Piccolo
The piccolo in five languages — piccolo, ottavino, Piccoloflöte, petite flûte
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 短笛 |
| English | piccolo |
| Italian | ottavino (flauto piccolo) |
| German | Piccoloflöte |
| French | petite flûte |
The piccolo is the highest woodwind in the orchestra, sounding an octave above its written notes. Italian ottavino literally means "little octave", which describes its job; German Piccoloflöte and French petite flûte simply mean "small flute". All five names point to the same thing: the smallest member of the flute family.
Watch out: the piccolo is not just a shorter flute — it has its own high voice and cuts through the orchestra; nor is it the end-blown recorder.
Read deeper → Piccolo · Compare Contrabassoon
Sources
- 各语种乐器名依通行音乐术语词典（参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Piccolo"）；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.