Penetrating tongue

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bass reed plate of an accordion with two reeds; one on each side.
Reed with additional weight at the end of the reed (to obtain a deeper tone)
Frame of the reed plate, reed tongue and rivet that is used to fix the tongue in the frame

In music, the penetrating tongue (also known as penetrating tongue ) is a strip of material, usually metal , which is attached (mostly riveted ) to a tightly fitting frame at one of its ends . The freely movable part covers the opening of the frame in the middle when it is at rest, when it is played it swings through the frame and thereby generates the sound.

In the case of harmonica instruments , the penetrating reeds are also known as reeds. The word lamella is rarely used instead of sticking out tongue .

function

High-speed recording of a reedplate with the tongue sticking out

When air is blown against the tongue, it bends through the opening in the frame. The air can escape through the opening, the air pressure on the tongue decreases. Due to the elasticity of the material, the tongue snaps back, closes the opening and interrupts the flow of air, which then again exerts pressure on the tongue, the process starts all over again. These very rapid interruptions in the air flow generate an oscillation in the surrounding air and thus a sound wave .

Only a small part of the resulting sound comes directly from the vibrating tongue. Most of the sound waves come from the stimulated surrounding air. Essentially, the reed only vibrates at its fundamental frequency, whereas the harmonic waves contained in the sound are formed in the surrounding air. The entire typical sound spectrum is much more complex and is also influenced by the structure of the rest of the instrument.

The reed tongue needs a slight bend in the rest position so that it can oscillate when the air flow begins, see Bernoulli effect. This requires a certain asymmetry in the structure. The usual punch tongue can therefore only function in one direction.

However, there are patents for reed plates that also work bidirectionally. Some have been used with success in the past, but no reed plate manufacturer makes such reed plates today. Simply described, such reed plates consist of two frames with a reed in between. Additional precautions must be taken to ensure that the required asymmetry for the air flow is restored in both directions. This can be done through additional air guide slots or through a Y-shaped extension of the reed at its movable end.

Opening reeds have a similar structure, only the reed is larger than the slot in the frame. Striking end reeds are today in organs for reeds used. The double reed tongues (counter-striking reeds) , as used in woodwind instruments, use a similar principle .

Physics of the reed

Reed plate drawing cut
Single part plate of a harmonium with zinc frame and bronze tongue

The height of the resulting tone depends on the geometric dimensions, the shape and the mass distribution in the tongue. See: Calculation later in this article. To tune the reeds, a little metal is sanded off at the free-swinging end to increase the tone. The end of the reed loses mass and thus inertia and vibrates faster. In order to create a deeper tone, material can be applied at the end, for example in the form of additional solder, or material can be removed in the middle of the sheet metal strip. As a result, the tongue swings more slowly (with a lower frequency ) and with a greater deflection ( amplitude ) .

Other factors have little effect on the pitch: the reed plate is slightly influenced by the sound chamber surrounding it, the mechanical components such as the keys and the rest of the instrument. The air temperature also has a theoretical (but practically negligible) effect on the pitch. The interactions with the surrounding components only have to be taken into account during production and tuning.

The air pressure that acts on the reed also leads to a slight shift in pitch (overblow). Higher playing pressure leads to a lowering of the pitch. The opposite effect is the case with vibrating air columns in hollow bodies. If there is enough space, this effect of lowering the pitch when the air pressure is increased can be compensated for by choosing the resonance body combined with the reed. Depending on the construction of the reed plate, the lowering of the pitch can vary when the playing pressure is increased. However, the shift in pitch is usually within a few cents and is therefore hardly noticed even with large dynamic changes. Hand pull instrument players who play with brass instruments should take this into account. When tuning in, wind instruments should therefore be below the reference tone of the tongue instrument.

The exact tuning of hand-drawn instruments can be very time-consuming (up to plus-minus 8 cents are tolerated depending on the quality of the instrument).

The main advantage of reed plates over organ (lip) whistles, woodwind and string instruments is that the pitch remains almost constant over extremely long periods of time, regardless of the ambient temperature.

Calculating the pitch

Find the frequency f , unit: Hz, with which the reed vibrates.

Must be known:

  1. The modulus of elasticity E module, unit: kN / mm²: The modulus of elasticity E as a physical property, measured at room temperature, describes the rigidity of the material. It results from the gradient of the stress-strain curve in the elastic range during the tensile test with the elongation ε, unit:% and the tensile stress σ, unit: N / mm². The modulus of elasticity is the constant of proportionality in Hooke's law . The material constant for steel is around 200 kN / mm²
  2. The density , unit: kg / m³: the material constant for steel is around 7850 kg / m³
  3. The dimensions: length L , width b and thickness (height) h , unit: m
The tongue is fastened in a well-fitting frame (the front edge of the frame is not shown here to reveal the tongue). The free end is slightly bent upwards (not shown here).
When air is moved down through the tongue, it can initially only flow through a narrow gap between the tip and the frame.
The tongue is pulled down by the air flow, which increases the gap and the amount of air flowing through.
The elastic tongue swings back up through the frame.

Assuming that the reed has the shape of a cuboid, the mass m of the reed can be determined via the volume V :

Only a certain air pressure p , unit: N / m², with which the tongue is stimulated to vibrate, acts on the reed . The free end of the tongue is more involved in the moving mass m than the part that is near the rivet. The shape of the tongue has an influence on the mass distribution. The force F , unit: N, which acts on the reed, results as follows:

The geometrical moment of inertia I , unit: cm 4 , of the reed is also given by:

And this in turn leads to a certain deflection of the reed (deflection path at the moving end). The general relationship between the acting force F and the deflection s , unit: m, can be derived from the theory “ bending of a beam ” . It reads:

The stiffness c of the reed, unit: N / m, can be derived from this:

Note that the stiffness decreases proportionally to the modulus of elasticity. If the thickness h is increased or the length L is shortened , the rigidity becomes considerably higher because it increases to the power.

