Clarinet essays

Clarinet essays The clarinet is a very popular woodwind instrument. It has been the instrument of choice for many brilliant performers in many styles of music, including jazz, classical, and pop. Composers have each developed unique styles of playing that illustrate the vast capabilities of the clarinet. Johann Christoph Denner, a German instrument maker, invented the clarinet in the 1700s. Although clarinets were first introduced in Europe as folk instruments, many composers such as Christoph Gluck, Georg Telemann, and Jean-Philippe Rameau regularly featured them in their works. Many music composers appealed the flexibility of the clarinet and its extraordinary ability to blend with other instruments. Wolfgang Mozart was the first major composer who saw the true potential of the instrument and penned a clarinet concerto, which today is considered one of the greatest concertos ever written for any instrument. After Mozart, many of the great composers who wrote works for the clarinet included Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, and many others. Today, the clarinet is heard in all types of music, and has been especially used in movie music. The clarinet consists of a tube with a mouthpiece at one end and an opening at the other end, called the bell. Small metal levers, or keys cover the clarinets open tone holes and other holes. By pressing these metal keys with the fingers of both hands, the player has the ability to play many different notes very quickly. The reed on the mouthpiece produces a full, rich tone. There are two types of clarinets: wood and plastic clarinets. Wood clarinets are made with African Grenadilla wood and provide a warmer, more professional sound than plastic. Plastic clarinets are more durable and do not contract with temperature changes, like wood clarinets. In appearance, wood clarinets have a grainy wood. Plastic clarinets are shiny and smooth. ...