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{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Single-reed woodwind instrument}}
{{Distinguish|Clavinet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox Instrument
{{Infobox Instrument
|name=Clarinet
| name = Clarinet
|names=
| names =
|image=Clarinet.jpg
| image = Boehm+Oehler.jpg
| image_capt = [[B♭ (musical note)|B♭]] clarinets ([[Boehm system (clarinet)|Boehm]] and [[Oehler system|Oehler fingering system]])
|classification=
| background = woodwind
*[[Wind instrument|Wind]]
*[[Woodwind instrument|Woodwind]]
| classification = [[Single-reed instrument|Single-reed]]
| hornbostel_sachs = 422.211.2–71
*[[Single-reed instrument|Single-reed]]
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = [[Single-reed instrument|Single-reeded]] [[aerophone]] with keys
|range=Written range:<br>[[Image:Range clarinet.png|130px|center]]
| range = [[File:Clarinet range.svg|200px|center|class=notpageimage]] All clarinets have approximately the same written range. The sounding pitch depends on what key the instrument is in. Low clarinets generally have extra keys to extend the range downward.
|related=
| related = {{hlist| [[Chalumeau]]|[[Tárogató]]|[[Heckelphone-clarinet]]}}
*[[Saxophone]]
| articles =
*[[Tárogató]] (modern)
*[[Oboe]]
*[[Chalumeau]]
|musicians=
*[[Clarinetist]]s
|articles=
}}
}}
{{Woodwinds}}
[[Image:Clarinets german.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). These use the [[Oehler system]] of keywork.]]
The '''clarinet''' is a [[musical instrument]] in the [[woodwind]] family. The name derives from adding the suffix ''-et'' meaning ''little'' to the Italian word ''clarino'' meaning a particular type of [[trumpet]], as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical [[bore (wind instruments)|bore]], and uses a [[Single-reed instrument|single reed]].
Clarinets actually comprise a [[Family (musical instruments)|family]] of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than a dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word ''clarinet'' usually refers to the B♭ [[soprano clarinet]], by far the most common clarinet. ''(See "[[Clarinet family]]")''.


The '''clarinet''' is a [[Single-reed instrument|single-reed]] musical instrument in the [[woodwind]] family, with a nearly cylindrical [[bore (wind instruments)|bore]] and a flared bell.
A person who plays the clarinet is called a [[clarinetist]] or clarinettist.


Clarinets comprise a [[Family (musical instruments)|family]] of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The [[clarinet family]] is the largest woodwind family, ranging from the [[contrabass clarinet|BB♭ contrabass]] to the [[E-flat clarinet|E♭ soprano]]. The B{{music|flat}} [[soprano clarinet]] is the most common type, and is the instrument usually indicated by the word "clarinet".
==Characteristics of the instrument==
===Tone===
The clarinet has a distinctive [[timbre]], resulting from the shape of the cylindrical bore, whose characteristics vary between its three main [[register (music)|registers]]. It has a very wide compass, which is showcased in [[chamber music|chamber]], [[orchestra]]l, and [[wind band]] writing. The tone quality varies greatly with the musician, the music, the style of clarinet, the reed, and [[humidity]]. The [[Germany|German]] ([[Oehler system]]) clarinet generally has a darker tone quality than the French ([[Boehm system (clarinet)|Boehm system]]). In contrast, the French clarinet typically has a lighter, brighter tone quality. The differences in instruments and geographical isolation of players in different countries led to the development, from the last part of the 18th century on, of several different schools of clarinet playing. The most prominent of these schools were the German/Viennese traditions and the French school, centered around the clarinetists of the [[Conservatoire de Paris]]. Increasingly, through the proliferation of recording technology and the [[Internet]], examples of many different styles of clarinet playing are available to developing clarinetists today. This has led to decreased homogeneity of styles of clarinet playing. The modern clarinetist has an eclectic palette of "acceptable" tone qualities to choose from, especially when working with an open-minded teacher.


German instrument maker [[Johann Christoph Denner]] is generally credited with inventing the clarinet sometime around 1700 by adding a [[register key]] to the [[chalumeau]], an earlier single-reed instrument. Over time, additional keywork and airtight pads were added to improve the tone and playability. Today the clarinet is a standard fixture of the [[orchestra]] and [[concert band]] and is used in classical music, [[military band]]s, [[klezmer]], [[jazz]], and other styles.
The A clarinet and B♭ clarinet have nearly the same bore, and use the same mouthpiece. Orchestral players often use both A and B♭ instruments in the same concert, but use only one mouthpiece (and often the same barrel), which they swap between the two as needed (see 'usage' below for the reasons for this). The A and the B♭ instruments have nearly identical tonal quality. The A, however, lacks some of the B♭'s brightness and will generally have a slightly warmer sound.


==Etymology==
The tone of the [[E♭ clarinet]] is brighter than that of the lower clarinets and can be heard through even loud orchestral textures.
The word "clarinet" may have entered the English language via the French {{lang|fr|clarinette}} (the feminine diminutive of [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|clarin}}), or from [[Occitan language|Provençal]] {{lang|oc|clarin}} {{gloss|oboe}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2018 |title=clarinet |encyclopedia=[[The American Heritage Dictionary|The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]] |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=clarinet |editor-last=Pickett |editor-first=Joseph |edition=Fifth |isbn=978-1-328-84169-8}}</ref> originating from the Latin root {{lang|la|clarus}} {{gloss|clear}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date=2017 |title=clarinet |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/clarinet#etymonline_v_13772 |accessdate=24 October 2022 |website=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] }}</ref> The word is related to [[Middle English]] {{lang|enm|clarion}}, a type of trumpet, the name of which derives from the same root.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2021 |title=clarinet |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198868750.001.0001/acref-9780198868750-e-1028 |editor-last=Cresswell |editor-first=Julia |edition=Third |isbn=978-0-1988-6875-0}}</ref>


The earliest mention of the word "clarinette" being used for the instrument dates to a 1710 order placed by the Duke of Gronsfeld for two instruments made by [[Jacob Denner]].{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}{{Sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=21}} The English form "clarinet" is found as early as 1733, and the now-archaic "clarionet" appears from 1784 until the early 20th century.{{Sfn|Rendall|1971|pp=1–2, 69}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Jacobs |first=Arthur |encyclopedia=A New Dictionary of Music |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-53488-8 |page=74 |title=clarionet}}</ref>
The [[bass clarinet]] has a characteristically deep, mellow sound. It is an octave lower than the B-flat soprano clarinet. It uses a bigger reed than the soprano clarinet and requires the use of a different emboucher. The [[alto clarinet]] is similar in sound to the bass, and the [[Basset-horn|basset horn]] has a tone quality similar to the A clarinet.

A person who plays the clarinet is called a ''clarinetist'' (in [[North American English]]), a ''clarinettist'' (in [[British English]]), or simply a clarinet player.{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=28}}

==Characteristics==

The clarinet's [[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]] bore is the main reason for its distinctive [[timbre]], which varies between the three main [[register (music)|registers]] (the ''chalumeau'', ''clarion'', and ''altissimo''). The A and B{{music|flat}} clarinets have nearly the same bore and nearly identical tonal quality, although the A typically has a slightly warmer sound.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|pp=26–28}} The tone of the [[E-flat clarinet|E{{music|flat}} clarinet]] is brighter and can be heard through loud orchestral textures.{{sfn|Black|Gerou|2005|p=66}} The [[bass clarinet]] has a characteristically deep, mellow sound, and the [[alto clarinet]] sounds similar to the bass, though not as dark.{{sfn|Black|Gerou|2005|p=50}}


===Range===
===Range===
Clarinets have the largest pitch [[Range (music)|range]] of common woodwinds.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Reed|first= Alfred |date=September 1961 |title=The composer and the college band |journal=[[Music Educators Journal]] |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=51–53 |doi=10.2307/3389717 |jstor=3389717 }}</ref> Nearly all [[soprano clarinet|soprano]] and [[piccolo clarinet]]s have [[key (instrument)|keywork]] enabling them to play the E below middle C as their lowest written note. The concert pitch that sounds depends on the individual instrument's transposition (this low E sounds as a concert [[Scientific pitch notation|D<sub>3</sub>]] on a B{{music|flat}} soprano clarinet, a [[whole tone]] lower than the written note). Some B{{music|flat}} clarinets go to a written E{{music|flat}}{{Sub|3}} to match the range of the A clarinet.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cockshott |first=Gerald |author2=D. K. Dent |author3=Morrison C. Boyd |author4=E. J. Moeran |date=October 1941 |title=English composer goes west |journal=[[The Musical Times]] |volume=82 |issue=1184 |pages=376–378 |doi=10.2307/922164 |jstor=922164}}</ref> Bass clarinets have keywork extending the low range to a written E{{music|flat}} and some have additional keys to enable a written C{{Sub|3}}.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=278}} Among the less common members of the clarinet family, [[contrabass clarinet]]s may have keywork to written D{{Sub|3}}, C{{Sub|3}}, or B{{Sub|2}};{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=279}} the [[basset clarinet]] and [[basset horn]] generally go to low C{{Sub|3}}.{{Sfn|Shackleton|1995}} Defining the top end of a clarinet's range is difficult, since many advanced players can produce notes well above the highest notes commonly found in method books. G{{Sub|6}} is usually the highest note encountered in classical repertoire,{{sfn|Lowry|1985|p=29}} but fingerings as high as A{{Sub|7}} exist.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wfg.woodwind.org/clarinet/cl_alt_4.html |title=Upper altissimo register – Alternate fingering chart for Boehm-system clarinet|website= The Woodwind Fingering Guide|accessdate=19 November 2016 |archive-date=18 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118065216/http://wfg.woodwind.org/clarinet/cl_alt_4.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Clarinets have the largest pitch range of any common woodwind, rivalled only by the bassoon; this is at the sacrifice of the convenience and ease of some passages (due to more intricate key organization), however, most experienced clarinetists can overcome this. The bottom of the clarinet’s written range is defined by the keywork on each particular instrument; there are standard keywork schemes with some variability. The actual lowest concert pitch depends on the [[transposing instrument|transposition]] of the instrument in question.


The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct [[Register (music)|registers]]:
Nearly all [[soprano clarinet|soprano]] and [[piccolo clarinet|piccolo]] clarinets have keywork enabling them to play the E below middle C (E<sub>3</sub> in [[scientific pitch notation]]) as their lowest written note, though some B♭ clarinets go down to E♭<sub>3</sub> to enable them to match the range of the A clarinet. In the case of the B♭ soprano clarinet, the concert pitch of the lowest note is D<sub>3</sub>, a [[whole tone]] lower than the written pitch. This is an impressively low note considering the instrument's size.
* The low ''[[chalumeau]]'' register, from the written low E to the written B{{music|flat}} above middle C (B{{music|flat}}{{Sub|4}}) {{sfn|Pino|1998|p=29}} (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate predecessor){{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}
<!-- [[Image:Range clarinet.png|left|thumb|250px|Written range of soprano clarinets.]] -->
**The bridging ''throat'' tones, from written G to B{{music|flat}}, are sometimes treated as a separate register{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}
Most alto and bass clarinets have an additional key to allow a (written) E♭<sub>3</sub>. Modern professional-quality bass clarinets generally have additional keywork to C<sub>3</sub>. Among the less commonly encountered members of the clarinet family, contra-alto and contrabass clarinets may have keywork to E♭<sub>3</sub>, D<sub>3</sub>, or C<sub>3</sub>; the basset clarinet and basset horn generally go to low C<sub>3</sub>.
* The middle ''clarion'' register, which spans just over an octave (from a written B above middle C (B{{Sub|4}}) to the C two octaves above middle C (C{{Sub|6}})){{sfn|Pino|1998|p=29}}
* The high ''[[altissimo]]'' register, consisting of the notes above the written C two octaves above middle C (C{{Sub|6}}){{sfn|Pino|1998|p=29}}
The three registers have characteristically different sounds—the chalumeau is rich and dark, the clarion is brighter and sweet, like a trumpet heard from afar, and the altissimo can be piercing and sometimes shrill.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=200}}{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=176}}


===Acoustics===
Defining the top end of a clarinet’s range is difficult, since many advanced players can produce notes well above the highest notes commonly found in method books. The “high G” two octaves plus a perfect fifth above middle C (G<sub>6</sub>) is routinely encountered in the standard soprano clarinet literature through the nineteenth century. The C above that (C<sub>7</sub>) is attainable by most advanced players and is shown on many fingering charts.
[[File:Sound wave propagation in the soprano clarinet.jpg|thumb|Sound wave propagation in the soprano clarinet]]


The production of sound by a clarinet follows these steps:<ref name="physics">{{cite web|url=http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/clarinetacoustics.html |title=Acoustics of the clarinet|accessdate=27 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219095950/http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/clarinetacoustics.html#pipe |archive-date=19 February 2011 |publisher= University of New South Wales}}</ref><ref name=pipes>{{cite web|url=http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/flutes.v.clarinets.html|title=Open vs closed pipes (flutes vs clarinets)|publisher=University of New South Wales|accessdate=24 October 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}
The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct registers. The lowest register, consisting of the notes up to the written B♭ above middle C (B♭<sub>4</sub>), is known as the ''[[chalumeau]]'' register (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate ancestor). This register is the easiest to play and is the first learned by beginning players. The top four notes of this register are known as the ''throat tones''; they can pose problems of poor intonation and tone quality, making them troublesome in solo or ensemble writing.


