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A woodwind instrument having a straight cylindrical tube with a flaring bell and a single-reed mouthpiece, played by means of finger holes and keys.
[French clarinette, feminine diminutive of Old French clarin, clarion, clarion. See clarion, or of Provençal clarin, oboe (from Old Provençal clar, clear, from Latin clārus; see clear).]
clarinetist clar'i·net'ist or clar'i·net'tist n.Background
The clarinet is a woodwind instrument played with a single reed. Clarinets come in many different sizes, with different pitch ranges. Though there are more than a dozen different modern clarinet types, the most common ones used in orchestras and bands are the B flat and A clarinets. The bass clarinet, which is much bigger than the standard and has an upwardly curved bell, is also frequently used in modern bands and orchestras. The standard clarinet consists of five parts—the mouthpiece, the barrel or tuning socket, the upper (or lefthand) joint, lower (or right-hand) joint, and the bell. A thin, flattened, specially shaped piece of cane called a reed must be inserted in the mouthpiece before the instrument can be played. Different notes are produced as the player moves his fingers over metal keys which open and close air holes in the clarinet's body.
History
An instrument similar to the clarinet—a cylindrical cane tube played with a cane reed—was in use in Egypt as early as 3000 B.C. Instruments of this type were used across the Near East into modern times, and other clarinet prototypes were played in Spain, parts of Eastern Europe, and in Sardinia. A folk instrument found in Wales through the eighteenth century, called the hompipe or pibgorn, was very similar to Greek and Middle Eastern cane single reed instruments, but it was made of bone or of elder wood. Through the Middle Ages and up to the seventeenth century such single reed instruments were played across Europe, but they were almost exclusively peasant or folk instruments.
The modern clarinet seems to have been originated by a Nuremberg instrument maker, Johann Cristoph Denner, sometime around 1690. Denner was a celebrated manufacturer of recorders, flutes, oboes, and bassoons. His early clarinets (the word is a diminutive of the Italian word for trumpet, clarino) looked much like recorders, made in three parts and with the addition of two keys to close the holes. A clarinet with a flared bell, like the modern clarinet, may have been made by Denner's son. Parts scored for clarinet were soon found in the music of notable eighteenth century composers, including Handel, Gluick, and Telemann. The early clarinets were usually made of boxwood or occasionally plum or pear wood. Rarely, they were made of ivory, and some used a mouthpiece of ebony.
The design of the clarinet was improved by the end of the eighteenth century. The two keys gave way to five or six, giving the instrument more pitch control. Composers and virtuoso performers began to exploit one of the signal characteristics of the clarinet, its versatile dynamic range, from whisper soft to loud and penetrating. Mozart composed a concerto for clarinet in 1791, showing that he realized its possibilities as a solo instrument. By 1800, most orchestras included clarinets. The clarinet developed further in the nineteenth century. Its intonation was improved by a rearrangement of the holes, more keys were added, and the instrument's range was extended. Virtuoso performers toured Europe and influenced composers such as Spohr and Weber to write clarinet concertos and chamber works. Instruments continued to be made out of boxwood, though makers experimented with silver and brass as well. Some clarinets were made out of cocuswood, a tropical wood found mostly in Jamaica. French makers began making clarinets out of ebony, a heavy, dark wood from Africa, in the mid-nineteenth century. But gradually the preferred material became African blackwood, which is similar to ebony but less heavy and brittle.
Clarinets made after 1850 are generally the same as modern clarinets in size and shape. Nineteenth century makers experimented widely with different key and fingering systems, and today there are two main key systems in use. The simple, or Albert, system is used principally in German-speaking countries. The Bohm system has more keys than the Albert and is standard in most other parts of the world.
