Actually it is a serpent. It’s missing the mouthpiece and he just put the bocal or “leadpipe” up to his lips. A dulcien’s key(s) are arranged differently and the bocal is a much smaller diameter. There are 3 types of serpents, church (squiggly w/no keys), military (squiggly with keys), and Russian serpents like the one pictured. Dulciens often have one key operated by the thumb at the base of the instrument. Not a dulcien.
(34 votes, average: 4.21 out of 5)
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May 13th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Looks like a dulcian (the ancestor of the bassoon), albeit a very odd one.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:48 am
That, I kid you not, is a serpent. Look it up.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
How Many Tom Collinses does it take before you can play that thing?
May 15th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Not a serpent–a serpent has a brass mouthpiece and a wiggly snake-shape. It’s a dulcian.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:46 am
What is he blowing? My mind, daddy-o, my mind.
October 18th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Actually it is a serpent. It’s missing the mouthpiece and he just put the bocal or “leadpipe” up to his lips. A dulcien’s key(s) are arranged differently and the bocal is a much smaller diameter. There are 3 types of serpents, church (squiggly w/no keys), military (squiggly with keys), and Russian serpents like the one pictured. Dulciens often have one key operated by the thumb at the base of the instrument. Not a dulcien.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Everything you need or want to know about the Serpent and it’s brothers and sisters.
Check it: http://www.serpentwebsite.com/photo.htm
January 5th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
So THAT’S what happened to Ollie!
March 23rd, 2013 at 6:37 pm
You sure he’s playing the right end?