# The mouthpiece and reed are surrounded by the player's lips, which put light, even pressure on the reed and form an airtight seal.{{sfn|Harris|1995b}} Air is blown past the reed and down the instrument. In the same way a flag flaps in the breeze, the air rushing past the reed causes it to vibrate. As air pressure from the mouth increases, the amount the reed vibrates increases until the reed hits the mouthpiece.<br />The reed stays pressed against the mouthpiece until either the springiness of the reed forces it to open or a returning pressure wave 'bumps' into the reed and opens it. Each time the reed opens, a puff of air goes through the gap, after which the reed swings shut again. When played loudly, the reed can spend up to 50% of the time shut.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Backus |first1=J |year=1961 |title=Vibrations of the reed and the air column in the clarinet |journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=806–809 |doi=10.1121/1.1908803}}</ref> The 'puff of air' or [[compression wave]] (at around 3% greater pressure than the surrounding air<ref name="physics"/>) travels down the cylindrical tube and escapes at the point where the tube opens out. This is either at the closest open hole or at the end of the tube (see diagram: image 1).
The middle register is termed the "clarino" register (sometimes "clarion") register<ref>{{cite book
# More than a 'neutral' amount of air escapes from the instrument, which creates a slight vacuum or [[rarefaction]] in the clarinet tube. This rarefaction wave travels back up the tube (image 2).
| last = Sadie
# The rarefaction is reflected off the sloping end wall of the clarinet mouthpiece. The opening between the reed and the mouthpiece makes very little difference to the reflection of the rarefaction wave. This is because the opening is very small compared to the size of the tube, so almost the entire wave is reflected back down the tube even if the reed is completely open at the time the wave hits (image 3).
| first = Stanley
# When the rarefaction wave reaches the other (open) end of the tube, air rushes in to fill the slight vacuum. A little more than a 'neutral' amount of air enters the tube and causes a compression wave to travel back up the tube (image 4). Once the compression wave reaches the mouthpiece end of the 'tube', it is reflected again back down the pipe. However at this point, either because the compression wave 'bumped' the reed or because of the natural vibration cycle of the reed, the gap opens and another 'puff' of air is sent down the pipe.
| title = New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments
# The original compression wave, now greatly reinforced by the second 'puff' of air, sets off on another two trips down the pipe (travelling four pipe lengths in total) before the cycle is repeated again.<ref name=physics/>
| date = 1984
| pages = 391
| publisher = Macmillan Press}}</ref>) and spans just over an octave (from written B above middle C(B<sub>4</sub>) to the C two octaves above middle C(C<sub>6</sub>)); it is the dominant range for most members of the clarinet family and is audible above the brass while playing [[Dynamics (music)|forte]]. The top or ''[[altissimo]]'' register consists of the notes above the written C two octaves above middle C (C<sub>6</sub>); this range is not used as frequently, as tone greatly deteriorates with pitch height.


In addition to this primary compression wave, other waves, known as [[harmonics]], are created. Harmonics are caused by factors including the imperfect wobbling and shaking of the reed, the reed sealing the mouthpiece opening for part of the wave cycle (which creates a flattened section of the sound wave), and imperfections (bumps and holes) in the bore. A wide variety of compression waves are created, but only some (primarily the odd harmonics) are reinforced.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barthet |first1=M. |last2=Guillemain |first2=P. |last3=Kronland-Martinet |first3=R. |last4=Ystad |first4=S. |year=2010 |title=From clarinet control to timbre perception |journal=Acta Acustica United with Acustica |volume=96 |issue=4 |pages=678–689 |doi=10.3813/AAA.918322}}</ref>{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} This in combination with the cut-off frequency (where a significant drop in resonance occurs) results in the characteristic tone of the clarinet.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}
Unlike other woodwinds, all three registers have characteristically different sounds. The chalumeau register is rich and (relatively) quiet. The clarino register is bright and sweet as a trumpet if heard from afar, "clarino" meaning trumpet and being the root word for "clarinet". The altissimo register can be piercing and sometimes shrill, though the differences in tone between all three ranges can be diminished with the experience of the player.


The [[Bore (wind instruments)|bore]] is [[Cylinder|cylindrical]] for most of the tube with an inner bore diameter between {{convert|0.575|and|0.585|in|mm}}, but there is a subtle [[hourglass]] shape, with the thinnest part below the junction between the upper and lower joint.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=24}} This hourglass shape, although invisible to the naked eye, helps to correct the pitch and responsiveness of the instrument.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=24}} The diameter of the bore affects the instrument's sound characteristics.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} The bell at the bottom of the clarinet flares out to improve the tone and tuning of the lowest notes.<ref name="physics"/> The fixed reed and fairly uniform diameter of the clarinet result in an acoustical performance approximating that of a cylindrical [[stopped pipe]].<ref name="physics"/> [[Recorder (musical instrument)|Recorders]] use a tapered internal bore to [[Overblowing|overblow]] at the [[octave]] when the thumb/register hole is pinched open, while the clarinet, with its cylindrical bore, overblows at the [[Twelfth (interval)|twelfth]].<ref name="physics"/>
== Why You Should Not Play the Clarinet ==
1. It Really Really Bites!!!!


Most modern clarinets have "undercut" [[tone hole]]s that improve intonation and sound. Undercutting means [[chamfer]]ing the bottom edge of tone holes inside the bore. Acoustically, this makes the tone hole function as if it were larger, but its main function is to allow the air column to follow the curve up through the tone hole (surface tension) instead of "blowing past" it under the increasingly directional frequencies of the upper registers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gibson |first1=Lee |year=1968 |title=Fundamentals of acoustical design of the soprano clarinet |doi=10.2307/3391282 |journal=Music Educators Journal |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=113–115 |jstor=3391282 }}</ref> Covering or uncovering the tone holes varies the length of the pipe, changing the [[acoustic resonance|resonant frequencies]] of the enclosed air column and hence the [[Pitch (music)|pitch]]. The player moves between the chalumeau and clarion registers through use of the [[register key]]. The open register key stops the fundamental frequency from being reinforced, making the reed vibrate at three times the frequency, which produces a note a twelfth above the original note.<ref name="physics" />
==Usage and repertoire of the clarinet==


Most woodwind instruments have a second register that begins an octave above the first (with notes at twice the frequency of the lower notes). With the aid of an 'octave' or 'register' key, the notes sound an octave higher as the fingering pattern repeats. These instruments are said to [[overblow]] at the octave. The clarinet differs, since it acts as a closed-pipe system. The low chalumeau register plays fundamentals, but the clarion (second) register plays the third harmonics, a perfect twelfth higher than the fundamentals. The clarinet is therefore said to overblow at the twelfth.<ref name="physics" /><ref name=pipes/> The first several notes of the altissimo (third) range, aided by the register key and venting with the first left-hand hole, play the fifth harmonics, a perfect twelfth plus a major sixth above the fundamentals.<ref name=physics/>{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} The fifth and seventh harmonics are also available, sounding a further [[Interval (music)|sixth]] and [[Fourth (interval)|fourth]] (a flat, diminished fifth) higher respectively; these are the notes of the altissimo register.<ref name="physics" />
===Use of multiple clarinets===
The reason that the principal (orchestral) soprano clarinets are in both B♭ and A, has to do partly with the history of the instrument, and partly with acoustics, aesthetics and economics. Before about 1800, due to the lack of airtight pads ''(explained below – see [[#History|History]])'', practical woodwinds could have only a few keys to control accidentals (notes outside their diatonic home scales). Because clarinets overblow at the twelfth rather than the octave, they need keys to control more notes in each register than [[oboes]], [[flutes]], or [[bassoon]]s do. Therefore clarinets with few keys cannot easily play an in-tune chromatic scale, limiting any such instrument to a few closely related key signatures. For example, an eighteenth century clarinet in C could readily be played in (B♭), F, C, G and (D) (and their relative minors) with good intonation, but not (easily) in keys outside this range. In contrast, for octave-overblowing instruments a single instrument in C with few keys could much more readily be played in any key.


The lip position and pressure, shaping of the vocal tract, choice of reed and mouthpiece, amount of air pressure created, and evenness of the airflow account for most of the player's ability to control the tone of a clarinet.<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Almeida|first1= A|last2= Lemare|first2= J|last3= Sheahan|first3= M|last4=Judge|first4= J|last5= Auvray|first5= R|last6= Dang|first6= K|last7=Wolfe|first7= J|year=2010|url=http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/reprints/clarinetcartography.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303163646/http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/reprints/clarinetcartography.pdf |archivedate=3 March 2011 |url-status=live |title=Clarinet parameter cartography: automatic mapping of the sound produced as a function of blowing pressure and reed force|conference=International Symposium on Music Acoustics}}</ref> Their vocal tract will be shaped to resonate at frequencies associated with the tone being produced.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pàmies-Vilà |first1=Montserrat |last2=Hofmann |first2=Alex |last3=Chatziioannou |first3=Vasileios |year=2020 |title=The influence of the vocal tract on the attack transients in clarinet playing |journal=[[Journal of New Music Research]] |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=126–135 |doi=10.1080/09298215.2019.1708412|pmid=32256677 |pmc=7077444 }}</ref> [[Vibrato]], a pulsating change of pitch, is rare in classical literature; however, certain performers, such as [[Richard Stoltzman]], use vibrato in classical music.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 August 1992|last=Blum|first=David|title=Teaching the clarinet to speak with his voice|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/16/arts/classical-music-teaching-the-clarinet-to-speak-with-his-voice.html}}</ref> Special fingerings and lip-bending may be used to play [[Microtonal music|microtonal]] intervals.{{sfn|Heaton|1995}} There have also been efforts to create a [[quarter tone clarinet]].<ref name="jl">{{cite web |last=Zakian |first=Lee |title=The clarinet history |url=http://www.jlpublishing.com/ClarinetHistory.htm |publisher=JL Publishing |accessdate=2 July 2009 |archive-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414122314/http://www.jlpublishing.com/ClarinetHistory.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Richards |first=E. Michael |work=The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century |url=http://userpages.umbc.edu/~emrich/chapter2-5.html |title= Single sounds |accessdate=9 October 2012 |archive-date=11 December 2012 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20121211103401/http://userpages.umbc.edu/~emrich/chapter2-5.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
So by using three clarinets in A, B♭ and C, early 19th century music, which rarely strayed into the remote keys (five or six sharps or flats), could be played as follows: music in 5 to 2 sharps (B major to D major concert pitch) on A clarinet (D major to F major for the player), music in 1 sharp to 1 flat (G to F) on C clarinet, and music in 2 flats to 4 flats (B♭ to A♭) on the B♭ clarinet (C to B♭). Difficult key signatures and numerous accidentals were thus largely avoided.
[[File:QuartertoneClarinet.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Fritz Schüller's quarter-tone clarinet]]


==Construction==
With the invention of the airtight pad, and as key technology improved and more keys were added to woodwinds, the need for clarinets in multiple musical keys was reduced. However, the use of more than one instrument in different keys persisted, with the three instruments in C, B♭ and A all used as specified by the composer.


===Materials===
Because the acoustics of the clarinet mean that the deeper the instrument is in pitch (i.e. the larger it is) the more "mellow" (less bright) it sounds, the C clarinet – being the shortest and therefore brightest instrument of the three – did eventually fall out of favour, as the other two clarinets could play its range of keys between them and their sound was considered better. The clarinet in C fell out of general use around 1850, although some composers continued to write C parts, e.g. Bizet Symphony in C (1855), Tchaikovsky 2nd Symphony (1872), Smetana Vltava (1874), Brahms 4th Symphony (1885), and Richard Strauss deliberately reintroduced it to take advantage of its brighter tone, e.g. Der Rosenkavalier (1911) et seq.
Clarinet bodies have been made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic, hard rubber or [[Ebonite]], metal, and [[ivory]].{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|pp=4, 65, 293}} The vast majority of wooden clarinets are made from [[African blackwood]] (grenadilla), or, more uncommonly, [[Rosewood (timber)|Honduran rosewood]] or [[cocobolo]].{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite report |last=Jenkins |first=Martin |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265495248 |title=International Trade in African Blackwood |last2=Oldfield |first2=Sara |last3=Aylett |first3=Tiffany |publisher=Fauna & Flora International |year=2002 |isbn=1-903703-05-0 |page=21}}</ref> Historically other woods, particularly [[Buxus|boxwood]] and [[ebony]], were used.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=4}} Since the mid-20th century, clarinets (particularly student or band models) are also made from plastics, such as [[acrylonitrile butadiene styrene]] (ABS).{{sfn|Coppenbarger|2015|p=20}}{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=5}} One of the first such blends of plastic was Resonite, a term originally trademarked by [[Henri Selmer Paris|Selmer]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Saunders |first=Scott J. |date=1 January 1952 |title=Music-making plastics |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1290821116 |journal=Music Journal |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=22–23, 48–51 |id={{ProQuest|1290821116}}}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=94}} The Greenline model by [[Buffet Crampon]] is made from a [[composite material|composite]] of resin and the African blackwood powder left over from the manufacture of wooden clarinets.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=368}}{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=7}}


Metal soprano clarinets were popular in the late 19th century, particularly for military use. Metal is still used for the bodies of some contra-alto and contrabass clarinets and the necks and bells of nearly all alto and larger clarinets.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|pp=293–294}}{{Sfn|Harris|1995a|p=74}}
As more technical improvements were made, and the clarinet became equal tempered, the need for two clarinets itself reduced. However the technical difficulty for the player playing in remote keys remains and thus the A has remained a very useful orchestral instrument. In addition, by the later part of the 19th century the orchestral clarinet repertoire contained so much music for clarinet in A that the disuse of this instrument was not practical and it was thus retained. Attempts were made to standardise to the B♭ instrument between 1930 and 1950 (e.g. tutors of the period recommended, with examples and studies, learning the routine transposition of orchestral A parts on the B♭ clarinet, including famous solos written for A clarinet) and although this did happen in band and show music it did not succeed in the orchestral sphere.


[[Mouthpiece (woodwind)|Mouthpieces]] are generally made of hard rubber, although some inexpensive mouthpieces may be made of plastic. Other materials such as glass, wood, ivory, and metal have also been used.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=10}} [[Ligature (musical instrument)|Ligatures]] are often made of metal and tightened using one or more adjustment screws; other materials include plastic, string, or fabric.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=21}}
Yet another factor at play is economics - the clarinet being of a cylindrical bore is much cheaper to make than, say, an oboe of similar quality (less wood is wasted and the production process with machine tools is simpler). This makes buying and owning two clarinets a feasible proposition.


