The piccolo (pronounced PIK-uh-loh; Italian for "small") is a smaller version of the standard flute and belongs to the woodwind family of musical instruments. It is sometimes called a "baby flute" or "piccolo flute." The modern piccolo uses the same finger positions as the standard flute, but it produces sound one octave higher. This is why it is also called "ottavino" in Italian, a name used by Italian composers in their musical scores.
Piccolos are often used in orchestras, marching bands, and wind ensembles. They are played to match the sound of violins or flutes but with a higher pitch, adding brightness and clarity to the music.
History
Since the Middle Ages, evidence shows that octave transverse flutes were used as military instruments because their loud and clear sound could be heard over battles. In classical music, the first piccolos appeared in some works by Jean Philippe Rameau during the first half of the 18th century. However, the instrument became widely used in orchestras only at the start of the 1800s. During the Baroque period, the terms "flautino" or "flauto piccolo" often referred to a small recorder (soprano or sopranino). This was especially true in the concertos that Antonio Vivaldi composed for the flautino.
Until the end of the 19th century, the piccolo’s design remained unchanged. Historically, it had the same keys as the baroque flute (one key) and later the same keys as the classical and romantic simple system flute. At the end of the century, the piccolo began to be made with the Boehm mechanism, which became standard in the 1900s. However, the piccolo could not fully switch to the Boehm system because its bore remained conical, like the old system flute, and its lowest note was D, as in the baroque flute. The piccolo should not be confused with the fife, which is usually made in one piece, has a smaller, cylindrical bore, and produces a sharper and louder sound.
Traditional use
It is a myth that one of the earliest pieces to use the piccolo was Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, which first performed in December 1808. Although Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart did not use the piccolo in their symphonies, some of their contemporaries did, including Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, and Michael Haydn. Mozart used the piccolo in his opera Idomeneo. Later, Gioachino Rossini included the instrument in the overture to his opera Semiramide. Opera orchestras in Paris sometimes included small transverse flutes at the octave as early as 1735, as shown in existing scores by Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Today, piccolos are mostly made in the key of C or D. In the early 20th century, piccolos were made in D♭, which was an earlier version of the modern piccolo. For this D♭ piccolo, John Philip Sousa wrote the solo in the final repeat of the closing section (trio) of his march The Stars and Stripes Forever.
Although once made of wood, glass, or ivory, piccolos today are made from plastic, resin, brass, nickel silver, silver, and various hardwoods, most commonly grenadilla. High-quality piccolos often have features similar to flutes, such as the split-E mechanism. Most piccolos have a cone-shaped body with a cylindrical head, like the Baroque flute and earlier flutes before the Boehm bore became popular in modern flutes. Unlike other woodwind instruments, in most wooden piccolos, the joint that connects the head to the body has two parts that fit together around the cork and metal part of the piccolo.
The piccolo is used with marching drums in traditional formations during the Carnival of Basel, Switzerland.
In 2014, a festival was created to celebrate the piccolo, called the International Piccolo Festival. It happens every year in July in Grado, Italy.
Repertoire
The piccolo has been used as the only instrument in many musical pieces written by composers such as Samuel Adler, Miguel del Aguila, Robert Dick, Michael Isaacson, David Loeb, Amanda Harberg, Stephen Hough, Polly Moller, Vincent Persichetti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Brian Ferneyhough.
Pieces for piccolo and piano, including sonatas, have been written by composers like Miguel del Águila, Amanda Harberg, Robert Baksa, Robert Beaser, Rob du Bois, Howard J. Buss, Eugène Damaré, Pierre Max Dubois, Raymond Guiot, Lowell Liebermann, Peter Schickele, Michael Daugherty, and Gary Schocker.
Many concertos for the piccolo have been composed by musicians such as Lowell Liebermann, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Todd Goodman, Martin Amlin, Will Gay Bottje, Bruce Broughton, Valentino Bucchi, Avner Dorman, Jean Doué, Michael Easton, Robert Groslot, Egil Hovland, Guus Janssen, Daniel Pinkham, Jeff Manookian, and Levente Gyöngyösi. The Piccolo Concerto by Amanda Harberg is one of the most well-known examples.
There are now many chamber music pieces that include the piccolo. One example is Stockhausen’s Zungenspitzentanz, written for piccolo and two euphoniums (or one synthesizer), with an optional percussionist and dancer. Another is George Crumb’s Madrigals, Book II, for soprano, flute (which can also play piccolo or alto flute), and percussion. Other examples include a trio for piccolo, contrabassoon, and piano titled Was mit den Tränen geschieht by Stephen Hough, the Quintet for Piccolo and String Quartet by Graham Waterhouse, and Malambo for piccolo, double bass, and piano by Miguel del Aguila. Currently published trios for three piccolos include Quelque Chose canadienne (Something Canadian) by Nancy Nourse and Bird Tango by Crt Sojar Voglar, both for three piccolos with piano. Other works include Petrushka's Ghost for eight piccolos by Melvin Lauf, Jr., and Una piccolo sinfonia for nine piccolos by Matthew King.
Peter Verhoyen, a specialist in playing the piccolo, has commissioned, inspired, and premiered many works for the instrument. A list of compositions written for him is available.