Clarinette basse

As Printed on a Score

The French label for the bass clarinet, abbreviated Cl. b. or Clar. b., usually en si♭. French notation is treble clef, sounding a major ninth below written — the system now used almost everywhere. Older German and Russian scores use bass clef instead, sounding a whole step below written.

Abbreviations: Cl. b., Cl. basse, Clar. b.

Also spelled: Clarinettes basses

How Composers Use It

Meyerbeer brought the bass clarinet into the opera orchestra with a solo in Les Huguenots, and French composers since have used it for shadowy color and supple bass lines; Debussy and Ravel give it soft, rounded foundations under woodwind chords. Write it in treble clef in B-flat; most professional instruments reach a written low C. A clarinetist usually doubles, so allow time to change.

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