Serpent (instrument) also appears in operatic scores by Spontini and Bellini, but it was replaced in the 19th century by a fully keyed brass instrument, the ophicleide, and later on by valved bass brass instruments such as the euphonium and tuba. After that the serpent dropped off in popularity for a period of time. Bernard Herrmann used a serpent in the scores of "White Witch Doctor" (1953) and "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959), as did Jerry Goldsmith in his score for "Alien" (1979). In the 1970s, instrument-maker Christopher Monk began playing, and later making Serpents, and in 1976 he
Brass tablature valve on a four-valved instrument. Brass tablature Brass Tablature is a rather rare form of music notation that applies to all brass instruments, but is most commonly found written for trumpet. It consists of lines with partials, and numbers representing valve or slide positions. The basic setup is shown here, with names of open notes for each partial on the left and rhythm or rhythmic notation above. The bottom line, indicating first-partial pedal tones, is not usually used by trumpet or horn. The seventh partial (B♭ on trumpet) is This method is impractical in the altissimo range, because of fingering