The instrument I play is the ‘B flat clarinet’. It is a woodwind that uses a single-reed and has six pieces to assemble. The Mouth piece, ligature, barrel joint, upper joint, lower joint and the bell.
The word ‘clarinet’, has entered the English language from the French which was originally spelled as ‘clarinette’. The clarinet also has a long history. It was used back in Ancient Greece, old Egypt and the Middle Ages. The clarinet has been developed from a baroque instrument called the chalumeau. The chalumeau is similar to a recorder but requires a single-reed mouth piece and cylindrical bore. Around the eighteenth century, the chalumeau was modified by converting one of it’s keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet.
The original clarinet:
Modern clarinet:
The original and modern clarinet has many changes such as the colour, padding and side keys. Johann Christoph Denner was responsible for the modern day clarinet changes. He was also a famous woodwind instrument maker of the baroque era. To produce a sound on the clarinet, you have to hold certain keys to play a certain note or hold no keys and play a ‘G’ natural. You also have to blow through your mouth piece with a ligature holding your single-reed to produce a proper sound. The clarinet was first used to play in orchestrals and still is used for the same purpose in the present day.
The artist I chose is ‘Martin Fröst’ and he is a Swedish clarinetist. He is a virtuoso because at 4:51, Martin Frost plays the notes very quickly (Allegro) and switches from the low notes to high notes very quickly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crXf7EzV4kM
This piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Concerto in A Major K 622 is a famous piece for clarinetist and clarinettist. Concerto in A Major K 622 was written in 1791 for a clarinetist named Anton Stadler. It consists three movements. (Allergo, Andagio, Rondo: Allergo.) This was also on of Mozart’s final completed work. He died in the following December.
SquidWard The Clarinet King 