Abstract: A musical instrument that having a shaker that is adapted to house a plurality of impact particles. The instrument employs a spring mass system where the mean mass of the impact particles provide a force due to the accelerations as the impact the lower portion of the inner surface of the shaker member. Where the force of impact of the impact particles causes a compression of a shaker spring which provides an opposite force upon the impact particles while the spring is expanding and hence raises the mean mass of the impact particles away from the lower portion of the inner surface of the shaker. Thereby, the impact particles repeat the cycle of falling upon the lower surface and a damping oscillation motion is created. Where the impacts of the impact particles causes a desirable musical sound.

Abstract: A device for preventing unintentional removal of a guitar strap from a guitar strap peg. The device includes a body for positioning on the guitar strap peg, outboard of the guitar strap. The body is disk-shaped and has a periphery, a throughbore extending centrally therethrough, and a throughslot communicating with the throughbore therein and the periphery thereof, and is for allowing the neck of the guitar strap peg to slide therein, and into the throughbore, and when therein, one surface of the body is wedged against the head of the guitar strap peg, and an opposing surface of the body wedges the guitar strap against the guitar, and when doing so, prevents the slot in the guitar strap from escaping past the head of the guitar strap peg, and in doing so, prevents the guitar strap from being unintentionally removed from the guitar strap peg.

Abstract: A hollow cylinder of a drum is equipped with a lug fixing structure for detachably attaching a lug thereto by using a lug fixing member, which projects externally from the hollow cylinder and engages with an engagement hole of the lug. Herein, the lug fixing member has a spacer by which the lug is spaced apart from the exterior circumferential surface of the hollow cylinder and would not come in direct contact with the hollow cylinder. Thus, it is possible not to prevent the hollow cylinder from vibrating during playing of a drum. In addition, the lug is turned over after released from the lug fixing member, which is thus prevented from being engaged with the engagement hole of the lug again. This guarantees rapid replacement of a drumhead because a human operator can easily release engagement between the lug and lug fixing member without performing troublesome operation.

Abstract: A musical shaker is formed with a rigid shell and pellets enclosed therein attached to a flexible handle. In a first embodiment, the shell part truncates to a small end portion and includes a bottleneck opening in the truncated small end portion. The truncated end portion is closed by an internal joint with a cap member covered by the flexible plastic handle or by the flexible handle itself. In a second embodiment, the shell part is formed by two rigid plastic halves sealed so as to enclose the pellets. The end of the flexible handle is fitted to one end of the shell part and is secured to that end by adhesive. In a third embodiment the flexible handle includes two portions, including a flexible handle portion adjoining the shell.

Abstract: Devices for removing and separating moisture from interior passage of woodwind musical instruments are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, 1) a de-moisturizing device includes a pocket sewed onto one side of the device to provide storage for the device hanging outside of an instrument carrying case, thus keeping the moisture absorbed by the swab re-moisturize the instrument; 2) a de-moisturizing device contains a closed loop affixed at one end of the device for holding a moisture absorbent fabric for removing moisture from the interior passage of woodwind instruments; and 3) a de-moisturizing device contains a plurality of moisture absorbent desiccant gels in an elongated hollow porous tube for removing moisture from the musical instruments.

Abstract: A counterhoop formed by bonding a conventional flat shaped hoop with a resilient shell component comprised of a convex outer wall and a generally flat inner wall. The resilient begins as a liquid resin, which is poured into an annular mold. The metal counterhoop is inserted into the resin, and the cured resin is allowed to harden, forming a shell which is bonded to the counterhoop to create a unitary component. The inner and outer walls of the shell join at the top edge of the counterhoop, where the hoop abuts the outer surface of the drumshell. The device maintains and provides the requisite strength and shape of a conga drum counterhoop, which is necessary to sustain the proper tensioning of the drumhead while, concurrently providing the resilience to substantially eliminate the soreness and discomfort that usually results when the hands are constantly striking the drumhead in the act of playing the instrument.

