Piccolo Question/Recommendation

[Sirchronique]

Less than a month ago I ended up getting an unmarked, presumably 19th century, piccolo for an extremely low price. After plugging the holes for the keys that don’t work (I plan to have it repadded soon), I’ve been playing it daily and having a lot of fun. This has made me more interested in piccolos as of late, and I’m interested in trying out other piccolos to find one that is the right fit for me, especially as this one is pitched closer to Eb.

I’m happy with my sound on the flute and feel comfortable in my ability to control it, but I find that I have a lot less control with this piccolo than I do with flute, and it seems to demand a totally different type of embouchure, both in regards to how I shape and position my mouth, as well as the direction I focus the airstream. It is much harder to change things like tone, volume, tuning of notes, and intensity in the midst of playing. When I try to do so as I would on flute, my sound can easily slip away from me if I’m not careful. It is difficult for me to vary my tone or lower the volume of the high notes when I’m in the middle of a tune. I like a very dynamic sound, so I am hoping for suggestions for piccolos that might be at least a little more conducive to the variety I want in my sound. Right now, my sound is too uniform and constant, and I feel like the high notes need reined in a bit. I’m not able to get the sound as “pulse-y” as I want and the window of tonal variation I can get is very small and a fraction of what I get on flute. I would also like to be able to get the high octave closer to the low octave in terms of volume.

I suspect that my difficulties are the result of a combination of piccolos simply playing differently than flutes by their very nature, the unfamiliar circular embouchure hole, and me not having yet become fully accustomed to the way it wants to be played.

I know a piccolo will never play like a D flute, and I’m willing to get used to that, but I’m curious what sort of instruments or design attributes I should be looking at in order to find something that is maybe at least a teeny bit closer to what I’m looking for in terms of ease of control.

I don’t know much about embouchure cuts. Would an embouchure with a rectangular or oval cut allow me to change these characteristics more easily? I feel like this piccolo demands a very specific type of embouchure, and it doesn’t allow for the most minute of changes with my mouth. Would a larger rectangle or oval shape be more forgiving and allow for at least a little more variance, or does it have nothing to do with that?

What are some makes of simple-system piccolos that other people who predominately play flute like for playing Irish (and other) trad music? I found a video of someone playing a “Besson Piccolo” and I liked what he was getting out of it, so I have been looking for one of those. I also notice it has a larger oval hole instead of a small circular one, incidentally. Are there any modern makers of simple-system piccolos worth looking into, in your opinion? Any other antiques that would be worth looking into? I think my current piccolo was likely a cheapie during its time.

I’m sure a lot of my issues come down to me simply needing to take the time to learn piccolo and get used to it, but I’d like to find a nice instrument to do that with. I’d be curious to know what types of piccolos might be more friendly and conducive to producing a wider degree of tonal variation, or what design attributes may influence this. At this point, I don’t know if the lack of control is from my own lack of familiarity, is inherent to the instrument I am playing, or an even mixture of both.

[Steve Bliven]

What are some makes of simple-system piccolos that other people who predominately play flute like for playing Irish (and other) trad music? I found a video of someone playing a “Besson Piccolo” and I liked what he was getting out of it, so I have been looking for one of those. I also notice it has a larger oval hole instead of a small circular one, incidentally. Are there any modern makers of simple-system piccolos worth looking into, in your opinion? Any other antiques that would be worth looking into? I think my current piccolo was likely a cheapie during its time.

Current makers of simple system piccolos that I've come across include: Musique Morneau (scroll down to bottom) and Terry McGee. Keeping an eye on eBay you might find some. At one point JemtheFlute on these pages made some nifty plastic ones that played nicely but I think that was a one-off. You might also find a Ralph Sweet instrument pop up in the used market at a low price.

Best wishes.

Steve

[sfmans]

+1 for Musique Morneaux.

They took over the Ralph Sweet business when Ralph retired, and I've therefore effectively been playing their D keyless piccolos for over 30 years now with consistently splendid results (that's the instruments, not necessarily my playing of them).

[Average Whistler]

Davy Angus makes very nice fifes in D. I owned one in rosewood and was very pleased with it. The embouchure cut is round... I am not sure that an oval cut is possible given the size and physics of the instrument. You could ask Davy. He was very responsive to my questions. His website is http://www.fifeanddrumshop.com/

You may also want to check out Peeler Fifes, who makes fifes in D for trad music in addition to their military band fifes. http://www.peelerfifes.com/fifes/dfife/index.shtml

I appreciate that you asked about piccolos, not fifes. A six-hole keyless simple-system piccolo is the same as a fife. Military fifes are in Bb, but some makers also make them in different keys, with D being the most common after Bb.

Good luck in your search.

AW

[waltsweet]

The Basel Piccolo with 6 keys is alive and well, being made in Switzerland. It is traditionally played into the 3rd octave, similar to the practice of American Bb fifes. As to the older keyed piccolos for band use, I'm not sure how high they were expected to go. The antiques have very primitive tuning. During the American Civil War, brass bands were king, with a documented disdain for the woodwinds, owing to their need for fussy field service. Band books of that period rarely scored for piccolo. For years, I played a 6-hole HiD in a contradance band; the bore was bigger than on a common piccolo, for better presence in the first two octaves. I'm going to have to ask the guru as to whether music like Sousa's S&SFEv were ever expected to be performed on a simple-system picc.
I have several 6k piccs in staves, in a box on my shelf. If I get brave enough, I'll cannibalize the keys and try my own design.
I've played piccolos with too much undercut on the blowing edge. This geometry makes control a problem.
Walt Sweet

[Sirchronique]

The embouchure cut is round... I am not sure that an oval cut is possible given the size and physics of the instrument. You could ask Davy. He was very responsive to my questions. His website is http://www.fifeanddrumshop.com/

I have seen many antique piccolos with oval embouchures, more similar to the flutes I am familiar with playing. This includes the “Besson” piccolo i expressed interest in. I see many on eBay with this sort of hole.