A Collection of Lessons Learned

Written for the Nippon Keizai Shinbun, October 6, 2010. 

While most people are familiar with the flute, many likely know little about the piccolo.

It is roughly half the length of a flute and produces notes an octave higher. The playing technique is nearly identical to that of the flute, and in orchestras, a flutist often doubles on the piccolo. However, even the slightest error in breath control can compromise the piccolo's tone quality; it is an instrument that demands precise technique.

Although the piccolo is often disliked even by flutists, for me, it is a lifelong partner. I have served as the principal piccolo player for the Philadelphia Orchestra in the United States for 29 years.

Playing the Role of an “Outline”

Naturally, my primary role is performing the piccolo part, but depending on the piece, I sometimes play the flute in the second or third flute sections—parts that may include passages for the piccolo.

I believe the piccolo often serves as an "outline" for the orchestra. Just as a colorful painting gains a wonderful accent through its outline, the piccolo acts as that defining edge, possessing the power to clearly articulate the movement of the music.

I started out playing the trumpet before taking up the flute. Born and raised in Sapporo, I attended a summer camp at the Interlochen Arts Academy in the U.S. during the summer of my second year of high school. I was overwhelmed by the high level of musicianship when I heard a student orchestra perform Sibelius's Symphony No. 2 so beautifully, and I resolved to stay in the U.S. to continue my studies.

I went on to attend the Oberlin Conservatory and Indiana University's graduate school, then joined the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In 1981, I auditioned for the Philadelphia Orchestra and was hired as principal piccolo player. It is an ensemble ranked among the "Big Five" U.S. orchestras—alongside the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony—though in my view, it is the best in the world. The orchestra members' high level of ambition and passion, along with their sincerity—never cutting corners in their performance regardless of the circumstances—have remained unchanged over the years.

Studying Breath Control and Posture

When I joined the orchestra, the renowned conductor Eugene Ormandy—who had built the Philadelphia Orchestra into a world-class ensemble—had stepped down as music director and assumed the title of Conductor Laureate.

When I went to his office to introduce myself, he smiled broadly and held his palm above his head. Both he and I were small in stature—barely reaching 160 centimeters in height. It was his way of saying, "I like musicians who are small like me."

He had a sense of humor and sometimes used English in unique ways. The orchestra members kept a list of the amusing things he said—a sort of "collection of famous quotes." He was deeply loved by the members.

Being small might be considered a disadvantage for a wind player, but it really comes down to how one uses one's body. I have studied posture and how to use my breath without waste. In short, it involves strengthening the abdominal muscles, aligning the pelvis, and keeping the rib cage in a constantly expanded state. I have kept these principles in mind while performing in three or four regular concerts a week.

The piccolo began to appear in classical music during the Romantic era, starting around the time of Beethoven. I believe Shostakovich and Stravinsky were among the composers who made particularly effective use of the instrument; in opera, it was Verdi. I have a theory as to why. I once toured with the orchestra to La Scala in Milan—where Verdi was active—and was shocked by the theater's poor acoustics. I suspect Verdi used the piccolo's high register to ensure the melodies of his works rang out clearly in that space.

A Solo Album at 62

Since the Reagan era, there has essentially been no mandatory retirement age in the United States. The oldest member of our orchestra is a 90-year-old second violinist. He passes on the orchestra's traditional sound and playing techniques to the younger members. I am 62 years old this year, and I recently released my first solo album, *Piccolo Virtuoso*.

For the CD, I selected many works from the pre-Mozart era—specifically Baroque music by composers such as Telemann and Bach. Although these pieces predate the existence of the piccolo, performing works originally played on the recorder using the piccolo allows for a greater range of musical dynamics, such as variations in volume. I also found the music of the early Romantic composer Reicha to be fascinating, and I took on works by Messiaen as well as the Japanese composer Kensaku Shimizu.

Since I joined the orchestra, it has been led by conductors such as Muti, Sawallisch, Eschenbach, and Dutoit. Starting in 2012, we will welcome Yannick Nézet-Séguin—a brilliant, up-and-coming conductor in his thirties—as our music director. The orchestra, which had experienced a period of stagnation due to the financial crisis, is poised to regain its momentum.

I hope to contribute to that effort in whatever way I can.

(Kazuo Tokito — Principal Piccolo, The Philadelphia Orchestra)

In the orchestra, a sound is required that projects even more clearly than a trumpet, yet without strain — and a PP even softer than the flute's, one that hides behind the flute. Naturally, the pitch must also be correct throughout. How on earth is this to be achieved? The only answer is to ask the instrument itself. So here, for the benefit of beginners, I will try to set this out in detail.

