my flute playing

[groveera]

Can I successfully double flute and piccolo without ruining my flute playing? I've been playing the flute for 4 years now, but I consider myself to be pretty advanced. (3rd chair / 24 flutes.) When I previously attempted to play piccolo and flute in band, I discovered that my flute tone/embochure suffered a lot... I'd be unable to produce as strong a sound on the flute. Now I'm being offered another chance to take piccolo/flute position in band, but I'm afraid I will ruin my flute playing again as I finally feel like I'm at a "high" on my flute work. Should I take picc? Is it true that good piccolo players are rarely very good-toned flute players?
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[pied_piper]

Can I successfully double flute and piccolo without ruining my flute playing? I've been playing the flute for 4 years now, but I consider myself to be pretty advanced. (3rd chair / 24 flutes.) When I previously attempted to play piccolo and flute in band, I discovered that my flute tone/embochure suffered a lot... I'd be unable to produce as strong a sound on the flute. Now I'm being offered another chance to take piccolo/flute position in band, but I'm afraid I will ruin my flute playing again as I finally feel like I'm at a "high" on my flute work. Should I take picc? Is it true that good piccolo players are rarely very good-toned flute players?

Playing flute and piccolo are complementary to each other. When first starting on piccolo, it's not unusual to experience some issues when switching back and forth with the flute. What you are likely experiencing is "muscle memory" in your lips. When you play the flute, you subconsciously adjust your lips to the correct position for a good tone. When you initially switch to the piccolo, you have to adjust the lips differently and your muscle memory becomes confused when you switch back to the flute.

The secret to being able to successfully switch back and forth with a good tone on both is to practice switching. The best way to do that is to start all your practice sessions on flute. Don't start on the piccolo and abandon your flute practice. Spend maybe a half hour on the flute and then switch to practice the piccolo for while. Finish your practice session by switching back to the flute. At first, you may experience some issues with the transition, but gradually, you will develop the subconscious muscle memory for both and switching will become easier.

Most professional flutists play both flute and piccolo although some tend to prefer or specialize in one or the other. When I first started the piccolo, I also experienced similar problems, but the more you play both, the easier it gets to switch back and forth. In reality, I found that playing the piccolo actually helped me to improve my flute tone and agility in the third and fourth octaves. It just takes time to adjust to playing both with equal ease and good tone.