Soprano clarinet
Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOP : Soprano clarinet
The soprano clarinets are the most commonly-used members of the clarinet family, and are indeed often referred to as simply "clarinets". Soprano clarinets include the B♭ clarinet, the most common type, whose range extends from D below middle C (written E) to about F two and a half 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 rare low G clarinet, sounding yet a whole tone lower than the A. While some writers (e.g. Shackleton) reserve a separate category of sopranino clarinets for the E♭ and D clarinets, these are more usually regarded as soprano clarinets as well.
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.
See also
References
- Nicholas Shackleton. "Clarinet", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 21 February 2006), [grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.