Fluteland.com Flute Message Board

wsFltePicmb09 · Post by **wsFltePicmb09** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:44 pm

So I just got asked to be in the orchestra pit for the school musical Mame... Im stuck playing flute and piccolo. The latter I have been avoiding since marching band season ended because i hate the piercing sound of the metal piccolos. Does anyone know where I can find a plastic piccolo at a good price (hoping for yamaha, but will go for gem. or others....)??? Or any tips on quality/sound if in the mean time or if I dont get one??

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:23 pm

Well first of all, it's not the fact that the piccolos are metal that makes them piercing...Sound is most related to the player, secondly comes the design of the instrument (the headjoint in particular) and then, way down the line, is material. I've played some exquisitely beautiful sounding metal piccs in the past, albeit they were of a quality that most high school instruments couldn't stand up to. But what I'm saying is do not automatically relegate yourself to a plastic piccolo. Nor should you automatically assume that Yamaha is the brand to have. What matters most is not what it is made of or what company put its name on the instrument (so long as you buy from a reputable maker), but how well it works for you. That might mean plastic, but it might mean wood or a resin body with a metal head or a fully metal picc....
Ebay has some good deals on piccs most of the time, but it's heavily inundated with junk, so unless you really know what you're looking at and can afford to take a risk, you might want to stay away from ebay. Fluteworld, the Flute Center of New York, Carolyn Nussbaum, etc. all carry a good stock of new and used instruments, and it might worthwhile investigating them.

As for advice on sound, the most important things to remember are not to tense up and not to be shy, and always listen, paying special attention to intonation. Tensing will make the shrill sound worse, as it pinches the airstream, and it can also have a noticeable impact on intonation (which is a major concern to picc players). You can't be shy and play piccolo well....Trying to hide too much (and hiding is not the same as blending) will definitely bring any pitch problems to the fore. Rather than trying to force a lot of air through the picc, use a focused, directed airstream, along with a relaxed throat and embouchure, and try blowing down into the instrument more, both to improve tone, and to help with pitch. It's important to have a good grasp of alternate fingerings when playing picc as well. I'd check out this website, and then experiment to see what fingerings you might use in which situations given your playing and your particular instrument:

www.wfg.woodwind.org/flute/picc_alt_1.html

wsFltePicmb09 · Post by **wsFltePicmb09** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:38 pm

thanks much! I'll def keep that in mind!

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:51 pm

wsFltePicmb09 wrote:thanks much! I'll def keep that in mind!

No problemo! If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!

MeLizzard · Post by **MeLizzard** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:01 pm

The best low-priced picc I've found lately is the Powell Sonare. One of my students got one for Christmas, and it's great for the price (I think right around $600). It's a plastic picc.

wsFltePicmb09 · Post by **wsFltePicmb09** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:09 pm

i found a new plastic picc for about $560... a Gemeinardt 4P... it's a biginner picc, but since i dont intend on playing picc too much outside of musicals and special stuff I thought it would be a good option... any thoughts??

MeLizzard · Post by **MeLizzard** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:21 pm

Since the price is so close, I think I'd pass and hold out for the Sonare. The tone and scale are, IMHO, much better. Gemeinhardt's scale is a little squirrely. Also, piccolo design has changed immeasurably in the past few years. Many newer ones by reputable makers are much more responsive easier to play in tune than even professional piccs of only 10-20 years ago.

MonikaFL · Post by **MonikaFL** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:01 pm

I looooove the Yamaha YPC32 picc - it does have a silver headjoint, but it has a lovely sound that is nice for orchestra work when you can't afford a wooden picc. There are a bunch of them up on eBay for pretty low prices -- and some of the wooden ones (60-series) too. Just type "Yamaha piccolo" in the search box.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:36 pm

MonikaFL wrote:I looooove the Yamaha YPC32 picc - it does have a silver headjoint, but it has a lovely sound that is nice for orchestra work when you can't afford a wooden picc. There are a bunch of them up on eBay for pretty low prices -- and some of the wooden ones (60-series) too. Just type "Yamaha piccolo" in the search box.

I believe the headjoint is actually silver plate, but I'd be careful with these. I had one that was probably about 12 years old up until last year (when it literally broke in half due to the abuse of previous owners) which I absolutely loved for the price (I got it for $385), but the high school I graduated from just bought 4 new ones, and the scale on them is atrocious. There's nothing mechanically wrong with them, and the cork is where it should be, but it's practically impossible to bring Bb up to pitch on them. I couldn't say whether this is true of all the new YPC-32's, but be careful with that particular model....Playtest it with a tuner if you're thinking of buying one.

MonikaFL · Post by **MonikaFL** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:34 am

It's always a good idea to playtest it... but I haven't had any intonation issues with mine. It's been reliable and faithful since I bought it (9 years ago).

It could be that they've recently changed the scale... if your high school bought new ones...

I don't get why companies go and mess with a good thing. LOL

Buttercup · Post by **Buttercup** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:54 am

B flat is a notoriously problematic note on a lot of piccolos, not just because there is necessarily a problem with the instrument. My YPC62 responds better to a long Bb rather than using the thumbplate, for example.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:39 am

Buttercup wrote:B flat is a notoriously problematic note on a lot of piccolos, not just because there is necessarily a problem with the instrument. My YPC62 responds better to a long Bb rather than using the thumbplate, for example.

Actually, I would say that high B, and high G# are far more notorious for being difficult notes on piccolo. Some piccolos just acoustically cannot play a high B due to the placement of the trill toneholes, but I've never run across one that couldn't play a Bb. How well in tune it is possible to play is a different story, and in the case of the piccolos I mentioned above, it takes an EXTREMELY flexible player to get the pitch to where it should be. Most decent quality piccs are built so that at least the first and second octaves are decently well in tune with themselves, but not these suckers!

musical_Kat · Post by **musical_Kat** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:18 am

I love my Burkart & Phelan Global piccolo. I got it about 6 months ago and the scale is absolutely wonderful! Also the ease in the upper register is phemomenal!

mattyacht · Post by **mattyacht** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:15 am

I recently purchased a brand new Gemienhardt P4 on E-bay for $369.00.
There are deals on there from umakemusic@aol.com. You may want to email him. His name is Troy Stavros. He's not an authorized dealer which may void the warranty, but hey, it's a Gemeinhardt. This picc retails for around $800.00.

Cheers,

Mattyacht

wsFltePicmb09 · Post by **wsFltePicmb09** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:46 pm

thanx everyone! I ended up getting a new Gem. 4P since we found a good deal... and performances started Thursday... it sounds amazing and i think it works better for what im doing compared to the metal one i have... so im happy haha

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