The serpent is a low-pitched early wind instrument in the brass family developed in the Renaissance era. It has a trombone-like mouthpiece, with six tone holes arranged in two groups of three fingered by each hand. It is named for its long, conical bore bent into a snakelike shape, and unlike most brass instruments is made from wood with an outer covering of leather. A distant ancestor of the tuba, the serpent is related to the cornett and was used for bass parts from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.

In the early 19th century, keys were added to improve intonation, and several upright variants were developed and used, until they were superseded first by the ophicleide and ultimately by the valved tuba. After almost entirely disappearing from orchestras, the serpent experienced a renewed interest in historically informed performance practice in the mid-20th century. Several contemporary works have been commissioned and composed, and serpents are again made by a small number of contemporary manufacturers. The sound of a serpent is somewhere between a bassoon and a euphonium, and it is typically played in a seated position, with the instrument resting upright between the player's knees.

These instruments can be made of several different materials. This one is made of copper.

The lower instrument in the photo is an oboe. Some people might compare the sound of an oboe to that of a snake charmers instrument. The other instrument is an English horn, the bigger brother of the oboe in the "double reed instrument family". Obviously, the English horn is longer that the oboe but also notice the bulbous bell at the end of the instrument.

The oboe is pitched in the key of C and the English horn is pitched in the key of F. The fingering systems for both instruments is essentially the same. Consequently, most orchestral and professional oboists also play, and most likely, own an English horn. These players are referred to as "doublers".

The English horn is sometimes referred to as a "cor anglais". Since it's pitched in the key of F, it sounds a perfect fifth lower than the oboe. I think of it not just as a lower sound but a darker sound.

This long-forgotten instrument was the bass instrument in many orchestras in the 19th century. It took the place of the above-mentioned serpent. There were a whole family of ophecleides but the bass ophicleide was the only one that proved its worth in the orchestra. The tuba eventually supplanted it. Valves make the tuba tonally superior and easier to play.

The sarrusophones are a family of metal double reed conical bore woodwind instruments patented and first manufactured by French instrument maker Pierre-Louis Gautrot in 1856. Gautrot named the sarrusophone after French bandmaster Pierre-Auguste Sarrus (1813–1876), whom he credited with the concept of the instrument, though it is not clear whether Sarrus benefited financially. The instruments were intended for military bands, to serve as replacements for oboes and bassoons which at the time lacked the carrying power required for outdoor marching music. Although originally designed as double-reed instruments, single-reed mouthpieces were later developed for use with the larger bass and contrabass sarrusophones.

The sarrusophone was manufactured in the following sizes and had the following theoretical ranges:

E-flat Sopranino B♭-G (Sounding D♭4-B♭6)

B-flat Soprano B♭-G (Sounding A♭3-F6)

E-flat Alto G-G (Sounding B♭2-B♭5)

B-flat Tenor B♭-G (Sounding A♭2-F5)

E-flat Baritone A-G (Sounding C2-B♭4)

B-flat Bass B♭-G (Sounding A♭1-F4)

EE-flat Contrabass B♭-G (Sounding D♭1-B♭3)

CC Contrabass B♭-G (Sounding B♭0-G3)

BB-flat Contrabass B♭-G (Sounding A♭0-F3)