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Piccolo 101 When
I first started playing piccolo many years ago, it was a difficult
introduction because I had been taught to play the flute with a very
relaxed embouchure, so it was impossible for me to get a sound at all.
When I asked how to go about practicing piccolo, I got either no advice -
or bad advice - such as practice flute for three hours, then, do the whole
routine again on piccolo - which was far worse than no advice. Although I
am not a full-time, professional piccolo player, I have been working at
piccolo on and off for quite a few years now, have taken piccolo lessons
with top players and have worked through some of these obstacles
satisfactorily, so if possible, I would like to make it easier for others.
I hope that some of these ideas will be useful. Some
of these ideas came to me via the lessons I took with those
piccolo players, others, I developed on my own through experience,
that is, practicing, performing, discussing, listening, asking, thinking
and experimenting, which we must all do in order to become advanced
players. Still others came from my flute work. With some input from others,
you now must find the ways and means that work for you. These ideas are
not Gospel and they might not work for everyone - nor will everyone need
them - but they work for me – and I still experiment too. Generally
speaking, when we learn to play an instrument, we must adapt what we hear
from our teachers and colleagues for ourselves because we can only play
with our minds, bodies and talents – so try these on for size – take
what you like – and leave the rest. First
of all, consider why we practice. This may be sound obvious, but generally
speaking, we practice to create, maintain and improve our abilities. We
practice to learn pieces of music. We practice to sound good and to feel
confident about those abilities so we can perform at our best at the time.
If you are doing something that prevents you from sounding good and
feeling confident about your ability, whenever you play, stop doing it -
or change what you are doing! Those
of us who love to play and are ambitious about our playing must learn is
that one of the best things we can learn in order to improve is to know
when to stop practicing! This will change, but you must heed the signals
your body sends, no matter how soon it sends them! Remember
that we are all different physically (chin, lips, strength, tongue, jaw,
lung capacity, etc.) and have different personalities, different artistic
goals, different teachers and different instruments. What works for one
player may not work for another and what comes with difficulty to one
person may come to another with ease. The idea is to keep listening,
asking, experimenting until you find what is right for you, in other words,
take what you like and leave the rest because in the long run, there is no
one way and we have to find our own way. You should feel perfectly
entitled to reject advice from even a good teacher/player after giving it
a good try, if it does not fit or makes no sense to you. There
are several hurdles that intermediate level flutists face in becoming
piccolo players. The first is that no one warns us that piccolos may be
hazardous to our embouchure and ear health. Piccolos appear to be cute and
cuddly, so small and sweet, but the truth is that they are practically
weapons, dangerous to us and to others who are close by. We just take them
out of their cases like newborns, not suspecting how difficult they (like
newborns) can be. The
second obstacle is that intermediate level flutists know enough to be
dangerous to themselves, that is, while young flutists know the fingerings
for the third octave of the piccolo they do not necessarily know how to
support sound, nor do they have the embouchure strength or flexibility to
manage in the third octave - at the start. Nonetheless,
due to circumstances (for example, someone must play piccolo in band or
orchestra), they take on parts that are too high, far too soon and of
course, immediately get into trouble. Once the embouchure is tired, it
must rest for a day or two and then, before it is back in shape, suddenly,
the same person is asked to play a high part, again, without preparation,
so the problem is perpetuated and people begin to dread and avoid the
piccolo. In
addition, beginning piccolo players are not consistent enough about
practicing piccolo, which is part of the solution to the fatigue problem.
Other pitfalls are that instruments for beginners are usually of a
discouragingly low quality. To compound the preceding factors, most flute
teachers are not serious piccolo players and cannot guide flutists in
becoming satisfactory piccolo players. Just
taking a piccolo and trying to play it without expert preparation and
guidance is similar to walking into a gym and without knowing how to lift
at all, or without at least first stretching, attempting to lift the
heaviest weights available. Understandably, you are not going to succeed
and very likely going to hurt yourself. Some
general and specific ideas follow - take what you need to build your own
playing on and leave the rest! Above
all, enjoy! Piccolo is a great instrument! General
Piccolo Ideas Like
athletics vs. normal daily physical activity, playing the piccolo requires
a more intense level of muscular activity, but will not hurt your flute
playing if done carefully, sensibly and consistently. On the contrary, it
will enhance your flute-playing! Most
flutists complain about how the embouchure feels after working on the
piccolo – too tight. Ironically, the more you work on the piccolo (intelligently,
that is) the less it will impact your flute playing negatively. Conversely,
the less you play the piccolo, the more it will impact your flute-playing
– negatively following the rare occasions upon which you play. The only
time my flute-playing suffers is when I get caught up in piccolo and play
the flute too little! I believe this is because the opening between the
lips becomes too small to produce a resonant sound on the flute. Remember,
your piccolo work also impacts your flute playing positively – it gives
you flexibility and strength and should give your flute sound more depth
and brilliance – when done with structure and carefully. By structure, I
refer to order and proportion of piccolo time to flute time. When you have
developed your piccolo playing, it will hardly be a strain at all to go
back and forth. Sometimes I get busy on the flute and drop my piccolo
work. When I go back to the piccolo, I immediately note that I have a more
interesting sound and more support on flute. Playing
piccolo is an inseparable part of playing flute seriously or as a
profession. The great flutists are often great piccolo players; they
achieved this by practice, not magically and not overnight. Whatever
you do with the piccolo, try to enjoy it. Try to love it for it is a
lovable instrument. What I love about the piccolo is its character and
sound – its sweet, cheerful, woody, “naïve”, innocent sound,
outdoors and magical qualities. The piccolo’s small, high sound reminds
me of spirits, fairies, elves, spells, birds and in general, magic and
childhood. The piccolo has tremendous presence – it is ear-catching.
