Dear friends and colleagues,
My objective here is to create a place in the magazine dedicated to the piccolo in order to offer suggestions to both beginners and for professional orchestral players.
When one hears a sparkling passage in an orchestral work or in a march played by a band played by the piccolo, one feels optimism and joie de vivre. The piccolo is one of the most popular instruments among young people because of its brilliant, silvery sound and the liveliness of the music composed for it, but when a student conservatory student flutist begins to study this instrument, he or she feels humility - and fear.
Performing on piccolo is challenging and daunting because technically, the piccolo is so hard to handle. The higher one plays, the greater the volume of sound and therefore, the difficulty of controlling dynamics, the vagaries of tuning, the air speed and pressure, the co-ordination of fingers and the response of the instrument at different times of day. To make matters worse, the piccolo does not have a classical repertoire. Finally, practicing it is often painful to both the player and the listener.
The truth is that every recent graduate flutist would be delighted to be rid of the obligation to play this instrument. But with practice, it is possible to obtain great satisfaction from playing the piccolo through exploring, developing and appreciating its tonal, dynamic and technical possibilities.
In order to do so, first of all, one must begin thinking to the piccolo as a musical instrument which can be used to make music. I want to place the piccolo where this instrument deserves to be in the minds of flute players, which in itself is a great challenge. In all our national and in all international orchestras, with the exception Principal Flute, all members of the flute section are occasionally obliged to play piccolo but many fine flutists lose auditions due to insufficient piccolo practice. As a member of orchestra audition committees, I have often heard otherwise excellent flutists play terrible auditions on piccolo. While the famous Conservatoire of Paris offers a program for specializing in piccolo, here in Italy, we still mistakenly believe that practicing the piccolo for two or three days will suffice to win an audition. The fact is, one must practice the piccolo and one must own – not borrow – a fine instrument. Just as it is for the flute, every serious flutist who plays piccolo must become accustomed to his or her own instrument - and here we find the first problems.
Have you ever compared a silver Haynes to a wood Brannen? Or compared a wood Hammig to a wood Burkhart? These are all excellent instruments, but the differences between them are greater than the differences between any flutes, so the first problem is choosing an instrument. Once you have selected an instrument, the next question is - which exercises and repertoire do I practice? The piccolo is a special instrument, with its own problems, so what do we practice to play in tune and to control dynamics? Which exercises for flexibility of color? In our time, technical precision is of the utmost importance for a good musical performance, so that there is no place for improvisation. Excellence on piccolo requires a daily, rational study!
The next theme will be, obviously: the purchase of the instrument.
