm. The purpose to be accomplished can in general be efi'ected only by keeping the player informed of the fault to be corrected, and by frequent warning, especially in the teachers absence, that it must be avoided in order to secure a skillful and agreeable performance. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure l is a side view, and Fig. 2 is a front view.

Similar letters refer to similar parts th roughout both views.

In Fig. 1 a small hell or gong, A, is supported on a firm stand or post, B, the post itselfbeingfixed fastin aflat metal spring, 0 D E. The spring near the point D is to be so thin that a slight jar of the whole downward will cause an immediate lowering of the upper end, E, from which depends a small metal hammer, F, acting on the bell A each time it is jarred downward. The curved spring 0 D E is kept curved by a small wire or thread, H, connecting the ring G with the ring J above, the latter terminating in a screw, which passes upward through the spring 0 D E, and is there held in place by the small nut K. At first, if

(N0 model.)

the players arm jars very much and the bell warns him that nearly every note is played with this faulty motion of the wrist, it may be well to unscrew a little the nut K, thus allowing the spring O D E slightly to open, raising the hammerF farther from the bell A. It will then ring only when the wrist motion is very bad. As the player, by practice, acquires a smoother touch the nut K may be turned gradually down, bringing the hammer F nearer the bell A, and thus causinga warningto the player of the slightest deviation from legato playing.

In legato passages interspersed with accents the height of the hammer F should be so regulated by means of the nut K that the bell may ring only when the accented notes are played.

This warning device is designed to be held in an upright position (shown in Fig. 1) by an arm-ringor bracelet, of which M, Fig. l, is aside view, and M, Fig. 2, is afront view, worn around the players forearm, with the bell A projecting forward toward the players hand. This arm-ring is adjustable in size, being made of flat metal strap, slightly tempered. The ends of this strap are held in place, so as to form a ring, by metal clasps L L, Fig. 2, fastened to the ends, and by means of the small knobs NN they may be pushed upward or downward, thus diminishing or enlarging the circumference of the arm-ring toaccommodate the size of the arm. When the clasps L L are pushed down to the lowest part of the arm-ring the latter should be sufficiently enlarged to admit through it a hand of ordinary size. By push in g the sliding clasps L L upward toward the spring 0 D E after the arm-ring is placed around the arm the ring is made to clasp the arm tightly enough to keep the warning apparatus above described in proper position without unduly pinching or inconveniencing the arm. When thus adjusted to the arm of the player, so long as the/fingers only are used no motion is communicated to the hammer F suffi cient to ring the hell or gong A; but when the playing is accompanied by a faulty motion of the hand, wrist, or forearm this throws the hammer F against the bell A, and thus audibly warns the player of his fault, thereby aiding in its correction.

The various parts of this legato monitor should be made of as lightmaterial as is con sistent with the purpose of this invention.

If preferred, any other sounding substance maybe substituted in place of the hell or gong A, provided it emits an audible warning distinct from that of the piano-forte itself. Also, if desired, a strap of leather or of other material may be substituted for the metal arm-ring M.

This invention may be used on either arm,or one on each arm at the same time, as circumstances may require.

While I regard as best the construction, combination, and adjustment giving an audible reminder of thefault when committed, as above described, yet, should the player prefer, the bell A may be dispensed with and the hammer sufficiently lowered to tap the back of the wrist or arm whenever the above-named fault occurs.

I am aware that prior to my invention flat metal rings with sliding clasps have been used 20 for other purposes, and therefore I do not claim as new the arm-ring or bracelet M; nor do I claim as new any other of the separate parts of this invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An exercising device for aiding pupils in practicing on key-board musical instruments, which consists of the adjustable spring 0 D E, hammer F, and bell A, mounted upon the wristlet M, or its equivalent, all constructed and arrangedsubstautiallyin the maunerdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

STEPHEN A. EMERY.

Witnesses:

J OSEPH 1t. CHURCHILL, CHAS. A. M AoKIN'rosn.

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