Abstract
A method of teaching keyboard instruments involves placing semi-permanent plates on specific keys of the keyboard, providing tactile stimulation which will develop muscle memory and confidence in playing correct notes. Different textures and colors may be employed to help differentiate plates and associated keys from others. Placement of plates on keys is to be determined by the instructor in consideration of the student's needs. Placement may be made on one or multiple keys, which may include an entire middle octave. Texturing may be a subtle as Braille characters or more bold designs and individual shapes of the plates may be flat or may be shaped to facilitate hand posture. Colors may be associated with specific notes on the grand staff to provide a visual aid. Finger adornments may also be used to aid in color correspondence. Plates may be held onto piano keys by utilizing either wet or dry adhesives.
Claims
1. A method of training an individual to play a musical keyboard, the method comprising placing at least one plate, having a minimum average thickness of 1.8 mm and a length at least nine times greater than the thickness, on a playable surface of at least one key of the musical keyboard, wherein the plate serves as an anchor by which to aid in developing muscle memory.
2. The method of claim 1, one plate being placed on the key corresponding to C.sub.4.
3. The method of claim 1, two plates being placed on the keys corresponding to G.sub.3 and F.sub.4.
4. The method of claim 1, three plates being placed on the keys corresponding to G.sub.3, C.sub.4, and F.sub.4.
5. The method of claim 1, plates being positioned on keys corresponding to an octave.
6. The method of claim 5, the octave being the 4.sup.th octave on the keyboard.
7. The method of claim 5, each plate having a different texture.
8. The method of claim 7, each plate's texture corresponding to letters in Braille notation.
9. A method of training an individual to play a musical keyboard, the method comprising placing at least three plates, each of the three plates having a minimum average thickness of 1.8 mm and a length at least nine times greater than the thickness, on a playable surface of three different keys on the keyboard, wherein each plate serves as an anchor by which to aid in developing muscle memory.
10. The method of claim 9, each plate being a different color and each of said different colors are used to mark sheet music in a manner that corresponds to the keys on which the plates are placed.
11. The method of claim 9, three plates being placed on the keys corresponding to G.sub.3, C.sub.4, and F.sub.4.
12. The method of claim 11, each plate being a different color and each of said different colors are used to mark sheet music such that G.sub.3, C.sub.4, and F.sub.4 on a grand staff match the color of the plate positioned on each key.
13. A muscle memory aid for use in learning to play a musical keyboard, the memory aid comprising a plate having an average height being at least 0.48 mm, a length defined by its longest side and being at least nine times greater than the height, a width, and upper and lower faces with an adhesive positioned on the lower face, wherein the plate is positioned on a playable surface of key of a keyboard with the adhesive.
14. The muscle memory aid of claim 13, further comprising a concave profile of the upper face, with an axis along the length of the muscle memory aid.
15. The muscle memory aid of claim 13, the adhesive being a dry adhesive.
16. The muscle memory aid of claim 13, the adhesive being a wet adhesive.
17. A plurality of the muscle memory aids of claim 13, each muscle memory aid having a different color.
18. A plurality of the muscle memory aids of claim 13, each muscle memory aid having a different texture on its top face.
19. The plurality of muscle memory aids of claim 18, the different textures being letters written in Braille.
20. The muscle memory aid of claim 13, the upper face being sloped and coming to a distinct edge with the lower face thereby giving the plate an average thickness of at least 1.8 mm.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with training aids installed.
(2) FIG. 2 is an alternate perspective view of the keyboard of FIG. 1.
(3) FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the training aid used in FIG. 1.
(4) FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the training aid of FIG. 3.
(5) FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the training aid of FIG. 3.
(6) FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the training aid of FIG. 3.
(7) FIG. 7 is a rear elevation of the training aid of FIG. 3.
(8) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with alternate training aids installed.
(9) FIG. 9 is an alternate perspective view of the keyboard of FIG. 8.
(10) FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the alternate training aid used in FIG. 8.
(11) FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the training aid of FIG. 10.
(12) FIG. 12 is a side elevation of the training aid of FIG. 10.
(13) FIG. 13 is a front elevation of the training aid of FIG. 10.
(14) FIG. 14 is a rear elevation of the training aid of FIG. 10.
(15) FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with further alternate training aids installed.
(16) FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the training aid used in FIG. 15.
