| First, you get a piccolo that minimizes those tragic qualities of intonation. Next, you find a mouthpiece that helps even more. That's pretty much it. I like using Dave's lead trumpet mouthpieces on non-Monette piccolos. I play Selmer picc's because I need the 4th valve.
The intonation hassles are a by-product of the fact that your basic 4-valve picc is inherently a "compensating" instrument but the truth is they hardly compensate at all. You truly need an instrument for each key with proper slide lengths and all that stuff but who can afford all that? If I made my living playing the piccolo week in and week out, well, clearly I'd make the investment. So, we're kind of stuck with the convention that exists.
Find a great, not good, great mouthpiece and go playtesting for the best axe you can find.
ML |