piccolos

     

The piccolo is a small flute. Like the flute, the piccolo is normally pitche in the key of C, one octave above the concert flute (making it, effectively, a sopranino flute). Music for the piccolo is written one octave lower than concert pitch. Fingerings on the piccolo correspond to those of the flute, but sound an octave higher as the piccolo is considerably less than half the size of the flute. Also, many alternate fingerings may be used to tune the individual pitches, as many are consistently out of tune. In addition to the standard C piccolo, there is a piccolo pitched in D♭ that is sometimes used in bands, and one in A♭, rarely used outside Italian marching bands.