contra-alto clarinet

What is a contralto? The contralto or alto is the lowest female voice type. In the industry there are many women who have been classified as altos in their choir, though their voice type is really that of a mezzo-soprano or soprano. This is due to the lack of true altos.

Extreme depth: Contra Clarinets Usually the composer employs this instrument for special effects. The effects are not only acoustically, contra clarinets are optically impressive, too. It's extremely deep tone is comparable to that of a string base. In modern wind band compositions you can find that part frequently.

The alto clarinet is an integral part of the clarinet choir, where it often doubles the melody in octaves, and is often used as a middle solo voice between the treble and bass voices.

There are 11 types of clarinet: Ab clarinet, Eb soprano clarinet, Bb soprano, A harmony, alto clarinet, Basset horn, bass clarinet, D clarinet, contra-alto, and contrabass. The most common is the Bb clarinet. Each type comes with a different range and tuning, and they all suit a variety of playing environments.

The contra-alto clarinet is higher-pitched than the contrabass and is pitched in the key of E♭ rather than B♭.

Nowadays, the word “alto” is a general term used to describe a lower female voice rather than a specific vocal category. Chorus music usually calls for an “alto” part for voices with a strong middle and lower register, but there's no real separate alto voice type in Western music.

It is a transposing instrument in E♭ sounding an octave and a major sixth below its written pitch, between the bass clarinet and the B♭ contrabass clarinet. A Contra-alto clarinet with range to low E♭ (right) in comparison with an Alto clarinet with range to low C.

The contra-alto clarinet, E♭ contrabass clarinet, is a large clarinet pitched a perfect fifth below the B♭ bass clarinet. It is a transposing instrument in E♭ sounding an octave and a major sixth below its written pitch, between the bass clarinet and the B♭ contrabass clarinet.

E♭ The contra-alto clarinet is higher-pitched than the contrabass and is pitched in the key of E♭ rather than B♭.

The keys of the contra-alto are similar to the keys on smaller clarinets, and are played in the same way. Some contra-alto clarinet models have a range extending down to low (written) E♭, sounding as the lowest G♭ on the piano (aka G♭1), while others can play down to low (written) C, sounding E♭1.

E♭ The contra-alto clarinet is higher-pitched than the contrabass and is pitched in the key of E♭ rather than B♭.

In choral music, the alto section is often divided into two groups: alto 1 versus alto 2. Alto 2 music is written from F3 to A4. Alto 1 singers are normally relegated to notes up to F5 and sometimes higher, and often do not sing notes lower than A3.