Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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"MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PICKS"
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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This invention relates to new and useful improve-
ments in picking thimbles for musical instruments such as
banjos, guitars, mandolins and the like.
Picks are often used in order produce a clear note
and to protect the player's finger and fingernail form sore-
, ness and damage. Such picks usually include a thimble engag-
ing over the end of the finger with a string operative part
extending from the thimble and beyond the fingertip. In order
to pluck the string successfully, the wrist has to be angulat-
; ed downwardly so that the tip of the string operative part issubstantially parallel to the string, otherwise there is a
tendency for the tip to slide along the string rather than
plucking same cleanly.
This awkward position of the wrist reduces the flex-
ibility of the player's fingers and is somewhat tiring particu-
larly when the instrument is played for a considerable time.
As the wrist tires, the angle tends to decrease with the tip
of the pick sliding along the strings so that the playing
ability deteriorates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages
firstly, by decreasing the angle at which the string operative
part extends from the thimble, and secondly by placing a twist
in the string operative part so that the tip or striking por-
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: tion lies substantially parallel to the striny without the ne-cessity of having to angle the wrist. In other words, the
: wrist lies in the substantially natural position with the tip
. parallel with the string thus enabling a cleaner pluck to be
made and reducing the tendency of the tip to slide along the
string during playing.
One aspect of the invention consists of a finger pick
for string musical instruments such as banjos, guitars, mando-
,: lins and the like comprising a string operative part of tapered
. 10 configuration having a striking tip and a base and an annular
: wing extending in opposite directions from the base for attach-
ing the pick to the player's finger, said string operative part
. extending at an angle from the base, the tip of the string
operative part being twisted in an axial direction relative to
the annular wings to lie substantially parallel to the string
` of the instrument when attached to the player's finger and with
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the wrist of the player lying in a natural position.
: Another aspect of the invention consists of a finger
pick for string musical instruments such as banjos, guitars,
mandolins and the like comprising a finger engaging thimble
and a string operative part extending upon one side of said
thimble and from the periphery thereof, said string operative
part inclining upwardly towards the finger when in situ, rela-
tive to the longitudinal axis of the thimble, said string oper-
ative part having a striking tip and a base, said tip being
twisted to lie substantially parallel to the string of the in-
1~33288
' strument when attached to the player's finger and with the wrist
of the player lying in a natural position.
A still further aspect of the invention is to pro-
vide a device of the character herewithin described which is
simple in construction, economical in manufacture and otherwise
well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as
will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this
invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention
is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings
forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the pre-
ferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present in-
vention, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Figure 1 is a side elevation of a conventional banjo
,~ pick.
` Figure 2 is a front elevation of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a rear elevation thereof.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the improved pick.
Figure 5 is a front elevation thereof.
Figure 6 is an isometric view thereof.
Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 4 but moved
- through 180.
Figure 8 is a schematic view showing the wrist angle
using a conventional pick with a banjo.
Figure 9 is a schematic view showing the angle of
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the present pick relatlve to the banjo.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Proceeding therefore to describe the invention in de-
tail, reference should first be made to Figures 1, 2 and 3
which shows a conventional pick covered by United States patent
1,787,136, dated December 30th, 1930, G. D. ~eauchamp. It con-
sists of a string operative part collectively designated 10
having a tapered configuration and including a rounded distal
end or string engaging point 12 and a base portion 13. Annu-
lar wings 14 extend from each side of the base and curve around
to engage over the player's finger and to hold the device firm-
ly thereon. Apertures 15 may be provided to permit bending of
the material and to lighten the construction of the pick. It
will be noted that the string operative part 10 inclines up-
wardly at an angle from the base 13 at approximately 30.
The improved pick is shown in Figures 4 through 7
and although the basic construction is similar, nevertheless
a significant difference is shown. Where applicable, similar
reference characters have been utilized.
In the present invention, two improvements have been
made. Firstly, the angle of inclination of the string opera-
tive part 10 is reduced to between 10 and 20 and is prefer-
ably 12 and secondly, a twist has been induced into this part
extending from the tip 12 to the base 13. The twist is axially
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of the thimble or angular wing portion 14 and the part 10 in-
cludes a leading edge 16 and a trailing edge 17. It is the
leading edge 16 which is twisted upwardly as clearly shown.
This angulates the tip or string striking portion 12
so that when the pick is engaged upon the finger of the player,
and the wrist of the player lies at a natural angle, the tip
lies parallel to the strings of the instrument thus allowing
same to be plucked and reduces the tendency of the tip to slide
along the strings. Figure 8 shows the downward angle of the
wrist of a player using a conventional pick as illustrated in
Figures 1, 2 and 3 and Figure 9 shows the angle of the wrist
utilizing the improved pick due to the induced twist in the
string operative 10.
It should be stressed that the plane of the striking
tip is twisted relative to the base thus allowing the natural
angle of the wrist illustrated in Figure 9.
Since various modifications can be made in my inven-
tion as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely dif-
ferent embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of
the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is
intended that all matter contained in the accompanying speci-
` fication shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in
a limiting sense.
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