The piccolo ( / ˈ p ɪ k ə l oʊ / PIH -kə-loh ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute , the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the standard transverse flute , but the sound it produces is an octave higher. This has given rise to the name ottavino ( Italian pronunciation: [ottaˈviːno] ), by which the instrument is called in Italian and thus also in scores of Italian composers.
52-467: Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle and brilliance to the overall sound because of the aforementioned one-octave transposition upwards. The piccolo is a standard member in orchestras , marching bands , and wind ensembles . Since the Middle Ages, evidence indicates the use of octave transverse flutes as military instruments, as their penetrating sound
104-459: A rhythmically similar or exact melodic line or lines at a fixed interval above or below the melody to create parallel movement. Octave doubling of a voice or pitch is a number of other voices duplicating the same part at the same pitch or at different octaves. The doubling number of an octave is the number of individual voices assigned to each pitch within the chord. For instance, in the opening of John Philip Sousa 's " Washington Post March ",
156-456: A "midstream modernism", which is characterized by interwoven contrapunctal musical lines which form the foundation for a tonal harmonic complex punctuated by tangential atonal episodes. In addition, his music is said to be inspired by the liturgical cantilena featured in the Jewish musical tradition as well as oriental inflections. Adler has been awarded many prizes, including a membership into
208-536: A MacDowell Fellow for five years between 1954 and 1963. In 1986, he received the "Distinguished Alumni Award" from Boston University . The Music Teachers' National Association selected Adler as its "Composer of the Year 1986–87" for Quintalogues , which won the national competition. In the 1988–89 year, he has been designated " Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar". In 1989, he was awarded The Eastman School's Eisenhart Award for distinguished teaching, and he has been given
260-626: A member of the composition faculty at Juilliard and, for the 2009–10 year, was awarded the William Schuman Scholars Chair. He is also the author of three books, Choral Conducting (Holt Rinehart and Winston 1971, second edition Schirmer Books 1985), Sight Singing (W.W. Norton 1979, 1997), and The Study of Orchestration (W.W. Norton 1982, 1989, 2001, 2016; Italian edition edited by Lorenzo Ferrero for EDT Srl Torino, 2008). He has also contributed numerous articles to major magazines, books and encyclopedias published in
312-413: A mood of almost mystical intensity. In this exquisite harmonization the notes do not make their own track – the way we play them depends upon the way we catch the inner vibration of the thought between the notes, and this will condition every nuance of shading." William Kinderman finds it "extraordinary that this sensitive control of sonority is most evident in the works of Beethoven's last decade, when he
364-419: A nervous shimmer of semiquavers in the strings". The opening theme of the last movement of Mozart 's Piano Concerto No. 24 is played throughout by the violins, but selected phrases are doubled, firstly by the flute playing an octave above; followed by the bassoon an octave below. Finally the violin is joined by both oboe and bassoon together, creating a doubling spanning three octaves: The opening bars of
416-405: A note that is duplicated in different octaves is said to be doubled . (The term magadization is also used for vocal doubling at the octave, especially in reference to early music .) Doubling may also refer to a note or a melodic phrase that is duplicated at the same pitch, but played by different instruments. Melodic doubling in parallel (also called parallel harmony ) is the addition of
468-992: A number of pieces for piccolo alone by such composers as Samuel Adler , Miguel del Aguila , Robert Dick , Michael Isaacson , David Loeb , Stephen Hough , Polly Moller , Vincent Persichetti , Karlheinz Stockhausen , and Brian Ferneyhough . Repertoire for piccolo and piano, many of which are sonatas , has been composed by Miguel del Águila , Robert Baksa , Robert Beaser , Rob du Bois , Howard J. Buss , Eugène Damaré [ fr ] , Pierre Max Dubois , Raymond Guiot , Lowell Liebermann , Peter Schickele , Michael Daugherty , and Gary Schocker . Concertos have been composed for piccolo, including those by Lowell Liebermann , Sir Peter Maxwell Davies , Todd Goodman, Martin Amlin, Will Gay Bottje , Bruce Broughton , Valentino Bucchi , Avner Dorman , Jean Doué, Michael Easton, Egil Hovland , Guus Janssen , Daniel Pinkham , Jeff Manookian and Levente Gyöngyösi . Additionally, there
