A large brass musical instrument similar to a tuba, often played in military or concert bands.
Named after Mount Helicon in ancient Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses in Greek mythology. The name transferred to this instrument, perhaps because of its association with musical excellence.
The helicon was invented in Germany in the 1840s specifically to solve a marching problem—tubas were hard to carry in parades, so someone created the helicon with a circular bore that could wrap around the player's shoulder, letting bands march while playing deep bass notes.
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