I
am fortunate for I do love the piccolo. I am grateful for the place of the
piccolo in my flute life. It adds variety, it is a technical challenge, it
enhances my flute playing and gives me more performance opportunities.
Generally speaking, given a choice, I would choose to play a first flute
part over piccolo, but given a choice between second and piccolo, I would
choose piccolo. Given a choice between a big piccolo part and a so-so
first flute part, I would choose the piccolo part! If
you hate it, learning to master it will be much harder and no fun. Flute
players who hate piccolo are usually those who don’t own one, avoid
practicing piccolo, find themselves forced into playing difficult parts in
unexpected situations or do last-minute work – and then complain that
their embouchures hurt. Or Try not to be one of them. Especially,
do not be one of those flutists who do not carry their piccolo with them
so that they can force others to play piccolo by creating a fait accompli.
That is truly un-collegial. That said, if you do enjoy the piccolo and are
always eager to play it, but enjoy the flute equally, you run the risk of
missing out on playing good flute parts because you will be depended upon
for your good piccolo-playing. To remedy this, in an amateur/school
ensemble situation, ask for a private meeting with your conductor or
director and in advance of your performing season, negotiate your
availability on piccolo for a good part or three on flute. If you can’t,
then make lemonade from lemons - ask for “compensation” for the loss
of a flute role in the form of a piccolo concerto appearance or your
choice of an ensemble piece with a piccolo part you are dying to play. A
good piccolo embouchure is not built in a day. Accept that becoming a good
piccolo player is going to take several months to one year of consistent,
careful, focused work. Work up to a given note, for example D3 but not
above for a week or so, until you are comfortable and do not tire. Then,
go to Eb3 but not above, and so on, until you gradually reach the high C. If
you don’t maintain your piccolo embouchure, you will lose it. If you
want to play piccolo really well, not just passably, you must play daily,
or at least a few times a week once your technique solidifies. However,
once you have built a piccolo embouchure, it will last longer between
practice sessions. You will find that once you understand how to play the
piccolo, you can go back to it more easily – but if you are playing
demanding piccolo parts – you should be practicing regularly and
carefully. If you are a track and field athlete, you can’t expect that
practicing one event, eg, sprinting, will prepare you for another, eg
hurdles – but these abilities do contribute to each other. Accept
that the piccolo will sometimes affect your flute embouchure negatively -
but much less if you play more and integrate your piccolo practice with
your flute practice. When this is done, the differences will contribute
positively to each other. Always
listen to and respect your body and mind, which, by the way, is part of
your body. They both tire after periods of intense work towards both
technical and artistic ends (and loud sound) and need breaks. Just
because you play the flute, does not mean your ability will translate
immediately to the piccolo. Be patient – this is difficult to do right.
Go slowly. Should a violist expect to play violin easily? Should a
contrabassist expect to play cello easily? Yes and no. Even if they could,
no one expects them to switch instruments while in the middle of a
performance. What we do is difficult and must be taken seriously. Be
aware that the flute and piccolo are built differently. Flutes have
cylindrical bodies and piccolos have conical bodies. The structure of the
head joints differ as well. This changes their response; you will find
that you must occasionally apply exactly the opposite strategy to deal
with the same note on the piccolo as you do on the flute. Some
people play the piccolo as if it is a small flute and some play it as if
it is a completely different instrument. This meaningless debate rages on.
You can choose whatever you come to believe for yourself, but for
practical purposes, relate piccolo to flute as if one is the extension of
the other - after all, composers and arrangers do. Since in performance
situations, one often must switch quickly from one to another, this makes
sense and should dictate how to practice. If your flute and piccolo sound
come to resemble each other, this is a good thing! Developing
a specialized physical ability requires a judicious blend of focused work
- and rest. That means rest not only after you have finished your daily
work, but rest within the daily work. Since you mention fatigue, I am
going to assume that you are both doing too little of some things and too
much of others. If you really want to develop your piccolo playing, not
just get by, you must be fairly consistent about your piccolo practice.
That means, while being flexible, practice piccolo most days. There will
be days in which your performing and rehearsing circumstances determine
that you cannot to touch the piccolo and others where you play it too much,
but generally speaking, outside of special circumstances, be consistent.
Take a day off to refresh occasionally too. It is best to warm up
carefully and slowly most days, but not all days. You will find that when
you do not play too much or too little, you hardly have to warm up at all.
