How do you get better on the piccolo with a terrible instrument?

Answer 1

I'm assuming you mean you have a terrible piccolo.

I had the same problem my sophomore year of marching band. My piccolo wouldn't play half the notes I needed to play, it had so many leaks, the pads were awful, you could barely tune it, and it was just a terrible piccolo anyways. But it's all I had at the time. It is hard to get better when your instrument is a challenge to play. If it's all you have, then just stick with it and do your best to not develop bad habits. Once you get a good piccolo (or at least a decent one), you should be able to play with much less strain, effort, and frustration. As sucky as it may be, you might have to just live with it.

Just some ideas... If you're in middle/high school, see if your school can get a decent piccolo for you. Or if you have a private instructor, ask him/her if s/he has any ideas. My teacher let me use her piccolo for one of my concerts. Not saying it has to go like that though.