(17) FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view of the training aid of FIG. 17.
(18) FIG. 18 is a side elevation of the training aid of FIG. 17.
(19) FIG. 19 is a front elevation of the training aid of FIG. 17.
(20) FIG. 20 is a rear elevation of the training aid of FIG. 17.
(21) FIG. 21 is an exploded view of the training aid of FIG. 3.
(22) FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the training aid of FIG. 3.
(23) FIG. 23 is a depiction of a grand staff.
(24) FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with training aids installed according to one method of instruction.
(25) FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with training aids installed according to an alternate method of instruction.
(26) FIG. 26 is a top plan view of an alternate set of training aids.
(27) FIG. 27 is a top plan view of another alternate set of training aids.
(28) FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with the training aids of FIG. 27 installed thereon.
(29) FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a partial keyboard with the training aids of FIG. 28 installed thereon.
(30) FIG. 30 is a further alternate set of colored training aids.
(31) FIG. 31 is a depiction of a grand staff with the F.sub.3, C.sub.4, and G.sub.4 lines colored in a manner akin the training aids of FIG. 30.
(32) FIG. 32 is a top plan view of a user playing a keyboard while utilizing the training aids of FIG. 30 and a set of finger rings matching the colors of the training aids.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(33) With reference now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the keyboard training method and apparatus is herein described. It should be noted that the articles “a”, “an”, and “the”, as used in this specification, include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the methodology of instruction taught herein may be used on any instrument which utilizes a keyboard, including but not limited to the piano, organ, electric keyboard, accordion, and harpsichord.
(34) With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the method involves placing at least one removable plate on at least one specific key on the keyboard 10. The depicted methodology places plate 22 on the key corresponding to the note F.sub.3, plate 25 on C.sub.4, and plate 28 on G.sub.4. The plates may be of any shape, size, or color that would fit on a standard key in a keyboard. As seen in FIGS. 3-7, one embodiment of the plate 20 features a textured top face 29 and a smooth bottom face. The smooth bottom face interacts with the individual key in the keyboard 10 and may be semi-permanently secured with an adhesive 21 or dual-sided tape. The top face 29 is ideally textured to provide friction and tactile stimulation. However, it should be readily understood that a plate's presence on a key alone will provide enough tactile stimulation so that a player will be able to locate the player's hands on the keyboard 10, so a smooth top face 29 is also possible and should be understood to be a part of the disclosure of the invention. The depicted plates 20, if made for a standard piano keyboard, should have a length of approximately 1.875 inches (47.625 mm), width of approximately 0.75 inches (19.050 mm), and height of approximately 0.125 inches (3.175 mm), but these measurements are only exemplary. Shorter training aids, such as the second embodiment in FIGS. 8-14, or thinner (by height or width) training aids are possible.
(35) As stated before, the plates may take any shape or size so long as tactile stimulation may be provided. Another embodiment may also encourage proper finger position and is shown in FIGS. 8-14. These plates 30 likewise fit on a given key of the keyboard 10 and have bottom and top 39 faces. However, the top faces 39 are angled (having a height of 0.125 to 0.019 inches, or 3.175 to 0.482 mm) and positioned such that the top face 39 directs away from the player and terminates at an edge. This shape encourages the player to curl his or her fingers into what is considered proper playing position. Individual training aid top faces 39 may also present different patterns 32, 35, 38, as is depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9, which may cover the entire top face 39 or only a part of it.
(36) An additional embodiment of training aids is depicted in FIGS. 15-20, where training aid 40 presents a concave top face 49. This concave top face 49, with an axis along the length l of the training aid 40, inherently positions fingers towards the center of the training aid, and thus the piano key, when properly positioned on the key.
(37) FIGS. 21 and 22 depict the addition of an adhesive 21 to a plate 20. The adhesive 21 used in securing a plate 20 to a key may be either a traditional wet adhesive, such as a glue or other bonding agent applied to a double-sided tape, or a dry adhesive. When the term “adhesive” is used generally in this Specification and the appended claims, the term should be read to specifically include both dry and wet adhesives. Wet adhesives rely on the viscoelasticity of the bonding agent to adhere to a surface. Dry adhesives are rather new in the field of adhesive materials and are materials which utilize biomimetic structures to emulate the adhesion structures found in nature, most commonly the gecko. These adhesives tend to rely on the natural van der Waals forces between contacting surfaces to generate adhesive counter force. Many different strategies for creating dry adhesives are being explored and marketed today. Among these are the products known as GECKSKIN, by Felsuma, LLC, and SETEX, by nanoGriptech, Inc. Generically, these types of products may colloquially be known as “gecko tape” where one or both sides of the product are manufactured with the biomimetic dry adhesive. In either event, the use of such dry adhesives is preferred for use in the adhesion of the plates to keys on the keyboard. The use of the plates is intended to be temporary—only until they are no longer needed. As such, it is desirable to remove the plates at that time. When using dry adhesives, the plates may be removed without leaving a residue on the keys or causing other damage.
