Piccolo Tuning

Piccolos are a bear to get in tune regardless of whether you’re playing in a band, in an orchestra, or playing with a piano. Even if you have the most expensive piccolo money can buy, it still will have intonation problems. If you have a piccolo you are definitely having tuning issues.

Do you know that when approaching a note from below it could be flat and the same exact note is sharp when approached from above? Crazy man!

If You Have a Piccolo You Have Tuning Issues

Professional piccolo players change their fingering depending on whether the note is approached from below or above. An avid piccolo player will learn those fingerings and how and when to use them. But sometimes you just need to pay the piper and work with a tuner. You need to learn where your piccolo is in tune. You need to learn where your low A is in tune and how the pitch changes as you move to the middle A and high A. I don’t think that tuning each note with a tuner is the best use of your time.

You Need to Learn Where Your Piccolo is in Tune

One of my teachers (who was a student of Walfred Kujala) said that a great technique for learning the intonation on the piccolo is to tune arpeggios. This technique for tuning arpeggios is perfect! It places each note of the arpeggios in context with the notes above and below so you get a true picture of where that note stands from it’s approach above or below.

At first, when I begin to work with my tuner and arpeggios, I will tune every single note of that chord. Much later when I am gain some confidence, I will look at the tuner less. I will just tune specific notes such as, only tuning the octaves, or the 5th of the scale. You’ll notice over time that you ear begins to develop. I began to hear where I was flat or sharp within a solo much more then before. You will find out yourself how much your ear develops when working with a tuner.