Brief Description
Bass clarinet
German: Bassklarinette
Italian: clarinetto basso, clarone
French: clarinette basse
As is evident from the name, the bass clarinet is the bass instrument of the clarinet family.
It has been used to provide the bass voice in the orchestra woodwind section since the middle of the 19th century, a role it shares with the bassoon. The bass clarinet is appreciated for its expressive timbre, which is often poetically described as ”dark velvet”. Generally one bass clarinet is used in the orchestra, only rarely are two found.
The bass clarinet is not only an established member of the full orchestra but also of clarinet orchestras and military bands. In addition, it is now also found in chamber music ensembles.
Classification
Aerophone, single-reed instrument, woodwind
Material
Tube: wood (rosewood, grenadilla) or silver-plated metal; keywork: nickel silver, silver; bell: brass
Mouthpiece
Beak-shaped mouthpiece with a single reed, larger than the clarinet’s
Tube
Mainly cylindrical, crook between the mouthpiece and the body; angled bell
Total length
Approx. 132 cm
Bore
Medium, inner diameter roughly twice as large as the clarinet’s
Keys/tone holes
Boehm or Oehler mechanism (as on the clarinet)
Bell
Funnel-shaped, angled upward; rim diameter 13 cm
Spike
For resting the instrument on the floor
Tuning
In Bb