Raw Materials
Most modern clarinet bodies are made out of African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon). There are actually many different trees in the African blackwood genus, such as black cocus, Mozambique ebony, grenadilla, and East African ebony. It is this heavy, dark wood that gives clarinets their characteristic color. Inexpensive clarinets designed for students may be made out of artificial resins. Very occasionally, clarinets are manufactured out of silver or brass. The clarinet mouthpiece is made out of a kind of hard rubber called ebonite. The keys are usually made out of an alloy called German silver. This is made from copper, zinc, and nickel. It looks like pure silver, but does not tarnish. Some fine instruments may be made with pure silver keys, and expensive models are available with gold-plated keys. The key pads require cardboard and felt or leather. The reed is made from cane. Other materials used in the clarinet are cork and wax, for lining the joints, and a metal such as silver or a cheaper alloy for the ligature, the screw clip that holds the reed in place, and stainless steel for the spring mechanisms that work the keys.
The Manufacturing
Process
Preparing the body
2 When the manufacturer receives the billets, workers inspect the lot. Then skilled workers place the billets on a borer, which drills a hole lengthwise through the center of each piece. The diameter and shape of this hole, called the bore of the clarinet, is crucial to determining the tone of the instrument. The bore may be drilled in a straight cylinder, or the cylinder may be slightly tapered. After the bore is drilled, the body pieces are turned on a lathe. The rectangular billets become smooth, round, hollow cylinders. These cylinders are then seasoned again.
After the rough pieces have been seasoned for the second time, they are reduced to finished size. The pieces are turned on a lathe and trimmed to exceedingly precise diameters. The joints where the body pieces fit into each other are turned after the exterior is completed. The bore may be reamed more precisely, and then it is polished on the inside. Then the joints are painted with a black dye.
Plastic models
3 Body parts for clarinets made of plastic are produced by injection molding. Plastic pellets are melted and forced under pressure into molds. The molds for clarinet body parts produce hollow cylinders. In some cases, the molds are so precise that these cylinders do not need any additional reaming. Or they may be reamed and polished, as are wooden clarinets.
The steps that follow apply to both wooden and plastic models.
Boring the tone holes
Construction of keys
5 Early clarinets were made with hand-forged keys. The modern method is usually die-casting. Molten alloy (usually German silver) is forced under pressure into steel dies. A group of connected keys may be made in one piece in this method. Alternately, individual keys may be stamped out by a heavy stamping machine, and then trimmed. These individual keys are then soldered together with silver solder to make the connected group. Next the keys are polished. Keys for inexpensive models may be placed in a tumbling machine, where friction and agitation of pellets in a revolving drum polish the pieces. More expensive keys may be buffed individually by being held against the rotating wheel of a polishing machine. Some keys may be silver-plated, and then polished.
Mounting the keys
Finishing
Quality Control
After the clarinet is fully assembled, a worker checks the instrument for visual flaws, checks the action of the keys, and then play tests it. By playing it, the worker can note the tone quality, intonation, and action of the new instrument.
The finished clarinet should be checked for precision tuning. The clarinet's sounding A natural should be at 440 cycles per second, and the other notes in tune with this. If the instrument has been manufactured according to a standard model, with care to exact diameters of bore and tone holes, it should play in tune automatically. It may be tested with an electronic tuner, and the diameters of the tone holes made larger by more reaming, if necessary. If tone holes are too large (producing a flat note) they may be filled with a layer of shellac.
The wood of the clarinet body should not crack, and the action of the keys should be smooth and not too loud. Ideally, the instrument should last for decades without warping, cracking, or any serious defect.
The Future
Clarinet manufacturing itself is a fairly conservative industry, relying on highly skilled craftspeople who do much work by hand. Most of the innovations in clarinet design are now 100 years old. One area that is still in flux, however, is the manufacture of clarinet reeds. While the best reeds are said to come from a species of cane grown in France, some players and makers are experimenting with wild cane that grows in California. Synthetic reeds have also been developed recently, and more research is being done to improve them. As sources of natural cane diminish, and overall quality is not high, synthetic reeds may be what most clarinet players use in the future.
