by Ellen Parrish
The clarinet has been in existence for a few centuries already. It has roots from earlier than 1750, before Mozart was born. Louis XI was alive during the time during which one brand of clarinets originated.
The Noblest Company is one of the oldest clarinet companies. Ets. D. Noblet was founded in France, and then the ownership of this company was passed on to George La Blanc. La Blanc today is a manufacturer of various brands and types of clarinets.
When you shop for a clarinet you will notice that some are made from wood and some are made from hard plastic. You may wonder why there are different ones that are made. The answer is that the more advanced and professional clarinetists use the wood clarinet.
Those that start out, such as children who are learning an instrument for the first time, will usually be placed with a plastic clarinet. The reason why is because the plastic ones are less expensive of an investment, and because they are easier to take care of. The wood ones usually are reserved for a time when it is discovered that a child is serious about learning the clarinet.
Clarinets are built in a variety of keys, and each type is constructed to product a certain range of pitches. For example, the soprano clarinets, which are the highest pitched clarinets, are made in the keys of B, ED, and C. The Bclarinet is the original key in which the clarinet is made, and the others are called harmonic soprano clarinets.
As the artist
extends his world with
one gratuitous flourish—a stroke of white or
a run on the clarinet above the
bass tones of the orchestra ...
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
Other types of clarinets include the alto and bass clarinets. These often complement the soprano clarinets very nicely, and help enhance the bass sections of every band. Some alto and bass clarinets are made with nickel-plated keys while others are made from stainless steel keys.
Usually a person who plays bass clarinet may start out on regular clarinet because the soprano clarinets are cheaper in price. However, the bass clarinet parts in class are actually easier to play than the soprano clarinet. Therefore, if a person would choose an instrument based on difficulty level they would consider the bass being the easier of the two to play, music wise.
The alto clarinet is more of a rarity, and is often not used in most bands and symphonies. However, in recent years it is making a comeback. This type of clarinet can make a great addition to a group, especially for smaller ensembles.
Those who play clarinet need to know a variety of things about them. For instance, they need to know that there are different sized reeds to use for playing the clarinet. The sizes of reeds that are used for clarinets are from size 2 to size 5 typically. The size 2 is used usually by a beginner and sized 21/2 to 4 ½ sized reeds are used for more advanced players. Professional players use the size 5 reeds usually.
The reason why beginners use the thinner sized reeds is because the thinner reeds are easier to use. It is not as hard to produce a sound with it than with the thicker reeds. The thicker reeds, however, are necessary for those who want to produce a fuller, richer, more authentic clarinet sound.
For those who are playing in a hobby band, they may want to consider having on hand a variety of different sized reeds. This can make for an artistic effect, because each one will generate a slightly different tonal quality. This effect would be similar in effect to when a trumpet player mutes his or her trumpet while playing.
Esprit, La Blanc, Concerto, and Noblet are some of the best brands of clarinets on the market. The starter clarinets are often on sale for as low as 200.00, and the higher end clarinets can run in the thousands. You can find medium-priced ones that are both affordable and of professional quality as well.
Besides needing to know about different sized reeds for clarinet, you should know how to take care of it. You should always take it a part or put it on a clarinet stand when it is not in use. Not only that, but you should not leave it in extreme heat or extreme cold for too long.
Furthermore, you should make sure you change your reeds quite frequently to prevent an odorous buildup in your instrument. If you want to clean the keys and the body of the instrument you can wipe the outside of it with a dry cloth. For wood instruments you would use oil to help prevent cracking. Also, you should clean the inside of your clarinet with a spit swab.
This is a long string that has a large cotton swab on the end of it to use for soaking up your spit. You run the swab down one section at a time of the clarinet and then pull the string all the way through the other end