The
clarinet is a
musical instrumentA musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix
-et (meaning
little) to the Italian word
clarinoClarion is a common name for a trumpet in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It also is used as a name for a 4' organ reed stop. There is wide confusion over whether clarion invariably refers to a type of trumpet or simply the upper register of the standard trumpet....
(meaning a type of
trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
designed for high-register playing), as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical
boreThe bore of a wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instruments' timbre.-Bore shapes:...
, and uses a
single reedA single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. Examples include clarinets, saxophones, and some bagpipes. In a single-reed instrument, the reed is attached to a mouthpiece that is blown into to vibrate the reed, producing the sound...
. In
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
contexts, it has sometimes been informally referred to as the "licorice stick."
Clarinets comprise a
familyA family of musical instruments is a grouping of several different but related sizes or types of instruments. Some schemes of musical instrument classification, such as the Hornbostel-Sachs system, are based on a hierarchy of instrument families and families of families.Some commonly recognized...
of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The
clarinet familyThe clarinet family is a musical instrument family including the well-known B♭ clarinet, the slightly less familiar E♭, A, and bass clarinets, and other clarinets....
is the largest such woodwind family, with more than a dozen types, ranging from the (extremely rare) BBB
{{About|the musical instrument|ClariNet|ClariNet}}
{{Woodwinds}}
The
clarinet is a
musical instrumentA musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix
-et (meaning
little) to the Italian word
clarinoClarion is a common name for a trumpet in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It also is used as a name for a 4' organ reed stop. There is wide confusion over whether clarion invariably refers to a type of trumpet or simply the upper register of the standard trumpet....
(meaning a type of
trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
designed for high-register playing), as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical
boreThe bore of a wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instruments' timbre.-Bore shapes:...
, and uses a
single reedA single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. Examples include clarinets, saxophones, and some bagpipes. In a single-reed instrument, the reed is attached to a mouthpiece that is blown into to vibrate the reed, producing the sound...
. In
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
contexts, it has sometimes been informally referred to as the "licorice stick."
Clarinets comprise a
familyA family of musical instruments is a grouping of several different but related sizes or types of instruments. Some schemes of musical instrument classification, such as the Hornbostel-Sachs system, are based on a hierarchy of instrument families and families of families.Some commonly recognized...
of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The
clarinet familyThe clarinet family is a musical instrument family including the well-known B♭ clarinet, the slightly less familiar E♭, A, and bass clarinets, and other clarinets....
is the largest such woodwind family, with more than a dozen types, ranging from the (extremely rare) BBB
{{About|the musical instrument|ClariNet|ClariNet}}
{{Woodwinds}}
The
clarinet is a
musical instrumentA musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix
-et (meaning
little) to the Italian word
clarinoClarion is a common name for a trumpet in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It also is used as a name for a 4' organ reed stop. There is wide confusion over whether clarion invariably refers to a type of trumpet or simply the upper register of the standard trumpet....
(meaning a type of
trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
designed for high-register playing), as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical
boreThe bore of a wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instruments' timbre.-Bore shapes:...
, and uses a
single reedA single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. Examples include clarinets, saxophones, and some bagpipes. In a single-reed instrument, the reed is attached to a mouthpiece that is blown into to vibrate the reed, producing the sound...
. In
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
contexts, it has sometimes been informally referred to as the "licorice stick."
Clarinets comprise a
familyA family of musical instruments is a grouping of several different but related sizes or types of instruments. Some schemes of musical instrument classification, such as the Hornbostel-Sachs system, are based on a hierarchy of instrument families and families of families.Some commonly recognized...
of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The
clarinet familyThe clarinet family is a musical instrument family including the well-known B♭ clarinet, the slightly less familiar E♭, A, and bass clarinets, and other clarinets....
is the largest such woodwind family, with more than a dozen types, ranging from the (extremely rare) BBB{{music to the A{{music. Of these, many are rare or obsolete (there is only one BBB{{music|flat}} octo-contrabass clarinet in existence, for example), and music written for them is usually played on the common types. The unmodified word
clarinet usually refers to the B{{music|flat}}
soprano clarinetThe soprano clarinets are a sub-family of the clarinet family.The B clarinet is by far the most common type of soprano clarinet - the unmodified word "clarinet" usually refers to this instrument...
, by far the most common clarinet.
A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist.
Johann Christoph DennerJohann Christoph Denner , was a famous woodwind instrument maker of the Baroque era, to whom the invention of the clarinet is attributed....
invented the clarinet in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
around the turn of the 18th century by adding a
register keyThe register key is a key on the clarinet that is used to play in the second register; that is, it raises the pitch of most first-register notes by a twelfth when pressed. It is positioned above the left thumb hole and is operated by the left thumb...
to the earlier
chalumeauThis article is about the historical musical instrument. For the register on the clarinet that is named for this instrument, see Clarinet#Range....
. Over time, additional keywork and airtight pads were added to improve tone and playability. Today, the clarinet is used in jazz and
classicalClassical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
ensembles, in
chamberChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
groups, and as a
soloIn music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
instrument.
Sound
The
cylindricalA cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
bore is primarily responsible for the clarinet's distinctive
timbreIn music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
, which varies between its three main
registersIn music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...
, known as the chalumeau, clarino, and altissimo. The tone quality can vary greatly with the musician, the music, the instrument, the mouthpiece, and the reed. The differences in instruments and geographical isolation of players in different countries led to the development, from the last part of the 18th century onwards, of several different schools of clarinet playing. The most prominent were the German/Viennese traditions and the French school. The latter was centered on the clarinetists of the
Conservatoire de ParisThe Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. The proliferation of recorded music has made examples of different styles of clarinet playing available. The modern clarinetist has a diverse palette of "acceptable" tone qualities to choose from.
The A clarinet and B{{music|flat}} clarinet have nearly the same bore, and use the same mouthpiece. Orchestral players using the A and B{{music|flat}} instruments in the same concert use the same mouthpiece (and often the same barrel) for both (see 'usage' below). The A and the B{{music|flat}} instruments have nearly identical tonal quality, although the A typically has a slightly warmer sound. The tone of the
E{{musicThe E-flat clarinet is a member of the clarinet family. It is usually classed as a soprano clarinet, although some authors describe it as a "sopranino" or even "piccolo" clarinet. Smaller in size and higher in pitch than the more common B clarinet, it is a transposing instrument in E, sounding a...
is brighter than that of the lower clarinets and can be heard even through loud orchestral textures. The
bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
has a characteristically deep, mellow sound, while the
alto clarinetThe alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. It is sometimes known as a tenor clarinet; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F...
is similar in tone to the bass and the
basset hornThe basset horn is a musical instrument, a member of the clarinet family.-Construction and tone:Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore...
has a tone quality comparable to the A clarinet.
