Who Created The Clarinet?Johann Christoph Denner, with the help of his son, Jacob Denner. It was created in Nuremberg, Germany. Denner was well-known and respected for the high quality woodwind instruments he created. He lived from 1655 to 1707. While some believe the clarinet was created around 1690, further research has shown that it may have been developed around 1701-1704.
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The smallest, highest clarinet is the E flat clarinet. Most will make a sharp, shrill sound. The clarinet is played with the flutes and oboes, but it is complicated to "be exactly in tune with an E flat clarinet." [http://www.the-clarinets.net/english/e-flat-clarinet.html]
The "normal" clarinets are considered to be the A clarinet and the B flat clarinet, also referred to as the "soprano clarinet". The B flat clarinet is most often used clarinet. When someone talks about clarinets, these are the ones you would think of. The Alto clarinet is a low sounding clarinet in Eb or in F. Today they have a bend in the barrel, normally made of metal and they normally show a metal funnel, similar to a bass clarinet, but some don't. Because of the bends in this clarinet, it can be built around the same height as the Bb clarinet. It is normally played by being held in someones hands or with a neck strap if someone desired one. The bass clarinet is larger than the Bb clarinet by a considerable amount. It is approximately 40 inches tall. The barrel is a piece of metal S-bent. The bell is bent upward and forward, similar to a saxophone's. This clarinet is very heavy, so the player cannot hold it in their hands, but rest it on the thorn (seen in image at the bottm of the clarinet) or on a special carrying construction normally fixed around a person's shoulders or chest. It is played in low B. The largest of the clarinets is the Contra-bass clarinet. measured to be around 2 m and 70 cm in length. This clarinet is normally used for special effects, which are not only acoustically but optically impressive as well. This clarinet has an extremely deep which is similar to a string base. This instrument is not very common. |