The muscles will be ready to go within a minute or two. When your
embouchure is tired, you should let it rest. The need for a long warm-up
is like trying to awaken when we have not slept enough. The muscles or
brain is reluctant because they have been used to or past their limits and
are not yet ready for more activity. If you don’t overdo the activity,
you will need less recovery time. Developing
as a good piccolo player means the same things as developing as a good
flutist, but even more so, because the piccolo is more exposed and harder
to control. Above all, good piccolo playing means developing the ability
to play softly in the upper register, to play in tune and to blend. You
cannot develop these abilities if your embouchure is tired or if you do
not understand support. Don’t
let the piccolo be a “serial killer” by not practicing serially. This
means to alternate flute and piccolo, not to practice flute until you are
tired, then the piccolo. Do not practice flute until you are done with
everything, then, practice the piccolo. You will be too tired, mentally
and physically; the piccolo demands even more support and minute
adjustments than the flute. Practice
the piccolo within the context of your flute practice for several reasons.
First of all, unless you are playing a solo concerto or a work for piccolo
and piano, etc. the job requires that you go back and forth, so practicing
this way will enable you to do so painlessly.
This will teach you many things. Always
end your practicing when you still sound good. This way, you will need
less time to rest and less time to warm up at your next practice session.
The instant you feel bored or tired, take a break or stop for the day. If
possible, take one day a week off. You will sound and feel fresh and
rested the following day. If you don’t want to take off an entire day
after a concert or long rehearsal, wait until late in the next day to
practice. This way, your embouchure has more time to recover. Take
one-off lessons with as many full-time, professional piccolo players as
you can afford. Not just one because each one’s approach is different.
Find the right person for you, then, take a few lessons. This will give
you plenty of ideas and feedback. Unless your flute teacher is a serious
piccolo player too, they may not be able to help you with piccolo. Learn
special fingerings. This is even more important for piccolo than for flute
as several frequently-used notes, right in the middle of the piccolo are
very faulty. There are alternative-fingering books available. Study
and perform original piccolo repertoire. There is more and more of it
being composed. There are excellent pieces in all styles. One piccolo
piece on a flute recital adds variety. It is always good to have a piccolo
piece ready at a flute audition. Being
a decent piccolo player, who owns a good instrument, always has it on hand
and is ready, willing and able to play it on the spot makes you more
attractive to orchestras because versatility is needed and valuable. Instruments If
you are serious about playing and enjoying the piccolo, obviously, you
need a decent instrument that is in perfect working order. Do not buy on
your own. The input of a professional player is absolutely necessary and
indispensable. Pay someone good to pick out an instrument for you. Their
expertise and experience is worth every penny. Some
metal instruments are excellent if they are made of silver by a fine
builder but generally, wood is best. Fine, high-end piccolos cost in the
$4,000 - $5,000 range Mid-range piccolos cost $2,000 - $3,000 Fine
builders are Powell, Haynes, Keefe, Burkhart, Zentner, Hamig and others. A
good budget solution is to buy a Yamaha wooden piccolo and replace the
head joint with one made by a high-end builder. Fine head joints cost from
$600-$700 and make all the difference. Fine head joints are made by Keefe,
Spell, Tanzer and others. The builders of complete instruments usually
sell their own head joints separately. Consider used instruments too. Ensemble
Etiquette Do
NOT practice high parts in your chair on stage around others. Find a
corner of the auditorium where you will not hurt people’s ears. Be
a considerate colleague. Buy a few pairs of inexpensive swimmers earplugs
and distribute them to those who sit closest to you. Piccolo
102 Between
judiciously transferring your flute exercises and easier etudes to the
piccolo and studying excerpts and original piccolo compositions, you have
a great deal to work on. However, when you are ready, take a look at the
published piccolo primers. There are several – but it is not WHAT you
play that will allow you to develop as a fine piccolo player, it is HOW
you play it! Specific
Piccolo Suggestions Integrating
Piccolo Into Your Flute Practicing Day Order
of Work: Best – Worst Results Worst:
Start day on piccolo, then go to flute Equally
Bad: Practice flute until you are finished, then practice piccolo Best:
Warm up on flute and piccolo together, alternating throughout practice
time Second
Best: Warm up on flute, then practice piccolo, then return to flute Regardless
of how much piccolo work I may be doing, in principle, I always start my
practice day on the flute or integrate piccolo in my the warm up if I have
time. Each day is different, but I find that when I am working intensively
on both instruments, a practice day naturally breaks down into 2-3 hours
of flute and about 45 minutes -1.5 hours of piccolo (with many small or
large breaks, not straight through). Tuning Get
used to tuning and tune daily to A – 440. Even when practicing alone,
using an electronic tuner, always tune your first and second A’s to
A-440. If you are used to tuning, it will be quick and easy when you tune
accurately at a rehearsal. You will also become familiar with the way your
instrument responds at the pitch at which you usually play. To develop
flexibility, tune to A-441 and A-442 occasionally. After you finish
practicing, cleaning and re-assembling your instrument, tune it so that it
will be ready when you start practicing the next day. Pulling
Out the Head Joint Crucial
