US2506451A - Organ console - Google Patents

Description

May 2, 1950 L, HAMMOND 2,506,451

ORGAN CONSOLE Filed 0011. 28, 1949 (LOWER MANUAL (PED/11; s) (UPPER MANU/1L Patented May 2, 1950 ORGAN CONSOLE Laurens Hammond, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Hammond Instrument Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application October 28, 1949, Serial No. 124,138

Claims.

My invention relates generally to electric organs, and more particularly to consoles for instruments of this type.

In the manufacture of organ consoles it has been nearly universal and standard practice to have two or more manuals of 61 keys each, with the keys for the saine pitch in alignment, and to use a pedal clavier of 32 or 25 pedals. I have discovered that this time honored practice is ineflicient and have devised a console which can be produced at a substantially lower cost than the standard console without sacrificing any of its functional utility in the rendition of most kinds of musical compositions but instead, substantially increasing the facility with which the instrument may be played. The invention resides primarily in the concept that by combining various parts of electric organ consoles in a peculiar and unique combination and arrangement the number and cost of parts conventionally used could be greatly reduced without detracting in any way from the main functions of the instrument as a whole, but on the "contrary, in many respects increasing its versatility and usefulness.

As indicated by the reduced length of the upper manual of the electric organ shown in my prior Patent Number 1,956,350, I have long felt that the conventional organ console could be changed to decrease its cost without substantial sacrifice in the utility of the instrument. The simplification proposed in said patent did not achieve popular approval probably because in that instrument I merely omitted some of the keys of one manual together with their functions, and dld not make any provision for having other parts perform the excised functions. Since that time all organs commercially produced have, to the best of my knowledge, incorporated at least one manual having 6l keys, and in a large majority of instruments, two manuals each of at least (il keys. The pedal claviers in most commercial organs included at least twenty-ve and often the standard thirty-two pedals.

By approaching the problem of the design of an organ console and associated parts from the functional and utilitarian point of view, and disregarding in many respects the conventional standards, I have been able to produce an electric organ at a cost in the order of one-half as much as would be required for the production of an organ having a, conventional console, and this has been done without placing any material limitations upon the manner of playing the instrument, or in its performance in the rendition of nearly all organ selections. Thus for example, I have vfound that many keys of both manuals are used so infrequently in the rendition of organ selections that such keys are substantially useless, and can very well be elimihated. This is of course because the player conventionally plays the melody on the upper manual with the right hand and plays the accompaniment on the lower manual with his left hand. This is a natural and comfortable position of the hands in playing the instrument. Since the melody is, generally speaking, `at least an octave higher in pitch than the notes of the accompani'rnent, it will be seen that the elimination of certain keys does not in any way place limitations upon the usefulness of the two manuals in the rendition of nearly all musical compositions. Furthermore, I have found that compensation may be made for the elimination of many keys by displacing the manuals laterally.

Another conventional feature of organ console construction which adds materially to its cost and also adds to the difliculty of playing, without materially improving the musical versatility of the instrument, is the provision of a full 32 pedal clavier. It is seldom that the organist plays chords by depressing two pedals of the pedal clavier and the reason that so many pedals have been used in the past is that the tones of the organ, particularly the electric organ, have a short decay period and the organist must therefore depress the pedals in rapid succession to obtain a sustained bass accompaniment. Thus in conventional organs the organist must at times use both feet in depressing the pedals so that the pedals may be played in a legato manner. I have found that twelve pedals in the pedal lclavier are fully adequate for the playing of the bass accompaniment tones required in the rendition of organ music if the pedals and the mechanisms operated or controlled thereby are of such character that the tone produced as a result of depression of one pedal will continue to sound for a long time after the pedal is released or until another pedal is depressed.

It is therefore the primary object of my invention to provide a greatly simplified electric organ which can be manufactured at greatly reduced cost, and which is more easily played than organs of conventional construction.

Other objects will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved console; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of various control elements which form part of the console.

The console comprises a case l0 which houses the electrical tone signal generating means, preferably of the type shown in said Patent No. 1,956,350, as well as the output and amplification circuits which supply the tone signals 'to a speaker l2 preferably mounted behind the fall board It which forms part of the case l0.

