trumpetlore

Ed et all,
Today, my teacher and I were working on piccolo tpt. Specifically, that I try to put way to much air through the small horn. As you know, I`m a pretty big guy, with a lot of hot air...*coughs*

Normally I try to just let the air flow out. Today I`ve been experimenting with feeling like i`m just letting it kinda leak out (something a tuba player once told me he feels like he does on low notes). It seems to be helping my tone some...


Do you find this common, and do you have any advise?
Jeremy

ecarroll

Jeremy,

It's difficult for me to put the dynamic of various air-streams into words, but here goes.

I recommend more head-voice than chest-voice on the piccolo. More falsetto to full voice. Does this make sense? Attacks should be as forward as possible, more tieu than toh. Furthermore, I prefer that note lengths be slightly longer than on the big horn to compensate for the shorter length of the horn and subsequent loss of overtones. Lastly, intonation is absolutely critical on the piccolo. Small adjustments become large, again due to the short overall length.

Capische?

Best and watching with interest,
EC