On the History and Future of Clarinet Systems

Abstract

This project describes the most popular clarinet systems, their history, and their potential for future development. The historical survey at the beginning of the paper provides the necessary context for the systems used today. This information may help clarinet players to gain a better understanding of the modern instruments and their potential for further improvement. The collaboration between musicians, instrument makers, and composers was and still is of utmost importance for the development of instruments. The significance of such collaborations is confirmed by instrument maker Jochen Seggelke. It may seem that the current gap between the German and French clarinet systems can never be bridged. A closer look reveals that in addition to matters of taste and tradition, politics, wars and industry changes contributed to the widening of this gap from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. In the last few decades, however, the Western world enjoyed relative political stability along with advances in technology, which facilitated a lively exchange of information and opinions. Moreover, the overwhelming variety of music available to musicians and audiences nowadays results in a more international musical taste. Instrument development is subject to taste, and so the current development of both systems promotes flexibility. Players can produce remarkably individual sounds but also very similar timbres on both systems if they share similar sound esthetics. In the past three hundred years, players, makers, and composers attempted to combine all available ideas and advantages concerning the physics and mechanics of the instruments. This collaboration, which was so common in the clarinet's history, continues today.