Bowed instrument

Abstract

The object of the invention is a bowed instrument comprising a body (2) and a neck (1), the upper face of the body (2) being the top plate (4), at the bottom of which a tailpiece is disposed secured to the bottom of the instrument, the strings (14) being disposed in a tensioned state, supported from below by a bridge, between the tailpiece and the scroll (8) of the neck (1). The bowed instrument according to the invention comprises a tailpiece (16) that is adapted to retain the bottom portion of the strings (14), has an arcuate triangular shape, has an asymmetrically shaped body made of a multilayered material, and is rounded along the periphery of its body, wherein bores (20) adapted for receiving the strings (14) are disposed at the bottom corner (a) and along the arced portion (9) extending between the two upper corners (b, c) thereof.

Claims

1. Bowed instrument comprising a body and a neck, the upper face of the body being the top plate, at the bottom of which a tailpiece is secured to the bottom of the instrument, the strings being disposed in a tensioned state, supported from below by a bridge, between the tailpiece and the scroll of the neck, characterized in that it comprises a tailpiece that is adapted to retain the bottom portion of the strings, has an arcuate triangular shape, has an asymmetrically heart-shaped body made of a multilayered material, and is rounded along the periphery of its body, wherein a bore adapted for securing the tailpiece to the bottom of the bowed instrument is disposed at the bottom corner, with bores that have different length and are adapted for receiving the strings being disposed along an arced portion extending between the two upper corners thereof.

2. The bowed instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the asymmetrically shaped body of the tailpiece (16) is formed of a core portion (21), at least one reinforcing layer (22) adapted for bounding the core portion on both sides, and an at least one-layer cover layer (23) adapted for bounding the reinforcing layer (22) on both sides.

3. The bowed instrument according to claim 2, characterized in that the material of the core portion (21) of the tailpiece (16) thereof is at least one of the following wood materials: ebony, mahogany, afzelia, iroko, afrormosia, cabreuva, lapacho, teak, rosewood, jatoba, merbau, mutenye, wenge, panga panga, kempas, bangkirai, khaya.

4. The bowed instrument according to claim 2, characterized in that the material of the reinforcing layer(s) of the tailpiece (16) is one of the following materials: poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide (Kevlar), carbon fabric, graphene.

5. The bowed instrument according to claim 2, characterized by an adhesively bonded connection between the core portion (21), reinforcing layer (22) and, core layer (23) of the tailpiece (16).

6. The bowed instrument according to claim 5, characterized in that the adhesively bonded connection is formed by a cyanide-containing adhesive, and/or a thermosetting resin adhesive.

7. The bowed instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the bores (20) of the tailpiece (16) that are adapted for receiving the strings have a beveled/chamfered-edge configuration.

8. The bowed instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that a function describing the arced portion (19) of the upper portion of the tailpiece (16) adapted for receiving the bottom end of the strings is defined by the following equation and values:
y=a+bx+cx.sup.2+dx.sup.3+ex.sup.4+fx.sup.5
x[−12.96 . . . ;20.84 . . . ] TABLE-US-00004 x.sub.a y.sub.a a 0.00000000000000888 R.sup.2 −12.96831103 9.6360373 b 0.0163847606854536 aR.sup.2 −9.4331008 4.09804496 c 0.0326450466094223 P 0 0 d −0.000710668554553942 SE 1.82034226 0.13460043 e 0.000083073284331152 F 13.57826781 6.70859988 f −0.0000012508971129314 20.84428892 18.84923295

9. The bowed instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a spacer member (26) held between adjacent strings, disposed between the bridge (25) and the tailpiece (16), and adapted for being displaced upwards and downwards along the strings (14).

10. The bowed instrument according to claim 9, characterized in that the spacer member has a block-like shape, with a groove (27) adapted for receiving the strings (14) being disposed at one of their side faces.

11. String for the bowed instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the string (14) disposed between the tailpiece (16) and the scroll (8) of the neck (1) has a length specified in the table below: TABLE-US-00005 B string length of length of length twisted playable of upper section metallic twisted above the twisted section Total bottom section for being String length button of string wound Instrument name (mm): (mm): (mm): on peg Violin G 510-680 10-30 400-500 100-150 D 580-700 10-30 470-520 100-150 A 600-740 10-30 470-530 120-180 E 540-660 10-30 450-500  80-130 Viola C 645-795 15-35 530-600 100-160 G 685-820 15-30 540-620 130-170 D 735-835 15-35 570-620 150-180 A 675-795 15-35 530-590 130-170 Cello C 1140-1235 40-60  960-1010 140-165 G 1150-1240 40-60  970-1020 140-160 D 1190-1290 40-60  970-1020 180-210 A 1180-1260 40-60 950-980 190-220 Double-bass E 1880-1950 50-70 1600-1630 230-250 A 2020-2095 50-70 1640-1665 330-360 D 2050-2115 50-70 1650-1675 350-370 G 2010-2725 50-70 1650-1675 310-340

