US2511302A - Musical instrument - Google Patents

Description

June 13, 1950 H. M. STEPHENSON MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Dec. 5, 1947 DRAWIB ICfIEfIFIG IAIB ICHE IFIGMQl Iventor Hugh M. Stephenson, b MK y Attor n ey.

Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Hugh M. Stephenson, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Application December 8, 1947, Serial No. 789,389

.22 Claims. 1

My invention relates to musical instruments and particularly to an improved arrangement of tone-producing elements for facilitating the playing of musical compositions in the diatonic scale in any key in the chromatic octave.

Musical instruments particularly of the type utilizin reeds, such as harmonicas, have generall been provided with tone-producing elements arranged in an unsymmetrical order which pro- Vides an adequate number of tones for the playing of simple melodies in one key only but which requires the substitution of certain notes for others if a melody includes tones other than those of the diatonic scale of the one key of the instrument. In certain instruments, substantially all the tones of a diatonic octave may be provided for specific keys. Some instruments, such as harmonicas, have been made with slides to enable ready playing of melodies in difierent keys, usually only two keys, by the proper manipulation of the slides, but such instruments are not adapted for use in playing melodies in all keys as it would become too complicated to provide an adequate number of slides and an adequate number of sets'of reeds for readily playing in all keys. Consequently, to play in other than the two keys as set up in present valved chromatic harmonicas requires a tremendous mental efiort and hours of practice to memorize a single melody.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved musical instrument adapted to be played in any key of the chromatic octave and to produce all of the tones of the diatonic or chromatic scale in any of the twelve keys without the necessity of making any adjustment to the instrument when shifting from one key to the other by having all of the reeds arranged exposed at all times in playable relation to the instrument in fixed reed-playing air passages.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved reed type musical instrument which can be played to provide a complete diatonic scale rendition in any key of the chromatic octave.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved whole tone chromatic scale musical instrument.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved harmonica.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent and my invention will be better understood from the following description referring to the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in 2 the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a musical instrument incorporating an embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a set of diagrams illustrating the arrangement of tones obtainable in a musical instrument incorporating my invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another musical instrument including another embodiment of my invention; Fig. 4 illustrates another type harmonica provided with a further embodiment of my invention; Fig. 5 is another musical instrument embodying a further modification of my invention; and Fig. 6 is an enlarged exploded view of a part of the harmonica shown in Fig. 5 showing the detail of the reed plate mounting.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown in Fig. 1 an embodiment of my improved whole tone chromatic scale musical instrument as applied to a harmonica for producing all of the tones for two octaves of the diatonic scale in any key of the chromatic octave. In this instrument, twelve reed cells I are provided, in each of which a blow reed 2 and a draw reed 3 are arranged. These reeds are respectively mounted over suitable conventional type apertures in reed plates 4 and 5 which form cell walls supported in a reed plate spacer block 6 mounted within a supporting housing on tone chamber 1, and a mouthpiece 8 is arranged over the end of the reed cells to facilitate blowing and drawing of air through the apertures and over the various reeds of the instrument which are thus arranged in fixed reedplaying air passages formed by the openings in the mouthpiece 8, the reed cells, and the apertures in the cell walls.

If desired, the various reed cells may be identified by numerals applied on the instrument adjacent the mouthpiece opening to the reed cells as shown at 9. With such a construction, the two reeds in each reed cell enable the playing of two tones from each cell and provide a compact arrangement of tone-producing reed elements.

The full chromatic scale includes twelve difierent tones and in order to produce a diatonic scale in any key, it is necessary that the musical instrument be able to produce various tones or notes successively spaced a predetermined difference in pitch according to a basic arrangement of notes or tones, which constitute the diatonic scale in that key. This basic relative arrangement of tones is the same for all keys and includes a spacing or interval in the pitch between adjacent tones of a whole tone between the first 'jacen-t blow reeds.

three notes of the octave, a half-tone spacing 0r interval in pitch between the third and fourth tones of the octave, a whole tone spacing or interval in pitch between the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh tones of the octave, and a half tone spacing or interval in pitch between the seventh and eighth tones of the octave. In order to obtain these diatonic scales in all keys, it is necessary that each tone of the chromatic scale include the various basic tones of the scale as well as the sharps and flats of these tones. Most musical compositions or melodies may be played over a range of two octaves of notes or tones, and, in written music, these are represented by the notes on the lines and spaces of a written composition.