520-508: A variety of hardwoods, most commonly grenadilla . Finely made piccolos are often available with a variety of options similar to the flute , such as the split-E mechanism. Most piccolos have a conical body with a cylindrical head, like the Baroque flute and later flutes before the popularization of the Boehm bore used in modern flutes. Unlike other woodwind instruments, in most wooden piccolos,
572-562: Is a layout common in the works of his last years.” During the Romantic Era , composers continued further in their exploration of sonorities that can be obtained through imaginative chord voicing. Alan Walker draws attention to the quiet middle section of Chopin 's Scherzo No. 1 . In this passage, Chopin weaves a "magical" pianistic texture around a traditional Polish Christmas carol : Maurice Ravel 's Pavane de la Belle au Bois Dormant from his 1908 suite Ma Mère l'Oye exploits
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#1732775564640624-639: Is married to Emily Freeman Brown, who is currently serving as Music Director and Conductor of the Bowling Green Philharmonia. Musicologists have noted that Adler's works incorporate a wide range of compositional techniques including: free atonality , diatonicism , and serialism . In addition, he is recognized for interweaving dance rhythms, folk themes, ostinati, and devices associated with aleatoric music throughout his scores. Adler does not advocate serialism or atonality. It has also been observed that Adler's compositions illustrate
676-442: Is now a selection of chamber music that uses the piccolo. One example is Stockhausen's Zungenspitzentanz , for piccolo and two euphoniums (or one synthesizer), with an optional percussionist and dancer. Another is George Crumb 's Madrigals, Book II for soprano, flute (doubling piccolo/alto flute), and percussion. Other examples include a trio for piccolo, contrabassoon, and piano, 'Was mit den Tränen geschieht' by Stephen Hough ,
728-417: Is the case of the concertos that Antonio Vivaldi wrote for flautino . Until the end of the 19th century, the piccolo maintained the same construction. Historically, the piccolo had the same keys of the baroque flute (one key) and then of the classical and romantic simple system flute. At the end of the century, the piccolo began to be built with the Boehm mechanism, which would become the standard during
780-921: The American Academy in Berlin (2004) and Institute of Arts and Letters awarded in May 2001, the Charles Ives Award (1961), and the Lillian Fairchild Award (1974). In May 2003, he was presented with the Aaron Copland Award by ASCAP for Lifetime Achievement in Music (Composition and Teaching). In 2008, he was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame . Similarly, in 2001 Adler
832-734: The Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood in 1949. Adler has been awarded four honorary doctorates from Southern Methodist and Wake Forest Universities, St. Mary's College of Notre Dame and the St. Louis Conservatory of Music. After completing his academic studies in 1950, Adler served as a corporal in the 2d Armored Division . During this time he founded the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra (1952) in Stuttgart, Germany, which served to demonstrate
884-767: The Quintet for Piccolo and String Quartet by Graham Waterhouse , and Malambo for piccolo, double bass, and piano by Miguel del Aguila . Currently published trios for three piccolos include Quelque Chose canadienne (Something Canadian) by Nancy Nourse and Bird Tango by Crt Sojar Voglar for three piccolos with piano. Petrushka's Ghost for eight piccolos by Melvin Lauf, Jr. and Una piccolo sinfonia for nine piccolos by Matthew King are two more examples. [REDACTED] Media related to Piccolo at Wikimedia Commons Voicing (music)#Doubling In music theory , voicing refers to two closely related concepts: It includes
936-422: The fingerboard , allowing more freedom for the guitarist to play chords in any key and in any area of the guitar's range, without the use of a capo . This facilitates easily playing chord progressions featuring modulation or chromatic movement between keys. Sources Samuel Adler (composer) Samuel Hans Adler (born March 4, 1928) is an American composer , conductor , author, and professor. During
988-404: The instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the musical notes in a chord : which notes are on the top or in the middle, which ones are doubled, which octave each is in, and which instruments or voices perform each note. The following three chords are all C-major triads in root position with different voicings. The first is in close position (the most compact voicing), while
1040-452: The 1900s. However, it cannot wholly transition to the Boehm system since the bore has remained conical, as in the old system flute, and the first bottom note is D, like in the baroque flute. The piccolo should not be confused with the fife , which is traditionally one-piece, has a smaller, cylindrical bore, and produces a more strident sound. It is a myth that one of the earliest pieces to use
