The clarinet is not a single instrument but a whole family: five common members that range from the tiny E♭ clarinet to the giant contrabass clarinet, which can reach down to about 35 Hz (with the standard low E♭ key). They all share the same single reed, the same fingering system and the same way of sounding. What changes is the size and, with it, the pitch. Here are the types of clarinet, what they have in common and what sets them apart, with a comparison chart and a link to the guide for each one.
What is the clarinet family?
The clarinet is a single-reed woodwind: the sound begins when a cane reed vibrates against the mouthpiece. Its most characteristic feature is a cylindrical bore, which has a big acoustic consequence. When the player overblows, the clarinet does not jump an octave like most woodwinds. It jumps a twelfth (an octave plus a fifth). That is why it has the widest range of any woodwind and registers with names of their own (chalumeau, throat, clarion and altissimo) shared by every member of the family.
All clarinets are transposing instruments and are read in treble clef (the contrabass sometimes in bass clef). So when a player changes instrument, they read and finger exactly the same, and only the real pitch that sounds changes.
The five clarinets, from highest to lowest
- E♭ clarinet (also called the sopranino clarinet; Spanish bands call it requinto): the smallest and highest, with a bright, piercing voice.
- Clarinet (B♭): the central member, the "violin of the band", which carries the melody and is usually the largest section.
- Alto clarinet (E♭): the alto voice, the link between the soprano clarinets and the bass.
- Bass clarinet (B♭): the low voice, deep and velvety, with a curved neck and a metal bell.
- Contrabass clarinet (B♭): the foundation. It sounds an octave below the bass clarinet, among the lowest wind instruments there are.
What they have in common
What makes this family so recognizable is that its members share the essentials:
- Essentially the same fingering. Most use the Boehm system with the same finger map, so a clarinetist can play any of them without relearning (as a flutist doubles on piccolo). Some players, especially in Germany and Austria, use the related Oehler system on the B♭ clarinet.
- Single reed and cylindrical bore, with the register key that gives the jump of a twelfth and the family's four registers.
- All transpose and are read in treble clef: two are in E♭ (E♭ clarinet and alto) and three in B♭ (clarinet, bass and contrabass).
- The low instruments add keys for the low E♭ (alto, bass and contrabass; many bass clarinets go lower, to low C) and solve the problem of size with a curved neck and a metal bell.
Comparison chart of the clarinet types
From highest to lowest, with the tuning, how much each one transposes, its register and where it is mainly used:
| Instrument | Tuning | Transposition | Register | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E♭ clarinet | E♭ | Sounds a minor 3rd higher | Very high | Band, orchestra |
| Clarinet | B♭ | Sounds a major 2nd lower | Soprano (middle) | Band and orchestra |
| Alto clarinet | E♭ | Sounds a major 6th lower | Alto | Band |
| Bass clarinet | B♭ | Sounds a major 9th lower | Low | Band and orchestra |
| Contrabass clarinet | B♭ | Sounds a major 16th lower | Very low | Concert band |
Note the detail about the two instruments in E♭. The small E♭ clarinet transposes upward (it sounds higher than written), while the larger alto transposes downward. Reference pitches use scientific pitch notation (C4 is middle C).
The clarinet in the band and in the orchestra
The clarinet family is the backbone of the concert band. The B♭ clarinets form the largest section, the equivalent of the violins in an orchestra, and with the E♭ clarinet at the top and the bass and contrabass at the bottom they cover almost the whole range. In the symphony orchestra the usual instruments are the B♭ clarinet (and the A clarinet) plus the bass clarinet. The E♭ clarinet, alto and contrabass appear in particular works and in large ensembles.
A little history
The clarinet was born around 1700 in Nuremberg, thanks to Johann Christoph Denner, who improved the older chalumeau by adding a register key that multiplied its range. During the 18th and 19th centuries the mechanism kept growing, with improvements by Iwan Müller and above all the Boehm system adapted to the clarinet by Klosé and Buffet (around 1840), until the modern clarinet emerged. Meanwhile the family spread upward and downward to cover the whole range, from the E♭ clarinet to the contrabass. In the 20th century it became a mainstay of the concert band.
Other, less common clarinets
Besides the five common ones, the family has rarer relatives that appear in specific repertoire:
- A clarinet: the twin of the B♭ clarinet, sounding a minor third lower than written. It is standard in the orchestra, where the player carries both and uses whichever suits the key of the piece.
- Basset horn (corno di bassetto), in F: halfway between the alto and the bass, with extra low notes. Mozart wrote some of his most famous pages for it.
- A♭ piccolo clarinet: the smallest and highest of all, even above the E♭ clarinet. It is heard mostly in Italian bands and in some wind ensemble and orchestral scores.
- E♭ contra-alto clarinet: between the bass and the contrabass, another reinforcement of the low register in large ensembles.
They are much less frequent than the five main instruments, but they complete one of the widest families in all of music.
Tune your clarinet
Check your pitch with the online tuner: clarinet, bass clarinet and E♭ clarinet.
Summary
- There are five common types of clarinet: E♭ clarinet, clarinet, alto, bass and contrabass, from highest to lowest.
- All share a single reed, a cylindrical bore (it overblows a twelfth) and essentially the same Boehm fingering.
- They are transposing instruments read in treble clef: two in E♭ (E♭ clarinet, alto) and three in B♭ (clarinet, bass, contrabass).
- They are the base of the concert band; in the orchestra the clarinet and the bass clarinet stand out.