Student clarinets
Students clarinets are entry level instruments to be used during the first years of study. Consider the fact that someone just starting out will need something that will hold up, this is the reason why student clarinets should be made of plastic and not of wood. That’s not to say you can’t give a beginner a wooden clarinet, but it’s usually best not to. Plastic clarinets tend to hold up better during the beginning years of practice and put up with the abuse that can be unknowingly dished out.

Intermediate clarinets
A step up from student models, intermediate clarinets are made of wood and not of plastic. The sounds are much better and more characterizing, which is a much more suitable for the clarinet player wanting to step it up a notch. It is said that if after a few years the player that still uses a plastic clarinet will hinder their ability to move forward. These can be some high quality instruments that if need be, can last for the rest of the players life.

Professional clarinets
At this level, the player is well advanced and to the point where he or she may take a clarinet that has the tone that suits to their personal play style and taste. This is where the professional clarinet player may do a fair amount of shopping around to find the perfect instrument. Each brand generally has a unique tone, or feel, that the player must choose to their liking.

Marching band clarinets
These are clarinets that need to withstand being outside, in both the cold rain or hot summer’s day. As such, it is not recommended to have an expensive high quality wooden clarinet to take outside, but rather a plastic one to use for marching.