What is unique about the clarinet?

Answer 1

The Clarinet is a single reed http://www.answers.com/topic/woodwind instrument. 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. Other clarinets include the A flat, B flat, and E flat sopraninos, alto clarinets, contralto, and contrabass clarinets. The standard clarinet consists of five parts-the mouthpiece, the barrel or tuning socket, the upper joint, lower joint, and the bell. A thin 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 holes and metal keys which open and close air holes in the clarinet's body. Mozart was the first compose to put clarinets in an orchestra most wooden clarinets come from Africa

Answer 2

It can be anything it wants to be. It can orchestrate incredibly high clear notes or low deeper, smoother tones. It can be played very fast and sound complex or slow and sound emotional. The mouthpiece can serve as a duck call or can be used to train the ombasure. That is what I like to call amazing.

Answer 3

One key difference is that the clarinet over blows at the 12th. What does that mean? Most woodwinds have an octave key. When it is pressed, the open hole interferes with the full length wave in the vibrating column of air so that the wave splits to become two waves, each half as long as the air column. The sound is an octave higher. The clarinet has a register key that interferes with both the full length wave and the wave divided in half. The new wave when the register key is pressed is now three waves, each one third the length of the air column. The sound is an octave and a fifth higher (or a twelfth higher). Thus when you play a middle C on a clarinet, then press the register key, rather than a C an octave higher, you'll get a G an octave and a fifth higher.

Because of this, the clarinet has several additional keys to span the difference between the low chalumeau register and the middle clarion (or clarino) register.

Answer 4

The clarinet has the largest range of all the woodwind family.