Current application relates to an aiding device for playing fretted analog string musical instruments, especially fitted to an acoustic guitar used to provide the ability to play an instrument with little or no ability or proficiency.
Playing good music with stringed musical instrument is a longing for most youngsters or persons with an inability to command an instrument. The guitar is an easily accessible musical instrument for youngsters because of its affordable price; however, learning and understanding mechanics necessary to produce chords on a guitar is not easy, although it is essential for the players to be successful. Mastering the many types of fingerings for producing chords and their relation to one another is essential, and requires mastery in order to inspire creativity. Many musical theory books demonstrate and refer to a vast array of chords. However, producing these chords in order to hear them in relation to each other is essential for musical development. Some aiding devices for easily playing chords on the guitar are available. Yet, they are cumbersome, complex, and unclear. The prior art has shown that there is not a device of simple and small, easy to use and compact, with a capability to construct any form or type of chord in music. Needed, is a better method that makes a stronger impact on the mind of the beginning player in which learning is quicker and enjoyable. Notations must be looked into again and again to absorb everything contained within the black and white pages. It is the purpose of the current application to provide an aiding device for chord generation, which has an ability to make a stronger impression if done in a clear simple manner. It is another purpose of the current application to provide an aiding instrument for a guitar player, who accidentally loses some of his/her fingers or is unable to command a fretted stringed instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,890 to Tutaj illustrates musical teaching aid devices for fretted instruments such as guitar. The top side of the device contains indicia representing the names of the musical notes which are viewed through the top perforated piece, and the back side of the bottom piece contains the chord spelling of a plurality of chord types. In between both the top and bottom piece plates is a frame, which fastens the top and bottom together and serves the purpose of allowing slides to pass through the six given spaces (inserts) in the frame. One slide is given for each string, in which one perforation is centered in the middle of the slide to allow for the selection of a desired note when pushed or pulled through the embodiment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,365 to Huston, Jr. illustrates a device for playing chords on a musical instrument by depressing a single pushbutton. The device is characterized by an L shaped base having a shorter leg which engages a side of the neck of the musical instrument and a longer leg which overlies the strings of the instrument. A number of spacers are provided to maintain separation in-between the base and the strings, and a pair of straps encircle the neck to hold the base in position. Three pushbutton assemblies are provided, each of which depresses three strings on a musical instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,057 to Whitlock illustrates an apparatus for composing and indicating finger pattern information for a musical stringed fingerboard instrument comprising a plurality of align ably repositionable first series of first indicia, each first series representing at least one course of said stringed fingerboard instrument, the locations of said first indicia forming a mapping image of allowable locations for fingering the respective courses of the stringed fingerboard instrument to sound musical tones.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,450 to Quemore, Sr. illustrates a guitar having four strings, two frets and an attachment pivotally mounted between the frets whereby the three principal chords of any key to which it has been tuned may be obtained clearly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,134 to Schreiber illustrates a chord playing attachment for stringed instruments, wherein combinations of string depressors are pressed down on the strings to produce a chord. The string depressors are connected with a spring action to a component which is attached to the instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,698 to Matyas illustrates a 248/229 slide rule that simulates the finger board of fretted instruments is provided. The slide rule includes a housing having a plurality of longitudinally extending channels or guide ways each of which is adapted to receiving an axially displaceable slide, one for each string of the instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,560 to Chang, et al. illustrates an apparatus for playing chords on a guitar which enables a rapid change between chord positions, including the major, minor, and dominant seventh chords of two keys separated by five half-tones. The apparatus comprises a chording device with levers for changing between the major, minor and dominant seventh chords of one key. The chording device is shift able laterally, and it includes cams which alter the positions at which the guitar strings are depressed when a lateral shift occurs to establish the corresponding chord in the other key.
None of the prior arts illustrates an aiding instrument that can press so many different chords with just one finger for general chord or two fingers for a complex chord.
Playing good music with stringed musical instrument is a longing for most youngsters. The guitar is one of the easily accessible musical instruments for youngsters because of affordable price; however, learning and understanding of chords of a guitar is not easy although it is essential for the players to be successful. Mastering many types of chords and their relation to one another is essential for creativity too. Some aiding devices for easy playing of the chords of guitar are available. However, they are cumbersome, complex, and unclear.
There is not a device of simple and small, easy to use and compact with the capability to construct any form or type of chord in music. It is the purpose of the current application to provide an aiding device for chord generation, which has an ability to make a stronger impression if done in a clear simple manner. It is another purpose of the current application to provide an aiding instrument for a guitar player who accidentally loses some of her fingers. An aiding device for playing fretted string instruments, such as analog guitar played by a beginner, is provided.
The aiding device according to the current application is engaged over fret portion of an acoustic guitar to generate a chord with only two fingers of a player. The aiding device is comprised of: 12 key pads installed on a key pad box; a hook that enables the key box engaging to fret portion of a guitar; a plurality of single position key pads located on player's side of the key pad box; an electronic circuit board installed inside of the keyboard box just below the key pad; pluralities of electromagnetic actuators installed inside of the key pad box just below the circuit board; pluralities of pressing pins installed inside of the keyboard box just below the return key pad and over strings of the guitar; and, a rechargeable battery inside of the key box. Each key can play two tones of ‘major’ and ‘minor’.
A plurality of single position key pads along the key pad box and which when pressed play ‘6’, ‘7’ and ‘9’ combined with chords of ‘A’ to ‘G’.
The ‘E-Z Master Chord’ device (5) is affixed over fret portion (2) of an acoustic guitar neck (1) to generate a chord with only two fingers of a player. The ‘E-Z Master Chord’ device (5) is comprised of 12 key pads (7), these keypads (7) are divided into two groups: the first group is the set of keypads (shown as 7B in
The plurality of keypads (7) are sloped inwardly from both sides to enable a player playing two different tones of ‘major’ and ‘minor’ by pressing one side of each key pad (shown as 7B in
This function enables the player who is reading a music sheet showing that a ‘C Major’ chord should be played, and providing the ability to play the ‘C Major’ Chord, but sounding C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, B, Bb/A#, and A.
When a user of the ‘E-Z Master Chord’ device (5) presses a key pad (7), the logic circuit (not shown) attached to the circuit board (10) governs the voltage to the corresponding electromagnetic actuators (11). The number of electromagnetic actuators engaged is determined by the logic circuit (not shown) to engage three to six electromagnetic actuators (11) depending on the chord to play. Then, each corresponding electromagnetic actuator (11) pushes the corresponding pressing pin (13) to press the string (3).
Twenty four pressing pins (13) are needed for contact points over six strings (3) which is equivalent to four electromagnetic actuators (11) per each string (3) placed directly over the four frets (2) that the device (5) is located over when attached to the neck (1) of the guitar. There are six pressing pins (13) engaged noted as 13A through 13F, which correspond to the contact point (15) of the string (3) above the fret (2). The contact points (15) are noted as 15A through 15F. The logic circuit (not shown) attached to the circuit board (10) is predetermined to engage the appropriate electromagnetic actuators (11) attached to a pressing pin (13) when a key pad (7), or key pads (one of key pad of the group in 7A with one key pad of the group in 7B) is pressed. There are 168 different combinations of pre programmed engagements of electromagnetic actuators.
An example of engaged pressing pins (13) to play “C Major 7” chord shown facing towards the top of the page of the
As it is demonstrated in
Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be distinctly understood that various modifications and adaptations of the arraignments herein disclosed may made as may readily occur to persons skilled in the art without constituting a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the objects and in the appended claims.
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