Fig. 2 diagrammatically illustrates the rela tionship of the arrangements of the reeds in a twelve cell twenty-four tone chromatic scale harmonica, such as that shown in Fig. 1, and the various notes or tones of the chromatic scale. In this diagram, the blow reeds are indicated by the numerals I through I2 and the draw reeds by the numerals I through 12'. The notes or tones to which the various blow and draw reeds are tuned are indicated by the various reference letters in the squares of this figure. As shown by the notes on the chromatic scale, the blow reed No. I forms the note Al; or Bb. Linearly successive blow reeds are tuned to successive tones spaced a whole tone interval in pitch from ad- The draw reed No. i may be tuned to half tone higher or lower than the blow reed No. l, and in the preferred and illustrated example, the draw reed No. l is shown as tuned a half tone higher than the blow reed No. I. Thus, the draw reed No. l is tuned to the tone which is represented by the note B or Cb. All of the successive draw reeds are tuned a whole tone interval or spacing successively from adjacent draw reeds, such that each draw reed is spaced a half tone interval in pitch from an adjacent blow reed. This provides all of the tones and half tones for two full octaves, including all sharps and flats or all notes within these two octaves when twelve blow reeds and twelve draw reeds are provided. The blow and draw reed numbers corresponding to the various tones of the chromatic scale are shown adjacent the notes as writ-' ten in Fig. 2. i

' In a harmonica construction such as thatshown in Fig. l, the blow reed No. I and the draw reed No. I' would be arranged to be played from the first reed cell which is designated by the reference numeral No.1 on the mouthpiece 8. Similarly, the other blow and draw reeds are adapted to be played by blowing and drawing into the other corresponding mouthpiece openings as designated by the numerals 9 on the mouthpiece 8. With such an arrangement, a player may play in any key of the chromatic scale by utilizing a common symmetrical pattern in blowing and drawing on the harmonica reeds. This pattern follows the basic pattern which is utilized for all diatonic scales and includes the above-described space intervals in pitch between the various tones of the octave; that is, each octave includes six whole tone intervals between the first and eighth tones of the octave with a half tone interval between the third and fourth tones and a half tone interval between the seventh and eighth tones of the octave. Where the base note of a key corresponds to a blow reed, a player will blow the first three tones of the ascending octave and then shift to an adjacent draw reed which a will be spaced a half tone interval in pitch froni the third blow reed, care being taken to draw on the adjacent draw reed which is a half tone in pitch higher than the blow reed for the third note; and then the fifth, sixth, and seventh tones of the octave may be obtained by drawing on successive draw reeds and the eighth or final tone of the octave may be obtained by blowing on a blow reed adjacent the seventh draw reed, care being taken to blow the reed which is a half tone higher in pitch than the draw reed for the seventh note. Thus, a full diatonic scale may be obtained in any key in which the initial tone is a blow reed by following the above-described simple pattern, and any musical composition may readily be played without requiring the use of any mechanical shifting of slides, reeds, or other mechanical parts of the instrument by inherently following the basic diatonic scale pattern. Similarly, any ascending diatonic scale may be played in any key which begins with anote which is a draw reed by drawing successively on three draw reeds beginning with the basic tone of the key and then blowing on an adjacent blow reed which is a half tone higher in pitch than the third tone draw reed and then blowing successively on the next linearly successive three blow reeds and drawing on a draw reed adjacent the seventh tone to provide the eighth tone of the octave which is a half tone higher in pitch than the last blown blow reed. In this manner, any diatonic scale which begins with a key note which is a draw reed may be played on my improved musical instrument without shifting any mechanical slides or other mechanical parts by simple playing the instrument according to the basic pattern of the diatonic scale. Any descending scale may be played by reversing these ascending patterns.

