The History of the Clarinet
The clarinet was considered to be a revolutionary instrument when it was invented in the early 18th century, by Johann Christoph Denner of Nuremburg, who is an excellent woodwind maker and a very famous one too. He built the clarinet in Germany upon an instrument known as the Chalumeau, which was a single reed instrument that consists of a tube, with the reed actually carved into the instrument itself rather than being a separate part. The Chalumeau was not considered to be serious instrument because it was very hard to play in tone. The clarinet was considered to be revolutionary at the time because it could play both the lower register and the higher register, and that it had a wider range than the oboe and the trumpet. The early clarinets (called clarinettos) were thought to have sounded alike a trumpet, but it had a wider range, and is able to execute more technically difficult runs and skips in which were impossible on the trumpet, while still preserving the sound and the loudness of the trumpet. Therefore, many high trumpets at the time were replaced by clarinets called clarini. The clarinets at the time were very simple and looked fairly like a larger version of the recorder today. It had 8 holes and only 2 keys (some 3) at the time for the left thumb (key and hole), left forefinger (key/hole), left middle finger (hole), left ring-finger (hole), right forefinger (hole), middle finger (hole), ring finger (hole), small finger (hole). The instrument was an immediate success and was incorporated into the orchestras very soon. By 1740, Vivaldi rewrote three concenty grossi to incorporate clarinets and Händel composed an Ouverture in 1748 which had clarinets in D. Clarinets entered the famous Mannheim Orchestra in 1760, and became a regular fixture in all orchestras by 1800.
A major advancement for the clarinet came in 1812, when the famous German instrument maker Iwan Muller replaced the original simple pivot mechanic keys and felt pads, in which was not air-tight and because of air leaks, the clarinet was restricted to playing only a few notes with good tone. He, instead used spoon keys with leather pads and sunk-in holes on a conical ring, which was completely airtight and allowed the clarinet to play almost all of its notes. It allowed the clarinet to be able to play all scales rather than the only one they can do before. He changed the keys and holes arrangements on the clarinet as well to a 7-hole, 12/13 keyed clarinet, instead of the original 8 holes, 2/3 key system. He also re-shaped the clarinet reed to be more like the one today and developed the ligature. These models of clarinets would be in favour until later in the 1800's, or soon after, until 1839, when another major alternation was made to the instrument.
In 1839, Hyacinthe Klosé added the “Boehm System” onto the clarinet from the ideas of Theobald Boehm. This model of clarinets changed the arrangements of all the keys and the holes in the instrument to allow it to have simpler fingerings while still maintaining perfect tone. He is able to do so because of the mathematical calculations that Boehm figured out in which can find the perfect positioning of holes and keys for a certain sound. Klose also added ringed holes, in which allowed the holes of the instrument to be covered with a finger that is smaller than the hole, also from the idea of Boehm. This made the clarinet more similar to the clarinet that we have today, as it was the last major alternation of the clarinet we have today. This system was slow to be incorporated as it required the musicians to re-learn the fingerings of the instrument. However, it was still a success as it would gradually become the standard form for clarinets around the world except for Germany and Austria, that used the Oehler system, an improvement of the Muller system.
Since 1839, no more major changes were made to the clarinet as it progressed to its present day form of 7 holes and 17 keys
A major advancement for the clarinet came in 1812, when the famous German instrument maker Iwan Muller replaced the original simple pivot mechanic keys and felt pads, in which was not air-tight and because of air leaks, the clarinet was restricted to playing only a few notes with good tone. He, instead used spoon keys with leather pads and sunk-in holes on a conical ring, which was completely airtight and allowed the clarinet to play almost all of its notes. It allowed the clarinet to be able to play all scales rather than the only one they can do before. He changed the keys and holes arrangements on the clarinet as well to a 7-hole, 12/13 keyed clarinet, instead of the original 8 holes, 2/3 key system. He also re-shaped the clarinet reed to be more like the one today and developed the ligature. These models of clarinets would be in favour until later in the 1800's, or soon after, until 1839, when another major alternation was made to the instrument.
In 1839, Hyacinthe Klosé added the “Boehm System” onto the clarinet from the ideas of Theobald Boehm. This model of clarinets changed the arrangements of all the keys and the holes in the instrument to allow it to have simpler fingerings while still maintaining perfect tone. He is able to do so because of the mathematical calculations that Boehm figured out in which can find the perfect positioning of holes and keys for a certain sound. Klose also added ringed holes, in which allowed the holes of the instrument to be covered with a finger that is smaller than the hole, also from the idea of Boehm. This made the clarinet more similar to the clarinet that we have today, as it was the last major alternation of the clarinet we have today. This system was slow to be incorporated as it required the musicians to re-learn the fingerings of the instrument. However, it was still a success as it would gradually become the standard form for clarinets around the world except for Germany and Austria, that used the Oehler system, an improvement of the Muller system.
Since 1839, no more major changes were made to the clarinet as it progressed to its present day form of 7 holes and 17 keys