Clarinetto contrabbasso

As Printed on a Score

Labels the contrabass clarinet staff, normally with its key (in B♭; the E-flat instrument is the contra-alto). The part is usually written in treble clef: the B-flat instrument sounds two octaves and a whole step below written, the E-flat an octave and a major sixth below.

How Composers Use It

Reaches down into the lowest octave of the piano, with a soft, round, buzzing sound that works more as an organ-like foundation than as a solo voice, and it speaks slowly at the bottom. It is common in concert bands and clarinet choirs, rare in the orchestra; Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16, is a famous exception. Give it slow-moving bass lines, and double it with something firmer when the texture is loud.

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