),
and the pedal clarinet (q.v.).

The modern clarinet consists of five (or four) separate pieces: (1) the
mouthpiece; (2) the bulb; (3) the upper middle joint, or left-hand
joint; (4) the lower middle joint, or right-hand joint[2]; (5) the bell;
which (the bell excepted) when joined together, form a tube with a
continuous cylindrical bore, 2 ft. or more in length, according to the
pitch of the instrument. The mouthpiece, including the beating or
single-reed common to the whole clarinet family, has the appearance of a
beak with the point bevelled off and thinned at the edge to correspond
with the end of the reed shaped like a spatula. The under part of the
mouthpiece (fig. 2) is flattened in order to form a table for the
support of the reed which is adjusted thereon with great nicety,
allowing just the amount of play requisite to set in vibration the
column of air within the tube.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Clarinet (Albert Model).]

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Clarinet Mouthpiece. _a_, the mouthpiece showing
the position of the bore inside; _b_, the single or beating reed.]

The mouthpiece, which is subject to continual fluctuations of dampness
and dryness, and to changes of temperature, requires to be made of a
material having great powers of resistance, such as cocus wood, ivory or
vulcanite, which are mostly used for the purpose in England. A
longitudinal aperture 1 in. long and 1/2 in. wide, communicating with the
bore, is cut in the table and covered by the reed. The aperture is thus
closed except towards the point, where, for the distance of 1/3 to 1/4
in., the reed is thinned and the table curves backwards towards the
point, leaving a gap between the ends of the mouthpiece and of the reed
of 1 mm. or about the thickness of a sixpence for the B flat clarinet.
The curve of the table and the size of the gap are therefore of
considerable importance. The reed is cut from a joint of the _Arundo
donax_ or _sativa_, which grows wild in the regions bordering on the
Mediterranean. A flat slip of the reed is cut, flattened on one side and
thinned to a very delicate edge on the other. At first the reed was
fastened to the table by means of many turns of a fine waxed cord. The
metal band adjusted by means of two screws, known as the "ligature," was
introduced about 1817 by Ivan Mueller. The reed is set in vibration by
the breath of the performer, and being flexible it beats against the
table, opening and closing the gap at a r