Chiff and Fipple Forums

Just bought myself a Mollenhauser picco direct from the manufacturer. It's best described as a flute like recorder but without the thumb hole at the back. You can crossfinger like the recorder and play in any key. Trouble is I'm having trouble playing the higher octave. Does this instrument require a lot of playing in? It's made of pearwood.

Have you played a piccolo-sized flute before? (Sorry, not clear from your profile.) If not, perhaps you just need to work at the embouchure for it when I'd expect playing in to make little or no difference to the instrument's ability to sound these notes. Otherwise perhaps they've sent you a poor or unusually demanding example... hopefully unlikely, but if you don't have another to compare...

I play an F and a B flat fife no problems

Curious. Since these are advertised as educational instruments, to enable children to crossover from Blokflote to transverse, I wonder if they have been optimized for the third octave. Have you enquired of this to Mollenhauer?

Bob

Hey Cockade,

I've had three Mollenhauer flutes over the years and have been very impressed by their quality.

So I too ordered a Picco and was quite disappointed and sent it back in short order. But unfortunately I don't remember specifically why.