I was just wondering how many of the flautists on here play piccolo as well? I don't have my own piccolo but my wind band has one and all the flutes take it in turns to take it home and have a go. I find it really hard - does anyone else?

I love the piccolo, it takes a bit of practise but its great.

I play the piccolo. It does take a while to get used to and you dont play exactly like you play a flute either which is where alot of people go wrong. Playing the piccolo is also supposed to help with the quality of the tone you get when playing in the upper registers of your flute, so they are very useful little things even if to just keep at home as a practice tool.

I play piccolo too, but don't get the chance to very often. It is hard, especially at first.

I just play it 'cos it gives me the chance to get my revenge on the drummer I sit next to in orchestra: he bangs loudly in my ears; I play high notes in his.

my daughter plays Piccolo and always finds it odd when she returns to Flute. She also plays Alto Flute in her Flute ensemble.

Nope, I am idealogically against the shrieking stick!

Ive done too much piccolo playing for my liking! Always played the piccolo in Wind ensembles and more recently in the past few years in orchestras. Have had the chance to have lots of nice solos like in Tchaikovsky symphony 4. See me playin it here! : http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...deoid=723591076

I do like the piccolo used as a solo instrument in orchestral pieces, otherwise i just find that its very high and noisy! Would like to look at proper piccolo repetoire at some point in the future.

I play piccolo and love it.

Piccolo's break easily though

my piccolo has never broken and I have had it for years! Even marching around in the pouring rain as an A.M.

My piccolo had a rather nasty accident, and because it was only a really really cheap one, I bodged a repair, and now it kinda plays fine, but is always flat!!

I can sympathise with that position but in my case its on the violinists or the only flautist who had never heard of Sir James .
It can take a while to get used to it as the technique is slightly different to the flute but once you've got used to it the problems seem fairly minimal as long as the music doesen't go to low.

so...what's different in the technique? Is it embouchure?

I really would love to get my own piccolo but can't afford it right now! I heard solo piccolo in a Bartok piece and it was gorgeous! But i will agree that it is quite shrieky in orchestral situations! lol thanks for your replies!

For a start, obviously, the emboushure is alot smaller and the lip plate has to be further up your bottom lip than it is when playing the flute, and alot of painful practice!!
If you are serious about playing avoid the ones that are selling on ebay for pennies, they are really considered as disposable because of how easily they break and how difficult it is to repair them because of the odd parts they are made from. I play on a yamaha YPC-32 and its done me for so many years and hasn't broken yet, I got it just before I was in the army and it got bashed about alot then, I couldn't get a wooden one mainly because I needed it to be durable in all weathers.

My sister' piccolo was cheap (off ebaY) it broke, and she fixed it with sellotape and the sellotape steamed up because we were playing in church, then the condensation dripped out down her hand..... glam.

i play picc and love it!!!

they are really loud and in your face. kinda like me!
so we are rather well suited my mother says!!

it is always useful to play picc, becuase it can give you an edge when competing for orchestal places, as not all flautists do!
Rhiannon X

hmmm...don't think i trust ebay where instruments are concerned!!

Good, I think it is awful that these flutes are made availiable to parents who think that this is either the normal flute price or that they are picking up a bargain when they have not, they have just bought an brand new practically disposable flute for the price that they could have bought a decent 2nd hand known brand like jupiter which is I think the cheapest flute I would reccomend to anyone.

I bought a Jupiter Piccolo from Ebay and it was fantastic value for muney and not much more than those horrible cheap ones.

The jupiter piccolos are really good! I think they are better than the YPC32!

I'm hoping to upgrade to a Jupiter or Yamaha when I get rich. I want an alto flute as well but that might have to wait until I'm in full time employment and earning lots of money!!

You and my youngest both! When is your Grade 5?

Not sure. Haven't got my date through yet. I'm hoping my teacher might tell me this week. Really worried though because I'm no where near ready, and my mother is complaining about having to listen to hours of practice.

Are you practising to the CD's cos that would really help? What are you playing?

Yep, am using CD but it was one my flute teacher made (most of his students do county exams rather than AB) and the pieces are really fast - Especially the Handel one.

I'm doing the Handel Sonata in F (I'm having an interesting time with that one), Faure - Sicilienne, and the Rumba (Study 44).

My Daughter is doing the Beethoven Allegro Molto (a bit of a beast) and Bennett Siesta a lovely slow ballard, I think she is also doing Rumba. Her exam is a special visit to the Music Service and is the end of March.

I find the Rumba fun, if a little easy for a grade 5 piece (compared to the Handel Sonata). I'm tempted to play it on picc as an AS piece

I think all the list A pieces are quite tricky in different ways.