Product Reviews: The Piccolo Intonation Book

There is much piccolo wisdom to be found in this book. Having said that it does not add much to existing books such as those by Andrew Lane, Wye/Morris, and Jan Gippo. The alternative fingerings given are usefully categorised as neutral, sharp or flat but the keywork diagrams are not easy to follow and make use of keys not often found e.g. vented C. For alternative fingerings I find those in Gippo's book just as useful and his diagrams easy to follow. Lupo's intonation exercises are helpful.

This is a very thorough book on the piccolo. Many of the fingerings use 'extra' keys - c# trill key, G# trill key, Brossa F# touch and vented C key. Definitely not for amateur piccoloists as many of the fingerings cannot be explored unless you have the mechanisms listed above. Stephanie has explored lots of aspects of piccolo playing in depth - an interesting book for those interested in piccolo pedagogy but not for those who want a straight forward guide to piccolo playing.