The constant for the lowest possible fundamental oscillation , the -constant, is derived through mathematical approximation and relates to the bar clamped on one side. It is = 1.875. A reed can also be excited to oscillate based on another constant, these oscillations are called natural oscillations of higher modes. = 4.6941, = 7.8548 etc. These values ​​only apply to absolutely rectangular dimensions. If the width or thickness of the tongue is profiled, these factors also change. A vibration calculation for more complex dimensions that come closer to the real dimensions of reeds is only possible with the finite element method . The results that can be achieved with the following calculation are, however, approximately usable for profiled reeds.

The angular frequency of the reed results in:

with this the frequency f follows:

If the corresponding basic formulas are used for c and m , the formula can be converted into the following forms by reshaping and shortening.

After changing this equation to L , the length of a certain reed for a desired frequency f results :

The result only depends on the material parameters.

Bending

Harmonica use similar effects. The reeds of these harmonicas are made a little differently. The thinnest possible frame and a little less spring force with more flexibility of the tongue. The pharynx, mouth and the rest of the resonance space of the human body are physically changed in terms of their resonance relationships, as happens when sounds are formed. The player who uses this technique speaks practically through the harmonica, comparable to playing the jew's harp, but the effect is an actual lowering or raising of the pitch and not just a change in timbre as with the jew's harp.

The resonance space (essentially the oral cavity), the actual reed and, when bending, also the second lower reed, which is located in the same air channel, are involved in the resulting pitch.

So you can see that the resulting pitch is not only determined by the actual reed, although this makes the main contribution. With a lot of effort, several hand pull instruments were converted so that the pitch can be lowered by intensifying the keystroke. There are also corresponding patents for Tom Tonon's BluesBox. A relatively new patent from China has been applied for, which provides for the use of modern small neodymium permanent magnets , which are mechanically brought into the vicinity of the reed and thereby cause a change in pitch. Currently, this method is already offered for a harmonica model.

