National Clarinet Day

Who decides these things?! According to the interwebs, Nov. 16 is National Clarinet Day. But why that day? No one seems to know. And to make matters worse, a group on Facebook has declared May 3 to be National Clarinet Day.

At least with National Saxophone Day (which is Nov. 6), there’s a reason for choosing that day. Nov 6 is the birthday of its inventor, Adolphe Sax.

Using that logic, and assuming we all agree that Johann Christoph Denner is the inventor of the modern clarinet; we would celebrate National Clarinet Day on August 13, since that is Denner’s birthday. But, Aug 13 is already celebrated as National Lefthander’s Day. As a proud southpaw, I always celebrate that day.

And we’re not all clear that it was Johann that added the register key which turned the chalumeau into a clarinet. Some folks believe it was his son, Jacob. And for Jacob, I can’t find his birthday; just his birth and death years, 1681-1735.

How To Celebrate

To celebrate National Clarinet Day, a few options come to mind. Since many of our culture’s celebrations are marked with fancy drinks or a special meal, how about a cup of licorice tea? Some of you may not know that a nickname for the clarinet is licorice stick. I don’t really like the flavor of licorice but I do love cinnamon. OK, work with me here.

If your clarinet is made by Backun and the wood color is more of a rich golden brown, then we could call it a cinnamon stick!

Another way to celebrate is to have a party. We would need party hats. How about party hats that look like a clarinet bell?

I can also think of more musical-centered ways to celebrate. Put on a Spotify playlist of Anat Cohen, Johnny Dodds, and Eric Dolphy and dance wearing your clarinet bell party hat. ????????????

How will you celebrate?