E♭ Clarinet

As Printed on a Score

Labels the small E-flat clarinet, abbreviated E♭ Cl. (Eb Cl.); German scores print Klarinette in Es, French Petite clarinette en mi♭, Italian Clarinetto piccolo in Mi♭. It is written in treble clef and sounds a minor third above written. A clarinetist usually doubles it, so changes appear in the clarinet parts.

Abbreviations: E♭ Cl., Eb Cl.

Also spelled: Eb Clarinet, Piccolo clarinet

How Composers Use It

The highest common clarinet: bright, hard and penetrating, at home in band music and used in the orchestra for shrill, grotesque or brilliant color — Berlioz’s Witches’ Sabbath, Mahler’s symphonies, Ravel’s Boléro. Its soft high notes are hard to control, and in a quiet texture it can sound sour. Write it for character, pair it with piccolo or flute for brilliance, and plan the instrument changes.

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