===Reed===
Similarly there have been E♭ and D instruments in the upper soprano range, B♭, A, and C instruments in the bass range, and so forth; but over time the E♭ and B♭ instruments have become predominant.
The clarinet uses a single [[reed (instrument)|reed]] made from the cane of ''[[Arundo donax]]''.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=154}}<ref>{{cite journal |author=Obataya E |author2=Norimoto M. |date=August 1999 |title=Acoustic properties of a reed (''Arundo donax'' L.) used for the vibrating plate of a clarinet |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243524477 |journal=[[The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America]] |volume=106 |issue=2 |pages=1106–1110 |doi=10.1121/1.427118 |accessdate=12 May 2015}}</ref> Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic materials.{{sfn|Lowry|1985|p=30}} The [[ligature (musical instrument)|ligature]] fastens the reed to the mouthpiece. When air is blown through the opening between the reed and the mouthpiece facing, the reed vibrates and produces the clarinet's sound.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=19}}


Most players buy manufactured reeds, although many make adjustments to these reeds, and some make their own reeds from cane "blanks".<ref name="intravaia">{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3344436 |last=Intravaia |first=Lawrence J |author2=Robert S. Resnick |date=Spring 1968 |title=A research study of a technique for adjusting clarinet reeds |journal=Journal of Research in Music Education |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=45–58 |jstor=3344436 }}</ref> Reeds come in varying degrees of hardness, generally indicated on a scale from one (soft) through five (hard). This numbering system is not standardized—reeds with the same number often vary in hardness across manufacturers and models. Reed and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability and tonal characteristics.{{sfn|Pino|1998|pp=153–156}}
===Classical music===
[[Image:R13-A-and-Bb-Clarinets-in-case.png|left|thumb|200px|A pair of Boehm-System Soprano Clarinets – one in B♭ and one in A.]]
In [[classical music]], clarinets are part of standard [[orchestra]]l instrumentation, which frequently includes two clarinetists playing individual parts &mdash; each player usually equipped with a pair of standard clarinets in B♭ and A (see above) and it is quite common for clarinet parts to alternate between B♭ and A instruments several times over the course of a movement. Clarinet sections grew larger during the last few decades of the 19th century, often employing a third clarinetist, an E♭ or a bass clarinet. In the 20th century, composers such as [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Richard Strauss]], [[Gustav Mahler]] and [[Olivier Messiaen]] enlarged the clarinet section on occasion to up to nine players, employing many different clarinets including the E♭ or D soprano clarinets, [[Basset-horn|basset horn]], [[bass clarinet]] and/or [[contrabass clarinet]].


===Components===
This practice of using a variety of clarinets to achieve colouristic variety was common in [[20th century classical music|20th century music]] and continues today. However, many clarinetists and conductors prefer to play parts originally written for obscure instruments such as the C or D clarinets on B♭ or E♭ clarinets, which are often of better quality and more prevalent and accessible.
[[File:Parts of clarinet 1.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.3|The construction of a [[Böhm system (clarinet)|Boehm system]] clarinet]]


[[File:Mouthpiece with conical ring ligatur.png|thumb|upright=0.5|left|Mouthpiece with conical ring ligature, made from hard rubber]]
The clarinet is widely used as a solo instrument. The relatively late evolution of the clarinet (when compared to other orchestral woodwinds) has left a considerable amount of solo repertoire from the [[Classical music era|Classical]], [[Romantic music|Romantic]] and [[Modern music|Modern]] periods but few works from the [[Baroque music|Baroque]] era. A number of [[clarinet concerto]]s have been written to showcase the instrument, with the concerti by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Aaron Copland|Copland]] and [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]] being particularly well known.
The [[Reed (music)|reed]] is attached to the [[Mouthpiece (woodwind)|mouthpiece]] by the [[Ligature (musical instrument)|ligature]], and the top half-inch or so of this assembly is held in the player's mouth. In the past, string was used to bind the reed to the mouthpiece. The formation of the mouth around the mouthpiece and reed is called the [[embouchure]]. The reed is on the underside of the mouthpiece, pressing against the player's lower lip, while the top teeth normally contact the top of the mouthpiece (some players roll the upper lip under the top teeth to form what is called a 'double-lip' embouchure).{{Sfn|Pino|1998|pp=21, 54–59}} Adjustments in the strength and shape of the embouchure change the tone and intonation. Players sometimes relieve the pressure on the upper teeth and inner lower lip by attaching a pad to the top of the mouthpiece or putting temporary cushioning on the lower teeth.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=38}}


The mouthpiece attaches to the barrel. Tuning can be adjusted by using barrels of varying lengths or by pulling out the barrel to increase the instrument's length.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}{{sfn|Pino|1998|pp=39–41}} On basset horns and lower clarinets, there is a curved metal neck instead of a barrel.{{Sfn|Dobrée|1995}}
Many works of [[chamber music]] have also been written for the clarinet. Particularly common combinations are:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*Clarinet and piano (including [[clarinet sonata]]s)
*Clarinet, piano and another instrument (for example, [[string instrument]] or voice)
*[[Clarinet choir|Clarinet Quartet]], either 4 B♭ Clarinets, or 3 B♭ Clarinets and [[Bass Clarinet]].
*[[Clarinet Quintet]], generally made up of a clarinet plus a [[string quartet]].
*[[Wind Quintet]], consists of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and [[horn (instrument)|horn]].
{{col-2}}
*[[Trio d'Anches]], or ''Trio of Reeds'' consists of oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.
*[[Wind Octet]], consists of pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns.
*Clarinet, [[violin]], piano
*Clarinet, [[viola]], piano
{{col-end}}


The main body of most clarinets has an upper joint, whose mechanism is mostly operated by the left hand, and a lower joint, mostly operated by the right hand.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} Some clarinets have a one-piece body.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} The modern soprano clarinet has numerous [[tone hole]]s—seven are covered with the fingertips and the rest are operated using a set of 17 keys.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} The most common system of keys was named the [[Böhm system|Boehm system]] by its designer [[Hyacinthe Klosé]] after flute designer [[Theobald Böhm|Theobald Boehm]], but it is not the same as the [[Böhm system|Boehm system]] used on flutes.<ref name="ridley">{{cite journal |last=Ridley |first=E.A.K. |date=September 1986 |title=Birth of the 'Böhm' clarinet |journal=[[The Galpin Society Journal]] |volume=39 |pages=68–76 |doi=10.2307/842134 |jstor=842134}}</ref> The other main key system is the [[Oehler system]], which is used mostly in Germany and Austria.{{Sfn|Shackleton|1995}} The related [[Albert system]] is used by some [[jazz]], [[klezmer]], and eastern European folk musicians.{{Sfn|Shackleton|1995}} The Albert and Oehler systems are both based on the early [[Ivan Mueller|Mueller system]].{{Sfn|Shackleton|1995}}
===Concert bands===
In [[concert band|wind bands]], clarinets are a particularly central part of the instrumentation, occupying the same space (and often playing the same parts) in bands that the strings do in orchestras. Bands usually include several B♭ clarinets, divided into sections each consisting of 2–3 clarinetists playing the same part. There is almost always an E♭ clarinet part and a bass clarinet part, usually doubled. Alto, contra-alto, and contrabass clarinets are sometimes used as well, and ''very'' rarely a piccolo A♭ clarinet.


The cluster of keys at the bottom of the upper joint (protruding slightly beyond the cork of the joint) are known as the trill keys and are operated by the right hand.{{sfn|Pinksterboer|2001|pp=5–6}} The entire weight of the smaller clarinets is supported by the right thumb behind the lower joint on what is called the [[thumb rest]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Horvath |first=Janet |date=September 2001 |title=An orchestra musician's perspective on 20 years of performing arts medicine |journal=Medical Problems of Performing Artists |volume=16 |issue=3 |page=102 |doi=10.21091/mppa.2001.3018 }}</ref> Larger clarinets are supported with a neck strap or a floor peg.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Corley |first=Paula |date=June 2020 |title=Not like the others: playing strategies for A, E-flat and bass clarinet |url=https://clarinet.org/pedagogy-corner-not-like-others-playing-strategies-e-flat-bass-clarinet/ |journal=The Clarinet |volume=47 |issue=3}}</ref>
===Jazz===
[[Image:DrMichaelWhiteStAug.jpg|right|thumb|[[Michael White (clarinetist)|Dr Michael White]] (front right) plays clarinet at a jazz funeral in Treme, [[New Orleans, Louisiana]].]]


Below the main body is a flared end known as the bell. The bell does not amplify the sound but improves the uniformity of the instrument's tone for the lowest notes in each register.<ref name="physics"/> For the other notes, the sound is produced almost entirely at the tone holes, and the bell is irrelevant.<ref name="physics"/> On [[Basset-horn|basset horns]] and larger clarinets, the bell curves up and forward and is usually made of metal.{{Sfn|Dobrée|1995}}
The clarinet was a central instrument in early jazz starting in the 1910s and remaining popular in the United States through the [[big band]] era into the 1940s. [[Larry Shields]], [[Ted Lewis (musician)|Ted Lewis]], [[Jimmie Noone]] and [[Sidney Bechet]] were influential in early jazz. The B♭ soprano was the most common instrument, but a few early jazz musicians such as [[Louis Nelson Deslile]] and [[Alcide Nunez]] preferred the C soprano, and many New Orleans jazz brass bands have used E♭ soprano.


In the 1930s, some clarinets were manufactured with (filled) plateau keys,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pagliaro |first1=Michael J. |title=The clarinet, how it works: a practical guide to clarinet ownership |date=2024 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-5381-9082-1}}</ref> but they were expensive and had issues with sound quality. They were designed for use in cold weather (allowing gloves to be worn), for saxophone or flute players, and for players with certain physical requirements.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plateau Mechanism - Covered holes |url=https://www.clarinet.dk/content/show_content.php?id=101&cont=eu&lang=en&instr=cla |website=clarinet.dk |publisher=Lohff & Pfeiffer |access-date=3 January 2025}}</ref>
Swing clarinetists such as [[Benny Goodman]], [[Artie Shaw]], and [[Woody Herman]] led successful and [[popular music|popular]] big bands and smaller groups from the 1930s onward. With the decline of the big bands' popularity in the late 1940s, the clarinet faded from its prominent position in jazz, though a few players ([[Buddy DeFranco]], [[Eric Dolphy]], [[Jimmy Giuffre]], [[Perry Robinson]], [[Theo Jorgensmann]] and others) used clarinet in [[bebop]] and [[free jazz]].


==History==
During the 1950s and 1960s, Britain underwent a surge in the popularity of [[Trad jazz|traditional jazz]]. During this period, a British clarinetist named [[Acker Bilk]] became popular, founding his own ensemble in 1956. Bilk had a string of successful records including the most popular, [[Stranger on the Shore]], a tune now synonymous with Acker Bilk himself.
[[File:Applicatio auf das Clarinett (1).jpg|thumb|left|Two-key clarinet with fingering chart, from [[Museum musicum theoreticalo practicum]], 1732]]
[[File:Diderot clarinette.jpg|thumb|Denner clarinet]]
[[File:Stadler-Klarinette mit Replica.jpg|thumb|Sketch of the [[basset clarinet]] used by [[Anton Stadler]] since 1789 and a replica]]
The clarinet has its roots in early [[single-reed instrument]]s used in [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Ancient Egypt]].{{Sfn|Lawson|1995a}} The modern clarinet developed from a [[Baroque music|Baroque]] instrument called the [[chalumeau]]. This instrument was similar to a [[Recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]], but with a [[Single-reed instrument|single-reed]] mouthpiece and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a [[register key]], it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, and a written pitch range from F<sub>3</sub> to G<sub>4</sub>. At this time, contrary to modern practice, the reed was placed in contact with the upper lip.<ref name="karp">{{cite journal |last=Karp |first=Cary |year=1986 |title=The early history of the clarinet and chalumeau |journal=Early Music |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=545–551 |doi=10.1093/earlyj/14.4.545}}</ref>
Around the beginning of the 18th century the German instrument maker [[Johann Christoph Denner]] (or possibly his son Jacob Denner)<ref name="Hoeprich">{{cite journal |last1=Hoeprich |first1=T Eric |year=1981 |title=A three-key clarinet by J.C. Denner |url=http://woodwindsresourcefile.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/0/3/14034613/a_three-key_clarinet.pdf |journal=The Galpin Society Journal |volume=34 |jstor=841468 |pages=21–32 |doi=10.2307/841468 }}</ref> equipped a chalumeau in the alto register{{Sfn|Pino|1998|pp=198–199}} with two keys, one of which enabled access to a higher register. This second register did not begin an octave above the first, as with other woodwind instruments, but started an octave and a perfect fifth higher than the first. A second key, at the top, extended the range of the first register to A<sub>4</sub> and, together with the register key, to B{{music|flat}}<sub>4</sub>. Later, Denner lengthened the bell and provided it with a third key to extend the pitch range down to E<sub>3</sub>.<ref name="Hoeprich"/>


After Denner's innovations, other makers added keys to improve [[Musical tuning|tuning]] and facilitate fingerings<ref name="karp" /> and the chalumeau fell into disuse. The clarinet of the [[Classical period (music)|Classical period]], as used by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], typically had five keys.{{Sfn|Shackleton|1995}} Mozart suggested extending the clarinet downwards by four semitones to C{{Sub|3}}, which resulted in the [[basset clarinet]] that was about {{convert|18|cm}} longer, made first by Theodor Lotz.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Christian|last=Fastl|date=21 June 2021| url=https://www.musiklexikon.ac.at/ml/musik_L/Lotz_Theodor.xml|title=Theodor Lotz|encyclopedia=Austrian Music Encyclopaedia}}</ref> In 1791 Mozart composed the [[Clarinet Concerto (Mozart)|Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major]] for this instrument, with passages ranging down to C<sub>3</sub>.<ref name="hacker">{{cite journal |author=Hacker, Alan |title=Mozart and the basset clarinet |journal=The Musical Times |volume=110 |issue=1514 |date=April 1969 |pages=359–362 |doi=10.2307/951470 |jstor=951470}}</ref> By the time of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] ({{Circa|1780–1820}}), the clarinet was a fixed member in the orchestra.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=204}}
Back in the U.S., the instrument has seen something of a resurgence since the 1980s, with [[Eddie Daniels]], [[Don Byron]], and others playing the clarinet in more contemporary contexts. The instrument remains common in [[Dixieland]] music; [[Pete Fountain]] is one of the best known performers in this genre. [[Bob Wilber]], active since the 1950s, is a more eclectic jazz clarinetist, playing in a number of classic jazz styles.


