Alto clarinet

Infobox Instrument
name=Alto clarinet

---

classification=
*Wind
*Woodwind
*Single-reed
range=
*Written: E♭3 to G6
*Sounding: G♭2 to B♭5
related=
*Clarinet
*Bass clarinet
*Contra-alto clarinet

The alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument usually pitched in the key of E♭, though instruments in F (and in the 19th century, E) have been made. It is sometimes known as a "tenor clarinet"; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet, to which it bears a greater resemblance in that it typically has a straight body (made of Grenadilla or other wood, hard rubber, or plastic), but a curved neck and bell made of metal. All-metal alto clarinets also exist. In appearance it strongly resembles the basset horn, but usually differs in three respects: it is pitched in E♭, it lacks an extended lower range, and it has a wider bore than most basset horns.

The keys of the alto clarinet are similar to the keys on smaller clarinets, and are played with virtually identical fingerings. The alto clarinet, however, usually has one key not found on most soprano clarinets, which allows it to reach a low (written) E♭. The range of the alto clarinet is from the concert G♭ in the second octave below middle C (i.e. bottom line of the bass clef) to the middle of the second octave above middle C.

Invention of the alto clarinet has been attributed to Iwan Müller and to Heinrich Grenser. [cite book
last = Rendall
first = F. Geoffrey
title = The Clarinet (Second Revised Edition)
date = 1957
publisher = Ernest Benn
place = London
pages = 145-6] It may have been invented independently in America; the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a bassoon-shaped alto clarinet in E♭, cataloged as an "alto clarion", attributed to an anonymous American maker circa 1820. [cite journal
last = Libin
first = Laurence
title = Alto Clarion
journal = The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
publisher = The Metropolitan Museum of Art
pages = 53
date = 1995] This instrument bears a strong resemblance to the "patent clarions" (bass clarinets) made from about 1810 by George Catlin of Hartford, Connecticut and his apprentices. [cite journal
last = Eliason
first = Robert E.
title = George Catlin, Hartford Musical Instrument Maker (Part 2)
journal = Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society
volume = 9
date = 1983
pages = 21–52] Later, back in Europe, Adolphe Sax made notable improvements to the alto clarinet. [cite journal
last = Shackleton
first = Nicholas
title = The development of the clarinetIn cite book
last = Lawson (ed.)
first = Colin
title = The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet
date = 1995
publisher = Cambridge University Press
location = Cambridge, UK
pages = 32]

Use in musical ensembles

The alto clarinet has not been commonly used in orchestral scoring. (An important exception is Igor Stravinsky's "Threni". [cite journal
last = Pauli
first = Hansjörg
title = On Strawinsky's 'Threni'
journal = Tempo
volume = New Ser., No. 49.
pages = 16–17+21–33
date = Autumn, 1958] )It is used mostly in concert band. It also plays an important role in clarinet choirs. A few jazz musicians, Hamiet Bluiett, Vinny Golia, J. D. Parran, Petr Kroutil, Joe Lovano and Gianluigi Trovesi among them, have played the alto clarinet. In his Treatise on Instrumentation, Hector Berlioz said that while the alto clarinet has a distinctive sound, "unfortunately it is not to be found in a well constituted orchestra."

Abandonment in some ensembles

Since at least the late 1940s, there has been discussion over whether the alto clarinet could or should be eliminated from the standard wind band. [Sawhill, Clarence E. "The Problem of the Alto Clarinet" and Rohner, Traugott. "Shall We Eliminate the Alto Clarinet?". In cite book
title = Woodwind Anthology
publisher = The Instrumentalist
location = Evanston, IL
date = 1972
pages = 208-212 (Both reprinted from "The Instrumentalist", 1948.)] The arguments usually used include its relatively low volume, unremarkable tone, and the fact that its part is nearly always doubled by other instruments. (One notable exception is an alto clarinet solo in Percy Grainger's famous piece "Lincolnshire Posy".) Many junior high school and high school bands have ceased using the instrument for these reasons.

Despite the arguments, the alto clarinet band part remains in a wealth of 20th century wind band literature. Band directors looking to add color to a large clarinet section will often move clarinet players to this instrument. Many times the alto clarinet serves an important role in the harmonic scoring of the clarinet section within the broader scope of the concert band.

References