Where are they gone?

I know George White was a piccolo player. I know many Ceili bands used to include one or two piccolo players. But where are they now? Are they coming back as Hammy Hamilton predicts? http://homepage.tinet.ie/~hammie/Piccolo.htm

I’ve been playing a piccolo in sessions - on and off with the flute - for about the last twenty years. I find that it does help to keep the rhythm in a big noisy session (and people can always tell when you’ve changed tunes). Also good and portable for travelling and you can keep it in your jacket pocket and join the session discreetly if you’re new.

Most flute players find it hard to blow at first when they try it out, but the ‘conversion time’ is only about the same as from a whistle to the flute. You end up feeling a bit dizzy for a month or so then it all clicks into place. Go for it!

And I forgot one thing more - they’re great for busking. Lots of volume and people are curious so they stop to look.

I have a piccolo, but not often. Yes, it is loud, but I find the sound it produces,well, the sound I can get out of it anyway 🙂 a bit…sore on the ears. It hurts my mouth if I play it for too long aswell. I’ve never heard it played properly though, so my view of the piccolo may be completely wrong.

And you make a particularly good job of it, Rudall. I remember that night in the Horsh recently, when we all tried to get a noise out of it. Even Mulvey was pushed. MnaG managed a sound, if I recall correctly.
They sound much nicer than whistles, in te same way that flutes sound nicer than low whistles (IMVVHO, of course.)

Sorry,I have a piccolo, but I don’t play it very often. 🙂

I play piccolo all the time. Very good for out door accoustic gigs. The embouchure is trickier than a flute, but if you think (don’t do but think) about blowing toward your nose you will make less raspberries on the higher notes.

I forgot to note that what I’m thinking about is the wooden piccolo, not the metal one. Just like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3728663029&category=10183

It seems hard to play, so many people choose whistles?