The Probert Encyclopaedia of Music

CLARINET

A clarinet (clarionet) is a single-reed woodwind musical instrument of the reed kind invented by Johann Denner in Nuremberg around 1690, and perfected and installed within the symphony orchestra during the late 18th century by the work of Ludwig van Beethoven. The clarinet is comprised of five parts making up a cylindrical tube which ends in a flared bell at the lower part, and at the upper part terminates in a cone-shaped, tapering mouthpiece, which is bevelled to a thin edge on one side, and has a flattened longitudinal portion on the other, upon which the reed is laid and kept in position by a ligature containing two screws. Clarinets are made in various ranges including the small soprano clarinet, the bass clarinet and the largest, rare, contrabass clarinet.
Research Clarinet