– Pulling out the head joint. Pull out the head joint around 1/16 to 1/8
of an inch or to whatever degree your line-up requires. You should find
yourself playing pulled out this far most of the time. The more you play,
the stronger you will become and find that you must pull out more because
you are able to create a smaller opening between the lips and/or you blow
faster. The less you play, the further in you will have to push the head
joint because you will not have the strength to naturally create a higher
airspeed. Head
Joint Line-Up Crucial
- Line-up: Most players roll the head joint out, that is, the hole is
slightly in front of the keys. If you are big, have full lips or a
receding chin, this becomes more necessary, so you do not cover the hole
too much with your lower lip. The danger of turning out too much is that
your first octave will have no substance. The first octave tends to be too
high, so turning out will make this tendency worse. Because the second
octave tends to be flat, by doing so, you will end up with octaves that
are too narrow. If
you have thinner lips and a chin that does not recede, you can have a
straighter line-up, that is, the whole is lined up with the keys or turned
slightly in, behind the keys. This will give you a clear and focused first
octave but the danger is that you may cover too much and find that the
sound is disappearing on you, that you are very flat in the second octave
and cannot play the third octave reasonably easily. Find a compromise
position that lets you play reasonably well in tune with a good sound over
all three octaves. I personally use a series of perfect fifths extending
from the first to the second octaves, played softly, to gauge whether I am
lined up correctly, listening for good intonation and sound and the
correct amount of resistance. Too little resistance and a fuzzy sound
means the hole is too open; too much resistance and too cutting or small a
sound means it is too covered. The most telling test intervals for me and
my instrument are A1-E2 and Bb1 – F2 because they combine short and long
notes, and contrast a note that tend to be sharp and a note that tends to
be flat. The smallest possible movements will correct your position if you
are off. When you can play both tones, you are all set to tune to A-440
and then play. Experiment
by turning the head joint forwards and backwards using the smallest
changes - they make big differences. Use a tuner or an electronic A-440
for a reality check. At a MP/MF level, you should let your jaw drop and
open your lips to tune the lowest A and raising and pushing your jaw
slightly forwards for the second A. If
you become a serious picc player, at some point, you will start acquiring
a head-joint collection because different head-joints help you accomplish
different goals. I have noticed that I do not line-up my various
head-joints the same way, even though obviously, my chin, lips, teeth and
the way I play have not changed. This is because each head-joint is
different and since you need to adopt it to your own face, you can line
each head-joint up differently. Placement
on the Chin/Lower Lip The
piccolo rests slightly higher on the chin than the flute does. Danger –
the higher you place it, the less mobility the lower lip has and the
mobility of the lower lip is crucial to playing in tune and with a good
sound. While placing the piccolo slightly higher that the flute, don’t
exaggerate. Do not press the piccolo into the chin too hard, as this will
cause your lower lip to cover too much of the hole which could result in
the disappearance of your sound. It will also reduce the freedom of the
lower lip. Experiment with using your bugler muscles – on the sides of
your mouth - to pull outwards before you place the piccolo on your chin.
Then, place the piccolo and let them relax. If your chin is very fleshy,
pulling outwards (both right and left) in both directions using the bugler
muscles will thin out the flesh on your chin and you will cover less. This
is not for everybody, but it is worth a try. Also try rolling the top edge
of the hole towards you once you have placed the picc on your lip. Air
Stream Velocity – A Pet Peeve Some
knowledgeable and experienced players suggest that air column speed on the
piccolo should be greater than for the flute. With all due respect, I
disagree. This is one of the most dangerous ideas I have ever heard.
Faster than what? Faster than how we blow on the flute? I assume that
someone beginning piccolo is at least an intermediate-level flutist. How
does an more or less experienced flutist develop tone? By playing,
listening to the results and experimenting! That is exactly how one should
go about it on the piccolo. Besides, there are quite a few sharp notes on
the piccolo, mostly in the first octave. Should one blow faster there too?
Of course not – you may end up playing too high and tuning too low to
accommodate the overly fast velocity. I feel that just thinking about
generally blowing faster will result is a tenser embouchure and in a thin,
shrill, shallow sound. I suggest the opposite – that the slowest
possible air column is best because it will result in a more sonorous
sound. To do this, you must know how to support, which is an involved
subject, dealt with later. Your primary criteria in determining just how
fast to blow should be pitch, beauty, sonority and clarity. Those are our
cues for determining the right air speed, not a generalization such as
“blow faster”. Be careful that by slowing your air, you do not go flat
on certain sensitive notes. Good
posture Stand
or sit erect and open with your chin tucked in, but your head up as if you
are looking up at a conductor. Don’t collapse over or around the
piccolo. If your head is down, you are likely to cover too much and play
flat. Keep the piccolo parallel to the ground, not drooping downwards.
Keep an eye on your right elbow. Do not let it drift out and away from
your side. If it does, it could cause tension in your right wrist. Keep
your right elbow pointed down and gently pressed against your right ribs.
