The E-flat (E♭) clarinet is part of the clarinet family. It is smaller than the more common B♭ clarinet and sounds a perfect fourth higher. It is considered the smallest member of the clarinet family, often called the sopranino or piccolo clarinet. It is a transposing instrument in E♭, meaning the notes sound a minor third higher than what is written on the sheet music. The E♭ clarinet is about 49 centimeters (19 inches) long.

In Italian, the term "quartino" refers specifically to the E♭ clarinet, especially in band music. The term "terzino" is also used to describe any small clarinet. In Italian musical scores, the E♭ clarinet is sometimes labeled as "terzino in Mi♭," such as in the Fantasia Eroica op. 33 (1913) by Francesco Paolo Neglia. Before the late 1800s, the term "Elafà" was also used to describe an E♭ clarinet.

The E♭ clarinet is used in orchestras, concert bands, and marching bands. It plays an important role in clarinet choirs, performing melodies that would be too high for the B♭ clarinet. While solo music for the E♭ clarinet is limited, composers such as Berlioz and Mahler often used it as a solo instrument in orchestral music.

Tonal range

Many music books about orchestration and instrumentation show that the highest written note for the E-flat clarinet is G6, compared to C7 for clarinets in A or B-flat.

Use in concert and military bands

By the end of the 1700s, the clarinet in high F played an important role in music until the E♭ clarinet became more common in the early 1800s.

The E♭ clarinet is not often used in school bands but is a common instrument in college and advanced music groups. Unlike the B♭ soprano clarinet, which is played by many musicians for each part in a concert band, the E♭ clarinet part is usually played by only one musician. This is partly because the E♭ clarinet has a bright and sharp sound, similar to the piccolo. It often plays a highlight role alongside the piccolo, and short musical sections featuring both instruments are common. The E♭ clarinet is frequently heard playing with flutes and/or oboes.

Important solo parts for the E♭ clarinet in standard band music include the second movement of Gustav Holst’s First Suite in E-flat for Military Band (for two E♭ clarinets) and his piece “Hammersmith” (also for two E♭ clarinets), Paul Hindemith’s Symphony in B-flat for Band, and Gordon Jacob’s William Byrd Suite. The E♭ clarinet is also a key player in modern wind band music, such as Adam Gorb’s Yiddish Dances, where it plays a solo role throughout much of the five-part piece.

Use as children's clarinet

Most E♭ clarinets are made and sold for professional musicians or advanced students. However, some inexpensive plastic E♭ clarinets are made for young students who are just starting to learn. These beginner clarinets have a simpler fingering system and do not include some trill keys or alternative fingerings.

D clarinet

The D clarinet is slightly larger than other clarinets. It was commonly used in the early and middle 1700s but is rare today. The D clarinet is about 52 cm long. From the late 1700s until now, it has been less commonly used than clarinets in E♭, B♭, A, or C. Handel’s Overture in D major for two clarinets and horn was likely written for two D clarinets. Some composers, like Rimsky-Korsakov, used D clarinets in their works. These composers sometimes required players to use both D and E♭ clarinets, similar to using B♭ and A clarinets. In modern performances, especially in North America and western Europe outside German-speaking countries, D clarinet music is often rewritten for E♭ clarinets.

Choosing between E♭ and D clarinets can be confusing for composers. Sometimes, the choice seems difficult or unusual, even if the other option might be easier for the player. For example, Arnold Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1 was originally written for E♭ clarinet, but the orchestral version uses D clarinet. In Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, some parts are written in concert D but scored for E♭ clarinet. This makes certain notes very hard to play on the E♭ clarinet, which must play in B major, but much easier on the D clarinet, which plays in C major. A famous example is the D clarinet part in Richard Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

Solo and chamber literature for the E♭(or D) clarinet

Solo works for these instruments are not very common, but they are growing in number.

• Johann Melchior Molter: Six Clarinet Concertos (D; some of the earliest surviving clarinet concertos).
• Concertos by Jerome Neff and William Neil.
• Ernesto Cavallini: Carnival of Venice variations, Fantasia on a Theme from Ultimo Giorno Di Pompeii, and (with Giacomo Panizza) I figli di Eduardo 4th (all for E♭ clarinet and piano).
• Paul Mefano: Involutive for solo E♭ clarinet.
• Henri Rabaud: "Solo de Concours" for E♭ clarinet.
• Jeroen Speak: Epeisodos for solo E♭ clarinet.
• Amilcare Ponchielli: Quartetto for B♭ and E♭ clarinets, flute, and oboe, with piano accompaniment.
• Giacinto Scelsi: "Tre Pezzi for E♭ Clarinet".
• William Bolcom: "Suite of Four Dances for E♭ Clarinet".
• Manuel Lillo Torregrosa: "Teren Rof," "Vivencias," "Obviam ire siglo," "Angular": Concerts 1, 2, 3, 4 for E♭ Clarinet and Band.
• Arnold Schoenberg: Suite, op. 29 (E♭, B♭, and bass clarinet, violin, viola, violoncello, piano).
• Anton Webern: Drei Lieder fur Singstimme, Es-Klarinette und Gitarre Op.18.

Orchestral and operatic music using the E♭(or D) clarinet

Parts written for the D clarinet are often played on the more commonly used E♭ clarinet. The musician either changes the notes to match the E♭ clarinet or uses a written part that has been adjusted one half-step lower.

Orchestral pieces and operas that feature important E♭ or D clarinet solos include:

• Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique (E♭)
• Maurice Ravel: Boléro (E♭)
• Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (D)
• Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (D and E♭)
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 (E♭), The Golden Age (E♭), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (E♭)
• Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (E♭)

Other orchestral pieces and operas that use E♭ or D clarinet frequently include:

• Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle (1&2 double E♭), Miraculous Mandarin (E♭ and D)
• Leonard Bernstein: Candide, West Side Story, On the Town, Divertimento for Orchestra, Slava! A Political Overture
• Aaron Copland: El Salon Mexico
• Edward Elgar: Symphony No. 2
• Leoš Janáček: Sinfonietta
• Gustav Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1 (2 E♭s), 2 (2 E♭s), 3 (2 E♭s), 4, 5 (D), 6 (4th movement for D), 7, 8, 9, 10
• Carl Orff: Carmina Burana, De temporum fine comoedia (6 clarinets in E♭, with three doubling B♭)
• Sergei Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6
• Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Piano Concerto in G, Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
• Franz Schmidt: Symphony No. 4
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, The Tale of the Priest and His Workman Balda
• Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Eine Alpensinfonie, Also sprach Zarathustra, Sinfonia Domestica (D), Josephslegende (D)
• Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird (D), The Rite of Spring

Recent usage

After 1950, there are too many musical works using the E♭ clarinet to list one by one. However, some compositions stand out because they use the instrument in ways that are unusual for modern music. For example, in John Adams's Chamber Symphony, two musicians play both the E♭ clarinet and bass clarinet, and they also perform soprano parts. Another example is Adriana Hölszky's A due, which features two E♭ clarinets. Techniques originally associated with the B♭ clarinet, such as multiphonics, flutter tonguing, and playing in very high or low ranges, have also been used with the E♭ clarinet.