So I will be going to college for Music Ed. this fall and I need a piccolo that I can use for marching and concert band. Any suggestions? I have played a Yamaha YPC-32 that our school has, but it is so old and has broken many times. This was my favorite of the school's piccolos. I have also played an Emerson (Don't know the model) that had a silver head with a gold lip plate and a plastic body. I have also marched with a wooden Emerson (Which was horrible)... For concert season I use the school's Haynes and I honestly don't like it very much. I feel I don't get a good full sound like I do with the other piccolos I have played. I definitely found it easier to play a piccolo with a lip plate.

Any info is greatly appreciated!

A Powell sonare piccolo or a Powell signature piccolo would be good for concerts. They're both wood though, and might not be durable enough to withstand marching. A grenadite, resin, or plastic piccolo would better stand up to the rigours of marching. If you liked the school Yamaha piccolo you used, you might want to consider buying a new one yourself. It's always a good idea to try a few to see which one you like best before buying. Whatever you do, stay away from Antigua piccolos. That's what my parents bought me, and it's terrible quality. It's needed two major repairs in the two years I've had it, and soon cost of repairs will exceed the cost of the instrument.

Thanks for the info! I actually haven't heard of Antigua before, but that is nice to know. It is kinda hard to try and play piccolos in music stores here because the closest one is about 40 minutes away, and they usually don't have any piccolos in the store. The one time they did have one, it was a metal one and I know not to get one of those. I will keep looking around though! Thanks!

Some other piccolos that would be good for marching band and the concert hall to consider:
Guo Grenaditte or New Voice- these are both composite piccolos and have lip plates
Pearl 105 Grenaditte piccolo (no lip plate)
Roy Seaman Storm (no lip plate)

All of these piccolos can be ordered on trial from fluteworld (I think it's a 7 day trial) so no trip to the music store required.