Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Piston valve
A piston valve is a device used to change the pitch of a brass instrument; three or more piston valves can be found on trumpets, tubas, and the like.
An alternate to the piston valve is the rotary valve.
The first piston valve instruments were developed just after the start of the 19th century. The Stölzel valve was an early variety. In the mid 19th century the Vienna valve was an improved design. However most professional musicians preferred rotary valves for quicker, more reliable action, until better designs of piston valves were mass manufactured in towards the end of the 19th century. Since the early decades of the 19th century, piston valves have been the most common on brass instruments.
External links
- Early valve designs
- Why was the valve invented?
- Elements of Brass Instrument Construction with good discussion of valve types and history
10-26-2009 08:16:03
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details