Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [clarinet]

For questions on the clarinet, a single-reed cylindrical bore woodwind instrument.

The clarinet was invented around 1700 and has since become one of the most versatile wind instruments. It can be found in orchestra, band, jazz, klezmer, Indian traditional music, etc. The clarinet's sound is created by the vibration of a single reed against a mouthpiece. It is different from the other woodwinds because of its cylindrical rather than conical shaped bore.

There are many different sizes of clarinet, the most popular are:

  • E♭ piccolo clarinet
  • B♭ soprano clarinet
  • A soprano clarinet
  • B♭ bass clarinet

For questions specific to bass clarinet use the tag.

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What do the letters D and E above the staff represent here?

A mystery from a musician friend of mine: In the Alpine Symphony by Strauss, the oboe, Eflat clarinet, and bass clarinet/C clarinet have these D's and E's scattered throughout the back half of the piece in the parts and scores. He doesn't think it's…
GotDibbs
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Why is the clarinet able to play lower notes than the soprano sax?

The clarinet and the soprano sax are similar in size, but the clarinet is able to play much lower notes than the soprano sax. Why is this the case? I understand that when the clarinet is overblown the pitch goes up by a 12th, not an octave, which…
JJH
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Why does a clarinet behaves like a closed pipe?

Saxophones, oboes and generally generally most woodwind instruments I can think of behave like open pipes. That seems logical; when every key is closed, they actually are open pipes and, if I remember correctly, a pierced pipe behaves like a…
Édouard
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What does the cross on a square symbol mean?

This symbol is on a clarinet etude sheet, but I don't have any clue what it means.
Chang-Wei Yang
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Confusing clarinet key signature changes

I am reading through a miniature score book of the Vorspiel (Prelude) of Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner. It's a piece for orchestra, including two B-flat clarinets. The clarinet part is written with confusing key signature…
Elements in Space
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Why can't oboes play softly while clarinets can?

Clarinets are famed for being able to play diminuendo and crescendo to and from niente. Oboes, however, have trouble playing in very low dynamics. The difference in construction of oboe and clarinet reeds/mouthpieces is obvious. What are the…
oboecat
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Why do wooden woodwinds sound better than plastic?

With clarinet, recorders, and I presume oboe's also - it's common for beginner instruments to be made out of plastic/hard rubber, and more high quality instruments to be made from wood. This seems to give the instruments better tone. Practically -…
Chris
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How much does it cost on average to clean a clarinet?

I was wondering on average, how much does it cost to clean up a clarinet. Someone borrowed my instrument that I haven't touched in about 20 years. I didn't think to clean it up, replace cork, pads, etc. before lending it out. The person I'm…
Classified
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How can I practice clarinet quietly?

How can I practice clarinet more quietly? Is there a clarinet mute that works well? Particularly good ear plugs? I'd rather not either soundproof a room, or move to the basement / garage. What I don't want to do is reduce air flow to make the…
David LeBauer
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Single reed mouthpieces: How do Facing Lengths, Tip Openings, and Chamber Sizes affect playing?

When buying a new mouthpiece for a clarinet/saxophone - you're faced with a whole table of information on facing lengths, tip openings and chamber sizes. How do all these specifications relate to how a mouthpiece plays? I'm interested in where each…
Chris
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Instrument Switching Question: B flat to Bass Clarinet

I'm writing for a classical style orchestra: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, timpani, strings — two parts each, except timpani and strings. There is one spot where I think a bass clarinet would fill out the orchestration…
Adam Gluntz
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Adjusting clarinet or saxophone reeds

How do various techniques and equipments for adjusting reeds compare? e.g. (blade perpendicular strokes) (Tom Ridenour's Tools + DVD) (David Bourque's Instructions) (Ben Armato's Machine) Reeds bought from stores, even of the same…
user1217
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Strength of clarinet plastic reeds compared to wooden

I play the clarinet at an intermediate-advanced level, and I have recently joined an orchestra. Our conductor wants all the woodwinds to switch to plastic reeds, since they are more audible in the presence of a great number of string instruments. I…
Edward Jiang
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Playing Sax and Clarinet

I currently play tenor sax but would like to pick up clarinet in the near future. How difficult would learning to play Clarinet be, given my experience as a tenor and long time piano player? How much will my knowledge of Sax help?
Bochur613
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My clarinet is playing flat - how can I fix it?

First of all I understand that most people's first (and very reasonable) place to look to improve intonation is at the technique of the player: embouchure quality and technique, air support, maybe quality of reed, etc. I have been following this…
pixelearth
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