Range
{{Main|clarinet family|E-flat clarinet|soprano clarinet|alto clarinet|bass clarinet|basset-horn|contra-alto clarinet|contrabass clarinet}}
Clarinets have the largest pitch range of common woodwinds. The intricate
keyA key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument.On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog,...
organization that makes this range possible can make the playability of some passages awkward. The bottom of the clarinet’s written range is defined by the keywork on each instrument, standard keywork schemes allow a low E on the common B{{music|flat}} clarinet. The lowest concert pitch depends on the
transpositionA transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which written notes are read at a pitch different from the corresponding concert pitch, which a non-transposing instrument, such as a piano, would play. Playing a written C on a transposing instrument will produce a note other than concert C...
of the instrument in question.
Nearly all
sopranoThe soprano clarinets are a sub-family of the clarinet family.The B clarinet is by far the most common type of soprano clarinet - the unmodified word "clarinet" usually refers to this instrument...
and
piccolo clarinetThe piccolo clarinets are members of the clarinet family, smaller and higher pitched than the more familiar high soprano clarinets in E and D. None are common, but the most often used piccolo clarinet is the A clarinet, sounding a minor seventh higher than the B clarinet. Shackleton also lists...
s have keywork enabling them to play the E below middle C (E
3 in
scientific pitch notationScientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidentals, and a number identifying the pitch's octave...
) as their lowest written note, though some B{{music|flat}} clarinets go down to E{{music|flat}}
3 to enable them to match the range of the A clarinet. On the B{{music|flat}} soprano clarinet, the concert pitch of the lowest note is D
3, a whole tone lower than the written pitch.
Most alto and bass clarinets have an extra key to allow a (written) E{{music|flat}}
3. Modern professional-quality bass clarinets generally have additional keywork to written C
3. Among the less commonly encountered members of the clarinet family,
contra-altoThe contra-alto clarinet is a large, low-sounding musical instrument of the clarinet family. The modern contra-alto clarinet is pitched in the key of EE and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the EE contrabass clarinet...
and
contrabass clarinetThe contrabass clarinet is the largest member of the clarinet family that has ever been in regular production or significant use. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in BB, sounding two octaves lower than the common B soprano clarinet and one octave lower than the B bass clarinet...
s may have keywork to written E{{music|flat}}
3, D
3, or C
3; the basset clarinet and basset horn generally go to low C
3.
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 G two octaves above G
4 is usually the highest note clarinetists encounter in classical repertoire. The C above that (C
7 i.e. resting on the fifth ledger line above the treble staff) is attainable by advanced players and is shown on many
fingeringIn music, fingering is the choice of which fingers and hand positions to use when playing certain musical instruments. Fingering typically changes throughout a piece; the challenge of choosing good fingering for a piece is to make the hand movements as comfortable as possible without changing hand...
charts, and fingerings as high as G
7 exist.
The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct registers. The lowest register, consisting of the notes up to the written B{{music|flat}} above middle C (B{{music|flat}}
4), is known as the
chalumeauThis article is about the historical musical instrument. For the register on the clarinet that is named for this instrument, see Clarinet#Range....
register (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate predecessor). The middle register is termed the
clarino (sometimes
clarion) register and spans just over an octave (from written B above middle C (B
4) to the C two octaves above middle C (C
6)); it is the dominant range for most members of the clarinet family. The top or
altissimoAltissimo refers to the uppermost register on woodwind instruments. For clarinets, which overblow on odd harmonics, the altissimo notes are those based on the fifth, seventh, and higher harmonics. For other woodwinds, the altissimo notes are those based on the third, fourth, and higher harmonics...
register consists of the notes above the written C two octaves above middle C (C
6). Unlike other woodwinds, all three registers have characteristically different sounds. The chalumeau register is rich and dark. The clarino register is brighter and sweet, like a trumpet heard from afar ("clarino" means trumpet). The altissimo register can be piercing and sometimes shrill.
Construction
Materials
Clarinet bodies have been made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic,
hard rubberEbonite is a brand name for very hard rubber first obtained by Charles Goodyear by vulcanizing rubber for prolonged periods. It is about 30% to 40% sulfur. Its name comes from its intended use as an artificial substitute for ebony wood...
, metal,
resinResin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
, and
ivoryIvory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
. The vast majority of clarinets used by professional musicians are made from
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n
hardwoodHardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
,
mpingo (African Blackwood)Dalbergia melanoxylon is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the Transvaal in South Africa....
or grenadilla, rarely (because of diminishing supplies) Honduran rosewood and sometimes even
cocoboloCocobolo is a tropical hardwood of the tree Dalbergia retusa from Central America.Only the heartwood is used: this is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The sapwood is a creamy yellow, with a sharp boundary with...
. Historically other woods, notably
boxwoodBuxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood ....
, were used.
Most modern, inexpensive instruments are made of plastic resin, such as
ABSAcrylonitrile butadiene styrene is a common thermoplastic. Its melting point is approximately 105 °C ....
. These materials are sometimes called "resonite", which is
SelmerHenri Selmer Paris company is a French family-owned enterprise, manufacturer of musical instruments based in Paris, France in 1885. It is known for its high-quality woodwind and brass instruments, especially saxophones, clarinets and trumpets...
's
trademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
name for its type of plastic. Metal soprano clarinets were popular in the early twentieth century, until plastic instruments supplanted them; metal construction is still used for the bodies of some contra-alto and contrabass clarinets, and for the necks and bells of nearly all alto and larger clarinets. Ivory was used for a few 18th century clarinets, but it tends to crack and does not keep its shape well.
Buffet CramponBuffet Crampon et Compagnie is a French manufacturer of woodwind musical instruments, including oboes, flutes, saxophones, and bassoons; however, the company is perhaps most famous for their clarinets, as Buffet is the brand of choice for many professionals....
's Greenline clarinets are made from a composite of grenadilla wood powder and carbon fiber. Such instruments are less affected by humidity and temperature changes than wooden instruments but are heavier. Hard rubber, such as
eboniteEbonite is a brand name for very hard rubber first obtained by Charles Goodyear by vulcanizing rubber for prolonged periods. It is about 30% to 40% sulfur. Its name comes from its intended use as an artificial substitute for ebony wood...
, has been used for clarinets since the 1860s, although few modern clarinets are made of it. Clarinet designers Alastair Hanson and Tom Ridenour are strong advocates of hard rubber. Hanson Clarinets of England manufactures clarinets using a grenadilla compound reinforced with ebonite, known as 'BTR' (bithermal reinforced) grenadilla. This material is also not affected by humidity, and the weight is the same as that of a wood clarinet.
MouthpiecesThe mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument is that part of the instrument which is placed partly in the player's mouth. Single-reed instruments, capped double-reed instruments, and fipple flutes have mouthpieces while exposed double-reed instruments and open flutes do not.-Single-reed instruments:On...
are generally made of hard rubber, although some inexpensive mouthpieces may be made of plastic. Other materials such as crystal/glass, wood, ivory, and metal have also been used.
LigaturesA ligature is a device which holds a reed on to the mouthpiece of a single-reed instrument such as a saxophone or clarinet. The ligature must allow the reed to vibrate freely without stifling its vibrations. Iwan Müller invented a metal ligature to replace twine. String is still used by...
are often made out of metal and plated in nickel, silver or gold. Other ligature materials include wire, wire mesh, plastic,
naugahydeNaugahyde is an American brand of artificial leather . Naugahyde is a composite of a knit fabric backing and polyvinyl chloride plastic coating. It was developed by United States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by the Uniroyal Engineered Products division of Michelin...
