Improvements in Piston Valve Musical Instruments.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 10th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Apr., 1889-Accepted, 6th July, 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Piston Valve Musical Instruments.
We JEAN BAPTISTE ARBAN, of 34 Notre Dame de Lorette, Musical Composer and
LOUIS FRANÇOIS AMBROISE BOUVET of 182 Rue Michel Bizot Civil Engineer, both of
Paris in the Republic of France, do hereby declare the nature of said invention to be
as follows:
With the object of enabling artistes accustomed to the fingering of old instruments
of three pistons, to obtain the advantages and the effects of precision which are
obtained by the use of "Arban instruments of four pistons or cylinders we have
devised an entirely new combination of which the following is a description.
"
The entire novelty of the system rests on the employment of three pistons the first
and second of which are traversed by two independent columns of air. The first piston
serves to lower the instrument a tone, the second piston serves to lower the instrument
a half tone. The third piston in addition to serving to lower the instrument a tone
and a half, possesses the property of causing air to pass alternately into one or the
other of the two columns of air.
When the air by the effect of the third piston raised, passes into the upper column
of air (fundamental tonality or key of the instrument) if the first piston is lowered,
the length of the slide corresponding with this first piston being in relation with the
fundamental tonality there is obtained a new harmonic series of notes lower by a tone
than if the first piston had remained raised. The same effect is produced by lowering
the second piston, with this difference that the harmonic series obtained is lower by
only half a tone than if the second piston had remained raised.
When the air, by the effect of the third piston lowered, passes into the lower
column of air (accidental tonality of the instrument lower by a minor third than the
fundamental tonality) new harmonic series of a tone and of half a tone lower than
the accidental tonality are also obtained. The length of the corresponding slides being
also in relation with the sonorous body in one or other of the two columns of air, it
follows that the notes obtained either open or by employing one only of the two first
pistons, or by employing the third only or by employing one or other of the two first
simultaneously with the third, are absolutely exact for the reason that the slides are
each tuned separately.
In the case of an instrument whose fundamental note of the upper column of air
would be ut, the various positions (to the number of six) obtained by the employ-
ment of a single piston or when playing open notes in the one or the other of the two
columns of air would produce the following notes.

page_text: 1ST. UPPER COLUMN OF AIR.
b
1st and 2nd pistons: lat-mit-la-ut-mit-la sensible.
2ND. LOWER COLUMN OF AIR.
First, second and third pistons: fat-ut-fa-la-ut-fat-sol-la sensible.
It will be seen that thus constructed, this instrument possesses eight positions, six of
which produce fundamentals and their exact harmonics and two positions produce two
fundamentals and their sensible harmonics.
We give hereafter in the form of synoptical table, the representation of the notes
produced by the new instrument compared with those produced by the old instrument
of three pistons.
In this table the third piston is indicated by the letter A.
It will be seen that upon eight tonalities or keys furnished by each of the two
instruments, the new and the old, the new is absolutely exact in all its positions, whilst
the old is completely false in four positions. It is in effect impossible to play in tune
with any one of the slides during the execution of a piece without compromising
the exactness of the notes resulting from the positions in which use is made of only a
single piston.