Keep the part of your chest directly below your neck elevated. Sitting
versus Standing Most
of the time you will sitting when playing, so practice while sitting in
order to learn to use your body best in that position. Embouchure
Tension The
piccolo has a small embouchure hole, so tighten the lips and compress the
air column in order to speed it up, right? Wrong! On the contrary, use the
embouchure muscles to keep the opening between your lips as open as
possible. It is a subtle difference, but subtle changes make big
differences. Do not compress the air column or blow steeply downwards
except when you must. Do not drill the air into the piccolo or use a
laser-like air column except when you must – to get the highest notes
out (even then, remember, they don’t require much air as long as it is
moving at the right speed and the right angle). This will cause fatigue
and a shrill, thin sound. It could hurt your ears and those of the people
sitting next to you. More
on Embouchure Use
the muscles on the sides of your mouth slightly more than you would with
the flute in order to lift the air column a bit higher. We do this a great
deal on the piccolo. Use
your lower lip more, especially raising and bringing the middle of the lip
forward, also to raise the air column. Do
not tighten your upper lip across your teeth – on the contrary, let air
circulate under the center of your upper lip. Try to let it into the
pockets that may form on the sides of your lower lip. Warm
the Instrument Before You Play It If
you play a wood piccolo, warm it before playing it unless you are in a
warm climate or room. Do not blow or breathe warm air into it as wood
takes some time to warm up. When you blow into it, you are warming the
inside faster than the outside. Since the introduction of heat causes
expansion, this may cause a crack. When practicing, I place the inside my
shirt until it is warm. Symphonic players usually slip the piccolo into a
jacket pocket to maintain its temperature. Sound
Quality Develop
a beautiful sound in all registers. The piccolo has a sweet, woody,
lyrical voice. Its message can be tender, touching and poignant (listen to
“The Drunkard in Spring” section of Mahler’s “Song of the Earth”).
It must also be brilliant but sonorous and resonant, neither shrill, harsh
nor strident, since we must be able to sing on the piccolo as expressively
as any vocalist. Allow
some noise in your sound. Do not work for a totally pure sound. Assuming
you already have enough core or edge in your sound from the flute, this
will NOT cause a white, noisy or breathy sound; leaving some noise will
only add color, sweetness and depth to the sound. Playing with slightly
less tension will also give you more endurance since it is less fatiguing. There
are many extraordinary piccolo artists but there are very few solo piccolo
recordings. Try to find them because you will need good examples to
develop your own concept of a beautiful sound. One cannot hear enough of
the instrument on symphonic recordings. To hear and emulate truly
wonderful playing, look for Sir James’ recording of the Leibermann
Piccolo Concerto, Julius Baker playing the Vivaldi Concerti and entire
piccolo cd’s by Zart Dombourian-Eby, Nola Exel, Lawrence Trott and
Jean-Pierre Beaumadier. Even Jean-Pierre Rampal recorded the Vivaldi
Concerti. Intonation The
ability to hear and match someone else’s pitch and timbre (tone quality)
is what good piccolo and flute playing is all about. You will have to work
at it a great deal if you want to play in tune. Intonation is like “the
sound of one hand clapping”. It doesn’t seem to be problematic until
you are playing with someone else. It doesn’t matter how right you are
or think you are - it is the result in rehearsal or performance that
counts. How
to Learn to Play In Tune: Good
intonation depends on good sound and good attitude. Good
sound is important because when sound is good, it is usually in tune or
close to it. Good sound is also important because we don’t really play
completely in tune, we just give that impression. It is the cohesiveness
of our sound over almost three octaves that is either convincing - or not,
rather than the exact position of each note, which can more or less be
adjusted if/when exposed. The
components of playing in tune are how well you hear, your instrument, if
you know how to adjust, if you are willing to adjust to others and in many
cases, if others are willing to adjust to you. In
order to play in tune, you must have an internalized concept of
“in-tune-ness” in your own ear. You must be able to hear when pitch
relationships are too great – or sharp, too small – or flat - or
dead-on. Some people are born with this ability, some have to do develop
it and others will not be able to. Most of us can improve if we work at
it. First, we apply these relationships to our own playing and then apply
our playing to that of others. In
order to play in tune, you must be able to hear - and adjust. Practice
raising and lowering the pitch on all tones (except the highest ones)
until you know what sharp and flat sounds like. Do so with your voice, do
it on a guitar, do it on the flute, but do it regularly. If you do, you
will develop the ability to know where you and where others are,
pitch-wise. Learn
to accommodate each other’s instruments. If you have more control over a
certain note, adjust it. If you don’t, ask for more flexibility from the
other player. In
order to play in tune with others, you must practice playing in tune with
others! Do not use a tuner for this. Two players can tune to the same
tuner and still sound out of tune with each other. Use your ears and
embouchure to tune, not to the tuner. When you are used to doing this, you
will find that suddenly there are far fewer problems at rehearsals. Invite
another player, of any instrument to play slow scales and arpeggios with
you. Tune carefully to one note to begin, choose a key and tune every
degree of that scale or triad. Play unisons, play octaves. Take your time.
