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The History of the Clarinet Have you ever wondered how the clarinet came to be what it is today? Or how about who invented the clarinet? Well I have some answers to some questions that you might have. I am going to start with how it was first made. Today we most often assume that all of the modern woodwind instruments have been developed through their ancestors. Although there are a few exceptions, the clarinet, however, was not an instrument that was a result of a gradual development of an existing instrument. The clarinet was developed around 1700, and was built upon a chalumeau. The Chalumeau has been widely spread all over Europe. The Chalumeau has always been considered a shepherd’s instrument, and that it should always be played solo. The only problem is that there are not any Chalumeau that have survived. Some have assumed that it might have looked something like a recorder, and that it sounds like the lower octave of today’s clarinets. The Chalumeau does not have an upper register. But the upper register of the clarinet (actually the middle register) is called the clarinet register, while the lower resister of the clarinet is still called the chalumeau register. After the instrument maker C. H. Dener from Nuremburg, Germany, had experimented with a chalumeau, he was finally able to build the instrument that could play not only the upper register but also the lower register. The good thing was that it could do that without sacrificing intonation (the correctness of the tone frequency) in order for him to have been able to accomplish this he had to add two additional holes that were close to the duodecime key. The rest of the problems can be corrected by the player correcting his or her embouchure. At the beginning of the century a Nuremberger had invented a wooden wind instrument that was called the “Clarinetto”. The “Clarinetto” is something like a long Oboe, the only difference is that it has a fairly wide mouthpiece. Even though the first clarinets looked and were still very simple, they just simply looked like a large recorder. The newest instrument had already had a larger tonal range than the oboes and the trumpets at that time. It had such a big tonal range that someone could play a piece relatively louder and execute a technically difficult run and jumps, that would be completely impossible on a trumpet at that time. There was another German clarinet player, and instrument maker named Iwan Mulle. He was one who had revolutionized not only the mechanics of the keys on the clarinet, but also the pivot-mechanics of the old keys and the felt pads. Since the felt pads were never reliable, he decided that he would develop the spoon-key with the leather pads, with sunk- in holes with the conical ring that you find on the clarinet today. That was exactly what he did. So altogether Muller’s clarinet had a total of twelve keys, his clarinet was not far away from what the Germans play today. Muller has also changed the reed into the rough form that we use today. He is also the one that developed the ligature. Even though the clarinet has gone through many changes throughout the years, all of the clarinets that have been changed throughout the years now have a special name. There is the Sopranino Clarinet in A-flat. This clarinet is mainly used in Europe and Australia as part of their military band. The next one is the Sopranino Clarinet in E-flat. This clarinet is also called the baby clarinet due to its small size. This clarinet is used in Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantasique”. The next one is the Sopranino Clarinet in D. This clarinet is shorter than the C clarinet. This clarinet is easier to play than the E-flat clarinet. The most common clarinet is the Clarinet in B-flat. The Clarinet in B-flat is used in ensembles such as school bands and orchestras. These are only a few of the multiple kinds of clarinets. The reeds are the most important part of the clarinet. You might be wondering how is this little piece of wood the most important part of the clarinet. Well when you put the reed and the mouthpiece together, and you blow into the clarinet, it produces acoustic waves, which is the sound that you hear coming out of the clarinet. People are always doing experiments, with all kinds of different materials, trying to find one that can be made into a synthetic reed, that would be able to produce the same results every time, which would then be able to replace the sensitive naturally grown wooden reeds. The reeds are the most important part of the clarinet. You might be wondering how is this little piece of wood the most important part of the clarinet. Well when you put the reed and the mouthpiece together, and you blow into the clarinet, it produces acoustic waves, which is the sound that you hear coming out of the clarinet. People are always doing experiments, with all kinds of different materials, trying to find one that can be made into a synthetic reed, that would be able to produce the same results every time, which would then be able to replace the sensitive naturally grown wooden reeds.