Brass instrument valve

This lengthens the vibrating air column thus lowering the fundamental tone and associated harmonic series produced by the instrument.

Valves in brass instruments require regular maintenance and lubrication to ensure fast and reliable movement.

Until that point, there had been no successful valve design, and horn players had to stop off the bell of the instrument, greatly compromising tone quality to achieve a partial chromatic scale.

It forced the air to double back on itself and the 90 degree turns disrupted the bore, causing significant undesired back-pressure.

The Vienna system was in common use in Germany on many brass instruments including trumpets up to 1850, and as Système Belge on valve trombones in Belgium into the early 20th Century.

A small Périnet valve integrated into a trombone mouthpiece, perpendicular to the shank in order to change the throat diameter to facilitate the upper register, was patented by Charles E. Stacy in 1924.

[5][6] Adolphe Sax invented instruments with six independent piston valves (three for each hand), but only the most dexterous musicians were able to play them.

Many other innovations in traditional rotary valve design and manufacture have taken place since the late 20th century to improve their resistance and other playing characteristics.

Patented by Orla Ed Thayer in 1978, it uses a conical rotor with the spindle axis parallel to the tubing, and deflecting the direction of the airflow by only 28° or less.

Shires "Tru-Bore" valve is similar but uses a completely straight path in the default position, as well as simpler manufacturing and improved reliability.