Thus, by learning a simple basic pattern for the musical instrument to be played and by having all of the reeds arranged continuously exposed in fixed reed-playing air passages, it is possible to obtain a proper musical rendition of any musical composition in any desired key of the chromatic scale without any substitutions of tones and without any mechanical shifting of parts of the instrument. The blow reeds and draw reeds may be considered as each being arranged in two ranks of tones, each spaced a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent tones within each rank, and the musical instrument may be arranged such that the draw reeds are each a half tone higher or a half tone lower than the adjacent blow reeds. It is immaterial whether the half tone difference in pitch between adjacent blow and draw reeds be such that theblow reeds are half tone higher or a half tone lower than the draw reeds, as the basic playing pattern will be the same as the diatonic scale patterns as described above, although the particular reed cells which may be blown or drawn to obtain this pattern may vary accordingto whether the draw reeds are a half tone higher or a half tone lower than the blow reeds.

Since there is'a natural tendency to raise when drawing or inhaling and a natural tendency to lower the head when blowing, I prefer to have the draw reeds a half tone higher than its adjacent blow reed. The construction shown in Fig. 1 may be provided with a successive arrangement of blow and draw reeds corresponding to the tones shown in Fig. 2, thus providing a linearly symmetrical succession of reeds for producing all of the tones of the two chromatic oct'aves within the range of this instrument in which each octave includes six tones on whole tone intervals in pitch between adjacent blow reeds and a corresponding arrangement of draw reeds with the tones of the blow reeds displaced in pitch a half tone interval from the tones of the adjacent draw reeds. This desirable symmetrical whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent blow reeds and between adjacent draw reeds with the half tone pitch interval between adjacent blow and draw reeds provides a desirable linear arrangement of the two ranks of reeds in this instrument and forms a simple construction which enables the correct rendition of musical compositions in any key of the chromatic scale. The physical embodiment of the musical instrument which provides this simple playing arrangement for the correct rendition of various musical compositions without omissions or substitutions of notes may take various forms, of which that shown in Fig. l is illustrative. With such constructions, a chromatic glissando can easily be played by alternately .blowing and drawing progressively on successive reed cells.

Fig. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a twelve reed cell harmonica which embodies the basic whole tone chromatic scale arrangement for producing any diatonic scale in any key of the chromatic scale according to the above general description. In this construction, twelve reed cells iii are formed in a reed plate spacer H by a plurality of fingers [2 formed integrally as parts of the reed plate spacer member. The harmonica shown in this. figure may readily be made as a complete plastic musical instrument in which the spacer member II is formed of a suitable plastic material, and a pair of reed plates l3 and M of plastic material are arranged one on each side of the reed spacer II and are formed integrally with twelve reeds in each reed plate. These plastic reeds may be formed as blow reeds l5 over apertures in reed plate I3 and draw reeds l6 over apertures in reed plate [4. The reed plates l3 and M are secured in position between the reed plate spacer member H and covers or tone chamber walls I! by projections l8 which extend from each side of each reed plate adjacent the ends thereof into complementary openings in the reed plate spacer member II and the covers [1. These projections may be hot-pressed to assure secure mounting of the reed plate and covers on the reed plate spacer member. As in the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the draw reeds [6 in the reed plate [4 are spaced a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent reeds and the blow reeds [5 in the reed plate 13 are similarly spaced a whole tone interval between adjacent blow reeds, with the draw reeds spaced a half tone interval from the adjacent blow reeds. With this arrangement, the reed plate 13 forms one rank of linearly arranged blow reeds and the reed plate [4- forms another rank of linearly arranged draw reeds, each formed and arranged with a whole chromatic interval in pitch between adjacent reeds in each rank with the reeds in one rank displaced a half tone in pitch from adjacent reeds of the other rank. This harmonica may be played in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 1 with the same desirable results.

Fig. 4 illustrates a further embodiment of a musical instrument including my improved arrangement of elements for producing the tones of the diatonic scale in any key of the chromatic octave without the use of any mechanical shifting bars, slides, or other elements. In this con-' struction, the blow and draw reeds may be ar ranged in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 3 and may be made integral with the reed plates or may include separate reeds suitably secured in position over openings or apertures in reed plates [9 and 20. In this construction, the reed plates are arranged such that each of the blow reeds is provided with an individual reed cell 21 and each of the draw reeds 22 is provided with an individual reed cell 23 formed in a reed plate spacer block 24. Such a construction has the advantage of minimizing the bypassing of air through the blow or draw reed in the cell when such blow or draw reed is not being utilized to produce a tone. In the construction shown in this figure, the harmonica is provided with only ten reed cells for each reed plate. This is a conventional harmonica construction but does not provide two complete octaves. However, the tones or notes at either end of the two full octaves described with reference to Fig. 2 may be omitted and all of the succeeding tones or notes from the first tone in the first reed cell to the tenth reed cell are successively formed and arranged a whole tone interval from the adjacent reed in the linear progressive adjacent reed cell. The blow reeds form one rank of tones and the draw reeds form another rank of tones with the reeds of one rank displaced a half tone in pitch from adjacent reeds in the other rank. A chromatic glissando may also be played by alternately blowing and drawing on transversely adjacent blow and draw reeds and progressively traversing ll of the linearly arranged reed cells from one end of the instrument to the other. In this construction a tone chamber is formed on the outside of each reed plate by a cover 25; and the two covers 25, the reed plates l9 and 20, and the reed plate spacer block are secured together in any suitable manner, as by a rivet 26 extending through each end of the instrument.