page_text: Identical results can be obtained by other means such for instance as the
employment of cylinders, pistons, plate distributors which are already known.
We therefore reserve the right to employ them for the purpose of obtaining the
results which we seek, by means of two pistons with two columns of air:
We reserve the right to constitute according to our choice, either, the first and
the second pistons as possessing the two columns of air; or the first and the third, or
lastly, the second and the third.
In the first case the changing device of the column of air is placed under the
third finger (Piston A above described). In the second case the changing device
would be under the second finger. Finally in the third case the changing device
would have its position under the first finger.
We reserve the right to apply to all piston musical instruments of metal, whatever
they may be, the means, devices and arrangements herein described as capable of
acting together or separately to obtain the above described results.
Dated this 10th da.. C TL 1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Piston-valve Musical Instruments.
We, JEAN BAPTISTE ARBAN of 34 Rue Notre Dame de Lorette, Musical Composer,
and LOUIS FRANÇOIS AMBROISE BOUVET of 182 Rue Michel Bizot, Civil Engineer,
both of Paris in the Republic of France, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the drawings
accompanying our provisional specification:
With the object of enabling artistes accustomed to the fingering of old instruments
of three pistons, to obtain the advantages and the effects of precision which are
obtained by the use of "Arban" instruments of four pistons or cylinders, we have
devised an entirely new combination, of which the following is a description.
The entire novelty of the system rests on the employment of three pistons, the first
and second of which are traversed by two independent columns of air. The first
piston serves to lower the instrument a tone, the second piston serves to lower the
instrument a half tone. The third piston, in addition to serving to lower the
instrument a tone and a half, possesses the property of causing air to pass alternately
into one or the other of the two columns of air.
When the air, by the effect of the third piston raised, passes into the upper column
of air, (fundamental tonality or key of the instrument) if the first piston is lowered,
the length of the slide corresponding with this first piston being in relation with the
fundamental tonality, there is obtained a new harmonic series of notes, lower by a
tone than if the first piston had remained raised. The same effect is produced by
lowering the second piston, with this difference, that the harmonic series obtained, is
lower by only half a tone than if the second piston had remained raised.
When the air, by the effect of the third piston lowered, passes into the lower
column of air (accidental tonality of the instrument, lower by a minor third than
the fundamental tonality) new harmonic series of a tone and of half a tone lower
than the accidental tonality, are also obtained. The length of the corresponding
slides being also in relation with the sonorous body in one or other of the two columns
of air, it follows that the notes obtained either open, or by employing one only of
the two first pistons, or by employing the third only, or by employing one or other
of the two first simultaneously with the third, are absolutely diatonic, for the reason
that the slides are each tuned separately. In the case of an instrument whose
fundamental note of the upper column of air would be ut, the various positions (to

page_text: the number of six) obtained by the employment of a single piston, or when playing
open notes in the one or the other of the two columns of air, would produce the
following notes.
Open. ut
1ST. UPPER COLUMN OF AIR.
soluth-mit-solt ut diatonic.
2nd. piston si fa-si-re-fa-si diatonic.
1st. piston
six-fa-si-ret-fat-si2 diatonic.
2ND. LOWER COLUMN OF AIR.
-re-sol diatonic.
3rd. piston: la-mit-la-ut-mi-la diatonic.
2nd. & 3rd. pistons: sol-re-sol-
1st. & 3rd. pistons: sol-re-sol-si-ré-sol diatonic.
We will now examine what would be the notes produced by the simultaneous
employment of the two first pistons.
1ST. UPPER COLUMN OF AIR.
1st. & 2nd. pistons: lat-mit-la-ut-mit-la sensible.
2ND. LOWER COLUMN OF AIR.
1st., 2nd. & 3rd. pistons: faut-fa-la-ut-fat-sol-la sensible.
It will be seen that, thus constructed, this instrument posesses eight positions, six
of which produce fundamentals and their diatonic harmonics, and two positions
produce two fundamentals and their sensible harmonics.
We give hereafter, in the form of synoptical table, the representation of the notes
produced by the new instrument compared with those produced by the old instrument
of three pistons. In this table the third piston is indicated by the letter A.

