Patent Application
20160086507
An embodiment of the disclosed apparatus was demonstrated at the American String Teachers' Association National Conference on Mar. 8, 2014 in a presentation titled “A Spoonful of Sugar: Games and Activities that Make Practice Fun.”
A bowed string instrument is a type of musical instrument comprising one or more strings that can be vibrated using a bow to produce sound. Examples of bowed string instruments include a violin, viola, a cello, and a double bass. By moving the bow across the strings, the sound of different notes can be generated to produce music. In learning to play a bowed string instrument, one of the skills that must be mastered is how to maintain the bow at the proper distance and angle relative to the strings.
A bowed string instrument generally comprises two portions. The first portion called the body generally has an ellipsoid shape which is attached on one end to an elongated portion called the neck. Along the outer surface of the instrument are a plurality of strings that are attached from substantially one end of the neck to the other end of the body. The strings are spaced away from the surface of the instrument using a spacer called a bridge. The strings may be arranged in a manner such that the strings form an arc near the bridge and are substantially within the same plane near the neck. The above description of a bowed-string instrument can be modified in numerous ways and still maintain this same general character.
A bow suitable for use with a bowed-string instrument generally comprises a stick and a ribbon, also referred to as bow hair. The ribbon is generally comprised of one or more lengths of a flexible material that is stretched substantially from one end of the stick to the other end of the stick. A bow may also comprise a “frog” configured to receive one end of the ribbon as well as a mechanism for adjusting the tension of the ribbon.
This invention relates to tools used in the teaching of musical instruments. In particular, this disclosure relates to tools used to teach musicians in the art of playing bowed-string instruments.
The primary tool used in teaching musicians how to play a musical instrument is the musical instrument itself. The variability and flexibility that allows trained musicians to produce masterful pieces of art can also distract novice students from learning the fundamental skills necessary to master a musical instrument. In the case of bowed string instruments, one of these fundamental skills is how to maintain the proper form when stroking the bow along the strings. In addition to the vigilant eye of the music instructor, tools may be useful to assist students of bowed string instruments in mastering the proper form.
The disclosed training device aids in the instruction of playing bowed string instruments, like a violin, for example. By guiding the motion of a bow teaching apparatus in a manner consistent with the operation of an actual bow, students will learn proper bowing technique. Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the disclosed training device will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.
The exemplar violin teaching apparatus 100 shown in
As shown in
The neck portion 102 is attached to body portion 101 in a substantially perpendicular manner. However, depending on the shape of body 101 and/or possible aesthetic considerations the connection between body 101 and neck 102 may join at a different angle or location. The neck portion 102 in
The guide body 103 is coupled to neck portion 102. Bridge portion 104 is attached to guide body 103 and bow interface 105. For purposes of convenience, the combination of parts and functionality represented by guide body 103, bridge portion 104 and bow interface 105 will be referred to as bow guide 200 when discussing the combination as a whole.
In the embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
As an alternative to slide stoppers 106, neck portion 102 and guide body 103 can be configured to limit the lateral motion via one or more grooves on the outer surface of neck portion 102. In this embodiment, guide body 103 may comprise one or more spring plungers configured to couple with one or more of the grooves in the neck portion 102. When engaged, the spring plungers would limit the motion of the guide body 103 in the manner defined by the grooves in neck portion 102. In another embodiment, guide body 103 comprises one or more grooves and neck portion 102 comprises one or more spring plungers. In another embodiment, one or more grooves could be selected from amongst a group in order to place the bow guide 200 at one of several locations along neck portion 102 with each location being substantially prevented from relative lateral motion. This might be desirable to adjust the position of bow guide 200 to accommodate different students and/or to emulate one of several different types of bowed string instruments. In addition to or in lieu of spring plungers, various types of ridges or bearings could also be used to couple the guide body 103 to neck portion 102 in a manner that limits their relative lateral motion.
