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Monday, July 02, 2007




[[InStRuMeNt 0f ThE wEeK CLARINET]]



The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed.
Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than two dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the B♭ soprano clarinet, by far the most common clarinet.

A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist

Reed


The instrument uses a single reed made from the cane of Arundo donax, a type of grass. Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic materials. The ligature fastens the reed to the mouthpiece. When air is blown through the opening between the reed and the mouthpiece facing, the reed vibrates and produces the instrument's sound.
While a few clarinetists make their own reeds, most buy manufactured reeds, though many players make adjustments to these reeds to improve playability. Clarinet reeds come in varying degrees of hardness, generally indicated on a scale from one (softest) through five (hardest). This numbering system is not standardized, varying between reed manufacturers. Reed hardness and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability, pitch stability, and tonal characteristics.






The reed is attached to the mouthpiece by the ligature; and the top half-inch or so of this assembly is held in the player’s mouth. (German clarinetists often wind a string around the mouthpiece and reed instead of using a ligature.) The formation of the mouth around the mouthpiece and reed is called the embouchure.The reed is on the underside of the mouthpiece, pressing against the player's bottom lip, while the top teeth normally contact the top of the mouthpiece (some players roll the upper lip under the top teeth to form what is called a ‘double-lip’ embouchure). Adjustments in the strength and configuration of the embouchure change the tone and intonation (tuning). It is not uncommon for clarinetists to employ methods to soften the pressure on both the upper teeth and inner lower lip by attaching pads to the top of the mouthpiece or putting (temporary) padding on the front lower teeth, commonly from folded paper.






Concert Band




In wind bands, clarinets are a particularly central part of the instrumentation, occupying the same space (and often playing the same parts) in bands that the strings do in orchestras. Bands usually include several B♭ clarinets, divided into sections each consisting of 2-3 clarinetists playing the same part. There is almost always an E♭ clarinet part and a bass clarinet part, usually doubled. Alto, contra-alto, and contrabass clarinets are sometimes used as well, and very rarely a piccolo A♭ clarinet.








BASS CLARINET



The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B♭ clarinet, it is usually pitched in B♭ (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B♭), but it plays notes an octave below the B♭ clarinet. Bass clarinets in other keys, notably C and A, also exist, but are very rare.

The bass clarinet has been regularly used in scoring for symphony orchestra since the late 19th century, becoming more common during the middle and latter part of the 20th century. In recent years, the bass clarinet has also seen a growing repertoire of solo literature including compositions for the instrument alone, or accompanied by piano, orchestra, or other ensemble. It is also used in wind bands, in clarinet choirs, and in film scoring, and has played a minor, but persistent, role in jazz.
The bass clarinet has an appealing, rich, earthy tone quite distinct from other instruments in its range, drawing on and enhancing the qualities of the lower range of the soprano and alto instrument.


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