-
300 BCE
The Egyptian Clarinet
The first clarinet was and Egyptian instrument called a memet. Back then it was played as a double instrument. The memet had finger holes and two mouthpieces. The memet was made out of reed or wood and the two pipes were tied together. https://vsl.co.at/en/Clarinet_in_Bb/History -
Jan 1, 1500
Medieval Europe's Clarinet
The chalumeau was the next version of the clarinet made in medieval Europe. This clarinet had on mouth piece and had a range of one octave. The chalumeau was made out of hollowed out reed pipe with holes drilled into them for the keys.
Year is approximate https://vsl.co.at/en/Clarinet_in_Bb/History
http://www.loyno.edu/~leh/KingArthur/ -
The First Clarinet
The very first actual clarinet was made in the late 17th century by Johann Christoph Denner. It was an evolved version of the chalumeau. Denner was the first to make the chalumeau with two keys and increased its range by 2 octaves. The clarinet was made out of wood.
exact date is unknown https://vsl.co.at/en/Clarinet_in_Bb/History
http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/Clarinet.htm
legacy.arts.ufl.edu/music/clarinet/Evolution%20of%20the%20Clarinet.doc -
Jacob Denner's changes to the clarinet
Denner's son, Jakob, followed in his dad's path in creating instruments with two keys. He also gave the clarinet a flared bell, instead of the cylinder one on the chalumeau, to help project the sound. It was also given a barrel, a barrel shaped bulge, below the mouth piece.
exact date unknown https://vsl.co.at/en/Clarinet_in_Bb/History
http://www.jlpublishing.com/ClarinetHistory.htm -
The Ligature and Thumb Rest are Added
The ligature was a part of the clarinet added by Iwan Müller to hold a reed onto the instrument. He also installed the thumb rest so that the angle between the clarinet and the body didn't have to be so big -
Rings are Added to the Key Holes
Carl Baermann and Georg Ottensteiner work together to improve Müller's clarinet. They added rings to the keys on the bottom half so that when the keys are pushed down, more than just those holes close. This was done so that the right notes come out better in tune. They also added a double-lever to operate the a-flat and b-flat keys.
exact date unknown http://www.jlpublishing.com/ClarinetHistory.htm -
Today's Clarinet
Today's clarinet is made with black plastic for the base and the keys are made out of medal. It is used by musicians around the world.
exact date is unknown http://www.jlpublishing.com/ClarinetHistory.htm -
Clarinets in other keys and/or octaves
Today, the b-flat clarinet, the most commonly used in the clarinet family, is one of 28 different clarinets in different keys and octaves. Some of the other common clarinets are the e-flat clarinet, the alto clarinet, and the b-flat bass clarinet.
exact date is unknown http://www.clarinetfamily.net/
http://www.the-clarinets.net/english/clarinet-family.html