Guide body 103 and neck portion 102 might also be configured such that bow guide 200 is free to rotate within a limited arc around the outer surface of neck portion 102. This type of configuration can be accomplished a number of different ways. One example is shown in
Bow guide 200 may also contain a bridge portion 104, which could be a separate structure or an integral part of either guide body 103 or bow interface 105. Bridge portion 104 represents the space between the surface of guide body 103 and bow interface 105. Bridge portion 104 may not be distinct from other portions and could be integral with guide body 103 and/or bow interface 105. The various parts bow guide 200 could also be integrated into a single unitary body.
Violin training apparatus 100 may also comprise a finger placement guide 107 near the distal end of neck portion 102. Finger placement guide 107 can be used to visually mark the fingertip locations utilized in playing a violin. Finger placement guide 107 may be an integral part of neck portion 102 or could be attached to neck portion 102 using adhesive or merely slipped on to the end of neck portion 102 as a sleeve.
Violin training apparatus 100 may comprise a positioner 108 attached underneath body portion 101. Positioner 108 can be used to assist a violin student in properly positioning violin training apparatus 100. The positioner 108 illustrated in
Violin training apparatus 100 may also contain one or more attachment posts 109. Attachment posts 109 can be used to temporarily attach various structures to body portion 101. In one embodiment, attachment posts 109 are configured to receive a chin pad. In one embodiment, the chin pad is attached via elastic straps that loop over the attachment posts 109. Attachment posts 109 may also contain a lip to aid in making attachments to body portion 101. In one embodiment, attachment posts 109 have animal shapes on the ends that are configured to provide a lip for attachments. The position and number of attachment posts 109 illustrated in
When disposed within bow guide 200, the motion of stick 301 is constrained by the configuration of bow interface 203. In one embodiment, stick 301 is configured as a dowel with circular cross-section. The motion of stick 301 will follow the path defined by the openings 204. In this embodiment, stick 301 is able to rotate freely within bow guide interface 203. In another embodiment, stick 301 and openings 204 are configured to permit rotation of stick 301 within a certain range. The techniques described above to control the rotation of the guide body 103 with respect to the neck portion 102 can be used to control the rotation of stick 301 within bow guide interface 203.
In one embodiment, bow training apparatus 300 is configured to be inserted into one opening 204 of bow interface 203 and out the other opening 204. In another embodiment, openings 204 are configured such that bow training apparatus 300 can snap into place within bow interface 203. In this embodiment, openings 204 are only partially closed and at least a portion of bow interface 203 is comprised of a sufficiently flexible material that bow training apparatus 300 can snap in and out of place within bow interface 203. In another embodiment bow interface 203 is configured to open and close along its length to permit the disposition of stick 301. For example, bow interface 203 might comprise a hinge that would allow its top portion to swing open to allow stick 301 to be placed within it. Once stick 301 has been put in place, the top portion of bow interface 203 can be returned to its closed position. The structures used to couple bow training apparatus 300 to bow interface 203 can also be used to couple guide body 103 to neck portion 102 and vice versa.
In another embedment, bow interface 203 is removable from bridge portion 202. Bow interface 203 comprises a post that can be inserted into an opening within bridge portion 202. This allows the same violin training apparatus 100 to be utilized with different bow interfaces 203 having different properties. For example, different sizes of bow interfaces 203 could be designed to accommodate different sizes and configurations of bow training apparatus 300. The bow interface 203 can also be integrated with the bow training apparatus 300 in a manner that is not easily separable. Thus, the integrated bow interface 203 can be inserted into the bridge portion 202 to complete a violin training apparatus 100 with bow training apparatus 300 disposed within.
Although the previous discussion was in the context of a violin teaching apparatus, the teaching of this disclosure can easily be adapted by a person of ordinary skill in the art to other musical instruments. For example, the violin teaching apparatus 100 could be adapted to teach other bowed string instruments, such as a cello or double bass. One way the adapt a violin teaching apparatus 100 for use as a cello teaching apparatus might be to extend the next portion to the length of a typical cello and adapt the body portion for contact with the ground by adding an end pin. In another embodiment, the body portion may be adapted to rest on a student's lap as opposed to extending all the way to the ground as would an actual cello. To the extent that teaching is focused on the bowing aspect of a bowed string instrument, other features of a bowed string instrument might be needed for pedagogical purposes.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