Where to Learn More
Books
Rendall, F. Geoffrey. The Clarinet. Norton, 1971.
Robinson, Trevor. The Amateur Wind Instrument Maker. University of Massachusetts Press, 1980.
Periodicals
Armato, Ben. "Raising 'Cain' with the Growers." The Clarinet. February/March 1994, pp. 32-33.
[Article by: Angela Woodward]
A woodwind instrument of essentially cylindrical bore, played with a single beating reed; it has been made in a wide range of sizes and tonalities (for illustration, see
The earliest mention of the clarinet is in an order dated 1710 for a pair of clarinets from the maker Jacob Denner of Nuremberg. Handel wrote at least twice for the instrument, but it came into widespread use only after the middle of the 18th century. It quickly found its way into the military band and the wind ensemble and gradually found a regular place in the orchestra during the late 18th century. Burney reported favourably on what he deemed their first appearance in the London opera orchestra, in J.C Bach's Orione (1763); Arne had already written for them, in 1760. In France, Rameau used them in Zoroastre (1749). The Mannheim and Paris orchestras deserve much of the credit for popularizing its orchestral use. Mozart composed his famous clarinet works for Anton Stadler, including the Trio k 498 (for clarinet, viola and piano), the Quintet k 581 and the Concerto k 622; his Viennese serenades also use it. Beethoven supplied a Trio op.11 for clarinet, cello and piano, and used the instrument effectively in his Quintet op.16 for piano and wind. Weber and Spohr wrote concertos. Brahms made major contributions in his Trio op.114 for clarinet, cello and piano, Quintet op.115 and two sonatas op.120. In the 20th century the talents of specific players have inspired composers to extend the technique of the instrument, for example Benny Goodman (Bartók's Contrasts and concertos by Hindemith and Copland).
The B♭ clarinet once played a primary role in ragtime and jazz, though its significance has waned since c 1945, except in ‘Dixieland’ jazz. Extended 20th-century compositions using the clarinet in imitation of jazz include Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto and Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue and Riffs.
For more information on clarinet, visit Britannica.com.
Bibliography
See F. G. Rendall, The Clarinet (3d rev. ed. 1971).
A woodwind instrument, usually made of black wood or plastic, and played with a single reed. The clarinet has extensive use in Dixieland, jazz, and military music, as well as in classical music.
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed.
Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than two dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the B♭ soprano clarinet, by far the most common clarinet. (See "Clarinet family").
A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist.
The clarinet has a distinctive timbre, resulting from the shape of the cylindrical bore, whose characteristics vary between its three main registers. It has a very wide compass, which is showcased in chamber, orchestral, and wind band writing. The tone quality varies greatly with the musician, the music, the style of clarinet, the reed, and humidity. The German (Oehler system) clarinet generally has a darker tone quality than the French (Boehm system). In contrast, the French clarinet typically has a lighter, brighter tone quality. The differences in instruments and geographical isolation of players in different countries led to the development, from the last part of the 18th century on, of several different schools of clarinet playing. The most prominent of these schools were the German/Viennese traditions and the French school, centered around the clarinetists of the Conservatoire de Paris. Increasingly, through the proliferation of recording technology and the Internet, examples of many different styles of clarinet playing are available to developing clarinetists today. This has led to decreased homogeneity of styles of clarinet playing. The modern clarinetist has an eclectic palette of "acceptable" tone qualities to choose from, especially when working with an open-minded teacher.
The A clarinet and B♭ clarinet have nearly the same bore, and use the same mouthpiece. Orchestral players often use both A and B♭ instruments in the same concert, but use only one mouthpiece (and often the same barrel), which they swap between the two as needed. The A and the B♭ instruments have nearly identical tonal quality. The A, however, lacks some of the B♭'s brightness and will generally have a slightly warmer sound.
The tone of the E♭ clarinet is brighter than that of the lower clarinets and can be heard through even loud orchestral textures.
