Piccolo and Braces

[amirish1337]

Hi, I got my braces on in November(around Thanksgiving). My flute tone and intonation is fine, but my piccolo intonation is really screwy now. Like if I want nice tone, I have to roll in, but it causes my high notes to be really flat. I use the Yamaha Standard YPC30 Piccolo, it also may need a tune-up sometime soon, so that could be a problem, but can anyone give me some tips? :/
-Thanks, Amir

[fluttiegurl]

Remember that the piccolo is so small that every time you make a big adjustment, it will make a big difference. In other words, your braces may not have effected your flute playing because compared to your flute, the change was only small, but with the piccolo, the change was larger. This is actually a pretty common issue. The first thing you should do is check your cork and make sure it is not the piccolo, but chances are, you will have to adjust. What I discovered with students is that the placement if the actual embouchure hole may need to be adjusted (higher or lower on the lip) to make up for the additional hardware in your mouth. Experiment with placement. Also think about the air flow. Changing your embouchure changes the direction of air flow which will change intonation and tone quality. Spend some time at home experimenting and don't be afraid to try something different. Be sure to practice with a tuner and don't give up!

[amirish1337]

Ahh thank you I'll go try it out. :]