Piston valve

Piston valve (Fr.: piston; Ger.: pumpventil; It.: pitone), valve having a piston, a metal cylinder of brass or phosphor bronze which is pierced so that the air stream can pass through it into the valve slide when depressed, thereby altering the length of the tube. An improved version is the Berliner Pumpventil, and a subsequent improvement by Étienne-François Périnet of Paris in 1839 produced the valve in use today (89 Morley-Pegge). Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th edition…