The number of keys was limited because their felt pads did not seal tightly. [[Baltic_Germans|Baltic-German]] clarinetist and master clarinet maker [[Iwan Müller]] remedied this by countersinking the tone holes for the keys and covering the pads with soft leather.<ref name="bray">{{cite web |url=http://hem.passagen.se/eriahl/history.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030202235101/http://hem.passagen.se/eriahl/history.htm |archive-date=2 February 2003 |title=The clarinet history |last=Bray |first=Erin |date=16 November 2004 |work=The Clarinet Family |accessdate=5 January 2023}}</ref> These leather pads sealed the holes better than felt, making it possible to equip the instrument with considerably more keys. In 1812 Müller presented a clarinet with seven finger holes and thirteen keys, which he called "clarinet omnitonic" since it was capable of playing in all keys. It was no longer necessary to use differently tuned clarinets for a different keys.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}} Müller is also considered the inventor of the metal [[Ligature (instrument)|ligature]] and the [[thumb rest]].<ref name="Northern Illinois University">{{cite web | title=Development of the Clarinet |first= Gregory|last= Barrett |date=1999| publisher=Northern Illinois University | url=https://www.niu.edu/gbarrett/resources/development.shtml | accessdate=2 January 2023}}</ref> During this period the typical embouchure also changed, orienting the mouthpiece with the reed facing downward. This was first recommended in 1782 and became standard by the 1830s.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rice|first=Albert|title=Clarinet Fingering Charts, 1732–1816|journal=[[The Galpin Society Journal]]|doi=10.2307/841137|volume=37|date=March 1984|pages=16–41}}</ref>
Filmmaker [[Woody Allen]] is a notable jazz clarinet enthusiast, and performs New Orleans-style jazz regularly with his quartet in New York.


In the late 1830s,<ref name="ridley"/> German flute maker [[Theobald Böhm]] invented a [[Boehm system|ring and axle key system]] for the flute. This key system was first used on the clarinet between 1839 and 1843 by French clarinetist [[Hyacinthe Klosé]] in collaboration with instrument maker [[Louis Auguste Buffet]]. Their design introduced needle springs for the axles, and the ring keys simplified some complicated fingering patterns. The inventors called this the [[Boehm system (clarinet)|Boehm clarinet]], although Böhm was not involved in its development and the system differed from the one used on the flute.<ref name="ridley" />{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}} Other key systems have been developed, many built around modifications to the basic Boehm system, including the Full Boehm, [[Mazzeo system|Mazzeo]], McIntyre,{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=68}} the Benade NX,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Benade |first=Arthur H. |author2=Keefe, Douglas H.|title=The physics of a new clarinet design |journal=The Galpin Society Journal |volume=49 |date=March 1996 |pages=113–142 |doi=10.2307/842396 |jstor=842396}}</ref> and the [[Reform Boehm system (clarinet)|Reform Boehm system]], which combined Boehm-system keywork with a German mouthpiece and bore.{{Sfn|Hoeprich|2008|pp=5, 211}}
=== Rock and pop ===
In Rock and Pop music, the clarinet is used very rarely. But exceptions occur even here:


The [[Albert system|Albert clarinet]] was developed by [[Eugène Albert]] in 1848. This model was based on the Müller clarinet with some changes to keywork, and was also known as the "simple system".{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=183}} It included a "spectacle key" patented by [[Adolphe Sax]] and rollers to improve little-finger movement. After 1861, a "patent C sharp" key developed by Joseph Tyler was added to other clarinet models.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116191044/http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ugw/ugwf1j.html|accessdate=8 January 2023|publisher=University of Edinburgh|title=The Simple System}}</ref> Improved versions of Albert clarinets were built in Belgium and France for export to the UK and the US.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=184}}
[[The Beatles]] used a clarinet trio in [[Dixieland jazz]] style as backing for their song [[When I'm Sixty-Four]] on their [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]] album.


Around 1860, clarinettist [[Carl Baermann]] and instrument maker Georg Ottensteiner developed the patented Baermann/Ottensteiner clarinet. This instrument had new connecting levers, allowing multiple fingering options to operate some of the pads.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=National Music Museum |title=Clarinets in C, B-flat, and A by Georg Ottensteiner, Munich, ca. 1860–1879 |url=http://collections.nmmusd.org/Clarinets/Ottensteiner/Ottensteinerclarinets.html |date=10 March 2016|archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182930/http://collections.nmmusd.org/Clarinets/Ottensteiner/Ottensteinerclarinets.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Brahms clarinetist [[Richard Mühlfeld]] used this clarinet,<ref name="ste">{{cite web|title=Mühlfeld's Clarinet|url=http://www.sfoxclarinets.com/basycl_art.htm|accessdate=5 January 2023|first=Stephen|last= Fox}}</ref> and the American clarinet soloist [[Charles Neidich]] has used a Baermann-Ottensteiner instrument for playing compositions by Brahms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sonic.de/index.php?eID=dumpFile&t=f&f=5561&token=46278529791fad3ff63ec66b6c6bac27de32fbcf |first=Hans Dieter |last=Grünefeld |title=Mirakel klassische Musik|language=de|work=Sonic|accessdate=6 January 2023}}</ref>
[[John Helliwell]] with the band [[Supertramp]] sometimes uses the clarinet for an unusual sound.


In the early 20th century, the German clarinetist and clarinet maker {{ill|Oskar Oehler|de}} presented a clarinet using similar fingerings to the Baermann instrument, with significantly more toneholes than the Böhm model.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}} The new clarinet was called the [[Oehler system]] clarinet or German clarinet, while the Böhm clarinet has since been called the French clarinet.<ref name=systems>{{cite magazine|url=https://clarinet.org/collaboration-with-boehm-and-oehler-clarinets/|magazine=The Clarinet|date=4 March 2021|last=Harrie|first=Jessica|volume=48|issue=2|title=Collaboration with Boehm and Oehler clarinets}}</ref> The French clarinet differs from the German not only in fingering but also in sound. [[Richard Strauss]] noted that "French clarinets have a flat, nasal tone, while German ones approximate the singing voice".<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Hoeprich|2008|p=5}}</ref> Among modern instruments the difference is smaller, although intonation differences persist.<ref name=systems/> The use of Oehler clarinets has continued in German and Austrian orchestras.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}}<ref>{{cite web|title=The Structure of the Clarinet &#91;Experiment&#93;, The Boehm system and the Oehler system|publisher=Yamaha|url=https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/clarinet/mechanism/mechanism003.html|accessdate=8 December 2022}}</ref>
===Other genres===
Clarinets also feature prominently in much [[Klezmer]] music, which requires a very distinctive style of playing. This folk genre makes much use of quarter-tones, making a different embouchure (mouth position) necessary. Some klezmer musicians prefer Albert system clarinets.


Today the Boehm system is standard everywhere except in Germany and Austria, where the Oehler clarinet is still used.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=212}} Some contemporary Dixieland players continue to use Albert system clarinets.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}}{{sfn|Brown|1995}} The Reform Boehm system is also popular in the Netherlands.{{sfn|Hoeprich|2008|p=211}}
The popular [[Brazil]]ian music style [[choro]] often uses a clarinet. Prominent contemporary players include [[Paquito D'Rivera]].


{{Quote box|quote=
The clarinet is prominent in Bulgarian wedding music, an offshoot of Roma/Romani traditional music. [[Ivo Papazov]] is a well-known clarinetist in this genre.
<div style="background:#e3e3e3">
<gallery mode="packed" class="float-center" heights="600" perrow="11" caption="Clarinets with different arrangements of keys and holes" >
clarinet 4 key anon Bate (2).jpg|Early Clarinet with 4 keys ({{Circa|1760}}).
C-klarinette-lauriol-bordeaux.jpg|Iwan Müller clarinet with 13 keys and leather pads, developed in 1809.
Albert-Klarinette.jpg|Albert clarinet designed {{Circa|1850}} by Eugène Albert, intermediate between the Müller and Oehler clarinets.
Baermann-System.jpg|Baermann clarinet, {{Circa|1870}}, intermediate between the Müller and Oehler clarinets.
Leitner+Kraus 320 b.jpg|Oehler clarinet with a cover on the middle tone hole of the lower joint, dev. 1905 by Oscar Oehler, and with bell mechanism added later to improve deep E and F
Yamaha Clarinet YCL-457II-22 (8K).jpg|Standard German clarinet without cover or bell mechanism.
BC E13 .jpg|French Clarinet (Original Boehm with 17 keys and 6 rings). Developed {{Circa|1843}} by Hyacinthe Klosé and Louis Auguste Buffet.
Patricola CL4.jpg|Full Boehm clarinet with 21 keys and 7 rings developed {{Circa|1870}}.
Wurlitzer RefBoehm 185.jpg|Reform Boehm clarinet with 19 keys and 7 rings, developed {{Circa|1949}} by [[:de:Fritz Wurlitzer|Fritz Wurlitzer]].
</gallery> </div>
|width=90%|align=center}}
{{clear}}


==Usage and repertoire==
In Greece clarinet (usually referred to as "κλαρίνο" - "clarino") is closely related to the traditional music of the country, especially central and north-west Greece ([[Thessaly]] and [[Epirus]]). Clarinet in Greece has a unique sound, due to the integration of it with [[zurna]], which was the dominant (double-reed) woodwind before clarinet arrived to the country. It is such a famous instrument that many people there regard clarinet as Greece-made instrument. Traditional dancing music, wedding music and laments always include clarinet soloist and quite often improvisations. [[Petroloukas Chalkias]] is a famous clarinetist in this genre.


===Groups of clarinets===
===Use of multiple clarinets===
Groups of clarinets playing together have become increasingly popular among clarinet enthusiasts in recent years. Common forms are:
*[[Clarinet choir]], which features a large number of clarinets playing together, usually involves a range of different members of the clarinet family (see [[clarinet#Extended family of clarinets|Extended family of clarinets]]). The homogeneity of tone across the different members of the clarinet family produces an effect with some similarities to a human [[choir]].
*Clarinet quartet, usually three B♭ sopranos and one B♭ bass, but also sometimes four B♭ sopranos.


The modern orchestral standard of using soprano clarinets in B{{music|flat}} and A has to do partly with the history of the instrument and partly with acoustics, aesthetics, and economics. Before about 1800, due to the lack of airtight pads, practical woodwinds could have only a few keys to control accidentals (notes outside their diatonic home scales).<ref name="bray"/> The low (chalumeau) register of the clarinet spans a twelfth (an octave plus a perfect fifth) before overblowing, so the clarinet needs keys/holes to produce all nineteen notes in this range. This involves more keywork than on instruments that "overblow" at the octave—[[oboe]]s, flutes, [[bassoon]]s, and saxophones need only twelve notes before overblowing. Since clarinets with few keys cannot play chromatically, they are limited to playing in closely related keys.<ref name="longyear" /> For example, an eighteenth-century clarinet in C could play music in F, C, and G (and their relative minors) with good intonation, but with progressive difficulty and poorer intonation as the key moved away from this range.<ref name="longyear">{{cite journal |last1=Longyear |first1=RM |year=1983 |title=Clarinet sonorities in early Romantic music |jstor=962035 |url=http://jeremywoodwindsresourcefile.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/8/2/23826031/clarinet_sonorities_in_early_romantic_music.pdf |journal=The Musical Times |volume=124 |issue=1682 |pages=224–226 |doi=10.2307/962035 }}</ref> With the advent of airtight pads and improved key technology, more keys were added to woodwinds and the need for clarinets in multiple keys was reduced.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}} The use of instruments in C, B{{music|flat}}, and A persisted, with each used as specified by the composer.{{sfn|Lawson|1995c}}
Clarinet choirs and quartets often play arrangements of both classical and popular music, in addition to a body of literature specially written for a combination of clarinets by composers such as [[Arnold Cooke]], [[Alfred Uhl]], [[Lucien Caillet]] and [[Václav Nelhýbel]].


The lower-pitched clarinets sound "mellower" (less bright), and the C clarinet—the highest and brightest sounding of these three—fell out of favor as the other two could cover its range and their sound was considered better.<ref name="longyear"/> While the clarinet in C began to fall out of general use around 1850, some composers continued to write C parts, e.g., [[Georges Bizet|Bizet]]'s [[Symphony in C (Bizet)|Symphony in C]] (1855), [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s [[Symphony No. 2 (Tchaikovsky)|Symphony No. 2]] (1872), [[Bedřich Smetana|Smetana]]'s overture to ''[[The Bartered Bride]]'' (1866) and ''[[Má vlast|Má Vlast]]'' (1874), [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák's]] ''[[Slavonic Dances|Slavonic Dance]]'' Op. 46, No. 1 (1878), [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]]' [[Symphony No. 4 (Brahms)|Symphony No.&nbsp;4]] (1885), [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler's]] [[Symphony No. 6 (Mahler)|Symphony No. 6]] (1906), and [[Richard Strauss|Strauss]]' ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' (1911).{{sfn|Lawson|1995c}}
==Extended family of clarinets==
: ''Main article: [[Clarinet family]]''
There is a [[family (musical instruments)|family]] of many differently-pitched [[clarinet family|clarinet types]], some of which are very rare. The following are the most important sizes:
*[[Piccolo clarinet]] in A♭.
*[[Soprano clarinet]]s in [[E-flat clarinet|E♭]], D, C, B♭, A and G.
*[[Basset clarinet]] in A.
*[[Basset-horn|Basset horn]] in F.
*[[Alto clarinet]] in E♭.
*[[Bass clarinet]] in B♭.
*[[Contra-alto clarinet]] in EE♭.
*[[Contrabass clarinet]] in BB♭.


