Piccolo

The piccolo is a smaller version of the western concert flute and belongs to the woodwind family of musical instruments. Often called a "baby flute," the modern piccolo plays sounds that are an octave higher than the regular flute. This special high sound comes from its smaller size and is why it is also known as ottavino in Italian.

Piccolos are commonly used in orchestras, marching bands, and wind ensembles. They add a bright and sparkling quality to the music when they play along with the violins or flutes. Because of their high, clear notes, piccolos help make music sound exciting and lively.

History

Since the Middle Ages, small flutes were used in armies because their loud sound could be heard over battles. Later, in the 1700s, famous composers like Jean Philippe Rameau started using these small flutes in their music. By the early 1800s, the piccolo became a regular part of orchestras.

For a long time, the piccolo looked much the same. It started with just one key and later got more keys. By the late 1800s, it began using a new system that became common in the 1900s. Even today, the piccolo is different from a fife, which is made in one piece and makes a much louder, sharper 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 premiered in December 1808. Although neither Joseph Haydn nor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used it 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 featured the instrument prominently 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.

Piccolos are now mainly made in the key of C or D. In the early 20th century, piccolos were made in D♭. For this D♭ piccolo, John Philip Sousa wrote a solo in the final repeat of the closing section of his march "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Piccolos were once made of wood, glass, or ivory, but today they are made from plastic, resin, brass, nickel silver, silver, and various hardwoods, most commonly grenadilla. Most piccolos have a conical body with a cylindrical head, similar to the Baroque flute and later flutes before the Boehm bore became popular in modern flutes.

The piccolo is used with marching drums in traditional formations at the Carnival of Basel, Switzerland.

In 2014, a festival dedicated entirely to the piccolo was started, called the International Piccolo Festival. It takes place every July in Grado, Italy.

Repertoire

Many composers have written pieces just for the piccolo, including Samuel Adler, Miguel del Aguila, Robert Dick, Michael Isaacson, and others. There are also many pieces for piccolo and piano, often called sonatas, by composers like Miguel del Águila and Amanda Harberg.

Some special concertos for piccolo have been written by composers such as Lowell Liebermann and Amanda Harberg. The piccolo is also used in chamber music, like in Stockhausen's Zungenspitzentanz and Crumb's Madrigals.