Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891 › scan 236
Scan 236
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891
9 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 216. See the scan on archive.org.
1425.
2CORNET, modern. By Butler, London, 1890.
3Lent by G. Butler, Esq.
5426.
6CORNET-ARBAN. The system upon which this instrument is constructed was invented and patented in France in November 1883 by M. J. B. Arban. The instrument stands in C, thus playing the written sounds, and not as a transposing instrument. There are four valves, the first, second, and third being placed as ordinary pistons and lowering the pitch a tone, semitone, and tone and a half respectively; the fourth is a cylinder connected with a lever, and is worked by the middle finger of the left hand, lowering the pitch of the instrument a tone and a half. The slide of the third piston is fitted with a mechanism, worked by the index finger of the left hand, by which it can be lengthened instantly to produce a difference in pitch of two tones, instead of a tone and a half, its normal position. The pistons therefore lower the pitch a semitone successively, giving the harmonic series of B𝄪, B𝄫, A𝄪, and A𝄫. Hence, there are five positions upon the instrument, providing notes of perfectly accurate intonation. To render this system absolutely perfect, there must be two more positions. These are arranged for by an ingenious piece of mechanism, which connects the slides of the first and second pistons with the lever of the fourth, and therefore when the latter is depressed, the slides of the first and second pistons are automatically lengthened, closing again when the lever of the fourth valve is released.
8The tablature of this instrument gives in all a choice of twenty-one different positions, instead of seven; and hence, it allows for the production of numerous enharmonic intervals, usually possible only upon the slide trombone, or stringed instruments, such as the violin. The system can, of course, be applied to all valved instruments, and with the larger varieties has much to recommend it. A complete method was written for this most ingenious instrument by the inventor, M. Arban, the celebrated cornet player, and late professor at the Conservatoire, Paris.
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