Serpent,

Serpent, a bass musical wind-instrument entirely obsolete except in a few continental churches. It is said to have been invented by a French priest at Auxerre in 1590. It consists of a tapered tube 8 feet long, built of wood and covered with leather, and twisted about like a serpent, whence the name. It is sounded through a cupped mouthpiece like that of the bass Trombone (q.v.). It had originally six holes for three fingers of each hand, but in its later years had keys added. The form of its bore and the material of which it is made give it a tender and soft tone which is very effective in certain kinds of music, but its difficulties and the uncertainty of its intonation have led to its disuse.