The bass clarinet has a characteristically deep, mellow sound. The alto clarinet is similar in sound to the bass, and the basset horn has a tone quality similar to the A clarinet.
Clarinets have the largest pitch range of any common woodwind; this is at the sacrifice of the convenience and ease of some passages (due to more intricate key organization), however, most experienced clarinetists can overcome this. The bottom of the clarinet’s written range is defined by the keywork on each particular instrument; there are standard keywork schemes with some variability. The actual lowest concert pitch depends on the transposition of the instrument in question.
Nearly all soprano and piccolo clarinets have keywork enabling them to play the E below middle C (E3 in scientific pitch notation) as their lowest written note, though some B♭ clarinets go down to E♭3 to enable them to match the range of the A clarinet. In the case of the B♭ soprano clarinet, the concert pitch of the lowest note is D3, a whole tone lower than the written pitch. This is an impressively low note considering the instrument's size. Most alto and bass clarinets have an additional key to allow a (written) E♭3. Modern professional-quality bass clarinets generally have additional keywork to C3. Among the less commonly encountered members of the clarinet family, contra-alto and contrabass clarinets may have keywork to E♭3, D3, or C3; the basset clarinet and basset horn generally go to low C3.
Defining the top end of a clarinet’s range is difficult, since many advanced players can produce notes well above the highest notes commonly found in method books. The “high G” two octaves plus a perfect fifth above middle C (G6) is routinely encountered in the standard soprano clarinet literature through the nineteenth century. The C above that (C7) is attainable by most advanced players and is shown on many fingering charts.
The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct registers. The lowest register, consisting of the notes up to the written B♭ above middle C (B♭4), is known as the chalumeau register (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate ancestor). This register is the easiest to play and is the first learned by beginning players. The top four notes of this register are known as the throat tones; they can pose problems of poor intonation and tone quality, making them troublesome in solo or ensemble writing.
The middle register is termed the clarinet register (sometimes clarion or clarino register[1]) and spans just over an octave (from written B above middle C(B4) to the C two octaves above middle C(C6)); it is the dominant range for most members of the clarinet family and is audible above the brass while playing forte. The top or altissimo register consists of the notes above the written C two octaves above middle C (C6); this range is not used as frequently, as tone greatly deteriorates with pitch height.
Unlike other woodwinds all three registers have characteristically different sounds. The chalumeau register is rich and (relatively) quiet. The clarinet register is bright and sweet as a trumpet if heard from afar; "clarino" meaning trumpet and being the root word for "clarinet." The altissimo register can be piercing and sometimes shrill.
Clarinet bodies have been made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic, hard rubber, metal, resin, and ivory.[2] The vast majority of clarinets used by professional musicians are made from African hardwood, often grenadilla, rarely (because of diminishing supplies) Honduran rosewood and sometimes even cocobolo. Historically other woods, notably boxwood, were used.
Most modern inexpensive instruments are made of plastic resin, such as ABS. These materials are commonly called "resonite", though in fact this is a trademark of Selmer for its particular 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 Crampon's Greenline clarinets are made from a composite of wood powder and carbon fiber.[3] Such instruments are less affected by humidity than the equivalent wood instrument, but are heavier. Hard rubber, such as ebonite, has been used for clarinets since the 1860s. Few modern clarinets are made of it, though clarinet designers Alastair Hanson and Tom Ridenour are strong advocates of hard rubber.[4] 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.
Mouthpieces are generally made of ebonite, although some inexpensive mouthpieces may be made of plastic.Other materials such as wood, ivory, metal, and glass have also been used.
The instrument uses a single reed made from the cane of Arundo donax, a type of grass. Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic materials. The ligature fastens the reed to the mouthpiece. When air is blown through the opening between the reed and the mouthpiece facing, the reed vibrates and produces the instrument's sound.
