Double Bell Trumpet

The self designed trumpet, build by Dieter Gärtner, from the company Gärtner und Thul in Düren, Germany.

Gärtner & Thul • 0049-2421-58750
Zülpicherstrasse 36 • D-52349 Düren

The trumpet uses the standard three valves, plus a fourth and fifth valve.
The fourth valve enables me to play quarter-tones, fast and over the whole range of the trumpet.
An extra, suprisingly good and controllable effect is playing half-valve; in combination with the three “normal” valves, it sounds relatively well in tune over the whole range. It is like using a strange kind of mute.
The fifth valve is for changing between the two bells: having two bells on a trumpet was an old dream of mine, it gives many extra possibilities:

• the double bell makes very fast changing between an open- and muted trumpet easy (colour-change and echo-effect). This effect suggests the existence of a second trumpet......
• the 5th valve can make a gradual change between open and muted, a large scale of exciting colours arises....
• changing between two open bells gives a tremolo effect, possible on any note in the register
• you can play a regular piece with two different trumpets! because the bells are made of slightly different material
• sitting in an orchestra or ensemble you can change your direction of playing just by using the fifth valve; use the "bells up"-effect without changing your sitting-possition.

Before starting experimenting, I considered it almost impossible to extend the trumpet and improve it in the same time. The cheerful experiment worked out very well though!
It seems that the evolution of the trumpet is far from reaching an end-point.