Fig. 5 illustrates a still further embodiment of my improved musical instrument in which twelve reed cells 2'1 are provided in a reed plate spacer block 28 for twelve blow reeds and twelve reed cells 29 are provided for twelve draw reeds 39, each forming a separate rank of tones displaced a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent reeds of each rank. In this arrangement, the reeds of one rank are displaced a half tone in pitch from the reeds of the adjacent rank. This construction is similar to that shown in Fig. 4 in that each draw reed and each blow reed is provided with an individual reed cell, but the reed cells of the two ranks of reeds are linearly arranged with the transverse centers thereof substantially midway between the transverse centers of the reed cells of the other rank. These staggered reed cells are formed by walls 3| and 32 which extend from a longitudinally extending central wall 33 of the reed spacer block member 28, on each side of which the reed plates are mounted in slide grooves 34, shown in detail in Fig. 6, to provide the desired arrangement of blow and draw reeds in the respective reed cells. A suitable cover or tone chamber wall 35 is arranged on each side of the reed plates and is secured in position by hooking an edge 36 thereof over the ends of the reed plates at the mouthpiece edge of the harmonica and snapping inturned tabs 37 over the other edge of the reed plate spacer block 28. In the construction shown in this figure, a chromatic glissando may be played by progressively alternately blowing and drawing the harmonica and rolling it as it is moved linearly across the lips oi" the player, thus assuring a correct progressivechange in the tones of the glissando.

All of thesemusical instrumentsare physically arranged to facilitate theplaying of many beautiful combinations of chords and tones. The provision of the two-adjacent ranks of tones on whole tone intervals in pitch between linearly adjacent tones in each rank, with the tones in one rank displaced in pitch one-half tone interval .from theadjacent tone of the other rank, increases the possibility of simple tonal combinations to provide many desirable tone groups. These tones are obtained in the illustrated harmonicas by playing the vblow and draw .reeds of the instruments, which are illustrative of the basic tonal concept of this invention. In each case, the following combinations are readily obtainable by reason of the arrangements described in which thetones of the reedsin each ranklinearly progress from the lowest to the highest pitch from one end .to the other of the instrument. By simultaneously playing three tones or reeds of .any set of fourlinearly-adjacent tones orreeds Whenblocking so :as not tosound the penultimate highest pitch tone or reed of the set, a seventh chord is produced, and when blocking so .as .not to sound the penultimate lowest pitch tone or reed of the set, a ninth chord of a major key is produced. lhe symmetrical arrangement of the tones or reeds is such that in any set of four linearly adjacent reedsthe two lowest pitch reeds and the highest .aDitCh reed of the set have the tones of a seventh chord and the two highest pitch reeds and the lowest pitch reed of the set have the tones of aninth chord of amajor key, and enables the provision of a full succession of direct and inverted seventh chords, ninth chords, and two-.note major groups.

In instruments such as the illustrated harmonicas, proper tonguing will enable a player to obtain these pleasing tonal groups. For example, by blowing a set of three reeds of the first four cells while blocking the third cell gives a group comprising the tones Bb, C, E, which is a C seventh chord. Drawing this sameposition gives a group comprising the tones B, Ct, P, which is .a Ct seventh chord. Shifting the harmonica one cell, and playing with the same tonguing so as ,to block. the penultimate highest reed, the blowing position produces a group comprising the tones C, D, Ft, which is a D seventh chord, and the drawing position produces a group comprising the tones Ct, Eb, G, which is an Eb seventh chord. Similarly, the seventh chords for the whole chromatic scale may be played. The ninth chords can be played by blocking the penultimate lowest tone or cell of a four reed set and blowing or drawing the remaining three reeds. Thus, if the set includes the first four cells, the tones blown will be Bb, D, E, which is a C ninth chord, and if this position is drawn, the tones will be B, Eb, F, which is aCt ninth chord.