The upper manual I6 and the lower manual I8 each have forty-four keys 20, extending fromFI (87.307 C. P. S.) to C5 (1046.502 C. P. S.). v Y The quality of the tones produced upon ii'epression of keys of the upper manual 'is controlled by a group A of drawbars 2l to 29 which respectively control the amplitude ofthe fundamental, 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 16th harmonic partials. In a similar manner the quality of the tones produced upon depression of yso'fjthe lower manualfis controlled by a'igroup "".B oifrdrawbars 3l to :38 which'respectively"conitifol the amplitude of`the"fundamental, 2nd, 3rd, V4th, "5th, 6th, 8th, and the 'combined v10th 'and (1j2th harmonic partials. Each of Vthe drawbars maybe manually adjusted to any one of eight 'different positions to Aselect any of eight'diierent degrees Voi intensity of the partial in the composite orsynthesized tone produced upon 'depressin "of the keys 20 of the associated'manual.

lA similar drawbar 39 is provided to control the `vintensity of the bass tones produced under the control of a pedal clavier di) Vcomprising twelve pedals M 'for the bass'note CO (32.703 CIP. S.) y'to 30161735 C. P. S). This pedal clavier may be 'o'f'ithejcpnstruetion 'shown and claimed in Patl'itrNO 2,499,244, .'gra'lit'd February 28, 1950.

*A "The generators for the pedal-controlled bass r"l'cii'iias preferably produce tone signals'of complex quality and have 'their "outputs controlled by latcling'rswi'tches and an intensity envelopecontrolling vacuum tube in the mannerjrno're fully disclosed and Vclaimed in the copending applica- "tion olfJohn Msi-lauert, Serial' No. 111,7425led August 22, 194e. anujin Patent No. '2,480,132, granted 'August 3G, 1949.

,"The console also includes six tiltable two-,positifon control vtablets 4t to ir'noun'tedin suitable oeningsformed in' an insulating lplate '53. These vtablets determine various 'characteristicsof the tonal output of the instrument. For example,

tablet controls the volurneorV intensity :of the pedal controlled tones relative to the tones controlled' by the manuals, that is whether'thepedal ton'es shall -be normal or soft Tablet 45 may benused to determine whether the pedal tone' in- "tenslty V'envelopes'shall have an attack which is "normal or slowf while tablet 4B may be used to determine vwhether the decay Y,of thepedal tones 'fslialll 'be normal or fa`s"t.-" Tablet l:it may 'be 'used'to control the vibrato,'whether on or offf Thefvibrato apparatus is preferably of the type sliow-n Tin the patent to John M. Hanert No. 112,382,413, and tablet '8`may be used to determine whether the vibrato shall vbe norma or shall'be "am-vibrato chorus, that is a mixture of the vibrato lfrequency modulated output signal with thefunmodul'atedsignal. AThe amount of the vibi'ato eiectmay'be `controlled by 'tablet 49, that is, whether yit shall 'be normal :or small.

The 'overall volume ofthe instrument is controlled by an expression Ipedal 50 mounted vfor pivotal movement in the customary -manner and z'extendingthrough an opening -52 in the fall `board M. A sustaining control element 54 mounted for transverse sliding movement on the expresi sion pedal 50, being positioned that it may be operated easily by the players foot while it is in position for operation of the swell pedal.

In conventional electric organs it is usually desirable to include means for introducing the eect of reverberation, as by the apparatus disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,230,836 dated February 4, i941. Thiswas due to the fact that electric organs are frequently played in rooms having a short reverberation time. By having the pedal controlled bass tones decay at a relatively slow rate, the eect of reverberation is attained. It

is suicient if only the bass tones decay slowly,

since this isthe eiTect the listener associates with hearing organ music in large church audiy'triinis where the higher treble range frequen- ..cies.zare attenuated so rapidly that they do not contribute materially to the reverberation effect. Th'ust'he use of the normal decay under the control of tablet @i5 results inthe practical equivalent joi-"a'coiisticftl vie'erberation,V "airing it lunnecessary to provide complicated costly f-reverberation eiect apparatus Iroi* lthe kind-'shown nlsaidlP-aterit2230836- Iff, vras is usual, `the drawbar f2s is adjusted fte a "position :other than O lor fffaiid the drawbarsZ'S :to2-il are adjusted-t0 positions such that jthe tone "frequencies controlled .by the' latter fdo not-'mask the' tone irequenciescontrolled by the "drawbai 2i, the resultant Acor'np'lex- Ytones produced, 'as keys '-223 of Vthe upper manual are ipl'ay'ed, `will be 'of fthe fsa'rne pitch as 'the complex tones produced-by playing lkeyslZt lof lthe lower vmanual which `aredisplaced fone-octave to theleft. fthe pitch ranges of the 'tones :controlled bythe wupper-and lower manuals fare identical and `the 'console may be lconsidered as comprising A-two manuals, ea'chfofthe' same 3% octave :pitch range lG3 `o'c'taves lplus 8 enotes), with the lower'manual shifted to the left a dista-nee vcorresponding to one octave of keys.