While technical improvements and an equal-tempered scale reduced the need for two clarinets, the technical difficulty of playing in remote keys persisted, and the A has remained a standard orchestral instrument. By the late 19th century the orchestral clarinet repertoire contained so much music for clarinet in A that it has remained in use.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}}
Experimental EEE♭ and BBB♭ [[Subcontrabass clarinet|Octocontra-alto and Octocontrabass]] clarinets have also been built.


===Classical music===
In the early 20<sup>th</sup> century, Clarinets in B natural were often used at ice skating rinks. The idea was that the low temperatures would make the clarinet so flat that it would effectively become a B♭ clarinet.


The orchestra frequently includes two clarinetists, each usually equipped with a B{{music|flat}} and an A clarinet, and clarinet parts commonly alternate between the instruments.{{sfn|Lawson|1995b}} In the 20th century, [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Richard Strauss]], and [[Gustav Mahler]] employed many different clarinets, including the E{{music|flat}} or D soprano clarinets, [[Basset-horn|basset horn]], [[bass clarinet]], and/or [[contrabass clarinet]]. The practice of using different clarinets to achieve tonal variety was common in [[20th-century classical music]].{{sfn|Tschaikov|1995}}{{sfn|Harris|1995a}}{{sfn|Lawson|1995b}}
Clarinets other than the standard B♭ and A soprano clarinets are sometimes known as ''harmony clarinets''.


The E{{music|flat}} clarinet, B{{music|flat}} clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, and contra-alto/contrabass clarinet are commonly used in [[concert band]]s, which generally have multiple B{{music|flat}} clarinets; there are commonly three or even four B{{music|flat}} clarinet parts with two to three players per part.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=385}}
There have also been soprano clarinets in C, A, and B♭ with curved barrels and bells marketed under the names [[Saxonette]], Claribel, and Clariphon.


{{listen|filename=Contrabass Clarinet - Fragment from 'Late Spring'.ogg|title=Tudor Tulok – Fragment from 'Late Spring'|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}
==History==<!-- This section is linked from [[Clarinet]] -->
[[Image:Clarinet 4 key anon Bate.jpg|right|thumb|100px|4-key boxwood clarinet, ca. 1760.]]


The clarinet is widely used as a solo instrument. The clarinet evolved later than other orchestral woodwind instruments, leaving solo repertoire from the [[Classical music era|Classical]] period onward, but few works from the [[Baroque music|Baroque]] era. Many [[clarinet concerto]]s and [[clarinet sonata]]s have been written to showcase the instrument, for example those by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] and [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]].{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}}
The clarinet developed from a [[Baroque music|Baroque]] instrument called the [[chalumeau]]. This instrument was similar to a [[recorder]], but with a single reed mouthpiece similar to that of the modern clarinet and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a register key, it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, plus two keys for its two highest notes.


Many works of [[chamber music]] have been written for the clarinet. Common combinations are:
Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet. This development is usually attributed to a German instrument maker named [[Johann Christoph Denner]], though some have suggested his son Jacob Denner was the inventor. This instrument played well in the middle register with a loud, strident tone, so it was given the name ''clarinetto'' meaning "little trumpet" (from ''clarino'' + ''-etto''). Early clarinets did not play well in the lower register, so chalumeaux continued to be made to play the low notes and these notes became known as the ''chalumeau register''. As clarinets improved, the chalumeau fell into disuse.
* Clarinet and piano.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Burnet C. |last=Tuthill |title=Sonatas for clarinet and piano: annotated listings |journal=Journal of Research in Music Education |volume=20 |issue=3 |year=1972 |pages=308–328 |jstor=3343885 |doi=10.2307/3343885}}</ref>
* [[Clarinet trio]]: clarinet, piano, and another instrument (for example, a [[string instrument]]).{{sfn|Rees-Davies|1995}}
* [[Clarinet choir|Clarinet quartet]]: three B{{music|flat}} clarinets and [[bass clarinet]]; two B{{music|flat}} clarinets, [[alto clarinet]], and bass; and other possibilities such as the use of a [[basset horn]], especially in European classical works.<ref name=choir>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/3343790 |last=Weerts |first=Richard K. |date=Autumn 1964 |title=The clarinet choir |journal=Journal of Research in Music Education |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=227–230 |jstor=3343790 }}</ref>{{sfn|Dobrée|1995}}
* [[Clarinet quintet]]: a clarinet plus a [[string quartet]] or, in more contemporary music, a configuration of five clarinets.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/jrma/42.1.89 |last=Street |first=Oscar W. |title=The clarinet and its music |journal=Journal of the Royal Musical Association |year=1915 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=89–115 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1431795 }}</ref>{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=28}}
* [[Wind quintet]]: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and [[French horn|horn]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2013 |title=Wind quintet |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Music |editor-last1=Kennedy |editor-first1=Joyce |edition=Sixth |isbn=978-0-1917-4451-8 |editor-last2=Kennedy |editor-first2=Michael |editor-last3=Rutherford-Johnson |editor-first3=Tim}}</ref>
Groups of clarinets playing together have become increasingly popular among clarinet enthusiasts in recent years. Common forms are:
* [[Clarinet choir]]: This ensemble contains many clarinets playing together, usually including several members of the clarinet family. The homogeneity of tone across the different members of the clarinet family produces an effect with some similarities to a human [[choir]].<ref name="choir2">{{cite journal |last=Weerts |first=Richard K. |date=Autumn 1964 |title=The clarinet choir |journal=Journal of Research in Music Education |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=227–230 |doi=10.2307/3343790 |jstor=3343790}}</ref>
* Clarinet quartet: usually three B{{music|flat}} sopranos and one B{{music|flat}} bass, or two B{{music|flat}}, an E{{music|flat}} alto clarinet, and a B{{music|flat}} bass clarinet, or sometimes four B{{music|flat}} sopranos.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Seay |first=Albert E. |date=September–October 1948 |title=Modern composers and the wind ensemble |journal=Music Educators Journal |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=27–28 |doi=10.2307/3386973 |jstor=3386973 |doi-access=}}</ref>


===Jazz===
The original Denner clarinets had two keys, and could play a [[chromatic scale]], but various makers added more keys to get improved notes, easier fingerings, and a slightly larger range. The classical clarinet of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart's]] day typically had eight finger holes and five keys.
[[File:Pete Fountain 1962.JPG|thumb|Pete Fountain|upright]]


The clarinet was a central instrument in jazz, beginning with early jazz players in the 1910s. It remained a signature instrument of the genre through much of the [[big band]] era into the 1940s. American players [[Alphonse Picou]], [[Larry Shields]], [[Jimmie Noone]], [[Johnny Dodds]], and [[Sidney Bechet]] were all prominent early jazz clarinet players.{{sfn|Brown|1995}} Swing performers such as [[Benny Goodman]] and [[Artie Shaw]] rose to prominence in the late 1930s.{{sfn|Brown|1995}}
Clarinets were soon accepted into orchestras. Later models had a mellower tone than the originals. Mozart (d. 1791) liked the sound of the clarinet (he considered its tone the closest in quality to the human voice) and wrote much music for it, and by the time of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] (c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra.

Beginning in the 1940s, the clarinet faded from its prominent position in jazz.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=222}}{{sfn|Brown|1995}} By that time, an interest in [[Dixieland]], a revival of traditional New Orleans jazz, had begun. [[Pete Fountain]] was one of the best known performers in this genre.{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=222}}{{sfn|Suhor|2001|p=150}} The clarinet's place in the jazz ensemble was usurped by the saxophone, which projects a more powerful sound and uses a less complicated fingering system.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/05/arts/john-carter-s-case-for-the-clarinet.html |title=John Carter's case for the clarinet |first=Robert |last=Palmer |date=5 July 1981 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=1 April 2010 |archive-date=30 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930014315/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/05/arts/john-carter-s-case-for-the-clarinet.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The clarinet did not entirely disappear from jazz—prominent players since the 1950s include [[Stan Hasselgård]], [[Jimmy Giuffre]], [[Eric Dolphy]] (on bass clarinet), [[Perry Robinson]], and [[John Carter (jazz musician)|John Carter]]. In the US, the prominent players on the instrument since the 1980s have included [[Eddie Daniels]], [[Don Byron]], [[Marty Ehrlich]], [[Ken Peplowski]], and others playing in both traditional and contemporary styles.{{Sfn|Brown|1995}}

===Other genres===
The clarinet is uncommon, but not unheard of, in rock music. [[Jerry Martini]] played clarinet on [[Sly and the Family Stone]]'s 1968 hit, "[[Dance to the Music (song)|Dance to the Music]]".<ref>{{cite news|website=Kamloops This Week|title=Founding the Family Stone|url=https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/entertainment/founding-the-family-stone-4373236|accessdate=24 October 2022|date=3 August 2018|last=Bass|first=Dale}}</ref> [[The Beatles]] included a trio of clarinets in "[[When I'm Sixty-Four]]" from their ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Reeks |first=John |date=June 2018 |title=Rock 'n' roll clarinets?! The Beatles' use of clarinets on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |url=https://clarinet.org/rock-n-roll-clarinets-the-beatles-use-of-clarinets-on-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band/ |journal=The Clarinet |volume=45 |issue=3 }}</ref> A clarinet is prominently featured in what a ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reviewer termed a "Benny Goodman-flavored clarinet solo" in "[[Breakfast in America (song)|Breakfast in America]]", the title song from the [[Supertramp]] [[Breakfast in America|album of the same name]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Farrell |first=David |date=31 March 1979 |title=Closeup: Supertramp—Breakfast In America |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710195001/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-03-31.pdf |archivedate=10 July 2020 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=166}}</ref>


[[File:Turkish Clarinet.jpg|thumb|Turkish clarinet]]
The next major development in the history of clarinet was the invention of the modern pad. Early clarinets covered the tone holes with felt pads. Because these leaked air, the number of pads had to be kept to a minimum, so the clarinet was severely restricted in what notes could be played with a good tone. In 1812, [[Ivan Mueller]], a Russian-born clarinetist and inventor, developed a new type of pad which was covered in leather or fish bladder. This was completely airtight, so the number of keys could be increased enormously. He designed a new type of clarinet with seven finger holes and thirteen keys. This allowed the clarinet to play in any key with near equal ease. Over the course of the 19th century, many enhancements were made to Mueller's clarinet, such as the Albert system and the Baermann system, all keeping the same basic design. The Mueller clarinet and its derivatives were popular throughout the world.
Clarinets feature prominently in [[klezmer]] music, which employs a distinctive style of playing.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/768201 |last=Slobin |first=Mark |year=1984 |title=Klezmer music: an American ethnic genre |journal=[[Yearbook for Traditional Music]] |volume=16 |pages=34–41 |jstor=768201 }}</ref> The popular Brazilian music style of [[choro]] uses the clarinet,{{sfn|Shahriari|2015|p=89}} as does Albanian ''saze'' and Greek ''kompania'' folk music,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Brandl|first=Rudolf|title=The 'Yiftoi' and the music of Greece: role and function|journal=The World of Music|volume=38|issue=1|pages=7–32|jstor=41699070|year=1996}}</ref> and [[Bulgarian wedding music]].{{sfn|Starr|2021}} In [[Turkish folk music]], the Albert system clarinet in G is often used, commonly called a "Turkish clarinet".{{sfn|Starr|2021}}{{sfn|Değirmenci|2013|page=76}}