, string, or leather.
Reed
The instrument uses a single
reedA reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a musical instrument. The reeds of most Woodwind instruments are made from Arundo donax or synthetic material; tuned reeds are made of metal or synthetics.-Single reeds:Single reeds are used on the mouthpieces of clarinets...
made from the cane of
Arundo donaxArundo donax, Giant Cane, is a tall perennial cane growing in damp soils, either fresh or moderately saline. Other common names include Carrizo, Arundo, Spanish cane, Wild cane, and Giant reed....
, a type of grass. Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic materials. The
ligatureA ligature is a device which holds a reed on to the mouthpiece of a single-reed instrument such as a saxophone or clarinet. The ligature must allow the reed to vibrate freely without stifling its vibrations. Iwan Müller invented a metal ligature to replace twine. String is still used by...
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 instrument's sound.
Basic reed measurements are as follows: tip, 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in) wide; lay, 15 millimetre (0.590551181102362 in) long (distance from the place where the reed touches the mouthpiece to the tip); gap, 1 millimetre (0.0393700787401575 in) (distance between the underside of the reed tip and the mouthpiece). Adjustment to these measurements is one method of affecting tone color.
Most clarinetists buy manufactured reeds, although many make adjustments to these reeds and some make their own reeds from cane "blanks". 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 hardness number often vary in hardness across manufacturers and models. Reed and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability, pitch stability, and tonal characteristics.
Components of a modern soprano clarinet
Note: A
Boehm systemThe Boehm system for the clarinet is a system of clarinet keywork, developed between 1839 and 1843 by Hyacinthe Klosé and Auguste Buffet jeune. The name is somewhat deceptive; the system was inspired by Theobald Boehm's system for the flute, but necessarily differs from it, since the clarinet...
soprano clarinet is shown in the photos illustrating this section. However, all modern clarinets have similar components.
The
reed is attached to the
mouthpieceThe mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument is that part of the instrument which is placed partly in the player's mouth. Single-reed instruments, capped double-reed instruments, and fipple flutes have mouthpieces while exposed double-reed instruments and open flutes do not.-Single-reed instruments:On...
by the
ligatureA ligature is a device which holds a reed on to the mouthpiece of a single-reed instrument such as a saxophone or clarinet. The ligature must allow the reed to vibrate freely without stifling its vibrations. Iwan Müller invented a metal ligature to replace twine. String is still used by...
, and the top half-inch or so of this assembly is held in the player’s mouth. German clarinetists often wrap a string around the mouthpiece and reed instead of using a ligature. The formation of the mouth around the mouthpiece and reed is called the
embouchureThe embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....
.
{{listen|filename=ClarinetReed.ogg|title=Bb Clarinet reed and mouthpiece.|description=|format=
OggOgg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
}}
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). Adjustments in the strength and shape of the embouchure change the tone and intonation (tuning). It is not uncommon for clarinetists to employ methods to relieve the pressure on the upper teeth and inner lower lip by attaching pads to the top of the mouthpiece or putting (temporary) padding on the front lower teeth, commonly from folded paper.
Next is the short
barrel; this part of the instrument may be extended to fine-tune the clarinet. As the pitch of the clarinet is fairly temperature-sensitive, some instruments have interchangeable barrels whose lengths vary slightly. Additional compensation for pitch variation and tuning can be made by pulling out the barrel and thus increasing the instrument's length, particularly common in group playing in which clarinets are tuned to other instruments (such as in an
orchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
). Some performers use a plastic barrel with a thumbwheel that enables the barrel length to be altered. On basset horns and lower clarinets, the barrel is normally replaced by a curved metal neck.
The main body of most clarinets is divided into the
upper joint, the holes and most keys of which are operated by the left hand, and the
lower joint with holes and most keys operated by the right hand. Some clarinets have a single joint: on some basset horns and larger clarinets the two joints are held together with a screw clamp and are usually not disassembled for storage. The left thumb operates both a
tone hole and the
register key. On some models of clarinet, such as many
Albert systemThe Albert system refers to a system of clarinet keywork and fingering developed by Eugène Albert. In the United Kingdom it is known as the simple system. It has been largely replaced by the Boehm system ....
clarinets and increasingly some higher-end Boehm system clarinets, the register key is a 'wraparound' key, with the key on the back of the clarinet and the pad on the front. Advocates of the wraparound register key say it improves sound, and it is harder for moisture to accumulate in the tube beneath the pad.
The body of a modern soprano clarinet is equipped with numerous
tone holeA tone hole is an opening in the body of a wind instrument which, when covered by a key, alters the pitch of the sound produced.The resonant frequencies of the an air column in a pipe are inversely proportional to the pipe's effective length. For a pipe with no tone holes, the effective length is...
s of which seven (six front, one back) are covered with the fingertips, and the rest are opened or closed using a set of keys. These tone holes allow every note of the chromatic scale to be produced. On alto and larger clarinets and a few soprano clarinets, some or all finger holes are replaced by key-covered holes. The most common system of keys was named the Boehm System by its designer
Hyacinthe KloséHyacinthe Eléonore Klosé was a French clarinet player, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, and composer....
in honour of
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
designer
Theobald BoehmTheobald Böhm was a German inventor and musician, who perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved fingering system...
, but it is not the same as the
Boehm SystemThe Boehm system is a system of keywork for the flute, created by inventor and flautist Theobald Boehm between 1831 and 1847.Prior to the development of the Boehm system, flutes were most commonly made of wood, with an inverse conical bore, eight keys, and tone holes that were small in size, and...
used on flutes. The other main system of keys is called the
Oehler systemThe Oehler system is a system for clarinet keys developed by Oskar Oehler. Based on the Müller system clarinet, the system adds tone holes to correct intonation and acoustic deficiencies, notably of the forked notes . The system has more keys than the Boehm system, up to 27 in the Voll-Oehler system...
and is used mostly in Germany and Austria (see History). The related Albert system is used by some
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
,
klezmerKlezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, and eastern European folk musicians. The Albert and Oehler systems are both based on the early
Mueller systemIvan Mueller was a clarinetist, composer and inventor who at the beginning of the 19th century was responsible for a major step forward in the development of the clarinet, the air-tight pad....
.
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. These give the player alternative fingerings that make it easy to play ornaments and
trillsThe trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
. The entire weight of the smaller clarinets is supported by the right thumb behind the lower joint on what is called the
thumb-rest. Basset horns and larger clarinets are supported with a neck strap or a floor peg.
Finally, the flared end is known as the
bell. Contrary to popular belief, the bell does not amplify the sound; rather, it improves the uniformity of the instrument's tone for the lowest notes in each register. For the other notes the sound is produced almost entirely at the tone holes and the bell is irrelevant. On
basset hornsThe basset horn is a musical instrument, a member of the clarinet family.-Construction and tone:Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore...
and larger clarinets, the bell curves up and forward and is usually made of metal.
