The double bell euphonium is an instrument based on the euphonium

Euphonium

The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...

. Larger bell produces the mellow tone of a standard euphonium. The second smaller bell has a brighter tone, similar to a baritone horn

Baritone horn

The baritone horn is a member of the brass instrument family. The baritone horn has a predominantly cylindrical bore as do the trumpet and trombone. A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium, although it is a bit smaller. Some baritone mouthpieces will sink...

 or valve trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

. The instrument is sometimes dismissed as a novelty, but has had a small number of enthusiastic adherents, although few professional musicians use it as their sole or primary instrument. The smaller bell can give more appropriate tone in the higher range of the instrument. The two bells can also be used for special effects, such as echoes, and using the distinctly different tone of the two bells for one musician to give the effect of call and response

Call and response

Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...

.

Construction

The last valve on the horn (either the fourth or the fifth, depending upon the model) is used to switch the sound from the main bell to the secondary bell. Both bells cannot play at the same time because each bell usually has its own tuning slide loop, such that they can be matched adequately for consistent performance. Unlike the double horn, there is only one set of valve slides with a double bell euphonium, so only the basic pitch of the two bells can be matched.

History of the double bell euphonium

The double bell variation of the euphonium was mass produced starting in the 1880s, first produced by the C. G. Conn

C. G. Conn

C.G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, was a United States manufacturer of musical instruments, especially brass instruments. In 1985 their Strobotuner division was bought by Peterson Electro-Musical Products, who continue to service their line of products.Assets...

 company in the United States http://www.cgconn.com/content/history.php. Other major U.S. brass instrument makers followed suit. The instrument was first popularized by euphonium virtuoso Harry Whittier with the popular Patrick Gilmore band starting in 1888; the John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....

 band added the instrument the following year [Bone Paull and Morris, p. 12], with other US brass band

Brass band

A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...

s following the example. Peak production of the instrument was from about the 1890s into the 1920s, although it was never one of the more popular brass instruments.

Decline

The last double bell euphoniums were made around 1960. In practice, most double bell models ended up being used with the large bell only, effectively a very heavy single bell euphonium.
About the second bell, famous euphonium soloist Arthur W. Lehman

Arthur W. Lehman

Arthur W. 'Art' Lehman was a widely recorded American Euphonium virtuoso and soloist. He was noted for having radically changed the way the instrument was technically performed, and was a major influence on Euphonium soloists who followed him.Lehman retired as Euphonium soloist and section leader...

 once said during a Marine Band concert, "We use it to hold our white gloves when we are not wearing them."

Soloists

Simone Mantia

Simone Mantia

Simone Mantia was an American baritone horn/euphonium virtuoso and also trombone artist at the turn of the twentieth century. He was both a performer and administrator with many American band and orchestral ensembles...

 used to play a double-bell euphonium as a virtuoso. During being part of the Sousa and Pryor Bands, Simone at times favoured the double-belled euphonium and he even composed "Priscilla" (in tribute to Jane Priscilla Sousa

Sousa

-Surname:*Sousa *John Philip Sousa, American bandleader and composer, writer of America's national march*Francis Newton Souza, Indian artist and founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay...

), a double-bell euphonium solo.