Editing Contrabass clarinet (section)

===Contra-alto===
{{main|Contra-alto clarinet}}
The contra-alto clarinet is higher-pitched than the contrabass and is pitched in the key of E{{music|flat}} rather than B{{music|flat}}. The unhyphenated form "contra alto clarinet" is also sometimes used, as is "contralto clarinet", but the latter is confusing since the instrument's range is much lower than the [[contralto]] vocal range; the more correct term "contra-alto" is meant to convey, by analogy with "contrabass", that the instrument plays an octave lower than the [[alto clarinet]]. It is also referred to as the E{{music|flat}} contrabass clarinet. It is the second-largest member of the clarinet family in regular use, larger than the more common [[bass clarinet]] but not as large as the B{{music|flat}} contrabass clarinet.

Like other clarinets, the contra-alto clarinet is a [[wind instrument]] that uses a [[reed (instrument)|reed]] to produce sound.  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{{music|flat}}, sounding as the lowest G{{music|flat}} on the piano (aka G{{music|flat}}<sub>1</sub>), while others can play down to low (written) C, sounding E{{music|flat}}<sub>1</sub>.

The earliest contra-alto clarinets were developed in the first half of the nineteenth century; these were usually pitched in F and were called ''contrabasset horns,'' being an octave lower than the [[basset horn]].  Albert (probably E. J. Albert, son of [[Eugène Albert]]) built an instrument in F around 1890.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Pedal Clarinet|first=Kathleen|last=Schlesinger|author-link=Kathleen Schlesinger|volume=21|page=36}}</ref>  In the late 19th and early 20th century contra-alto clarinets in E{{music|flat}} finally attained some degree of popularity.

The contra-alto clarinet is used mostly in [[concert band]]s and [[clarinet choir]]s, where it usually, though not always, plays the [[bass line]] of a piece of music.  While there are few parts written specifically for it, the contra-alto can play the [[baritone saxophone]] part and sounds the same pitch; it is also possible to read parts written in the bass clef for instruments pitched in C (such as [[bassoon]] or [[tuba]]) as if the part were in the [[treble clef]], while adjusting the [[key signature]] and any [[accidental (music)|accidentals]] as necessary by adding three [[sharp (music)|sharps]] to the [[music]].<ref>{{cite web|last=McGann|first=John|title=Deep Secrets of Clef Reading and Transposition|url=http://www.johnmcgann.com/clefs.html|publisher=John McGann|access-date=15 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107124829/http://www.johnmcgann.com/clefs.html|archive-date=7 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>   It is occasionally used in jazz, and a few solo pieces have been written for it.  The contra-alto clarinet is also used in a few Broadway pit orchestras, with its parts being written in reed books as a doubled instrument (e.g. with soprano clarinet and bass clarinet).