Boehm Keywork and sample fingerings of a modern soprano clarinet
Theobald Boehm did not directly invent the key system of the clarinet. Boehm was a flautist who created the key system that is now used for the transverse flute. Klosé and Buffet applied Boehm's system to the Clarinet. Although the credit goes to those people, Boehm's name was given to that key system.
The current Boehm key system consists of generally 6 rings, on the thumb, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th holes, a register key just above the thumb hole, easily accessible with the thumb. Above the 1st hole, there is a key that lifts two covers creating the note A in the throat register (high part of low register) of the clarinet. A key at the side of the instrument at the same height as the A key lifts only one of the two covers, producing G# a semitone lower. The A key can be used in conjunction solely with the register key to produce A#/Bb.
Acoustics
SoundSound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
is a
waveIn physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
that propagates through the air as a result of a local variation in air pressure. The production of sound by a clarinet follows these steps:
- The air in the bore of the instrument is at normal atmospheric pressure and moves towards the bell (or the first open hole). The minuscule space between the mouthpiece and the reed allows only a small amount of air to enter the instrument. This creates a low-pressure area in the mouthpiece. The difference in pressure between the two sides of the reed increases, causing the reed to press against the mouthpiece.
- The wave of low-pressure air moves down the bore and arrives at the first open hole.
- The outside air, at normal atmospheric pressure, is sucked in by the low pressure inside. The air that was previously leaving the clarinet through the hole changes direction quickly and enters the bore.
- The incoming air normalizes the pressure within the bore, starting at the open hole and moving back towards the mouthpiece.
- Once all the air in the bore is at atmospheric pressure (moving towards the mouthpiece), the difference in pressure between the two sides of the reed decreases and the reed returns to its original position.
- The moving column of air is stopped by the sudden collision with the pressurized air coming from the player's mouth. A wave of high-pressure air moves towards the first open hole.
- When the high-pressure air arrives at the open hole, the air coming into the bore abruptly changes direction and goes out through the hole.
- The high pressure normalizes and the cycle restarts.
The cycle repeats at a constant frequency and emits a note related to that frequency. For example, A4 (440
HzThe hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
) is produced when the cycle repeats 440 times per second.
The bore of the soprano clarinet is cylindrical for most of the tube with an inner bore diameter between 14 and 15.5 mm (0.551181102362205 and 0.610236220472441 in), but there is a subtle
hourglassAn hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
shape, with the thinnest part below the junction between the upper and lower joint. The reduction is 1 to 3 mm (0.0393700787401575 to 0.118110236220472 in) depending on the maker. This hourglass shape, although not visible to the naked eye, helps to correct the pitch/scale discrepancy between the chalumeau and clarino registers (perfect 12th). The diameter of the bore affects characteristics such as available harmonics, timbre, and stability of pitch (the extent to which a note can be 'bent' in the manner required in jazz and other styles of music). The bell at the bottom of the instrument flares out to improve the tone of the lowest notes.
Most modern clarinets have "undercut" tone holes to improve intonation and the sound. Undercutting means
chamferA chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
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 increased velocity of the upper registers.
The fixed reed and fairly uniform diameter of the clarinet give the instrument an acoustical behavior approximating that of a cylindrical stopped pipe.
RecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
s use a tapered internal bore to overblow at the 8th (octave) when its thumb/register hole is pinched open while the clarinet, with its cylindrical bore, overblows on the 12th. Adjusting the angle of the bore taper controls the frequencies of the overblown notes (harmonics). Changing the mouthpiece's tip opening and the length of the reed changes the harmonic timbre or voice of the instrument because this changes the speed of reed vibrations. Generally, the goal of the clarinetist when producing a sound is to make as much of the reed vibrate as possible, making the sound fuller, warmer, and potentially louder.
Covering or uncovering the tone holes varies the length of the pipe, changing the
resonant frequenciesAcoustic resonance is the tendency of an acoustic system to absorb more energy when it is forced or driven at a frequency that matches one of its own natural frequencies of vibration than it does at other frequencies....
of the enclosed air column and hence the
pitchPitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
of the sound. A clarinetist moves between the chalumeau and clarino registers through use of the
register keyThe register key is a key on the clarinet that is used to play in the second register; that is, it raises the pitch of most first-register notes by a twelfth when pressed. It is positioned above the left thumb hole and is operated by the left thumb...
, or speaker key: clarinetists call the change from chalumeau register to clarino register "the break". The register key, when pressed, cancels the fundamental frequency scale and forces the clarinet to produce the next dominant harmonic scale a
twelfthIn music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
higher, and when using at least fingers 1-2-3 1-2, taking off the first finger on the left hand, acts as another register key, and doesn't overblow a
twelfthIn music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
, but instead a
sixthIn music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
. The clarinet is therefore said to overblow at the twelfth, and when moving to the altissimo register, a sixth. By contrast, nearly all other woodwind instruments overblow at the octave, or like the
OcarinaThe ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
and
TonetteThe Tonette is a small, end-blown flute made of plastic, which was once popular in American elementary music education. Though the Tonette has been superseded by the recorder in many areas, due to their price, durability and simplicity, you can still find plenty of plastic Tonettes as well as...
, do not overblow at all (the
RackettThe rackett is a Renaissance-era double reed wind instrument.There are several sizes of rackett, in a family ranging from soprano to great bass. Relative to their pitch, racketts are quite small . This is achieved through its ingenious construction...
or Sausage Bassoon is the next most common Western instrument that overblows at the twelfth). A clarinet must have holes and keys for nineteen notes (a chromatic octave and a half, from bottom E to B{{music|flat}}) in its lowest register to play the chromatic scale. This overblowing behavior explains the clarinet's great range and complex fingering system. 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. This is also why the inner "waist" measurement is so critical to these harmonic frequencies.
The highest notes on a clarinet can have a shrill piercing quality and can be difficult to tune accurately. Different instruments often play differently in this respect due to the sensitivity of the bore and reed measurements. Using alternate fingerings and adjusting the embouchure helps correct the pitch of these higher notes.
Since approximately 1850, clarinets have been nominally tuned according to 12-tone equal temperament. Older clarinets were nominally tuned to meantone. A skilled performer can use his or her
embouchureThe embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....
to considerably alter the tuning of individual notes or to produce
vibratoVibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, a pulsating change of pitch often employed in
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. Vibrato is rare in classical or concert band literature; however, certain clarinetists, such as
Richard StoltzmanRichard Stoltzman is an American clarinetist. Born Richard Leslie Stoltzman in Omaha, Nebraska, he spent his early years in San Francisco, California and Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from Woodward High School in 1960. Today, Stoltzman is part of the faculty list at the New England Conservatory...
, do use vibrato in classical music. Special fingerings may be used to play
quarter toneA quarter tone , is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale, an interval about half as wide as a semitone, which is half a whole tone....
s and other
microtonalMicrotonal music is music using microtones—intervals of less than an equally spaced semitone. Microtonal music can also refer to music which uses intervals not found in the Western system of 12 equal intervals to the octave.-Terminology:...
intervals.
Fritz Schüller of
MarkneukirchenMarkneukirchen is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It lies in between the Erzgebirge and the Fichtelgebirge in the Elstergebirge, southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Asch ....