Similarly, if five linearly adjacent tones or reeds are chosen as. a set and the second and third reeds are blocked, blowing of the first position on ,the instrument will produce a group comprising the notes Bb, .E, Ft, and drawing this position will produce a group comprising the notes B, F, G, which are the inverted seventh chords of F and ,Ft. This also may be played for any key vfor the full chromatic scale.

The two-note major groups can be obtained by playing the first and last tones or reeds of any setiot threelinearly adjacent tones .or reeds while not sounding or blocking the middle tone or reed of the set. For instance, by playing cells I, 3, or 2, 4, or 3, 5, by blowing or drawing thereon, the first and third of a major triad will be sounded. Similarly, by not sounding or blocking the middle three tones or reeds of any set of five linearly adjacent tones or reeds and playing only the first and last tones or reeds of such sets, two notes of a major triad in the inverted order may be obtained. These first and last reeds of any set of three or five linearly adjacent reeds are the tones of a two-note major group, including the third and first of such triads which may be considered the third and eighth in the diatonic scale. Thus, many pleasing tone groups can be played by the simple combinations.

These musical instruments preferably are formed with twelve sound note or tone producing elements in each rank, as this enables the playing of two full octaves in any desired diatonic scale in any desired key. However, any of the instruments may be made with a larger or smaller number of tonal reeds and reed cells for producing all the sequential tones of all the diatonic scales within the range of the instrument, as in a twelve cell instrument. Furthermore, the particular manner of mounting the tone producing elements and arranging these elements in combined or individual reed cells may be varied to provide certain desirable improvements in the manufacture of the instruments or to obtain certain desired physical characteristics. The particular harmonica constructions shown in the drawings are used only to illustrate embodiments of the symmetrical linear tonal arrangements as applicable to various types of harmonicas, and in Fig. 5, I have shown my novel staggered arrangement of reed cells.

While I have illustrated and described particular embodiments of my invention, modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that my invention is not to be limited to the particular arrangements disclosed, and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A harmonica having a plurality of reed cells in lineararrangement with fixed reed-playing air passages, a blow reed and a draw reed in each of said cells having adjacent tones of the chromatic scale, and said reeds being arranged in a symmetrical pattern, and arranged continuously exposed in said fixed reed-playing air passages.

2. A musical instrument having reeds for producing musical notes formed and arranged for producing the twelve tones of the chromatic scale and arranged in two adjacent ranks with symmetrical whole tone intervals in pitch between adjacent reeds in each rank and a half tone interval in pitch between the reeds in one rank and the adjacent reeds in the other rank, and all of said reeds being arranged continuously exposed in playable relation.

3. A musical instrument embodying a whole tone arrangement of the chromatic scale in two ranksof sound note-producing elements arranged in a symmetrical succession for each successive chromatic octave, said elements of one rank having a pitch one-half tone difierent from the notes of the adjacent elements of the other rank, air passagesin said instrument, and all of said noteproducing elements being arranged at all times exposed in said air passages.

4. A musical instrument having a plurality of blow reeds formed and arranged in one rank of adjacent successive whole tones of the chromatic scale and a plurality of draw reeds formed and arranged in a second rank of adjacent successive whole tones of the chromatic scale, the tones of said one rank being displaced one-half tone from the pitch of adjacent reeds of said second rank, fixed reed-playing air passages, and all of said reeds being arranged in said fixed reed-playing air passages.

5. A harmonic embodying a whole tone arrangement of the chromatic scale in two adjacent linear ranks of tone-producing elements arranged in a symmetrical succession for each successive chromatic octave, said elements of one rank having a pitch one-half tone different from the notes of the adjacent elements of the other rank, fixed air passages for playing said tone-producing elements, and all of said tone-producing elements being arranged continuously exposed in said fixed air passages.

