Serpent (instrument)

Serpent

Serpent, late 18th century Italy. Civic Museum of Modena
Brass instrument
Other names	Serpentone
Classification	Wind Brass Aerophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	423.213 (labrosones with fingerholes with wide conical bore[1])
Developed	Late 16th century
Playing range
Range of the serpent; notes below C₂ are obtained with the embouchure[2]
Related instruments
Cornett Ophicleide Cimbasso Tuba
Musicians
Clifford Bevan Bernard Fourtet Michel Godard Volny Hostiou Phil Humphries Alan Lumsden Christopher Monk Andrew van der Beek Patrick Wibart Steve Wick Douglas Yeo
Builders
Christopher Monk Instruments Early Music Shop Pierre Ribo Stephan Berger[3]
Sound sample
The serpent Scarborough Fair played on the serpent by Kathryn Rose

The serpent is a low-pitched early wind instrument in the lip-reed family, developed in the Renaissance era. It has a trombone-like mouthpiece, with six tone holes arranged in two groups of three fingered by each hand. It is named for its long, conical bore bent into a snakelike shape, and unlike most brass instruments is made from wood with an outer covering of leather. A distant ancestor of the tuba, the serpent is related to the cornett and was used for bass parts from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.^[4]

In the early 19th century, keys were added to improve intonation, and several upright variants were developed and used, until they were superseded first by the ophicleide and ultimately by the valved tuba. After almost entirely disappearing from orchestras, the serpent experienced a renewed interest in historically informed performance practice in the mid-20th century. Several contemporary works have been commissioned and composed, and serpents are again made by a small number of contemporary manufacturers. The sound of a serpent is somewhere between a bassoon and a euphonium, and it is typically played in a seated position, with the instrument resting upright between the player's knees.