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Materials<br />
Clarinet bodies have been made from a variety of materials including wood,<br />
plastic, hard rubber, metal, resin, and ivory. The vast majority of clarinets used by<br />
professional musicians are made from African hardwood, mpingo (African Blackwood)<br />
or grenadilla, rarely (because of diminishing supplies) Honduran rosewood and<br />
sometimes even cocobolo.<br />
The clarinet mouthpiece is made out of a kind of hard rubber called ebonite. The<br />
keys are usually made out of an alloy called German silver. This is made from copper,<br />
zinc, and nickel. It looks like pure silver, but does not tarnish. Some fine instruments<br />
may be made with pure silver keys, and expensive models are available with gold-plated<br />
keys.<br />
The key pads require cardboard and felt or leather. The reed is made from cane.<br />
Other materials used in the clarinet are cork and wax, for lining the joints, and a metal<br />
such as silver or a cheaper alloy for the ligature, the screw clip that holds the reed in<br />
place, and stainless steel for the spring mechanisms that work the keys.
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