The piccolo is the highest pitched orchestral woodwind instrument. It measures approximately half the length of a flute and sounds one octave higher. Its range is just shy of 3 octaves - from D5 (one octave above middle C) to Bb7 (three octaves above). Read more…

The piccolo is the highest pitched orchestral woodwind instrument. It measures approximately half the length of a flute and sounds one octave higher. Its range is just shy of 3 octaves - from D5 (one octave above middle C) to Bb7 (three octaves above). In an orchestral setting a piccolo is typically played by a flautist as a secondary or doubling instrument. The fingering is identical to that of a flute, and it is played in the same way by blowing air across the lip plate. The only structural difference is that the piccolo doesn't have a separate C footjoint; it comes in just two parts. Read less…