First step into the world of the serpent...

[J.c. Sherman]

I've certainly made plain my pro-serpent and pro- ophicleide stance on this forum. Now, I'll have another leg to stand on....

I've been making serpent mouthpieces for a year now, and I'm done "ruining wood" for the most part, but I have not had the benefit of knowing the instrument I was working with directly. Now, I've taken my first steps into that world.

Yesterday, I had my first opportunity to examine, measure and study some important Bass Horns (an upright, metal variant of the serpent, for those unfamiliar with it. Following this golden opportunity, I was given my first blow on a serpent, and I have acquired my own Harding Serpent. The picture below shows me with an historic English military style serpent...

Real Serpent-small.JPG

And here was my smorgasbord of Bass Horns.

Busy Day-small.JPG

Too much fun for one day; now, time to learn to play this beast!

J.c.S.

[Bob Kolada]

J.c., what are those bells from?

[J.c. Sherman]

Bob (and others),

Those are historic instruments made around 1820, imported (most likely) at around that time to the Moravian community in easter Pennsylvania. All three are unsigned, and - while not all complete - in very good shape! So those aren't reproductions of anything, nor would those mandrels have been usable for any other instrument; nothing like them made ever again.

In trying to make a replica of the matched pair, I'm going to have to create tooling to fabricate much of it.

J.c.S.

[J.c. Sherman]

First look at my new Harding : )

New Serpent.JPG

Bwah hahahahahah!