Claims
- 1. A method of tuning a sounding member of a musical instrument, wherein said sounding member comprises a sound board and a plural number of sound bars; said method comprising the steps of:
- a. tapping one of the sound bars at a first selected location therealong, to produce an audible sound;
- b. comparing the produced sound with a desired reference sound;
- c. changing the amount of sound bar material at the selected location, to thereby produce an audible sound that substantially duplicates the reference sound; and,
- d. repeating steps a, b and c at other selected locations along said one sound bar.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a, b, c and d are performed on each of the sound bars associated with said sound board.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a, b, c and d are performed while said one sound bar is detached from said sound board.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a, b, c and d are performed after said one sound bar has been attached to said sound board.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein steps a, b, c and d are performed on each of the sound bars associated with said sound board; step b being accomplished with different reference sounds for different ones of the sound bars.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein step a is performed with said one sound bar clamped to a fixed support structure at a point spaced from said selected tapping location.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said musical instrument is a piano.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said musical instrument is a guitar.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said musical instrument is a drum.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the sound board and the sound bars are metallic.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein step c is accomplished by sanding the surface of the sound bar to remove material therefrom.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said musical instrument is a guitar, the first mentioned sound board being tuned to a first reference sound, and the sounding member comprises a second sound board, and including the step of tuning the second sound board to a second reference sound.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the guitar has a side wall between said first and second sound boards, and including the step of tuning the side wall to the same reference sound as one of said sound boards.
- 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said musical instrument is a piano having a hinged lid, and the sound board comprises the hinged lid.
- 15. A method of tuning a sound bar adapted for use in a musical instrument; said method comprising the steps of:
- a. clamping the sound bar to a fixed support at a specific point along the length of the bar;
- b. tapping the sound bar at a selected location spaced from the clamping point, to produce an audible sound;
- c. comparing the produced sound with a desired reference sound;
- d. changing the amount of sound bar material at the tapping location, to thereby produce an audible sound that substantially duplicates the reference sound; and,
- e. repeating steps a, b, c and d with the sound bar clamped at different selected points therealong.
- 16. The method of claim 15, wherein step c is accomplished by sanding the surface of the sound bar to remove material therefrom.
- 17. The method of claim 15, wherein each sequence of steps a, b, c and d constitutes one tuning operation; said tuning operations being carried out so that the tapping location in one tuning operation is used for the clamping point in the next tuning operation.
- 18. The method of claim 15, in which the sound bar is of metal and including the step of increasing the sound bar material at a tapping location by adding metal.
- 19. The method of claim 15, in which the musical instrument is a drum having a skin which is struck to produce an audible sound, and the sound bar is a metal head that supports the skin.
- 20. A method of making a tuned sound bar for use in a musical instrument; said method comprising the steps of:
- a. clamping a reference sound bar to a fixed support at a specific point along the length of the reference sound bar;
- b. tapping the reference sound bar at a selected location spaced from the clamping point, to produce an audible sound;
- c. comparing the produced sound with a desired reference sound;
- d. changing the amount of reference sound bar material at the tapping location to thereby produce an audible sound that substantially duplicates the reference sound;
- e. repeating steps a, b, c and d with the reference sound bar clamped at different selected points therealong;
- f. weighing the tuned reference sound bar; and
- g. reproducing the tuned reference sound bar for use in other similar musical instruments.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 553,103, filed July 13, 1990 for TUNING THE WOOD OF A MUSICAL, INSTRUMENT BOW, since issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,694 on June 25, 1991 which in turn was a continuation-in-part of the application Ser. No. 264,352 filed Oct. 31, 1988, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,383 for a "Method for Tuning Violins", July 17, 1990.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
58478 |
Apr 1913 |
ATX |
27605 |
Dec 1908 |
GBX |
433422 |
Aug 1935 |
GBX |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
553103 |
Jul 1990 |
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Parent |
264352 |
Oct 1988 |
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