Reeds

The Clarinet Family

The Bb Clarinet
The most commonly seen clarinet is the Bb (or soprano) clarinet, a transposing instrument
written a tone higher that it sounds. Its range is notated from E below middle C, spanning to C
three octaves above middle C, sounding a tone lower. Professional players can achieve notes
higher than this. Historically, the clarinet has been pitched in A, sounding a minor third higher
than written.

The clarinet has been widely used in orchestras since the baroque era. As mentioned, early
scores call for the clarinet in A, with the Bb clarinet being developed in the 19th century. The
clarinet is also a staple of concert, school, military and marching bands. It has frequent use in
jazz, especially in early swing bands from the 1920s to '40s. For example, Glenn Miller utilised
a clarinet instead of a second alto sax in his band4. Clarinets are rare, but not unheard of, in
modern popular music.

The Bass Clarinet

The bass clarinet is pitched an octave below the Bb clarinet, and is written and fingered
identically. It is therefore written an octave plus a tone higher than it sounds. Unlike the smaller
clarinets, it has a curved bell, not unlike the saxophone (having been developed by Adolphe
Sax), and a point to rest on while playing, as with the cello. It is used extensively in orchestras
and concert bands, though less so in marching bands, owing to its awkward size and shape. It
is commonly utilised by reed doublers in jazz music, and occasionally used as a solo instrument
(see Courtney Pine5 and Shabaka Hutchings6 for modern examples). The bass clarinet is rarely
seen in popular music.

The Eb Clarinet
The Eb is a common, but not standard, orchestral instrument, sometimes seen in early swing
bands. Its written range and fingering is the same as all other clarinets, but sounds a minor third
higher than written. For this reason, it is often utilised at the top of its range.

Solo work is limited. The Eb clarinet is generally reserved for use in orchestras, marching and
military bands, and occasionally concert bands. In a clarinet choir, the Eb clarinets will often
carry the melody.

The Alto Clarinet

Pitched between the standard Bb and bass clarinets is the alto clarinet in Eb. Again, its written
range and fingerings are the same as other clarinets. The alto clarinet sounds a major sixth lower
than written. It bears a greater resemblance to the bass clarinet, sharing the same curved bell.

The alto clarinet is occasionally seen in orchestras, and more commonly used military, marching
and concert bands, and in dedicated clarinet choirs. Other usage is rare, if seen at all.