Piccolo
The
Piccolo is a small
flute
(the Italian word piccolo means small). It is
exactly half the size of a standard flute, and is pitched one octave higher. It
is the highest pitched instrument of the woodwind family. Music for the piccolo
is written one octave lower than it sounds, so as to minimize the need for
ledger lines..
It evolved at the beginning of the 19th century.
Beethoven
uses it in Symphony no 5, and also in his 6th Symphony - the Pastoral.
Tchaikovsky
makes extensive use of the piccolo.