Small yet mighty, one of the loudest instruments in the orchestra is also the most compact. The piccolo offers a powerful sound that can rival any booming brass instrument. Cultivating and controlling this sound while also refining the technically capabilities of the tiny soprano-style flute is a challenge. It is not as simple as practicing the same way you would practice the flute. The piccolo has its own quirks, its own challenges, and its own unique style. Armed with an understanding of these weird, wonky, and wonderful nuances, we can make the piccolo sing majestically over the orchestra (rather than rebel yell over a death metal concert). In this blog, we will look at some of the best kept piccolo playing tips for both newbies and seasoned piccolo
enthusiasts. Be bold. Be brave. Be heard!
Tip #1 – Gotta start with a decent instrument. If you are trying to muster a sound out of an instrument with leaky pads, a sus cork (as the kids say), loose screws, or any other not so great structural issues, the cards are already stacked against you. If you are borrowing a school instrument, make sure that it has been properly serviced before beginning your piccolo journey. If you are purchasing your own piccolo, take the time to test out a variety of models in your price range. If you are returning to piccolo playing after any type of hiatus, take your instrument in for at least a clean, oil, and adjust if not a full-blown overhaul.
Tip #2 – Make friends with your tuner. Piccolo intonation is wonkalicious! Your natural tendencies on the flute may be wildly different on the piccolo, especially in the high register. Take some time to tune each note on the piccolo and write down your natural tendencies. Are you super flat on that high E-flat? You will need to remember to roll out. Are your G#s sharper than a steak knife at the Cheesecake Factory? You will need to explore options to bring these lower. Which leads us to the next tip…
Tip #3 – Get to know your alternate fingerings. There are many trick fingerings you can use on the piccolo to address pitch, response, and sound quality in different registers and under different dynamics. I have used the fingerings listed on The Woodwind Fingering Guide for the third octave for several years. I recommend printing these out and keeping them in your music folder. When I recently performed the William Tell Overture on piccolo, it was brought to my attention that my G#s were indeed very sharp whenever I used the flute-based regular fingering. Doh! I swapped the standard fingering out for one of the alternate fingerings and the pitch came back down to Planet Earth. Whew!
Tip #4 – Place the piccolo higher on your bottom lip than you would your flute. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been told throughout the years to place my flute lower on my lip. Well, the opposite is true for the piccolo. This makes sense – The instrument is smaller as is the tone hole.
Tip #5 – Loosen up that embouchure. Yes, you will need a smaller embouchure to play the piccolo, but it should also be super flexible. A tight embouchure will result in a tight sound. Not cute.
Tip #6 – Also, loosen that grip. The keys are smaller and closer together on the piccolo than on the flute, so you do not need to hold it so tightly. Keep your grip light and loose. It’s not a baseball bat. It is more like a ping pong paddle.
Tip #7 – Use faster air than you would on the flute. The key is not to use more air. It is actually the opposite. Use less air but spin the air faster using a smaller airstream from a smaller aperture. Don’t forget to support your air! Unsupported piccolo sound literally falls flat.
Tip #8 – Try aligning the embouchure hole slightly forward from the center of the keys to avoid covering too much of the embouchure hole. Again, this is a lot smaller than the tone hole of your flute so there may be a tendency to overcover which will drive your pitch flat and your sound lackluster. Best to trick your lips with a different alignment.
Tip #9 – Practice.Your.Long.Tones. This is a great place to start! Sound is everything on the piccolo and very tricky to cultivate and maintain. Long tones are your friends. Practice some good old Trevor Wye long tones from the Practice Book on Tone, starting with the low register, then the middle. Save the dreaded high register for last once you have maximized your tone in the lower registers. You are literally building a tonal foundation from the ground up.
Tip #10 – Did you know that you can practice harmonics on the piccolo??? This is a great way to develop a super flexible embouchure! Check out Eric Ruyle’s Fun with Flute and Piccolo Harmonics for some easy harmonic exercises to incorporate into your daily piccolo practice routine.
Tip #11 – If you are new to the piccolo, start by practicing Baroque pieces. Pieces such as the Telemann Fantasies are great because the range stays primarily in the lower and middle registers thanks to the natural scales of the Baroque flute. Avoid launching straight away into those super high and fast orchestral excerpts (Lieutenant Kjie, I’m looking at you). Sure – They are fun and exciting, but they need a great sound foundation to really shine.
Tip #12 – Ear plugs are a must! Gotta protect your ears from those super high, loud notes, especially when you are confined to the four small walls of a practice room. Protect the ears of your colleagues as well. Bring extra ear plugs for your fellow woodwinds and the back of the second violin section. They will thank you later!
Tip #13 – A discreet piccolo swab is a great tool for those longer practice sessions and/or rehearsals. Spit is a reality, especially for smaller instruments like the piccolo. I really like the ROI Piccolo Swab as it fits quite nicely on a music stand and can easily be used mid-rehearsal without having to take your instrument apart.
Tip #14 – Check pitches with your colleagues outside of orchestra/band rehearsals. It can sometimes be difficult to hear what exactly is happening to your piccolo intonation when everybody is playing at the same time. If you have an important solo with the string section, corner one of your violin colleagues to compare notes before rehearsal.
Tip #15 – The Golden Rule of Piccolo Playing: Be bold. There is nowhere to hide on the piccolo. The worst thing you can do is to play the piccolo timidly. This may undoubtedly lead to issues with air support and air speed, both of which are needed to sustain a clear tone on the piccolo. Be courageous and belt it out loud and proud!
Do you play the piccolo in an ensemble? What are your best kept piccolo playing tips? What do you find challenging about playing the piccolo? What do you find the most rewarding?
Happy fluting (and piccolo-ing)!
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About the Author, Rachel Taylor Geier:
Rachel Taylor Geier holds a DMA in Flute Performance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, an MM in Flute Performance from San Francisco State University, and a BM in Music Performance from DePauw University. Former applied instructors include Immanuel Davis, Linda Lukas, Anne Reynolds, and Rhonda Bradetich. Dr. Geier currently teaches and freelances in Davis, California and hosts a popular Flute Friday Blog Series.
