Clarinet
The clarinet is a wind
instrument consisting of a cylindrical wood (or
occasionally metal)
pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other
end, to which a
reed is attached. Generically, the clarinet is any member of the woodwind
family, whose
enclosed air column is activated by a single reed, as opposed to the
double-reed
instruments of the oboe family. It is a versatile member of the
orchestra, the principal
treble woodwind of the concert band and is used extensively in solo,
chamber, and
popular music. The clarinet is a transposing instrument--its part in the
score is written at
a different pitch from the one actually sounded.
The immediate ancestor of the clarinet was the chalumeau, a short,
cylindrical pipe with
seven finger holes and a reed cut in its upper side, but without a
bell-shaped opening.
The clarinet was invented when Johann C. Denner (1655-1707) doubled the
length of the
chalumeau and added two keys, making possible the clarino, the upper or
trumpetlike,
register. By the end of the 18th century, the clarinet was an established
member of the
orchestra and was exploited by such composers as Jean Philippe Rameau and
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart. In describing the clarinet of Mozart's day, Anthony
Baines wrote: " . .
. every note offers a resistance that encourages the most expressive
cantabile that is
possible to imagine from a wind instrument. . . . In the upper
register, the clarinet can
never have sounded more beautiful."
Mechanical improvements gradually transformed the clarinet into one of the
most
versatile of all instruments. It is capable of playing all chromatic
tones with great ease,
producing a tonal variety that ranges from the somber and mysterious low
tones through
the bright, full-bodied clarino register to the shrill and piercing notes
of its highest
octave.
Early clarinets were made in many more sizes than are produced today. The
number of
different sizes needed was reduced in the early 19th century by adding
more keys to the
instrument. The instrument most commonly used today is known as the
B-flat clarinet;
the next most common is the clarinet in A. The B-flat clarinet is about
60 cm (23.6 in)
long and has a range of more than three octaves. Since the end of the
19th century, a D
clarinet and a bass clarinet in B-flat have been used in large orchestras.
Concert bands
commonly use a small E-flat clarinet, pitched a fourth above the B-flat
clarinet; an alto
clarinet in E-flat, pitched a fifth lower than the B-flat clarinet; and a
bass clarinet,
pitched an octave lower than the standard instrument; these constitute
the "clarinet
choir." A double-bass, or contrabass, clarinet is also used, which is
pitched two octaves
lower than the standard B-flat clarinet.
Here are the Clarinet players of WHS
Jennifer Saredy
Joanna Cassell
Crystal Grans
Heather Gregory
Jackie Caruana
Vanessa Gonzalez