Piccolo

This article is about the instrument in the flute family. For other uses, see Piccolo (disambiguation).
Piccolo
Woodwind instrument
Classification
Hornbostel–Sachs classification421.121.12-71
(Flute-like aerophone with keys)
Playing range
{ \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" } \clef treble \key c \major \cadenzaOn \tweak font-size #-2 c'1 ^ \markup "written" d'1 \glissando \ottava #+1 c''''1 \ottava #0 \hide r1 \tweak font-size #-2 c''1 ^ \markup "sounds" d''1 \glissando \ottava #+2 c'''''1 }
Tessitura of the piccolo is D5–C8. Some have a key for low C5.
Related instruments
Flutes:

The piccolo (/ˈpɪkəloʊ/ PIH-kə-loh; Italian for 'small')[1][2] is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the standard transverse flute,[3] but the sound it produces is an octave higher. This has given rise to the name ottavino[a] (Italian pronunciation: [ottaˈviːno]), by which the instrument is called in Italian[4] and thus also in scores of Italian composers.

Early 19th-century French piccolo in D♭.

Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle and brilliance to the overall sound because of the aforementioned one-octave transposition upwards. The piccolo is a standard member in orchestras, marching bands, and wind ensembles.

  1. ^ "Piccolo". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  2. ^ "piccolo - Dictionary Definition". Vocabulary.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  3. ^ "Transverse flute". The Free Dictionary By Farlex. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  4. ^ "The Names of Instruments and Voices in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish". Yale University Music Library. Retrieved 2012-05-26.


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