There does seem to be lots and lots of flutes at competitions. Daughter tried out for region on both flute and piccolo. She had a not so good school pic and ended up a close second. They only picked two - one for wind and one for symphonic band. Of course she dropped it for her chair in wind on flute. In other words only one pic can go to Area whereas four flutes can go. So, just throwing out the odds there...

Now, what about solo/ensemble contest? Despite getting three #1's at solo/ensemble on her flute, she now wants to only play pic next year. Is she crazy? I say, play either as the director needs in medium ensemble since there's usually pic solo (there was this year but they switched music at the last minute), then do one instrument in solo and the other in a small ensemble.

In my experience, band directors that specialize in Brass instruments absolutely HATE piccolos!!
I'm sure everyone has heard that joke about how to get 2 piccolo players to play in tune with one another?
(just in case you HAVEN'T heard it, the answer is to SHOOT one!!)
I'm not sure. Its worth a shot. I love Band directors, but MY high school band director was very specific as to how his band was arranged.
Good luck tho!

Wind ensemble and symphonic band music sometimes requires two (or more!) piccolos. We are playing March from 1941 and Carmina Burana, both of which have divisi piccolo parts.

I've played several pieces in the past that also required multiple piccolos, but can't remember which ones off the top of my head (except Stars & Stripes -- duh!). Of course, in marching band, there are always lots of piccolos.

Now, what about solo/ensemble contest? Despite getting three #1's at solo/ensemble on her flute, she now wants to only play pic next year. Is she crazy?

If piccolo is her passion then I say go for it, but of course if she is serious about playing then she should still put in just as much practice time on the flute if not more. I personally love playing piccolo because it shines over the band.

HUH!!!!!!!!! I want to play piccolo SO bad!!!!!!!!!! it seems like fun but kinda hard in a sense.......I still want to play it though (not giving up flute of course)

Much like your daughter, I was highly ranked at state contests, ect... and was told that, if I wanted to, I could get very far on my flute. After I was ranked in the top ten young adult flutists in my state, I realized I had accomplished what I wanted on flute and wanted to move onto something else that was "like" a flute so I wouldn't have to struggle too much at the beginning, but a bit tougher to manage. Piccolo is now my main instrument and all I play for sports bands, marching bands, and most concert settings. So, it's not too abnormal for flute players (in my perspective) to want to move on after they've accomplished what they've set out for on the flute.

She's not crazy; just wants a different point of view of music by playing a slightly different instrument! (Since playing piccolo, I've moved onto trumpet and bass drum; at least she isn't interested yet in carrying a bass drum!!!)

I really like playing piccolo, especially in a large concert band setting, because you can actually hear what you are playing. I find the piccolo a fun challenge because it is difficult to play in tune, and have a sweet tone rather than just belting out shreiks from Hades.


What the anti-piccolo, brass-playing band directors don't realize about the piccolo, is that they are hearing a DIFFERENT instrument playing out of tune. The piccolo, in tune, will emphasize a saxophone that is not in tune. Take out the piccolo, and the sax is still off, but the harmonics/overtones don't stick out as much. For example, listen to Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije. When the piccolo sounds dreadful, it is not because it is out of tune but because the oboes are playing a half-step difference. (I think its the oboes, maybe its the clarinets?) Anyway, if someone's out of tune, it usually seems to be a piccolo problem when it often is not.

Also, the conical bore of the piccolo is the reverse of the flute with its tapered head, which means a flute goes sharper as the notes get higher while a piccolo actually goes flatter. So add flutes playing way high to a picc in the upper register and you can get problems there.

Thanks for the different opinions. I'll have to tell her about the flat/sharp differences. I'm still wondering about it hurting her come competition time, but it's her decision.

For such a small instrument, it has a very "strong" sound. Our band director did not allow more than one piccolo in orchestra and two in marching band because they have such a high sound, it throws off the balance with the lower, brass instruments. You can't exactly get a piccolo to whisper, so you reduce the number for better tone and harmonies.
Made perfect sense to me. And it saved my ear drums.

Actually, it's quite possible to get a piccolo to whisper, even into the highest range. It just takes a skilled player and a decent instrument. Too many people have this image of the piccolo as an uncontrollable beast that's always loud and out of tune, but this simply is not the case. The piccolo can be played every bit as beautifully as a flute can, but very few players put in the time practicing to reach that point.