# Talk:Serpent (instrument)

It might be a little silly, but I spotted a serpent being played in the ensemble in one of the scenes in Pride and Prejudice (TV serial).  anybody else have any sightings?  --W0lfie 01:36, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

A woman used to attend Tubachristmas events in the southern New England area and play the serpent. I haven't seen her recently. Counterfit 05:52, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
In the 1956 film The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn (starring Peter_Sellers, Spike_Milligan and Dick_Emery), the eponymous instrument appears to be a serpent. Heraldica (talk) 21:17, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
@Heraldica: I don't know why it's taken me 14 years, but I've added a sentence to the film page! — Jon (talk) 11:38, 6 April 2023 (UTC)
I recently saw a serpent in a Depeche Mode video. I unfortunately did not make a note of which one and when I looked for it later, I could not find it. Will update here when I do. In a semi-related note, the music video for Everything Counts features a shawm, even though the sound is produced by a synthesizer on the studio recording.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Riaanvn (talk • contribs) 07:30, 13 May 2023 (UTC) 

@Riaanvn the music video for "Frontier Psychiatrist" by The Avalanches features the serpent. Perhaps we need a § In popular culture Jon (talk) 01:25, 31 May 2023 (UTC)
I am adding a new subsection, where we can stage the edits. Once we have 3 good entries, we can transfer to the main article (and leave the less notable or incomplete entries in Talk).
Riaanvn (talk) 08:49, 11 November 2023 (UTC)


### In popular culture
In the 1956 film The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn (starring Peter_Sellers, Spike_Milligan and Dick_Emery), the eponymous instrument appears to be a serpent.
A serpent is being played in the ensemble in one of the scenes in Pride and Prejudice (TV serial).
The music video for Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches features the serpent.
The International Tuba Euphonium Association adopted the serpent as its emblem when it was first established (as T.U.B.A.) in 1973.
The Alien (soundtrack) to the 1979 film features the serpent for when the alien Xenomorph appears. 

 Done

Jerry Goldsmith used the serpent in his score to Alien. It's sometimes part of the orchestral fabric but, every now and then, it gets a solo! Gingermint (talk) 21:08, 7 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I just found it on the Internet when googling, and saw your edit on this page after an entry to section In popular culture. Riaanvn (talk) 08:59, 11 November 2023 (UTC)
 Done

The article barely mentions Christopher Monk, who possibly even deserves his own page(?). History section needs a "modern revival" section, covering his work, the English Serpent Trio, revival of interest spread to Europe and North America (Doug Yeo, others), use in historically informed performance practice, and so on. Dumping this here as a note-to-self, or in case someone else notices it and wants to get started.—Jon (talk) 00:10, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

 Done

I've added CC-BY photographs of the truly stupendously large 1840 restored contrabass serpent (sometimes called the "anaconda") from Musical Instrument Museums Edinburgh to Commons, ready for deployment here at some stage (1, 2). Good refs in Bevan's Tuba Family (2nd ed.), the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Brass Instruments, and Doug Yeo's Illustrated Dictionary. — Jon (talk) 11:50, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

 Done

The redirect Worn (instrument) has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 November 2 § Worn (instrument) until a consensus is reached.  TartarTorte 19:45, 2 November 2023 (UTC)

Yes that was me, sorry - a silly typo.—Jon (talk) 06:40, 13 November 2023 (UTC)
 Done

The third sentence in the lede is ridiculous: "It is named for its long, conical bore bent into a snakelike shape, and unlike most brass instruments is made from wood..."
A "brass" instrument made from "wood"?  The Hornbostel–Sachs classification	is 423.213; there is no "brass" category in Hornbostel-Sachs.  The instrument category is:  an aerophone with an enclosed air column that is set into vibration directly by the player's lips.  Most such aerophones are, indeed, made of metal, usually brass, but some are made of wood or other materials (e.g., bone).   
A "brass" instrument is an instrument in this category that is made of brass.  Other instruments in the category share characteristics with brass instruments, but are not themselves "brass instruments"; the serpent is one of these.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.95.43.253 (talk) 20:18, 10 January 2024 (UTC) 

Labrosones are colloquially "brass" instruments. Is a saxophone a woodwind instrument? Or a labrosone? Is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable? Depends if you're talking to a botanist or a member of the general public. Do we require the general reader to be familiar with academic classification schemes like Hornbostel–Sachs in the first three sentences of this article? — Jon (talk) 23:28, 21 July 2024 (UTC)
 Done — Jon (talk) 22:26, 3 November 2024 (UTC)

Dr. Beth Chouinard-Mitchell's forthcoming magnum opus The Serpent Source Book should make a great resource for this article... — Jon (talk) 23:17, 7 August 2024 (UTC)

The article's history section makes no mention of the west gallery music tradition particularly in southern England, where the serpent survived the storms of low brass instrument innovation throughout most of the 19th century. There are scant resources available, but mentioned in Klaus Trumpets and Other High Brass vol. 2, and Harry Woodhouse's 2003 self-published book may be useful (as a starting point at least, if not possibly qualifying as a WP:RS). — Jon (talk) 22:26, 3 November 2024 (UTC)