E-flat clarinet

E♭ clarinet

E♭ clarinet with Boehm System keywork.
Woodwind instrument
Classification	Woodwind Wind Reed aerophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	422.211.2 (Single reed instruments – with fingerholes)
Playing range
Written range:
Related instruments
Clarinet

The E-flat (E♭) clarinet is a member of the clarinet family, smaller than the more common B♭ clarinet and pitched a perfect fourth higher. It is typically considered the sopranino or piccolo member of the clarinet family and is a transposing instrument in E♭ with a sounding pitch a minor third higher than written. In Italian it is sometimes referred to as a terzino and is generally listed in B♭-based scores (including many European band scores) as terzino in Mi♭. The E-flat clarinet has a total length of about 49 cm.^[1]

The E♭ clarinet is used in orchestras, concert bands, and marching bands, and plays a central role in clarinet choirs, carrying melodies that would be uncomfortably high for the B♭ clarinet. Solo repertoire is limited, but composers from Berlioz to Mahler have used it extensively as a solo instrument in orchestral contexts.