While a few clarinetists make their own reeds, most buy manufactured reeds, though many players make adjustments to these reeds to improve playability. Clarinet reeds come in varying degrees of hardness, generally indicated on a scale from one (soft) through five (hard). This numbering system is not standardized, varying between reed manufacturers. Reed hardness and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability, pitch stability, and tonal characteristics.
The body of a modern soprano clarinet is equipped with numerous tone holes of which seven (six front, one back) are covered by the fingertips and the rest are opened or closed using a complicated set of keys. These tone holes allow every note of the chromatic scale to be produced. (On bass and larger clarinets, some alto clarinets, and a few soprano clarinets, some or all of the finger holes are replaced by key-covered holes.) The most common system of keys was named the Boehm System by its designer Hyacinthe Klosé in honour of the flute designer Theobald Boehm, but is not the same as the Boehm System used on flutes. The other main system of keys is called the Oehler system and is used mostly in Germany and Austria (see History). Related is the Albert system used by some jazz, klezmer, and eastern European folk musicians. The Albert and Oehler systems are both based on the earlier Mueller system.
The bore of the instrument has a basically cylindrical shape, being roughly the same diameter for most of the length of the tube. There is a subtle hourglass shape, with its thinnest part at the junction between the upper and lower joint. This hourglass figure is not visible to the naked eye, but helps in the resonance of the sound. The diameter of the bore affects characteristics such as the stability of the pitch of a given note, or, conversely, the ability with which a note can be 'bent' in the manner required in jazz and other styles of music. The bell is at the bottom of the instrument and flares out to improve the tone of the lowest notes.
The fixed reed and fairly uniform diameter of the clarinet give the instrument an acoustical behavior approximating that of a cylindrical stopped pipe. Covering or uncovering the tone holes varies the effective length of the pipe, changing the resonant frequencies of the enclosed air column and hence the pitch of the sound that is produced. A clarinetist moves between the chalumeau and clarinet registers through use of the register key, or speaker key. The register key, when pressed, causes the clarinet to produce the note a twelfth higher, corresponding to the instrument's third harmonic. The clarinet is therefore said to overblow at the twelfth. (By contrast, nearly all other woodwind instruments overblow at the octave, or do not overblow at all; the rackett is the next most common Western instrument that overblows at the twelfth like the clarinet.) A clarinet must therefore have holes and keys for nineteen notes (an octave and a half, from bottom E to B♭) in its lowest register to play a chromatic scale. This overblowing behavior at once explains the clarinet's great range and its complex fingering system. The fifth and seventh harmonics are also available, sounding a further sixth and fourth (actually a very flat diminished fifth) higher respectively; these are the notes of the altissimo register.
The highest notes on a clarinet can have a piercing quality and can be difficult to tune precisely. Different individual instruments can be expected to play differently in this respect. This becomes critical if a number of instruments are required to play a high part in unison. Fortunately for audiences, disciplined players can use a variety of fingerings to introduce slight variations into the pitch of these higher notes. It is also common for high melody parts to be split into close harmony to avoid this issue.
Since approximately 1850, clarinets have been nominally tuned according to 12-tone equal-temperament. Older clarinets were nominally tuned to meantone, and a skilled performer can use his or her embouchure to considerably alter the tuning of individual notes.Special fingerings may be used to play quarter tones and other microtonal intervals.[5] (Fritz Schüller of Markneukirchen, Germany built a quarter tone clarinet, with two parallel bores of slightly different whose tone holes are operated using the same keywork and a valve to switch from one bore to the other.)
A Boehm system soprano clarinet is shown in the photos illustrating this section. However, all modern clarinets have similar components.
The reed is attached to the mouthpiece by the ligature; and the top half-inch or so of this assembly is held in the player’s mouth. (German clarinetists often wind 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 embouchure.
