Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A woodwind instrument having a straight cylindrical tube with a flaring bell and a single-reed mouthpiece, played by means of finger holes and keys.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A musical windinstrument consisting of a mouthpiece containing a single beating reed, a cylindrical tube with 18 holes (9 to be closed by the fingers and 9 by keys), and a bell or flaring mouth. Its tone is full, mellow, and expressive, blending well with both brass and stringed instruments. Its compass is about 3½ octaves, beginning just above tenor C, and including all the semitones. Several varieties are in use, differing in pitch and in their adaptability to extreme keys, as the C clarinet, the B♭ clarinet, the E♭ clarinet, etc. Other varieties are the alto clarinet, the basset-horn, and the bass clarinet, which together constitute the clarinet family of instruments. The clarinet is a modification of the medieval shawm, and became a recognized orchestral instrument about 1775; it is now in constant use in all orchestras and in most military bands. Its construction was decidedly improved in 1843.
- n. In organ-building, a reed-stop imitating the tone of the clarinet.
Wiktionary
- n. A woodwind musical instrument that has a distinctive liquid tone whose characteristics vary among its three registers: chalumeau (low), clarion (medium), and altissimo (high).
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Mus.) A wind instrument, blown by a single reed, of richer and fuller tone than the oboe, which has a double reed. It is the leading instrument in a military band.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a single-reed instrument with a straight tube
Etymologies
- Learned borrowing from Italian clarinetto diminutive of clarino ("trumpet") (as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet) (Wiktionary)
- French clarinette, feminine diminutive of Old French clarin, clarion, clarion; see clarion, or of Provençal clarin, oboe (from Old Provençal clar, clear, from Latin clārus; see clear). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To give an example — we had what we call a clarinet club.”
“Anthony McGill is the principal clarinetist of the New York Metropolitan Orchestra, a member of the Peabody Conservatory faculty in clarinet, and a much sought after soloist and chamber musician.”
Aretha Franklin to Participate in Inaugural Ceremony - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
“Soho the Dog: Sometimes a clarinet is just a clarinet”
“I don't think he ever seriously considered the idea that the clarinet was a means, not an end.”
“The clarinet was the dominant and most glamourous voice of the swing era, yet it's been increasingly marginalized since the birth of modern jazz.”
“And then moving from that to clarinet, which is a B-flat instrument, and then from that to piano, which is another C instrument, helped me get, you know, the structure of music in my mind.”
“In early nineteenth-century, both works appeared in print, but by then the basset clarinet had gone out of fashion, and in the scores of both the Quintet and the Concerto the clarinet is the one we recognise today – with the musical result that several characteristic figures in the low register had been transposed upwards, so losing their original effect.”
“Although embodying a very ancient principle -- the "squeaker" reed which our little children still make, and continued in the Egyptian arghool -- the clarinet is the most recent member of the wood wind band.”
“Oh, the clarinet is the finest yet, and the uniforms are gay.”
“The clarinet was a big deal much earlier in New Orleans Jazz, where it played a mostly obbligato role (see also the page on heterophony).”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘clarinet’.
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Organ Stops
A list of pipe- and pedal-organ stops. These have variously and perhaps at times capriciously been named and labelled by organ builders in Latin, English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, a...
diapason, double open diapason, sub-bourdon, double dulciana, bourdon, contra gamba, pyramidon, open diapason, stopped diapason, dulcis, dulciana, viol-di-gamba and 244 more...
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MUSIC - ALL TERMS
With focus on non-classical styles, but not excluding terms of the latter.
banjo, accompaniment, acoustic bass, bass guitar, bass clef, ground, brass, cornet, Mute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, arrangement and 866 more...
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Cellophane and other household instru...
Well, inspired by the word 'cellophane', there must be basis for a list containing words for other arcane instruments found in the household
saxophone, clarinet, champagne flute, frying panpipes, drinking double horn, can can opener, singing bowl, milkshaker, glass harmonica, kazoorole, kettledrums, timpanino and 19 more...
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Words that make me want to drink sing...
You know that feeling when you hear a word that you just want to roll it around in your mouth, experiment with it, find its edges and texture. Words that you want to clink around in a glass with so...
melt, agronomy, cartilage, vexatious, scintillating, carrion, caryopsis, crystallite, haulm, alegar, maltster, carpel and 35 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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harmony of the spheres
tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, subtonic, leading tone, progression, sonata, concerto, allegro and 247 more...
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Musical words
nocturne, flat, sharp, waltz, etude, opera, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, cello, flute and 131 more...
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Samme's Words
soliloquy, meander, creativity, magic, discovery, happiness, empowerment, abundance, [magnificent], iridescent, artistic, magical and 694 more...
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Pull out the stops
Organ stops, that is.
diapason, clarabella, dulciana, bourdon, reed stop, flue stop, violoncello, suabe flute, waldflute, rackett, pyramidon, querflöte and 106 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, C
cryptoxanthin, convent, calcar, chuckle, campanile, covet, complexion, campestral, chirography, counterscarp, caliginous, catabolism and 722 more...
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clef
caprice, variation, violin, harpsichord, adagio, allegro, scherzo, opera, tenor, soprano, alto, mezzo and 62 more...
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Compendium: Round 1
The game is over! Congratulations to our winner, jennarenn. Thanks for playing!
Moderating this round: uselessness
The category: Things you might find in a backpack
This ...pencil, ruler, books, lunch, lunchbox, snacks, paper, homework, hands, lip gloss, love notes, crayons and 79 more...
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Autobiography
Words that describe or relate in some way to me
anosmia, Asperger's Syndrome, daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, shy, bibliophile, imagination, library, librarian, writer and 17 more...
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music
octave, lyric, opera, flute, maracas, gong, tambourine, bass, trumpet, balalaika, lyre, bongos and 36 more...
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Musical Instruments
Collect them all!
dulcimer, french horn, didgeridoo, zither, tympani, djembe, xylophone, vibraphone, singing bowl, bagpipes, banjo, guitar and 66 more...
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My Favorite Instruments
I love their sounds as well as their names!
guitar, piano, harpsichord, grand harp, lute, hammered dulcimer, flute, violin, oboe, clarinet, cittern, dobro and 33 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for clarinet.
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