6. A musical instrument embodying a linear,

succession of means for producing all the tones of each chromatic octave within the range of the instrument, said means comprising two adjacent ranks of six tones each on whole tone intervals in pitch between adjacent tones in each rank, the tones of one rank being displaced in pitch onehalf tone interval from the adjacent tones of the other rank, fixed air passages for playing said tone-producing means, and all of said tone-producing means being arranged in said fixed air passages.

7. A musical instrument of the reed type embodying an arrangement of reeds for producing the twelve tones of at least one chromatic octave, said reeds being arranged in two adjacent ranks of six successive tones each with a symmetrical whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent reeds in each rank and with a half tone interval in pitch between the reeds of one rank and the adjacent reeds of the other rank. reed-playing air passages in said instrument, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed in said reed-playing air passages.

8. A musical instrument embodying a linear succession of means including reeds for producing all the sequential tones of all the diatonic scales within the range of the instrument, said reeds being arranged in two adjacent ranks on whole tone intervals in pitch between adjacent reeds in each rank, the reeds of one rank being displaced 1;

in pitch one-half tone interval from the adjacent reeds of the other rank, reed-playing air passages in said instrument, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed in said reed-playing air passages.

9. A harmonica having blow and draw reeds embodying an arrangement of successive reeds for producing successive whole tones of the chromatic scale. said reeds being arranged in two adjacent ranks with said blow reeds forming one rank and said draw reeds forming the other rank and with a symmetrical Whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent reeds in each rank and with a half tone interval in pitch between the reeds of one rank: and the adjacent reeds of the the other rank, and all of said reeds being arranged continuously exposed in playable relation.

10. A musical instrument embodying a linear symmetrical succession of means including blow and draw reeds for producing all the tones of each chromatic octave within the range of the instrument, said reeds being arranged in two adjacent ranks with all blow reeds in one rank and all draw reeds in the other rank on whole tone intervals in pitch between adjacent reeds in each rank, the reeds of one rank being displaced in pitch onehalf tone interval from the adjacent reeds of the other rank, reed-playing air passages in said instrument, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed in said reed-playing air passages.

11. A harmonica having a plurality of linearly arranged reed cells, a tonal blow reed and a tonal draw reed arranged in each of said reed cells, said blow reeds being arranged in a symmetrical whole tone spacing, said draw reeds being arranged in a symmetrical whole tone spacing, the pitch of the tone of said blow reed in each reed cell being onehalf tone different from the pitch of the tone of said draw reed in the same reed cell, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed in playable relation such that alternate blowing and drawing progressively on each successive reed cell produces a chromatic glissando.

12. A harmonica having two adjacent ranks of linearly symmetrically spaced reel cells, blow reeds in said reed cells of one of said ranks, said blow reeds being linearly successively formed and arranged a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent blow reeds, draw reeds in said reed cells of the other of said ranks, said draw reeds being linearly successively formed and arranged a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent draw reeds, the reeds in one rank being displaced onehalf tone in pitch from adjacent reeds of the other rank, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed in playable relation.

13. A musical instrument having reed cells, two plates each having a tonal reed arranged in each of said reed cells, one of said plates having blow reeds in a symmetrical whole tone spacing, the other of said plates having draw reeds in symmetrical whole tone spacing, the pitch of the tone in the first reed cell of one plate being one-half tone different from the pitch of the tone in the first reed cell of the other plate, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed continuously in playable relation such that alternate blowing and drawing progressively of each successive reed cell produces a chromatic glissando,

14. A harmonica having two adjacent ranks of linearly symmetrically spaced reed cells, the reed cells of each of said ranks being linearly arranged with the transverse centers thereof substantially midway between the transverse centers of the reed cells of the other rank, blow reeds in said reed cells of one of said ranks, said blow reeds being linearly successively formed and arranged a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent blow reeds, draw reeds in said reed cells of the other of said ranks, said draw reeds being linearly successively formed and arranged a whole tone interval in pitch between adjacent draw reeds, the reeds in one rank being displaced one-half tone in pitch from adjacent reeds of the other rank, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed continuously in playable relation.