This is like working out with plays on a sports team. Your ability to hear
and adjust is improving. Then when you have a real game, all your practice
will pay off. You can also sound the tonic of a scale on a piano or tuner,
then play the scale slowly, tuning each note by ear. Good
Attitude Good
attitude is about flexibility and your ability to either accommodate
someone else’s limitations or to concede your own, do whatever can be
done to improve them or ask for others’ help in accommodating them. We
get used to the faults of our instruments; we get used to our own faults
and insist that we are just fine when we really are not. Others do the
same. Then, in a rehearsal, we find something is out of tune and our first
impulse to point a finger at someone else. Unless you are dealing with
someone who does not work at intonation and/or is not at your level, it
does not matter who is right until you are both in tune. The best
professionals will work on difficult passages before and after group
rehearsals. This is part of what makes them professionals. Select
a simple, short tune and play it in several keys by ear. Do this several
times a week. Play slowly and adjust! If you can take a tune through 12
major or minor keys, using the first and second octave, you are on the way
to having good intonation. The point is not to just play, but to play in
tune! Gradually add the third octave as your embouchure becomes stronger.
For starters, try something as simple as “Three Blind Mice” or Taps
and Reveille, They are not simple when you take it through all the keys.
Or, try “Close Your Eyes” by the Beatles, “Un Bel Di” an aria from
“Madame Butterfly” by Puccini, etc. Any interesting melody will do,
just not too long nor too complicated. Melodies that modulate are
especially challenging, but keep it simple at first. The
Piccolo Itself Explore
your instrument with a tuner and find where you are sharp, flat and
dead-on. You will find some surprising differences from the flute! Some
low notes and long notes (more keys closed) will be sharp. High notes and
short notes (fewer keys covered) will be flat. Drop your jaw to lower the
pitch by slowing down the air. The notes from E2 – and on - tend to be
flat. C2 and C#2 are disaster areas for flatness. Raise your jaw and use
your lower lip to raise the air column in order to raise the pitch. Learn
the special fingerings, for these notes in particular. Develop
your ability to raise and lower pitch by holding a note and raising and
lowering your jaw. This should sound as if you are playing a slide whistle.
Do not overdo this, not for long stretches of time, nor upon every note.
Concentrate on the first two octaves. Do this very sparingly in the third
octave. Your
ability to hear and adjust your pitch in exposed places is what will make
you welcome and appreciated in orchestra. Drugs
and the Piccolo If
your embouchure hurts, take an over-the-counter remedy (aspirin, Tylenol,
etc) which is intended to reduce swelling and alleviates pain. This will
help your recover more quickly from over-use of the embouchure muscles. If
you have a long rehearsal or concert on piccolo and you know it will be a
strain in advance, take the remedy in advance. Do not take these drugs
every day! Save them for when you really need them. Support Support
is too big a subject for even this posting, but whatever you* think
support is, support a great deal. If you don’t, your embouchure will
have to make up for it, which is another cause for fatigue. If you have
access to an alto or bass flute, use them to alternate with piccolo. If
you don’t, alternate with your concert flute. The slower air column and
greater support required for the bigger instruments will teach you to blow
more slowly, sonorously and to support on piccolo. If you haven’t a clue
as to what support is, ask your flute teacher and every singer, wind and
brass player you can about what they think it is. Support
is one of those areas that mean different things to different people and
can be accomplished in different ways. Experiment until you find your way.
When you have, you will experience less embouchure strain and fatigue
because you will be assisting the heavy lifting that piccolo requires with
the larger muscles of the abdomen rather than the smaller muscles of the
embouchure. *What
support means to me is the habitual, constant intense use of the abdominal
muscles and those in the back below the ribcage to reinforce and intensify
blowing. Some people feel that they press outwards and downwards. I use
these muscles to press inwards and upwards while playing. Both my stomach
and my chest expand when I breathe. I get the best results in terms of
strength and capacity when I allow the lower ribs to expand when inhaling. Vibrato Develop
a quick, narrow vibrato because this will help your intonation match
others and it is characteristic of the instrument. You should have
complete control of speed and width of the waves, but generally, play with
a quick, narrow vibrato. Third
Octave Take
on the 3rd octave gradually. Any idiot with fast fingers and a
tight embouchure can race around the third octave. It takes a real
musician to be able to play both expressively, beautifully, with real
dynamics and in tune over the complete range – almost 3 octaves -
without tiring – in the same piece. Do not practice sounding like a
“demented banshee” (Patricia Morris). The piccolo has a wide range of
roles and character. High, fast and loud is only one demand that composers
make – but the most fatiguing. The ability to play high, fast and loud
will not help you when must play exposed, delicate solos, softly and in
tune, often, minutes apart. This
may be hard, but play your scales and arpeggios only up to a given note
until it is secure, for a few days, week or more, then, another half-step
until you reach C3. If you do this patiently, you will find that you have
developed a secure high register. Try one day on and one day off for a
while. Then try two days on and one day off, then three and one four and
one, etc, until you are comfortable playing daily. Do not play piccolo if
your embouchure protests or if are just too tired to support. That day off
will make all the difference. Remember why we practice! Basically,
we practice to sound
good and to feel competent.