1092-751: The Bowling Green Philharmonia. In more recent times his works have also been showcased by leading orchestras around the world, including: the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra , the Los Angeles Philharmonic , the Mannheim National Theatre Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony . Performances of his compositions have been recorded on several record labels including: Albany Records , Linn Records , Navona Records, and Naxos Records . Adler
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#17327755646401144-596: The Dallas Lyric Theater. From 1957 to 1966, Adler served as Professor of Composition at the University of North Texas College of Music . Between 1966 and 1995, Adler served as Professor of Composition at the University of Rochester 's Eastman School of Music . In addition, he served as Chairman of the Department of Music at The Eastman School of Music from 1973 to 1994. Since 1997, Adler has been
1196-622: The U.S. and abroad. Adler also reflected upon six decades of teaching in his memoirs Building Bridges with Music: Stories from a Composer's Life which was published by Pendragon Press in 2017. Over the decades Adler's musical legacy has been interpreted by several orchestral ensembles including: the Cleveland Chamber Symphony , Esterhazy Quartet , the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra , Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt , and
1248-454: The aftermath of World War II . Adler's musical catalogue includes over 400 published compositions. He has been honored with several awards including Germany's Order of Merit – Officer's Cross . Adler was born to a Jewish family in Mannheim , Germany , the son of Hugo Chaim Adler , a cantor and composer, and Selma Adler who was an amateur pianist. At the young age of ten, Samuel
1300-588: The course of a professional career which ranges over six decades he has served as a faculty member at both the University of Rochester 's Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School . In addition, he is credited with founding and conducting the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra which participated in the cultural diplomacy initiatives of the United States in Germany and throughout Europe in
1352-411: The default state. Dropping the first voice is undefined—a drop-1 voicing would still have all voices in the same octave, simply making a new first voice. This nomenclature doesn't cover the dropping of voices by two or more octaves or having the same pitch in multiple octaves. A drop-2 voicing lowers the second voice by an octave. For example, a C-major triad has three "drop-2 voicings". Reading down from
1404-568: The delicate transparency of voicing afforded through the medium of the piano duet . Four hands can cope better than two when it comes to playing widely spaced chords. This is especially apparent in bars 5–8 of the following extract: Speaking of this piece (which also exists in an orchestral version), William Weaver Austin writes about Ravel's technique of "varying the sonority from phrase to phrase by telling changes of register ." The two chords that open and close Igor Stravinsky 's Symphony of Psalms have distinctive sonorities arising out of
1456-466: The entire measure, and no interval is in parallel for more than four consecutive notes. Consideration of doubling is important when following voice leading rules and guidelines, for example when resolving to an augmented sixth chord never double either notes of the augmented sixth, while in resolving an Italian sixth it is preferable to double the tonic ( third of the chord). Some pitch material may be described as autonomous doubling in which
1508-423: The harp arpeggios are also doubled at the unison by the violas, while the first violins and ‘cellos double the main melody an octave apart. One nomenclature for describing certain classes of voicings is the "drop-n" terminology, such as drop-2 voicings , drop-4 voicings , etc. (sometimes spelled without hyphens). This system views voicings as built from the top down (probably from horn-section arranging where
1560-702: The honor of Composer of the Year (1991) for the American Guild of Organists. During his second visit to Chile, Adler was elected to the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts (1993) "for his outstanding contributions to the world of music as composer, conductor, and author". He was initiated as an honorary member of the Gamma Theta (1960, University of North Texas) and the Alpha Alpha (1966, National Honorary) chapters of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia , and in 1986
1612-422: The melody is "doubled" in four octaves. Consistent parallelism between melodic lines can impede the independence of the lines. For example, in m. 38 of the gigue from his English Suite No. 1 in A major, BWV 806 , J.S. Bach avoids excessive parallel harmony in order to maintain the independence of the lines: parallel thirds (at the beginning) and parallel sixths (at the end) are not maintained throughout
