Piccolo clarinet
A♭ clarinet
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| Woodwind instrument | |
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| Classification | Single-reed |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 422.211.2-71 (Single-reeded aerophone with keys) |
| Related instruments | |
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Clarinet Saxophone Tárogató (modern) Oboe Chalumeau |
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| Musicians | |
| Clarinetists | |
Clarinet Saxophone Tárogató (modern) Oboe
The A-flat (A♭) clarinet is a member of the clarinet family, smaller and sounding a perfect fourth higher than the E♭ clarinet. The A♭ is rare, but even less common, obsolete instruments in C, B♭, and A♮ are listed by Shackleton. Some writers call the A♭ and these other instruments octave clarinets, sopranino clarinets, or piccolo clarinets. The boundary between the octave and soprano clarinets is not well-defined, and the rare instruments in G and F might be considered as either. Shackleton, along with many early twentieth-century composers, uses the term "piccolo clarinet" to refer to the E♭ and D clarinets as well (piccolo merely meaning "small" in Italian). This designation is less common today, with the E♭ and D instruments more usually designated soprano clarinets. The term "piccolo clarinet" is used by some recent music software (e.g., Finale) for the A♭ clarinet.
The A♭ clarinet is pitched a minor seventh higher than the B♭ clarinet. Its lowest note, E, sounds as concert middle C, the same as many concert flutes.
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Wikipedia