The
contrabass clarinet and
contra-alto clarinet are the two largest members of the
clarinet family that are in common usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are , sounding two octaves lower than the common B
soprano clarinet and one octave lower than the B
bass clarinet. Some contrabass clarinet models have a range extending down to low (written) E, while others can play down to low D or further to low C. Some early instruments were pitched in C;
Arnold Schoenberg's
Fünf Orchesterstücke specifies a contrabass clarinet in A, but there is no evidence of such an instrument ever having existed.