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.
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.