The Clarinet

Listen to the sound of a Clarinet

The clarinet is a woodwind instrument with a single reed and a long cylindrical body.

The clarinet produces a fluid sound when you blow air between a single reed and the mouthpiece. The body's surface has holes through which air can escape when left uncovered. Using levers and keys mounted on steel rods, the player covers and exposes different sets of holes to produce all the scale tones while blowing air through the clarinet.

The clarinet family comprises several similar instruments but different sizes, such as the piccolo, soprano, alto, bass and contrabass clarinets. There are also instruments of the same size, with tubes of varying lengths. For example, there are various types of soprano clarinets, including the Bb and A soprano clarinets (the most common types seen today).

Clarinets come into five pieces: mouthpiece, barrel, upper joint, lower joint and bell. These pieces must be fitted together in precise alignment for proper playing.

Mouthpiece

The Mouthpiece is placed partly in the player's mouth and the reed is attached to this. It provides an opening through which air enters the Clarinet at one end of an air chamber to be set into vibration by the interaction between the air stream and the reed. The player's breath causes the reed to vibrate, which in turn causes the column of air inside the Clarinet to vibrate.

Reed

The Reed is a thin strip of material fitted on the mouthpiece, which vibrates to produce a sound on the Clarinet. Although all single reeds are shaped similarly, they vary in size to fit the appropriate mouthpiece. They come in different strengths - soft, medium and hard.

Ligature

The ligature is a device which holds a reed onto the mouthpiece of the Clarinet. It must allow the reed to vibrate freely, and you must not fit the screws too tightly.

Barrel

You use the Barrel to fine-tune the Clarinet. As the pitch of the Clarinet is temperature-sensitive, some instruments have interchangeable barrels whose lengths vary slightly. You can make additional compensation for pitch variation and tuning by pulling out the Barrel and thus increasing the instrument's length.

Speaker key

The speaker key is the left-hand thump key at the back of the clarinet that changes the register. The clarinet has three registers - low, medium and high.

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Keys & tone holes

Keys and tone holes are openings in the clarinet's body which alter the pitch of the sound produced when covered. They allow you to create every note of the chromatic scale.

Upper joint

You play the upper joint using your left hand. It has four holes covered by the thumb and three fingers, plus 12 keys/levers operated by various fingers and parts of the hand to produce different pitches.

Lower joint

You play the lower joint with the right hand. It has three holes covered with fingers of the right hand plus five keys/levers.

Bell

The Bell improves the uniformity of the Clarinet's tone for the lowest notes in each register. It also helps the tuning of the lower notes.

A clarinet body is usually made of grenadilla wood or plastic. However, other materials are also used in speciality instruments such as hard rubber, metal, plastic and more.

Mouthpiece

The mouthpiece is the top part of the clarinet that holds the reed and allows you to blow air into the clarinet. The mouthpiece also shapes the instrument's tone through its interior shape and, to a limited extent, from the materials used in its construction. The space between the reed and the mouthpiece tip where air passes through is called the tip opening, which will also vary the clarinet's tone depending on the width of the opening.
The table is the flat area where the reed sits on the mouthpiece. The clarinet's ligature fastens over the table to hold the reed in place. Inside the mouthpiece is a small narrow resonating cavity where sound waves pass through from the tip opening out into the barrel and body of the clarinet to deliver sound out of the bell.

The best way to keep your mouthpiece clean is to dry the mouthpiece every time after you play. In addition, it is a good idea to rinse it with lukewarm water and wipe it dry every one to two weeks. Cleaning your clarinet mouthpiece is also recommended before you store the instrument for a while. Observe good habits with keeping your mouthpiece clean; it will last for years. If you put your instrument away wet and don't open the case for a month, you could have a difficult cleaning job on your hands

Reed

The mouthpiece is the playing end, and the other is where the ligature holds the reed fast against the clarinet.

Manufacturers make reeds in five levels of rigidity ranging from soft to hard. Playing is more effortless with a soft clarinet reed; however, players generally graduate to harder reeds as their technique and ability progress.

To position the reed correctly, place it under the ligature and move it down until you can see a small line of black behind the top, just below the mouthpiece's tip. Then tighten the ligature screws to hold the reed firmly and test the instrument to see if they are at an ideal tension for the sound you are trying to produce.

Ligature

The ligature is an adjustable metal band that holds the reed in place on the clarinet's mouthpiece. The ligature is first slipped loosely over the mouthpiece when you put the clarinet together and place the reed underneath. After lining up the tip of the clarinet mouthpiece with the end of the reed, the player tightens the ligature screws to hold the reed in place. Be careful not to reinforce the ligature screws too much, as the reed must be able to vibrate freely.

Barrel

The clarinet barrel connects the instrument's mouthpiece and body, shaping and directing sound through the device.

You can perform minor tuning adjustments by pulling the barrel away from the upper joint a tiny amount. You lower the overall pitch of the instrument, making it flatter. Unfortunately, you are limited to this direction of fine tuning only: there is physically no way to adjust the clarinet to make the tone sharper than it is when all the sections are connected snugly against each other.

Bell

The bell is the flared section at the end of the clarinet from which the sound projects.

