TEACHING AID FOR DEMONSTRATING THE HARMONIC SYSTEM

• US 3,791,254 A
• Filed: 11/01/1971
• Issued: 02/12/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Egon Muller
• Original Assignee: Egon Muller
• Inventors: Muller, Egon
• Primary Examiner(s): Tomsky, Stephen J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gonzales, John F.
• Application Number:
  US05/194,176
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 84/470-474,477R,478-482
• US Class Current: 84/471.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/005 of the slide type

Abstract

A teaching aid for demonstrating the harmonic system comprising two bar members arranged as in a slide rule, the lower member carrying the symbols and the upper member, which masks the lower member, a column of windows through which symbols from the lower bar member appear. By setting one window on a basic key note various harmonics may be read from the other windows.

Claims

1. An aid for representing the harmony system of tonal music and for illustrating diagrammatically the keys and harmony sequences which are related to one another under the laws of harmony, comprising two parts which are adapted to be displaced with a sliding action, relatively to one another, one of the two parts being constructed as a symbol carrier which carries note symbols on its upper side in rows with equal spacing therebetween and in columns generally transverse to said rows one below the other arranged with equal spacing, the symbols comprising the key notes and chord tones of the keys of the major and minor series in a specific arrangement based on the circle of fifths and circle of fourths, within each row and each column the neighboring tone symbols representing the key notes having the tonal interval of a fourth in one direction and a fifth in the opposite direction, and the other part, which is constructed as a window carrier and masks the symbol carrier, include at least one series of window apertures which are arranged one below the other in a column parallel to the column in the symbol carrier and whose number and arrangement coincides with those of the symbols within a column, so that after a suitable setting of the two parts only the symbols coincident with said window apertures are visible in the windows.

2. An aid according to claim 1, in which the symbol carrier includes twelve columns on each of the two sides of a central column with the symbols of the non-sharpened tones of the C major scale with the symbols of the sharp keys spaced to the right and the flat keys spaced to the left so that, whilst maintaining the tone intervals of a fourth and fifth respectively of neighbouring columns, the double-sharp and double-flat enharmonic change forms the end column in each case, and the window carrier includes at a spacing corresponding to the two end columns, when said window column is arranged over the symbol column of the C major scale on the symbol carrier, two further columns of windows in one or both of which columns the symbols of the enharmonic changes of the keys set are visible.

3. An aid according to claims 1, in which the tone symbols inscribed within a column are so arranged that the respective tonic indicated in a central row is followed in the upward direction of the dominant and double-dominant, and in the downward direction by the sub-dominant and double-sub-dominant, which, with appropriate setting of the two parts relatively to one another, are visible in a window column of the window carrier.

4. An aid according to claim 1, wherein at least one additional intermediate row of symbols is arranged on the symbol carrier between the rows representing the key notes in such a manner that the major augmented third appears in each case within a column between tonic and dominant and between dominant and double-dominant, and the minor diminished third is given in each case between tonic and sub-dominant, and sub-dominant and double-sub-dominant and below the double-sub-dominant, and that on the window carrier between the windows of the window column there are arranged additional windows in such a manner that they unmask those symbols of the intermediate row situated in the column which correspond to the key notes of the relative minors associated with a specific preset tonic, its dominant, double-dominant, sub-dominant and double-sub-dominant.

5. An aid according to claim 4, in which said relative minors comprise in each case three intermediate rows with the same symbols, at the same spacing from one another and from the neighboring rows, and the window carrier comprises at the two sides of the window column or columns at the spacing of the columns of the symbol carrier, respective supplementary window columns whose windows are arranged at a spacing to unmask some of the symbols given at the point of intersection of the intermediate rows with the neighboring columns, the arrangement of the symbols of the intermediate rows on the symbol carrier and of the supplementary window columns on the window carrier being such that in the windows thereof the symbols of the cadences associated with the relative minors appear.

6. An aid according to claim 1, in which on the symbol carrier there is inscribed above and below the rows of tone symbols in each case a row of numbers with the numbers 0 to 12, indicating the number of sharps and flats of the preset tonic, with which one window aperture is associated in each window column on the window carrier for the number rows.

7. An aid according to claim 1, in which its two parts are in the form of bars and are provided with corresponding means for guiding one another in sliding longitudinal displacement in the direction of their longitudinal axes.

8. An aid according to claim 7, in which one of the two parts, symbol carrier or window carrier, is constructed in the manner of the slide of a slide rule with grooves, in which the other part, window carrier or symbol carrier, is slidably guided by means of corresponding tongues.