This may be sound obvious, but we in our haste to improve, we forget
sounding good because we feel that we will gain something by practicing
more, even if we don’t sound good. We practice to improve our abilities
and we practice to maintain our abilities. If you are doing something that
prevents you from sounding good, stop doing it! Using
Flute to Learn Piccolo Parts Not
everyone agrees with me here, but for myself, using the flute (or even
alto flute) to learn piccolo music is valuable and positive for two
reasons – the flute allows you more time and because it is different
from the piccolo. Some fine players say you should not because the other
instruments are different – I agree, they are different – and that is
why I use them! Just as we learn passages by modifying them – because
they are different from the original (for example, changing legato to
articulated or vice-versa, change of register, playing backwards, etc.),
we can achieve more comfort on piccolo by applying the demands of another
instrument to the musical requirements of a piece or passage that we are
trying to absorb. The different demands are what help us iron out what may
be sticky on the piccolo - and vice versa. In a related example, I love to
play the solo from Daphis & Chloe on piccolo as far as it goes
register-wise - it is so much easier! Or Afternoon of a Faun on
alto flute – it is so much harder! When I go back to the intended
instrument, it feels much more comfortable because the music has come home
after an interesting journey. Tuning
Devices A
pitch measurement tuning device is now an indispensable part of a serious
musician’s equipment. Use it sparingly because humans and traditional
instruments do not play perfectly in tune, we play within an acceptable
range of “in-tune-ness”. By
using a tuner, we mostly learn how imperfect an instrument the piccolo is
and how much the human ear will accept as “in tune”. The
point of using a tuner is to learn the piccolo’s tendencies and your
tendencies. If in the process, your hearing improves, all the better. We
play with our ears, not our eyes, so use your tuner actively, not
passively. This means listening to the note on the tuner, turning off the
sound, then playing that note without looking at the meter, listening
carefully, adjusting, and only then, looking to check. This will help you
develop your hearing. Do not look at the meter and play because you will
be training yourself to be passive and dependant on an external source
instead of listening or having an internal reference. The
idea is to get used to listening, knowing where you are in relation to
others and matching to the greatest extent possible. When your colleagues
are doing this too, good ensemble will be the result. Playing
in tune is crucial but cannot be developed separately from the other
components of your playing. You cannot play in tune without a good sound,
great support, the ability to hear where you and others are and adjustment
technique. Remember,
the tuner does not play the piccolo, you do. The tuner goes off when the
rehearsal or performance begins. It is your ears and embouchure that are
the real tuners. Tune
the second A (above the staff) if nothing else - daily once you and the
instrument are warmed up. Doing this will give you a sense of security
because by doing so, you will get to know yourself and your instrument
according to an objective, reliable, external source. You will have to use
your lower lip to raise the pitch for the tuning A2 no matter what you are
tuned to because if you are to play in tune with yourself, this is where
the note lies, unless you are playing forte.
Pull out your head joint enough – around one-eighth of an inch.
Find out where your line-up is, mark it somehow and stick to it until you
find that it is not working at that placement. You should be able to play
the C2and C#2 in tune – not flat – at a piano level. These are
horrendously flat notes, especially at a piano level. If you can’t, your
head joint is turned in too much. Turn out the head joint minutely to find
the spot where you can do this. Use
the tuner for a short amount of time daily on scales and arpeggios and
trouble spots. Use it creatively too. For example, let it sound the tonic,
third or fifth degree of a scale while you play the entire scale or
arpeggio slowly, listening and adjusting. If
you can’t afford a tuning device, find a well-tuned piano, tune your
second A to it, then use the sustaining pedal and match your other pitches
to it. If you can’t find a well-tuned piano, use any piano. If you can
match your pitch on the piccolo to your pitch on the flute or a piano, or
a tuner, you will soon be able to match the pitch of the flutes, oboes,
clarinets, bassoons or saxophones that you play with in orchestra or band.
No piano? Find another person to work with. When
you finish practicing, clean the piccolo and tune it again so that the
next time you play, even if your embouchure is cold, the instrument will
be ready. Don’t
let using the tuner upset you. Don’t obsess over what the needle
indicates. It hears far more than humans hear and far more than musicians
need to hear – but it can’t make music. A tuner will give you a
different reading as you tire, if the room temperature changes, if you
place the instrument in a slightly different place. Some notes will always
be grossly out of tune, some will always be dead-on. Accept that playing
within a certain tuning range is acceptable. Protect
Your Hearing! Protect
your hearing when you practice in the third octave! Custom ear plugs are
best but are expensive. You can use swimming ear plugs, stereo headphones
while practicing at home, cotton, tissue paper or even toilet paper, but
use something or you may eventually pay a heavy price – ear aches,
headaches, hearing loss. How
do you increase your endurance? 1.
By stopping while you still sound and feel good 2.
Very gradually and carefully Play
for 20 minutes, rest for 10 and repeat. If you are active as a flutist,
30-40 minutes a day on piccolo will be sufficient to stay in shape and
learn new parts without overdoing it. When
you tire from practicing piccolo, stop as soon as you feel fatigue
approaching and do something else that does not involve playing. You could
drink something warm (without caffeine, which dries us out), do some
calisthenics, read something, or some unrelated chore. The idea is to stop
BEFORE you experience fatigue. Once you feel twinges on the sides of your
mouth or waves of heat passing through your upper lip, it is too late!