Sound quality of the reedplate

Vibration curve of a penetrating tongue:
above: deflection of the tongue
below: oscilloscope image of the generated sound
  • Maximum achievable volume with the lowest possible pitch fluctuation .
The maximum achievable volume under the same conditions and maximum pressure that acts on the reed, depends primarily on the effective area of ​​the reed. Since the width of the reed is not included in the pitch calculation (see calculation), a higher volume can be achieved by widening the reed. Since the surface most involved is in the direction of the moving end, reeds with tongues that taper sharply towards the moving end are quieter than wider versions. The volume differences that can be achieved are within 10 dB, since the width of the reed cannot be increased endlessly for reasons of possible torsional vibrations. In addition, the thickness of the reed plate also plays a role, the longer the reed moves in the canal, the longer the energy can be supplied. This does not apply to high notes. The assembly of the reed and the mass to which it is attached also affects. A more massive design of the tongue foot has a certain influence on the volume as well as on the other aspects of the sound quality of a reed plate, there is always a certain interaction. Overall, however, all the effects that depend on the attachment and the mass are extremely small and must not be overestimated, as they cannot be changed in wide areas. However, they should make it clear in which direction a positive change can be achieved.
  • The dynamic range of the reedplate is already closely related to what has just been mentioned, the maximum volume is now taken for granted.
The dynamic range extends from the quietest possible sound to the maximum volume (approx. 40–90 dB). The response threshold with the lowest possible air pressure depends, in addition to an optimally adjusted bending of the reed, primarily on the rigidity and accuracy of fit of the reed to the frame. The stiffness of a reed cannot be reduced significantly, since otherwise the tonality suffers at maximum playing pressure. If reed plates are of high quality, empirical values ​​are used that represent a very good compromise. Cheaper reed plates are often a bit stiffer, especially for higher notes, and need more pressure to play. Thinner, high reeds are just more complex to work with than somewhat thicker reeds. The manufacturing tolerance has a direct effect on an optimal response of a reed. Inferior reed plates usually need a bit more reed bending, which also reduces the dynamics. In the production of machine reed plates, the stiffness is usually reduced somewhat for reed plates in the lower and middle tone range, so that the reed plate responds well despite lower accuracy and higher air consumption. However, this again results in a reduction in the maximum achievable volume and thus further narrows the dynamic range. In addition, it should be mentioned that not every musician plays with the same maximum playing pressure, so the best instruments should be tailored to the player. However, in order to avoid that reed plates block when playing with too much pressure, a slightly larger curvature of the reed is chosen than might be necessary for the respective player. The manufacturing tolerance also affects the air consumption. Better reed plates use less air.
  • The sound is influenced by the overtone content of the reed plate and is therefore the composition of the sound spectrum.
All the factors already discussed have an effect on the sonic component of a reed plate, so it may be that, for sonic reasons, a lower quality reed plate is preferred. All proportions of the reed plate are indirectly incorporated into the sound spectrum. The reed itself vibrates with an almost sinusoidal movement. However, the reed plate acts as a kind of pulse generator for the surrounding air. Since the reed tongue interrupts the air flow relatively abruptly when entering the air channel, a more or less steep slope arises in the acoustic tone generated in this phase of the oscillation, which in simplified terms means that overtones arise. The sharper the flank, the more overtones are generated; more precise reed plates produce brighter, sharper sound images. In addition, however, the reed does not close the canal linearly when it enters the air duct, because it is profiled and itself also performs movements that do not just correspond to the simplified sinus movement. This creates additional non-harmonic overtone components. Under certain conditions, a reed can also preferentially be excited to vibrate in higher modes . However, these higher mode oscillations are more likely to be assessed as unpleasant, are many times higher than the fundamental oscillation and are usually not in an even ratio to it. In normal playing, these vibrations are very small in amplitude and thus only form a sound component that is consciously imperceptible. With bells and gongs these non-even harmonics, which are emitted directly by the sound generator, are much more pronounced. In the case of bells, it is common to adjust these "overtones" as well, so that the bell itself produces a clean, as pure as possible sound. This is not done with reeds, but the shape and file contour also determine the sound of a reed to a significant extent. The behavior of the higher vibrations in relation to the actual fundamental vibration is only known theoretically, as it is determined by the shape of the reed. It is easiest to calculate in advance only for beams with the same dimensions over the entire length of the reed. In practice, however, this is never the case. Reeds from different manufactures therefore always sound slightly different, even if they are tuned exactly the same! It also makes a difference whether a reed is the same width over its entire length or whether it is tapered. The filing curve (profiling) and the weight distribution, seen over the length of the tongue, also affect the sound. There is also a strong interaction with the sound chamber on which the reedplate is mounted. The interrelationships are extremely complex and have by no means been explored in every detail. It should become clear, however, that it does play a role how the reed plate is made and that it cannot be easily replaced with an equivalent one. So there are a lot of factors that influence the sound of a reed plate. But since hardly any information is available, an intensive comparison and consideration of your own taste is inevitable. In many areas it remains a subjective assessment, as a certain compromise is always necessary.
  • Address and aftermath
Address is the response time that elapses before the acoustic tone sounds after opening a flap. On the other hand, there is the echo of a reed after the flap is closed. In these transient areas of the sound there is also an essential dynamic sound component that is perceived very intensively by humans. The tone spectrum is very rich in overtones, which contain a lot of sound information, especially in these transition areas. The reverberation of very low tones in particular is often perceived as annoying, since the reverberation is more like a clink than a clean tone. From the technical point of view, as already mentioned above, rapid response of the reed is desirable. In terms of the manufacturing process, precisely machined reed plates are also improved in response. But the stiffness of the reed has to be optimized as well as the bending of the reed. There is thus a very strong interaction between mass, rigidity, accuracy of fit and bending. Basically it can be said that reed plates with more mass have a longer response time and also resonate longer. Therefore, lower tones always have a longer response time than equivalent higher tones. For manufacturing reasons and because of the space available in the accordion, notes above C1 are usually longer than necessary, notes below a are usually too short than would be desirable for optimal conditions. Filing curves (profiles) and weights are used to compensate for this. There are therefore purely physical limits. However, there is a small area where reeds of the same pitch can be optimized by changing the mass-to-stiffness ratio without unduly affecting other aspects of tone quality. With equivalent reed plates with the same precision, more mass and greater rigidity lead to an increase in the response time and the reverberation while at the same time increasing the tone consistency over the entire dynamic range. Conversely, less mass and reduced stiffness lead to a reduction in response time and reverberation while at the same time reducing the tone constancy over the entire dynamic range. The larger the effective attack surface for the air flow, the faster the reed will respond. The moving part of the reed can be seen as an effective target. The effect is also greatest in the area of ​​the greatest deflection. If the rear part is relatively rigid in the direction of the rivet, as is the case with high notes, this part is also extremely little involved in the effective area. In addition, the bending up of the reed also plays a role here, if the front end protrudes too far, the air flows around it and therefore no longer completely enters the effective area. It should also be mentioned that bending the reed which is set too tightly or too far also increases the response time or even prevents the reed from vibrating. In addition, there is a very strong interaction with the resonance conditions of the sound chamber and, to a certain extent, with the rest of the instrument, especially with regard to response and aftertaste. It is therefore not uncommon for certain reed plates to harmonize differently in the various instruments. Faulty reeds are often noticeable by a very poor response and noticeably low reverberation. Faulty reed attachment or material defects in the reed lead to increased internal damping. Before it finally breaks, tiny cracks often appear in the reed, which lead to a detuning and dampening of the vibration. Insufficient fastening of the reed plate and the sound post also leads to a deterioration in the response.
  • Paradox of accuracy of fit.
The nature of the sound channel in connection with the accuracy of fit of a reed also has an influence on the sound quality. Most reed plates use sound slots with parallel side walls for manufacturing reasons. This is usually not a disadvantage, but requires an extremely accurate adjustment and fastening of the reed, the closer the manufacturing tolerances are. Reeds perform torsional vibrations, especially in the settling phase, and the more so, the wider and thinner they are. The reed tongue twists to a certain extent and, under certain circumstances, hits the duct walls when it dips deep into the air duct. Even with extremely tight tolerances below 0.015 mm, the response time increases again, since there is more air resistance when moving the tongue in the channel between the channel wall and the tongue edge. This is counteracted by widening the sound channel conically towards the rear. Too much expansion is to be avoided again, however, usually with professional Italian reed plates in the middle tone range the tone channels are extended backwards by about 0.02 mm. This means that it is easier to adjust the reed again and that the dynamics reach a maximum with the highest accuracy of fit of the reed. Something similar can be achieved if reed plates with larger tolerances are reworked using a mortising technique, as was often used in the past with German reed plates and is still used today in part by Schwyzerörgelis. An additional remark: reed plate and reed tongue are not subject to the same coefficient of thermal expansion, as they are usually made of different metals. If precise reed plates are operated in an environment colder than room temperature, it is normal for reeds to scratch. The higher the quality of an accordion, the more time should be allowed to adjust to the room temperature before playing with it.

construction

quality

Because of the numerous aspects of sound quality, there are still a myriad of factors that determine the quality of reed plates, which cannot be recorded in tables with today's means.