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) The bowed instrument according to the invention and the tailpiece thereof are explained in detail referring to the attached drawings, where

(2) FIG. 1 shows a front view (a) and a side view (b) of a bowed instrument—violin—comprising a tailpiece known per se,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a magnified view of the tailpiece shown in FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a side elevation view of the bowed instrument—particularly, violin—according to the invention,

(5) FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the bowed instrument according to FIG. 3,

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tailpiece applied with the bowed instrument according to the invention,

(7) FIG. 6 shows a front view of the tailpiece according to FIG. 5,

(8) FIG. 7 shows a rear view of the tailpiece according to FIG. 5,

(9) FIG. 8 shows a top plan view of the tailpiece according to FIG. 5,

(10) FIG. 9 shows an underside view of the tailpiece according to FIG. 5,

(11) FIG. 10 shows a view taken along the section plane I-I according to FIG. 5,

(12) FIG. 11 shows the curve describing the upper portion of the tailpiece according to FIG. 5,

(13) FIG. 12 illustrates the spacer member applied with the bowed instrument according to the invention, and

(14) FIG. 13 is the side elevation view of the spacer member according to FIG. 12.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(15) FIG. 3 shows a side elevation view of the bowed instrument—in this case, a violin—according to the invention.

(16) The configuration of the bowed instrument according to the invention is essentially identical to the configuration of the conventional instrument shown in FIG. 1, i.e. the configuration of the body 2 and the neck 3 has not been modified.

(17) The role of the bridge 13 has been taken over by a bridge 25. However, the configuration of the tailpiece 16 situated at the bottom of the instrument is completely different from known technical solutions. The configuration of the tailpiece 16 will be described in detail herebelow.

(18) The tailpiece 16 is adapted for receiving the bottom end of the strings 14, the tailpiece 16 being attached to the bottom of the instrument at a single point by a button 24.

(19) FIG. 4 illustrates the bowed instrument according to FIG. 3 in front view, also indicating the strings, with spacer members 26 adapted for being moved upwards and downwards along the strings 14 being disposed at the portion between the tailpiece 16 and the bridge 25 with the aim of eliminating undesirable out-of-tune sounds

(20) It has to be noted that the spacer members 26 are only optionally included, i.e. they can be omitted.

(21) FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the tailpiece 16 of the bowed instrument according to the invention in perspective view.

(22) The tailpiece 16 is a body having an upwardly widening configuration, of which the upper right end, shaped symmetrically to the axis 17, has greater length. The tailpiece 16 is essentially a body having an asymmetrical arcuate triangular shape, of which the corner c is situated higher than the corner a, with the corners b and c being interconnected by an arced portion 19 (see FIG. 6), said arced portion 19 constituting the upper side of the tailpiece 16.

(23) A bore 18 is disposed on the tailpiece 16 above the bottom corner a thereof that is adapted for affixing the tailpiece 16 to the bottom portion of the bowed instrument—for example, violin—, i.e., to the button 24 thereof (see FIG. 3).

(24) It has to be noted here that it is usually sufficient to affix the tailpiece 9 to the instrument by means of a single bore, but, in certain cases, attachment applying two bores can also be considered. Such attachments can be implemented applying thorugh-bores or hidden bores.

(25) Single-point attachment has a more favourable effect on the covibration of the instrument. In the case of a two-point attachment, the above mentioned covibration can be reduced, as a result of which the vibration of the lower run of the string (situated below the bridge 25) will become more dominant.

(26) Along the arced portion 19 interconnecting the upper corners b and c of the tailpiece 16 there are disposed four bores 20 that are adapted for receiving the strings (the latter are not shown in the figure, see FIG. 6). The bores 20 have a bevelled/chamfered edge configuration.

(27) The G and E strings are affixed in the bore 20 situated under the corner b, and in the bore 20 situated under the corner c, respectively, with the D and A strings being affixed along the arced portion 19 interconnecting the corners b and c, along both sides of the axis 17.

(28) In FIG. 7, the rear view of the tailpiece 16 of the bowed instrument according to the invention is shown. It is noted that, if it is allowed by the characteristics of the instrument, the tailpiece 16 can be attached to the instrument also in this configuration. In that case, the G and E strings are of course affixed in the bore 20 situated under the topmost corner c of the tailpiece 16, and in the corner b, respectively.

