piccolo
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piccolo
piccolo, small transverse flute pitched an octave higher than the standard flute. Its tone is bright and shrill, and it can produce the highest notes in the orchestral range. The piccolo is used in orchestras and especially in military bands. See fife.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Piccolo
in any family of musical instruments, the one that is smallest, and highest in pitch (piccolo flute, piccolo domra, and so forth). The term usually refers to the smallest flute.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
piccolo
a woodwind instrument, the smallest member of the flute family, lying an octave above that of the flute
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005