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1664-417: The melody is a given). The implicit, non-dropped, default voicing in this system has all voices in the same octave, with individual voices numbered from the top down. The highest voice is the first voice or voice 1. The second-highest voice is voice 2, etc. This nomenclature doesn't provide a term for more than one voice on the same pitch. A dropped voicing lowers one or more voices by an octave relative to
1716-459: The miry clay. Some chord voicings devised by composers are so striking that they are instantly recognizable when heard. For example, The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives opens with strings playing a widely spaced G-major chord very softly, at the limits of audibility. According to Ives, the string part represents "The Silence of the Druids—who Know, See and Hear Nothing". In a chord,
1768-554: The octave as early as 1735 as existing scores by Jean-Philippe Rameau show. Piccolos are now mainly manufactured in the key of C. In the early 20th century, piccolos were manufactured in D ♭ as they were an earlier model of the modern piccolo. For this D ♭ piccolo, John Philip Sousa wrote the famous solo in the final repeat of the closing section (trio) of his march " The Stars and Stripes Forever ". Although once made of wood, glass, or ivory, piccolos today are made from plastic, resin, brass, nickel silver, silver, and
1820-476: The other hand, in the theme of the Arietta movement that concludes his last piano sonata , Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 (1822), Beethoven presents the chord voicing in a much more daring way, with wide gaps between notes, creating compelling sonorities that enhance the meditative character of the music: Philip Barford describes the Arietta of Op. 111 as "simplicity itself… its widely-spaced harmonization creates
1872-532: The part being doubled is not followed for more than a few measures often resulting in disjunct motion in the part that is doubling, for example, the trombone part in Mozart 's Don Giovanni . Instrumental doubling plays a crucial role in orchestration . Near the start of Schubert 's Symphony No. 8 (the "Unfinished" Symphony), the oboe and clarinet play a theme together in unison , an "evocative and uncommon combination," "an embodiment of melancholy... over
1924-447: The perfect fourth intervals between the guitar's strings typically make most close position chords cumbersome and impractical to play, particularly in jazz where complex extensions are commonplace. While open chords are the most commonly employed voicings on the guitar and other fretted instruments for the volume and resonance they produce, the fingerings used for drop voicings on guitar are easily moved horizontally and vertically around
1976-548: The piccolo was Ludwig van Beethoven 's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor , which premiered in December 1808 . Although neither Joseph Haydn nor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used it in their symphonies, some of their contemporaries did, including Franz Anton Hoffmeister , Franz Xaver Süssmayr , and Michael Haydn . Also, Mozart used the piccolo in his opera Idomeneo . Opera orchestras in Paris sometimes included small transverse flutes at
2028-489: The second and third are in open position (that is, with wider spacing). Notice also that the G is doubled at the octave in the third chord; that is, it appears in two different octaves. Many composers, as they developed and gained experience, became more enterprising and imaginative in their handling of chord voicing. For example, the theme from the second movement of Ludwig van Beethoven 's early Piano Sonata No. 10 (1798), presents chords mostly in close position: On
2080-626: The shared cultural heritage of America and Europe in the post World War II era through cultural diplomacy . For this, he received a special Citation of Excellence from the Army for the orchestra's success between 1952 and 1961. Subsequently, he accepted a position as music director at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas , beginning his tenure there in 1953. At the Dallas temple he formed a children's choir and an adult choir. From 1954 to 1958 Adler conducted
2132-676: The tenon joint that connects the head to the body has two interference fit points surrounding the cork and metal side of the piccolo body joint. The piccolo is used alongside marching drums in traditional formations at the Carnival of Basel , Switzerland. In 2014, a festival was born entirely dedicated to the piccolo, the International Piccolo Festival , which takes place annually in July in Grado , Italy . There are
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2184-519: The third movement of Janáček 's Sinfonietta combine unison and octave doublings. The passage illustrates how subtle and carefully differentiated doubling can contribute to the sound of a delicate and nuanced orchestral texture : In these three bars, the Bass Clarinet and the Tuba simultaneously sound a sustained pedal point on a low E flat, creating a distinctive blend of timbres . Similarly,
