Skip to content 
The E major scale on piccolo is the scale of the key of E natural or four sharps. This implies that its tonic note is E natural. E major is relative to the key of C-sharp minor, parallel to the key of E minor, dominant to the key of B major, and subdominant to the key of A major. Below is a two octaves scale of E major on piccolo and how it sounds;
How to play the E major scale on the piccolo, its notes, and finger placement chat
You can only play an E major scale of two octaves on the piccolo, being between the ranges of E4 – E6. You need to use a finger placement chart or a particular pattern to play the E major scale on the piccolo. Below is a guide and finger chart of how to play the E major scale on the piccolo;
First octave E major scale notes (E4 – E5) finger placement chart for piccolo
To play the first octave (E4 – E5) E major scale on the piccolo, you have to sharpen the F note, C note, G note, and D note. Your finger placement needs to be accurate in other to produce a perfect scale.
Second octave E major scale notes (E5 – E6) finger placement chart for piccolo
To play the second octave (E5 – E6) E major scale on the piccolo, you have to sharpen the F note, C note, G note, and D note. Your finger placement needs to be accurate in other to produce a perfect scale. Learning the scale might be hard for beginners. You will also have to tighten your lips to produce higher-pitched notes.
Concert E major scale
While playing the E major scale, or playing a composition written in E major for the piccolo in a concert, you will have to sharpen the F note, C note, G note, and D note unless where indicated to be naturalized. This means that all notes except the F note, C note, G note, and D note are played naturally while playing this scale on the concert piccolo, Indian or Bansuri piccolo, Native American piccolo, pan piccolo, Arabian piccolo, and any other piccolo.
If you play an alto piccolo or any other transposable piccolo, you can play the E major scale without any transposition. But while running the E major scale with another instrument that is not transposable, you will then have to transpose to the right key in other to sound the same with them in pitch.
E major piccolo arpeggio
The E major scale can be played up to two octaves on a C piccolo, or the standard concert piccolo. The first note of this scale on the C piccolo is the E natural note on the first line of the treble clef which in the range is the E4.
The notes or alphabets that you will play to get this scale correctly include; E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D♯, E. The two-octave arpeggio of this scale has its notes as E, G♯, B, E, G♯, B, E, B, G♯, E, B, G♯, E.
Notable piccolo compositions in E major
- Concerto for Viola d’amore, Oboe d’amore and piccolo by Georg Philipp Telemann
- piccolo Concerto in E major by Christoph Förster
- piccolo Concerto in E Major GT 1.E05a by Giuseppe Tartini
- piccolo Concerto in E major GWV 320 by Christoph Graupner
- piccolo Concerto in E major QV 5:107 by Johann Joachim Quantz
- piccolo Concerto in E major QV 5:108 by Johann Joachim Quantz
- piccolo Concerto No.4 Op.51 by Ferdinand Büchner
- piccolo Concerto TWV 51:E1 by Georg Philipp Telemann
- piccolo Quartet Op.57 by Friedrich Dotzauer
- piccolo Sonata by Michael Elphinstone
- piccolo Sonata in E Major by Jiří Čart
- piccolo Sonata in E major BWV 1035 by Johann Sebastian Bach
- piccolo Sonata in E major H.506 by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
- piccolo Sonata in E major Op.15 by Richard Rössler
- piccolo Sonata in E major SpiF 55 by Frederick II
- piccolo Sonata No.1 by Martín José Rodríguez Peris
- Quartet No.1 for 4 piccolos Op.68 by Georg Abraham Schneider
- Sonata for piccolo d’amour in E major D-RH Ms 988 by Anonymous
- Trio No.1 for piccolo Clarinet and Piano Op.2 by Adrián Fuentes Flores
- Variations for piccolo and Piano in E major B.9 by Frédéric Chopin
