Aug. 24, 1954 E. J. DOYLE 2,687,059 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed July 12, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Poy?eINVENTOR. Attorney Aug. 24, 1954 E. J. DOYLE 2,687,059 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed July 12, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 | 8 NY 16 14. a2a2a22ZZZZZZZZ2 N NNS N F. E.E. fo Aaward / ZeyteINVENTOR, Y Caule as hepard Attorney Patented Aug. 24, 1954 2,687,059 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,687,059 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Edward J. Doyle, Brighton, N.Y. Application July 12, 1950, Serial No. 173,330 Claims. (Cl. 84-402) 1. 2 The present invention relates to musical in or holding parts do not greatly damp the vibra struments and more particularly to the type in tions of the metal blade and yet do not them which a resonant metal body is vibrated While Selves vibrate to a sufficient extent to give rise the player manipulates its tension to produce a to undesirable Sounds of their own. Scale of musical notes as in the well known The butt or Wider end of the blade has an “musical saw' where an ordinary carpenter's abrupt reverse taper at 2, the extremity of saw is variously bent and struck with a mallet . which portion enters a kerf 4 in a cross bar 6 or similar percussion device or otherwise vibrated. Wherein it is tightly clamped by end bolts i8 The general object of this invention is to provide Which, it will be observed, are removed from con a simple but improved instrument of this charac 0. tact With the blade which throughout, has no ter that will be more convenient to hold and play metal to metal contacts. The taper 2 enhances and which Will produce a larger range of inusical the bendability of the blade upon the cross bar notes of better quality than heretofore. as a Supporting base and improves vibration. Another object is to provide an instrument of Secured to the opposite side of the cross bar this character especially designed for use with base 6 at 20 as by bolts 22 are a pair of strap a bow of the type employed with a violin and yokes 24. These are designed to fit under and like Stringed instruments. partially around the right thigh of the player A further object is to provide, simple means While in a sitting playing posture to resist upward for controlling the pitch. tilting movement of the base as the projecting These and other desirable objects are accom 20 blade is depressed as is best understood from plished by the construction disclosed as an illus inspection of Fig. 3. trative embodiment of the invention in the foll Adjacent to the cross bar 3 a little farther lowing description and in the accompanying . up the blade beyond the reverse taper 2, the drawingS. forming a part hereof, in which: blade is engaged by a bridge and auxiliary sup Fig. 1 is a plan view of a musical instrument 25 port 26 best shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4. Its end constructed in accordance with and illustrating blocks 28 have opposed inside kerfs 3 cut there One embodiment of this invention; in and are of proper width to firmly, frictionally Fig. 2 is a side or edge view thereof; grip the thickness of the blade only at its Fig. 3 is a side or edge view on a Smaller scale edges, but yet permit the bridge to be forcibly showing the instrument with its parts in the 30 adjustably moved along the blade within a lin positions assumed during the playing thereof; ited range Without disengagement. The coninsct Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the blade ing portion 32 of the bridge is well spaced from taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the under surface of the blade. Bolted centrally the direction of the arrows to show Supporting . to the bridge at 34 is a single strap yoke 3 sini parts in elevation; lar to the yokes 24 but designed to engage over Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary Section taken .. and rest upon the top of the left thigh of the approximately on the line 5-5. of Fig. 2; and player and take downward pressure resulting Fig. 6 is a greatly enlarged transverse section from depression of the blade 0. through the playing edge of the blade, taken At the extreme tip or narrow end of the blade, substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1. 40 there is provided a handle for the left or fret The same reference numerals throughout the ting hand of the player. It consists, in the pres several views indicate the same parts. ent embodiment, of a projecting block 38 in the Referring more particularly to the drawings, the inner side of which is a kerf or slot 32 in which major element of the instrument consists of a thin the blade tightly Wedges without the aid of other tapered, manually bendable tempered steel blade 45 fastening means. Projecting from the block 0, both ends of which are preferably squared off above the slot and extending longitudinally down at right angles to the playing edge 44. It is the blade at a rising angle to its normal flat imperforate from end to end. The blade is held plane, is a tongue 42. and manipulated by the player in the following In operation, the player adjusts the leg yokes manner, all direct Supporting Or holding parts 50 24 and 36 as described, engages the fingers of or attachments being of a non-metallic material, his left hand beneath the block 38 and with the such as wood, which has substantially different thumb of the same hand pressing down on the characteristics of elasticity and resilience from tongue 42 bends and flexes the blade while tap those of the metal-blade and which, in the par ping it with a small mallet or, preferably, draw ticular block-like shapes here employed, has little 55 ing a bow across its edge to produce the musical or no resonance, So that the direct attachments notes. Because of the leverage afforded by the 2,687,059 3 4. handle 38 the double curvature illustrated in tapered, manually bendable steel blade having a Fig. 3 may readily be attained, greatly increaS non-resonant base support at its wider end and ing the range of notes, while at the same time a similar auxiliary support adjacent thereto and contributing to greater precision and Spacing in connected therewith only through the medium of the notes produced. But also neither the hand the blade itself, said auxiliary support being slid nor any other part of the player's body touches able along the blade independently of Said base the blade to mute or damp the tones. To alter Support to vary the distance between the two and refine the pitch the bridge and auxiliary supports, each of said supports having a Concave Support, 26 is adjusted as described. portion for engaging and partially encircling one While the use of a percussion mallet has been O thigh of a player, the concave portions of the suggested, the use of a violin bow or the like is two supports being faced approximately in oppo greatly preferred because of the following addi site directions whereby the concave portion of tional feature of this invention. said base support may engage under One thigh The ordinary musical saw is, as a toothed cut and the concave portion of Said auxiliary Sup ting tool, usually stamped out of a steel Strip 5 port may engage over the other thigh of a player With its longitudinal extent running at right in sitting position. angles to or across the roll, grain, and finish 3. A musical instrument in accordance with originating at the steel mill, or Sometimes with claim 2, in which the said auxiliary Support Con the longitudinal center line of the saw blade par stitutes a bridge slotted to closely engage only allel to the roll, grain, and finish of the Steel 20 the opposite longitudinal edges of the Said blade. strip. As distinguished from this, the present 4. A musical instrument embodying a thin, blade is sheared from the steel strip in Such tapered, manually bendable steel blade having a orientation thereto that the playing edge AA (that non-resonant cross bar clamped to its wider butt is, the edge farthest from the body of the player end at right angles to its median line and pro when the instrument is held in the preferred vided with a pair of spaced yokes adapted to nannar above described) is exactly parallel to engage beneath one thigh of a player and a bridge and in the direction of the roll, grain, and finish. having a limited slidable adjustability on the Of the Steel Strip conning from the Steel mill. In longitudinal edges of the blade adjacent to the addition, this playing edge is nicely honed or crossbar and in parallelism thereto, said bridge stoned to a slight bevel as indicated to a some 30 being provided wtih a yoke adapted to rest upon What exaggerated extent, particularly in Fig. 6. the top of the other thigh of the player. The result is that the present instrument may 5. A musical instrument in accordance With be played with sweeping strokes of the bow claim 4, in which both edges of the Wide end of (preferably with the hairs reversed) to produce the said biade have an abrupt reverse taper Syme long, even notes of high quality and tone value metrically drawn from both edges extending a rather than the short, scratchy tones which relatively short distance interiorly and exteriorly would result from the playing of a conventional of the cross bar and the narrower tip of the in usical Saw by means of a bow, especially since blade is provided with a finger piece in alline a bow, if usable at all on a conventional musical ment with the median line of the blade.