Valve trombone
The invention of valves in the 19th century affected the design of almost every brass instrument. They immediately increased the number of different pitches that could be played on instruments like trumpets and horns. The new technology was not strictly necessary for the trombone, as it was already able to play any note within its range using the slide. However, valve technology was seen as such a significant development in instrument design that many makers were reluctant to exclude the trombone from the perceived technological breakthrough, and tenuous justifications were sought to do away with the slide. Valve trombones generally followed one of two designs: the long model, on which the valve section was the same shape as a traditional slide, and the short model, of which this is an example. Valve trombones had an obvious advantage for military players, in that the slide was not practical for marching. In the second half of the 19th century, the short model valve trombone also proved to be popular with mounted cavalry bands for similar reasons.
