The Clarinet (photo) (audio)

The mellow-toned Clarinet was a German invention in 1700. The contemporary Clarinet's pitch range is three octaves and a sixth. The pitch is divided into four different, distinct registers: the chalumeau, throat, middle, and extreme high register. The Clarinet is know for its expressive style, broad and subtle ability to change in dynamics, and flexibility in tone.

The Clarinet was used as early as the 1720s by such composers as Vivaldi and Handel. Composers such as Rameau and Karl Stamitz began to use Clarinets in their symphonies. Germans made regular use of the Clarinet during the eighteenth century. The height of the Clarinet during the

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eighteenth century was when Mozart wrote a concerto for the Clarinet in 1791 which became one of his masterpieces. During the nineteenth century, due to weaknesses in the Clarinet, such as intonation faults and weak registers, improvements were made on the instrument. Today, members of the family include Clarinets pitched in C, B flat, and A; the bass Clarinet, pitched an octave below the B-flat instrument; the high A-flat Clarinet, found in European military bands; the high E-flat Clarinet; the basset horn, an instrument similar to the bass Clarinet; and the contrabass Clarinet.

The Clarinet is made up of five separate parts: the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper joint, the lower joint and the bell. When in it's original, assembled form, these pieces form a cylindrical tube. At one end of the instrument, the

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reed is placed and sound is produced by the vibrations produced when air hits a thin strip of cane. The Clarinet is held in front of the musician and the horn is usually pointed at the floor.

Some noteworthy works written for the Clarinet are: Brahm's "Quintet for Clarinet and Strings", Claude Debussy's "Rhapsody for Clarinet", and Neilsen's "Clarinet Concerto". Today, Clarinets are the principle instrument in many Woodwind and wind ensembles. Clarinets are featured many times in jazz bands. Clarinets are the principle instruments in marching bands.