 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Chad
Date: 2005-01-12 05:38
I'm an experienced Alto Sax player but this year we lacked flute players in my High School's symphonic band therefore my band's director asked me to play flute(since we have so many alto sax players). Although it is an entirely different instrument the ambochure has been easy to switch and the fingerings for flute and Alto Sax are very similar. After 6 months of playing flute I became a very strong player and this year we are playing Sousa's Liberty Bell March and Stars and Stripes forever and in Stars and Stripes there's a piccolo solo which my director wants me to play. I have never played piccolo and I tried it on flute but the notes are way up there so he asked me to play piccolo but I don't know if I could since it seems harder. What do I have to be concerned when playing piccolo (besides intonation) to obtained sound since I tried piccolo and the only note I can play is Eb above the staff.. what do I have to do get enough air to support sound?
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Author: clarinet d'amour
Date: 2005-01-13 14:59
for some people the piccolo is not that difficult. first things is most people see the small instrument and are told it plays high. so the students picks up the piccolo closes their mouth so that only a needle can pass through and tries to play it. this is wrong!!! small embouchure? yes. tiny microscopic pinched embouchure? no you need to have a small open (not open as in wide, but open as in not closed) embouchure. finger something like a G or F and blow. you need to relax and blow. once you start getting good sounds you just need to work on keeping your embouchure stable and not having the tone wobble all around.i hope i am helping and not just yaking about. hey and are you a boy, Chad? if so, good!! boys should start playing flute and piccolo. anyway make sure your piccolo is in good condition and make sure the tone holes aren't clogged with spit which can happen sometimes.
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Author: Flute1
Date: 2005-01-14 02:50
The answer to piccolo is remember a tight embouchure.. It doesn't take as much air as flute and you may have to learn some alternate fingering for intonation issues.. if you have a wood piccolo then intonation is not really an issue..and alleviate the spit problem.. is to have cork pads place on your piccolo.. but that is if you are serious about playing piccolo.. good luck and stars and stripes is an excellent solo for piccolo.. I feel that all piccoloists should have played that at least once.
I hope this helps
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Author: Chad
Date: 2005-01-14 05:35
Thanks to both.. I started playing piccolo now and it is fairly similar to flute and yes, you do not need to use so much air as flute. To answer clarinet d'amour's question, yes I am a guy, and I'm happy my started playing flute since I was first asked to but now I'm glad my director asked me to play flute and now piccolo since I think they're great instruments because aside from all the stereotypes that flute and piccolos are girly instruments, I really don't care since famous Piccolo players like Henry Mancini are men so I don't feel ashamed. Today I had my audition to get the solo and those tips really helped although I do have to work on switching ambochure from flute to piccolo and it's hard maintaining a piccolo in tune. Thanks again! I have to practice now since we have our first recital in 3 weeks.
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Author: Flute1
Date: 2005-01-14 20:40
I am a man and I have been playing for 17 years now.. so don't worry about the stereotypes.. people who make ignorant comments know nothing about the flute or how challenging it is to play. To help your embroshure just practice switching back and forth from Flute to piccolo.. I am principal player in an orchestra and I have to switch back and forth often.. so trust me.. if you practice this.. you will do just fine.. just be confident about piccolo.. you can't hide with it..what ever you do on it WILL BE HEARD.
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Author: alyssa (flute player of 7yrs)
Date: 2005-01-30 21:00
I've been playing the flute for awhile and it's not so bad, i also had a few concerns when playing a piccolo. If you want to play below the staff, thry relaxing your lips, kinda like blowing hot air. For me its been the easiest way to reach a lower note. To obtain a better sound, you can try sitting with better posture and keeping your flute/piccolo parrallel to the floor. This helps the sound come out more fluently, and you don't have to overwork yourself getting out more sound, which may cause you the trouble of not having enough air.
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Author: like_u_care
Date: 2005-06-10 03:41
Oh, no no no! It's not that much harder once you get used to it. In fact, now I find it easier! There really aren't any tips to give....
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