History Of The Clarinet

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The inspiration for the clarinet dates back to the 1600s, where an instrument called the Chalumeau was used. It was used mostly in Europe, and its name was derived from Latin/Greek origins, meaning pipe. True to its name, it was a 20 cm long pipe, with 5 holes. It looked much like a recorder, and was not very important to musicians and composers back then. It was different from todays, clarinet, as there was no upper register, only a lower one. It has influenced today’s clarinet, as nowadays clarinets have a Chalumeau Register, which is composed of low E to F sharp. The Chalumeau was then taken up by the German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner. He examined and modified the Chalumeau, creating an instrument that could play the upper …show more content…
The first major change was made Iwan Müller, a German and Russian clarinetist and instrument maker who created what is now known as the Müller system. His system had 12 keys, and made a few adjustments to the reed. He also created the ligature for the clarinet. His major achievement and contribution to the clarinet however, was the addition of the spoon key. He created the key that can be found in modern clarinet. Instead of using unreliable felt pads, his clarinets had leather pads. Two clarinet systems sprung out of Müllers system. The first is the Boehm system, which was designed by Hyacinthe Klose. It was based on the information Theodor Boehm provided. Boehm created a math basis for how far apart the keys should be for the perfect sound. Klose then created a clarinet based on the formula. The Boehm clarinet is the most widely used clarinet system in the world, as 80% of the worlds clarinetists follow the Boehm system. Another system that also sprung from Müllers system was the Oehler system. It was invented by the Germans, and therefore its is used mostly in Germany and Austria, and scarcely in the rest of the world. There is not much difference between the Boehm system and the Oehler system. The Oehler system has a few different keys, and it is said to have a darker sound. One of the reasons that the Boehm system

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