JPS6233588B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of the koto, which is a traditional musical instrument from ancient Japan.

A conventional koto has a plurality of strings of the same length, and uses a pillar to adjust the strings to change the tone. The strings must all be tightened to an appropriate level on average, and special professional skills are required to tighten the strings and tune the strings, so it is common to ask a specialist such as a koto shop to do this before playing. It is. In this way, it is difficult to tighten the strings and tune the strings, and it is necessary to move the pillars to change the tune according to the song during the performance.However, since most of the strings for kotos are currently made of chemical fibers, silk threads are used. Although it is relatively strong, it is slippery, and there is also the problem that the pillars may slip and move against your will or cause you to fall. Furthermore, the large size of the instrument makes it extremely inconvenient to handle.

Because of these problems, the koto tends to be avoided by young people who are accustomed to Western music and musical instruments, and it is difficult to incorporate it into school education.

This invention was made by focusing on these conventional problems, and by configuring the koto, which is originally a transposing instrument, as a fixed instrument like a Western instrument,
The purpose is to allow students to play the koto as easily as a Western instrument, and to naturally develop an interest in Japanese music while enjoying the sound of the koto.

Therefore, the Japanese-Western style koto according to the present invention has a string holder, a fixed bridge, a tuning bridge holder, and a string winding means arranged in order from one end to the other on one side of the resonance box, and on both sides of the fixed bridge. Each has a sound hole,
A plurality of strings with proportionally different lengths are stretched from the string holding means of the string holder to the string winding means via a fixed piece and a string adjustment piece, and each string is stretched on both sides with the fixed piece as a fulcrum. The lengths of the strings are divided into 1:2 ratios so that the pitches differ by one octave, and the string holder and tuning piece holder are installed so that the length of each string is in the Western or Japanese scale. All of the above problems can be solved by fixing it on a resonance box.

The implementation of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing the arrangement of each component of the koto, FIG. 2 shows a fixed piece, and FIG. 3 shows a tuning piece.

As shown in FIG. 1, a string holder 2,
Fixed piece 3, tuning piece holder 4, and string winding means 5
Place each. The string holder is a plate-shaped body,
15 protrusions 8 for receiving each string, and 15 protrusions 8 for holding each string using a means such as a stopper, a screw, an adhesive, etc.
A string locking means 9 is provided. The fixed piece is a fan-shaped plate as shown in Figure 2, with its short arc side in contact with the resonance box, and its long arc side with 15 string receiving recesses 1.
0, and is firmly fixed to the resonance box by the pressing force of the string. The tuning piece holder is a plate-shaped body, and on its upper surface there is a through hole 12 through which the strings pass, as shown in FIG.
The tuning piece 11 provided with is slid and moved. The string winding means, such as a bolt or a screw, has a screw at one end and anti-slip grooves at the other end, and is rotated to wind and unwind the string. Sound holes 6, 6 are provided on both sides of the fixed piece, respectively. A string holder holds 15 strings of proportionally different lengths.
It is stretched to the string winding means through the fixed bridge and the tuning bridge, and the fixed bridge is used as a fulcrum to set the length of each string at a ratio of 1:2, so that the pitches of the strings differ by one octave. In addition to intersecting the fixed bridge at right angles, the strings on both sides of the fixed bridge are individually set to 2 octaves on a seven-tone scale, and the string holder and tuning piece holder are arranged so that the range of both is 3 octaves in total. is tilted to the string and fixed on the resonance box.

Furthermore, legs of various lengths can be attached to the bottom of the resonance box so that the instrument can be played in seated or standing positions.

In this way, the koto, which is originally a transposing instrument, can be configured as a fixed instrument like a Western instrument.

Furthermore, the fixed bridge is firmly fixed to the resonance box by the pressure applied by a plurality of strings, and the pitch can be easily determined even if the strings are changed, without the need for movement depending on the piece of music to be played or during the performance.

In addition, tuning of the string can be easily done by adjusting the tension of the string by rotating the string winding means using a tuning flute, etc. Furthermore, using a fixed piece as a fulcrum, the tuning of the string can be easily done by adjusting the tension of the string by rotating the string winding means. Adjustment can be made by moving the tuning piece on the tuning piece holder.

In addition, since the tuning of the string is simple, it is easy to tune the string to any scale, so you can use a Western scale or a Japanese scale if necessary.If you know the scale name, you can play any song without using semitones. However, it is also possible to raise the pitch by a semitone by pressing the string, just like with a conventional koto.

In addition, the strings on both sides of the fixed bridge can be individually set to two octaves on a seven-tone scale, and both have a wide range of three octaves, and the pitch of each string differs by one octave with the fixed bridge as the fulcrum. Therefore, it contains many overtones and lingering sounds.

Also, since it is divided into left and right by fixed pieces,
It can be played with both hands and can easily be accompanied by accompaniment.

Furthermore, the total length of the koto can be approximately 1.2m to 1.4m, making it convenient to handle and transport.

The number of strings strung on the koto, the shape of each element constituting the koto, etc. are not limited to the examples shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and may vary as long as the koto functions as a fixed musical instrument. can be changed.

As described above with respect to the embodiments, according to the present invention, the tone is not similar to that of the conventional koto, and it is easy to play in Western style scales, it is possible to use Japanese scales if necessary, and the tonal range is wide. The sound contains overtones and has a lot of lingering sound, so it has an excellent performance effect, and even if you change the strings, the pitch can be determined easily, the strings are easy to tune, and the overall length can be shortened, making it easy to handle and transport. It also has excellent effects such as being simple.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing the arrangement of each component of the koto. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the fixed piece. Third
The figure is a perspective view showing a tuning piece. 1... Resonance box, 2... String holder, 3... Fixed piece, 4... Tuning piece holder, 5... String winding means,
6...tone hole, 7...string.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A resonance box in which a string holder, a fixed piece, a tuning piece holder, and a string winding means are arranged and a tone hole is provided;
Multiple strings are strung from the string holder to the string winding means via the fixed piece and tuning piece, and the length of each string strung on both sides is divided 1:2 to vary the pitch by one octave. It consists of a fixed piece that serves as a fulcrum for each string arranged in the following manner, and a string holder and a tuning piece holder fixed on a resonance box so that the length of each string corresponds to a Western-style scale or a Japanese scale. A Japanese-Western koto featuring a combination of Japanese and Western styles.