3rd Octave on the Piccolo! HELP!

[PiccChic<3]

Hi! I can hit just about every note on the piccolo, but I'm ALWAYS too loud (except for in marching band) and I'm ALWAYS out of tune! I'm in the highest band at my school, so my teacher expects the absolute best from me, but I can't seem to make him happy! He told me that he needs to hear the flutes in a part of our music where I play 3rd octave A flats, and I just can't seem to play any quieter! Any tips??

[dogster]

yes piccolo is difficult to play soft however have it checked out by a tech maybe it has a leak or issues and also piccolo can damage you rhearing permanently so i hope you are wearing ear protection


Doug

[Zevang]

Is your piccolo a wooden one? These tend to be softer than metal ones.
About intonation, the scale of the instrument helps giving you more comfort in trying to play in tune. But note that this doesn't mean it's impossible to tune with an older or "worse" scale instrument. It's up to the flutist to play in tune, just that the modern scales help us in doing it more easily.
However, I'd go with dogster and send it to a revision. Also ear protection is of primary importance!

[c_otter]

Close the 2nd and 3rd right hand keys. This will make the Ab easier to play (and lower the pitch slightly.)