== Clarinet family ==
The final development in the modern design of the clarinet used in most of the world today was introduced by [[Hyacinthe Klosé]] in 1839. He devised a different arrangement of keys and finger holes which allow simpler fingering. It was inspired by the [[Boehm System]] developed by [[Theobald Boehm]], a flute maker who had invented the system for flutes. Klosé was so impressed by Boehm's invention that he named his own system for clarinets the [[Boehm system (clarinet)|Boehm system]], although it is different from the one used on flutes. This new system was slow to catch on because it meant the player had to relearn how to play the instrument. To ease this transition, Klose wrote a series of exercises for the clarinet, designed to teach his fingering system. Gradually, however, it became the standard and today the Boehm system is used everywhere in the world except Germany and Austria. These countries still use a direct descendant of the Mueller clarinet known as the [[Oehler system]] clarinet. Also, some contemporary Dixieland and Klezmer players continue to use [[Albert system]] clarinets, as the simpler fingering system can allow for easier slurring of notes. At one time the reed was held on using string, but now the practice exists primarily in Germany and Austria, where the tone is preferred over that produced with the ligatures that are more popular in the rest of the world.
{{Main|Clarinet family}}
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Name !! Key !! Commentary !! Range<br>(sounding)
|-
| [[A-flat clarinet|A{{Flat}} clarinet]] (Piccolo clarinet in A{{music|flat}})
| A{{music|flat}}
| This instrument is rare, although it was once frequently used in wind ensembles, especially in Spain and Italy.{{sfn|Tschaikov|1995}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
\time 2/4
\ottava #0 c4 \glissando \ottava #1 es'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[E-flat clarinet|E{{music|b}} clarinet]] (Sopranino or piccolo clarinet in E{{music|flat}})
| E{{music|flat}}
| The E{{music|b}} clarinet has a characteristic "hard and biting" tone and is used in the orchestra when a brighter, or sometimes more comical, sound is called for.{{sfn|Tschaikov|1995}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
\time 2/4
\ottava #0 g4 \glissando b'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[D clarinet]] (Sopranino or piccolo clarinet in D)
| D
| This was largely replaced by the F and later the E{{Music|flat}} clarinet. While a few early pieces were written for it, its repertoire is now very limited in Western music. [[Stravinsky]] included both the D and E{{Music|flat}} clarinets in his instrumentation for ''[[The Rite of Spring]]''.{{sfn|Tschaikov|1995}}
|{{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #0 fis4 \glissando ais'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Soprano clarinet|C clarinet]] (Soprano clarinet in C)
| C
| This clarinet was very common in the instrument's earliest period but its use dwindled, and by the end of the 1920s it had become practically obsolete. From the time of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], many composers began to prefer the mellower lower-pitched instruments, and the timbre of the C instrument may have been considered too bright.{{sfn|Lawson|1995c}} To avoid having to carry an extra instrument that required another reed and mouthpiece, orchestral players preferred to play parts for this instrument on B{{music|flat}} clarinets, transposing up a tone.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=218}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #0 e4 \glissando f'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Clarinet family|B{{music|flat}} clarinet]] (Soprano clarinet in B{{music|flat}})
| [[B♭ (musical note)|B♭]]
| The B{{music|flat}} clarinet is the most common type.{{sfn|Lawson|1995b}} Usually, the term "clarinet" on its own refers to this instrument.{{Sfn|Raasakka|2010|p=53}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #0 d4 \glissando f'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Clarinet family|A clarinet]] (Soprano clarinet in A)
| A
| The A clarinet is frequently used in orchestral and chamber music, especially of the nineteenth century.{{sfn|Page et al.|2015}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #0 des4 \glissando e'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Basset clarinet]]
| A
| The basset clarinet is a clarinet in A with keywork that extends to a written low C. There are some examples of instruments with a low B.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfoxclarinets.com/Basset_clarinet.html|title=Basset clarinet and basset conversion|last=Fox|first=Stephen|website=Stephen Fox Clarinets|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223153642/http://www.sfoxclarinets.com/Basset_clarinet.html|archivedate=23 December 2018}}</ref> It is used primarily to play Classical-era music.{{sfn|Shackleton|1995}} Mozart's [[Clarinet Concerto (Mozart)|Clarinet Concerto]] was written for this instrument. Basset clarinets in C and B{{music|b}} also exist.{{sfn|Shackleton|Rice|2015c}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #-1 gis4 \glissando \ottava #0 e''''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Basset horn]]
| F
| Similar in appearance to the alto, the basset horn is instead pitched in F, with a narrower bore on most models. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was originally sketched out as a concerto for basset horn in G. Little material for this instrument has been published.{{sfn|Dobrée|1995}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #-1 f4 \glissando \ottava #0 d'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Alto clarinet]]
| E{{music|flat}}
| Sometimes referred to as the tenor clarinet in Europe, the alto clarinet is used in military and concert bands and occasionally, if rarely, in orchestras.{{Sfn|Baines|1991|p=129}}{{sfn|Pino|1998|p=219}}{{sfn|Shackleton|Rice|2015a}} The alto clarinet in F was used in military bands during the early 19th century and was a favorite instrument of [[Iwan Müller]]. It fell out of use and, if called for, is commonly substituted with the basset horn.{{sfn|Rice|2009|p=84}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\ottava #-1 g4 \glissando \ottava #0 g'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Bass clarinet]]
| B{{music|flat}}
| Developed in the late 18th century, the bass clarinet began featuring in orchestral music in the 1830s after its redesign by [[Adolphe Sax]].{{sfn|Shackleton|Rice|2015b}} It has since become a mainstay of the modern orchestra.{{sfn|Harris|1995a}} It is also used in concert bands and enjoys (along with the B{{Music|flat}} clarinet) a considerable role in jazz, especially through jazz musician [[Eric Dolphy]].{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=385}}{{sfn|Brown|1995}} The bass clarinet in A, which had a vogue among certain composers from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, is now so rare as to usually be considered obsolete.{{Sfn|Pino|1998|p=219}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\clef bass
\ottava #0 des,4 \glissando \ottava #1 d'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Contra-alto clarinet|E{{music|flat}} contrabass clarinet]] (also called Contra-alto or Contralto clarinet)
| EE{{music|flat}}
| This instrument is used in wind ensembles and occasionally in cinematic scores.{{sfn|Harris|1995a}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\clef bass
\ottava #0 g,4 \glissando g'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
| [[Contrabass clarinet]] (also called double-bass clarinet)
| BB{{music|flat}}
| The BB{{music|flat}} contrabass is used in clarinet ensembles, concert bands, and sometimes in orchestras.{{sfn|Harris|1995a}} [[Arnold Schoenberg]] calls for a contrabass clarinet in A in his ''[[Five Pieces for Orchestra]]'', but no such instrument ever existed.{{sfn|Raasakka|2010|p=82}}
| {{center|<score lang="lilypond">
{
\override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
\set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c {
\time 2/4
\clef bass
\ottava #-1 b,,4 \glissando \ottava #0 g'''
}
}
</score>}}
|-
|[[Subcontrabass clarinet]] (also called octocontralto clarinet or octocontrabass clarinet)
|EEE{{music|flat}} or BBB{{music|flat}}
|The subcontrabass clarinet is a largely experimental instrument with little repertoire. Three versions in EEE♭ (an octave below the contra-alto clarinet) were made, and a version in BBB{{Flat}} (an octave below the contrabass clarinet) was built by [[Leblanc (musical instrument manufacturer)|Leblanc]] in 1939.{{Sfn|Ellsworth|2015|p=79}}{{Sfn|Baines|1991|p=131}}
|
|}
[[File:10 clarinets.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Clarinets in A-flat, E-flat and B-flat, [[basset clarinet]] in A, [[alto clarinet]] range to low E{{music|flat}}, [[basset horn]], [[bass clarinet]] range to low E{{music|flat}}, bass clarinet range to low C, [[contra alto clarinet]] and [[contrabass clarinet]]]]


==See also==
==See also==
* List of [[Clarinet concerto|clarinet concerti]]
*[[Clarinet makers]] &ndash; lists of makers of clarinets, clarinet mouthpieces, and clarinet reeds.
* [[List of clarinetists]]
*[[Double clarinet]] &ndash; a Middle Eastern instrument, not a true clarinet in the western sense of the term
*[[Quarter tone clarinet]]
* [[List of clarinet makers]]
* [[Double clarinet]]
*[[List of jazz clarinetists]]
* [[International Clarinet Association]]


==Notes==
== References ==
=== Citations ===
<references/>
{{Reflist}}


=== Cited sources ===
==References==
{{refbegin}}
*Nicholas Bessaraboff, ''Ancient European Musical Instruments.'' Boston: Harvard University Press, 1941.
* {{Cite book |last=Baines |date=1991 |first=Anthony |title=Woodwind Instruments and Their History |url=https://archive.org/details/woodwindinstrume00bain |url-access=registration |publisher=Dover Books |isbn=978-0-486268-85-9}}
*Jack Brymer, ''Clarinet''. (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides) Hardback and paperback, 296 pages, Kahn & Averill. ISBN 1-871082-12-9
* {{cite book |last1=Black |first1=Dave |last2=Gerou |first2=Tom |date=2005 |title=Essential Dictionary of Orchestration |publisher=Alfred Music |isbn=978-1-4574-1299-8}}
*David Pino, ''The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing.'' Providence: Dover Pubns, 1998, 320 p.; ISBN 0-486-40270-3
* {{cite book |last=Coppenbarger |first=Brent |date=2015 |title=Fine-Tuning the Clarinet Section: A Handbook for the Band Director |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4758-2077-5}}
*F. Geoffrey Rendall, ''The Clarinet.'' Second Revised Edition. London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1957.
* {{Cite book |last=Değirmenci |first=Koray |date=2013 |title=Creating Global Music in Turkey |publisher=[[Lexington Books]] |isbn=978-0-7391-7546-0 }}
*Cyrille Rose, ''Artistic Studies, Book 1.'' ed. David Hite. San Antonio: Southern Music, 1986.
* {{Cite book |last=Ellsworth |first=Jane |date=2015 |title=A Dictionary for the Modern Clarinetist |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-8648-3}}
*Nicholas Shackleton, "Clarinet", ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]]'', ed. L. Macy (accessed [[21 February]] [[2006]]), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
* {{cite book |last=Hoeprich |first=Eric |date=2008 |title=The Clarinet |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10282-6}}
*[http://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/instruments.php?mode=productDetails&pid=108 Buffet Crampon Greenline website]
* {{cite book |editor-last=Lawson |editor-first=Colin |date=1995 |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00prof |url-access=registration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47668-3 }}
*Jennifer Ross, "Clarinet", "Ohio: Hardcover Printing Press, 1988.
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |last=Brown |first=John Robert |chapter=The clarinet in jazz |pages=184–198 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |last=Dobrée |first=Georgina |chapter=The basset horn |pages=57–65 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |anchor-year=1995a |last=Harris |first=Michael |chapter=The bass clarinet |pages=66–74 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |anchor-year=1995b |last=Harris |first=Paul |chapter=Teaching the clarinet |pages=123–133 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |last=Heaton |first=Roger |chapter=The contemporary clarinet |pages=163–183 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |anchor-year=1995a |last=Lawson |first=Colin |chapter=Single reeds before 1750 |pages=1–15 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |anchor-year=1995b |last=Lawson |first=Colin |chapter=The clarinet family |pages=33–37 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |anchor-year=1995c |last=Lawson |first=Colin |chapter=The C clarinet |pages=38–42 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |last=Rees-Davies |first=Jo |chapter=The development of the clarinet repertoire |pages=75–91 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |last=Shackleton |first=Nicholas |chapter=The development of the clarinet |pages=16–32 }}
** {{harvc |in=Lawson |year=1995 |last=Tschaikov |first=Basil |chapter=The high clarinets |pages=43–56 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Libin |editor-first=Laurence |date=2015 |title=The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1997-4340-7 }}
** {{harvc |id= {{harvid|Page et al.|2015}} |last=Page |first=Janet K. |last2=Gourlay |first2=K. A. |last3=Blench |first3=Roger |last4=Shackleton |first4=Nicholas |last5=Rice |first5=Albert |year=2015 |in= Libin |c= Clarinet}}
** {{harvc |last1=Shackleton |first1=Nicholas |last2=Rice |first2=Albert |anchor-year=2015a |in=Libin |year=2015 |c=Alto clarinet}}
** {{harvc |last1=Shackleton |first1=Nicholas |last2=Rice |first2=Albert |anchor-year=2015b |in=Libin |year=2015 |c=Bass clarinet}}
** {{harvc |last1=Shackleton |first1=Nicholas |last2=Rice |first2=Albert |anchor-year=2015c |in=Libin |year=2015 |c=Basset clarinet}}
* {{cite book |last=Lowry |first=Robert |date=1985|title=Practical Hints on Playing the B-Flat Clarinet |isbn=978-0-7692-2409-1 |publisher=Alfred Publishing }}
* {{cite book |last=Miller |first=R. J. |date=2015 |title=Contemporary Orchestration |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-3178-0625-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Pinksterboer |first=Hugo |date=2001 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |title=Tipbook: Clarinet |isbn=978-90-761-9246-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Pino |first=David |date=1998 |title=The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing |publisher=Dover Books |isbn=978-0-486-40270-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/clarinetclarinet00pino |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Raasakka |first=Mikko |date=2010 |title=Exploring the Clarinet: A Guide to Clarinet Technique and Finnish Clarinet Music |publisher=Fennica Gehrman |isbn=978-952-5489-09-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Rendall |first=Geoffrey F. |date=1971 |title=The Clarinet: Some Notes Upon Its History and Construction |edition=Third |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company Inc. |isbn=978-0-393-02164-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rice |first=Albert R. |date=2009 |title=From the Clarinet D'Amour to the Contra Bass: A History of Large Size Clarinets, 1740–1860 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-971117-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Shahriari |first=Andrew |date=2015 |title=Popular World Music |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-3173-4538-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Starr |first=S. Frederick |date=2021 |chapter= The clarinet in vernacular music |editor-last=Ellsworth |editor-first=Jane |title=The Clarinet |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-6482-5017-0 |pages=255–289}}
* {{Cite book |last=Suhor |first=Charles |date=2001 |url= |title=Jazz in New Orleans: The Postwar Years Through 1970 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1-4616-6002-6 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=Nicholas |last=Bessaraboff |title=Ancient European Musical Instruments |publisher=Harvard University Press |year= 1941 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |first=Jack |last=Brymer |title=Clarinet |series=Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides |publisher=Kahn & Averill |year=1976 |isbn= 978-0-3560-8414-5|ref=none}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons|Clarinet}}
{{Sister project links|display=Clarinet}}
* [http://www.clarinet.org/ The International Clarinet Association]
{{wikiversity|Clarinet}}
{{wikibooks|Clarinet}}
*[http://www.clarinet.org/home.asp The International Clarinet Association]
*[http://hem.passagen.se/eriahl/clarinet.htm Comprehensive list of clarinets]
*[http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/clarinetacoustics.html Clarinet acoustics]
*[http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/clarinet/ Comprehensive list of fingerings for Kinderklarinettes and Boehm-, Albert-, and Oehler-system clarinets]
*[http://music.unm.edu/department_areas/woodwind/clarinet/repertoire.htm UNM List of Clarinet Repertoire]
*[http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ugw/ugwf1x.html Clarinets in the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments]
*[http://www.metalclarinet.com Metal Clarinet Homepage]


{{-}}
{{Clarinet}}
{{Clarinet}}
{{Single reeds}}
{{Single reeds}}


{{Authority control|suppress=P1330<!--MusicBrainz instrument ID-->}}
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Latest revision as of 06:33, 4 January 2025

Clarinet
Woodwind instrument
Classification Single-reed
Hornbostel–Sachs classification422.211.2–71
(Single-reeded aerophone with keys)
Playing range
All clarinets have approximately the same written range. The sounding pitch depends on what key the instrument is in. Low clarinets generally have extra keys to extend the range downward.
Related instruments

The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell.

Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodwind family, ranging from the BB♭ contrabass to the E♭ soprano. The B soprano clarinet is the most common type, and is the instrument usually indicated by the word "clarinet".

German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner is generally credited with inventing the clarinet sometime around 1700 by adding a register key to the chalumeau, an earlier single-reed instrument. Over time, additional keywork and airtight pads were added to improve the tone and playability. Today the clarinet is a standard fixture of the orchestra and concert band and is used in classical music, military bands, klezmer, jazz, and other styles.

Etymology

The word "clarinet" may have entered the English language via the French clarinette (the feminine diminutive of Old French clarin), or from Provençal clarin 'oboe',[1] originating from the Latin root clarus 'clear'.[2] The word is related to Middle English clarion, a type of trumpet, the name of which derives from the same root.[3]

The earliest mention of the word "clarinette" being used for the instrument dates to a 1710 order placed by the Duke of Gronsfeld for two instruments made by Jacob Denner.[4][5] The English form "clarinet" is found as early as 1733, and the now-archaic "clarionet" appears from 1784 until the early 20th century.[6][7]

A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist (in North American English), a clarinettist (in British English), or simply a clarinet player.[8]

Characteristics

The clarinet's cylindrical bore is the main reason for its distinctive timbre, which varies between the three main registers (the chalumeau, clarion, and altissimo). The A and B clarinets have nearly the same bore and nearly identical tonal quality, although the A typically has a slightly warmer sound.[9] The tone of the E clarinet is brighter and can be heard through loud orchestral textures.[10] The bass clarinet has a characteristically deep, mellow sound, and the alto clarinet sounds similar to the bass, though not as dark.[11]

Range

Clarinets have the largest pitch range of common woodwinds.[12] Nearly all soprano and piccolo clarinets have keywork enabling them to play the E below middle C as their lowest written note. The concert pitch that sounds depends on the individual instrument's transposition (this low E sounds as a concert D3 on a B soprano clarinet, a whole tone lower than the written note). Some B clarinets go to a written E3 to match the range of the A clarinet.[13] Bass clarinets have keywork extending the low range to a written E and some have additional keys to enable a written C3.[14] Among the less common members of the clarinet family, contrabass clarinets may have keywork to written D3, C3, or B2;[15] the basset clarinet and basset horn generally go to low C3.[16] Defining the top end of a clarinet's range is difficult, since many advanced players can produce notes well above the highest notes commonly found in method books. G6 is usually the highest note encountered in classical repertoire,[17] but fingerings as high as A7 exist.[18]

The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct registers:

  • The low chalumeau register, from the written low E to the written B above middle C (B4) [19] (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate predecessor)[4]
    • The bridging throat tones, from written G to B, are sometimes treated as a separate register[4]
  • The middle clarion register, which spans just over an octave (from a written B above middle C (B4) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6))[19]
  • The high altissimo register, consisting of the notes above the written C two octaves above middle C (C6)[19]

The three registers have characteristically different sounds—the chalumeau is rich and dark, the clarion is brighter and sweet, like a trumpet heard from afar, and the altissimo can be piercing and sometimes shrill.[20][21]

Acoustics

Sound wave propagation in the soprano clarinet

The production of sound by a clarinet follows these steps:[22][23][4]

  1. The mouthpiece and reed are surrounded by the player's lips, which put light, even pressure on the reed and form an airtight seal.[24] Air is blown past the reed and down the instrument. In the same way a flag flaps in the breeze, the air rushing past the reed causes it to vibrate. As air pressure from the mouth increases, the amount the reed vibrates increases until the reed hits the mouthpiece.
    The reed stays pressed against the mouthpiece until either the springiness of the reed forces it to open or a returning pressure wave 'bumps' into the reed and opens it. Each time the reed opens, a puff of air goes through the gap, after which the reed swings shut again. When played loudly, the reed can spend up to 50% of the time shut.[25] The 'puff of air' or compression wave (at around 3% greater pressure than the surrounding air[22]) travels down the cylindrical tube and escapes at the point where the tube opens out. This is either at the closest open hole or at the end of the tube (see diagram: image 1).
  2. More than a 'neutral' amount of air escapes from the instrument, which creates a slight vacuum or rarefaction in the clarinet tube. This rarefaction wave travels back up the tube (image 2).
  3. The rarefaction is reflected off the sloping end wall of the clarinet mouthpiece. The opening between the reed and the mouthpiece makes very little difference to the reflection of the rarefaction wave. This is because the opening is very small compared to the size of the tube, so almost the entire wave is reflected back down the tube even if the reed is completely open at the time the wave hits (image 3).
  4. When the rarefaction wave reaches the other (open) end of the tube, air rushes in to fill the slight vacuum. A little more than a 'neutral' amount of air enters the tube and causes a compression wave to travel back up the tube (image 4). Once the compression wave reaches the mouthpiece end of the 'tube', it is reflected again back down the pipe. However at this point, either because the compression wave 'bumped' the reed or because of the natural vibration cycle of the reed, the gap opens and another 'puff' of air is sent down the pipe.
  5. The original compression wave, now greatly reinforced by the second 'puff' of air, sets off on another two trips down the pipe (travelling four pipe lengths in total) before the cycle is repeated again.[22]

In addition to this primary compression wave, other waves, known as harmonics, are created. Harmonics are caused by factors including the imperfect wobbling and shaking of the reed, the reed sealing the mouthpiece opening for part of the wave cycle (which creates a flattened section of the sound wave), and imperfections (bumps and holes) in the bore. A wide variety of compression waves are created, but only some (primarily the odd harmonics) are reinforced.[26][4] This in combination with the cut-off frequency (where a significant drop in resonance occurs) results in the characteristic tone of the clarinet.[4]

The bore is cylindrical for most of the tube with an inner bore diameter between 0.575 and 0.585 inches (14.6 and 14.9 mm), but there is a subtle hourglass shape, with the thinnest part below the junction between the upper and lower joint.[27] This hourglass shape, although invisible to the naked eye, helps to correct the pitch and responsiveness of the instrument.[27] The diameter of the bore affects the instrument's sound characteristics.[4] The bell at the bottom of the clarinet flares out to improve the tone and tuning of the lowest notes.[22] The fixed reed and fairly uniform diameter of the clarinet result in an acoustical performance approximating that of a cylindrical stopped pipe.[22] Recorders use a tapered internal bore to overblow at the octave when the thumb/register hole is pinched open, while the clarinet, with its cylindrical bore, overblows at the twelfth.[22]

Most modern clarinets have "undercut" tone holes that improve intonation and sound. Undercutting means chamfering the bottom edge of tone holes inside the bore. Acoustically, this makes the tone hole function as if it were larger, but its main function is to allow the air column to follow the curve up through the tone hole (surface tension) instead of "blowing past" it under the increasingly directional frequencies of the upper registers.[28] Covering or uncovering the tone holes varies the length of the pipe, changing the resonant frequencies of the enclosed air column and hence the pitch. The player moves between the chalumeau and clarion registers through use of the register key. The open register key stops the fundamental frequency from being reinforced, making the reed vibrate at three times the frequency, which produces a note a twelfth above the original note.[22]

Most woodwind instruments have a second register that begins an octave above the first (with notes at twice the frequency of the lower notes). With the aid of an 'octave' or 'register' key, the notes sound an octave higher as the fingering pattern repeats. These instruments are said to overblow at the octave. The clarinet differs, since it acts as a closed-pipe system. The low chalumeau register plays fundamentals, but the clarion (second) register plays the third harmonics, a perfect twelfth higher than the fundamentals. The clarinet is therefore said to overblow at the twelfth.[22][23] The first several notes of the altissimo (third) range, aided by the register key and venting with the first left-hand hole, play the fifth harmonics, a perfect twelfth plus a major sixth above the fundamentals.[22][4] The fifth and seventh harmonics are also available, sounding a further sixth and fourth (a flat, diminished fifth) higher respectively; these are the notes of the altissimo register.[22]

The lip position and pressure, shaping of the vocal tract, choice of reed and mouthpiece, amount of air pressure created, and evenness of the airflow account for most of the player's ability to control the tone of a clarinet.[29] Their vocal tract will be shaped to resonate at frequencies associated with the tone being produced.[30] Vibrato, a pulsating change of pitch, is rare in classical literature; however, certain performers, such as Richard Stoltzman, use vibrato in classical music.[31] Special fingerings and lip-bending may be used to play microtonal intervals.[32] There have also been efforts to create a quarter tone clarinet.[33][34]

Fritz Schüller's quarter-tone clarinet

Construction

Materials

Clarinet bodies have been made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic, hard rubber or Ebonite, metal, and ivory.[35] The vast majority of wooden clarinets are made from African blackwood (grenadilla), or, more uncommonly, Honduran rosewood or cocobolo.[36][37] Historically other woods, particularly boxwood and ebony, were used.[36] Since the mid-20th century, clarinets (particularly student or band models) are also made from plastics, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).[38][39] One of the first such blends of plastic was Resonite, a term originally trademarked by Selmer.[40][41] The Greenline model by Buffet Crampon is made from a composite of resin and the African blackwood powder left over from the manufacture of wooden clarinets.[42][43]

Metal soprano clarinets were popular in the late 19th century, particularly for military use. Metal is still used for the bodies of some contra-alto and contrabass clarinets and the necks and bells of nearly all alto and larger clarinets.[44][45]

Mouthpieces are generally made of hard rubber, although some inexpensive mouthpieces may be made of plastic. Other materials such as glass, wood, ivory, and metal have also been used.[46] Ligatures are often made of metal and tightened using one or more adjustment screws; other materials include plastic, string, or fabric.[47]

Reed

The clarinet uses a single reed made from the cane of Arundo donax.[48][49] Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic materials.[50] The ligature fastens the reed to the mouthpiece. When air is blown through the opening between the reed and the mouthpiece facing, the reed vibrates and produces the clarinet's sound.[51]

Most players buy manufactured reeds, although many make adjustments to these reeds, and some make their own reeds from cane "blanks".[52] Reeds come in varying degrees of hardness, generally indicated on a scale from one (soft) through five (hard). This numbering system is not standardized—reeds with the same number often vary in hardness across manufacturers and models. Reed and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability and tonal characteristics.[53]

Components

The construction of a Boehm system clarinet
Mouthpiece with conical ring ligature, made from hard rubber

The reed is attached to the mouthpiece by the ligature, and the top half-inch or so of this assembly is held in the player's mouth. In the past, string was used to bind the reed to the mouthpiece. The formation of the mouth around the mouthpiece and reed is called the embouchure. The reed is on the underside of the mouthpiece, pressing against the player's lower lip, while the top teeth normally contact the top of the mouthpiece (some players roll the upper lip under the top teeth to form what is called a 'double-lip' embouchure).[54] Adjustments in the strength and shape of the embouchure change the tone and intonation. Players sometimes relieve the pressure on the upper teeth and inner lower lip by attaching a pad to the top of the mouthpiece or putting temporary cushioning on the lower teeth.[55]

The mouthpiece attaches to the barrel. Tuning can be adjusted by using barrels of varying lengths or by pulling out the barrel to increase the instrument's length.[4][56] On basset horns and lower clarinets, there is a curved metal neck instead of a barrel.[57]

The main body of most clarinets has an upper joint, whose mechanism is mostly operated by the left hand, and a lower joint, mostly operated by the right hand.[4] Some clarinets have a one-piece body.[4] The modern soprano clarinet has numerous tone holes—seven are covered with the fingertips and the rest are operated using a set of 17 keys.[4] The most common system of keys was named the Boehm system by its designer Hyacinthe Klosé after flute designer Theobald Boehm, but it is not the same as the Boehm system used on flutes.[58] The other main key system is the Oehler system, which is used mostly in Germany and Austria.[16] The related Albert system is used by some jazz, klezmer, and eastern European folk musicians.[16] The Albert and Oehler systems are both based on the early Mueller system.[16]

The cluster of keys at the bottom of the upper joint (protruding slightly beyond the cork of the joint) are known as the trill keys and are operated by the right hand.[59] The entire weight of the smaller clarinets is supported by the right thumb behind the lower joint on what is called the thumb rest.[60] Larger clarinets are supported with a neck strap or a floor peg.[61]

Below the main body is a flared end known as the bell. The bell does not amplify the sound but improves the uniformity of the instrument's tone for the lowest notes in each register.[22] For the other notes, the sound is produced almost entirely at the tone holes, and the bell is irrelevant.[22] On basset horns and larger clarinets, the bell curves up and forward and is usually made of metal.[57]

In the 1930s, some clarinets were manufactured with (filled) plateau keys,[62] but they were expensive and had issues with sound quality. They were designed for use in cold weather (allowing gloves to be worn), for saxophone or flute players, and for players with certain physical requirements.[63]

History

Two-key clarinet with fingering chart, from Museum musicum theoreticalo practicum, 1732
Denner clarinet
Sketch of the basset clarinet used by Anton Stadler since 1789 and a replica

The clarinet has its roots in early single-reed instruments used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt.[64] The modern clarinet developed from a Baroque instrument called the chalumeau. This instrument was similar to a recorder, but with a single-reed mouthpiece and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a register key, it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, and a written pitch range from F3 to G4. At this time, contrary to modern practice, the reed was placed in contact with the upper lip.[65] Around the beginning of the 18th century the German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner (or possibly his son Jacob Denner)[66] equipped a chalumeau in the alto register[67] with two keys, one of which enabled access to a higher register. This second register did not begin an octave above the first, as with other woodwind instruments, but started an octave and a perfect fifth higher than the first. A second key, at the top, extended the range of the first register to A4 and, together with the register key, to B4. Later, Denner lengthened the bell and provided it with a third key to extend the pitch range down to E3.[66]

