Re: [tuning] Symmetrical Keyboard (was: Oldest Musical Score)

Clark wrote:

> Hi, Troubledoor,
>
> Bill Alves forwarded a message from you about a new piano design to the
> list last week, apparently when your link contained a picture of it.
> Could you describe it? Paul mentioned the keyboard was the same as
> pictured here: http://x31eq.com/instrum.htm
>

It is the exact same keyboard except that I don't rearrange mine for maximum neatness. I just
take all the right facing keys and place them to the right and all the left facing keys and
place them to the left. Soon as I get my webpage working again, I'll mention it in my
.signature file and you can see my more crude layout. I'll try my best to get that done by
tonight. Check by tonight.

>
> I saw this one illustrated in a 1920s advertisement for a piano company!
> More
> intentionally, though, Sibyl Marcuse describes the same by Johann
> Rohleder in 1791, and continues that the design was used by several 19th
> century German piano makers; Owen Jorgensen presents it as the "6 over
> 6" keyboard.
>

I thought that I invented the symmetric design in 1994 or so. Due to severe depression, in
1996 I tried to give the design to keyboard magazine and musician magazine to print and archive
in their publications. Then I quietly went insane for 5 years. When I woke up from the
nightmare adventure in 1999, I found that the keybaord magazines didn't publish the symmetric
design I sent them. So in April of 2000, I set out to patent it before some keyboard
manufacturer got their corporate hands on it and controlled the patent for the next 17+ years.
I got the patent pending status. Based on your info, that isn't necessary now. Thank you very
much for saving me from the patent process.

>
> I found a reference to the Rapian Keyboard in one of Paul Vandervoort's
> patents (relating to Paul von Janko's keyboard), and managed to scrounge
> an issue of Keyboard Magazine with a short feature written by Bob Moog
> (p18. Keyboard, Sept. 1989). Kanpei Mutoh's 12-tone arrangement has 5
> tiers of
> tall, medium size button keys - like the symmetrical arrangements each
> tier plays a whole tone scale. Positions are marked on the fallboard. It
> looks to have reduced octave span, and part of its reason is natural
> finger placement.
>

You wouldn't happen to know of any acoustical piano makers who have constructed a piano with
the symmetric design? I can't get that from your above info. If you ever have time, can you
list your sources for you info so that I don't have to redo all your research? IF you have
time of course. I'm gonna do the research if you don't print the sources.

>
> While on the subject, I emailed with an instrument builder in WA who is
> constructing a strung piano-like keyboard instrument which will allow
> for instantaneous retuning, along with vibrato and glissandi. Patent
> considerations kept him from describing it any further, but it sounds
> very exciting.
>
> Clark
>
>
>
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Hello,

Troubledoor wrote:

> Thank you very
> much for saving me from the patent process.

There are a lot of duplicate and obviously plagiarized patents in the
history of keyboard instruments, alongside many brilliant and
undervalued inventions; in my opinion still there is a ways to go,
perhaps some of it may be through reexamining historical examples.

> It is the exact same keyboard except that I don't rearrange mine for maximum neatness.

Graham mentions the spacing problems he encountered made advantage for
navigation.

> You wouldn't happen to know of any acoustical piano makers who have constructed a piano with
> the symmetric design?

Marcuse isn't any more specific than I was; I did find a reference on Ed
Swenson's page, however. (see below)

Mutoh was equipped to make Rapian uprights and also to convert existing
pianos. The address given in the '89 article is Rapian Music, Sendagaya
4-27-13, Shatore Yoyogi 603, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan 164.

Janko invented his transpositionally equivalent design in 1882,
originally which was built by R. W. Kurka in Vienna; subsequently it was
offered by a small number of American and European piano manufacturers.
This scheme has six tiers of identically shaped key plates each arranged
in whole tones. Carl tells me that Paul Vandervoort, in Reno, NV, builds
new Janko keyboards for existing pianos; he also holds patents for
mechanical improvements to the original.

A class of related, extended keyboards is known as generalized
keyboards. A great discussion of these is at
http://www.bikexprt.com/music/bosanqet.htm

The tracker in a pneumatic player piano is a sort of keyboard, and
sometimes which is arranged as two nested rows of triangular-shaped keys
played by a removal of fingers, by a roll or I suppose it might be done
directly.

Deceptively symmetrical keyboards also have been made, noteably the
famous Harmoniehammerfluegel in Vienna and Colonna's arrangement for the
Sambuca lincea both of which stack diatonic tiers.

Briefly, from http://www.mozartpiano.com/biblio.html

Rohleder, Johann. "Erleichterung Des Klavierspielens Verm�ge Einer Neuen
Einrichtung Der Klaviatur...." K�nigsberg: F. Nicolovius, 1792.

Marcuse, Sibyl. A Survey of Musical Instruments. Harper & Rowe, NY.
1975.

Harding, Rosamond E. The Piano-Forte. Cambridge University Press, 1933.

I can compile some others tonight.

Regards,

Clark