On the other hand, there is a small amount of data that manufacturers could provide in tables, such as pitch of the reed plate, dimensions of the reed plate, thickness of the reed plate, accuracy of fit of the reed reed, type of slot shape, stiffness of the reed reed, precise information about the materials used. Unfortunately, the European reed plate manufacturers hardly provide any data. The instrument makers are therefore dependent on their own tests and experience.

Material and manufacturing

The reeds for accordions used to be made of bronze or brass, today they are mainly made of steel. The reeds for harmonicas are usually still made from special brass alloys today. The reason for this is primarily to be found in the fact that breathing air would rust the steel tongues. (Exceptions: Seydel has also been building models with stainless steel reeds since 2007, children's harmonica made of plastic mostly have plastic reeds.) Other materials for reeds are also conceivable, for example prototypes were made from titanium.

The reed plate also consists of the frame on which the reed tongue is riveted or screwed. This frame can house one or a whole set of reeds. Individual reeds per frame are used in the harmonium, but the English concertina also uses individual reed plates, the flutina and some other instruments. The harmonica, the Russian bayan, the bandoneon and also older, smaller accordion instruments preferably use whole reed sets per base plate. A slot is provided for each reed in the frame, this is about 0.02 mm larger than the reed on all sides. Ideally, it should be as tight as possible, because the closer the manufacturing tolerances, the less air is consumed when playing.

More expensive accordion reed plates have a slot that is slightly tapered towards the rear. In the manufacturing process, the slots in the reed plates are machine-filed in a further operation. Thanks to this conical extension, the reeds can be fitted more precisely. With high playing pressure (volume), the reed also swings a little sideways and would therefore not swing freely through the slot. A reed not only carries out the simple basic oscillation, but also torsional movements with a lower amplitude are carried out. If a slot does not have this conical extension, the slot must be larger.

A bandoneon sounds very different from an accordion . There are three main reasons for this:

  1. Long and thick zinc reed plates are used.
  2. The slot for the reeds is not conical.
  3. The sound chamber is designed a little differently.

The thickness of the reed plate is also an essential quality feature; the thicker the frame, the higher the maximum achievable volume with an almost constant pitch. More expensive reed plate sets are therefore also heavier.

With very high notes, however, a greatly reduced thickness of the reed plate is necessary in order to achieve satisfactory results. This is one of the reasons that piccolo reed plates use brass frames. Otherwise, duralumin is mostly used for the frames today. In the past, zinc was used very often as a frame material.

Today the production is mainly done by machine. In Europe there are currently only four companies that produce reed plates. Two of them are in Italy, one in the Czech Republic and one in Germany. However, the German company only produces medium quality and low quantities. The Italian companies offer reed plates in different quality. "A mano" (Italian for handmade , but this does not mean that the reed plates are actually handmade) is the highest quality (professional) .

Some sub-suppliers offer hand-riveted reed plates. The next quality is “Typo a mano”, which means “like hand made”. However, there are hardly any objective criteria. More expensive tunings are provided with a larger tongue foot.

Reeds are usually punched lengthwise from steel strip. The Czech company offers reed plate frames that are manufactured with electrical discharge machines. In Europe, reed plates for harmonica are only manufactured by the Hohner company in Trossingen and the Seydel company in Klingenthal.

For the reed plates available today, see → Styrian Harmonica # reed plate quality

Valve leather

Valve leathers are used on most reed plates that contain two reeds, one for overpressure and one for underpressure. The leather strips work like a valve and prevent the air flow in one direction, so that only one reed is stimulated. Without valves or if the valve leather is damaged, it is still possible to generate sound with the accordion. As a result, however, more air is used when playing and there is little change in pitch. If an instrument is readjusted, it should first be ensured that the valves are working. Nowadays, instead of leather, a multi-layer plastic film is often used, which consists of several layers glued on top of one another. The combination of leather and plastic or leather with an overlying metal foil or a metal spring is also common. Plastic foils are cheaper and easier to process, but are less suitable for larger reed covers. That is why leather valves are usually used for the lower tones. Leather valves, if well chosen, produce less closing noise. A difference is particularly noticeable with piano passages. On the other hand, plastic valves are often preferable for high-pitched tones and small valves, as these lie cleaner and can be made more flexible than the smallest leather valves. Choosing the right valve for each pitch requires a certain amount of experience. The valves are now attached with permanently elastic adhesive. In the past, tree wax or shellac was used for fastening, which is still used today, especially for leather valves. For high-quality instruments with very good quality reed plates, an optimal selection of valves makes a significant contribution to sound quality and playing comfort.

Aging on valves occurs both on leather and on plastic valves. Even if the valves on older instruments look good, they no longer have to function properly. Both leather and plastic valves become stiffer with age, especially when instruments are little used. A slight bending of the free ends of leather valves is usually not a sign of problems. Plastic valves usually close better in the rest position, but the actual correct function can only be determined by an active test.

history

First occurrences in Egypt and China

Chinese Sheng, around 1700/25

This principle of sound generation was already known in Egypt and other ancient cultures. In ancient times, the penetrating tongue was first used in China in the " Sheng " oral organ . According to Chinese sources, the metal tongues were made around 2800 BC. Invented by Emperor Huang Tei.

