High range on piccolo trumpet is easier

[Rwwilson]

For most of my life my usable range on the trumpet is up to g above high c. As I’ve gotten older, I’m now 73, I’ve begun to have more difficulty above high c. This is not the case with my piccolo trumpet even if I use the same mouthpiece. I know it is easier to center the high notes on the piccolo because the partials are more spaced but this isn’t what I’m talking about. With the piccolo it is just easier to play the notes and produce them with good volume. I’m thinking if I understood this it might help me maintain my range on the standard trumpet.

[OldSchoolEuph]

Depending on the picc, the bell is probably designed to favor higher range. This thread talks about bell design for range and the Olds CHR.
https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1505143
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[SteveDurand]

Since the tubing length of a piccolo trumpet is 1/2 the length of a Bb trumpet, there is a standing wave in the instrument for an octave higher.

This means that you actually get some help from the acoustic impedance of the piccolo up to about a D over double C.

Unfortunately, there is no way to apply this to the standard Bb instrument. It is simply the physics of a standing wave in a closed tube.

Steve

[Robert P]

Based on my own dabbling with a picc and what I've read others saying, I don't think your experience is universal.

It takes at least the same amount of effort for me to hit a G on a picc and I don't feel I can make it sing like I can on a Bb. I can get dub C on a hit/miss basis on the Bb horn, I know I can't get it on the picc.
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[zaferis]

I think this says more about your Bb than it does about your picc, or your playing. Most players don't gain range with the picc.. just different tone and slotting-your chops still have to vibrate the same pitch.

I suspect the Bb is not matched well to how you play - my first inclination is to guess that you're not moving enough air to support the larger instrument, thus when you play the picc. things pop a bit more.
Bb too big, too small, stuffy, student model.. something along those lines...

Then, second thought, it could be that the mouthpiece choice doesn't match the Bb as well as it does the picc.. cup, throat, backbore, etc..
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[Rod Haney]

I blow a lot of air, too much as I continue to ascend. When I try to play the pic I can’t sound it well because I use the normal Bb blow. It’s been a few years but I sounded like I was playing a kazoo. So I really think a totally different approach has to be taken. I find playing softly on a Bb helps my range by putting more emphasis on aperture vs. velocity. But if you play rock or rock-blues or big band soft just won’t cut it. I can see using a pic to perhaps work on elements of high notes on Bb but at some point you have to use velocity to have a true voice at range. That’s my experience anyway, if I had access to a pic I would definitely play around with it to see, but a Bb just takes more breath to hit the same notes at volume.
Rod

[tptptp]

I think what you said is that your range on your Bb has worsened, but not so on your pic. Could your Bb be getting leaky?
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[Brassnose]

I think the OP is just saying the same high note is easier for him to play on picc than on Bb. I can relate to that. I have never been a high note player and on very good days I top out at ca. F/G over high C, but more realistically at E above high C. I also have less issues playing these notes on the picc - this just refers to the actual ability of producing the note, not the sound. Things on Bb and bass trumpet have improved a lot as soon as I started realizing that I need less air to play high, not more. Only took me 35 years to work that out but have made a lot of progress in playing higher over the last few years.
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[picctpt33]

I've always found that piccolo makes it easier to center high notes, but it still requires the same amount of effort to play them as it would on a standard Bb trumpet