After Denner's innovations, other makers added keys to improve tuning and facilitate fingerings[65] and the chalumeau fell into disuse. The clarinet of the Classical period, as used by Mozart, typically had five keys.[16] Mozart suggested extending the clarinet downwards by four semitones to C3, which resulted in the basset clarinet that was about 18 centimetres (7.1 in) longer, made first by Theodor Lotz.[68] In 1791 Mozart composed the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major for this instrument, with passages ranging down to C3.[69] By the time of Beethoven (c. 1780–1820), the clarinet was a fixed member in the orchestra.[70]

The number of keys was limited because their felt pads did not seal tightly. Baltic-German clarinetist and master clarinet maker Iwan Müller remedied this by countersinking the tone holes for the keys and covering the pads with soft leather.[71] These leather pads sealed the holes better than felt, making it possible to equip the instrument with considerably more keys. In 1812 Müller presented a clarinet with seven finger holes and thirteen keys, which he called "clarinet omnitonic" since it was capable of playing in all keys. It was no longer necessary to use differently tuned clarinets for a different keys.[16] Müller is also considered the inventor of the metal ligature and the thumb rest.[72] During this period the typical embouchure also changed, orienting the mouthpiece with the reed facing downward. This was first recommended in 1782 and became standard by the 1830s.[73]

In the late 1830s,[58] German flute maker Theobald Böhm invented a ring and axle key system for the flute. This key system was first used on the clarinet between 1839 and 1843 by French clarinetist Hyacinthe Klosé in collaboration with instrument maker Louis Auguste Buffet. Their design introduced needle springs for the axles, and the ring keys simplified some complicated fingering patterns. The inventors called this the Boehm clarinet, although Böhm was not involved in its development and the system differed from the one used on the flute.[58][4] Other key systems have been developed, many built around modifications to the basic Boehm system, including the Full Boehm, Mazzeo, McIntyre,[74] the Benade NX,[75] and the Reform Boehm system, which combined Boehm-system keywork with a German mouthpiece and bore.[76]

The Albert clarinet was developed by Eugène Albert in 1848. This model was based on the Müller clarinet with some changes to keywork, and was also known as the "simple system".[77] It included a "spectacle key" patented by Adolphe Sax and rollers to improve little-finger movement. After 1861, a "patent C sharp" key developed by Joseph Tyler was added to other clarinet models.[78] Improved versions of Albert clarinets were built in Belgium and France for export to the UK and the US.[79]

Around 1860, clarinettist Carl Baermann and instrument maker Georg Ottensteiner developed the patented Baermann/Ottensteiner clarinet. This instrument had new connecting levers, allowing multiple fingering options to operate some of the pads.[80] The Brahms clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld used this clarinet,[81] and the American clarinet soloist Charles Neidich has used a Baermann-Ottensteiner instrument for playing compositions by Brahms.[82]

In the early 20th century, the German clarinetist and clarinet maker Oskar Oehler [de] presented a clarinet using similar fingerings to the Baermann instrument, with significantly more toneholes than the Böhm model.[16] The new clarinet was called the Oehler system clarinet or German clarinet, while the Böhm clarinet has since been called the French clarinet.[83] The French clarinet differs from the German not only in fingering but also in sound. Richard Strauss noted that "French clarinets have a flat, nasal tone, while German ones approximate the singing voice".[84] Among modern instruments the difference is smaller, although intonation differences persist.[83] The use of Oehler clarinets has continued in German and Austrian orchestras.[16][85]

Today the Boehm system is standard everywhere except in Germany and Austria, where the Oehler clarinet is still used.[86] Some contemporary Dixieland players continue to use Albert system clarinets.[16][87] The Reform Boehm system is also popular in the Netherlands.[88]

Usage and repertoire

Use of multiple clarinets

The modern orchestral standard of using soprano clarinets in B and A has to do partly with the history of the instrument and partly with acoustics, aesthetics, and economics. Before about 1800, due to the lack of airtight pads, practical woodwinds could have only a few keys to control accidentals (notes outside their diatonic home scales).[71] The low (chalumeau) register of the clarinet spans a twelfth (an octave plus a perfect fifth) before overblowing, so the clarinet needs keys/holes to produce all nineteen notes in this range. This involves more keywork than on instruments that "overblow" at the octave—oboes, flutes, bassoons, and saxophones need only twelve notes before overblowing. Since clarinets with few keys cannot play chromatically, they are limited to playing in closely related keys.[89] For example, an eighteenth-century clarinet in C could play music in F, C, and G (and their relative minors) with good intonation, but with progressive difficulty and poorer intonation as the key moved away from this range.[89] With the advent of airtight pads and improved key technology, more keys were added to woodwinds and the need for clarinets in multiple keys was reduced.[16] The use of instruments in C, B, and A persisted, with each used as specified by the composer.[90]

The lower-pitched clarinets sound "mellower" (less bright), and the C clarinet—the highest and brightest sounding of these three—fell out of favor as the other two could cover its range and their sound was considered better.[89] While the clarinet in C began to fall out of general use around 1850, some composers continued to write C parts, e.g., Bizet's Symphony in C (1855), Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 (1872), Smetana's overture to The Bartered Bride (1866) and Má Vlast (1874), Dvořák's Slavonic Dance Op. 46, No. 1 (1878), Brahms' Symphony No. 4 (1885), Mahler's Symphony No. 6 (1906), and Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier (1911).[90]

While technical improvements and an equal-tempered scale reduced the need for two clarinets, the technical difficulty of playing in remote keys persisted, and the A has remained a standard orchestral instrument. By the late 19th century the orchestral clarinet repertoire contained so much music for clarinet in A that it has remained in use.[16]

Classical music

The orchestra frequently includes two clarinetists, each usually equipped with a B and an A clarinet, and clarinet parts commonly alternate between the instruments.[91] In the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler employed many different clarinets, including the E or D soprano clarinets, basset horn, bass clarinet, and/or contrabass clarinet. The practice of using different clarinets to achieve tonal variety was common in 20th-century classical music.[92][93][91]

The E clarinet, B clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, and contra-alto/contrabass clarinet are commonly used in concert bands, which generally have multiple B clarinets; there are commonly three or even four B clarinet parts with two to three players per part.[94]

The clarinet is widely used as a solo instrument. The clarinet evolved later than other orchestral woodwind instruments, leaving solo repertoire from the Classical period onward, but few works from the Baroque era. Many clarinet concertos and clarinet sonatas have been written to showcase the instrument, for example those by Mozart and Weber.[95]

Many works of chamber music have been written for the clarinet. Common combinations are:

Groups of clarinets playing together have become increasingly popular among clarinet enthusiasts in recent years. Common forms are:

  • Clarinet choir: This ensemble contains many clarinets playing together, usually including several members of the clarinet family. The homogeneity of tone across the different members of the clarinet family produces an effect with some similarities to a human choir.[100]
  • Clarinet quartet: usually three B sopranos and one B bass, or two B, an E alto clarinet, and a B bass clarinet, or sometimes four B sopranos.[101]

Jazz

Pete Fountain

The clarinet was a central instrument in jazz, beginning with early jazz players in the 1910s. It remained a signature instrument of the genre through much of the big band era into the 1940s. American players Alphonse Picou, Larry Shields, Jimmie Noone, Johnny Dodds, and Sidney Bechet were all prominent early jazz clarinet players.[87] Swing performers such as Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw rose to prominence in the late 1930s.[87]

Beginning in the 1940s, the clarinet faded from its prominent position in jazz.[102][87] By that time, an interest in Dixieland, a revival of traditional New Orleans jazz, had begun. Pete Fountain was one of the best known performers in this genre.[102][103] The clarinet's place in the jazz ensemble was usurped by the saxophone, which projects a more powerful sound and uses a less complicated fingering system.[104] The clarinet did not entirely disappear from jazz—prominent players since the 1950s include Stan Hasselgård, Jimmy Giuffre, Eric Dolphy (on bass clarinet), Perry Robinson, and John Carter. In the US, the prominent players on the instrument since the 1980s have included Eddie Daniels, Don Byron, Marty Ehrlich, Ken Peplowski, and others playing in both traditional and contemporary styles.[87]

Other genres

The clarinet is uncommon, but not unheard of, in rock music. Jerry Martini played clarinet on Sly and the Family Stone's 1968 hit, "Dance to the Music".[105] The Beatles included a trio of clarinets in "When I'm Sixty-Four" from their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.[106] A clarinet is prominently featured in what a Billboard reviewer termed a "Benny Goodman-flavored clarinet solo" in "Breakfast in America", the title song from the Supertramp album of the same name.[107]

Turkish clarinet

Clarinets feature prominently in klezmer music, which employs a distinctive style of playing.[108] The popular Brazilian music style of choro uses the clarinet,[109] as does Albanian saze and Greek kompania folk music,[110] and Bulgarian wedding music.[111] In Turkish folk music, the Albert system clarinet in G is often used, commonly called a "Turkish clarinet".[111][112]

Clarinet family

Name Key Commentary Range
(sounding)
A clarinet (Piccolo clarinet in A) A This instrument is rare, although it was once frequently used in wind ensembles, especially in Spain and Italy.[92]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c' {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #0 c4 \glissando \ottava #1 es'''
    }
}
E clarinet (Sopranino or piccolo clarinet in E) E The E clarinet has a characteristic "hard and biting" tone and is used in the orchestra when a brighter, or sometimes more comical, sound is called for.[92]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c' {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #0 g4 \glissando b'''
    }
}
D clarinet (Sopranino or piccolo clarinet in D) D This was largely replaced by the F and later the E clarinet. While a few early pieces were written for it, its repertoire is now very limited in Western music. Stravinsky included both the D and E clarinets in his instrumentation for The Rite of Spring.[92]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #0 fis4 \glissando ais'''
    }
}
C clarinet (Soprano clarinet in C) C This clarinet was very common in the instrument's earliest period but its use dwindled, and by the end of the 1920s it had become practically obsolete. From the time of Mozart, many composers began to prefer the mellower lower-pitched instruments, and the timbre of the C instrument may have been considered too bright.[90] To avoid having to carry an extra instrument that required another reed and mouthpiece, orchestral players preferred to play parts for this instrument on B clarinets, transposing up a tone.[113]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #0 e4 \glissando f'''
    }
}
B clarinet (Soprano clarinet in B) B♭ The B clarinet is the most common type.[91] Usually, the term "clarinet" on its own refers to this instrument.[114]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #0 d4 \glissando f'''
    }
}
A clarinet (Soprano clarinet in A) A The A clarinet is frequently used in orchestral and chamber music, especially of the nineteenth century.[4]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #0 des4 \glissando e'''
    }
}
Basset clarinet A The basset clarinet is a clarinet in A with keywork that extends to a written low C. There are some examples of instruments with a low B.[115] It is used primarily to play Classical-era music.[16] Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was written for this instrument. Basset clarinets in C and B also exist.[116]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #-1 gis4 \glissando \ottava #0 e''''
    }
}
Basset horn F Similar in appearance to the alto, the basset horn is instead pitched in F, with a narrower bore on most models. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was originally sketched out as a concerto for basset horn in G. Little material for this instrument has been published.[57]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #-1 f4 \glissando \ottava #0 d'''
    }
}
Alto clarinet E Sometimes referred to as the tenor clarinet in Europe, the alto clarinet is used in military and concert bands and occasionally, if rarely, in orchestras.[117][118][119] The alto clarinet in F was used in military bands during the early 19th century and was a favorite instrument of Iwan Müller. It fell out of use and, if called for, is commonly substituted with the basset horn.[120]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \ottava #-1 g4 \glissando \ottava #0 g'''
    }
}
Bass clarinet B Developed in the late 18th century, the bass clarinet began featuring in orchestral music in the 1830s after its redesign by Adolphe Sax.[121] It has since become a mainstay of the modern orchestra.[93] It is also used in concert bands and enjoys (along with the B clarinet) a considerable role in jazz, especially through jazz musician Eric Dolphy.[94][87] The bass clarinet in A, which had a vogue among certain composers from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, is now so rare as to usually be considered obsolete.[118]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \clef bass
        \ottava #0 des,4 \glissando \ottava #1 d'''
    }
}
E contrabass clarinet (also called Contra-alto or Contralto clarinet) EE This instrument is used in wind ensembles and occasionally in cinematic scores.[93]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \clef bass
        \ottava #0 g,4 \glissando g'''
    }
}
Contrabass clarinet (also called double-bass clarinet) BB The BB contrabass is used in clarinet ensembles, concert bands, and sometimes in orchestras.[93] Arnold Schoenberg calls for a contrabass clarinet in A in his Five Pieces for Orchestra, but no such instrument ever existed.[122]

{
    \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t
    \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8)
    \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
    \relative c {
        \time 2/4
        \clef bass
        \ottava #-1 b,,4 \glissando \ottava #0 g'''
    }
}
Subcontrabass clarinet (also called octocontralto clarinet or octocontrabass clarinet) EEE or BBB The subcontrabass clarinet is a largely experimental instrument with little repertoire. Three versions in EEE♭ (an octave below the contra-alto clarinet) were made, and a version in BBB (an octave below the contrabass clarinet) was built by Leblanc in 1939.[123][124]
Clarinets in A-flat, E-flat and B-flat, basset clarinet in A, alto clarinet range to low E, basset horn, bass clarinet range to low E, bass clarinet range to low C, contra alto clarinet and contrabass clarinet

See also

References

Citations

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Cited sources

Further reading

  • Bessaraboff, Nicholas (1941). Ancient European Musical Instruments. Harvard University Press.
  • Brymer, Jack (1976). Clarinet. Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. Kahn & Averill. ISBN 978-0-3560-8414-5.