Byvirtue of the tract thatithe lower manual Yis displaced `to the left 'ofthe upper manual, and -b'ecausecustomand convenience rdictate that the left hand usually be used for playing ,the-accom- 'paninfent onfthe lowerV manual while fthe right `hand is used .tnpplay `the-melody -on the lupper manual, the playingpf the instrument iis .great- 'lyfacilitated. The organist finds that he does indt..iha;ve' :to cross lhis :right Vhand over the left hand :nearly 'as often, nor to. as Sgreat "an fextent asrhe would on'a'zc'onventional console. .In play- -ing the overwhelming :majority of vrmusical selec- -ti'ons lon the .improved console, the player nds fthathis handszare` in" natural positions, `that is :his Vmight 'hand isitothe'rightpf the-left hand, :and fusually `his hands Vare' ontheirfrespective vsides fof the centerloi the console; (Thekey G2 yof the '-upper manualrandgkeyc :oi ethe :lower manual .laregatithevcenter of the'consolei) The convenience-to V.the 'player "of :the partic- Lular .arrangement fo'f the vunifier Land flower vmanua'ls is y'enhanced by virtue of the fact'that the V motesrlis'most often wit-hin'the range'represented by the lowest two octaves o'ic lkeys'of ltheA :lower manual. rIhus ithexpia-yers lett hand is nearly always directlyfin front-of ehisleft shoulder fand rthe player is not reduirdto lswing his Aforearm laterally to any great extent inplaying the usual accompaniment chords. -Likewiseathe upper man- A`ual is so positioned that the-center-'of the melody frange iofthe ymajority of vcompositions is approxi- V.matelyein' frentgof the :right shoulder of :the :player so that in playing the majority of musical selections the player will be. required to move his forearm about equally to the right and left of the median naturally convenient position.

Since the cost of an organ is in considerable measure determined by the cost of the console case, it is desirable to reduce its size as much as possible without detracting from its usefulness and from the convenience with which it may be played. The height of the console disclosed herein may be substantially less than that of a conventional console, that is the distance from the lower manual to the floor may be reduced substantially from two to three inches. The width of the console is also much less than that of the conventional console. This is made possible partly because of the reduction in the number of pedals of the pedal clavier and the placing of the pedals closer to the center of the instrument. If the pedals 42 of the pedal clavier were placed dn their conventional positions they would have to be placed somewhat to the left of the positions in which they are shown, and the player would therefore be inconvenienced by moving his foot somewhat further to the left in depressing the lowest pedal. As the pedal clavier is located in the improved console, the left foot of the player naturally is positioned at about the center of the pedal clavier.

The pedals 42 lie close to the floor so that in playing them the heel of the left foot just grazes the floor while the pedals are depressed with the toe or ball of the foot. In conventional pedal claviers, due to the former desirability of making it possible for the player to heel and toe, (that is, depress pedals in succession alternately with the heel and toe so as to render the base accompaniment continuous by the legato effect thus obtained) it was necessary that the natural pedals extend from the console a sufficient distance to enable the player to depress them with his heel. Thus the top surface of the white or natural pedals were usually several inches from the floor level. By using the shorter pedals and having the tones sustained after the pedal has been released the heel and toe technique is unnecessary in playing the instrument and therefore the natura1 position of the heel may be at floor level instead of several inches above the iloor level as in conventional consoles. The bench may therefore be made lower and as a result the players knees are in lower positions and therefore the manuals may be correspondingly lowered. The height of the console is thus reduced by several inches. As previously described, the width of the console is also reduced, thereby substantially reducing the cost of the instrument as well as making it more generally useful because it is more acceptable for use in small rooms of apartments and homes. The reduction in Weight due to the decrease in size is also a substantial advantage, making the instrument more easily portable and reducing packing and freight costs.

