What does piccolo mean?
Word: Piccolo
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Piccolo means a very small flute that plays higher notes than an ordinary flute.
How do you spell piccolo?
Syllables: pic - co - lo
Tricky part: Pupils hear one k sound and write one c. This word needs two, side by side.
Watch out for: picolo, piccollo, pickolo
Memory tip: Think of the two c's as two tiny curved fingers holding the little instrument.
Piccolo in a sentence
Example 1: The piccolo's bright notes rose above the rest of the school band.
Example 2: Meher saved for two years to buy a second-hand piccolo.
Example 3: A piccolo fits easily into a small bag, unlike a cello.
Fun Fact
In Italian, piccolo simply means small, and the instrument's full name was flauto piccolo. It is about half the length of a concert flute.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
p_ccol_
a) i,a
b) e,o
c) i,o
d) a,o
Show answer
c) i,o. It opens like pick and ends with the sound in go.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The conductor asked the piccolo player to practise the difficult pasage once more before the evening concert began.
a) difficult
b) pasage
c) piccolo
d) evening
Show answer
b) pasage. Passage has two s's, just like the word pass inside it.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
In the school band, Tanvi plays the locopic while her sister plays the drums.
a) cymbals
b) clarinet
c) trombone
d) piccolo
Show answer
d) piccolo. Two c's, two o's and a p fit only one of these instruments.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are misspelt. Choose the meaning of the one spelt correctly.
1. resevoir 2. piccolo 3. pharoah 4. archipeligo
a) a large group of islands
b) a ruler of ancient Egypt
c) a large lake used for storing water
d) a tiny instrument with a high, shrill sound
Show answer
d) a tiny instrument with a high, shrill sound. Archipelago, reservoir and pharaoh have each been printed wrongly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In an orchestra, where would a piccolo player usually sit?
a) with the percussion section
b) with the brass section
c) with the string section
d) with the woodwind section
Show answer
d) with the woodwind section
2. How does a piccolo player make a sound?
a) by blowing across a hole near one end
b) by plucking tight strings with the fingers
c) by striking a stretched skin with sticks
d) by pressing black and white keys in turn
Show answer
a) by blowing across a hole near one end
