How to Get in Piccolo Shape

It’s can be harder to get in piccolo shape than just getting in shape on the flute. But not for the reasons you think. Much of the time we are caught up on building our flute skills. When we were college students we worked on audition or recital material. But if the pieces didn’t require piccolo, we didn’t practice piccolo. We didn’t have the time to.

I Don’t Have Time for Piccolo!

The popular idea out there right now is 30 minutes a day is all you need to get in piccolo shape. This could be true for you depending on how you use that 30 minutes. It’s all in how you use your time.

If you haven’t really practiced piccolo then don’t jump into Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony or the other excerpts. Just play easy material that does not take the piccolo too high or too low. You need to build the muscles for the embouchure. If you go to high to soon you risk tightening the embouchure too much and creating that dreaded buzz that happens when the lips are too close together.

Is 30 Minutes a Day All You Need?

When I am trying to get in shape or maintain shape on piccolo and I don’t have time for it, this is what I do. I play through the entire book of Köhler 25 Romantic Etudes Op. 66, or the Druet Etudes. Sometimes I’ll use Anderson Op. 21. Practicing these etudes for 30 minutes a day will truly strengthen your embouchure muscles, and steadily get you in piccolo shape.

Now if I am preparing for a recital with hefty literature, then I’ll use the etudes as a warm-up before I get into the practice of the piece. They are a great source for warm-ups. As always, remember that your piccolo lip plate is higher on your lip then the flute. You will get a better tone if you do.