Development in Europe

The first attempts with resilient tongues began in Europe after the French Jesuit and missionary Père Amiot had sent several Shengs from China to Paris in 1776 .

The Copenhagen professor Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein (1723–1795) was the first in Europe to develop such a principle. He used the tongues in his speech machine, in which vowels could be artificially generated through connected resonance tubes. The Royal Academy in St. Petersburg awarded him a prize for his invention in 1780. Thereupon the local instrument maker Franz Kirschnik developed the resounding reed for small organs and in 1783 presented the first portative with such a register to the public. The organist and music researcher Georg Joseph Vogler (1749–1814) became familiar with this principle at a concert in St. Petersburg in 1788 and was enthusiastic. In 1790 he invited Kirschnik's colleague Georg Christoffer Rackwitz to Warsaw to build such a register into an instrument. This only happened after the onward journey in Rotterdam , then also in the Carmelite monastery in Frankfurt am Main . In 1795 Rackwitz built resounding tongues in the St. Nikolaikirche in Stockholm for Olof Schwan . Around this time, such a principle was also installed in St. Sulpice in Paris , in 1796 by Christian Kindten in Sagard on Rügen. Further installations were carried out 1798–1800 in Prague, around 1800 in the St. Hedwig Church in Berlin and in Neuruppin by Carl August Buchholz , from 1800 to 1804 in Vienna, Salzburg (St. Peter's monastery organ), 1805 Munich (St. Peters Church and Michaelshof Church), At this time the register was already more widespread in Europe than previously assumed.

Georg Joseph Vogler had the system with resounding reeds installed in numerous organs at his own expense. He achieved a high level of awareness with his Orchestrion , with which he traveled several times through Europe. Since he sought contact with the local organ builders and also held courses for organ builders, especially in Prague, he was certainly responsible for ensuring that the new system quickly found widespread use. In 1807 and 1808 Vogler was in Paris with Mälzl and Kaufmann.

In 1805 Johann Nepomuk Mälzel (1772–1838) built resounding tongues into his orchestrion , for which Ludwig van Beethoven composed the second part of Wellington's Victory or the Battle of Vitoria (op. 91) in 1813

Spread in America

In the USA , the organ builder William M. Goodrich is credited with the invention of the reeds. This is not surprising, since he came into contact at least indirectly with Johann Nepomuk Mälzel , possibly only a Pan Harmonioun had arrived. In Mälzel's biography for the period around 1811 "trips to Paris, London, etc." are reported. America is only specifically mentioned for the year 1824.

“In June 1811 a curious instrument called a Pan Harmonicon was brought to Boston. It was invented by Maelzel, whose name is usually linked with the Metronome. William Goodrich was employed to set up and exhibit the Pan Harmonicon in New York and other cities. He […] traveled with the instrument from September 1811 until June 1812. ”

“In June 1811 a strange instrument called the Pan Harmonicon came to Boston. The inventor was Maelzel, who is usually associated with the metronome. William Goodrich was employed to oversee the Pan Harmonicon and to perform it in New York and other cities. He [...] traveled with the instrument from September 1811 to June 1812. "

- Orpha Caroline Ochse : The History of the Organ in the United States

In March 1823 a replica of Mälzel's Pan Harmonicon was completed by William Goodrich together with others.

"In March, 1823, Mr. Goodrich undertook to complete, with the assistance of others, a Pan Harmonicon, in imitation of that of Maelzel."

- The New England Magazine

Allegedly in 1821 James H. Bazin was repairing a Boston instrument for someone. James H. Bazin exploited the new discovery and built the "lap organ" around 1836. The punch came to Boston via Mälzel and Goodrich from 1810 to 1812. William M. Goodrich was also a well-known singing teacher ("singing-master in Boston"). It is therefore possible that punch reeds were built into pipe organs between 1811 and 1821.

“In an article in 'The Musical World and Times' […] the invention of this class of instruments is claimed for Mr. James H. Bazin, an ingenious musician and mechanic, of Canton, Mass. […] However, […] as will be observed […] Mr. Bazin was not the man. The account referred to contains the following: - “Late in the year of 1821, some young men from a neighboring town, brought a small, round, brass pipe, with the letter A marked on it, and a piece of thin brass screwed on one side; which brass appeared to have been made to vibrate through an opening about one-half the length of the pipe, but which had been broken off near the screw. They had borrowed this pipe from a 'singing-master in Boston, and wished to have Mr. Bazin repair it, and make several more like it.' ”[…] We have a legend, in which it is asserted that the freereed was the invention of a German shoemaker [Maelzel], who, captivated with the sweet sounds produced by it, […] ”

- Emerson's magazine and Putnam's monthly, Volume 2, 1855

From 1833 Prescott built other similar instruments.

“In 1831 Prescott […]. On a buisniss trip to Boston he saw an 'elbow oragan' or lap organ ('rocking melodeon') built by Jams Bazin. Seeing the potential of this small REED ORGAN, he commeneed manufacturing them in 1836 or 1837 - both the button (melodeon) and the conventional keyboard type ”

- Richard Kassel : The organ: an encyclopedia

Video of a newer “rocking melodeon”.

Further development in Europe after 1800

Penetrating tongue. Drawing by Friedrich Rochlitz, 1811.
Penetrating tongue. Drawing by Wilhelm Weber.

At least around 1800, resounding reeds were more common in organ registers than is generally assumed.

Experts spread innovations relatively quickly across Europe. There is no patent specification for this from this time, which suggests that hardly anyone could see this as their own invention or improvement. Many craftsmen worked on large organ works such as the newly built organ in the Schottenkirche in Vienna, so it was impossible to keep improvements secret. In 1811 Friedrich Rochlitz wrote a detailed report with a drawing in the AmZ . In 1829 Wilhelm Eduard Weber wrote about it in detail in Cäcilia - a magazine for the musical world .

