p iu c c o l o

Piccolo
The piccolo is the highest pitch instrument in the
orchestra.
It is in the woodwind family with the flute.
The name “piccolo” means “small” in Italian,
and it is also used to describe other high-pitched
or small instruments, such as the piccolo clarinet.
In 1832 the Munich flutist Theobald Boehm
invented a revolutionary mechanism for the flute
and the piccolo.
The piccolo has similar fingerings to the flute.
The piccolo has given rise to the name ottavino,
which means “little octave” in Italian