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
built a
quarter tone clarinetA quarter tone clarinet is an experimental clarinet designed to play music using quarter tone intervals. Using special fingerings, quarter tones may be produced by a skilled player on a conventional clarinet. However, such fingerings are awkward in rapid passages, and results tend to vary from one...
, with two parallel bores of slightly different lengths whose tone holes are operated using the same keywork and a valve to switch from one bore to the other.
History
Lineage
The clarinet has its roots in the early
single-reed instrumentA single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. Examples include clarinets, saxophones, and some bagpipes. In a single-reed instrument, the reed is attached to a mouthpiece that is blown into to vibrate the reed, producing the sound...
s or
hornpipesThe hornpipe can refer to a specific instrument or a class of woodwind instruments consisting of a single reed, a small diameter melody pipe with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn...
used in the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
since the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, such as the
albogueThe albogue is a single-reed clarinet coming from Spain, especially from Madrid , Asturias , Castile and Andalusia .It is similar to a hornpipe, like the Welsh pibgorn and the Basque alboka....
,
albokaThe alboka is a double hornpipe or clarinet native to the Basque Country.Although the alboka is a woodwind instrument, its name is derived from the Arabic "al-bûq"...
, and
double clarinetThe term double clarinet refers to any of several woodwind instruments consisting of two parallel pipes made of cane, bird bone, or metal, played simultaneously, with a single reed for each...
.
The modern clarinet developed from a
BaroqueBaroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
instrument called the
chalumeauThis article is about the historical musical instrument. For the register on the clarinet that is named for this instrument, see Clarinet#Range....
. This instrument was similar to a
recorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
, but with a
single-reedA single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. Examples include clarinets, saxophones, and some bagpipes. In a single-reed instrument, the reed is attached to a mouthpiece that is blown into to vibrate the reed, producing the sound...
mouthpiece and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a
register keyThe register key is a key on the clarinet that is used to play in the second register; that is, it raises the pitch of most first-register notes by a twelfth when pressed. It is positioned above the left thumb hole and is operated by the left thumb...
, 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 two keys for its two highest notes. At this time, contrary to modern practice, the reed was placed in contact with the upper lip.
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 German instrument maker
Johann Christoph DennerJohann Christoph Denner , was a famous woodwind instrument maker of the Baroque era, to whom the invention of the clarinet is attributed....
, though some have suggested his son Jacob Denner was the inventor. This instrument played well in the middle register with a loud, shrill sound, 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. As clarinets improved, the chalumeau fell into disuse and these notes became known as the
chalumeau register. The original Denner clarinets had two keys, and could play a
chromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
, but various makers added more keys to get improved tuning, easier fingerings, and a slightly larger range. The classical clarinet of
Mozart'sWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
day typically had eight finger holes and five keys.
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 numerous pieces for the instrument., and by the time of
BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
(c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra.
Pads
The next major development in the history of clarinet was the invention of the modern pad. Early clarinets covered the tone holes with
feltFelt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
pads. Because these leaked air, the pads had to be kept to a minimum, so the clarinet was severely restricted in what notes could be played with good tone. In 1812, Iwan Müller, a Russian-born clarinetist and inventor, developed a new type of pad that was covered in
leatherLeather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
or
fish bladderThe swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy, and thus to stay at the current water depth without having to waste energy in swimming...
. 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 systemThe Albert system refers to a system of clarinet keywork and fingering developed by Eugène Albert. In the United Kingdom it is known as the simple system. It has been largely replaced by the Boehm system ....
and the Baermann system, all keeping the same basic design.
Arrangement of keys and holes
{{Main|Albert system|Boehm system (clarinet)|Oehler system}}
The final development in the modern design of the clarinet used in most of the world today was introduced by
Hyacinthe KloséHyacinthe Eléonore Klosé was a French clarinet player, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, and composer....
in 1839. He devised a different arrangement of keys and finger holes, which allow simpler fingering. It was inspired by the
Boehm SystemThe Boehm system is a system of keywork for the flute, created by inventor and flautist Theobald Boehm between 1831 and 1847.Prior to the development of the Boehm system, flutes were most commonly made of wood, with an inverse conical bore, eight keys, and tone holes that were small in size, and...
developed for flutes by
Theobald BoehmTheobald Böhm was a German inventor and musician, who perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved fingering system...
. Klosé was so impressed by Boehm's invention that he named his own system for clarinets the
Boehm systemThe Boehm system for the clarinet is a system of clarinet keywork, developed between 1839 and 1843 by Hyacinthe Klosé and Auguste Buffet jeune. The name is somewhat deceptive; the system was inspired by Theobald Boehm's system for the flute, but necessarily differs from it, since the clarinet...
, although it is different from the one used on flutes. This new system was slow to gain popularity 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 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 systemThe Oehler system is a system for clarinet keys developed by Oskar Oehler. Based on the Müller system clarinet, the system adds tone holes to correct intonation and acoustic deficiencies, notably of the forked notes . The system has more keys than the Boehm system, up to 27 in the Voll-Oehler system...
clarinet. Also, some contemporary Dixieland and Klezmer players continue to use
Albert systemThe Albert system refers to a system of clarinet keywork and fingering developed by Eugène Albert. In the United Kingdom it is known as the simple system. It has been largely replaced by the Boehm 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.
Use of multiple clarinets
The modern
orchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l standard of using soprano clarinets in both 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
(see History), practical woodwinds could have only a few keys to control accidentals (notes outside their diatonic home scales). The low (chalumeau) register of the clarinet spans a twelfth (an octave plus a perfect fifth), so the clarinet needs keys to produce all nineteen notes in that range. This involves more keywork than is necessary on instruments that "overblow" at the octave — oboes, flutes,
bassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, and saxophones, for example, which need only twelve notes before overblowing.
Clarinets with few keys cannot therefore easily play chromatically, limiting any such instrument to a few closely related key signatures. For example, an eighteenth-century clarinet in C could be played 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. In contrast, for octave-overblowing instruments, an instrument in C with few keys could much more readily be played in any key.
This problem was overcome by using three clarinets — in A, B{{music|flat}} and C — so that 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{{music|flat}} to A{{music|flat}}) on the B{{music|flat}} clarinet (C to B{{music|flat}} for the player). Difficult key signatures and numerous accidentals were thus largely avoided.
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 multiple instruments in different keys persisted, with the three instruments in C, B{{music|flat}} and A all used as specified by the composer.
The lower-pitched clarinets sound more "mellow" (less bright), and the C clarinet — being the highest and therefore brightest of the three — fell out of favour as the other two clarinets could cover its range and their sound was considered better. While the clarinet in C began to fall out of general use around 1850, some composers continued to write C parts after this date, e.g.
BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's
Symphony in CThe Symphony in C is an early work by the French composer Georges Bizet. According to Grove's Dictionary, the symphony "reveals an extraordinarily accomplished talent for an 17-year-old student, in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration." Bizet started work on the symphony on 29...
(1855),
TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's
Symphony No. 2Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 in 1872. One of Tchaikovsky's very joyous compositions, it was successful upon its premiere; it also won the favor of the group of nationalistic Russian composers known as "The Five", led by Mily Balakirev...