Notes by Leopold Sldauer in brief

The full text can be found in the Allgemeine Musikischen Zeitung of February 13, 1813, pp. 117–120.

  • In August 1796, Abbot Vogler's Orchestrion was heard with much applause at a concert in Stockholm.
  • 1801 is Mr. Vogler and his master organ builder Mr. Knecht from Tübingen with the Orchestrion in Prague.
  • Before 1804, Leopold Sauer from Prague completed a fortepiano, this is equipped with an organ register that uses pierced reeds.
  • And in 1804 a second fortepiano of a similar construction.
  • Before 1805 built court organ builder Mr. Ignaz Kober in Vienna, teacher of Leopold Sauer, a large organ in the Schottenkirche, which also uses resounding tongues in some registers.

Use of punch tongues in comparably small instruments

With pipe mills

The reed pipes of organs are usually referred to as pipe works. Today these are known as lingual pipes , with a distinction being made between striking and penetrating tongues. The attached pipe serves as a resonator and only influences the timbre, not the pitch, with the exception of the Zacharias reed pipes .

Georg Joseph Vogler was repeatedly in Paris after 1890 and at least in 1796 had the Sulpicer organ in Paris equipped with reeds that used reeds. Gabriel Joseph Grenié says that Georg Joseph Vogler and others contributed to the expressif orgue , a kind of forerunner of the later harmonium . Vogler did not patent any of the modernizations he forced. Gabriel Joseph Grenié is not the inventor of the penetrating tongue, but in 1803 he received a patent for his Orgue expressif. The Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung of 1821 contains a detailed report on the Orgue expressif in the Conservatory of Music in Paris and gives a translated report in the original French. Quotations from such reports have contributed greatly to the fact that Gabriel Joseph Grenié is mistakenly portrayed as the inventor of the forerunners of the harmonium. Johann Gottfried Kaufmann and his son Friedrich Kaufmann from Dresden built the belloneon in 1805 and the mechanical trumpeter and the harmonichord until 1812 . The machines work on the same principle as Mälzel's. The description shows that striking reeds are used in combination with trumpets. The expression is difficult for us to understand today. Vogler Mälzel and Kaufmann had good contacts to one another. The sound generation is modeled on human speech generation.

Long reed plate of an old diatonic accordion

Without pipe mills

Penetrating tongues can also be used without a visible resonator.

The Aeoline was developed around 1810 by Bernhard Eschenbach together with his cousin Johann Caspar Schlimbach , where they were stimulated by the jew's harp. The Physharmonika was patented by Anton Haeckl in Vienna in 1821 . In 1824 Anton Reinlein received a patent in Vienna for an improvement on the hand harmonica. The first flute-like pierced tongue instrument was patented in 1828 by Johannes Weinrich , a shoemaker and writer from Heiligenstadt . It consisted of a brass tube about 30 cm long. It had reeds made of a silver alloy, 20 keys and six finger openings and a range of over two octaves. A related instrument was also the blow aeoline with keys. In a German Aeoline school from 1830 it says: “This (...) was actually a wind accordion. The best musician who plays this instrument is Mr. Cittadini, who presented it in his annual concert in 1829 ”.

Long reed plate of an old damaged harmonica

Cyrill Demian even claims in a patent from 1828 that such reeds have been used in organ registers for over 200 years. For more see the history of the harmonica . The Jew's Harp also uses a similar principle. It is clear, however, that it was not until the beginning of the 19th century that Central Europe became more interested in this sound generation principle.

Modern punched tongue instruments are the harmonica , the hand-drawn instruments , the melodica (wind accordion) and the harmonium .