The reed is on the underside of the mouthpiece, pressing against the player's bottom 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 configuration of the embouchure change the tone and intonation (tuning). It is not uncommon for clarinetists to employ methods to soften the pressure on both 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 in order 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 increasing the length of the instrument by pulling out the barrel, particularly common in group playing in which clarinets are tuned to other instruments (such as in an orchestra). Some performers employ a plastic barrel with a thumbwheel that enables the barrel length to be altered. On basset horns and lower clarinets, the barrel is usually replaced by a curved metal neck.
The main body of most clarinets is divided into the upper joint whose holes and most keys 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. Interestingly, on some models of clarinet, such as many Albert 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. As well as the slightly exotic look this lends to the clarinet, advocates of the wraparound register key advocate improved sound, as well as the benefit that it is harder for condensation to accumulate in the tube beneath the 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 which make it easy to play ornaments and trills that would otherwise be awkward. 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. As a result, when playing to a microphone, the best tone can be recorded by placing the microphone not at the bell but a little way from the finger-holes of the instrument. This relates to the position of the instrument when playing to an audience: pointing down at the floor, except in the most vibrant parts of certain styles of music and when called for specifically by the composer in the music (for example, in the music of Gustav Mahler). On basset horns and larger clarinets, the bell curves up and forward, and is usually made of metal.
The reason that the most popular soprano clarinets are in B♭, A, and E♭ has to do partly with the history of the instrument, and partly with acoustics and aesthetics. Before about 1800, due to the lack of airtight pads (explained below – see History), practical woodwinds could have only a few keys to control accidentals (notes outside their diatonic home scales). Because clarinets overblow at the twelfth rather than the octave, they need keys to control more notes in each register than oboes, flutes, or bassoons do. Therefore clarinets with few keys cannot easily play an in-tune chromatic scale, limiting any such instrument to a few closely related key signatures. For example, an eighteenth century clarinet in C could readily be played in B♭, F, C, G and D (and their relative minors), but not (easily) keys outside this range. As key technology improved and more keys were added to woodwinds, the need for instruments in multiple musical keys was reduced. For octave-overblowing instruments a single instrument in C can readily be played in any key. For clarinets, the use of more than one instrument in different keys persisted, with instruments in B♭ and A used in addition to the C instrument in the lower soprano range.
Because the acoustics of the clarinet mean that the deeper the instrument is in pitch, the more "mellow" (less bright) it sounds, the C clarinet – being the shortest and therefore brightest instrument of the three – eventually fell out of favour, as the other two clarinets could play its range of keys between them and their sound was considered better. As more technical improvements were made, and the clarinet became equal tempered, the need for two clarinets itself reduced. However the difficulty for the player playing in remote keys remains and thus the A has remained a useful orchestral instrument.
Similarly there have been E♭ and D instruments in the upper soprano range, B♭, A, and C instruments in the bass range, and so forth; but over time the E♭ and B♭ instruments have become predominant.
Clarinets have a very wide compass, which is showcased in chamber, orchestral, and wind band writing. Additionally, improvements made to the fingering systems of the clarinet over time have enabled the instrument to be very agile; there are few restrictions to what it is able to play.
In classical music, clarinets are part of standard orchestral instrumentation, which frequently includes two clarinetists playing individual parts — each player usually equipped with a pair of standard clarinets in B♭ and A. Clarinet sections grew larger during the 19th century, employing a third clarinetist or a bass clarinet. In the 20th century, composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss and Olivier Messiaen enlarged the clarinet section on occasion to up to nine players, employing many different clarinets including the E♭ or D soprano clarinets, basset horn, bass clarinet and/or contrabass clarinet.
This practice of using a variety of clarinets to achieve colouristic variety was common in 20th century music and continues today. It is quite common for clarinet parts to alternate between B♭ and A instruments several times over the course of a movement. However, many clarinetists and conductors prefer to play parts originally written for obscure instruments such as the C or D clarinets on B♭ or E♭ clarinets, which are 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 a considerable amount of solo repertoire from the Classical, Romantic and Modern periods but few works from the Baroque era. A number of clarinet concertos have been written to showcase the instrument, with the concerti by Mozart, Copland and Weber being particularly well known.