(29) In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the tailpiece 16 is shown in top plan view and in underside view, respectively.

(30) As can be seen in FIGS. 5-9, there are no sharp edges and corners along the lateral faces of the tailpiece 16, i.e. all faces have a bevelled configuration. It should be noted that the tailpiece 16 can have a convex or flat configuration.

(31) FIG. 10 shows a sectional view taken along the section plane I-I of FIG. 6.

(32) The tailpiece 16 is a solid body consisting of multiple layers. Depending on the type of the applied materials and the characteristics of the instrument, the number of layers varies between 7 and 14.

(33) In this embodiment, the tailpiece 16 is a violin tailpiece, wherein the tailpiece 16 consists of the following layers: internal core portion 21, reinforcing layer 22, cover layer 23, where the internal core portion 21 is made of ebony. The core 21 is encompassed on both sides by a respective reinforcing layer 22—made preferably of Kevlar—, the layers 22 are topped on each side by two cover layers 23 that are made of ebony, mahogany, afzelia, iroko, afrormosia, cabreuva, lapacho, teak, rosewood, jatoba, merbau, mutenye, wenge, panga panga, kempas, bangkirai, khaya.

(34) Carbon fabric and graphene can also be applied instead of Kevlar reinforcement.

(35) The layers can be bonded together applying a cyanide-containing adhesive, and/or a thermosetting resin adhesive.

(36) In the case of an instrument comprising the tailpiece 16, the tailpiece 16 is affixed to the button 24 at the bottom of the instrument at a single point, as a result of which the tailpiece 16 can be inclined with respect to the strings 14.

(37) In the case of the violin, the axis of this inclination is parallel to the strings, while in the case of the double-bass and the viola, the inclination angle is preferably 3.7° and in the case of the cello, 7.8°.

(38) This inclination has a favourable effect on the sound of the instrument.

(39) FIG. 11 shows the curve of the function—a polynomial function—that describes the arced portion interconnecting points Y and Z of the tailpiece 16.
y=a+bx+cx.sup.2+dx.sup.3+ex.sup.4+fx.sup.5
where
y=0.000000000000000888+0.0163847606654536x+0.0326450466094223x.sup.2+−0.000710668554553942x.sup.3++0.000083073284331152x.sup.4+−0.000001250897129314x.sup.5
x[−12.96 . . . ; 20.84 . . . ]

(40) TABLE-US-00002 x.sub.a y.sub.a a 0.000000000000000888 R.sup.2 −12.96831103 9.6360373 b 0.0163847606654536 aR.sup.2 −9.4331008 4.09804496 c 0.0326450466094223 P 0 0 d −0.000710668554553942 SE 1.82034226 0.13460043 e 0.000083073284331152 F 13.57826781 6.70859988 f −0.000001250897129314 20.84428892 18.84923295
Second-order polynomial: (SSE=0.547) x[0.53]
−0.00938455.Math.x.sup.2+0.52331792.Math.x−−0.01674261
Third-order polynomial: (SSE=0.403) x[0.53]
3.97677664.Math.10.sup.−5.Math.x.sup.3−1.25425892.Math.10.sup.−2.Math.x.sup.2+5.84860760.Math.10.sup.−1.Math.x−1.73194702.Math.10.sup.−1
Fourth-order polynomial: (SSE=0.106) x[0.53]
y=(4.24340772.Math.10.sup.−6).Math.x.sup.4−(4.07083511.10.sup.−4).Math.x.sup.3+(1.98383363.Math.10.sup.−3).Math.x.sup.2+(4.39330062.Math.10.sup.−1).Math.x−(3.13336927.Math.10.sup.−2)
Fitted measured points:
=[x, y]=0; 0

(41) 8; 3.3

(42) 18; 6.8

(43) 28; 7.3

(44) 38; 6.13

(45) 48; 3.12

(46) 53; 1.7

(47) The portion of the function that defines the arced portion 19 values is obtained by the values calculated for the fitted points (x, y).

(48) It has to be noted that the function describing the arced portion 19 is also a family of parametric functions.

(49) Returning now to the configuration of the tailpiece 16, as it has already been mentioned, the tailpiece 16 does not have any sharp corners or edges, with all of its faces being bevelled/chamfered; and, for making “invisible” the layers making it up—as with the bowed instrument itself, see FIG. 1—, the external portion thereof is provided with a cover that can be made integral or can consist of multiple interconnected pieces.

