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  • Essay / Understanding the origins and transformation of the clarinet

    In the modern world, different types of clarinets can virtually be found in every orchestra and ensemble around the world. Although this instrument may be considered a common instrument in beginner lessons around the world, it is an instrument that very few have managed to "master" due to its natural abilities in a wide range of styles and different dynamics. The clarinet is also often described as having similarities to the human voice, which could explain its popularity with so many composers and performers. Whether used as part of an ensemble or in a solo work, the clarinet has captivated thousands of people. However, the clarinet is actually a relatively young instrument compared to others. Since its first version with only three keys, the clarinet has been perfected over the centuries as performers and inventors have attempted to contribute to the making of this instrument. The result of this evolution is the modern clarinet which is very different from some of its ancestors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before the clarinet or any other form of it, there were single-reed pipes that date back to 3,000 BC. Although these pipes do not physically resemble the iconic appearance of a 2016 clarinet, they are the simplest form of an instrument with a reed and occasional finger holes. The Egyptians even had a double pipe that had a removable reed that could be inserted at the top, which is similar to our concept of reeds today. Around the Middle Ages (500-1500), pipes called "chalumeau" appeared, but they were misleading because this term was used for many instruments as a roundabout way of calling something a horn. Although there was a version of the chalumeau with a tapered mouthpiece and single reed, most musicians of this era preferred double reeds because of their control, thus letting the development of the clarinet take more time. The word "torch" has been put forward to explain comes from the Latin word "kalamus", which means small reed. Other historians tend to argue that its origins come from the Greek word "calamos", which became a general term for any small pipe. The argument of origins aside, the chalumeau was a close ancestor of the clarinet. Although it only has a 12th range, it has appeared in many operas or has also been used as an alternative to the oboe or the similar-sounding flute and recorder. One of the most predominant composers for the chalumeau was Christopher Graupner with over 80 cantatas. Much debate surrounds whether the clarinet has its own unique style or whether it is an improved chalumeau, given that early in the clarinet's existence the words chalumeau and clarinet were often interchanged. The first clarinet was invented in 1690 in Nuremberg, Germany by Johann Christian Denner. The instrument takes its name from the Italian word for trumpet, “clarion”. This first edition of the clarinet was a wooden cylinder with seven tone holes and two diametrically opposed keys placed around the highest tone hole and having a range of approximately three octaves. Compared to the chanter, this improvement now had a separate reed, a speaker key (like an octave key), and an extended range. With the addition of the two keys, the clarinet was given a much purer sound and greater precision with notesexaggerated and the possibility of playing a double-twelfth above the low register with similar fingerings. Following the invention of the clarinet, there were a few years of improvements made in terms of intonation until the first clarinet instruction manual was published in 1706 and was titled "The Complete Book for false trumpet.” Early works for the clarinet were of course limited to the five keys in which the clarinet could play, but this did not hinder the worldwide spread of this instrument in the early-late 18th century, as it expanded into the major part of Europe and in parts of America. Beethoven was one of the first composers to include the clarinet in his symphonies along with Vivaldi, who wrote two magnified concertos for two clarinets and an oboe in 1740. In 1759, the Mannheim Orchestra was the first to employ two clarinetists, which was a monumental step. to make the clarinet a more remarkable instrument and lead more orchestras to adapt them. In 1780, adjustments were made to the clarinet's bore standard and dismeter, which allowed the upper register to speak easily, prompting more composers to use it in their compositions. This led to the writing of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto for Antonin Stadler (a famous clarinetist of the Vienna era) for basset clarinet. An instrumentalist named Ivan Muller developed a new clarinet with seven additional keys in 1812, taking the clarinet to the next level. Before he did this there were multiple clarinets all tuned to different keys due to the chromatics and semitones of the clarinet it was impossible to play multiple keys on a single clarinet. Muller's innovation replaced felt pads with wool-filled leather to improve the sound and accuracy of the clarinet. After his innovative improvements on the clarinet were rejected by the Paris Conservatoire because they took away the "special musical character" that single-key clarinets addressed, he toured Europe as a solo artist to show his clarinet. The next great minds of the clarinet. of the clarinet world were Auguste Buffet and Hyancinthe Klose. Around 1838, Klose began to study a system based on Theobald Boehm who developed movable rings (originally for the flute) that fingers could close over a tone hole that would simultaneously move another key on the instrument to improve the sound and precision. After studying this system, Klose contacted Buffet and had the prototype presented in Paris in 1839. This prototype had seventeen keys and five rings to control twenty-four tone holes. In 1842, Adolphe Sax added a right hand ring to the lower joint. of the original 13-key clarinet, thus taking the first step towards the modern German-style clarinet. Later, further improvements were made to the Muller style clarinet by lengthening various keys and adding more keys so that more fingerings were available by Car Baermann. After all these improvements, Oskar Oehler, a German clarinetist, added an extra vent piece to almost every key of the clarinet to improve the acoustics of the instrument as a whole. The Boehm model clarinet is a very common clarinet model in the United States, while the Oehler modified clarinet is favored in parts of Europe purely because of the sound it produces. Similar to the early single-tone clarinets of the 19th century, today's various clarinets are set in different keys but are allowed to play in all, all..