page_text: It will be seen that upon eight tonalities or keys furnished by each of the two
instruments, the new and the old, the new is absolutely diatonic in all its positions,
whilst the old is completely false in four positions. It is in effect impossible to play
in tune with any one of the slides during the execution of a piece, without com-
promising the exactness or diatonic character of the notes resulting from the positions
in which use is made of only a single piston.
We would remark that it will be easy to obtain, with the new instrument, the flat
notes, by previously adjusting the slides of the first and second pistons, when it is
desired to play with flats in the signatures of pieces to be played, except with a single flat.
Thus to play in fat, the siz existing when the first piston is lowered, it will be
useless to draw the corresponding slide.
To play with two or three flats, the slide of the second piston of the lower body,
will be drawn, which will give, in their combination with the piston A, the fundamental
la2 and its harmonic miz.
To play with four or five flats, the slides of the first and second pistons of the
lower body will be drawn, which will give, in their combinations with the piston A,
the fundamentals la2, sol2 and their harmonics miz and ré2.
Description of the instrument as represented in the drawings accompanying our
provisional specification.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the instrument, showing an interior view of parts on
the side of the mouth piece branch.
Figure 2. plan in section on the upper column of air.
Figure 3. plan in section on the lower column of air..
Figure 4. end view looking towards the piston A (3rd piston) which is represented
raised.
Figure 5. end view looking towards the piston A, which is represented lowered.
In these five figures, the same letters or figures represent the same parts or the
same effects.
E. mouth piece branch.
A, 2, 1. pistons.
Piston 1 lowers the instrument by a tone in each of the two columns of air.
Piston 2 lowers the instrument by a half tone in each of the two columns of air.
Each of the two columns of air is independent of the other; they operate separately
according as the piston A is raised or lowered.
III
V
VI VII
Piston A, when it is raised, the course of the sound, or rather of the column
2 of vibrating air, is as follows: E, E, E, E ƒ,ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ³¹ƒ
3VIII, P. P is the bell of the instrument. We call this course, the first course.
Fig. 1 When the piston A is lowered, the course of the column of vibrating
"
"
V VI VII VIII *VI VII
2 air is E, E, E, E, ƒ, ƒ¹‚ ƒ“‚ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒVƒ, P. We
3 call this course, the second course.
b
These effects are due to the arrangement of the air passages a. a¹ b. b¹ of the
piston A. By replacing the air passage by the air passage a, aud reciprocally, the
air passage a¹ by the air passage b', and reciprocally, the inverse effect would be
produced, that is to say, that in place of passing, when the piston A is raised, into
the course first indicated, the vibrating column. would follow the second course, and
when the piston A would be lowered, the vibrating column would follow the first course.
The first course above indicatei is of such length that its tonality or key is the
fundamental tonality or key of the instrument. The second course is of such length
that its tonality or key is a minor third lower.
We reserve the right to construct instruments with variable differences of tonality,
pitch or key between the two columns of air, the minor and major second, the major
third, the fourth &c., &c., in a word, to apply the musical interval which shall appear
the best to us.
We would here remark that, in the first course, the vibrating column traverses
the pistons immediately after its passage into the mouth piece branch E. E. Ẹ. E;
and that, in the second course, it only enters and leaves the third piston. It then

page_text: passes, by a special slide fIII, IV, V, then comes back into VI, then into V,
where it penetrates the first piston, traverses all three, and passes on, quitting the
third, into the bell P.
Identical results can be obtained by other means, such for instance as the
employment of cylinders, pistons, plate distributors, which are already known. We
therefore reserve the right to employ them for the purpose of obtaining the results
which we seek, by means of two pistons with two columns of air.
We reserve the right to constitute, according to. our choice, either the first and
the second pistons as possessing the two columns of air, or the first and the third,
or lastly the second and the third. In the first case, the changing device of the
column of air is placed under the third finger (Piston A above described). In the
second case, the changing device would be under the second finger. Finally, in
the third case, the changing device would have its position under the first finger.
We reserve the right to apply to all piston musical instruments of metal, whatever
they may be, the means, devices and arrangements herein described, as capable of
acting together or separately, to obtain the above described results.
The following will explain the meaning attached to the words "sensible" and
"diatonic" as used in the specification.
In any given scale that note is called a
sensible "
note which is placed tone
beneath the tonic, and the difference between the sharp of a note and the flat of the
note immediately above it, is what is called a comma.
In a scale composed of 5 tones and 2 semi-tones, all the intervals of the same name
do not have exactly the same value; for instance, there are major tones and minor
tones; in the scale of do for example, the following is the distribution :
major tone, minor tone, tone, major tone, minor tone, major tone, tone.
Here the sensible note is si natural. Any given note of this scale, the la for
example, has for this tone of do, a certain relation and corresponds to a certain
number of vibrations in this tone, the la is not sensible, it is diatonic.
If on the contrary, the instrument is played in si flat, the la would be placed just
a semi-tone beneath the si flat, because it is the sensible note; in this case the
la diatonic is too low and the la sensible has a value a little different in height and
number of vibrations.
In effect, the faculty which the instrument possesses of giving the sensible note
and the diatonic note, recalls the fact that there is a perceptible difference between
a sharpened note and the next upper note flattened, for example, the difference
between do sharp and re flat, or fa sharp and sol flat, a difference which cannot be
rendered by a key-board instrument, such as the piano.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
1. In a piston musical instrument having any given number of pistons, the
application of a double passage to all these pistons, and the employment of one of
them to open at will the circuit of air into one or the other of the two independent
columns of air with which the others are furnished, substantially as herein shown
and described, and for the purpose stated.
2. A three piston cornet comprising two pistons having two independent columns
of air, and a third piston combined with a transverse conduit, so as to put in play at
will the one or the other of the columns of air of the two first named pistons,
substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose stated.
JEAN BAPTISTE ARBAN.
LOUIS F. A. BOUVET.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.