flute/piccolo embourchure

[fluteplayer09]

I have been playing the flute for 7 years and my band director told me a couple of days ago he wants me to play piccolo for marching band. I am able to get a clear sound of out the picc and everything but when I go to practice flute it takes longer to adjust to playing it again. Is there any way to adjust easier when switching from flute to picc and vice versa. Should I practice them in a certain order. Any suggestions would be great.

Also being new to piccolo i am not sure what octave to play the notes in. If there is a F that is on the top line of the staff do I play the lowest F possible or the one after that?

[c_otter]

A few things I've heard from various sources:

Warm up on flute.
Start with the lower two octaves of the piccolo.
Switch back and forth between flute and piccolo when practicing.
Stop practicing the piccolo when your lips get sore.
Make sure that the embouchure for the piccolo is not too tight. The hole is small, but there is some flexibility in the lips.

A couple of informative websites are:
http://www.piccoloist.com
http://www.piccolohq.com

[flutepicc06]

All of what C_Otter said is good advice, but in the end it really comes down to practice. Play both piccolo and flute enough, and that wierd feeling will cease entirely. I remember that my flute playing would fall apart after I played piccolo when I first started, but now I can switch back and forth seamlessly. Experience is the key. If there is an F2, you should not play the lowest possible F, but rather the one an octave above that. The piccolo is an octave above flute, but that does not mean you need to compensate by bringing written pitches down an octave from where they would be on flute.

[MeLizzard]

Yeah, what otter said. Do this a lot. My first college teacher advised her students to practice this by playing through a book of etudes or simple melodies, the first page on flute, the second on picc, etc.