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RE: Altissimo register on Bb Clarinet

Author: Eoin McAuley
Date: 1999-06-22 07:21

The normal range of the Bb Clarinet is considered to be
E1 to C4. This means that any professional clarinettist
should be able to produce these notes. It is possible
to get notes above C4, but composers should be wary of
putting them into pieces, since some players may not be
able to play them.

The range of the clarinet is divided into three "registers".
In normal fingering, E1 to Bb2 is the chalumeau or low register, B2 to C3 is the Clarion or middle register and C#3 to as high as you can go is the Altissimo or high register.

While the first two nominal registers correspond to actual acoustic registers on the clarinet, the altissimo register is actually a number of registers thrown together.

If you play D Eb E F F# G slurred in the altissimo register using standard fingering, you will hear a click or chirp noise as you switch to the G. The G is actually in a different register. The sure fire sign is that you cover holes to go from F# to G.

In acoustic terms, the chalumeau register is the fundamental or 1st harmonic of the instrument. The clarion is the 3rd harmonic. The lower notes of the altissimo are the 5th harmonic. The standard fingering G4 is 7th harmonic, although there are alternative fingerings which user the 5th harmonic.

Eoin

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