(38) The method involves intentional placement of the plates 20 on specific keys of the keyboard 10 to serve as anchors to train muscle memory for the pupil. When playing the piano and practicing, the pupil will begin to associate the feel of the plates 20 with certain notes. Eventually, the pupil will associate the positioning of the hands with playing the proper notes and the plates may be removed. FIG. 23 depicts a grand staff with both G and F-clefs. The G-clef (or treble clef) is the top clef and is so named because its circle surrounds the line denoting note G.sub.4. The F-clef (or bass clef) is named because its dots surround note F.sub.3. Between the staves which make up the grand staff is Middle C (C.sub.4), which corresponds to a sound frequency of approximately 261.626 Hz. The extreme ends of the grand staff are notes G.sub.2 and F.sub.5. The notes are named by their position as the nth note from the start of the keys on the grand piano, having 88 keys. So, the middle C is the 4.sup.th C from the bottom note (A1) on the grand piano and is in the 4.sup.th octave.
(39) Placement of the plates 20 depends on the preference of the teacher and the needs of the student. The methodology depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 shows placement of plates 22, 25, 28 on notes F.sub.3, C.sub.4, and G.sub.4 respectively. When learning the piano, most students stay within this range of nine notes (F.sub.3, G.sub.3, A.sub.4, B.sub.4, C.sub.4, D.sub.4, E.sub.4, F.sub.4, G.sub.4) the extreme notes of which are marked by the G and F-clefs. So, placing a plate on these extreme notes (F.sub.3 and G.sub.4) helps train the student to stay within the appropriate area of the keyboard. Middle C (C.sub.4) may also be marked with a plate, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, or not, as is seen In FIG. 24. Likewise, it may be the only key marked with a plate as is shown in FIG. 25. Placement of plates would be up to the purview of the instructor and based on the needs of the student. It should be realized that the keys of an octave (the 7 white and 5 black) merely repeat each other with each progressive octave on the keyboard. So, when the student masters the basic nine white keys between F.sub.3 and G.sub.4, transition to keys outside of that set range should be easier.
(40) Another embodiment of the method would be to place individual plates on each of the keys of the 4.sup.th octave. Each plate may have a different texture on them to help differentiate what they are. As an example, in FIG. 26, the Braille alphabet is printed upon the top faces of the plates (A-G). This is an example of more subtle texturing that would be recognizable to a visually impaired student. More extreme texturing may be found in FIG. 27 where plates 22-28 all have distinct texturing. Placement is then made on the 4.sup.th octave (A.sub.4-G.sub.4) on the keyboard as is shown in FIGS. 28 and 29.
(41) Yet another embodiment, which may be used in conjunction with the first embodiment, would also make each plate 52, 55, 58 distinct colors, as is shown in FIG. 30. Placement would then be made on the keyboard with a preference given to the border keys of F.sub.3 and G.sub.4 and middle C (C.sub.4). The corresponding lines in the grand staff may also be colored (FIG. 31) with a line that corresponds to the color of the plate. Optionally, rings 62, 65, 68 or other adornments could be placed on the students' hands, with colors also corresponding to the plates (FIG. 32). The addition of color to individual fingers helps train the student to use those fingers with the keys matching their colors and enhances the muscle memory and training.
(42) Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. Placement of the plates may occur on any key or combination of keys other than those shown in this Specification (e.g. on all C's, on both 3.sup.rd and 4.sup.th octaves, etc.). Likewise, other means of differentiating the plates may be employed, such as making each plate a distinct color or using different textures. The plates may be made of any suitable material, with a preference to polymers because of the varied shapes, textures, and colors which may be employed in their manufacture, coupled with the relative low cost in the materials. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.