Paraphrasing the great American cyclist Lance Armstrong, if you practice
up to your limit, you are increasing your strength. If you play beyond
your limit, you are breaking it down. Presumably,
your flute playing is more solid than your piccolo playing, so let the
piccolo learn from the flute. Go back and forth a lot, even on just one
note, then the same for scales and arpeggios. Learn
parts on the flute and then transfer them to the piccolo. This will
prevent your piccolo embouchure from tightening and strengthen your flute
embouchure. It will help develop flexibility and prevent injury. It will
show you how the two instruments are similar and how they are different.
It will do miracles for your ears and ability to adjust. This
is the one most important piece of advice I can give you! What
Not to Play (for study material) I
would use the Telemann Fantasies only for fun. Playing Baroque music is
helpful because like the piccolo, the Baroque flute only goes down to low
D but never goes above high A, so Baroque music is good piccolo material
because it is good music and stays within a certain range. However, unlike
the flute, the piccolo is simply not a Baroque instrument! This means that
whatever Telemann has written in the third octave is either going to be
overwhelming loud or you will have to spend a great deal of effort playing
it softly enough to be aesthetically acceptable, instead of singing your
heart out, which you would on the flute! The only repertoire the Telemann
can lead to is the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerti – which, by the way, are not
even originally for piccolo, they are for sopranino recorder. With the
exception of audition material and solo opportunities, Baroque music is a
dead-end for the piccolo; it is enjoyable, but not what the modern piccolo
is really about at all. The
value of the Reichert exercises is that they take a tune through all keys
in both major and minor versions. This is extremely important for your ear,
technique and reading, but of limited value for intonation and actually
counter-productive for stamina at the start, because until you know how to
adjust your pitch by using your jaw and lips to vary air speed and blowing
angle, it will do you no good to play in all keys. In addition, the
Reichert exercises all encompass two octaves. If you are experiencing
fatigue now, I would hold off on two octave exercises whether scales,
arpeggios or phrases until later when you have far more endurance. Start
with scales that traverse a perfect fourth or fifth, then one octave. To
start intonation work, far better to take “Hot Cross Buns” or “Three
Blind Mice” or any narrow range melody through all keys. To
summarize, the Telemann Fantasies make for enjoyable playing. The Reichert
exercises are useful material, but only if you use these phrases
selectively and at the right time - later. If you want to be a symphony or
band piccolo player, the Telemann will not help you get there because it
does not present you with the challenges of difficult keys, modulations,
registers, tempi or the kind of phrases that you will encounter in
symphonic or band material. You will find that kind of material in the
beginner-intermediate etudes, especially the easier Andersen etudes. When
you are ready for it, it would be more productive to work on Thomas
Filas’ High Register etudes and piccolo polkas. Getting
Started Sit
on a flat, straight-backed chair. Place another chair facing or a low
stool in front of you. This is to place the piccolo or flute on, as if you
are in an orchestra or a band. Place a towel on the chair so that you can
put down the instrument you were playing quickly without damaging it. Play
your middle A on the flute. Play a low A on the piccolo. This is the same
note. Match your two A’s in pitch, vibrato, dynamic level and timbre.
Use your jaw to raise and lower the pitch in order to develop your sense
of sharp and flat. You will need to adjust instinctively when performing,
without thinking. This will help you develop that ability. Go back and
forth until you can hit the note dead on, without searching. Do the same
on all other possible notes. Don’t overdo it. You don’t have to do all
notes every day. The highest notes on the piccolo are impossible to tune
anyway. Work on the ones that fall within the area of the most use.
Alternate this with playing the same note on the staff. The piccolo will
always be an 8va higher, but there will be more similarity in timbre
because you will be playing the same partials (overtones). Scales
– Start with 3 note scales, then 4, 5 and 6 note scales. Play these
short scales through each key, meaning start them from every degree of
every scale. Or, just play one scale per key, starting from the first note
of the key. Go back and forth with the flute. Sing and play, play and
sing. When
you feel ready, play 1 octave scales. Do not play 2 octave scales until
you have much more endurance. Be
careful not to overdo legato playing in the third octave as this is very
fatiguing. Use legato over shorter distances. Use tongued notes more,
until you have developed embouchure strength. Arpeggios
– Play triads before playing 1 octave arpeggios. Beyond one octave, add
the third and fifth of a triad before going all the way to the double
octave. Play
a melody through a few keys – or go over your first books, eg, “40
Progressive Pieces for the Beginning Flutist” edited by Louis Moyse,
Gariboldi’s 30 Easy & Progressive Etudes, etc. Play those simple
pieces in other keys, transposing by ear, as you go. Singing them helps.
Work
on or play through a relatively easy etude Work
on an orchestral or band part Half
an hour daily on piccolo is PLENTY to start. Go to an hour if possible
when you have plenty of time in between exercises (not to mention strength
and concentration) – an hour is a LOT for a beginner. You
are done! A little bit of piccolo work every day goes much farther than
working a lot on rare occasions. Jonathan
Brahms - 2003
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