Abstract: A peg for a stringed instrument is provided, The peg has a main body 10; a pair of bearings 12 erected at two sides of the main body so as to oppose each other, a worm gear 21 which is rotatably supported in a large diameter hole 15 and a small diameter hole 16 which has a knob 29 on one end portion, and a winding shaft 30 which is connected to the worm gear 21 via a worm wheel 40. The bearing 12 is formed of a material having spring-like properties and thus has increased elastic limit and avoids deformation.

Abstract: A stringed instrument fingerboard with position markers for the improved recognition of notes, scales, chords, positions, intervals, and, fingering patterns. The array of position markers is an orderly arrangement of position markers on the fingerboard, in which each position marker of the array is located in one-to-one correspondence with a string for referencing notes. The array of position markers may correspond to a multiplicity of orderly arrangements of position markers on the fingerboard. The position markers of an array may have variations in user discernable characteristics, such as shape, size, color, or design. The position markers are permanently affixed to the fingerboard, providing permanent note-references for all notes, all, scales, and all chords. Improved note recognition is also achieved by the musician employing the array of position markers. An alternative embodiment includes a reference diagram, displaying the apparatus in diagram form.

Abstract: A musical teaching device has a carriage to be placed in juxtaposition with a piano keyboard. The carriage has a pair of gloves slidably attached to move along the length of the carriage. The fingers of the gloves include signaling devices to indicate proper movement. The carriage and gloves are connected to a controller that commands proper hand positioning and finger movement to play a musical score loaded in the controller. The controller is powered by a computer program.

Abstract: A unique method of writing keyboard music without the use of traditional lines and staff notation is provided. The method is primarily designed to represent elementary R & B, Jazz and Gospel keyboard music, but is not limited to such. The invention consists of a column with two sides to it within which music played with the right hand is written in the right region of the column, and music played with the left hand is written in the left region of the column. The method is distinguished by very specific easy to learn rules on exactly how certain fundamental keyboard concepts are written using the column. The following keyboard concepts are indexed by the invention. They are: bass notes, piano chords, lone piano notes, sustaining chords, chord alternatives, nipping two piano notes at the same time, keyboard octaves, rhythms, key signatures and tempos and song headings.

Abstract: A stringed musical instrument includes a surfboard shaped body with strings on top. The strings have first ends attached to tuners under the body adjacent a first end, and second ends attached to a fixed anchor on top of the body adjacent a second end. A pitch changer comprised of an eccentric cam on an axle is positioned on a played string. A lever connected to the axle is provided for rotating the cam to adjust the tension on the string. A second embodiment is comprised of a body with tuners and a pitch changer adjacent the same end of the body. A third embodiment includes a combined tuner and pitch changer comprised of hinged arms with first ends pivoted on an axle. The strings are attached to intermediate positions on the arms. Screws are positioned against second ends of the arms for adjusting the tension on the strings.

Abstract: Casing of an electronic keyboard musical instrument includes two discrete parts: a main casing section; and a rear casing section. The main casing section includes a bottom plate having a keyboard section placed thereon, a keyslip portion extending upward from the bottom plate in front of the keyboard section, and left and right side plates extending upward from the bottom plate at left and right sides of the keyboard section. The rear casing section includes a roof plate forming a rear upper surface of the casing, and a back plate extending downward from a rear edge of the roof plate. The rear casing section is detachably attached to the main casing section by means of a slidingly-attaching structure for slidingly attaching the rear casing section to the left and right side plates of the main casing section.

Abstract: A woodwind instrument has a key mechanism for selectively closing and opening tone hole chimneys formed on a tube, and the key mechanism includes keys supported by a linkage at the associated tone hole chimneys; each of the keys includes a retainer inserted between a pad cup and a pad, and the retainer has a backing plate portion held in area contact with at the inner surface thereof to the pad and in point contact with at the outer surface thereof to the pad cup so that an assembling worker adjusts the pad to an appropriate attitude in the pad cup by pressing the pad to the associated tone hole chimney, and, thereafter, secures the retainer to the pad cup; this results in that the player can seal the tone hole chimney with the pad through a simple adjusting work.

Abstract: An instructional device for use by music students is constructed as an outer sleeve having a slide member fitted within it. The outer sleeve has first and second sets of openings and is imprinted with a representation of a piano keyboard. The slide member has alphabetic representations of musical notes showing through the first set of openings as the slide member is moved. One alphabetic representation shows the musical key selected and seven others display the notes of the chromatic scale and major and minor chords associated with that key. A first series of markings sized and located to show through the second set of openings will indicate the piano keys related to the chromatic scale selected. Additional sets of openings and markings on the slide member indicate the piano keys associated with the major and minor chords selected. These piano keys shown by colored markings or specially shaped openings.

Abstract: A support base for instrument components, including instrument components having a pedal associated therewith, that includes a base member and one or more component retainers. Various types of component retainers can be used either individually or in combination with one another. Such component retainers include hook-and-loop fasteners extending between the base member and an associated instrument component. The base member can include one or more passages, such as holes or slots, through which a component retainer, such as a fastener, can extend to engage an associated instrument component. Also, a component retainer, such as a post, may extend from either the base member or the instrument component to engage the other of same. The post may be integral or detachably supported on either the base member or instrument component.

Abstract: A system and method for teaching music both visually and tactilely. In one embodiment, the invention comprises blocks shaped to resemble musical symbols used to compose music, including time signatures, notes, rests, and dots. Each of the blocks are relative in thickness such that for a given time signature, the correct rhythm for a given measure can be determined by laying one or more of the notes, rests and dots one over the other to see if their combined thickness is equal to that of a preselected time signature. The thickness of the block shaped to resemble the time signature is such that it only allows the correct number of blocks shaped as notes, rests or dots to be of equal thickness to thereby determine the correct rhythm. In addition, the correct rhythm can be determined by simply reading the shaped blocks as one would read music.

Abstract: A portable information terminal device has a plurality of casings providing a front surface and a rear surface, respectively. The casings have walls defining spaces in which speakers are housed and thicker than walls thereof that define a space in which a component including an internal circuit is housed. The walls defining the spaces in which speakers are housed are prevented from causing resonance due to vibrations of the speakers. The walls that define the space in which the component including the internal circuit is housed may be of a minimum thickness required irrespective of resonance caused by vibrations of the speakers. With the above arrangement, the portable information terminal device is small in size and weight.

Abstract: An inventive structure of the reduction device of the spring driving musical movement comprises a musical movement base, a gear fixed base, a step spur gear, a bilateral gear and a friction unit; wherein the gear fixed base, formed from project plastic material, installs with a locating hole, two parallel concave grooves and a right-side bilateral gear installing groove thereon; and rivets with the musical movement base in a fixed position by the locating hole. After said step spur gear separately parallelizes in said parallel concave groove, said right-side bilateral gear installing groove and a left-side bilateral gear installing groove on the musical movement base were separately installed with a bilateral gear. And said friction unit locates on the musical movement base to make a worm thereon mutually and vertically engages with a left-side gear of the bilateral gear, to become a spring driving musical movement reduction device.

Abstract: A capo for use with a dobro or similar stringed instrument. The capo includes upper and lower curved bar members, each bar member having a horizontal arm portion and a downwardly curved arm portion meeting at a juncture. The upper and lower curved bar members are pivotally attached to each other adjacent the junctures of their horizontal and downwardly curved arm portions. A slot extends longitudinally in the mid-portion of the downwardly curved arm portion of the upper curved bar member, and a cam locking lever is pivotally mounted within the slot. A string hold down bar is pivotally mounted to the outer end of the horizontal arm portion of the upper curved bar member.

Abstract: A securement device for securing a drum head upon a drum shell or body through a tension rod, including a lug assembly that not only allows a downward pull on and hence tightening of the associated tension rod, but also provides for three additional parameters of adjustment of the position and aspect of the lower end of the tension rod relative to the associated drum shell.