Page 3 - Info Magazine nr 14 december 2020

History of wind instruments: The Clarinet

A new woodwind instrument in the eighteenth century

The clarinet is a relative newcomer among woodwind instruments. It is gene-
rally said to have been invented by the Nuremberg instrument maker Johann
Christoph Denner at the start of the eighteenth century. A similar instru-
ment-the chalumeau-was already in existence. However, although the chalu-
meau sounded fine at lower registers, the clarinet boasted rich sound quality
at both low and high registers. The fact that the name “clarinet” originally
meant “small trumpet” (“clarino” means trumpet) was probably also related to
this characteristic of the clarinet.
The clarinet family is comprised of a number of similar instruments. It in-
cludes instruments of various sizes, such as the piccolo clarinet (or octave
clarinet), alto clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabass clarinet, as well as in-
struments whose construction is slightly different, such as the basset horn.
The basset horn, with its curved tube, was invented in the latter half of the
eighteenth century, and was chiefly used in works by classical composers.
There are also instruments of the same size which have tubes of different length. For example,
there are various types of soprano clarinet in use, with tube lengths ranging from the C-tube (the
shortest tube) to the G-tube (the longest). However, the Bes-tube (Bes major)
soprano clarinet and A-tube (A major) soprano clarinet seem to be the most
popular at present.
The clarinet produces sound by means of a single-reed attached to the
mouthpiece. The keys are attached to the cylindrical section known as the
bore and are used to vary the pitch. Up until the first half of the eighteenth
century, the clarinet only had two keys. However, more keys were then gradu-
ally added to the instrument to enable the clarinetist to play chromatic scales
and clean notes more easily.

The configuration that has now become standard was perfected by Klosé in
the mid-nineteenth century, based on the ideas of Theobald Boehm.
Since the instrument is based on Boehm's system, it is called the "Boehm
clarinet."

There are a variety of different materials that clarinets can be made of, but most classical in-
struments were made of boxwood. Today, however, not only is the music itself different from the
era of classical music, but the requirements of the musicians are also different. The instruments
themselves have also changed to have wider dynamic ranges, with rich expressive power to send
the notes of even the most difficult passages far and wide.
Grenadilla, which is now the most commonly used material for clarinet making, has a higher re-
lative density than boxwood, making it easier to support with the body while performing, thereby
allowing for more air volume. When blowing gently, on the other hand, rather than the sound
becoming weak it becomes soft and gentle. We can conclude that grenadilla is the most suitable
material for what musicians look for in a clarinet in this day and age.