Let me share something I often demonstrate in masterclasses. First, I ask the participants, including the audience, "What is sound?" Once someone finally answers, "Sound is the vibration of air," I say, "Then let me show you my sound." I hold the piccolo (or flute) in my left hand out in front of me, grasp the space just outside the footjoint with the fingers of my right hand, and then move the piccolo straight to the left with my left hand. A tube of air then appears there, held in my right hand — that is the sound of the piccolo. It must be made to resonate at both fff and ppp. To make this extremely delicate, seemingly fragile tube resonate, one must use the correct speed and pressure of breath. Otherwise, you will forever have to apologize to the piccolo: "Sorry — I broke it again."

Now, breath control can be thought of in two parts: speed and pressure.

Breath speed — fast versus slow — is easy to feel. Hold your palm in front of your mouth and exhale while saying "hoo"; it should feel warm. That is the slowest breath. Now exhale strongly while saying "foo"; your palm will feel cold. That is fast breath.

To feel breath pressure, temporarily become a clarinetist. Place your thumb in your mouth as if it were the reed and mouthpiece of a clarinet, and try "blowing" at about mf. At that moment your lungs and ribs should feel pushed outward in all directions, as if swelling. That sensation is the pressure inside the lungs created because the diaphragm is trying to force the air out, but the exit is blocked by the reed and mouthpiece. On the piccolo or flute, however, the exit is not blocked — so instead, you must create this pressure yourself, using the ribs and diaphragm.

The answer to how to create this state lies in body posture. To keep the ribs from dropping and collapsing while you use your breath to play, you need to firmly tighten the lower abdominal muscles inward — the area near the crease that forms at the lower abdomen when you lift one knee while standing. This supports the pelvis. As a result, the spine extends upward and becomes straighter, and at the same time the ribs are supported and open widely upward. Therefore, no matter how much air you inhale during performance, and no matter how long the passage you are playing, you must never let these lower abdominal muscles relax.

As you can see from the accompanying example, dynamic control can be studied and practiced using the simplest of exercises. When moving from piano to forte, make it a subito f, with no crescendo. At that moment, adjust the speed of your breath — as described above — up to just short of the point where the tube of air inside the instrument "breaks." As a rough guide: if you call the fastest possible breath 100%, think of PP as about 5%, mf as about 10%, and ff as about 15%. In most cases, players already use more than 30% of that speed just to produce f — so the precious tube of air has already broken, and no matter how hard they try, f and ff refuse to come out as intended. This tends to be blamed on the instrument.

Now, at this point, breath pressure plays the most important role. Think of it this way: the moment you firmly tighten your lower abdomen, the pressure is already at 50%. This is the baseline state — no matter how soft a PPP you play, the pressure must never fall below this. So, when moving from P to f, aim to bring the pressure from 50% up to 70% or more. The best combination of breath speed and pressure will be revealed to you by the resonance of the instrument itself.

Special fingerings for the piccolo in particular are given in the example. For forte on A and B, adding the right-hand index finger changes the tone color; this can be used for more effective dynamic control. Gis (G-sharp) and G forte have no special fingering aid marked, but use A and B as a reference to find a similar effect on your own. (Adding this fingering also lowers the pitch slightly, which — since this occurs when moving from P to f — makes it a very useful ally.)

Another important factor is the embouchure and the jaw. By controlling these, you can adjust the width of the sound and produce correct pitch. Lengthening the distance between the embouchure and the edge of the tone hole (embouchure hole) on the headjoint widens the sound; shortening it narrows the sound. This too can be used for more effective dynamic control. (Though in special cases, a wide PP may sometimes be required.) As for pitch — of course, you should construct it correctly in your head before you begin practicing. Rather than tuning the instrument to a tuner, think of it as using the instrument to play a pitch you have already fixed correctly in your own mind. How do you get the correct pitch into your head? It's simple: use harmony. For example, play an A-major or D-major chord on a keyboard instrument while singing the note A, or play a single D or E and sing A against it, to internalize the pitch. After that, when you play A on your instrument, the pitch should come out correct.

As a general rule, pitch rises when the breath is angled upward relative to the tone hole, and falls when angled downward. The challenge, then, is how to direct the breath downward when playing forte — to keep the pitch from rising — while also lengthening the distance between the embouchure and the tone hole to widen the sound. The answer to this, too, is simple. Place the side of your index finger against your lower lip and say "u, o": you'll find the finger moves away and the breath angle points downward. Conversely, when moving from f to P, say "a, u." This makes clear how the lips and jaw are working. In actual playing these are smaller movements, but even so, the movement of the headjoint should be visible. If it doesn't seem to be moving much, that is likely because the left hand is stiff and not moving. Think of the left hand, instead, as helping to drive the movement of the embouchure and jaw.

Finally, one more thing: bringing vibrato into this exercise as well makes it even more effective. Use very little vibrato — or none — on piano, and a wide, warm vibrato on forte. This adjustment of vibrato also fails to work well if the breath speed is too fast, because part of what makes up vibrato is fine-grained dynamic control. Put another way: a forte in which the vibrato doesn't engage well is proof that the breath is too fast.

Kazuo Tokito

May 10, 2009