Clarinet
The Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed.
Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than two dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the B♭ soprano, by far the most common clarinet.
Since approximately 1850, clarinets have been nominally tuned according to 12-tone equal-temperament. Older clarinets were nominally tuned to meantone, and a skilled performer can use his or her embouchure to considerably alter the tuning of individual notes.