Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891 › scan 207
Scan 207
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891
8 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 187. See the scan on archive.org.
1The seven positions are completed by the use of several valves together; these combinations produce—
32nd + 3rd 1st + 3rd 1st + 2nd + 3rd
5The notes printed in black are not generally used, being either for acoustical reasons wanting in truth of intonation, or being more conveniently taken by other fingering. Since the union of any two pistons does not give the theoretical length of tubing required for the true production of these intervals, the performer is obliged to humour certain notes; and this want of truth of intonation is especially noticeable in the lower register, in which, as can be seen, certain notes cannot be produced by a single valve; so that, unless the player's embouchure is relaxed, these lower notes are invariably too sharp.
7To correct this defect, inherent in all three-valved instruments, many ingenious contrivances have been made. A rough approximation is very generally attempted by making the third valve tubing somewhat longer than is required to produce a tone and a half difference in pitch. As this valve is seldom used singly, a slight lengthening of its tubing is a useful compromise when it is used in conjunction with the first or second valves, or with both together. The French maker Adolphe Sax, wishing to assimilate the valve trombone to the slide instrument, devised, about 1850, a six-valve system, by which a separate valve was employed for each position, and in which no two valves could be employed in combination. These valves were made ascending, instead of descending, the lowest note upon the instrument being that of the open tube. This system, theoretically perfect, was for a time in use, and was supported strenuously by Berlioz and other distinguished musicians of that day. But, unfortunately, it introduced practical difficulties so great that its use was ultimately abandoned. The construction of these six-valved instruments is described fully upon page 207. Various other devices had been tried by Sax; and an arrangement was introduced in 1853, by Gustav Besson, by which the slide of any piston could be lengthened by means of a
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