Clarinet Range: Learn About The Ranges Of Orchestral Instruments

The clarinet is a musical instrument.

To be more specific, the clarinet family falls under the woodwind instruments. Woodwind instruments are the family of wind instruments, like flute, saxophone, and bassoon.

There are various types of this instrument, with varied ranges, sizes, and pitches. A person who plays this wind instrument is called a clarinetist.

The clarinet is very popular, particularly in Western music. The most common type of clarinet that you can see being used in different music bands is the bb clarinet.

The other types, such as the basset clarinet, piccolo clarinets, basset horn, D clarinet, and C clarinet, are not so used as much, and a few have even seized to exist.

Be it a string instrument like a violin, a cello, or even a guitar, or a wind instrument, like a flute or saxophone, the sound produced on such musical instruments has always been able to capture the attention of the mass.

Some of the most notable clarinetists to have existed are Carl Baermann, Jack Brymer, Karl Leister, Jost Michaels, and Anton Stadler, among many others.

All these notable musicians have produced such rich music that has significantly influenced the future generation of music composers.

If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about Beatles names and cool band names here on Kidadl.

What is a clarinet?

The clarinet is a type of musical instrument. There are various types of clarinet, like the Bb clarinet (most commonly used), basset clarinets, sopranino clarinet, C clarinet, alto clarinet contra-alto clarinets, and contrabass clarinets, basset horn, piccolo clarinet, among many others.

Some of these above-mentioned clarinets can still be seen being used in various concerts like the alto clarinet, bass clarinets, while some have become mostly obsolete over the years and can now be rarely be seen, like the basset horns, C clarinets, and the piccolo clarinet.

Johann Denner is considered to be the pioneer who invented the clarinet during the late 17th century. Since then, it has become rather popular in Western music.

Typically, in a clarinet, there are five parts, called the mouthpiece, upper joint, lower joint, and barrel. It is a single-reed instrument; that is, only one reed is used to bring out sound.

Unlike a single-reed instrument, double reed instruments like a bassoon and oboe do not have a mouthpiece. There are also tone holes present on this instrument for a clarinetist to change the range of the note of a song according to their convenience.

While some holes can be covered just by using the fingers, others can be quite difficult to reach. For example, the left hand of a person can be used to cover the topmost four holes of the clarinet, and the fingers of the right hand can be used for the bottom holes.

The keys are used to cover those holes, which the little finger cannot reach. Thus, in this manner, different types of lower notes or higher notes can be played by a clarinetist.

The different types of clarinet also have an impact on the clarinet sound. The A clarinet, for example, is known to produce a much more delicate and mellow sound than the other types.

What is the range of the clarinet?

The clarinet family is known to have a wider range if compared to other wind instruments. Typically, the range of modern clarinets can be divided into three parts.

The lowest range is from low written E to the written B; the middle range, which is the dominant range is from C (B4) to C (C6). The highest range is anything above C (C6).

All three parts produce different sounds when played. The highest range, also known as the altissimo register, produces a shrill and piercing sound, the middle range known as the clarion register produces a rather sweet sound, similar to the sound of a trumpet, and the lowest register, also known as the chalumeau register produces rich sound.

For this reason, clarinets have been played in many music styles, like classical music and jazz.

The written range for the Bb clarinet is D3 – Bb6, while the alto clarinet range is Eb3 to G6. The lowest note on a clarinet is E, while that on the Bb clarinet is E3.

The register key in a clarinet helps the clarinet notes to attain a much higher pitch.

Therefore, when the key is opened, the pitch of a clarinet is amplified by 19 semitones. The lowest concert pitch of a musical instrument relies heavily on its transposition.

What is the highest note on a clarinet?

The clarinet has four octaves and is able to achieve a wide range of notes. There are varied types of clarinets like the basset clarinet, soprano clarinets, Bb clarinet, among many others. All of them produce different sounds of different notes.

For example, the highest note that can be produced on a B flat pitch clarinet is high C. Similarly, using enough pressure to blow along with a C can also produce a high G. The clarinet is considered to be the wind instrument to be able to produce such high notes.

Other wind instruments include trumpet, saxophone, flutes, among many others.

The soprano clarinet in B or the Bb clarinet is the most widely used type of clarinet and is known to be best for beginners. The soprano clarinet in A, or the A clarinet, is slightly larger in size than the Bb clarinet and can be used as an alternate for Bb clarinets in many musical concerts.

The Eb clarinet, among all the others, is considered to produce the highest pitch and can be seen being played in clarinet choirs.

The clarinet is mainly composed of five parts called the mouthpiece, upper joint, lower joint, and barrel. It is a single-reed instrument that is only one reed is used to create sound.

Other types of single-reed instruments include the saxophone, aulochrome, xaphoon, and octavin, among many others. Single reed instruments date back to the ancient regions of Egypt and the Roman Empire.

One one of the many differences between a single reed and a double reed instrument is that, unlike the single-reed instruments, the double reed instruments do not have a mouthpiece. Some of the examples of double reed instruments are the bassoon and the oboe.

How many registers can a clarinet play?

The clarinet range chart can typically be divided into three registers, namely the lowest register, also known as the chalumeau register, middle-range known as the clarion register, and the highest range, also known as the altissimo register.

All the registers produce different sounds. A register is the range of a note. The different clarinet ranges names are assigned further to help differentiate between the ranges. The chalumeau register, for example, is named after the instrument chalumeau, which is considered to be the predecessor of the modern-day clarinets.

The chalumeau register produces rich sound and has a range of low written E to the written B. The clarion register produces a sound similar to that of a trumpet and has a range of C (B4) to C (C6).

It is also considered to be the dominant range. Lastly, the altissimo register produces a rather shrill sound, and the range is anything above C (C6).

This particular instrument always had a very significant impact in the world of music. Some of the most notable clarinetists of the present-day world include Martin Frost, Sharon Kam, Sabine Meyer, among many others.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for clarinet range then why not take a look at why do singers wear earpieces, or circle time?