Know Your Instrument

The Clarinet

MUS1114 Winds Class 1

Project by: Kathleen Hogg

Due: October 18th, 202

This project will act as a guide for those who wish to learn the basics of the clarinet.
 Introduction To The Clarinet

For winds class 1, I’m playing the Bb clarinet. The clarinet is a transposing instrument, and there are di erent types of clarinets
coinciding with their pitch ranges. For example; the Bb clarinet has a range from D3 to Bb6, whereas the A clarinet will sound a
semitone lower, with a range from C#3 - A6.

Range of the Bb clarinet in treble clef

The make of the clarinet I’m playing happens to be ‘Mirabella’, model number Y3463. Mirabella is a Canadian company,
trademarked in November of 2004, that produces a variety of brass and woodwind instruments including -but not limited to- utes,
saxophones, trumpets and trombones.

The standard clarinet is assembled from ve parts; the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper (or le hand) joint, the lower (or right hand)
joint, and the be .

The reed is a thin piece of cane plant that is inserted into the mouthpiece and held in
place by the ligature in order to produce sound. The reed should be facing you once in
playing position.

The keys are pushed down and the tone holes are covered by the pads of the ngers to
create certain pitches.

Mirabella Bb clarinet be

The clarinet belongs to the woodwind instrument family, as its’ main material component is indeed wood. Clarinets have been
made using a variety of di erent materials including wood, metal, hard rubber, etc., however the most common material is African
hardwood. Mpingo (African Blackwood), cocobolo and Honduran rosewood are more examples of materials used for making clarinets.

The cost of a clarinet can vary anywhere between $150 to over $3,000 depending on your budget and level of ability. The cost
can be in uenced by things like materials, features, brand and condition. Also, take into consideration the necessary cost of a case,
reeds and potential repairs or servicing.
 The History Of The Clarinet

The general consensus is that the clarinet was invented by Johann Christoph Denner around the year 1700, which means it’s a
fairly modern instrument being roughly 300 years old. However, depending on your de nition of a clarinet, there are cylindrical wind
instruments with a single reed that date back to over 4,000 years ago. Denner started the development of the modern clarinet by
making modi cations to the existing chalumeau, which slightly resembles a modern recorder, as seen below.

Chalumeau comes from the Greek/Latin word “calumus” meaning pip

Practical Clarinet Knowledg

When you’re playing your clarinet, posture is paramount in order to achieve an accurate, clean pitch. Good posture is also a key
ingredient for deep diaphragmatic breathing, which is necessary to create a continuous air ow and maintain your embouchure.

To start, sit up straight at the edge of your chair. If you’re sitting too far back in your seat it could negatively impact posture, and
the be of the clarinet could hit the seat, producing a lesser quality sound, not to mention a
distraction.

Keeping your right thumb neutral-straight, place it under the thumb rest located on the
back of the lower joint. Hold the clarinet in front of you at around a 45 degree angle, with the
be between your knees. Keeping your wrists straight, curve your ngers over the keys on both
hands. In order to do this, your elbows should be away from your body.

As you nd your comfortable playing position, make sure you keep your chin level with the oor, so as not to sacri ce posture

Now, you’re ready to create your embouchure. The embouchure is the positioning of the
mouth when playing your instrument. For clarinets, we want our embouchure to be tight and to
evenly distribute pressure around the reed.

In the illustration to the left, you’ll see the musician bringing the creases of their lips up
and slightly tucking the bottom lip over the teeth. This process should create a generally wide
and at positioning of the mouth, almost like you are about to whistle.

Place in your mouth, around half-way up, the mouthpiece. You may have to adjust where your lips fall on the mouthpiece as you play
di erent pitches. Every tone hole or key you place down creates more pressure against your embouchure because the air has less exits to
escape from. With your embouchure ready and the reed facing you, gently place your top teeth on the mouthpiece, as seen in the
illustration above. Then, close your mouth around the mouthpiece so as to evenly distribute air pressure around the reed. Again, your
chin should be level to the oor, at and pointed.

TA-DA! You’re ready to make sound

 Speaking of sound, let’s talk about nger positions! The illustration to the left shows a
clarinettist demonstrating the correct placement of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th nger

In the left hand, your thumb should rest over the tone hole located at the back of the
upper joint and as we’ve already learned, the right thumb is placed under the thumb rest located
at the back of the lower joint.

This chart illustrates which keys or tone holes to press or leave open to create speci c notes.

Cleaning And Caring

For Your Clarinet

When playing your instrument, you want to

make sure you’re not eating or chewing gum and
that your mouth is thoroughly rinsed out before
you play. This is because as you’re playing you’re
naturally expelling air, and if there are remaining
crumbs or pieces of food in your mouth, it will
come out into the clarinet and produce a lesser
quality sound, not to mention harm the
instrument.

To clean your clarinet, start by disassembling

it’s’ ve parts. Remove the reed from the ligature
and mouthpiece and place it in its’ case to dry. The
mouthpiece should be cleaned by lling a bowl or
container with warm water and soap and
submerging/swishing it for around 20 seconds.
There exists a speci c cleaning solution fo
mouthpieces as well, but regular dish soap will work ne.

The ligature should be removed from the mouthpiece when

being submerged but can be put back onto the mouthpiece to store
in your case. Wipe down the ligature with a soft, dry cloth every
once in a while. The barrel, upper joint and lower joint can be
cleaned by running a soft, dry cloth through them as shown in
the illustration to the right.