Piccolo

Range

D5 to about C8⁶587 Hz – 4.19 kHz

Piccolo in C, sounding an octave above written (written D4-C7). B7 and C8 only fortissimo.

Overtones reach about 8.9 kHz (the highest harmonic within 40 dB of the strongest, at a moderate level; louder playing reaches higher)⁷.

The sound

An open pipe like the flute, an octave higher: few, fairly weak harmonics, and a clear breath noise on top.

Where the sound goes

No piccolo-specific source. The general woodwind statement applies (sound from the tone holes along the body, bell mostly a timbre filter). The highest notes are the loudest and most piercing, as the existing entry says.^11,1

Playing techniques

• Flutter-tonguing: a rolled R, a rough, buzzing tremolo
• Trills: easy and bright up to about A7⁶

How loud

Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.

96-112 dB at 3 m, peak 120 dB, in the Sound Advice table of representative noise levels; the same table gives a "near the right ear" row of 102-118 dB, peak 126 dB (collated from several sources, weighting not stated). Both read from search-result text, because the PDF would not extract. At 3 m this is 4-7 dB above the flute line in the same table (92-105 dB); the flute row in this file's earlier section is the one to compare.⁸

Recording it

• Distance: 1 m or more, level with the instrument or slightly above; the top octave is very loud and piercing
• Mics: a small- or large-diaphragm condenser; a ribbon or a dark condenser tames the top
• Watch: close up, breath noise and shrillness grow¹²

Estimate: Not found in the sources checked (general practice): Mics.

Mics i

No mic is named by more than one source yet: each names its own.