Fife (musical instrument)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A fife is a small, high-pitched, transverse flute that is similar to the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. The fife originated in medieval Europe and is often used in military and marching bands. Someone who plays the fife is called a fifer. The word fife comes from the German Pfeife, or pipe, ultimately derived from the Latin word pipare.
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[edit] Physical description
The fife is a simple instrument usually consisting of a tube with 6 finger holes, and diatonically tuned. Some have 10 or 11 holes for added chromatics. The fife also has an embouchure hole across which the player blows, and a cork or plug inside the tube just above the embouchure hole. Some nineteenth-century fifes had a key pressed by the little finger of the right hand in place of a seventh finger hole.
Fifes are made mostly of wood: grenadilla, rosewood, mopane, pink-ivory, cocobolo, boxwood and other dense woods are superior; maple and persimmon are inferior, but often used. Some Caribbean music makes use of bamboo fifes.
Military and marching fifes have metal reinforcing bands around the ends to protect them from damage. These bands are called ferrules. Fifes used in less strenuous conditions sometimes have a lathe-turned, knob-like decoration at the ends for similar reasons. Some fifes are entirely made of metal or plastic. Some modern fifes are of two-piece construction with a sliding tuning joint similar to some recorders.
[edit] Key and range
Marching fifes typically play in the key of B flat. Fifes in the key of D and C are also common, and fifes in various other keys are sometimes played in musical ensembles. Fife music is commonly written in the key of D, and played as though the fife played in that key (playing notes D, E, F#, G, A, B and C# as finger holes are uncovered in succession) regardless of what key in which the fife actually plays. The fife sounds an octave above the written music.
Like the Irish flute and the tinwhistle, the fife is six-hole simple system flute. These flutes are unable to play all chromatic pitches, and many chromatic pitches that they can play are grossly out of tune. This tuning irregularity is part of the unique sound of the fife. Because of these restrictions on available notes the common six-hole fife is really only capable of playing in the keys of G, D, maybe A, and their relative minors.
An experienced fife player can play 3 full octaves although the fingering patterns necessary for playing in the third octave can be daunting to a beginner. Marching bands typically play only in the second and third octave since these are the loudest and most penetrating.
[edit] The fife in folk music
The fife originated in fourteenth century Switzerland and spread throughout Europe by Swiss mercenaries. In medieval Europe, it was used in some folk music traditions to accompany dancing by all social classes.
The fife was one of the most important musical instruments in America's Colonial period, even more widespread than the violin or piano. The fife can still be heard in some Appalachian folk music, playing lively dance tunes. American slaves adopted fifes in their musical traditions, which derived from African music. African-American fife-and-drum music was one of the many sources of Blues music. The fife and drum tradition continued throughout the twentieth century, but is dying out. One of the most famous artists in the tradition was Othar Turner, a musician from Mississippi who played Blues on homemade cane fifes. Turner died on February 27, 2003.
There remains an active and enthusiastic group, primarily in the northeastern United States, that continues to play fife and drum music in a folk tradition that has gone on since just after the American Civil War. The center of this activity is in eastern Connecticut. There is a loose federation of corps, though not a governing body, called The Company of Fifers and Drummers, which maintains a headquarters and museum in Ivoryton, Connecticut.
Fife alone, or fife and drum is also used in numerous European countries, especially in the South of France (Occitany) : Languedoc and county of Nice, and in the province of Ulster in Ireland where it is played as an accompaniment to the lambeg drum
Modern players of Celtic music, including folk-rock, sometimes include fifing in their arrangements. The Junkanoo festival of the Bahamas and Jamaica includes the music of bamboo fifes.
[edit] The fife in military music
The fife is loud and piercing, yet also extremely small and portable. By some reports a military fife can be heard up to 3 miles away over artillery fire. These qualities made it useful for signaling on the battlefield by European armies beginning in the Renaissance period (See also Early modern warfare). Armies from Switzerland and southern Germany are known to have used the fife (Soldatenpfeife) as early as the 1400s. Swiss and German mercenaries were hired by monarchs throughout Western Europe, and they spread the practice of military fifing. By the 1500s, the fife was a standard instrument in European infantries.
Accompanied by a snare drum, the company's fifer was responsible for conveying orders in battle. These included orders to fire, retreat, advance, and so forth. The fifer also gave signals at camp such as the call to arms. While the infantry company marched, the drummer and fifer set the cadence. During marches, the fifer improvised tunes, creating variations on a theme while keeping the rhythm of the march. While the unit rested, the drummers and fifers played music to entertain the soldiers.
By the eighteenth century, the military use of the fife was regulated by armies throughout Europe and its colonies. The rank of Fife Major was introduced, a noncommissioned officer responsible for the regiment's fifers, just as a Drum Major was responsible for the drummers. Books of military regulations included standard fife calls to be used in battle or at camp.
By the late nineteenth century, warfare was changing and fifes were no longer practical as combat signaling devices. British armies stopped using fifers in the 1890s; the United States stopped in 1904.
Today the fife's military legacy lives on in marching bands and fife and drum corps in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States and other former British colonies. These groups often emphasize historical reenactment alongside musical performance, sporting period military costumes.
[edit] Modern Fifes
Since the 1950s, fife manufacturers have experimented two-piece instruments or conical bores in an attempt to bring the fife closer to equal temperament. However, most fife makers continue to produce the more traditional one piece, straight bore, 6 hole fife for the more traditional sound which is preferred by the majority of the fifers.
[edit] References
- Brown, Howard Mayer, and Frank, Jaap, et al. "Fife." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, Vol. 8. NY: Oxford University Press, 2001.
[edit] External links
- Fife Tips & Tricks, articles pertaining to the playing of the fife.
- Blues and History, a biography of Othar Turner and a brief history of African-American fife and drum music.
- The Virginia State Garrison Fifes and Drums, a history of the development of the Virginia State Garrison Regiment fifes and drums and their representation today.
- Fife traditional music in the county of Nice (France).
- Fife fingering guide
- Ulster Scots and Scots Irish Fifing Music
- The Company of Fifers and Drummers, organization of corps and individuals who perpetuate the Ancient (U.S.) fife and drum tradition.
