Clarinet

The history of the clarinet dates back to the 1600’s and was created from the chalumeau (a popular instrument in Europe). The chalumeau had 2 keys and a single reed. Johann Christoph Denner and his son Jacob improved the chalumeau by adding the speaker key. Throughout the 1700’s they modified the chalumeau until the first true clarinet, with 6 tone holes and 5 keys, appeared. Keys continued to be added so that more notes could be played. In 1844, the modern clarinet was introduced. The Boehm fingering system which was developed by Theobald Boehm for the flute, was adapted to the clarinet by Hyacinthe Klose and Auguste Buffet. This is the fingering system that remains popular up to now .

The clarinet is a member of the woodwind family of instruments.