The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed.

Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than two dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the B? soprano clarinet, by far the most common clarinet. (See "Clarinet family").

A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist.

• Reeds
• Mouthpieces
• Bags/Cases
• Tuner

• Classical
• Jazz
• Folk music
• Blues

• Woody Allen
• Sidney Bechet
• Benny Carter
• Eric Dolphy
• Jimmy Dorsey
• Benny Goodman
• Woody Herman

• Petite Fleur - Sidney Bechet
• Sing, Sing, Sing – Benny Goodman
• Woodchoppers' Ball – Woody Herman

The clarinet developed from a Baroque instrument called the chalumeau. This instrument was similar to a recorder, but with a single reed mouthpiece similar to that of the modern clarinet and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a register key, it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, plus two keys for its two highest notes.

Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet. This development is usually attributed to a German instrument maker named Johann Christoph Denner, though some have suggested his son Jacob Denner was the inventor. This instrument played well in the middle register with a loud, strident tone, so it was given the name clarinetto meaning "little trumpet" (from clarino + -etto). Early clarinets did not play well in the lower register, so chalumeaux continued to be made to play the low notes and these notes became known as the chalumeau register. As clarinets improved, the chalumeau fell into disuse.

The original Denner clarinets had two keys, and could play a chromatic scale, but various makers added more keys to get improved notes, easier fingerings, and a slightly larger range. The classical clarinet of Mozart's day typically had eight finger holes and five keys. Clarinets were soon accepted into orchestras. Later models had a mellower tone than the originals. Mozart (d. 1791) liked the sound of the clarinet (he considered its tone the closest in quality to the human voice) and wrote much music for it, and by the time of Beethoven (c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra.

• Piccolo clarinet
• Soprano clarinets
• Basset clarinet
• Basset horn
• Alto clarinet
• Bass clarinet
• Contra-alto clarinet
• Contrabass clarinet

• Saxophone
• Bassoon
• Oboe