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On early models, the fingerholes were keyless, like on a recorder. Later models, however, add keys, as on a clarinet. The range varies according to the instrument and the player, but typically covers an octave either side of middle C. Some documents from the 18th century, however, state that the instrument can reach notes over two octaves above middle C.

It is thought that the instrument was first used to strengthen the sound of choirThis article is about choirs, musical ensembles containing singers. For other meanings of the word, see Choir (disambiguation). A choir is a musical ensemble. The term is generally used to refer to ensembles of singers, but can also refer to a collections in plainchant. Around the middle of the 18th century, it began to be used in military bandA military band is a group of soldiers assigned to musical duties. A typical military band consists mostly of string and wind instruments (typically kept in rugged travel cases). The military band should be capable of playing ceremonial and marching musics, but was replaced in the 19th centuryAlternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical ( 18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801- 1900. Events The Little Ice Age ended by valved brass instruments. Since then, it has hardly been used at all, although many original models still survive, and it is sometimes played as part of historically authentic performanceThe authentic performance movement is an effort on the part of musicians and scholars to perform works of classical music in ways similar to how they were performed when they were originally written. The movement had its beginnings in the performance of Ms.

A variation on the serpent was the bass horn, which is essentially the same, but is simpler in shape, consisting of a tube folded back on itself (rather like the modern bassoonThe bassoon is the tenor member of the woodwind family. Like the oboe it has a double reed and overblows an octave higher. It is considered to have a tone color similar to that of the human voice, particularly in the central and upper register. The bassoo), rather than the curvy shape of the original instrument.

A later variation was the ophimonocleide, a sort of cross between the bass horn and the ophicleideThe ophicleide a brass instrument, is part of the family of keyed bugles invented by Jean Hilaire Aste (often called Halary), in the early 1800s. While the soprano members of the family (in Eb, C, and Bb, at least) were made in a single coil, in the shape. It was never common, and today only a few examples of it exist.

See also: EuphoniumBrass instruments The euphonium is a valved brass instrument, the tenor member of the tuba family. The appearance of a euphonium is very similar to that of a tuba, and many people not familiar with the instrument sometimes incorrectly call it a tuba.