Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891 › scan 206
Scan 206
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891
10 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 186. See the scan on archive.org.
1patent the invention was adopted by instrument makers generally. A sectional model of these valves was exhibited in this collection, and a further explanation of them will be found upon another page.
3Messrs. Besson found that these valves were better suited to the larger instruments, and they still employ them for their euphonions. In 1874 they succeeded, by a combination of their 1854 and 1855 patents, in producing a system of valves by which greater brilliancy was assured for instruments such as the cornet, etc., which require a brighter and more penetrating quality of tone. A detailed description of these valves is unnecessary here, since they are largely employed for the best instruments made by this firm.
5The well-known action applied by M. Antoine Courtois to his beautiful cornets was, as has been remarked, an ingenious application of the invention of Dr. Oates. This action was considerably improved by M. Courtois, and was employed by the English maker Mr. Henry Distin for some considerable time. To reduce the weight of the pump, and thereby ensure a more rapid execution, Mr. Henry Distin patented, in 1864, what he called his light valve, in which the pump was made in a single tube, the air passages being secured with silver solder. A particular arrangement of spring action was also included in the patent. These light valves were adopted, at the expiration of the patent, by many makers, and are largely used by Messrs. Boosey and Co. (who added Mr. Distin's business to their own in 1868) for many of their instruments at the present time.
7The use of the valves, as is well known, is to vary the length of the wind-column, by adding or cutting off certain lengths of tubing. As has been already remarked, in order to allow of a chromatic scale throughout the compass of a wind instrument of this class, there must be seven different lengths of wind column available, answering to the seven positions of the slide trombone. This, in the case of ordinary three-valved instruments, is accomplished in the following manner. The open tube and the pistons, when employed singly, allow of the production of the following harmonic series:—
9Open 1st 2nd 3rd (or 1 + 2)
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