(1872),
SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
's
VltavaThe Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running north from its source in Šumava through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague, merging with the Elbe at Mělník...
(1874),
BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Symphony No. 4The Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms is the last of his symphonies. Brahms began working on the piece in 1884, just a year after completing his Symphony No...
(1885), and
Richard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
deliberately reintroduced it to take advantage of its brighter tone, as in
Der RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(1911).
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 thus remained a standard orchestral instrument. In addition, by the late 19th century the orchestral clarinet repertoire contained so much music for clarinet in A that the disuse of this instrument was not practical. Attempts were made to standardise to the B{{music|flat}} instrument between 1930 and 1950 (e.g. tutors recommended learning the routine transposition of orchestral A parts on the B{{music|flat}} clarinet, including solos written for A clarinet, and some manufacturers provided a low E{{music|flat}} on the B{{music|flat}} to match the range of the A), but this failed in the orchestral sphere.
Similarly there have been E{{music|flat}} and D instruments in the upper soprano range, B{{music|flat}}, A, and C instruments in the bass range, and so forth; but over time the E{{music|flat}} and B{{music|flat}} instruments have become predominant.
The B{{music|flat}} instrument continues to be dominant in wind ensemble music and in jazz, with both B{{music|flat}} and C instruments used in some ethnic traditions, such as
klezmerKlezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
music.
Classical music
In
classical musicClassical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, clarinets are part of standard
orchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l instrumentation, which frequently includes two clarinetists playing individual parts — each player is usually equipped with a pair of standard clarinets in B{{music|flat}} and A (see above) and clarinet parts commonly alternate between B{{music|flat}} and A instruments several times over the course of a piece or even, less commonly, of a movement (e.g. 1st movement Brahms 3rd symphony). Clarinet sections grew larger during the last few decades of the 19th century, often employing a third clarinetist, an E{{music|flat}} or a bass clarinet. In the 20th century, composers such as
Igor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
,
Richard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
,
Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
and
Olivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
enlarged the clarinet section on occasion to up to nine players, employing many different clarinets including the E{{music|flat}} or D soprano clarinets,
basset hornThe basset horn is a musical instrument, a member of the clarinet family.-Construction and tone:Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore...
,
alto clarinetThe alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. It is sometimes known as a tenor clarinet; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F...
,
bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
and/or
contrabass clarinetThe contrabass clarinet is the largest member of the clarinet family that has ever been in regular production or significant use. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in BB, sounding two octaves lower than the common B soprano clarinet and one octave lower than the B bass clarinet...
.
{{listen|filename=Contrabass Clarinet - Fragment from 'Late Spring'.ogg|title=Tudor Tulok - Fragment from 'Late Spring'|description=|format=
OggOgg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
}}
This practice of using a variety of clarinets to achieve coloristic variety was common in
20th century music20th century classical music was without a dominant style and highly diverse.-Introduction:At the turn of the century, music was characteristically late Romantic in style. Composers such as Gustav Mahler and Jean Sibelius were pushing the bounds of Post-Romantic Symphonic writing...
and continues today. However, many clarinetists and conductors prefer to play parts originally written for obscure instruments on B{{music|flat}} or E{{music|flat}} clarinets, which are often of better quality and more prevalent and accessible.
The clarinet is widely used as a solo instrument. The relatively late evolution of the clarinet (when compared to other orchestral woodwinds) has left solo repertoire from the Classical period and later, but few works from the
BaroqueBaroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
era. Many
clarinet concertoA clarinet concerto is a piece for clarinet and orchestra . Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly the earliest known concerto for solo clarinet; its score appears to be titled "Concerto per Clareto" and may date from 1733. It may, however, be intended for...
s have been written to showcase the instrument, with the concerti by
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
,
CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and
WeberCarl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
being well known.
Many works of
chamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
have also been written for the clarinet. Common combinations are:
{{col-begin}}
- Clarinet and piano (including clarinet sonata
A clarinet sonata is piece of music in sonata form for clarinet, often with piano accompaniment.The Clarinet Sonatas by Brahms are of special significance to the clarinet repertoire...
s)
- Clarinet, piano and another instrument (for example, string instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
or voice)
- Clarinet quartet
A clarinet choir is an instrumental ensemble consisting entirely of instruments from the clarinet family. Typically it will include E♭, B♭, alto, bass, and contra-alto or contrabass clarinets, although some pieces are scored for a smaller set of instruments....
: various combinations including four B{{music|flat}} clarinets, three B{{music|flat}} clarinets and bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, two B{{music|flat}} clarinets, alto clarinetThe alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. It is sometimes known as a tenor clarinet; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F...
and bass, and other possibilities such as the use of a basset horn, especially in European classical works.
- Clarinet quintet
A clarinet quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. The term is also used to refer to a piece written for this ensemble....
, generally made up of a clarinet plus a string quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
.
- Wind quintet
A wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group....
, consists of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
.
- Trio d'anches, or trio of reeds consists of oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.
- Wind octet, consists of pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns.
{{col-end}}
Concert bands
In
wind bandsA concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
, clarinets are a central part of the instrumentation, occupying the same space (and often playing the same notes) in bands that the strings do in orchestras. Bands usually include several B{{music|flat}} clarinets, divided into sections each consisting of two or three clarinetists playing the same part. There is almost always an E{{music|flat}} clarinet part and a bass clarinet part, usually doubled. Alto, contra-alto, and contrabass clarinets are sometimes used as well, and, rarely, a piccolo A{{music|flat}} clarinet.
Jazz
The clarinet was a central instrument in early jazz starting in the 1910s and remained popular in the United States through the
big bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era into the 1940s.
Larry ShieldsLawrence James "Larry" Shields was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist.Shields was born into an Irish-American family in Uptown New Orleans, on the same block where jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden lived...
,
Ted LewisTheodore Leopold Friedman, better known as Ted Lewis , was an American entertainer, bandleader, singer, and musician. He led a band presenting a combination of jazz, hokey comedy, and schmaltzy sentimentality that was a hit with the American public. He was known by the moniker "Mr...
,
Jimmie NooneJimmie Noone was an American jazz clarinetist.- Background :...
and
Sidney BechetSidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
were influential in early jazz. The B{{music|flat}} soprano was the most common instrument, but a few early jazz musicians such as Louis Nelson Delisle and
Alcide NunezAlcide Patrick Nunez was an early United States jazz clarinetist. Also known as Yellow Nunez and Al Nunez, he was born in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana of an Isleño family and moved to New Orleans in his childhood.He initially played guitar, then switched to clarinet about 1902...
preferred the C soprano, and many New Orleans jazz brass bands have used E{{music|flat}} soprano.
Swing clarinetists such as
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
,
Artie ShawArthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, and
Woody HermanWoodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
led successful and
popularPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
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 (
John CarterJohn Wallace Carter was an American jazz clarinet, saxophone, and flute player.-Biography:Born in Fort Worth, Texas, he played with Ornette Coleman and Charles Moffett in the 1940s. From 1961, Carter was based mainly on the West Coast. There he met Bobby Bradford in 1965, with whom he...
