The clarinet reeds are made from the cane of Arundo donax, a type of grass. Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic and plastic materials.
Brands of reeds are:
Rico, Mitchell Lurie, Vandoren, D'Addario ...(few other brands).
All of these brands make several different varieties of reeds, in different strengths.
Reeds come in varying degrees of hardness, generally indicated on a scale from 1 (soft) through 5 (hard).
Reed and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability and tone characteristics.
B clarinet reed measurements are approximately:
tip - 12 millimetres wide
lay - 15 millimetres long (distance from the place where the reed touches the mouthpiece to the tip)
gap - 1 millimetre (distance between the underside of the reed tip and the mouthpiece).
Theory of sound.
The ligature fastens the reed to the mouthpiece. When air is blown through the opening between the reed and the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates and produces the instrument's sound.
Reeds all look the same, but they aren't. They are produced from different qualities of cane, and cut slightly differently. Fractions of millimeters in the cut and the differences of the sound is amazing.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
History of clarinet
It was invented around 1690. Clarinet developed from a instrument called the chalumeau.
This instrument was similar to a recorder (of the family fipple flute), but with a single reed mouthpiece and a cylindrical bore.
Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet.
The final development of the clarinet used in most of the world was introduced by Hyacinthe Klose in 1839.
Klose was so impressed by Boehm's invention (flute developer Theobald Boehm) that he named his own system for clarinets the Boehm system, although it is different from the one used on flutes.
Gradually it became the standard, and today the Boehm system is used everywhere in the world except Germany and Austria, there still use a direct descendant of the Mueller clarinet known as the Oehler system clarinet.
Some Dixieland and Klezmer style players still use Albert system clarinets, because of simpler fingering that allows easier gliding over the notes.
This instrument was similar to a recorder (of the family fipple flute), but with a single reed mouthpiece and a cylindrical bore.
Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet.
The final development of the clarinet used in most of the world was introduced by Hyacinthe Klose in 1839.
Klose was so impressed by Boehm's invention (flute developer Theobald Boehm) that he named his own system for clarinets the Boehm system, although it is different from the one used on flutes.
Gradually it became the standard, and today the Boehm system is used everywhere in the world except Germany and Austria, there still use a direct descendant of the Mueller clarinet known as the Oehler system clarinet.
Some Dixieland and Klezmer style players still use Albert system clarinets, because of simpler fingering that allows easier gliding over the notes.
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