Many works of chamber music have also been written for the clarinet. Particularly common combinations are:
In wind bands, clarinets are a particularly central part of the instrumentation, occupying the same space (and often playing the same parts) in bands that the strings do in orchestras. Bands usually include several B♭ clarinets, divided into sections each consisting of 2–3 clarinetists playing the same part. There is almost always an E♭ clarinet part and a bass clarinet part, usually doubled. Alto, contra-alto, and contrabass clarinets are sometimes used as well, and very rarely a piccolo A♭ clarinet.
The clarinet was a central instrument in early jazz starting in the 1910s and remaining popular in the United States through the big band era into the 1940s. Larry Shields, Ted Lewis, Jimmie Noone and Sidney Bechet were influential in early jazz. The B♭ soprano was the most common instrument, but a few early jazz musicians such as Louis Nelson Deslile and Alcide Nunez preferred the C soprano, and many New Orleans jazz brass bands have used E♭ soprano.
Swing clarinetists such as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Woody Herman led successful and popular big bands and smaller groups from the 1930s onward. With the decline of the big bands' popularity in the late 1940s, the clarinet faded from its prominent position in jazz, though a few players (Buddy DeFranco, Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Giuffre, Perry Robinson, Theo Jorgensmann and others) used clarinet in bebop and free jazz.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Britain underwent a surge in the popularity of traditional jazz. During this period, a British clarinetist named Acker Bilk became popular, founding his own ensemble in 1956. Bilk had a string of successful records including the most popular, Stranger on the Shore, a tune now synonymous with Acker Bilk himself.
Back in the U.S., the instrument has seen something of a resurgence since the 1980s, with Eddie Daniels, Don Byron, and others playing the clarinet in more contemporary contexts. The instrument remains common in Dixieland music; Pete Fountain is one of the best known performers in this genre. Bob Wilber, active since the 1950s, is a more eclectic jazz clarinetist, playing in a number of classic jazz styles.
Filmmaker Woody Allen is a notable jazz clarinet enthusiast, and performs New Orleans-style jazz regularly with his quartet in New York.
In Rock and Pop music, the clarinet is used very rarely. But exceptions occur even here:
The Beatles used a clarinet trio in Dixieland jazz style as backing for their song When I'm Sixty-Four on their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
John Helliwell with the band Supertramp sometimes uses the clarinet for an unusual sound.
Clarinets also feature prominently in much Klezmer music, which requires a very distinctive style of playing. This folk genre makes much use of quarter-tones, making a different embouchure (mouth position) necessary. Some klezmer musicians prefer Albert system clarinets.
The popular Brazilian music style choro often uses a clarinet. Prominent contemporary players include Paquito D'Rivera and Maurita Murphy Mead.
The clarinet is prominent in Bulgarian wedding music, an offshoot of Roma/Romani traditional music. Ivo Papazov is a well-known clarinetist in this genre.
In Greece clarinet is closely related to the traditional music of the country, especially central and north-west Greece (Thessaly and Epirus). Clarinet in Greece has a unique sound, due to the integration of it with zurna, which was the dominant woodwind before clarinet arrived to the country. It is such a famous instrument that many people there regard clarinet as Greece-made instrument. Traditional dancing music, wedding music and laments always include clarinet soloist and quite often improvisations. Petroloukas Chalkias is a famous clarinetist in this genre.
Groups of clarinets playing together have become increasingly popular among clarinet enthusiasts in recent years. Common forms are:
Clarinet choirs and quartets often play arrangements of both classical and popular music, in addition to a body of literature specially written for a combination of clarinets by composers such as Arnold Cooke, Alfred Uhl, Lucien Caillet and Václav Nelhýbel.
There is a family of many differently-pitched clarinet types, some of which are very rare. The following are the most important sizes:
Experimental EEE♭ and BBB♭ Octocontra-alto and Octocontrabass clarinets have also been built.
