flauto piccolo

Airy, light, poetic, mellow, bright, wafting, ethereal, rich, soft, graceful, penetrating, brilliant, clear, shrill, silvery, wind-like, whistling, whispering, humming, filigree, sighing, aspirate.

A shorter version of the flute is called the piccolo, which means small in Italian. At half the size of a standard flute, piccolos play the highest notes of all the woodwinds; in the orchestra one of the flute players will also play piccolo if that instrument is required.

It is the highest-sounding instrument in the orchestra and has a very bright sound that can be heard even when the whole group is playing! The piccolo is considered a very challenging instrument to play and is often used for fast, exciting music like the famous solo in Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.

Bright, clear, light, graceful, delicate, brilliant, penetrating, whistling, intense, piercing, cutting, shrill, screeching. The piccolo has two contrasting characters: played piano it sounds delicate and sweet, but played forte it becomes forceful and shrill.

Long associated with war and masculine sexuality, in the eighteenth century the flute was also considered a symbol of wealth and leisure.

There are multiple themes associated with flute music that helps the audience understand its role in the play. The flute symbolizes childhood, nature, and death.

Piccolo is a gender-neutral name of Italian origin. Translating to “small” or “little,” this name is a lovely way to help baby always connect to the small stature of their youth. Piccolo is also the name of the small, flute-like instrument that is known for its high-octave sound.

With only headjoint and body pieces, the piccolo is missing some of the key work found on the foot joint of the flute. Therefore, the piccolo is pitched nearly an octave higher than the flute. The tone holes and keys are also smaller in size and placed closer together, which may make fingering easier for some players.

Due to the difficulty of sustaining tones on the piccolo, playing notes in tune is more challenging on the piccolo than on the flute.

It is usually marked using a treble clef (the squiggly thing at the start of the line)! Middle C lies in the space at the very bottom of the stave, upon an imaginary line. Notes can sit on a line or in a space. The vertical position (height) of the note identifies the pitch.

The flute is one of the oldest instruments around, and one of the most diverse. It is virtually ubiquitous in every culture of the world. Learning the flute means learning how to take care of the body.

Certainly the flute is entertaining, fun and easy to play. However, it also has a transcendent voice that quiets the mind and can induce calm, relaxation and emotional healing. Anyone deeply involved with the flute probably has encountered situations of physical and/or emotional healing.