(50) It is noted here that, by default, the tailpiece can be installed without fine tuners, but, if it is made necessary by the characteristics of a given instrument, fine tuners can be also included.

(51) For fine tuning and for eliminating possibly occurring out-of-tune sounds, the bowed instrument according to the invention can also comprise a spacer member (or spacer members) 26 that are disposed between the strings 14 and can be displaced upward or downward between the tailpiece 16 and the bridge 24 (see FIG. 4).

(52) The configuration of the spacer member 26 can be observed in FIGS. 12 and 13.

(53) The spacer member 26 is essentially an oblong block-shaped member, with grooves 27 adapted for receiving the strings 14 being formed in the lateral faces thereof.

(54) As can be seen from the configuration of the tailpiece 16 for bowed instruments according to the invention, unlike with instruments fitted with conventional tailpieces (see FIG. 1), the strings have different lengths. The length of the bottom section of the string—the E string—affixed in the bore 20 of the corner C is the smallest, but the lengths of certain strings are different from the length of the strings applied for instruments having conventional tailpieces.

(55) This results in significant differences in sound, as well as in the easier handling of the instrument.

(56) It has to be noted that, although the configuration of the instrument according to the invention and the tailpiece applied therefor were described referring to application with a conventional violin, the tailpiece can be applied on any other bowed instrument, the length of the strings varying according to the characteristics of the particular instrument.

(57) The tuning arrangements of strings on bowed instruments are the following (going from thicker to thinner strings): violin: GDAE viola: CGDA cello: CGDA, or, in the case of the five-string Baroque cello: CGDAE double-bass: EADG, or, in the case of the five-string double-bass: EADGB

(58) The string length values applied for the bowed instruments comprising the tailpiece 16 according to the invention are summarized in the table below:

(59) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE I B string length of length of length of playable upper twisted metallic twisted section above twisted section Total the bottom section for being Instru- String length button of string wound ment name (mm): (mm): (mm): on peg Violin G 510-680 10-30 400-500 100-150 D 580-700 10-30 470-520 100-150 A 600-740 10-30 470-530 120-180 E 540-660 10-30 450-500  80-130 Viola C 645-795 15-35 530-600 100-160 G 685-820 15-30 540-620 130-170 D 735-835 15-35 570-620 150-180 A 675-795 15-35 530-590 130-170 Cello C 1140-1235 40-60  960-1010 140-165 G 1150-1240 40-60  970-1020 140-160 D 1190-1290 40-60  970-1020 180-210 A 1180-1260 40-60 950-980 190-220 Double- E 1880-1950 50-70 1600-1630 230-250 bass A 2020-2095 50-70 1640-1665 330-360 D 2050-2115 50-70 1650-1675 350-370 G 2010-2725 50-70 1650-1675 310-340

(60) The tailpiece for bowed instruments according to the invention has the following advantages: it functions as a resonance control means, by its application, a bigger, more resonant sound and a wider tone range can be achieved, although tone decay time is not much longer compared to conventional tailpieces, by applying an appropriate bow technique a much richer and more dynamic sound can be achieved; the impression is as if there was an additional “layer” of resonance available for shaping the sound, it makes everyday instrumental practice more enjoyable, the resistance of semitones produced during playing the instrument is reduced and is made more uniform, allowing for a greater difference in volume, the vibrations of the bottom string section (situated downwards from the bridge) helps the formation of a novel frequency range; besides that, it makes the “wolf tone” (that can be found on almost all high-quality bowed instruments) manageable, by reducing or completely eliminating its naturally incompatible vibrations, subjectively, the instrument is much easier to play on, which first and foremost manifests itself in the more flexible application of string pressure with the left hand, and, in the case of the right hand (the bow hand), in more easier achievement of the vibration of the strings utilizing the bow, vibrato (i.e. periodically modifying the pitch of the tone being played utilizing the player's left hand) also becomes more dynamic—the spectral range of the vibrated tone becoming wider—exhibiting a hitherto unprecedented added quality, which opens up completely novel possibilities in sound production that may also result in the new directions of progress for instrumental practice, during education for playing bowed instruments, it makes tuning the instrument more easier (more easily audible) for the pupil.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(61) 1 neck 2 body 3 fingerboard 4 top plate 5 rib 6 back plate 7 peg box 8 scroll 9 tailpiece 10 F-hole 11 nut 12 peg 13 bridge 14 string 15 hole 16 tailpiece 17 axis 18 bore 19 arced portion 20 bore 21 core portion 22 reinforcing layer 23 cover layer 24 button 25 bridge 26 spacer member 27 groove