,
Buddy DeFrancoBoniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco is an American jazz clarinet player.-Biography:DeFranco began his professional career just as swing music and big bands — many of which were led by clarinetists like Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman — were fading in popularity...
,
Eric DolphyEric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
,
Jimmy GiuffreJames Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
,
Perry RobinsonPerry Morris Robinson is an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He is the son of the noted composer Earl Robinson. -Biography:...
,
Theo JorgensmannTheodor Franz Jörgensmann is a jazz and free-improvising Basset clarinet player and composer. He has been a professional musician since 1975.-Activities:...
and others) used clarinet in
bebopBebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
and
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
. The clarinet's place in the jazz ensemble was usurped by the
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, which projects a more powerful sound and uses a less complicated fingering system.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Britain underwent a surge in the popularity of
traditional jazzTrad jazz - short for "traditional jazz" - refers to the Dixieland and Ragtime jazz styles of the early 20th century in contrast to any more modern style....
. 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 popular "
Stranger on the Shore"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named Jenny after her. It was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people that was also called Stranger on the Shore.The track, performed by Bilk "Stranger...
".
In the U.S., the instrument has seen something of a resurgence since the 1980s, with
Eddie DanielsEddie Daniels is an American musician. Though he is best known as a jazz clarinet player, he has also played alto and tenor saxophones, as well as classical music on the clarinet....
,
Don ByronDon Byron is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet, but has also used bass clarinet and saxophones....
, and
Marty EhrlichMarty Ehrlich is a multi-instrumentalist and is considered one of the leading figures in experimental or avant-garde jazz....
and others playing the clarinet in more contemporary contexts. The instrument remains common in
DixielandDixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
music;
Pete FountainPete Fountain , is an American clarinetist based in New Orleans. He has played jazz, Dixieland and Creole music.-Early life and education:...
is one of the best known performers in this genre.
Bob WilberBob Wilber is an internationally recognized American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader living in Chipping Campden, England. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber has been a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz...
, active since the 1950s, is a more eclectic jazz clarinetist, playing in several classic jazz styles. Filmmaker
Woody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
is a notable jazz clarinet enthusiast, and performs New Orleans-style jazz regularly with his quartet in New York.
Jean-Christian MichelJean-Christian Michel is a composer and clarinetist. His compositions are influenced by jazz and by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.Michel has received 3 diamond discs, 7 platinum discs and 10 golden discs. He is a "Full Member" of the SACEM...
, French composer and clarinetist has initiated a jazz-classical cross-over on the clarinet with the drummer
Kenny ClarkeKenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
. See also
Gilad AtzmonGilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist, novelist, political activist and writer.Atzmon's album Exile was BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. Playing over 100 dates a year, he has been called "surely the hardest-gigging man in British jazz." His albums, of which he has recorded...
whose 21st century jazz style has been described as bebop/hard bop, with forays into free jazz and swing, influenced by Arabic music.
In Canada,
John Malmstrom performs in various mid-20th-century styles as well as writes original jazz compositions featuring clarinet and saxophone.
Other genres
In
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
the clarinet is used very rarely.
Clarinets also feature prominently in
klezmerKlezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
music, which entails a distinctive style of playing. The use of quarter-tones requires a different embouchure. Some klezmer musicians prefer Albert system clarinets.
The popular
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian music styles of
choroChoro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
and
sambaSamba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
use the clarinet. Prominent contemporary players include Paulo Moura, Naylor 'Proveta' Azevedo, Paulo Sérgio dos Santos and
Paquito D'RiveraPaquito D'Rivera is a Cuban alto saxophonist, clarinetist and soprano saxophonist. The winner of multiple Grammys and other awards, D'Rivera has lived in the United States since the early 1980s. He has worked in a variety of contexts, but is perhaps best known for playing Latin...
.
The clarinet is prominent in Bulgarian wedding music, an offshoot of Roma/Romani traditional music.
Ivo PapazovIvo Papazov Ivo Papazov Ivo Papazov (born 16 February 1952 in Kardzhali, nicknamed Ibryama , is a Bulgarian clarinetist. He leads the Ivo Papazov Wedding Band in performances of jazz-infused Stambolovo music, and is one of the premier creators of the genre known as "wedding band" music in...
is a well-known clarinetist in this genre. In
MoraviaMoravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n
dulcimerThe hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
bands, the clarinet is usually the only wind instrument among string instruments.
In the
Republic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, old-town folk music -called chalgija ("чалгија"), the clarinet has the most important role in wedding music; clarinet solos mark the high point of dancing euphoria. One of the most renowned Macedonian clarinet players is
Tale OgnenovskiTale Ognenovski is a Macedonian multi-instrumentalist: clarinet, reed pipe , tin whistle, small bagpipe, zourla and drum, composer and bandleader. On January 27, 1956, he performed at Carnegie Hall, New York City as clarinet and reed pipe soloist of Macedonian State Ensemble of Folk Dances...
, who gained worldwide fame for his virtuosity.
In
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
the clarinet (usually referred to as "κλαρίνο" - "clarino") is prominent in traditional music, especially in central, northwest and northern Greece (
ThessalyThessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
,
EpirusEpirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The...
and Macedonia). The double-reed
zurnaThe zurna , is a multinational outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul in Anatolian folk music. The name is from Turkish zurna, itself derived from Persian سرنای surnāy, composed of sūr “banquet, feast” and nāy “reed, pipe”...
was the dominant woodwind instrument before the clarinet arrived in the country, although many Greeks regard the clarinet as a native instrument. Traditional dance music, wedding music and laments include a clarinet soloist and quite often improvisations. Petroloukas Chalkias is a famous clarinetist in this genre.
The instrument is equally famous in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, especially the soprano clarinet in G. The soprano clarinet crossed via Turkey to Arabic music, where it is widely used in Arabic pop, especially if the intention of the arranger is to imitate the Turkish style.
Also in Turkish
folk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, a clarinet-like woodwind instrument, the
sipsiThe sipsi is a Turkish woodwind instrument. It is a clarinet-like, single-reed instrument used mainly in folk music. The word "sipsi" is probably onomatopoeic, and is related to "zıpçi" meaning "whistle," or comes from the word meaning small. It can be made of bone, wood, or reed, though the reed...
, is used. However, it's far more rare than the soprano clarinet and is mainly limited to folk music of the
Aegean RegionAegean Region , is one of the 7 census-defined regions of Turkey, and in Western Asia.It is located in the west part of the country: bounded by Aegean Sea on the west; Marmara Region on the north;...
.
Groups of clarinets
Groups of clarinets playing together have become increasingly popular among clarinet enthusiasts in recent years. Common forms are:
- Clarinet choir
A clarinet choir is an instrumental ensemble consisting entirely of instruments from the clarinet family. Typically it will include E♭, B♭, alto, bass, and contra-alto or contrabass clarinets, although some pieces are scored for a smaller set of instruments....
, which features a large number of clarinets playing together, usually involves a range of different members of the clarinet family (see 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 choirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
.
- 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.
