Soprano clarinet

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Soprano clarinet

Classification Wind Woodwind Single-reed Playing range Written range: Related instruments Piccolo clarinet Basset clarinet Alto clarinet Bass clarinet Musicians Category:Clarinetists

The soprano clarinets are a sub-family of the clarinet family. They include the most common types of clarinets, and indeed are often referred to as simply "clarinets".

Among the soprano clarinets are the B♭ clarinet, the most common type, whose range extends from D below middle C (written E) to about the C three octaves above middle C; the A and C clarinets, sounding respectively a semitone lower and a whole tone higher than the B♭ clarinet; and the low G clarinet, sounding yet a whole tone lower than the A, rare in western music but popular in the folk music of Turkey. While some writers reserve a separate category of sopranino clarinets for the E♭ and D clarinets,^[1] these are more usually regarded as soprano clarinets as well.

Clarinets in C are common in music of the classical period and in some later music, particularly opera.

There have also been soprano clarinets in C, A, and B♭ with curved barrels and bells marketed under the names Saxonette, Claribel, and Clariphon.

Shackleton lists also obsolete "sopranino" clarinets in (high) G, F, and E, and soprano clarinets in B and A♭. The G "sopranino", only a half step lower than the A♭ piccolo clarinet, was popular during the Biedermeier period in Vienna for playing Schrammelmusik.

The most common clarinet (the B flat) has such a large range, and its timbre varies so much over its range, that its different registers have been named. The low register, where the timbre is rich and dark, is called the chalumeau register. The higher, clarinet register has a very clear, direct sound, and can be extremely expressive. The extreme upper register gets a shrill, piercing tone. In between the chalumeau and clarinet ranges (usually from G to B flat in the middle of the written staff), is the weaker throat register, where players can experience a difficult-to-negotiate "break" between the two registers.

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