Tuning a Piccolo

Posted by: flutepunch on: February 11, 2013

In: Intonation | Piccolo
Leave a Comment

Follows is some helpful advice on finding optimal placement for the headjoint cork on piccolos:

Set the cork so that the line on the cleaning rod is in the center of the embouchure hole. Then play, without changing fingerings (don’t lift the first finger), the bottom two D’s. Only lip them. You will probably find the middle D to be flat. Push the cork in a TINY bit. Try again. When they are in tune, check the high register. You might find the highest three notes to be hard to get. Now move the cork out just a tiny bit. The correct position is a compromise between the D’s being in tune and the highest notes playing easily, and is normally 1 mm or a bit more in (toward the piccolo body) from the ‘correct’ (line in the center of the embouchure) position.