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 CookeArnold Atkinson Cooke was a British composer.-Career:He was born at Gomersal, West Yorkshire into a family of carpet manufacturers. He was educated at Repton School and at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, where he read History, but he was already attracted to a career in music...
,
Alfred UhlAlfred Uhl was an Austrian composer, violist, music teacher and conductor.-Biography:Uhl studied with Franz Schmidt at the Vienna Music Academy, receiving a diploma in composition with honours in 1932. He subsequently worked as Kapellmeister of the Swiss Festspielmusik in Zürich...
, Lucien Caillet and
Václav NelhýbelVáclav Nelhýbel was a Czech-American composer, mainly of works for student performers. He is considered one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century....
.
Extended family of clarinets
{{Main|Clarinet family}}
There is a
familyA family of musical instruments is a grouping of several different but related sizes or types of instruments. Some schemes of musical instrument classification, such as the Hornbostel-Sachs system, are based on a hierarchy of instrument families and families of families.Some commonly recognized...
of many differently pitched clarinet types, some of which are very rare. The following are the most important sizes, from highest to lowest:
| Name | Key | Commentary | Range (concert) |
Piccolo clarinetThe piccolo clarinets are members of the clarinet family, smaller and higher pitched than the more familiar high soprano clarinets in E and D. None are common, but the most often used piccolo clarinet is the A clarinet, sounding a minor seventh higher than the B clarinet. Shackleton also lists...
|
A{{music|flat}} |
Now rare, used for Italian military music and some contemporary pieces for its sonority; |
 |
| Sopranino clarinet |
E{{music|flat}} |
Characteristic timbre, used in concert band A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
repertoire because its tonality is considered "compatible" with other instruments, especially those in B{{music|flat}}. |
 |
| Sopranino clarinet |
D |
Obscure because of its limited repertoire in Western music. |
 |
Soprano clarinetThe soprano clarinets are a sub-family of the clarinet family.The B clarinet is by far the most common type of soprano clarinet - the unmodified word "clarinet" usually refers to this instrument...
|
C |
Rare because its timbre is considered too bright. |
 |
| Soprano clarinet |
B{{music|flat}} |
The most common type: used in most styles of music. |
 |
| Soprano clarinet |
A |
Has a richer sound than B{{music|flat}}, frequently used in orchestral and chamber music. |
 |
| Basset clarinet The basset clarinet is a clarinet, similar to the usual soprano clarinet but longer and with additional keys to enable playing several additional lower notes...
|
A |
Clarinet in A extended to a low C; used primarily to play Classical-era music. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was written for this instrument, though it is frequently played in a version for the ordinary A clarinet. Basset clarinets in Bb also exist; this instrument is required to play the obbligato to the aria "Parto, parto" in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito. |
|
| Basset-horn The basset horn is a musical instrument, a member of the clarinet family.-Construction and tone:Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore...
|
F |
Similar in appearance to the alto, but differs in that it is pitched in F, has an extended range to low C, and has a narrower bore on most models. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto was originally sketched out as a concerto for basset horn in G. Rarely used today. |
 |
Alto clarinetThe alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E, though instruments in F have been made. It is sometimes known as a tenor clarinet; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F...
|
E{{music|flat}} |
Used in chamber music and wind ensembles. |
 |
Bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
|
B{{music|flat}} |
Used in contemporary music, concert band and jazz; sometimes used in orchestral music. |
 |
| Contra-alto clarinet The contra-alto clarinet is a large, low-sounding musical instrument of the clarinet family. The modern contra-alto clarinet is pitched in the key of EE and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the EE contrabass clarinet...
(also called E{{music|flat}} Contrabass Clarinet) |
EE{{music|flat}} |
Used in clarinet choirs. |
 |
| Contrabass clarinet The contrabass clarinet is the largest member of the clarinet family that has ever been in regular production or significant use. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in BB, sounding two octaves lower than the common B soprano clarinet and one octave lower than the B bass clarinet...
(also called B{{music|flat}} Subcontrabass or Double-bass Clarinet) |
BB{{music|flat}} |
Used in clarinet choirs and sometimes in orchestras and wind ensembles. |
 |
Experimental EEE{{music|flat}} and BBB{{music|flat}} octocontra-alto and octocontrabass clarinets have also been built. There have also been soprano clarinets in C, A, and B{{music|flat}} with curved barrels and bells marketed under the names
SaxonetteA saxonette is a soprano clarinet in C, A, or B that has both a curved barrel and an upturned bell, both usually made of metal. It has the approximate overall shape of a saxophone, but unlike that instrument it has a cylindrical bore and overblows by a twelfth...
, Claribel, and Clariphon.
See also
- List of Clarinet concerti
A clarinet concerto is a piece for clarinet and orchestra . Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly the earliest known concerto for solo clarinet; its score appears to be titled "Concerto per Clareto" and may date from 1733. It may, however, be intended for...
- List of clarinetists
- Clarinet makers
The following are lists of makers of clarinets, clarinet mouthpieces, clarinet ligatures, and clarinet reeds. Note that some of the following are simply brands for instruments from original equipment manufacturers.-Clarinets:-Mouthpieces :...
Lists of makers of clarinets, clarinet mouthpieces, and clarinet reeds.
- Double clarinet
The term double clarinet refers to any of several woodwind instruments consisting of two parallel pipes made of cane, bird bone, or metal, played simultaneously, with a single reed for each...
A Middle Eastern instrument, not a true clarinet in the western sense of the term
- Quarter tone clarinet
A quarter tone clarinet is an experimental clarinet designed to play music using quarter tone intervals. Using special fingerings, quarter tones may be produced by a skilled player on a conventional clarinet. However, such fingerings are awkward in rapid passages, and results tend to vary from one...
- International Clarinet Association
The International Clarinet Association is the main international organization bringing together players of the clarinet. It is based in Lyons, Colorado, United States...
Further reading
- Nicholas Bessaraboff, Ancient European Musical Instruments. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1941.
- "Woodwind Instruments and Their History" by Anthony Baines, Dover Publishing.
- Jack Brymer, Clarinet. (Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides) Hardback and paperback, 296 pages, Kahn & Averill. ISBN 1-871082-12-9.
- David Pino, The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing. Providence: Dover Pubns, 1998, 320 p.; ISBN 0-486-40270-3.
- F. Geoffrey Rendall, The Clarinet. Second Revised Edition. London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1957.
- Cyrille Rose, Artistic Studies, Book 1. ed. David Hite. San Antonio: Southern Music, 1986.
- Nicholas Shackleton, "Clarinet", Grove Music Online
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
, ed. L. Macy (accessed 21 February 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
- Buffet Crampon Greenline website
- Jennifer Ross, "Clarinet", "Ohio: Hardcover Printing Press, 1988.
- Fabrizio Meloni, Il Clarinetto, ill., 299 pages, Zecchini Editore, zecchini.com Italy, 2002, ISBN 88-87203-03-2.
- Bărbuceanu Valeriu, "Dictionary of musical instruments", Second Revised Edition, Teora Press, Bucharest, 1999.
- "Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics" by Arthur H. Benade, Dover Publishing.
- SELMER Paris : the clarinet family
External links
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{{Single reeds}}
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