History
The piccolo gets its origins from the flute and made its first appearance in the orchestra on 1700. "Rinaldo" by Handel in 1711 was the earliest known performance with a piccolo. It was constructed with two sections with an E-flat key during the Baroque era. It was constituted in the orchestra around the middle of 1700 but was usually used in performances with a military disposition. It started to be used in symphonies after Beethoven wrote parts for it in his 5th Symphony.
Michael Janusch, a flute teacher, created the multi-key piccolo. It was like the flute with 6 keys which was traditional at that time. This gave rise to its development during the 19th century. The D-flat piccolo was used in many famous solos but is not heard of in the modern times.
Mollenhauer later revised the D-flat piccolo and this made the piccolo a popular instrument during the 20th century. It is now played as an integral element of the orchestra.
Metal vs. wood piccolos
For parades or in open spaced areas, metal piccolos are normally more suitable. It is very long-lasting and can endure extreme environments and novice's misuse. The downside of a metal piccolo is that it produces pitchy or sharp sounds.
Wooden piccolos are oftentimes played by professionals because it has a mellower pitch while metal piccolos are better for beginners or long-term exposure outdoors. As the embouchure may still be metallic, most are not completely made of wood. The wood composition makes care more troublesome and playing in the outdoors is a risk, specifically in hot weather. Because of its tendency to pierce through other orchestral sounds, the piccolo is normally restricted to infrequent solos or as background music following other woodwinds.
Playing the piccolo
If you study to play the flute first, it is much easier to play the piccolo since both share the similar qualities. Subsequently, choose the best piccolo which fits your aptitude level, the event you will be using it for, as well as gather all the required accessories. You could learn how to play the piccolo without professional help or you could also have private lessons.
Likewise be familiar with the minor, major, and chromatic scales and, most especially, master the range of the piccolo. As stated, piccolos make notes an octave higher than the flute and it music is written one octave below its pitch. It would also help to rehearse with an electric tuner. Observe how long you can be uniform with the rhythm and can hold the note steady.
Practice a lot of times, and always tune the piccolo before playing. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes. Don't overlook to clean every after playing. Put a swab through your piccolo and tuning rod to remove spit and use a cloth to polish it.
Controlling the high pitches
Among all the woodwind instruments used in military bands and orchestras, the piccolo has the highest pitch causing it to stand out. It is also difficult to get the intonation right with the piccolo. Compared to most woodwind instruments, you need a lot more lip control in playing a piccolo. Extra effort and practice is required to control the high pitches.
In addition, to give out quality sounds in a performance, the piccolo must be played exceptionally loud. Since the sound of the piccolo is striking, the whole crowd becomes cognizant of wrong intonation and melody. The supposedly small piccolo isn't so tiny after all.