conical bore on modern piccolos

Rae · Post by **Rae** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 4:15 pm

I’m hearing a lot a lot of talk about how the Irish sound in flutes is due to, in a large degree, a conical bore (as well as embouchure, etc. but I'm talking about the limitations of instruments here). So I was wondering if modern piccolos have an easier time sounding Irish than modern flutes, because most high quality piccolos do have a conical bore. On top of that, most high quality modern piccolos are made out of wood, which has also been said to add to the Irish sound. Does anyone have any experience with these piccolos, or have any idea how easier/hard it is to play Irish music on them? JSYK, I’m asking this more out of curiosity than necessity, because I’m pretty sure my picc is cylindrical inside – though I might get a better picc with the conical bore in a few years.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 4:19 pm

The conical piccs sound a lot nicer (or less nasty) than the cylindrical ones. But the fact that they're keyed make it hard to sound truly "Irish", as far as ornamentation is concerned. The sound is not the same as an "Irish" flute, mostly because it's an octave higher, but it's pleasant.

g

Rae · Post by **Rae** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 11:16 am

alright, thanks