Hélicon

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 The fanfare of the  French Republican Guard
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The fanfare of the French Republican Guard
This article is about the musical instrument. For other uses of "helicon", see Helicon (disambiguation).

The hélicon is a brass musical instrument in the tuba family.

It is the predecessor of the sousaphone, and the two have a similar shape and are both typically worn around the upperbody. A distinguishing characteristic of the hélicon is a smaller diameter in the coiled chamber which forms the body of the instrument.

The instrument is very popular in central and eastern Europe and is a common choice for military fanfare.