The clarinet is a family of
woodwind musical instruments, consisting of a
single-reed mouthpiece and a straight, cylindrical tube with an almost-cylindrical
bore, ending in a flared
bell. The instrument has its roots in the early single-reed instruments or
hornpipes used in the ancient world. The invention of the modern clarinet is usually attributed to German instrument-maker
Johann Christoph Denner, who developed it from a
Baroque instrument called the
chalumeau around 1700. The instrument became popular in
orchestral pieces, including numerous compositions by
Mozart; by the time of
Beethoven (
c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra. The
clarinet family includes instruments in many different pitches, the most common of which are the
soprano clarinets in B♭, A and C.
The clarinet is a family of
woodwind musical instruments, consisting of a
single-reed mouthpiece and a straight, cylindrical tube with an almost-cylindrical
bore, ending in a flared
bell. The instrument has its roots in the early single-reed instruments or
hornpipes used in the ancient world. The invention of the modern clarinet is usually attributed to German instrument-maker
Johann Christoph Denner, who developed it from a
Baroque instrument called the
chalumeau around 1700. The instrument became popular in
orchestral pieces, including numerous compositions by
Mozart; by the time of
Beethoven (
c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra. The
clarinet family includes instruments in many different pitches, the most common of which are the
soprano clarinets in B♭, A and C.