In the early 20th century, Clarinets in B natural were often used at ice skating rinks. The idea was that the low temperatures would make the clarinet so flat that it would effectively become a B♭ clarinet.
Clarinets other than the standard B♭ and A soprano clarinets are sometimes known as harmony clarinets.
There have also been soprano clarinets in C, A, and B♭ with curved barrels and bells marketed under the names Saxonette, Claribel, and Clariphon.
The clarinet developed from a Baroque instrument called the chalumeau. This instrument was similar to a recorder, but with a single reed mouthpiece similar to that of the modern clarinet and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a register key, it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, plus two keys for its two highest notes.
Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet. This development is usually attributed to a German instrument maker named Johann Christoph Denner, though some have suggested his son Jacob Denner was the inventor. This instrument played well in the middle register with a loud, strident tone, so it was given the name clarinetto meaning "little trumpet" (from clarino + -etto). Early clarinets did not play well in the lower register, so chalumeaux continued to be made to play the low notes and these notes became known as the chalumeau register. As clarinets improved, the chalumeau fell into disuse.
The original Denner clarinets had two keys, and could play a chromatic scale, but various makers added more keys to get improved notes, easier fingerings, and a slightly larger range. The classical clarinet of Mozart's 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 much music for it, and by the time of Beethoven (c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra.
The next major development in the history of clarinet was the invention of the modern pad. Early clarinets covered the tone holes with felt pads. Because these leaked air, the number of pads had to be kept to a minimum, so the clarinet was severely restricted in what notes could be played with a good tone. In 1812, Ivan Mueller, a Russian-born clarinetist and inventor, developed a new type of pad which was covered in leather or fish bladder. This was completely airtight, so the number of keys could be increased enormously. He designed a new type of clarinet with seven finger holes and thirteen keys. This allowed the clarinet to play in any key with near equal ease. Over the course of the 19th century, many enhancements were made to Mueller's clarinet, such as the Albert system and the Baermann system, all keeping the same basic design. The Mueller clarinet and its derivatives were popular throughout the world.
The final development in the modern design of the clarinet used in most of the world today was introduced by Hyacinthe Klosé in 1839. He devised a different arrangement of keys and finger holes which allow simpler fingering. It was inspired by the Boehm System developed by Theobald Boehm, a flute maker who had invented the system for flutes. Klosé was so impressed by Boehm's invention that he named his own system for clarinets the Boehm system, although it is different from the one used on flutes. This new system was slow to catch on because it meant the player had to relearn how to play the instrument. To ease this transition, Klose wrote a series of exercises for the clarinet, designed to teach his fingering system. Gradually, however, it became the standard and today the Boehm system is used everywhere in the world except Germany and Austria. These countries still use a direct descendant of the Mueller clarinet known as the Oehler system clarinet. Also, some contemporary Dixieland and Klezmer players continue to use Albert system clarinets, as the simpler fingering system can allow for easier slurring of notes. At one time the reed was held on using string, but now the practice exists primarily in Germany and Austria, where the tone is preferred over that produced with the ligatures that are more popular in the rest of the world.
| Clarinet | |
|---|---|
| Clarinet family | Clarinet family • Piccolo clarinet • E♭ clarinet • Soprano clarinet • Saxonette • Quarter tone clarinet • Basset clarinet • Clarinette d'amour • Basset horn • Alto clarinet • Bass clarinet • Contra-alto clarinet • Contrabass clarinet • Octocontra-alto clarinet • Octocontrabass clarinet |
| Clarinet systems | Category:Clarinet systems • Albert • Boehm • Mazzeo • Oehler |
| Clarinetists | Category:Clarinetists • Category:Bass clarinetists • List of clarinetists • Heinrich Bärmann • Walter Boeykens • Jack Brymer • James Campbell • Henry Lazarus • Sabine Meyer • David Shifrin • Anton Stadler • Milenko Stefanović •Richard Stoltzman • |