In conventional consoles having or 30 pedals it is necessary to extend the pedal clavier to the full width of the instrument and as a result it is necessary to locate the swell or expression pedal above the levels of the pedals of the pedal clavier. The right foot used to operate the expression pedal is therefore in a somewhat uncomfortable, inconvenient and unnatural posi tion. By virtue of using the short one octave range pedal clavier in my improved console the expression pedal may be 'lowered about five inches so as to be nearly at floor level. This lis a further reason why the height of the console may be reduced. The expression pedal 50 is located to the right of the center line of the instrument, approximately the same distance that the center of the pedal clavier is located to the left of the center line of the console, and these distances are such that the player sitting at the center of the instrument may operate the various pedals with the feet in natural positions, in which greatest muscular relaxation is possible.

Since the player is never required to use his right foot for the depression of any of the pedals of the pedal clavier he may at all times rest it upon the expression pedal, and since his left foot is required to move at the most throughout an octave range the physical energy required for the playing of the instrument is substantially reduced.

Since the tone signal generating system and the output system do not form part of the present invention they are not disclosed herein. They may be of any well known construction. For example, the generating system may be of the type shown in said Patent No. 1,956,350, to which reference may also be had for a disclosure of the key operated switching and drawbar controlled circuits. Said application Serial No. 111,742, and Patents Nos. 2,480,132 and 2,357,191 disclose examples of tone signal generating and switching means for control by the pedal clavier. However the tone generating means may be of a variety of types, and may include reeds, pipes or other non-electrical musical tone generators.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations may be made in the form and construction thereof, without departing from the more fundamental principles of the inven tion. I therefore desire, by the following claims, to include within the scope of my invention all such similar and modified forms of the apparatus disclosed, by which substantially the results of the invention may be obtained by substantially the same or equivalent means.

I claim:

1. In a two manual organ, having an upper and a lower manual of substantially the same length and range of musical pitches, a console case supporting the lower manual in such position that the keys of said lower manual are positioned one whole octave to the left of the corresponding keys of said upper manual.

2. In an organ having means for producing tones of the musical scale, a console including means for controlling the production of the tones comprising an upper manual and a lower manual, the manuals having substantially the same number of keys extending over not more than four octaves and controlling production of the substantially same range of musical tones, the keys of the lower manual being positioned one full octave to the left of the keys of the upper manual which control the production of tones of corresponding pitch.

3. An organ console comprising similar upper and lower manuals of forty-four keys each for controlling the production of tones of the same pitch compass, the lower manual being positioned to the left of the upper manual a distance corresponding to one octave of keys.

4. In a two manual and pedal organ having an upper and a lower manual of substantially the same length and musical pitch range, a, console case supporting the lower manual in such position that thekeys of the lower Vmanual are located one whole'octave'to the left of the correspond ing keys Vofthe upper manual, va pedal clavrto be vplayedV Aby the left foot Yof Ythe player, the clavier "comprising anV octave lof short pedalshav'- Aing their playing'surfaces located suciently close to 'the Iloor' that; the player may rest his heel on theoor while easily-depressng the pedals, the'v'p'edal clavier being located 4totlfle left ofthe center 'of thev console, and an expression pedal located close V'to the floor and tothe right ofthe Y center Vof theconsole forfconvenient operation by the right foot ofthe player.

5. For usef-in a two manual and pedal organof the type in which the tones controlled by the pedal'sfcontinue to be produced for a substantial tinte fa'fter the pedal'ha's been released or until aY pedal calling for aV tone of di'erent pitch is depressed, a 'console comprising, v an upper manual and a llower manual, said` manuals having substantially'the same'number of keys for controlling vthe production of tones of-subst'artally the same pitch range-a case supporting the manuals `in position sch'that `the keys of thelower manual areloca-tedthe distance of onefull octave of keys to the left of the corresponding keys of the upper "manuals, anda pedal rclavier offsubstanta'lly'one octave rangean'd comprising short pedals '-postionedf so close to the floor `that they may bedepres'sed with the'toe'whle lthe heelV is resting on the'oor.

LAURENS HAMMOND.

No-references cited.

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