Piccolo

General info:

The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has most of the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written. This gave rise to the name "ottavino," the name by which the instrument is referred to in the scores of Italian composers. Piccolos are now only manufactured in the key of C; however, they were once also available in D♭.

History:

Baroque piccolos

The piccolo first appeared in the orchestra around 1700. The earliest work which featured a piccolo part was Handel's "Rinaldo" (1711). Due to the efforts of Jean-Philippe Rameau, a position opened for piccolo players at the Paris Opera.

Classical piccolos

The invention of the "multi-key" piccolo is attributed to the flute teacher from Prague, Michael Janusch, who developed the instrument in 1824. This instrument was the equivalent of the flute with six keys customary at that time. In the course of the 19th century, piccolos were built according to more than 40 sets of fingerings, in seven different keys and six diffreent materials.

Range:

The piccolo in C has a range from D5 – C8. Theoretically, adding a C foot to the piccolo in C can extend the range down to C5 (by adding a B foot it can theoretically be extended even as far down as B4).

Role:

In the orchestral setting, the piccolo player is often designated as "piccolo/flute III", or even "assistant principal". The larger orchestras have designated this position as a solo position due to the demands of the literature. Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle and brilliance to the overall sound because of the aforementioned one-octave transposition upwards. In concert band settings, the piccolo is almost always used and a piccolo part is almost always available.

Foreign names:

Pikkoloflöte ----- German

Flûte piccolo ----- French

Ottavino ----- Italian

Famous pieces: