There are many things to consider when you decide to purchase a piccolo. Start with where you will play this new instrument – exclusively indoors in a concert hall or outdoors for marching band. Price is the second consideration. You will want to try instruments within, not above, your price range. Students who try instruments that considerably more expensive than they can realistically afford often experience some disappointment when they find an instrument in their price range. All of the other factors in making a decision about what piccolo to buy hinge on these two basic pieces of information.
Price
I like to use the analogy of buying a car. Let’s say that you have about $20,000 to spend on a car. Desired features include air conditioning, a great sound system, and leather seats. There will be several makes and models that have these options in that price range, new or used, or you can buy a top-of-the-line luxury car with the same options for a little over twice the price. The difference in price range might reflect the amount of hand finishing work that has been done and the attention to detail.
The prices of professional piccolos reflect the same kind of attention to detail and hand finishing as luxury cars, so they carry a much higher price tag than student models. However, you should be able to find a piccolo with options you might want (such as a split-E key or a wing-style mouthpiece) no matter what your price range happens to be. There are many manufacturers that cater to every budget size in today’s marketplace, and if you consider pre-owned piccolos, your choices expand even further.
Materials
Piccolos are made out of three basic materials: Resin, (or composite/plastic), metal (solid silver or silver plate), and wood, (grenadilla being the most common). Resin instruments are a good choice for marching band as are metal piccolos because they are not weather sensitive. Grenadilla wood (or one of the other hardwoods) is the preferred choice of many professionals who feel that wooden instruments have a sweeter quality that blends equally well with strings and woodwinds.
If you plan to play in a situation other than a marching band, try to purchase the best quality wooden piccolo that you can afford. You will be rewarded with tonal colors not possible from piccolos made from other materials.
Headjoint Style
It is possible to find piccolos with metal headjoints on composite or wooden bodies. Some professional manufactures even offer gold headjoints. Many novice piccolo players prefer metal headjoints because their lip plates feel familiar to blow across. It takes a little practice to be able to blow across the piccolo’s more ‘naked’ embouchure hole. The popular wave-style lip plates can also help players feel more secure. They are a great option in a step up piccolo.
