Tonal pitch indicator for a kettledrum

A tonal pitch indicator for a kettledrum comprising in combination a kettledrum having a drum head operable to be adjustably tensioned, a framework for supporting the kettledrum, foot-actuated means mounted upon the framework for adjustably tensioning the drumhead, the improvement comprising;

• a tonal pitch indicator having a longitudinally movable marker therein, marker movement in a first direction coinciding with an increase in tension on the drumhead with a corresponding raising of the tonal pitch of the kettledrum and marker movement in a second direction coinciding with a decrease in tension on the drumhead with a corresponding lowering of the tonal pitch of the kettledrum, the indicator comprising:
• an elongated housing adapted to be removably attached to the kettledrum framework;
• a slot extending longitudinally in the housing and being viewable from at least one face of the housing;
• a marker configurated to slidably move in the slot;
• a cable attached at a first end to the marker and configurated to be removably attached at a second end to the framework by an attachment means;
• and
• a sheath for the cable, the sheath being attached at a first end to the housing and configurated to be removably attached at a second end to the foot-actuated means, the sheath being shorter than the cable, the sheath and cable combination having a length so as to form an arcuate path, movement of the foot-actuated means causing a change in the curvature of the arcuate path thereby accommodating telescopic movement of the cable within the sheath to move the marker within the slot.

A tonal pitch indicator for a kettledrum comprising in combination a kettledrum having an adjustably tensioned tympanum, a framework for supporting the kettledrum, a foot pedal means attached to the framework and operable to adjustably tension the tympanum to selectively alter the tonal pitch of the kettledrum, the improvement comprising:

• a tonal pitch indicator adapted to be removably mounted on the framework of the kettledrum, the indicator comprising:
• an elongated housing;
• means for removably mounting the housing to the kettledrum adjacent the tympanum;
• a longitudinal slot formed in the housing and visible from at least one side of the housing;
• a marker slidably operable in the slot, the pointer being visible from said one side of the housing;
• a transparent cover for the slot;
• spring means in the slot in cooperation between the housing and the pointer to resiliently urge the pointer toward a predetermined end of the housing;
• an aperture in the housing and in registry with the slot;
• a cable attached to the marker at a first end, passed through the aperture and attached at the second end to the framework at a position below the foot pedal means;
• and
• a sheath enclosing the cable and having a length shorter than the cable, the sheath being attached at a first end to the housing and at a second end to the foot pedal means, the sheath and cable traversing an arcuate path between the housing and the framework so as to provide sufficient curvature in the sheath to accommodate movement of the foot pedal means to correspondingly force the cable to be relatively displaced in the sheath thereby moving the marker in the slot, the marker thereby being moved counter-directionally to the foot pedal means.

A method for providing a visual indication of the tonal pitch of a kettledrum mounted upon a framework, the kettledrum having an adjustably tensioned tympanum and the framework supporting a foot pedal for adjustably tensioning the tympanum, the method comprising the steps of:

• releasably mounting a tonal indicator on the kettledrum, the tonal indicator having an axially displaceable marker and a plurality of tonal indicia representing notes;
• securing the marker of the tonal indicator to one end of a cable and associating the other end of the cable with a foot-actuated lever;
• arcuately curving the cable between the indicator and the foot-actuated lever;
• enclosing a portion of the length of the cable in a sheath, the length of the sheath being less than the length of the cable;
• anchoring a first end of the sheath to the tonal indicator and a second end of the sheath to the foot-actuated lever;
• displacing the marker with respect to the tonal indicia by moving the cable with the foot-actuated lever;
• and
• visually observing the position of the marker thereby obtaining a visual indication of the tonal pitch of the kettledrum.