See also

literature

  • Floyd Kersey Grave, Margaret G. Grave: In praise of harmony: the teachings of Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln et al. a. 1988, ISBN 0-8032-2128-2 , books.google.com (Describes everything related to the Orchestrion in great detail, over 30 organ modifications)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. John J. Ohala: Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein: Pioneer in Speech Synthesis . (PDF; 434 kB) University of California, Berkeley
  2. Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Wilke: About the invention of the pipe works with penetrating tongues . In Allgemeine Musical Zeitung of March 5, 1823, Col. 149-155 , here Col. 152-154
  3. ^ Newspaper for the elegant world, Verlag L. Voss, 1804, page i
  4. Abridged biography. (In [] inserted text, ... stands for further text in the original, the original can be viewed on Wikisource.) He was in Russia in 1786, ... He turned his attention to all the important organ workshops and tried to encourage the masters to introduce improvements of all kinds. So he started z. B. To make attempts to convert the reed pipes built by Professor Kratzenstein to imitate the human voice into organ pipes, which swell to the forte when the pressure of the wind rises and end in pianissimo when the pressure is released without going out of tune. ... He hired the Swedish organ builder Racknitz , who had worked as a journeyman at Kirsnik in St. Petersburg , to attach these organ pipes to his portable organ, which he called the Orchestrion. ... he installed the first pipes with resounding tongues in an organ in Rotterdam . His own orchestrion was in a box ... The new reed voices made it possible for V. to create a more pronounced crescendo for his orchestrion, as each individual pipe could be used for fortissimo and pianissimo. ... and this is how Vogler's "Simplifications System" came into being, which attracted so much attention, but also found just as many adversaries as admirers. Furthermore, his attempts extended to make the large pipes, called thirty-two feet, dispensable ... He was based on Tartini's discovery that if you connect individual intervals of a triad with each other, a deeper sound is created in the air. If you connect z. B. the fundamental of a triad with the fifth, the lower octave of the fundamental arises in the air. ... If you connect a pipe of 16 feet with the fifth, which is only 102/3 feet long, ... The organ builders had already applied this principle empirically in their mixtures. V. now tried to apply the same to the entire pipework of his simplified organs. As soon as ... he rebuilt several large organs in Germany at his own expense. In Munich it was the organs in the St. Peterskirche and in the Michaelshofkirche. ... Restlessly, V. used his six-month vacations on long journeys in this way, always performing as an organ and piano virtuoso and, as far as he was allowed, reworking the organs according to his principle, for which he always carried the aforementioned Racknitz as an assistant. ... In 1790 he was back in England, from there he went to Frankfurt, then to Darmstadt ... In November we find him in Rotterdam, then in Amsterdam, where he gave three concerts on his orchestrion. ... in 1792 he was in Lisbon; to get to know folk songs, he sailed over to Africa, hoping to hear old songs of the Moors, then returned via Greece to Stockholm; where he arrived at the end of 1793. ... In 1796 he was in Paris for the second time and was again playing the Sulpice organ, on which changes had already been made according to his specifications. … His last concert [in Sweden]… was overcrowded,…; His contract in Sweden expired in 1796, but at the request of the regent and crown prince he stayed until 1798. He then retired to Prague, gave lectures on sound science in a hall that he had converted into an "acoustic concave mirror" at his own expense and the focus of which was his orchestrion. ... after 2 years to Vienna. Here he developed a lively activity and found great recognition. ... At the same time as Beethoven, who was composing Fidelio, he had an apartment and board in the theater. In 1804 he left Vienna, traveled to Salzburg, where he simplified the monastery organ on St. Peter, whereupon he gave a concert on it. … Robert Eitner:  Vogler, Georg Joseph . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 40, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, pp. 169-177.
  5. FK Bartl: News from the harmonica . 1796. FK Bartl: Treatise on the keyboard harmonica . 1798.
  6. ^ Emerich Kastner, Julius Kapp: Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete letters . Leipzig 1923 (Repr. Tutzing 1975), p. 274: "I had Maelzel written a piece of battle symphony for his panharmonica without money at my own initiative".
  7. ^ Orpha Caroline Ochse: The History of the Organ in the United States . P. 77, books.google.at
  8. ^ The New England Magazine , Volume 6, p. 32, books.google.at
  9. ^ Emerson's magazine and Putnam's monthly , Volume 2, 1855, p. 117, books.google.at
  10. ^ Richard Kassel: The organ: an encyclopedia . P. 441, books.google.at
  11. James Barclay Hartman: The organ in Manitoba: a history of the instruments, the builders and the …, p. 16, books.google.at
  12. Video example for a rocking melodeon
  13. Drawing from: Allgemeine musical newspaper. 13th year, Friedrich Rochlitz, 1811, p. 169. books.google.at
  14. ^ General musical newspaper. 13th year, Friedrich Rochlitz, 1811, pp. 157–159 books.google.at
  15. ^ Compensation of the organ pipes on Wikisource books.google.com
  16. : Wilhelm Weber: Second half, about the compensation of air pressure-dependent pitch fluctuations. In: Cäcilia: a magazine for the musical world. Volume 11, 1829, pp. 181-202. Compensation of the organ pipes . With a drawing. Preface by Gfr. Weber. books.google.com
  17. ^ General musical newspaper. Volume 15, February 13, 1813, pp. 117–120. Notes - I just happened to see the piece of the m. Z. v. J. 1811, which deals with the improvement of the pipe work in the organ. Out of love for the truth, I allow myself a few remarks that neither the artist nor the art lover should and should not be unpleasant. I am very surprised how Mr. Straw man from Frankenhausen spend the new pipe works for his invention, and can claim to have invented such in 1809. Since I think I am better informed in the history of these pipe works, I share what I know for sure. - The invention of these pipe works cannot be granted to anyone other than Mr. Knazenstein, who lived in St. Petersburg during the last years of the reign of Empress Catharina. Mr. Rackwitz, a master organ builder in Stockholm, was the first to use these pipe works for an organ part; they were also heard in August 1796 in the Abbot Vogler Orchestrion at a concert in Stockholm with much applause. At the end of May 1801 I became acquainted with Mr. Vogler, who set up his well-known orchestrion in Prague, where I saw and admired this kind of reed works for the first time. During this time I was commissioned to manufacture a large fortepiano with a string and whistle pedal, starting with Coutra-C, which Mr. Vogler et al. his own master organ builder, Mr. Knecht from Tübingen, (now in Darmstadt) at my place. This instrument has 16 feet in the pedal and 8 feet through the entire piano. it currently has the same Mr. Count Leopold von Kinski, in Prague. In 1804 I had a second instrument for Mr. Ferd. Graf, wine merchant in Prague, produced what Mr. Abbot V examined many art lovers in my