Clarinet family

From AudioLexic

The clarinet family is a musical instrument family including the well-known B♭ clarinet, the slightly less familiar E♭, A, and bass clarinets, and other clarinets.

Clarinets other than the standard B♭ and A clarinets are sometimes known as harmony clarinets. However, there are many differently-pitched clarinet types, some of which are very rare. They may be grouped into sub-families, but grouping and terminology vary; the list below reflects popular usage and compares it with systems advocated by a few influential authors. See separate articles for additional details.

• Piccolo clarinet; Very rare. Also known as octave clarinet or sopranino clarinet. About an octave higher than the B♭ clarinet.
  • A♭ piccolo clarinet.
    • Rendall uses the term octave clarinet and includes also obsolete instruments in C, B♭, and G.
    • Shackleton lists also obsolete instruments in C, B♭, and A.

• Soprano clarinet — The most familiar type of clarinet.
  • E♭ clarinet — Fairly common in America and western Europe; less common in eastern Europe.
  • D clarinet; Rare in America and western Europe.
    • Rendall lists the E♭ and D clarinets, along with obsolete instruments in G, F, and E, as sopranino clarinets.
    • Shackleton lists the E♭ and D clarinets, along with obsolete instruments in F, and E, as sopranino clarinets.
  • C clarinet; Moderately rare. Clarinets in C are common in the scores of some composers' classical opera, in which clarinetists were expected to be equipped with instruments in A, Bb and C.
  • B♭ clarinet; The most common type of clarinet.
  • A clarinet; Standard orchestral instrument used alongside the B♭ soprano.
  • G clarinet; Also called a "Turkish clarinet". Primarily used in ethnic music.
    • Rendall lists the C, B♭, and A clarinets along with the obsolete instrument in B as sopranos, and the clarinette d'amour in A♭ and G and the clarinet in G as obsolete altos.
    • Shackleton lists the C, B♭, A, and G clarinets along with obsolete instruments in B and A♭ as sopranos, noting that the A♭ and G often occurred as clarinette d'amour in the mid-18th century.
• Basset clarinet; Essentially a soprano clarinet with a range extension to low C (written).
  • A basset clarinet; Most common type.
  • Basset clarinets in C, B♭, and G also exist.
    • Neither Rendall nor Shackleton includes basset clarinets in their classifications.
• Basset horn — Alto-to-tenor range instrument with (usually) a smaller bore than the alto clarinet, and a range extended to low (written) C.
  • F basset horn — Most common type.
    • Rendall lists basset horns in G (obsolete) and F as tenors.
    • Shackleton lists also basset horns in G and D from the 18th century.
    • Neither Rendall nor Shackleton lists A, E, or E♭ basset horns though these apparently existed in the eighteenth century.
• Alto clarinet — About half an octave lower than the B♭ clarinet.
  • E♭ alto clarinet; Most common type.
    • Rendall lists the E♭ alto and F tenor clarinets as tenors (along with the basset horns).
    • Shackleton lists F alto clarinet as obsolete.
• Bass clarinet; An octave below the B♭ clarinet often with an extended low range.
  • B♭ bass clarinet; The standard bass.
  • A bass clarinet; Obsolete.
  • C bass clarinet; Obsolete.
    • Rendall and Shackleton list C, B♭, and A; Rendall lists only C as obsolete, while Shackleton calls A "rare". Rendall groups these in baritone and bass.
• Contra-alto clarinet; An octave below the alto clarinet.
  • EE♭ contra-alto clarinet, also called EE♭ contrabass clarinet.
    • Rendall lists "contrabasset-horns" in G, F, and E♭ (none marked obsolete), grouping these in baritone and bass.
    • Shackleton lists only "E♭ contrabass clarinet", grouping it in contrabass (pedal) clarinets.
• Contrabass clarinet; An octave below the bass clarinet.
  • BB♭ contrabass clarinet.
    • Rendall lists also contrabass clarinet in C as obsolete, and groups it and the BB♭ contrabass in baritone and bass.
    • Shackleton lists only the BB♭ contrabass, grouping it in contrabass (pedal) clarinets

• Two larger types have been built on an experimental basis:
  • EEE♭ Octocontra-alto; An octave below the contra-alto clarinet. Only three have been built.
  • BBB♭ Octocontrabass; An octave below the contrabass clarinet. Only one was ever built.
    • Neither Rendall nor Shackleton includes these in their classifications.

This article was started using a Wikipedia family article