15. A musical instrument embodying a linear symmetrical succession of means including blow and draw reeds for producing all the tones of each chromatic octave within the range of the instrument, said reeds being arranged in two adjacent ranks with all blow reeds in one rank and all draw reeds in the other rank, the reeds of one rank being displaced in pitch one-half tone interval from the adjacent reeds of the other rank, and the reeds in each rank being arranged progressively from lowest to highest pitch fromone end to the other of the instrument and spaced in pitch such that in any set of four linearly-adjacent reeds the two lowest pitch reeds and the highest pitch reed of the set have the tonal spacing of a seventh chord and the two highest pitch reeds and the lowest pitch need of the set have the tonal spacing of a ninth chord, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed at all times in playable relation.

16. A musical instrument embodying a linear symmetrical succession of means including blow and draw reeds for producing all the tones of each chromatic octave within the range of the instrument, said reeds'being arranged in two adjacent ranks with all blow reeds in one rank and all draw reeds in the other rank, the reeds of one rank being displaced in pitch one-half tone interval from the adjacent reeds of the other rank, and the reeds in each rank being arranged progressively from lowest to highest pitch from one end to the other of the instrument and spaced in pitch such that the first and last reeds of any set of three linearly adjacent reeds have the tones of'a two-note major group including the first and third of a major triad, and all of said reeds being arranged exposed at all times in playable relation.

17'. A musical instrument embodying a linear symmetrical succession of means including'blow and draw reeds for producing all the tones of each chromatic octave within the range'of the instrument, said reeds being arranged in two adjacent ranks with all blow reeds in one rank and all draw reeds in the other rank, the reeds of one rank being displaced in pitch one-half tone' interval from the adjacent reeds of the other rank, the reeds in eachrank being arranged progressively from lowest to highest pitch from one end to'the other of the instrument and spaced in pitch such that the first and last reeds of any set of five linearly adjacent'reeds'have the tones the tones of each chromatic octave within the range of the instrument, said tone-producing means being arranged in two adjacent ranks with the tone-producingmeans of one rankbeing displaced in pitch one-half tone-interval from the adjacent tone-produ cing means of the other rank, and the tone-producing means in each rank being arranged progressively from lowest to highest pitch from one end to the other of the instrument and spacedin pitch such that in any set of four linearly adjacent tone-producing means the two lowest pitch tone-producing means and the highest pitch tone-producing means of theset have the tonal spacing of a seventh chord and the two highest pitch tone-producing means and the lowest pitch tone-producingmeans of the set 12 have the tonal spacing of a ninth chord, and all of said tone-producing means being arranged exposed at all times'in playable" relation.

19. A harmonica having walls forming a plurality of reed cells in linear arrangement, apertures in certain of' said cell walls forming fixed reed-playing air passages, and a blow reed and a draw reed in each of said cells having adjacent tones ofthe chromatic scale, said reeds being arranged with a symmetrical pattern of a wholetone interval in pitch between adjacent blow reeds and also between adjacent draw reeds and a halftone interval in pitch between adjacent blow and'draw reeds, all of said reeds being arranged over said aperturesin said reed cells in said fixed reed-playing air' passages.

20.' A harmonica havingwalls forming a plurality of reed cells, apertures in certain of said cell walls forming reed-playing air passages, and a blow reed and adraw reed in each of said cells having adjacent tones of the chromatic scale, said reeds-being'arrahged with asymmetrical pattern of a whole-tone interval in pitch between adjacent blow reeds and also between adjacent draw reeds'and a half-tone interval in pitch'between adjacentblow' and draw reeds, all of said reeds being arranged'exposed in'playable relation over said aperture at all times.

21. A musical instrument embodying a whole time arrangement of the chromatic scale in two ranks of sound note-producing elements arranged in asymmetrical succession for each successive chromatic'octave, said elements 'of' one rank having a pitch one-half tone difierent from the notes of the adjacent elementsof the other rank, and all of said note-producing elements being arranged at all times exposed in playable condition in said instrument.

22. A musical instrument embodyinga whole tone arrangement of the chromatic scale in two adjacent linear ranks of tone-producing elements arranged in a symmetrical succession for each successive chromatic octave, said elements of one rank having'a pitch one-half tone different from the notes of the adjacent elements of the other rank, and all of said tone-producing elements beingarrangedcontinuously exposed in playable relation in said instrument.

HUGH M. STEPHENSON.

REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,710,502 Glass Apr. 23, 1929 2,179,993 Davies Nov. 14, 1939 2,276,501 Manieri Mar. 17, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 169,271 Germany Mar. 28, 1906

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