Page 4 - Info Magazine nr 14 december 2020

The clarinet, which boasts the largest register of all wind instruments, is
related to the flute, the oboe, and the bassoon. In an orchestra, the cla-
rinet takes on both solo roles and the middle register of the woodwind
part, while in music for wind instruments the clarinet assumes a leading
role (along with the trumpet).
Due to its warm timbre and all-action playing style, it is also used as a
solo instrument in genres such as swing jazz.

The clarinet is said to have been invented by Johann
the family of clarinets
Denner around the turn of the eighteenth century.
The clarinets that he constructed at his workshop
only had two keys. Subsequently, the number of keys
was gradually increased, and by the mid-nineteenth
century clarinets virtually the same as those of today
were being constructed with 16 keys, based on the
ideas of Theobald Boehm, the flautist and son of a
jeweler. This is the Boehm system, which has survi-
ved to this day.

What is a Boehm clarinet?
This is the type of clarinet devised in the mid-nine-
teenth century by the instrument maker Theobald
Boehm. The fingering is much easier than on the Öh-
ler clarinet. Most modern clarinets use the Boehm
system.

The traditional Öhler clarinet

This is the clarinet that has been
handed down from the period when
major composers such as Mozart,
Weber, and Brahms were active. It is
still used extensively in Germany and
Austria.
In the era of Mozart and Beetho-
ven, which was before the Boehm
clarinet was invented, a forerunner
of the Öhler clarinet predominated.
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Berlin Philharmonic Orches-
tra still use the Öhler clarinet today.
Although the fingering on the Öhler
clarinet is more difficult than on the
Boehm clarinet, these orchestras set
great store by its traditional sound.

https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/clarinet/