Chord patents

[elkriverharmonicas]

This is a 1928 design for a 32 chord harmonica. It is very similar to the Hohner 48, only the upper harmonica is smaller than the bottom. The diminished and augmenteds are on the top harmonica, the majors and minors on the bottom. Note the construction of the comb is almost identical to the Hohner 48.
http://www.google.com/patents?id=ZYV5AAAAEBAJ&printsec=drawing&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false



This is one by Walter Fairfield, who had a lot of harmonica patents. This 1897 design allows you to play melodies and accompany yourself with chords:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=altmAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=chord+harmonica&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q=chord%20harmonica&f=false

This one reminds me of a harmonetta:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=wth8AAAAEBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=chord+harmonica&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=4#v=onepage&q=chord%20harmonica&f=false

[John Broecker]

Hello, Dave and the Chordomatics.

Thanks for the interesting chord harmonica patents papers.

I didn't know that chord harmonicas were patented before the 1900s.

The initial reason for the 3-, 4-, and 6-tremolo or octave harps on a "paddlewheel" setup was to allow the player to produce more chords. "Paddlewheel" harps were first listed in product catalogs circa 1880. Providing extra chords was usually the reason for double-sided harps, also.

I own chord harps of many sizes:

Hohner 48 Chord; Hohner Polyphonia #8, 36 Chord; Suzuki SCH-24 Chord harp; Huang Chordet 20; Yamaha Butterfly Chord Harmonica (14 chords); Tombo Pocket Chord (8 chords);  Hohner Chordomonica II slide chord-diatonic harp (7chords); Hohner Polyphonia #4--Vineta, 6 chords.

Of all the models, the Suzuki SCH-24 is the one I use most often. The ones with fewer than 20 chords are not very useful, except the Tombo Pocket Chord (2 major chords, 2 minor chords, 4 seventh chords), about 5 and 3/4ths inches long.

I'm a "student" chord player, with about 12 years chord playing experience.

Richter system diatonic harps also make good chord harps, but the chords are limited to about 6 chords. A chord is a set of 3 or more notes played together.

John Broecker
 

[elkriverharmonicas]

John,

That 36 chord of yours is blow only, isn't it? Thus, how does it compare in size to the 48 chord?



Here's another that might look familiar, Cham ber Huang's patent for the chordomonica:

http://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNet/depatisnet?window=1&space=menu&content=treffer&action=pdf&docid=DD000000053971A&Cl=3&Bi=1&Ab=&De=1&Dr=5&Pts=&Pa=&We=&Sr=&Eam=&Cor=&so=asc&sf=ad&firstdoc=1&NrFaxPages=5&pdfpage=1


Here's another interesting design from Hohner in 1918.
http://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNet/depatisnet?window=1&space=menu&content=treffer&action=pdf&docid=DE000000315909A&Cl=2&Bi=1&Ab=&De=1&Dr=3&Pts=&Pa=&We=&Sr=&Eam=&Cor=&so=asc&sf=ad&firstdoc=6&NrFaxPages=5&pdfpage=4

[John Broecker]

Hello, Dave.

The Hohner 36-chord harp is blow-only, single reed per note. It has 3 decks with hinges in between, and the chords are on each harmonica's top reed plate, with the separate bass note on the bottom reed plate of each harmonica.

Presently, my Poly 36 chord has the minor harp on the top, then the major harp, then the sevenths harp on the bottom. I'm not sure if this is the manufacturer's setup. I took the Poly 36 apart many years ago to clean it, and may have re-assembled it incorrectly.

Each of the 3 hinged harps is 12" long, from the mouthpiece left to right.

The Yamaha Butterfly Chord Harmonica measures approximately 14 and 5/8ths inches left to right. It is one harp, no hinges. The 7 major chords are blow, and the 7 seventh chords are draw.

John Broecker

[elkriverharmonicas]

John, do you know when the double-sided Vienna tremolos appeared?

[John Broecker]

Hello, Tremolo Troopers.

This should probably be listed in the Harmonica History section.

It's only a guess, but the two-sided tremolo or octave harps probably first appeared in catalogs of the 1880s.

In the 1885 August Pollman catalog:

Richter sold a"Double" #3620 (20 holes per side, double reeds per note), and a #3624 (24 holes, etc), with brass reed plates, nickel covers, for $2.10 per dozen #3620, and $2.52 per dozen, #3624.

Matt. Hohner in Knittlingen sold a #3894 "Double," 20 reeds per side (40 reeds), with zinc reed plates and tin covers, for $6.30 per dozen. Hohner also sold a double-sided octave harp, "M. Hohner Concert," #31, 20 reeds per side, nickel plated covers, for $11 per dozen; and #32, with tin covers, for $8.40 per dozen.

Another curiosity. The original, un-patented Hohner Marine Band 10-hole Richter diatonic was first displayed in the 1885 Pollman catalog, listed as #96.

These are the earliest records that I have, about the double-sided tremolos and octave harps, but they may have been published in other catalogs before that 1885 date.

John Broecker

[elkriverharmonicas]

If Hohner was doing it in the 1880s, Thie was probably doing it earlier, Thie, of course, in addition to being the supposed inventing company of the tremolo itself. But it may not have been much earlier. Hohner sent some spies to Vienna in 1880 to get a handle on what Thie was doing. Hohner also did that in 1871.

[John Broecker]

Hello, Dave.

Thanks for the correction.

I mistakenly wrote 20 reeds per side of a double tremolo or octave harp (Matt.Hohner in Knittlingen harps), instead of 20 holes per side (40 reeds). The corrected listing is like the Richter model in the same catalog, but with different construction materials.

These are 10-hole double-sided tremolo or octave harps. A tremolo's or octave's holes are numbered to compare with a Richter diatonic 10-hole harp. In the tremolo/octave harps, each reed has a separate cell, and each reed pair  is vertically stacked and spelled alike.

The tremolo harp has 2 like reeds vertically stacked, but one is slightly de-tuned, for the tremolo effect. The octave harp has 2 like reeds vertically stacked, but one of the 2 reeds is tuned an octave lower than the other reed, for more resonance.

Vienna system note placement, Tremolo and Octave Harps, C major

(may start on "mi" of the scale, or "do" of the scale. Large letters are blow notes, small letters are draw notes):

   "Do" Scale:
             Hole:      1      2       3       4      5      6       7       8      9     10
     Top Plate: ||C |d |E |g |G |b |C |d |E |f |G |a |C |b |E |d |G |f |C |a||
Bottom Plate: ||C |d |E |g |G |b |C |d |E |f |G |a |C |b |E |d |G |f |C |a||

    "Mi" Scale:
             Hole:               2      3       4      5      6       7       8      9     10    11
     Top Plate:          ||E |g |G |b |C |d |E |f |G |a |C |b |E |d |G |f |C |a|E |b ||
Bottom Plate:          ||E |g |G |b |C |d |E |f |G |a |C |b |E |d |G |f |C |a|E |b ||

The above charts are for the 10-hole tremolos and 10-hole octave harps of the 1885 Pollman catalog. The 11-hole Japanese-Korean variety would lose hole #8 on both harps, adding another hole on the right side of the mouthpiece.

John Broecker