2236-399: The tonic C major finally arrives, in the last movement, its root is doubled in five octaves, its fifth is left to the natural overtones, and its decisive third appears just once, in the highest range. This spacing is as extraordinary as the spacing of the first chord, but with the opposite effect of super-clarity and consonance, thus resolving and justifying the first chord and all the horror of
2288-589: The top voice, they are C E G, E G C, and G C E, which can be heard as the voicings supporting the first three melody notes (following the introductory phrase) of the Super Mario Bros. video game theme . There are four drop-2-and-4 voicings for G . Reading down from the top voice, they are G D F B, B F G D, D G B F, and F B D G. Various drop combinations are possible, given enough voices, such as drop-3, drop-2-and-3, drop-5, drop-2-and-5, drop-3-and-5, etc. Drop voicings are often employed by guitarists , as
2340-456: The violin with Albert Levy. His formal education in composition was initiated under Herbert Fromm in 1941. Subsequently, Adler earned degrees from both Boston University (where he studied musicology with Karl Geiringer ) and Harvard University (where he studied with Aaron Copland , Irving Fine , Paul Hindemith , Paul Pisk , Walter Piston , and Randall Thompson and earned an M.A. in 1950). He studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky at
2392-575: The voicing of the notes. The first chord is sometimes called the Psalms chord . William W. Austin remarks: The first and last chords of the Symphony of Psalms are famous. The opening staccato blast, which recurs throughout the first movement, detached from its surroundings by silence, seems to be a perverse spacing of the E minor triad, with the minor third doubled in four octaves while the root and fifth appear only twice, at high and low extremes... When
2444-513: Was audible above battles. In cultured music, however, the first piccolos were used in some of Jean Philippe Rameau 's works in the first half of the 18th century. Still, the instrument began to spread, and therefore to have a stable place in the orchestra, only at the beginning of 1800 A.D. During the Baroque period, the indication "flautino" or also "flauto piccolo" usually denoted a recorder of small size (soprano or sopranino). In particular, this
2496-545: Was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters , and presented the graduation address at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion 's Cincinnati graduation ceremony. Adler's catalogue includes over 400 published works in all media, including three operas , six symphonies , ten string quartets , at least eleven concerti ( organ , piano , violin , viola or clarinet , cello , flute , guitar , saxophone quartet , woodwind quintet ), many shorter orchestral works, works for wind ensemble and band, chamber music,
2548-503: Was completely deaf, and could hear only in his imagination." Another example of the later Beethoven's daring approach to voicing can be found in the second movement of his Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106 . In the trio section of this movement (bars 48ff), Martin Cooper notes that “Beethoven has enhanced the strangeness of the effect by laying out much of the music four or five octaves apart, with no comfortable ‘filling’ between. This
2600-667: Was honored with a lifetime appointment to the American Academy of Arts and Letters . In 1999, he was elected to the Academy of Arts, Berlin for distinguished service to music. In 1983, he won the Deems Taylor Award for his book on orchestration; in 1984, he was appointed Honorary Professorial Fellow of the University College in Cardiff, Wales, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 1984–85. He has been
2652-703: Was named a National Arts Associate to Sigma Alpha Iota , international music fraternity for women. In 1998, he was awarded the Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association. In May, 2018, Adler was awarded the German Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse ( Order of Merit – Officer's Cross ), presented to him in New York by Consul General David Gill . On June 1, 2018, Adler
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#17327755646402704-680: Was separated from his father while Hugo was imprisoned in the Netherlands following the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938. After Hugo's return to Mannheim, the family was reunited and subsequently fled the Nazi regime in Germany through the Netherlands to the United States in 1939, where Hugo became the cantor of Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts . Sam soon followed his father into the music profession and began his musical studies on
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