1) Embouchure on piccolo is a lot different than embouchure on flute, especially if your piccolo does not have a lip plate. Try to place the tone hole in the same place that your flute's tone hole would be. To do this, you will probably have to move the piccolo out farther from your chin (It will actually feel like the piccolo is sitting much higher on your lip than your flute does.)
2) Sometimes it's hard to figure out which octave to play in. To practice, try some of the songs from the first music that you ever played on the flute (ie any beginner flute method book). Try to play these songs in as many different octaves as possible.
3) Intonation... We've all heard the jokes. Try practicing with a tuner as much as possible, especially for long notes. You could also try to make an intonation chart. Tune the piccolo to whatever note(s) you always tune to, then play each note into the tuner and record the pitch tendencies. Do this every day for a week, then compare the results. In general, the higher the notes are, the flatter they will be.
4) Practice the piccolo after you practice flute, or else your flute will seem really huge and heavy in comparison to the piccolo. Never practice piccolo for more than 20% of your overall practice time. ALWAYS wear earplugs when practicing the piccolo. Because the notes are so high and close to your ear, failure to wear earplugs can cause hearing loss.
5) Be brave. Piccolo is a lot louder and more obvious than flute. Yes, people will hear you. Good luck and have fun!
Tips for Practicing the Piccolo
1) In general, practice the piccolo for 10-20% of your total practice time, at the end of a practice session. To prevent hearing loss, always wear earplugs when practicing the piccolo.
2) To improve your piccolo tone, you can practice the same tone exercises that you would for flute. Again, I recomend De la Sonorite by Marcel Moyse. For more info, check out tone on my Playing Tips page. A good condensed version of Moyse to play on piccolo is the 5-note chromatic group. Start on top of the staff B and descend chromatically to G. Go back up to B and then down to G a couple more times, trying to create a clear and uniform tone throughout. Then go from G down to Eb. Repeat up and down the whole range of the piccolo. For best results, vary the starting note as well.
3) Intonation- practice with a tuner every day. If you record pitch tendencies every day for a week on each note in your range, you can learn how to play any note in tune on your piccolo. Click to go to my intonation page with a printable intonation chart. In general, the high register is flat.
4) To improve tone and technique on piccolo, practice etudes on piccolo. If you have an etude book that you've already played on flute, this works great for piccolo practice.
5) Get a practice book. Stores like Flute World have a great selection of books that can be a big help when practicing piccolo.
Be sure to check out tips for how to buy a piccolo on my instruments page!
1) Piccolo- Basic info and tips.
2) Piccolo Page- FAQs, facts, jokes, and tips. Tons of info on the piccolo- a great page!
3) Flutes or Piccolos Could Harm Your Hearing- an interesting article that all piccolo players should read.