apartment in Beyseyn and gave an advantageous testimony about it. The skillful court organ builder, Mr. Ignaz Kober in Vienna, my teacher, made a beautiful and large work in the city named Schottenkirche around the year 1805, in which he made several voices of this kind, in the pedal and manual, to his credit. Since several helpers are needed in building such a large work, it was not easily possible to make a secret of these new pipe works, which, moreover, were already known. So each of the assistants brought her back to his fatherland afterwards. The acquaintance of Abbot Voglers also makes me very doubtful that he should have passed himself off as the inventor of those pipe works so late that he could have done earlier on his arrival in Prague, and yet did not. Neither can I believe that Mr. Abbot V is said to have found these new works only applicable for basses, since several times in his orchestrion I tuned the bass horn, clarinel, vox humana, and vox angeliea as new reed works through the whole piano. - I think I have shown that neither Mr. Straw man, still Mr. Ulhe are the inventors of the new pipe mills (which the latter, however, did not call itself as such); and that we only owe our thanks to Abbot V for bringing this invention to us from the north. - That Mr. Straw man's ability to present all wind instruments (except flutes) with these new reeds is just as unbelievable as the indefinability of the. the same. Because l) I know from experience that the trumpet and French horn, namely real trumpet and French horn, put on as bells) do not respond at all when the reeds strike; 2) I can testify from experience and also according to Hm. Abbot V., as shown by Mr. Knecht, that the pipe works with crutches do not keep the mood for long. But another means has been found where the eternally changeable crutches, rejected by the good masters, are left out, and adjusting screws are put in place that withstand the disgruntlement far more. - Much could be improved on the drawing, which I will pass over here, since I am willing to publish a work on piano instrument making in which the lengths are faithfully set in their natural size; and wherever I will prove that the real trumpets can also be used in organ building and are good, serviceable, to use. This work, which I wrote as a self-employed worker, also drafted the necessary drawings myself, is entitled: The sincere piano-instrument maker, or more thorough instruction explained by several copper plates, which defines the genres of piano instruments known and used up to now to produce mathematical, acoustic and rules proven through experience appear. Leopold Sauer, instrument maker in Prague. books.google.com
  18. ^ Richard Kassel: The organ: an encyclopedia. 2006, p. 233. Gabriel Joseph Grenié (1756 or 1757–1837), French instrument maker and inventor of the orgue expressif . In 1810 Grenié built an organ that only had penetrating reeds with a pitch range of five octaves, and the highest note was the f ″. He got a patent for this instrument. In the patent of June 23, 1803 he paid tribute to Sebastian Erad (1752–1831), Georg Joseph Vogler and others who contributed to the realization of this organ. He placed his new instrument between the piano and the pipe organ. books.google.com It is said that Grenié built two instruments of this type as early as 1790, but they only had a two octave range. Other instruments were installed by Grenié in 1815 for Dames du Sacre-Coeur in Paris and in 1819 a mixed organ with such an organ register for the Conservatory of Music in Paris. He had a student named Theodore Achille Müller who later made significant improvements to this type of instrument. books.google.com
  19. ^ General musical newspaper. 23rd year. By Friedrich Rochlitz, No. 9, February 28, 1821, pp. 133-140. books.google.com
  20. ^ Friedrich Rochlitz: The trumpeter. In: General musical newspaper. Volume 14 No. 41, pp. 663-665, October 7, 1812. A machine from the invention of Mechanicus, Mr. Friedrich Kaufmann, in Dresden. Kaufmann in Dresden made the most glorious appearance as the inventor of the harmonichord, with whom he made a journey through part of Germany last year. But his new creations are so excellent, so remarkable, especially for the acoustician, that they deserve to be known to the world as much as possible. - The Mechanicus, Mr. Mälzel in Vienna is known to be the first inventor of the device that imitates the natural embouchure of humans on the trumpet. He enriched the organ and other similar works significantly, which until then only had to make do with pipe registers (pipe works) that resembled the trumpet tone. Later he perfected his invention to such an extent that, through this artificial embouchure, he also knew how to produce several notes on a trumpet like a wind instrument; since he used to need a trumpet for every note. - On this way is now Mr. Kaufmann went further, and made an artificial trumpeter that far surpasses the malt niche in every respect. During his stay in Dresden, Ref. Had the opportunity to see and hear this machine still unfinished on the vice. She was stripped of all clothing, and therefore all deception by hidden means had to be eliminated. The extremely simple, compendious machine blew on a trumpet attached to it (which ref. Changed several times in order to make experiments) with a perfectly beautiful, identical tone, and finished tongue thrusts in various acts, fanfares, etc. The same. Even here the tones a and b, along with the Clarino tones, are remarkable and not to be found in Mälzel's work. But even more interesting, and shining with the incomprehensible, is the production of double tones in the most equal strength and purity. Ref. Was very surprised when, after a few unanimous movements, he suddenly heard a pair of lively lifts in octaves, thirds, fifths etc. and a very nice double trill on f. After acoustic experiences it is known that the notes belonging to certain chords are certain, and individual attempts, especially on horn and flute, have already been made by practicing artists, but only as very uncertain in execution, and regarded as artistic leeks. It is therefore most curious of the theory of tone production that one instrument can produce the same thing with just the perfection of two trumpets. What was possible for a machine should not be impossible for the model - the natural approach. Up to now the notes a – h could only be blown by hand thanks to the well-known stopper, and were completely banned from the series of useful notes because they were both difficult to blow and too unequal and distinctive in tone from the so-called natural tones . Here, however, they are all in a beautiful relationship, in equal power, and without any other aid than that of the mouthpiece. Even if the double tones were impracticable for ordinary use, what enrichment we would not gain from those tones! How much more effectively and appropriately could the trumpets be used in the future! - It is strange that Mr. Kaufmann, despite all the effort, has not yet been able to force a sixth at the same time, since he even has seconds, major and minor thirds, fourths, fifths and octaves. - Mr. Kaufmann is close to the perfection of the exterior (a trumpeter in old Spanish costume, in whose head a clock is also attached, by means of which one can determine at which hour he should blow by himself, etc.) and will hopefully be with this interesting work of art which in any case provides material for many new views and experiments - undertake a journey. books.google.de