Upper and lower joints

The clarinet's body splits into two halves called the upper and lower joints. When the two parts are combined, the bridge key connects the key mechanism from the upper to the lower joints. When assembling the instrument, be careful to gently handle the upper and lower joints and raise the bridge key so the key on the lower joint can fit underneath the bridge key.

The upper and lower joints come together to form the clarinet's body. By pressing different combinations of keys, the player can adjust the pitch of the blown note. The clarinet has an approximate four-octave range, though more advanced players can go even higher still.

Keys and tone holes

Traditionally, the keys and tone holes on the upper joint of the clarinet you play with the left hand. The holes and keys of the lower joint you usually play with the right hand.

Cut into the body of the clarinet; tone holes can be covered or uncovered by the player's fingers, altering the resonant properties of the enclosed air being blown and resulting in changes to the pitch of the sound (creating different "notes").

Clarinet keys are small, round padded metal rings, covers, or levers mounted on metal rods. You alternatively cover and uncover the tone holes in the sides of the clarinet when you make combinations of fingerings. You change airflow through the clarinet, raising or lowering the pitch.

Levered keys are depressed with a finger and press-down combinations of padded metal cover over selected tone holes. The fingers might also press down solid or hollow keys in the centre ("ring" keys) to cover tone holes.

The register key lifts the pitch of the clarinet by an octave plus a fifth.
On the clarinet, located in the body area, the register key is a small lever that causes the instrument's pitch to jump up an octave plus a fifth when you press it. This interval is also known as a "twelfth." It is one of the defining features of a modern-era clarinet. You play the register key with the left thumb.

The clarinet has four cork-covered tenons to hold the five pieces together in playing configuration. Each tenon protrudes from one end of a section, shaped perfectly to fit firmly into the next area, making an airtight connection. As you begin to put the instrument together, the parts may be resistant to being put together. This resistance is likely the result of changing humidity. A small amount of cork grease applied to each cork should allow the instrument to be put together again without much difficulty. Be very careful when you assemble your clarinet. There is a tendency to grasp the clarinet too tightly and incorrectly by the keys. When it is a tight fit, the keys can become bent or even broken when twisted with pressure.

Corks compress gradually over time; eventually, replacement is the only option to maintain a proper air seal.

A person who plays the Clarinet is called a Clarinetist.

History
Learn more about the history of the Clarinet through various periods

Accessories
Please take a look at the different accessories a Cello has and what you will use them for

Buying a Clarinet
The instinct usually is to buy the best and probably the most expensive clarinet

Faults & Repairs
Guidance on some common faults and repairs for Cello owners

Types of Clarinets

Piccolo Clarinet
The Piccolo clarinet is pitched in A♭ key and is now rare. These clarinets are typically used for Italian military music and contemporary pieces for their sonority.

Sopranino Clarinet
The Sopranino clarinet comes in 2 forms E♭ key and D Key. The E♭ key has a characteristic timbre used in concert band repertoire because its tonality is compatible with other instruments, especially those in B♭. The D Key Sopranino is seen to be obscure because
of its limited repertoire in Western music.

Soprano Clarinet
There are three forms of the Soprano clarinet constructed in B♭, C and A keys. The B♭ Soprano clarinet is the most common and used in most styles of music. The Soprano clarinet made in the A key has a sound richer than that built-in B♭ and is frequently used, including in chamber and orchestral music. The C key Soprano clarinet is rare because its sound quality is considered too bright.

Basset Clarinet
The Basset clarinet is a clarinet in A extended to a low C. You use it primarily to play classical-era music. Mozart's clarinet concerto was written for this instrument. However, it is frequently played in a version for the ordinary A clarinet. Basset clarinets are also built in Bb.
Basset-Horn
The Basset-Horn, though, looks like the alto; it is different. Pitched in F, it has an extended range to low C and a narrower bore on most models. Mozart's clarinet concerto was originally sketched out as a concerto for basset horn in G. The Basset-Horn is rarely used today.

Alto Clarinet
The Alto clarinet is pitched in E♭ and is used mainly in chamber music and wind ensembles.

    Bass Clarinet
The Bass clarinet is pitched in B♭. It is used mainly in contemporary music, concert bands and jazz. It is sometimes also used in orchestral music.

    Contra-Alto Clarinet
The Contra-Alto clarinet is EE♭ pitched and is also known as the E♭ Contrabass clarinet. It is mainly used in clarinet Choirs.

    Contrabass Clarinet
The Contrabass clarinet is a EE♭ pitched instrument. It is used mainly in clarinet choirs but sometimes in orchestras and wind ensembles.

Other related Instruments
Oboe
Saxophone
Chalumeau
Tarogato

Learn

The Clarinet (like the flute) is a good follow-on instrument from the Recorder. It is easy for children from the age of six upwards to learn. Some people use the Clarinet as a stepping stone to playing the Saxophone.

The best way to learn to play the Clarinet is to find an experienced and patient teacher in your local area. Sometimes, you can also arrange clarinet lessons via your child’s school, where they may have a visiting teacher. If you cannot find a local teacher, another option is to use online tutorials. There are many such resources available on the internet.

Below are just a few examples of what is available : -